Police ask CPS to look into death of Victoria Station worker Belly Mujinga after finding no evidence man 'spat at' her before she died of Covid - as more than a million sign petition for justice
Belly Mujinga died in April aged 47, a few weeks after incident at Victoria Station
Senior detectives concluded incident did not lead to the railway worker's death
But police have now invited CPS to conduct independent review of the evidence
It comes as people signing a petition in support of Ms Mujinga topped a million
The Crown Prosecution Service has been asked to review evidence into the death of railway worker Belly Mujinga in recognition of wider public interest, although the case is not being reopened, British Transport Police said.
Ms Mujinga died in April of coronavirus, a few weeks after an incident at London's Victoria station, leaving a widower and an 11-year-old daughter.
British Transport Police (BTP) interviewed a 57-year-old man but said the incident did not lead to the worker's death and decided not to refer the case to the CPS.
In a new statement on Friday, BTP said it had invited the CPS to conduct an independent review of the available evidence, and whether there were any further lines of inquiry.
BTP said it understood the depth of feeling over the case and that there were further questions over how it was decided there was insufficient proof of a crime to justify a prosecution.
Belly Mujinga (pictured) died in April of coronavirus, a few weeks after an incident at London's Victoria station, leaving a widower and an 11-year-old daughter
British Transport Police (BTP) interviewed a 57-year-old man but said the incident did not lead to the worker's (left) death and decided not to refer the case to the CPS
The statement read: 'We can assure the public that we have comprehensively reviewed all the available evidence and have not identified any offences or behaviour that meets the threshold for prosecution.'
The development came as the number of people signing a petition launched in support of Ms Mujinga topped a million.
The petition seeks justice for the family of Ms Mujinga, whose trade union the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) has received messages of support from across the UK and from countries including the US and Germany.
Ms Mujinga's husband Lusamba thanked those who have signed the petition, saying the family had been on a 'rollercoaster of emotions'.
The public reaction to the case being closed took the family by surprise, he said, adding it had come amid anger over the killing of George Floyd in the US.
He said: 'On Wednesday, thousands of people protested in London to cry it loud that black lives matter. Black lives do matter. Belly's life mattered.
'It mattered to me, to our daughter, our friends and family, to Belly's colleagues, and now it matters to many thousands of you out there.
'We were there, united in our anger and our grief. United in our determination to be heard and in our determination to get change. We want justice for Belly.'
BTP said it understood the depth of feeling over the case of Ms Mujinga (pictured) and there were further questions over how it was decided there was insufficient proof of a crime to justify a prosecution
Angie Doll, managing director of Southern Railway and Gatwick Express, said: 'Our hearts go out to Belly's family who we continue to offer our deepest sympathies to.
'While the conclusion of the British Transport Police investigation found no evidence of spitting, any loss of one of our dedicated colleagues from coronavirus is one too many.
'Our absolute focus remains on keeping all of our colleagues safe, and we continue to follow all Government health advice to protect them.
'We thank our key workers for their commitment at this incredibly challenging time for our country.'
There have been "no significant areas of progress" in the UK's negotiations with the EU over a post-Brexit trade deal, the bloc's chief negotiator has said.
Michel Barnier spoke in Brussels following the conclusion of the fourth round of talks between the EU and UK on a future relationship.
In a statement released as Mr Barnier gave his news conference, the UK's chief negotiator David Frost agreed that "progress remains limited" despite the talks being "positive in tone".
"Negotiations will continue and we remain committed to a successful outcome," he added.
The UK officially left the EU in January but is currently in the Brexit transition period - meaning it maintains the status quo of membership of the bloc.
Advertisement
The transition period is set to expire at the end of December, with both sides having until the end of this month to agree an extension.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he will not seek to extend the transition period, although Mr Barnier reiterated on Friday that the EU has "always been open to extending this period by one or two years".
More from Brexit
If the Brexit transition period ends without a deal being struck, the UK will likely have to trade with the EU on World Trade Organisation terms from next year.
Now the UK is out of the EU, what next?
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, recent negotiations have been conducted between the UK and EU teams remotely.
But Mr Frost said the two sides were "close to reaching the limits of what we can achieve through the format of remote formal rounds" of talks.
"If we are to make progress, it is clear that we must intensify and accelerate our work," he added, saying the UK was discussing with the European Commission "how this can best be done".
Mr Barnier said he hopes to restart face-to-face talks at the end of June.
"I think it will work better, it'll be more effective and easier," he added.
Talks are planned between Mr Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel later this month, in an effort to unblock negotiations.
At the Brussels news conference, Mr Barnier said the two sides were still "very far" from reaching agreement in key areas.
This includes fisheries and so-called "level playing field" commitments to common rules and standards.
Mr Barnier also accused the UK of seeking, in "round after round", to "distance themselves" from the political declaration on a future relationship agreed by Mr Johnson and EU leaders last year.
"We cannot and will not accept this backtracking on the political declaration," he said.
UK negotiators want a separate fisheries agreement, which is untied to a wider trade deal.
They also accused the EU of going beyond what is appropriate for a free trade agreement in its demands for level playing field commitments.
Mr Frost said: "For our part we are willing to work hard to see whether at least the outline of a balanced agreement, covering all issues, can be reached soon.
"Any such deal must of course accommodate the reality of the UK's well-established position on the so-called 'level playing field', on fisheries, and the other difficult issues."
Following the latest round of talks, a senior UK negotiating official spoke of a need to "intensify" efforts in July and August.
They said: "We are not up for a long negotiation over the next months well into the autumn where nobody knows what is going to happen; October is too late for us to conclude this."
"We need to work intensively now and into July to see if we can find the high-level trade-offs that unlock a deal within all our important negotiating parameters."
The official added: "There have been some clarifications, some understandings, but no movement on the fundamental issues that are the problems in this negotiation."
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has accused the UK of "backtracking" on its commitments in the latest round of post-Brexit trade talks.
He added that the UK should show more "respect" for the terms laid out between the two sides.
But the UK said it was "committed to a successful outcome" in the talks.
The UK has until the end of June to ask for the "transition period" - keeping it in the single market and customs union - to be extended into next year.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out seeking an extension.
UK chief negotiator David Frost said: "We continue to discuss the full range of issues, including the most difficult ones. Progress remains limited but our talks have been positive in tone."
Speaking in Brussels, Mr Barnier said he had to "speak the truth" about how negotiations - currently carried out online - were going, adding that they should "work better" when the sides meet in person, from later this month.
He accused the UK of "continuing to backtrack" on commitments it made in the political declaration signed with the EU, adding that it should be treated with "full respect".
He added: "We have always been open to the possibility of an extension of one or two years - as is possible under the exit agreement. And our door remains open."
Downing Street has accused the EU of making a series of "unbalanced" demands binding the UK to EU laws and standards to an unprecedented degree for a trade deal.
The two sides are also in dispute over fisheries, with the UK resisting EU demands for continued long-term access to British waters.
The talks come ahead of a "high-level" summit later this month.
And businesses - hit by the coronavirus pandemic - have raised concerns over a possible "cliff-edge" break to the UK's remaining access to the EU single market at the end of the year with no replacement deal.
Mr Frost has said he hopes a meeting later this month, at which both sides are due to review progress, could give "new impetus" to talks.
A date for the summit, expected to feature Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has not yet been fixed.
The UK left the EU on 31 January. The transition period lasts until 31 December and keeps the UK bound to most EU rules.
The sides currently have until then to reach a free-trade deal, needed if they want to do business without tariffs, quotas or other barriers in future.
It estimates that one in 1,000 people had coronavirus in the community between 17 and 30 May, not counting those staying in hospitals or care homes.
This is down from last week's estimate of one in 400.
The figures for England are based on a small number of positive swab tests - 21 people in 15 households - so there is some margin for error.
But because everyone in the household is tested, whether they have symptoms or not, the results are thought to be a more accurate picture of how many people are currently infected by the virus.
They said waiting until cases fell further would make the virus easier to control, and give test and trace programmes more chance of succeeding.
On the basis of this study, "the number of people in England testing positive has decreased in recent weeks", the ONS says.
The results show that only 29% of those who tested positive for coronavirus said they had any symptoms at the time of the test.
Those working outside the home were more likely to test positive for the virus than home-workers, with healthcare workers and social care workers at highest risk of being infected.
Another type of test - which looks for antibodies, which build up when the bodies fights infection - were carried out on 885 people in households as part of the same study.
These suggest that around 7% of people in England have previously had a coronavirus infection at some point.
It estimates that one in 1,000 people had coronavirus in the community between 17 and 30 May, not counting those staying in hospitals or care homes.
This is down from last week's estimate of one in 400.
The figures for England are based on a small number of positive swab tests - 21 people in 15 households - so there is some margin for error.
But because everyone in the household is tested, whether they have symptoms or not, the results are thought to be a more accurate picture of how many people are currently infected by the virus.
Positive tests down
Based on last week's ONS estimate of 8,000 daily infections, some scientists advising the government warned against relaxing lockdown measures too quickly.
They said waiting until cases fell further would make the virus easier to control, and give test and trace programmes more chance of succeeding.
On the basis of this study, "the number of people in England testing positive has decreased in recent weeks", the ONS says.
The results show that only 29% of those who tested positive for coronavirus said they had any symptoms at the time of the test.
Those working outside the home were more likely to test positive for the virus than home-workers, with healthcare workers and social care workers at highest risk of being infected.
The number of people with coronavirus has more than halved in the last week, according to the latest official figures.
Data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed 53,000 people in England had the virus at any one time during the last two weeks of May.
That's down from 133,000 in the last round of figures.
Image:An ambulance outside a hospital in Abergavenny, Wales
The ONS says there is now a consistent downward trend - from more than 0.4% of the population being infected at the end of April down to 0.1% at the end of May.
The data also shows an estimated 39,000 people a week are currently catching COVID-19, down from 54,000 last week.
Advertisement
It hasn't updated its estimate of the number of people who have had the virus over the course of the outbreak, which remains at 6.8%.
The estimates are based on swab tests of 19,000 people in 9,000 households.
More from Covid-19
The analysis also found that 28% of excess deaths registered between 7 March and 1 May in England and Wales did not involve coronavirus, totalling 12,900 deaths out of 46,380.
Excess deaths is the number of deaths above the average total for this period in the last five years.
Many of the non-coronavirus excess deaths have occurred in older age groups, particularly those with underlying health conditions.
Around two-thirds of non-coronavirus excess deaths in this period were linked to dementia, Alzheimer's disease and "symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions" mainly indicating old age, the analysis found.
But the ONS said undiagnosed COVID-19 is a "likely explanation" for some of the excess deaths of elderly people with underlying health conditions not linked to coronavirus.
The total number of deaths linked to COVID-19 recorded by the government currently stands at 39,904 - far lower than the 46,380 excess deaths counted by the ONS.
Many countries across the world have begun to ease their lockdowns, including the UK.
But a World Health Organisation spokeswoman said today there have been "upticks" in coronavirus cases in some countries as social distancing measures were loosened.
The UK has said it will be mandatory for commuters to wear face masks on public transport from 15 June, but the British Medical Association says this should be extended to all areas where social distancing is not possible.
