Babak Belurs

Rabu, 30 Maret 2022

Downing Street parties: Boris Johnson refuses to admit 'criminality' in Number 10 - despite police fines - Sky News

Boris Johnson has refused to admit to criminality in Downing Street as he was grilled by MPs after fines were issued over the police's partygate investigation.

The prime minister came under pressure, during questions from the Commons liaison committee, to concede that this week's announcement of 20 fixed penalty notices by the Met Police meant that the law had been broken.

But Mr Johnson stonewalled attempts by the SNP's Pete Wishart to force him to do so or to admit to any breach of the ministerial code, telling him: "You are just going to have to hold your horses."

Earlier, a spokesman for the prime minister had apparently refused to endorse comments by deputy PM Dominic Raab, who told Sky News that the fixed penalties were being issued to "those that have breached the regulations".

Mr Wishart told the PM: "You can at least accept there has been criminality.

"You do accept it? Twenty fixed penalty notices have been issued, for goodness’ sake. There can't be any contradiction and doubt about criminality?"

Mr Johnson replied: "I have been, I hope, very frank with the House about where I think we have gone wrong and the things that I regret, and I apologise for, but there is an ongoing investigation.

"I understand the point you're making, but… I have been very clear I won't give running commentary on an ongoing investigation."

Labour has described it as "totally untenable" for "Downing Street to sort of refuse to acknowledge what is a statement of fact and law" and the Liberal Democrats said the position was "absurd".

Downing Street has said it would reveal if Mr Johnson - or Cabinet Secretary Simon Case - is issued with a fine, but thus far has not made any such statement.

Mr Wishart put it to the PM that he would be "toast" if he was given a fixed penalty - but Mr Johnson again refused to comment.

The prime minister has also faced claims that he breached the ministerial code after telling parliament initially that no rules had been broken in relation to the parties.

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During Prime Minister's Questions earlier, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said of Mr Johnson: "He told the House no rules were broken in Downing Street during lockdown.

"The police have now concluded there was widespread criminality."

He said that according to the ministerial code, ministers who knowingly mislead the House of Commons should resign, and asked: "Why is he still here?"

But Mr Johnson told the select committee: "I think it's very important that you should be clear with the House of Commons - and I've tried my best to be as clear as I can about my understanding of events."

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Raab told Sky News "there were clearly things that were got wrong" and that the fines were for "those that have breached the regulations", but said the prime minister had since overhauled the Number 10 operation.

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2022-03-30 14:49:10Z
1360428059

Worcestershire: Boy, two, dies in hospital after being bitten by dog - Sky News

A two-year-old boy has died after being bitten by a dog in Worcestershire, police have said.

He was attacked at a property in Egdon, Worcestershire, on Monday.

West Mercia Police said they responded to a report of a two-year-old child in cardiac arrest at about 11.20am.

When they arrived at the scene, it became apparent he had been seriously injured by a dog.

He was transferred from Worcestershire Royal Hospital to Birmingham Children's Hospital, where he died today.

Three dogs were removed from the property and posed no risk to the public, West Mercia Police said.

They are currently being "housed securely".

Police were unable to confirm the breed of the dogs, but do not believe they are banned.

Superintendent Rebecca Love said: "This is a truly tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family at this very difficult time."

"An investigation continues, and I would ask for your respect for the family's privacy at this very distressing time," she added.

It followed an incident on Saturday in Cannock, also in the West Midlands, when a dog attack saw an eight-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl admitted to hospital.

The incidents came weeks after fatal dog attacks on two infant girls.

Earlier in March, Bella-Rae Birch died after she was attacked by her family's dog in St Helens, while Kyra Leanne King also died following an attack in Lincolnshire.

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2022-03-30 13:37:32Z
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Selasa, 29 Maret 2022

Partygate: Met Police to issue 20 fines over Downing Street parties that breached lockdown rules - Sky News

The Metropolitan Police is to issue 20 fines to people who attended lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.

But the force has not named the individuals facing the penalties or revealed which events they attended.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among 100 people who were sent formal legal questionnaires relating to the investigation - named Operation Hillman - which was launched in January.

A spokesman for the PM said Mr Johnson had not received a fine at this time but reiterated that Downing Street would make it known if that were to happen.

However the identities of other staff who receive penalties may not become known - even to the civil service and Downing Street - as they will not be asked to disclose this, the spokesman added.

Asked about - given the Met's findings - whether the PM had misled the Commons when he said regulations were not broken, the spokesman said that he "at all times sought to set out is understanding of the events".

He added that the PM "has said sorry for the things that we did not get right" and that he would be expected to say more once the police investigation has concluded.

The Press Association reported that Mr Johnson was not expected to be among the initial wave of fines.

The "partygate" probe related to 12 events where COVID restrictions may have been breached in 2020 and 2021.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said "Boris Johnson's Downing Street has been found guilty of breaking the law" and that the PM must resign.

A Met Police statement said: "The investigation into allegations of breaches of COVID-19 regulations in Whitehall and Downing Street has now progressed to the point where the first referrals for fixed penalty notices (FPN) will be made to ACRO Criminal Records Office.

"We will today initially begin to refer 20 fixed penalty notices to be issued for breaches of Covid-19 regulations.

"The ACRO Criminal Records Office will then be responsible for issuing the FPNs to the individual following the referrals from the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service]."

The Met said that with further evidence still to be assessed, "further referrals may be made to ACRO if the evidential threshold is made".

Legal expert Joshua Rozenberg told Sky News that the number of people being fined was not known as "some individuals could be getting more than one fixed penalty notice" and that the process of issuing the penalties "may take some time".

Labour's Angela Rayner said: "The culture is set from the top.

"The buck stops with the Prime Minister, who spent months lying to the British public, which is why he's got to go.

"This has been a slap in the face of the millions of people who made huge sacrifices."

Earlier, Ms Rayner told Sky News that "anyone that's in the government that decides to break their own rules", including chancellor Rishi Sunak as well as the PM, ought to resign if they are fined.

Government minister Will Quince acknowledged that "considerable upset" had been caused over events that "shouldn't have happened" but was tight-lipped when asked if he thought the prime minister should resign if fined.

Mr Quince, who is minister for children and families, told Sky News: "That's a hypothetical question, you wouldn't expect me to answer that."

The Prime Minister received a questionnaire on 11 February.

It is thought he attended as many as six of the events under scrutiny, but it is not yet clear whether he will receive a fixed penalty notice.

Last week the Met confirmed detectives had begun interviewing key witnesses on details related to the questionnaire responses.

The 12 events under investigation took place over eight separate dates and include a "bring your own booze" event in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020, organised by the Prime Minister's principal private secretary Martin Reynolds.

Another was a surprise birthday gathering for Mr Johnson in the cabinet room in June 2020, attended by the chancellor.

Fixed penalty notices do not amount to a criminal conviction, but they can result in court summons and criminal prosecution if they are not paid.

Several Conservative MPs had called for Mr Johnson to resign over the parties, but some have changed their stance since the war in Ukraine began just over a month ago.

Scotland Yard launched its investigation following the conclusion of the internal government inquiry led by senior civil servant Sue Gray.

A restricted version of her report was published at the end of January, but many details were removed so as not to compromise the police investigation.

It is unclear whether the full report will now be published.

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The Prime Minister's official spokesman has previously said discussions were needed "with the Met and others about what is suitable".

According to Sky's deputy political editor Sam Coates, officials expect the police investigation to have some weeks left to run - and therefore that Sue Gray's report will not be published any time soon.

Number 10 is braced for PM and inner circle to be fined

Tamara Cohen

Political correspondent

@tamcohen

It may be a while before we know for sure, but Number 10 are braced for the prime minister and his inner circle to be among those who receive a fine.

Allies of the prime minister - who repeatedly denied any parties took place - have suggested he will argue that his home and workplace were one and the same.

So what does this mean for Boris Johnson? The controversy plunged him into the most profound political crisis of his premiership. Some 14 Conservative MPs called for his resignation publicly, and many others expressed strong reservations in private.

But the Ukraine war appears to have sucked the energy from the scandal. Some in government believe the lifting of COVID restrictions nationally has taken the heat out of it.

Despite that, a prime minister even being investigated by the police is serious, being given a questionnaire equivalent to an interview under caution is unprecedented.

If he is found to have broken COVID regulations, questions about his leadership are bound to return. Even the heavily edited report by senior civil servant Sue Gray blasted "failures of leadership and judgment" in Downing Street.

The fines issued today mark another significant step in the story, but it is still unclear how it plays out and over what timescale

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2022-03-29 12:45:00Z
1360428059

Senin, 28 Maret 2022

Bethnal Green: Man charged with murder of stabbed mother-of-two Yasmin Begum - BBC

A man has been charged with the murder of a mother-of-two stabbed to death in east London while her children were at school.

Yasmin Begum, 40, from Bethnal Green, was found with stab injuries on Thursday afternoon. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Quyum Miah, 40, from Homerton, was also charged with burglary and two counts of fraud by false representation.

He is due to appear at Barkingside Magistrates' Court later.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was multiple sharp force injuries.

School staff raised the alarm on Friday when Ms Begum did not arrive to collect her children after class, police said.

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Minggu, 27 Maret 2022

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: 'Climate of fear' stopped staff speaking out at hospital trust where hundreds of babies died - Sky News

A whistleblower who worked at a hospital trust where hundreds of babies died or were left brain-damaged says there was "a climate of fear" among staff who tried to report concerns.

Bernie Bentick was a consultant obstetrician at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust for almost 30 years.

This week, an independent inquiry will reveal the full extent of the failings at the Trust.

It is already recognised as the worst maternity scandal in the history of the NHS.

"In Shrewsbury and Telford there was a climate of fear where staff felt unable to speak up because of risk of victimisation," Mr Bentick said.

"Clearly, when a baby or a mother dies, it's extremely traumatic for everybody concerned.

"Sadly, the mechanisms for trying to prevent recurrence weren't sufficient for a number of factors.

"Resources and the institutionalised bullying and blame culture was a large part of that."

More than 1,800 cases of potentially avoidable harm have been reviewed by the inquiry. Most occurred between 2000 and 2019.

Mr Bentick worked at the Trust until 2020. He said from 2009 onwards, he was raising concerns with managers.

"I believe there were significant issues which promoted risk because of principally understaffing and the culture," he said.

He also accuses hospital bosses of prioritising activity - the number of patients seen and procedures performed - over patient safety.

"I believe that the senior management were mostly concerned with activity rather than safety - and until safety is on a par with clinical activity, I don’t see how the situation is going to be resolved," he said.

In 2017, independent midwife Donna Ockenden was asked by then health secretary Jeremy Hunt to investigate 23 cases of concern at the Trust.

Since then, hundreds more families have come forward. In total, 1,862 cases have been investigated by the inquiry.

The long-awaited report will be published on Wednesday.

Ms Ockenden released her interim findings in December 2020.

That report highlighted a culture at the Trust to keep caesarean section rates low. It found in some individual cases, earlier recourse to a caesarean delivery would have avoided death and injury.

The report also found repeated cases where babies hadn't been monitored correctly. Concerns raised by families were ignored, and there was a lack of kindness and compassion from staff.

Among the cases examined by the inquiry was the death of Manpreet Uppal.

He should be 19 now. Instead, his mother, Kamaljit, still keeps the unworn baby clothes she bought for him.

He died two hours after he was born.

'There was no remorse'

Mrs Uppal clearly recalls the day she went into hospital in labour.

"First thing I said in the doorway was I'd like to have a C section," she said.

"I prefer a C section because the baby's breech and the doctor turned round and said to me: 'No, you're alright. Just carry on delivering.'

"And then he got stuck. One doctor pushed him while the other doctor pulled them, and that's how they brought him back out by doing a C section eventually. But it was too late, sadly.

"He came out very floppy. That's it. I was never told anything in detail until I saw my records."

Months later, there was a devastating meeting with a consultant.

"He said that he took the wrong option of delivering," she said. "He even gave me a time that if he'd been delivered in the early hours, at a quarter to four, the baby would have lived a normal life.

"He turned round and blatantly said that 'if I were you to get over this pregnancy, get pregnant again, and you will get over this'.

"There was no remorse."

'I look at my beautiful girl and I miss her'

Six years later, as Richard Stanton and Rhiannon Davies prepared to welcome their firstborn Kate, mistakes would be made again.

Staff failed to recognise that Kate was seriously ill until it was too late.

"At just over six hours of age, Kate died in my arms," Mr Stanton said. "I think for me, the overriding memory I have of that day is Rhiannon arriving at the neonatal unit and hearing her cries.

"Rhiannon knew, I think, in her heart that Kate had already died."

Rhiannon treasures a picture of her cradling newborn Kate.

"I just look at my beautiful girl and I miss her," she said.

"There were so many mistakes made during my pregnancy, during my labour, during the early hours of her life, so many mistakes. Kate's death was entirely avoidable. That's the point."

'Make sure this never happens again'

A spokesperson for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said: "As a Trust we take full responsibility for the failings in the standards of care within our Maternity services and offer our sincere apologies for all the distress and hurt we know this caused.

"We have made strong progress in improving the quality and safety of care we provide, including significant work on promoting an open and honest culture at the Trust, with expanded and strengthened routes for colleagues to raise concerns and for these to then be fully investigated and addressed."

Mr Stanton and Ms Davies say the publication of the full independent inquiry must lead to improvement in maternity care across the country.

They have campaigned tirelessly since Kate died and believe they should not have had to push so hard to get answers.

Mr Stanton said those in charge of policy "need to make sure that this never happens again and also that bereaved parents are not at the forefront of having to uncover such tragedy".

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2022-03-27 16:13:28Z
1349961567

Dorset prisoner on run in underwear 'changes appearance' - BBC

A prisoner who escaped wearing nothing but his underwear and socks is now believed to have changed his appearance.

Dorset Police said Kyle Darren Eglington assaulted a security officer in Hardy Road, Poole, on Saturday before making off from a prison van.

Searches are continuing and officers believe since absconding he has shaved his head and beard.

The force said he should not be approached.

The 32-year-old had been remanded in custody at Poole Magistrates' Court after being charged with robbery, following an incident in Bournemouth on Thursday.

Officers carried out detailed searches in the area with the help of a police helicopter and British Transport Police, but he was not found.

Mr Eglington is described as white, 5ft 11in (1.8m) tall, of medium build, and previously had dark brown hair and a beard.

Following further searches, police believe he may have been in the West Howe area of Bournemouth in the early hours of Sunday.

Ch Insp Neil Wright said: "We believe that he may have changed his appearance significantly and will therefore look different to the latest image we have for him.

"I would urge anyone who sees Kyle, or a man matching the description given, to please report it to us."

Ch Insp Wright said there is nothing to suggest he poses a risk to the general public but asked people to not approach him and to call 999.

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Babak Belurs

Rabu, 30 Maret 2022

Downing Street parties: Boris Johnson refuses to admit 'criminality' in Number 10 - despite police fines - Sky News

Worcestershire: Boy, two, dies in hospital after being bitten by dog - Sky News

Selasa, 29 Maret 2022

Partygate: Met Police to issue 20 fines over Downing Street parties that breached lockdown rules - Sky News

Number 10 is braced for PM and inner circle to be fined

Senin, 28 Maret 2022

Bethnal Green: Man charged with murder of stabbed mother-of-two Yasmin Begum - BBC

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Minggu, 27 Maret 2022

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: 'Climate of fear' stopped staff speaking out at hospital trust where hundreds of babies died - Sky News

Dorset prisoner on run in underwear 'changes appearance' - BBC

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Bethnal Green: Murder arrest over stabbed mother-of-two - BBC

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Rabu, 30 Maret 2022

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