Rabu, 31 Januari 2024

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon trial: Taxi driver was 'suspicious' of on-the-run couple with baby - Sky News

A taxi driver became "suspicious" and felt "uncomfortable" after picking up a couple who were on the run with their newborn daughter, a court has heard.

Constance Marten, 36, and Mark Gordon, 49, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of the manslaughter of their baby Victoria. Her body was found in a Brighton shed last February.

It is alleged the pair travelled across England and lived off-grid in a bid to keep the infant after four other children were taken into care.

A police investigation began after a placenta and Marten's possessions were found in a burnt-out car on the M61 near Bolton last January.

In a statement read to the court on Wednesday, taxi driver Abdirisakh Mohamud said he became "suspicious" while driving the couple to a Tesco Extra branch in Enfield, north London, after they hailed him just after midnight on 8 January 2023.

Constance Marten and Mark Gordon Pic: PA / Greater Manchester Police
Image: Constance Marten and Mark Gordon. Pic: PA / Greater Manchester Police

Mr Mohamud said the male passenger - believed to be Gordon - asked if he was a Muslim, whether he was "trustworthy" and if there were cameras in the cab.

The man then asked: "Are you sharing this conversation with anyone?" Mr Mohamud replied: "No", jurors heard.

Mr Mohamud said he questioned the couple on why they were wearing blue COVID facemasks, to which the woman replied she was a Muslim and said it was her "hijab". The man also said he "had a problem with his hair," the witness said.

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The taxi driver said he feared "something was not right" and decided to drop the couple off early in Green Lanes in Haringey, north London.

"The more I thought about it, the more concerned I felt about the baby," he said.

Baby sounded like 'cat meowing'

The Old Bailey heard that the couple spent hundreds of pounds on taxis, including £475 for a three-hour trip from Haringey to Newhaven in East Sussex.

Taxi driver Hasan Guzel made the trip early on 8 January, and said the woman - believed to be Marten - had what appeared to be a bag under her coat.

CCTV footage of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon arriving in Newhaven.
Pic: PA
Image: They arrived in Newhaven, East Sussex, after taking a £475 taxi. Pic: PA
CCTV footage of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon arriving in Newhaven.
Pic: PA

During the journey, he then began to hear what sounded like a "cat meowing," the court heard.

"I was annoyed at first because I thought she had a pet without telling me. I could see it was a baby, I could see the noise was coming from a baby," he said.

"I thought why didn't she tell me about this, it's been nearly four hours we have been travelling."

He said when he dropped them off in Newhaven he was "concerned as to what they were going to do next" as it was cold and dark.

CCTV played to jurors on Tuesday showed the first glimpses of baby Victoria.

CCTV footage of Constance Marten, Mark Gordon and baby Victoria in a German doner kebab shop in East Ham.
Pic: PA
Image: CCTV of Marten, Gordon and baby Victoria in a kebab shop in East London. Pic: PA

On Wednesday, the jury saw more security camera footage of the couple in Whitechapel, where Gordon brought a two-person tent and camping equipment.

Both defendants deny manslaughter by gross negligence between 4 January and 27 February last year.

Marten and Gordon also deny perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.

The trial continues.

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2024-01-31 18:11:15Z
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Tearful Nicola Sturgeon says biggest Covid regret is not going into lockdown earlier - The Independent

Nicola Sturgeon called Boris Johnson a ‘f***ing clown’, Covid WhatsApps reveal

Nicola Sturgeon will give evidence to the official Covid inquiry today amid ongoing scrutiny over deleted WhatsApp messages.

Scotland’s former first minister, who resigned last year, is scheduled to give testimony for a full day at hearings being held in Edinburgh.

Several figures in Ms Sturgeon’s government have already faced questions at the inquiry about their deletion of WhatsApp messages during the pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon has conceded that messages had not been retained on her own devices but said she has managed to retrieve copies to submit to the probe.

She said informal messages were handed over to the inquiry last year.

Scottish Government ministers and officials have said decisions were routinely recorded on the official system even if messages were deleted in line with policy.

Last week, Ms Sturgeon’s former chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, gave evidence to the inquiry.

After message exchanges between the pair were shown in evidence, Ms Lloyd denied a decision about guest limits on weddings during the pandemic was made “on the hoof”.

In one message seen by the inquiry, Ms Sturgeon referred to then prime minister Boris Johnson as a “f****** clown.”

1706696072

Sturgeon insists government acted with transparency

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted that she and her government acted with “transparency” and openness during the Covid pandemic.

The former FM was read out a section of her statement to the inquiry in which she said Holyrood ministers acted in a formal and “serious” manner.

In her statement, Ms Sturgeon also said she did not make “extensive use” of informal messages to reach decisions during this time - as it has been claimed that the Westminster government did.

When asked if it was still her position today that the Scottish government was “open, transparent and accountable” in their actions and words, she replied: “Yes, that is still my position.”

Matt Mathers31 January 2024 10:14
1706695363

Sturgeon about to give evidence

Ms Sturgeon is about to start giving evidence to the Covid inquiry.

We’ll bring you text updates from the session but you can also watch it on our YouTube channel.

Just follow the link below for the live stream:

Matt Mathers31 January 2024 10:02
1706694818

Sturgeon arrives at inquiry

Nicola Sturgeon has been spotted arriving at the Covid inquiry ahead of her day of giving evidence.

The former first minister was pictured earlier this morning getting out of a dark-coloured car at Edinburgh’s International Conference Centre.

She was wearing a navy outfit and accompanied by her security team.

Matt Mathers31 January 2024 09:53
1706694352

Recap: Sturgeon’s pandemic WhatsApp messages deleted, Covid inquiry hears

At a hearing in Edinburgh, the official investigation into the Covid crisis was told that the former first minister of Scotland had “retained no messages whatsoever”.

Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, revealed a document provided by the Scottish government about which WhatsApp messages it could provide and said that all Ms Sturgeon’s messages had been deleted.

Full report:

Matt Mathers31 January 2024 09:45
1706694265

ICYMI: Sturgeon called Boris a ‘f****** clown’ over ‘utter incompetence’ in handling Covid, WhatsApps reveal

WhatsApp messages shared between the ex-SNP leader and her top adviser, Liz Lloyd, shown at the Covid inquiry demonstrated the utter disdain with which the then-prime minister was held.

Full report:

Matt Mathers31 January 2024 09:44
1706694203

Sturgeon could also face questions about asking health chief to contact her ‘privately'

Ms Sturgeon may also face questions about her decision to provide public health expert professor Devi Sridhar with her SNP email address to be contacted “privately”.

It is understood Ms Sturgeon forwarded any such emails to the Scottish government and offered to supply the inquiry with them if required.

Former Scottish government ministers Kate Forbes and John Swinney gave evidence to the inquiry on Tuesday.

Mr Swinney said he “manually” deleted messages between himself, Ms Sturgeon and Mr Yousaf in a practice which could date back to 2007.

Matt Mathers31 January 2024 09:43
1706693879

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the Covid inquiry.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former first minister, is giving evidence today at hearings being held in Edinburgh.

Stay tuned for all the latest updates.

Matt Mathers31 January 2024 09:37

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Pharmacists to prescribe drugs for minor illnesses in England - BBC

Pharmacist with patient

Treatments for seven conditions such as sore throats and earaches are now available directly from pharmacists, without the need to visit a doctor.

The Pharmacy First scheme will allow most chemists in England to issue some medications to patients without appointments or referrals.

NHS England says it will free up about 10 million GP appointments a year.

Pharmacy groups welcome the move but there is concern about funding and recent chemist closures.

Under the new service, pharmacists can carry out confidential consultations and advise whether any treatment, including antibiotics, is needed for the list of seven minor ailments.

Patients needing more specialist or follow-up care will be referred onwards.

What can pharmacists supply medicines for now?

  • sore throat
  • earache
  • sinusitis
  • impetigo
  • shingles
  • infected insect bites
  • uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women

Patients can access the new service by walking straight into a chemist or being referred by NHS 111, urgent treatment centres, emergency departments or their GP. Those who are not registered with a GP can still access the service.

If one of the seven conditions is diagnosed, pharmacists can give medicines to patients rather than sending them back to their GP,

Pharmacies already offer advice on medicines - when to take them, information on side effects and how to dispose of them - and have always been somewhere patients can go for advice on symptoms.

You can also get emergency contraception and blood pressure checks at most pharmacies in England. Some offer advice on how to stop smoking, how to lose weight as well as screening and treatment for chlamydia, a common sexually-transmitted infection.

What happens at a consultation?

The pharmacist will ask about symptoms and possibly about any previous medical issues. They may ask for consent to check the patient's health record if they can access it.

For some conditions, the pharmacist may perform an examination - for example of a patient's ear.

This allows them to recommend the best course of action for each patient, which could include a treatment bought over the counter such as a cream or ointment, a restricted set of prescription-only medicines or advice that the issue will go away on its own.

The consultation will be noted and shared with GPs to add to the patient's record.

Will more antibiotics be given out?

There is a strict protocol in place for providing medicines for each of the seven conditions, says Tase Oputu, who chairs the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in England, .

That includes giving information, advice and symptom relief before supplying antibiotics, if needed.

Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent bacterial infections, but do not work against viruses such as colds and flu.

Overuse of them in the past has meant they are becoming less effective against serious infections - known as antimicrobial resistance.

NHS England said the new service would be "continually" scrutinised in case there was any effect on that issue.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where the service is already running, the RPS said there was no evidence of an increase in levels of antibiotics supplied.

'More choice'

More than 90% of community chemists had registered to deliver the new service, NHS England said.

They have been paid £2,000 each and will receive £15 per consultation plus £1,000 a month if they see a set minimum number of patients.

Similar services are already offered in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

NHS England's chief executive Amanda Pritchard called it "great news for patients".

"GPs are already treating millions more people every month than before the pandemic - but with an ageing population and growing demand, we know the NHS needs to give people more choice and make accessing care as easy as possible," she said.

The RPS called it a "leap forward" in patient care.

'Easier than staying on hold to GP'

Ali McKerrow and her son

Ade Williams, who trialled the scheme at Bedminster Pharmacy, in Bristol, told BBC News: "One of the frustrations you have as a pharmacist is that you have patients coming in and then you want to help them - but then you are then not able to. It's a really big deal for us.

"You feel a greater sense of satisfaction and it's lovely when the patient comes back and says, 'I am better now - that worked'."

Ali McKerrow, whose young son was supplied with an impetigo cream at the pharmacy, says the scheme will help working parents.

"It can be really challenging getting a GP appointment," she said.

"I am about to do the school run and just popped in here on the way - that's infinitely easier than staying on the phone on hold."

Nearly half the pharmacies in England have also recently started prescribing the oral contraceptive pill.

They will also increase the number of blood pressure checks.

But there are concerns about pharmacy closures. Last year, BBC News analysis showed the number of chemists in England had fallen to its lowest level since 2015.

And the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies has warned community pharmacies in England are "severely underfunded".

Chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck welcomed the scheme but said that without greater funding, "more pharmacies will shut their doors for good and more workload will be transferred to remaining pharmacies".

NHS England said £645m was being invested over two years in expanding services offered by community pharmacies.

Why did Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland move ahead of England?

The reality is that pharmacists in England have been pushing for a while for a scheme of this nature and the government at Westminster has not moved as quickly as they would have liked.

Scotland's Pharmacy First Plus scheme was seen as the model for England. Launched in 2020, the service is available at fewer than a third of Scottish pharmacies but the aim is to make it accessible in all communities.

Northern Ireland's service dates back to before the Scottish launch, though the list of conditions which can be treated is more limited.

Wales has a Common Ailments scheme which does not cover the same range of cases as England and Scotland.

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Nicola Sturgeon's reputation on the line at UK Covid inquiry - BBC

nicola sturgeonGetty Images

Nicola Sturgeon will give evidence to the UK Covid inquiry in Edinburgh later.

At the height of the pandemic, Scotland's then first minister was a near-constant presence on the nation's TVs and her popularity soared.

At one point, polls suggested an astonishing 100-point gap in net satisfaction ratings between the SNP leader and the Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson - a man we now know Ms Sturgeon dismissed privately as a "clown".

But nearly a year after her shock resignation, Ms Sturgeon's reputation is tarnished.

She has faced criticism of her record on education, drug deaths and gender reform - some of it from fellow supporters of independence, who are also frustrated about a lack of progress towards that goal.

In June, Ms Sturgeon was arrested - and later released without charge - in an ongoing police investigation into the finances of the SNP which saw officers pitch a tent on the lawn of her home in the suburbs of Glasgow.

And now her pandemic leadership is coming under close scrutiny.

Ms Sturgeon, seen here with Jason Leitch, gave regular news conferences throughout the pandemic
Getty Images

During the first two weeks of the inquiry sitting in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon has been accused of an instinct to hoard power rather than seek help.

It emerged that on Humza Yousaf's first day in the job as Scotland's health secretary in May 2021, National Clinical Director Jason Leitch sent him a WhatsApp message which read: "She actually wants none of us."

Not only did the Scottish cabinet never hold a vote on Covid, according to former deputy first minister John Swinney's evidence on Tuesday, but "in my 16 years in the cabinet, there wasn't a single vote on any single issue because that's not how cabinet did its business".

Giving evidence to the inquiry last week, Mr Yousaf defended his predecessor, saying: "There were times the former first minister needed a tighter cast list and wanted a tighter cast list to make a decision on a specific issue."

Deleting WhatsApps

The second accusation levelled at Ms Sturgeon is one of secrecy.

The inquiry has heard that it was Scottish government policy to delete messages on platforms such as WhatsApp after decisions and salient points had been officially recorded - a process which Prof Leitch once called a "pre-bed ritual".

When he tried to disavow that remark as "flippant," the inquiry chairwoman, Baroness Heather Hallett, remarked that the tone of some WhatsApps did suggest "a rather enthusiastic adoption of the policy of deleting messages".

Ms Sturgeon, the inquiry previously heard, was among those who deleted messages, despite assuring Ciaran Jenkins of Channel 4 News in August 2021 that she would turn over all relevant communications to the hearings.

Ms Sturgeon's former chief of staff Liz Lloyd described herself as a "thought partner"
UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Her former chief of staff Liz Lloyd - who described herself in evidence as Ms Sturgeon's "thought partner" - did provide a tranche of WhatsApps between the two women but was unable to explain why their messages from the first six months of the pandemic were missing.

Questions have also been asked about Mr Yousaf's deletion of messages, and about Ms Sturgeon's use of other forms of communication such as a private email address, direct Twitter messages and, potentially, a personal, rather than a government- or parliament-issued phone.

The inquiry has also heard concerns about a lack of minutes for so-called Gold Command meetings, which involved a handful of key Scottish government ministers rather than the full Cabinet.

Kate Forbes, who was finance secretary at the time, told the inquiry she didn't even know about such meetings in the early stages of the pandemic.

In a statement issued earlier this month, Ms Sturgeon insisted she had not conducted her Covid response through informal messaging platforms and had always acted in line with the policy of her government.

The statement read: "I did my level best to lead Scotland through the pandemic as safely as possible - and shared my thinking with the country on a daily basis.

"I did not get every decision right - far from it - but I was motivated only, and at all times, by the determination to keep people as safe as possible."

Messages show that Ms Sturgeon described former prime minister Boris Johnson as a "clown"
Getty Images

The third criticism of Ms Sturgeon relates to competence.

Did the Scottish government make the right preparations for a pandemic, did they respond quickly enough when the virus emerged and did they make the correct calls when the scale of the threat became clear?

These questions lie at the very heart of the inquiry and the Scottish government is far from alone in grappling with them.

Before hearings shifted to Scotland, the inquiry heard claims of toxicity, chaos and dysfunction in Downing Street under a prime minister described by his chief scientific adviser as "weak and indecisive".

Questions about the availability of critical care beds and the staff to run them; a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gowns; and inadequate testing capacity in the early stages of the pandemic have been asked in London as well as in Edinburgh.

In Scotland, all three issues were among the failings which contributed to the deaths of hundreds of patients who were discharged to care homes without Covid tests, failings which the former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman told the inquiry she would regret "for the rest of my life".

Former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman gave evidence earlier this week
UK Covid-19 Inquiry

And what of lockdown, announced by Ms Sturgeon for Scotland on 23 March 2020?

"The stringent restrictions on our normal day-to-day lives that I'm about to set out are difficult and they are unprecedented," she told the nation.

Was that the right approach?

Politicians of all stripes insisted they were "following the science" in imposing the most dramatic curbs on individual liberty since World War Two but even some scientists disagreed.

Finally, Ms Sturgeon is accused of "playing politics" when she should have been focusing on public health.

This is an allegation she has always strongly denied.

The specific charge is that she sought divergence with the UK government for political ends - to appear more compassionate, more cautious and, well, more Scottish.

The inquiry heard that Ms Lloyd wrote to Ms Sturgeon in November 2020 expressing the chief of staff's desire to create "a good old-fashioned rammy" with the Tories.

Ms Lloyd's explanation was that she was trying to force the Treasury to provide more funding for necessary public health interventions.

UK government minister Michael Gove denied politicising the pandemic
PA Media

But the UK government minister Michael Gove told the hearings the comments suggested a "search for political conflict" from a party whose aim was to "destroy the United Kingdom".

He too though was accused of politicising the pandemic.

On 21 July 2020, Mr Gove presented a paper to his colleagues entitled "State of the Union" which suggested that voters in Scotland believed Ms Sturgeon's government was getting its pandemic response right and Mr Johnson's was getting it wrong.

"There is a real opportunity to outline how being part of the Union has significantly reduced the hardship faced by individuals and businesses across the UK," he wrote.

Two days later the prime minister was in Orkney talking about the "sheer might" of the union with England. Ms Sturgeon responded by saying his visit highlighted the case for the independence.

The inquiry must consider whether any of this constitutional wrangling made any actual difference to the pandemic response.

It is also examining the structures of devolution and whether or not the right powers rest in the right places.

Inquiry counsel Jamie Dawson KC has repeatedly asked whether Scotland would have been better served if the UK government had taken the key decisions about how to respond to the pandemic and the Scottish government had simply implemented them.

A recommendation of that nature from Baroness Hallett, 25 years after devolution was established, would be controversial to say the least.

Whatever she concludes, it appears that both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Johnson retained their respective political philosophies throughout the pandemic which can hardly be regarded as a surprise.

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Selasa, 30 Januari 2024

Review ordered into decision to accept Nottingham attacker's manslaughter pleas - Sky News

The CPS decision to accept the manslaughter pleas of the Nottingham attacker who killed three people is to be examined in an independent review.

The review will look into the decision to accept Valdo Calocane's guilty pleas to manslaughter and whether it sufficiently consulted with the families of the victims.

Last week, Calocane was given a hospital order for manslaughter by diminished responsibility after the city's crown court heard he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

The 32-year-old stabbed students Barnaby Webber, 19, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, with a dagger in the early hours of 13 June last year.

Mr Webber's family described the hospital order as a "huge insult" and called for a public inquiry into the case.

Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Ian Coates
Image: (L-R) Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar

On Tuesday, Attorney General Victoria Prentis said: "The senseless deaths of Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates have horrified the country.

"While nothing will bring their loved ones back, the families understandably want to understand what happened in this case.

"That's why I have asked the inspectorate to carry out a prompt and thorough review of CPS actions so we can properly investigate the concerns raised by the families in this devastating case."

Ms Prentis is also considering whether judges should review the sentence after receiving a submission that it could be unduly lenient.

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Nottingham attack: 'Our children were failed'

Read more UK news:
Earthquakes strike Scottish island
Measles outbreak in West Midlands 'a concern'

'We will get answers'

Earlier, Rishi Sunak said independent investigations have been set up into Nottingham institutions' role in alleged missed opportunities to stop Calocane.

It came a day after a meeting with the families of Mr Webber and Ms O'Malley-Kumar in Downing Street.

Mr Sunak said the NHS, police forces and CPS will all be looked at "promptly and thoroughly and effectively" to try and get answers for the families.

Speaking on ITV's This Morning the prime minister said: "What I said to them (the victims' relatives) is that we will get the answers. That's what they deserve. That's what I've committed to.

"Once we hear back from that, then we can sit down with them and decide if there are more questions that need answering, is the inquiry then the next logical step?"

Concerns arose after it emerged an arrest warrant had been issued for Calocane months before the killings.

Leicestershire Police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and leaders at Nottinghamshire Police have met with Policing Minister Chris Philp.

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Families united in 'national tragedy'

The families of Mr Webber, Mr Coates and Ms O'Malley-Kumar said they welcome the "full, open and transparent investigation" into the CPS.

In a joint statement, they said: "We reiterate our deep and grave concerns in this case, and our disappointment that we have had to resort to this additional level of trauma and stress to feel listened to and for further actions to be taken.

"We are united as families in this national tragedy."

They said they wish to be given the opportunity to speak in person with the IOPC and attorney general about concerns and evidence of concerns that they have.

The findings of the review are expected by Easter.

A spokesperson for His Majesty's Chief Inspector of the CPS said they accept the request for the review.

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