Dame Deborah James: Tributes paid to 'unfalteringly brave' cancer campaigner - BBC

Deborah James

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have paid tribute to cancer campaigner, broadcaster and former teacher, Dame Deborah James, who has died aged 40.

They joined celebrities, politicians and people living with cancer in praising the "inspirational and unfalteringly brave" mother-of-two.

She had been receiving end-of-life care for bowel cancer at home, and had raised millions for cancer research.

Dame Deborah's family said she was "amazing" and an "inspiration".

They announced her death in a post on her Instagram page. "We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Dame Deborah James; the most amazing wife, daughter, sister, mummy," it said.

She passed away peacefully surrounded by her family.

Her family said Dame Deborah shared her experience of cancer to "raise awareness, break down barriers, challenge taboos and change the conversation around cancer".

"Even in her most challenging moments, her determination to raise money and awareness was inspiring."

• Deborah James 'taught us how to live and how to die’
• Tailored cancer care - Dame Deborah's fundraising legacy

Dame Deborah James: The Last Dance

An intimate tribute to Dame Deborah James. Following her death, we hear from friends, colleagues and fellow cancer patients as they celebrate her life and legacy.

Watch on BBC iPlayer now.

Writing on Twitter, Prince William and Catherine said: "Deborah was an inspirational and unfalteringly brave woman whose legacy will live on."

Speaking from Madrid at a Nato summit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to Dame Deborah, describing her as "an absolute inspiration".

"I remember reading about her ages ago, just being incredibly moved by her account of her suffering but how it had actually driven her to do so much to raise awareness about bowel cancer," he said.

The host of the BBC's You, Me and the Big C podcast was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016, and was given a damehood in May in recognition of her fundraising.

Prince William visited her at her parents' home in Woking, Surrey, to deliver it. He praised her tireless efforts and thanked her for giving hope to those living with the disease.

For her part, Dame Deborah said William's visit was surreal.

"You can imagine the cleaning antics and preparation went off the scale - but it was all irrelevant because William was so kind," she said.

What are bowel cancer symptoms?

• A persistent change in bowel habit - going more often, with looser stools and sometimes tummy pain
• Blood in the stools without other symptoms, such as piles
• Abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating

Who gets bowel cancer screening checks?

Screening, run by the NHS, aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage. It involves a home test kit, which looks for hidden blood in poo, being posted to you so you can complete it and send it back.

But it's not available to everyone - only to those age groups most likely to benefit.

Screening happens across the UK.

• In England, the age is being gradually lowered from over-60s to people aged 50 and over.

• In Scotland, screening starts from age 50.

• In Wales, it's for people aged 58-74.

• In Northern Ireland, it's for people over 60.

If you are outside the screening age group where you live, you should still be aware of what bowel cancer symptoms are and visit your GP if you have any concerns.

You can read more on how to check your poo here.

Source: NHS UK

Dame Deborah had a no-nonsense approach to talking about cancer, having shared her experiences of treatment and daily life since her diagnosis in 2016.

Signing off her final podcast in May, she said: "Check your poo. Come on. I can't leave on any other word apart from check your poo.

"I still have images of me dancing in poo outfits everywhere. So maybe I should leave on that final word. Check your poo."

• Deborah James made a dame by William at her home
• Deborah James visits rose named for her at Chelsea

A deputy head teacher, she started a cancer blog, before writing for the Sun newspaper and becoming a BBC broadcaster.

But on 9 May she announced that she was no longer receiving active care and did not know how long she had left.

"My body just can't continue any more," she said in a post on Instagram.

Her podcast co-host, Lauren Mahon, said on Instagram "there's only one Deborah James" and asked to be given time beside a broken heart emoji.

In a BBC documentary recorded before her friend's death, Ms Mahon said: "Deb just has this ferocity in her to make a difference and to make sure that no one else suffers the same fate.

"Most people would have just run away from that, but Deb wanted to tell her story so that it wouldn't be anyone else's story," she said.

Dame Deborah also launched a new fund - Bowelbabe - to raise money for research into personalised medicine for cancer patients.

It surpassed £1m in less than 24 hours - smashing her initial goal of £250,000 - and has now raised almost £7m.

Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said the former teacher leaves a tremendous legacy behind her.

BBC News presenter George Alagiah, who is living with bowel cancer, recalled speaking to Dame Deborah at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

He said the campaigner answered his questions about the symptoms he might experience with the illness.

He was struck by Dame Deborah's "sheer generosity", he said, and their chat was "typical of what I now know she was capable of doing and did for so many others".

Chef Ryan Riley became friends with Dame Deborah through his project Life Kitchen, which provides cookery lessons for people whose sense of taste has been affected by cancer treatment.

Mr Riley said she offered people hope.

"She would be that voice online that wasn't as scared as they were and I think that really gave a lot of people a bit of comfort in a really difficult time." he said.

The chef said Dame Deborah's frankness forged a connection with people that was necessary to "push the cancer community forward and bring awareness".

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Lizzie Parry, who edited Dame Deborah's column in the Sun newspaper, said: "Even in her final days, as she faced her death, my bonkers, beautiful and bloody-minded friend refused to stop."

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly became emotional as she paid tribute to her on her ITV morning show.

She wore a pink jacket, the campaigner's favourite colour, and a T-shirt featuring the words "Rebellious Hope", which was her slogan.

Fighting back tears, she said: "We knew this was going to happen, but it still doesn't seem quite real."

She interviewed Steve Bland, who was a friend of Dame Deborah and was married to her former podcast co-host, BBC Radio 5 Live newsreader Rachael Bland, who died of cancer in 2018.

He told Lorraine that Tuesday night was "very surreal" and "very numb".

Bland said the fact that Dame Deborah had known for five and a half years that her cancer was incurable made what she had achieved during that period "even more remarkable".

• You can listen to Dame Deborah's final You, Me and the Big C podcast on BBC Sounds

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Deborah James (@bowelbabe)

Additional reporting by Jasmine Andersson and Charley Adams.

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2022-06-29 12:35:10Z
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Deborah James dies: Podcaster and cancer campaigner passes away aged 40 - Sky News

Podcaster and campaigner Dame Deborah James, whose frank accounts of life with bowel cancer sparked an extraordinary deluge of charity donations, has died, her family have announced.

In a statement posted on Instagram, her family said Dame Deborah passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, adding that she "was an inspiration" and "her determination to raise money and awareness was inspiring".

The driving force behind the BBC podcast You, Me and The Big C, Dame Deborah broke the news to followers last month that she had moved into end-of-life hospice care at home.

The 40-year-old told them: "I am not brave - I am not dignified going towards my death - I am simply a scared girl who is doing something she has no choice in but I know I am grateful for the life that I have had."

Since then, James revealed she finished her second book and continued to campaign and inspire people.

Within 24 hours of breaking the news of her impending death, Ms James' fans, as well as people across the world who had been inspired by her moving and candid stories about dealing with bowel cancer, had raised more than £1.6m for research into the disease.

She said she had been "blown away" by the reaction.

More on Deborah James

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The Bowelbabe Fund currently sits at more than £6.8m.

After announcing that she was receiving end-of-life care, James continued to provide honest updates on her condition on social media.

On Instagram, she revealed she was "less and less able to leave the house, or bed" and felt "down", but still continued to make memories with her loved ones.

Despite sharing the more difficult times, James continued to celebrate her successes.

Last month, she revealed she completed her second book, How To Live When You Could Be Dead, which topped the Amazon bestsellers' list and rose to number one through pre-orders.

Since sharing her end-of-life care update, charities have also noted a surge in people seeking bowel cancer information.

Inspired by her efforts to raise awareness of bowel cancer, Marks and Spencer also recently announced it would add information about the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer to its toilet roll packaging.

Dame Deborah

Days after smashing her fundraising target, Prince William made James a dame, visiting her at her parents' home in Woking to personally hand over the honour.

She said she was "utterly honoured" that the royal had joined her family for afternoon tea but admitted her "cleaning antics and preparation went off the scale" as she got ready for his visit.

James was diagnosed with the condition in 2016 and since then has kept her nearly 700,000 Instagram followers and her podcast listeners up-to-date with her treatments, with unreserved details about her progress and diagnosis.

'Thank you for being so strong'

Following the announcement of her death, tributes poured in for James.

Her mother Heather, whose handle on Instagram is Bowelgran, shared a series of photos of Dame Deborah and wrote: "My heart is broken. Love you forever."

Adele Roberts, who is a presenter at BBC Radio 1 and this week announced that she is cancer-free, shared a picture of James on social media along with the caption: "My heart hurts. Thank you for everything Deborah.

"Thank you for being so strong for so long and helping others when you were in so much pain yourself. You are the best of us.

"Thinking of your family and friends and I am forever grateful to you for helping me and my family."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "I'm terribly saddened to hear that Dame Deborah James has died. What an inspiration she was to so many.

"The awareness she brought to bowel cancer and the research her campaigning has funded will be her enduring legacy. Because of her, many many lives will be saved."

BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Stark wrote: "You inspired so man and did everything to the fullest. No one can do more than that. I hope we can have a gin wherever this all leads.

"Rest in peace Debs x."

That bizarre costume

Her 'poo costume' post - where she recorded a reel (short video) of herself dressed as a poo to the tune of Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy - became famous.

After first posting it five years ago, she repeated it every year to remind people to check their stools for signs of cancer.

This year, she posted: "Please do share. The fact that I currently have a poo costume in my hospital room five years later (just for s**** and giggles!), says it all about my love affair with the poo costume!"

James told the BBC she had gone to her parents' home to die because this meant her family home in London could remain home for her children without the "medical equipment scars" in their memories.

Asked what hosting the podcast meant to her, James told the BBC it had given purpose back to her life after being diagnosed, adding the show had made her realise the influence she could have "saving another life or making someone not feel alone".

'I will not see my kids' weddings'

The former deputy headteacher said she did not know how long she has left, and that while the previous six months had been "heartbreaking" to go through, she had been surrounded by "so much love" and had "no regrets".

And a column for The Sun newspaper, she had said the "unrelenting medicalisation" of her body has been "heartbreaking".

James hopes the Bowelbabe Fund will continue working on some of the things that helped her life, such as innovative drug studies.

"Ultimately, what I really want to happen is, I don't want any other Deborahs to have to go through this."

She added: "I do not want to die - I can't get my head around the idea that I will not see my kids' weddings or see them grow up - that I will no longer be a part of life that I love so much."

James is survived by two children, Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, and her husband Sebastian Bowen.

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2022-06-28 21:08:34Z
1479985073

Met Police put into a form of special measures - BBC

The Met Police has been placed into an advanced stage of monitoring, in what Home Secretary Priti Patel has described as "special measures".

Recently the force has been hit by a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard, the strip-search of Child Q and officers being caught exchanging offensive messages.

In February Dame Cressida Dick quit as commissioner.

Ms Patel said she backed the move taken by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said in a statement: "We can confirm that we are now monitoring the Metropolitan Police Service through our Engage process, which provides additional scrutiny and support to help it make improvements."

The Engage level of monitoring is used by HMICFRS when a force "is not succeeding in managing, mitigating or eradicating" a cause of concern.

• PM urges public to trust police after Everard case
• Trust in police shaken by Everard case - Met chief

It means the UK's largest police force will be required to report to inspectors more regularly and could be asked to meet specific crime-fighting targets.

The Met could also receive support from the College of Policing, the National Police Chiefs Council or other external organisations.

In a statement the force said: "We recognise the cumulative impact of events and problems that the Met is dealing with.

"We understand the impact this has had on communities and we share their disappointment.

"We are determined to be a police service Londoners can be proud of. We are talking to the inspectorate about next steps."

Other forces that have been the subject of the inspectorate's Engage process include Greater Manchester Police in 2020 and Cleveland Constabulary in 2019.

EPA

Ms Patel said it was clear to her the Met Police was falling short in getting "the basics right".

She said she backed the inspectorate's action and called on both the force and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan "to take immediate action to begin addressing" the issues facing the Met.

The home secretary added: "The process to recruit a new commissioner is well under way and I have made clear that the successful candidate must demonstrate sustained improvements in the Met Police in order to regain public trust both in London and across the country.

"The new commissioner will need to deliver on the public's priorities for the police - making our streets safer, bearing down on crime and bringing more criminals to justice, while continuing to recruit thousands of new officers to protect local communities."

Reuters

Mr Khan said the watchdog had raised very serious concerns and called for "root-and-branch" reforms to change the Met Police's performance and culture.

He added: "A series of appalling scandals have not only exposed deep cultural problems but have damaged the confidence of Londoners in the capital's police service.

"The decision by the HMIC to now move the Met into special measures has laid bare the substantial performance failings by the force."

'Little to no faith'

The family of Child Q, the teenager who was strip-searched in Hackney by Met Police officers while she was menstruating, have welcomed the decision taken by the inspectorate.

In a statement they said: "The Met has shown time and again that it cannot do its job properly and its officers' actions have had life-changing, devastating consequences for innocent people across London, including Child Q.

"It is no wonder that there is little to no faith left in the Metropolitan Police.

"We hope the additional scrutiny of special measures will result in permanent change in the force's culture and practices."

Analysis

By Lucy Gilder BBC Home Affairs Researcher

Under the so-called special measures, the Met will face greater scrutiny by inspectors and will be expected to report to them more regularly.

Acting Commissioner Sir Stephen House will be required to submit an improvement plan to the HMICFRS for inspection.

As part of this process, the Met may receive support to improve from bodies such as the National Police Chiefs' Council.

Later on, a policing performance oversight group will consider the changes the Met has made to address its problems.

This is the first time in the Met's history that it has been placed under special measures.

Greater Manchester Police, Cleveland Police and Gloucestershire Constabulary are the only other police forces in England and Wales who are also being monitored by the HMICFRS.

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2022-06-28 18:28:25Z
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Zara Aleena: Woman killed in Ilford was kind soul, say friends - BBC

Met Police

A woman killed in a suspected stranger attack in the early hours of Sunday was a "kind soul" friends have said.

Zara Aleena, 35, was assaulted walking along Cranbrook Road, towards Gants Hill station in Ilford, east London. She died later in hospital.

A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, in what police say was an "opportunist stranger attack".

Her friend Sophie said of the recent graduate: "She was the nicest person you could ever meet, always positive."

"She lit up the whole room," she added. "She could talk to anyone for hours."

Paramedics were at the scene of the assault at about 02:45 BST on Sunday after Ms Aleena, who lived locally, was found by members of the public.

In a statement, Ch Supt Stuart Bell said: "It is now believed that she was the victim of an opportunist stranger attack. Her family are aware of this and they will continue to be updated."

He added there was no evidence of any weapons being used in the beating, which left Ms Aleena with fatal head injuries.

The BBC has seen CCTV footage which shows a young woman, who friends believe is Ms Aleena, being followed by a man moments before the killing.

In the first few frames of the footage, the man is seen marching at a fast pace towards a young woman as she walks along the street.

The CCTV footage has been handed to the police.

A post-mortem examination revealed Ms Aleena had "multiple serious injuries".

Karina - who did not provide her surname - and Sherit Nair described her as someone who cared about and looked after all her friends and was a "lifeline for her mother and grandmother" as she did all of their shopping and arranged their medication.

The friends, who have known Ms Aleena for years, said she graduated in October after extensive studying and had only been working at the Royal Courts of Justice for a few weeks.

Jamsin Hossein told the BBC it was a "shock" to lose her "amazing" friend.

"She didn't have a bad bone in her. She was kind, she was loving, she was - like all her friends and family said - a lifeline for her grandma and her mum," she said.

"And she was just so innocent, so pure."

Another friend has told the BBC that Ms Aleena refused the offer of a taxi home after a night out, preferring to do the two-mile journey on foot. She loved walking and was known as a fast walker.

Rafia Ahmed, who lives nearby, said she and her friends were worried about their safety and wondered whether they should only go out in groups.

"Because it's literally on our doorstep, it scares you. As a female you think twice about going out by yourself."

A third of London's 45 homicide victims in 2022 have been women, according to data collected by the Met Police, British Transport Police and City of London Police.

By the same time last year, there had been 58 London homicide victims, 12 of whom were female, including the murders of Sarah Everard who was killed by a policeman and primary school teacher Sabina Nessa.

Amir Ahmed

A significant police presence is expected to remain in the area in the coming days.

Ch Supt Bell said he understood Ms Aleena's death was an "incredibly distressing incident".

"Women should not have to change their behaviour and should be able to go about their business feeling safe any time of day or night and it is our job to ensure that happens.

"Officers cannot be in all places at all times. We urge the community, especially women, to report any suspicious or unwanted behaviour or to seek help if you feel threatened."

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2022-06-28 16:59:52Z
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Boris Johnson wins Commons vote on bill to rip up N Ireland protocol - Financial Times

Boris Johnson on Monday secured a 74-vote majority for a bill to rip up the Northern Ireland element of his Brexit deal, but only after the plan was mauled by his predecessor and scores of Tory MPs failed to back it.

Theresa May, the former UK prime minister, led criticism of the Northern Ireland protocol bill, condemning it as illegal and warning it would damage Britain’s standing in the world.

A number of senior Conservatives also spoke out against the legislation, but none voted against the bill, which secured its crucial second reading by 295 to 221.

There were, however, many Tory abstentions and the measure is expected to face months of delays and amendments when it reaches the House of Lords, where the government has no majority.

More than 70 Tory MPs either abstained or were excused from voting: they included May, former Northern Ireland secretaries Julian Smith and Karen Bradley and former attorney-general Geoffrey Cox.

Speaking in the Commons on Monday, May scorned Johnson’s claim that he needed to pass legislation to overturn parts of the NI protocol, the part of his Brexit deal covering trade with the region.

“This bill, in my view, is not legal under international law, won’t achieve its aims and diminishes the standing of the UK in the eyes of the world,” May told MPs.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss © Parliamentlive.tv

Meanwhile Simon Hoare, Tory chair of the Commons Northern Ireland committee, said the bill appeared to be a “muscle flex for a future leadership bid” by Liz Truss, the foreign secretary.

Andrew Mitchell, a former Tory chief whip, said the bill “trashes our international reputation”.

Truss insisted the legislation was “both legal and necessary” to address economic and political tensions in the region.

She claimed the EU was unwilling to change the protocol, agreed by Johnson in 2020, even though its operation was causing tension in the pro-UK unionist community in Northern Ireland.

The protocol creates a border in the Irish Sea for goods passing from the UK into Northern Ireland, which remains in the EU’s single market for goods. It also removes the need for border checks on the Irish land border.

May, who tried and failed to sell her own Brexit deal to parliament, warned at the time that creating a trade border inside the UK would result in such tensions. Johnson later hailed his deal with the EU as a triumph.

The legislation would create red and green channels at NI ports; only goods passing through the region from Britain en route to the Republic of Ireland — an EU member state — would face full checks.

The bill would also end the role of the European Court of Justice in enforcing the protocol, while removing EU jurisdiction over subsidies and VAT. Traders in NI could choose to apply either UK or EU regulations.

Ministers agreed this month that the bill should not be given its second reading until Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party, the biggest unionist party, had agreed to end its boycott of the region’s executive at Stormont.

But Truss admitted she had not secured an agreement and said only that her expectation was that “the passage of the bill” would see a re-establishment of the power-sharing body at Stormont.

The DUP said it wanted to see concrete action towards removing key elements of the protocol before it would bow to any UK government demands to restart the region’s executive.

On Monday, ahead of MPs voting on the legislation, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson hinted the party might move before the bill was finally enacted, but remained non-committal, saying only that it would “consider what steps we can take”.

He added: “I have made clear that we will be condition-led, not calendar-led, and that we want to see real progress with this bill, and that’s our message today to the House of Commons.”

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson © Parliamentlive.tv

The EU has warned Britain against unilaterally ripping up the protocol, but negotiations on improving its operation have stalled.

May noted drily that this might be because EU leaders did not expect Johnson to be in Number 10 much longer or — even if he survived as prime minister — doubted whether he would honour any future deal.

Brussels has responded to the bill by restarting legal proceedings against the UK and threatening to use “all measures at its disposal”, including a potential trade war, if London acted to unravel the protocol.

Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister said he was “hugely disappointed” by the British decision to push on with the legislation.

Earlier on Monday, Truss hosted UK business leaders for a roundtable discussion on how issues raised by the protocol could be solved.

One person present said Truss had told the meeting that EU inflexibility had left the government with no choice but to act unilaterally. They added that some UK retailers and small businesses had raised concerns that the legislation could cause a trade war with the EU during the cost of living crisis.

Video: Is the Northern Ireland Protocol bill a breach of international law?

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2022-06-27 22:13:02Z
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Doctors demand 30% pay rise as some medics say they may have to go on strike - Sky News

Doctors have called for a 30% pay rise over the next five years with some medics saying they might have to take industrial action if their demands aren't met.

Delegates at the British Medical Association's (BMA) annual conference in Brighton voted to press ministers to agree to the increase, which they say makes up for real-term cuts to salaries since 2008.

Some doctors who supported the motion pointed to the rail worker's strike as inspiration for how public sector workers should pursue pay demands with the current government.

Presenting the motion to the conference, Dr Emma Runswick said: "Pay restoration is the right, just and moral thing to do, but it is a significant demand and it won't be easy to win.

"Every part of the BMA needs to plan for how to achieve this. But I'm not foolish, I know that it's likely that industrial action will be required to move the governments on this issue."

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She said that it is "outrageous" that doctors' pay has been cut by 30%, a sum that represents earnings losses amounting to "millions of pounds".

Dr Runswick added: "All around us, workers are coming together in trade unions and winning big - last month bin men in Manchester 22%; Gatwick airport workers won a 21% pay increase two weeks ago, and in March cleaners and porters at Croydon hospital won a 24% pay rise.

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"Those workers got together and used a key tool that trade unions have - the ability to collectively organise, collectively negotiate and collectively withdraw our labour... vote for this motion and I'll see you on the picket lines."

'Unmanageable workloads' facing NHS staff

Doctors also called on MPs to address staff shortages to help the NHS deal with record waiting lists, with one medic saying that "there's no rescue plan beyond 'work harder'".

Dr Jacqueline Davies told delegates: "There is an answer to the backlog and the unmanageable workloads facing exhausted NHS staff.

"The NHS is facing record demand with no additional capacity. Staff are leaving in droves and there's no rescue plan beyond 'work harder'.

"We know that staff shortages lead to critical incidents and who gets the blame? We do, the burden falls on us."

Read more on Sky News:
How much are public sector workers paid?
More than 1,000 people waiting longer than 12 hours
Couple left traumatised after nine-hour wait in A&E

The deputy chair of the BMA Council noted that even before the pandemic waiting times were "too high" and have gone up to a "perilous level" due to the added pressure of COVID.

"We have a record 6.5 million people waiting for treatment in England, as well as the significant 'hidden backlog' of people who have still to come forward for care after the worst of the pandemic, or whose referrals were cancelled," Dr David Wrigley said.

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"What is most unnerving for doctors - who have spent the last two years working at a pace and under a level of pressure they've never experienced before - is that plans to tackle this backlog in care lack any meaningful strategy to boost and support the workforce who will be responsible for it."

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2RvY3RvcnMtZGVtYW5kLTMwLXBheS1yaXNlLWFzLXNvbWUtbWVkaWNzLXNheS10aGV5LW1heS1oYXZlLXRvLWdvLW9uLXN0cmlrZS0xMjY0MTU1NtIBc2h0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC9kb2N0b3JzLWRlbWFuZC0zMC1wYXktcmlzZS1hcy1zb21lLW1lZGljcy1zYXktdGhleS1tYXktaGF2ZS10by1nby1vbi1zdHJpa2UtMTI2NDE1NTY?oc=5

2022-06-28 02:11:40Z
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