TV star says tourist tax will leave Welsh beaches 'completely deserted' - North Wales Live

A proposed tourist tax in Wales is part of a “wave of punitive legislation” that will hamstring the county’s visitor economy, believes TV presenter and comedian Griff Rhys Jones. In a scathing critique of Welsh Government policies, he wrote of his fears that holidaymakers will stay away and jobs will dry up as the tourism squeeze continues.

As the owner of a holiday let business in Pembrokeshire, he worries the area’s beaches, walks and hills will be left “completely deserted” in the years to come. The final straw could be the planned Visitor Levy (tourist tax) in Wales, he suggested.

“If the tourist tax goes to five quid a day and it costs a family of four an extra £140-a-week, punters might well think ‘let’s try Scotland’ or Yorkshire or anywhere this will not apply,” he said. “They don’t have to come to Wales. You think a fiver is unlikely? Well, parking once cost sixpence.

“Entrepreneurs across the county may be beginning to worry about this tourist tax. Inventive people like those who have pioneered coasteering.... those who have opened great restaurants..... even people like me who have developed holiday cottages there.”

READ MORE: Met Office issues 18-hour yellow weather warning for North Wales

Griff laid out his concerns for the sector in a non-holds-barred article in the Daily Mail. Born in Cardiff, with a heritage spanning the Rhondda and Penmachno in Eryri National Park, Conwy, he wrote about the difficulties he encountered when renovating a rundown 70-acre farm near Strumble Head – a “very rural and very beautiful part of Wales”.

As it was located in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, planning was tough and the restoration process laborious. On a farmstead littered with old buildings, the cost was eye-watering too. But the cottages were popular: only once in 15 years has Griff and his family been able to book a stay there in August.

“I didn’t really buy a second home in Wales. I bought a second village,” he quipped. “I wasn’t after a second home in Wales. I wanted lovely, historic, authentically restored cottages for others to enjoy as holiday lets.”

Visitors walk along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path - 'a very rural and very beautiful part of Wales', says Griff (Image: National Trust Images/Chris Lacey)

The TV presenter acknowledged the housing crisis in Wales and revealed he has often been held to account for running a lettings business. “Sometimes people tell me, unbidden, online and often quite forcefully, that the cottages I have restored and now let are depriving the young people of Pembrokeshire of places to live,” he wrote.

“I get their point. But I do have to explain that we were only given permission to rebuild as long as they remained holiday lets forever.

“They cannot easily enter the housing stock. Nor, to be honest, are they wholly suitable. Like quite a lot of rentable holiday cottages, they are developed near the coastal path and a long way from the amenities of Haverfordwest or Pembroke or Milford Haven.”

Faced with a surge of people buying up houses in Wales to run as second homes and holiday lets, sending property prices soaring beyond the reach of local people, the Welsh Government has launched a suite of countermeasures. Highest profile of these was a decision to allow local authorities to charge extra council taxes for owners of second homes.

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Potentially, the “premium” could be as much as 300%, effectively quadrupling council tax payments for affected owners. No council has yet gone this far: Gwynedd is charging a 150% premium while in Pembrokeshire it’s 100%.

To close a council tax loophole, another policy upped the threshold for which second homes could be considered as holiday lets instead. This created an earthquake in the holiday home sector in Wales, with owners now having to let their buildings out for half the year – 182 days.

“This is a high bar,” wrote Griff. “Quite a sales record for any holiday home. It is more than all the available school holidays, Bank Holidays, annual holidays and weekends in the year put together.

“You have to be a very popular cosy nook to meet that level of demand. I suspect not many of those second homes to let, or little businesses to earn pensioners a bit extra, will meet 182 days. Which was the idea, of course.”

Without tourism to underpin rural Wales, he argues jobs and livelihoods will be hit. Across the country, one person in 10 works in the industry, he said. In places like Pembrokeshire, it’s one in five. “Wales needs prosperity too,” he said.

The family of Griff's father are buried in Penmachno, a former slate community now suffering property inflation and a raft of new Airbnbs (Image: FUW)

To further his argument, Griff cited a survey by the Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions. This showed that 47% of its members had fewer visitors last year than in the 2019 season. Moreover, 60% were pessimistic about the coming season.

Cardiff has pledged to introduce a tourist tax within the current government term, which ends in 2026. It envisages proceeds being used to improve facilities in tourism hotspots, where local people often underwrite visitor infrastructure through local taxation. No rate has yet been set.

For those residents caught up in the peak season melee, living in these areas is nearly always a nuisance and often much worse. Honeypot victims have applauded the measures – especially the need to address a housing crisis which shows no sign of easing and in many places is getting worse. But tourism operators fear the worst and say a tourist tax will cripple their businesses.

Among the policy's harshest critics is Ashford Price, chairman of the National Showcaves Centre for Wales at Dan-Yr-Ogof in Bannau Brycheiniog. Griff noted: “He has banned Welsh ministers from entering the attraction, saying tourism policies are based on an ‘anti-English. . . loony, Left-wing fantasy world’.”

Ashford Price, chairman of the National Showcaves Centre for Wales, is a long-time critic of the proposed tourist tax in Wales

Already the country is missing out on international tourism, Griff observed. Despite recent successes with domestic visitors, Wales still lacks the profile to attract well-heeled holidaymakers from overseas.

Citing a report from the Welsh Affairs Committee, he noted that, of the 41m foreign visitors to Britain before Covid, just over one million ventured into Wales. Moreover, of the £28bn spent in the UK by international tourists in 2019, only £515m was spent in Wales.

“It lags behind Scotland, Northern Ireland and even that part of the Cotswolds where Jeremy Clarkson lives,” wrote Griff. “It’s extraordinary and sad. The most glorious part of the UK missed out in favour of places like the Cheddar Gorge.”

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Tourism in Wales “needs incentives, not punishments”, said Griff. Places like Pembrokeshire suffers from “global lovely-place competition” and are hampered by poor communications and underinvestment. First Minister Mark Drakeford needs to recognise this and give a helping hand.

Despite pressures on housing, well-paid jobs and cluttered roads, Welsh tourism hotspots have the consolation of being in “one of the most glorious places in the world”, said Griff. “Mr Drakeford knows of these glories, of course,” he wrote.

“He has a ‘chalet’ in Pembrokeshire. It’s his personal holiday home, though he piously informs us it is not a second home at all.

“Mind you, why should I worry? If his plans work, then the beaches, walks and hills of Pembrokeshire will be exactly as I like them. Completely deserted.”

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2023-08-18 04:00:00Z
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Sacked British Museum curator denies stealing historic artefacts - Evening Standard

A

senior curator who worked at the British Museum for 30 years has been sacked after jewellery and gems vanished from the museum, his son said on Thursday.

The son of Peter John Higgs, 56, said he was dismissed this summer after gems worth tens of millions of pounds went missing from the museum.

Mr Higgs, who worked as the museum’s curator of Greek collections, Greek culture and the Hellenistic period, has not been arrested.

He is an expert on ancient Greece who had worked at the museum for 35 years before this summer.

An antiquities expert is said to have tipped off staff at the museum in 2020 after noticing a piece of Roman jewellery being offered for sale on eBay, according to the Daily Telegraph.

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Mr Higgs’ son Greg on Thursday claimed that his father was innocent, and told The Times that his dismissal had come as a shock.

“He’s not done anything,” he said. “He’s not happy about it at all. He’s lost his job and his reputation and I don’t think it was fair. It couldn’t have been [him]. I don’t think there is even anything missing as far as I’m aware.

“He worked there for what, 35 years without any incidents. They relied on him for so much stuff. And then, yeah, I don’t know what changed.

“He’s devastated about it, because it’s his life’s work, basically. I’ve never known somebody who’s so passionate about what he did. I mean, he’s a world expert in his field.”

The British Museum declined to comment.

Mr Higgs, who has a doctorate in archaeology, was a senior member of staff and had worked at the museum since 1993.

He had recently served as the museum’s acting keeper of Greek collections and was co-editor of a book on Sicily and its heritage.

Greg told the Telegraph that his father had been dismissed in July, but had been under investigation for “a while”.

“He's with family currently for a bit of support because it's been very hard, losing half of our income pretty suddenly.

“At this point he doesn't even really care what people think of him, he just wants a chance to live a normal life.

“It gets to that point sometimes where even if you're innocent you'd just rather not have everyone speak to you all the time about it, at least from the museum. He's lost all faith in the museum.

“The one thing he said was that he was really hurt by the fact that even if his colleagues could have supported him they probably wouldn't be allowed to - that's what he said to me.”

The items allegedly taken from the museum include gold jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones, and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD, which were not recently on public display and were mainly used for research and academic work.

It is understood that the items were taken before 2023 and over a “significant” period of time.

Items have gone missing from the museum in previous years including a number of coins and medals in the 1970s and a 1993 break-in when Roman coins were taken.

In 2002, the museum reviewed security following a 2,500-year-old Greek statue being stolen by a member of the public.

The institution said at the time that the Greek Archaic Gallery had been open to the public but there was no permanent guard on duty when the 12cm-high marble head was taken.

Two years later, Chinese gems also went missing.

The matter is also under investigation by the economic crime command of the Metropolitan Police.

A spokesperson for Met Police said: “We have been working alongside the British Museum.

“There is currently an ongoing investigation – there is no arrest and inquiries continue. We will not be providing any further information at this time.”

Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, said that security had been ramped up following the disappearance of the items.

He said: “The museum apologises for what has happened, but we have now brought an end to this - and we are determined to put things right. We have already tightened our security arrangements and we are working alongside outside experts to complete a definitive account of what is missing, damaged and stolen. This will allow us to throw our efforts into the recovery of objects.”

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2023-08-17 21:47:53Z
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Sir Michael Parkinson: Sir David Attenborough and David Beckham lead tributes - BBC

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By Steven McIntosh

Entertainment reporter

Stars who were interviewed by Sir Michael Parkinson over the years - from Sir David Attenborough to David Beckham - have paid tribute to the "TV legend" following his death at the age of 88.

Sir Michael interviewed many of the world's biggest stars on his long-running self-titled chat show.

Sir Elton John said he was "a TV legend who was one of the greats", and Beckham wrote: "We say goodbye to the best."

Dame Judi Dench told BBC Radio 4's PM programme Sir Michael was "a one-off".

"I don't remember being frightened of being interviewed by Michael, because it was just like talking to a really good friend," she said.

"His enjoyment and love of doing it, it was a complete joy to watch. He never shunned asking a direct question."

In his tribute, Sir Elton added: "I loved his company and his incredible knowledge of cricket and Barnsley Football Club. A real icon who brought out the very best in his guests."

'Irreplaceable'

Beckham appeared on Parkinson with wife Victoria in 2001, when she famously revealed his Goldenballs nickname.

The former footballer wrote: "I was so lucky to not just be interviewed by Michael but to be able to spend precious time talking about football and family, our 2 passions. Plus the GoldenBalls moment…"

Actor Sir Michael Caine said: "Michael Parkinson was irreplaceable, he was charming, always wanted to have a good laugh. He brought the best of everyone he met. Always looked forward to be interviewed by him."

A statement from the chat show host's family on Thursday said: "After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family.

"The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve."

Sir David Attenborough on Sir Michael Parkinson

As told to BBC Radio 4's The World At One

As a viewer, you knew if Michael was asking the questions, there were going to be good questions, and they would elicit good answers.

As a network controller, I thought he was the best freelance interviewer in the business. He was always knowledgeable, he was absolutely classless. You knew he was not a southerner, you knew he was a northerner, and that was a very refreshing voice in those days.

You knew that he would do his homework, and that he would ask questions that didn't occur to you, as well as those that did. I thought he was the best interviewer in the business at that time.

He was extremely generous. He wanted you to shine, and not particularly himself. He would always laugh at your jokes, and give you an opportunity to make them sound funnier than in fact they were. When you were told that he was going to be the interviewer, it was like meeting a friend. Though in fact we didn't meet very often, but you knew that he was on your side as much as on his own.

He was Saturday night television, and there's nobody like him doing the sort of things that he did when his career was at its height. Television doesn't give that kind of space to interviews these days, to its loss, and of course Michael did it better than anybody.

I remember he was interviewing me and Billy Connolly together, and of course Billy Connolly made both of us laugh a lot but he laughed even at my jokes, and my stories, and, as it were, looked after me to make sure I wasn't swamped by Billy Connolly, who is after all a very big character.

With Michael, it was always friendly, always thorough, always intelligent, always a pleasure to do it, and I think that came over no matter who his interviewee was.

He always knew what the interesting bits were, and he steered you through that sort of thing. He was always generous in the way he framed his questions. He wanted you, his interviewee, to shine.

I didn't ever see him uncomfortable, he was unflappable. It didn't matter what you did, whether it was a puppet that tried to consume him, or if he was interviewing a great intellect, he was always in charge, but not dominantly so.

Comedian and travel presenter Sir Michael Palin described the broadcaster as "incisive and very sharp".

Sir Michael told The World At One: "He wanted to get people on his show who entertained him and therefore who he thought would entertain the audience. He was not picky. He was not trying to diss anybody. He was an enthusiast and he was very positive.

"It didn't always work," he noted. "In some cases, [interviewees] suspected what they saw as the difficult questions he might ask in among all the fun and the enjoyment.

"Because he was a very good journalist, and a very proud journalist, and it was very important for him not to give people an easy ride. But he did basically choose people he liked, because he liked to be entertained himself."

• Follow updates: Tributes to 'greatest interviewer of our age'
• Michael Parkinson: The chat show king who set the standard
• In pictures: Michael Parkinson and his star guests

On social media, TV presenter Davina McCall described Sir Michael as "unique and always so well researched".

"[He was] loved by all the biggest stars in the world and they were all desperate to be interviewed by him," she continued. "Funny, self deprecating, sharp, charming, strong, honest and a fantastic listener. His legacy is enormous."

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Former prime minister Theresa May said Sir Michael was "a remarkable man and an outstanding broadcaster".

"We knew each other well through his charitable work in my constituency and our mutual passion for cricket. My thoughts and prayers are with his family," she added.

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker described Sir Michael a "a truly brilliant broadcaster and wonderful interviewer", while presenter Dermot O'Leary said he was "one of the greats".

"But above all else he listened… in a world full of noise," O'Leary added. "RIP Michael, thanks for the education."

Boxer Frank Bruno praised Sir Michael's ability "to frame and gift wrap the guest to deliver to the TV viewer".

TV presenter Piers Morgan said Sir Michael was the greatest of TV interviewers. "Wonderful character, great writer, sublimely talented broadcaster, and hilarious lunch partner. Loved him," he said.

Sir Michael was described as a "giant" by comic and impressionist Rory Bremner.

Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid said Sir Michael "was the King of Interviewers".

"He also enjoyed being interviewed. [I'm] lucky to have had that pleasure. He was authentic, funny and charming. Thank you for being the best."

Ofcom chairman and former TV executive Sir Michael Grade described the chat show host as "a master of his craft".

"He was charming, not aggressive, not looking for a cheap soundbite," he told BBC News. "He prodded and probed, but he wanted to give the stars the opportunity to express themselves, tell us who they were.

"The show was about who was on, it wasn't about Michael, he saw his role really as a journalist, to get the best out of his subject. His library of interviews is like a popular history of the 20th Century."

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Former cricket umpire Dickie Bird has paid tribute in an emotional interview to his "dearest friend".

The pair became friends when they opened the batting together for Barnsley Cricket Club as youngsters, and Bird said they remained "so, so close".

"I only spoke to him yesterday morning,".

"His voice sounded weak to me and he said 'you know Dickie, I've got a feeling I'm getting towards the end'.

"And I said 'no, come on, keep going, you've got to keep your chin up, keep going'.

"And we shed a few tears, and we said our goodbyes."

He added: "He always had a smile on his face. And every time we met, of course, we always talked about cricket."

Sir Michael introduced the first Parkinson show in 1971 on BBC television. The series ran initially for 11 years and spanned hundreds of episodes in which Sir Michael combined an avuncular style with a journalistic background.

He returned to the BBC in 1998 for another run of the show. Sir Michael estimated he had interviewed more than 2,000 guests in total. Of the many celebrities he interviewed, Sir Michael said Ali was his favourite.

His TV career also included ITV's TV-am breakfast show, Give Us a Clue and BBC One's Going For a Song, while he had a three-year stint hosting Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 in the 1980s.

He was made a CBE in 2000 and was knighted in 2008.

The presenter revealed he was receiving radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer in 2013, and said he got the all-clear from doctors two years later.

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2023-08-17 21:49:16Z
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A-level results in England show biggest drop on record - The Guardian

A-level grades awarded to students in England have shown their biggest drop after results plummeted across the board in line with the government’s policy of enforcing a return to pre-pandemic grading.

Five thousand fewer students in England gained three A* grades than in 2022, while the proportion of top A*-A grades shrank from 35.9% to 26.5% within a year.

Headteachers said they were alarmed to see that in some cases grading was even more stringent than the last set of A-level exams taken before the pandemic, with the proportion of A*-C grades this year lower than those awarded in 2019 because of a sharp increase in the number of lowest grades.

For the first time, more than one in 10 entries in England were awarded an E or U (unclassified), a 10% increase on such grades in 2019. The increase is likely to be the result of more students taking A-levels based on their GCSE results awarded by teacher assessment when exams were cancelled in 2021.

England’s results also showed a large gap in top grades compared with Wales and Northern Ireland, where regulators have taken into account the long-term impact of the pandemic through more generous grading.

Northern Ireland awarded A*-A grades to 37.5% of its A-level entries, while Wales awarded 34% – in stark contrast to the 26.5% in England.

Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, sought to reassure students by telling them their efforts would be forgotten within a few years.

“They won’t ask you anything about your A-level grades in 10 years’ time. They will ask you about other things you have done since then: what you have done in the work place, what you did at university.

“And then, after a period of time, they don’t even ask you what you did at university,” Keegan told Sky News on Thursday morning.

But Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said this year’s set of students should be proud of what they achieved.

“The proportion of students achieving the top A-level grades has fallen sharply this year, not as a result of under-performance, but because the grading system has been adjusted in the wake of the pandemic so that the distribution of grades in England is similar to 2019,” Barton said.

“Whatever the rationale, however, it will feel like a bruising experience for many students, as well as schools and colleges which will have seen a sharp dip in top grades compared to the past three years.

“It is important to remember that these students also suffered the disruption of the pandemic, and this will have impacted particularly on those from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Jeremy Miles, Wales’s minister for education, told students during a visit to Coleg Gwent in Ebbw Valeon Thursday morning: “We know what a challenging time this has been. Our aim in providing extra support this year was to make sure the exams were fair, despite the difficulties you’ve faced.”

Ucas, the university admissions organisation, said 79% of UK school-leavers qualified for their first choice of undergraduate course starting in autumn – slightly below the 81% who did so last year but higher than the 74% who got their first choice in 2019.

The Joint Council for Qualifications, representing examination boards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, commented that “overall grades for A-levels are similar to before the pandemic, in line with policy”.

The proportion of A* grades awarded in England was 8.6%, a steep fall on the 14.5% awarded last year and still above the 7.7% awarded in 2019. The proportion of A* and A grades combined were also higher than in 2019, by 0.7 percentage points.

But results at the other end of the scale were below those of 2019, with the proportion of entries awarded an E or U rising from 9.2% in 2019 to 10.1% this year. In 2022 just 6.6% were E and U.

There were also sharp regional disparities. While London and south-east England recorded a greater proportion of top grades compared with 2019, there was a fall in the north-east England, and Yorkshire and Humber regions. There was an 8 percentage point gap between students getting A*-A grades in south-east England and those in the north-east, wider than the 5 percentage point gap in 2019.

Mathematics remained the most popular subject for this year’s students, while economics replaced geography in the top 10 most popular subjects, with more than 39,000 students taking the subject.

English literature went up in popularity, after two years of declining entries, while computing recorded the highest increase with 16% more entries this year.

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2023-08-17 09:23:00Z
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Sir Michael Parkinson: Chat show host dies aged 88 - BBC

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By Steven McIntosh

Entertainment reporter

Broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson has died at the age of 88, his family has confirmed.

His TV career spanned seven decades, and he interviewed the world's biggest stars on his long-running chat show.

A statement from Sir Michael's family said: "After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family.

"The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve."

• Follow updates: Tributes to 'greatest interviewer of our age'
• Michael Parkinson: The chat show king who set the standard
• In pictures: Michael Parkinson and his star guests

BBC director general Tim Davie led the tributes, describing Sir Michael as "truly one of a kind, an incredible broadcaster and journalist who will be hugely missed".

"Michael was the king of the chat show and he defined the format for all the presenters and shows that followed," Davie said.

"He interviewed the biggest stars of the 20th Century and did so in a way that enthralled the public. Michael was not only brilliant at asking questions, he was also a wonderful listener."

Radio 4 presenter Nick Robinson said:"He was the greatest interviewer of our age who owned Saturday night TV for year after year."

Comedian and broadcaster Stephen Fry described being interviewed by Sir Michael as "impossibly thrilling".

"The genius of Parky was that unlike most people (and most of his guests, me included) he was always 100% himself. On camera and off. 'Authentic' is the word I suppose."

'A lovely guy'

Singer Elaine Paige added: "Such very sad news that Sir Michael Parkinson has died. Have known him for many years, sang on his TV chat show and attended many events with him.

"A legendary interviewer that will be remembered as the best of his profession. We will never see his like again."

Broadcaster and author Gyles Brandreth said Sir Michael's chat shows were "truly engaging conversations that brought out the best in his guests".

"And what an array of guests," he continued. "'Parky' was one of my heroes - and a lovely guy. A privilege to have known and worked with him."

Star guests

Sir Michael introduced the first Parkinson show in 1971 on BBC television - with US jazz singer Marion Montgomery his first guest.

The show ran initially for 11 years and spanned hundreds of episodes in which Sir Michael combined an avuncular style with a journalistic background.

He returned to the BBC in 1998 for another run of the show. Sir Michael estimated he had interviewed more than 2,000 guests in total.

Sir Michael's high-profile guests included Sir Billy Connolly, Muhammad Ali, Sir Elton John, Madonna and Dame Helen Mirren.

Radio Times

Born in 1935 in the South Yorkshire village of Cudworth, Sir Michael was the son of a miner who instilled in his son a love of cricket.

He achieved two O-Levels and got a job collating sports results on a local newspaper.

After two years in the British army, he worked as a journalist for the Manchester Guardian (later renamed the Guardian) before joining the Daily Express in London.

He moved into television as a current affairs presenter and reporter for both Granada and the BBC before he was recruited to present his self-titled show on BBC One.

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Of the many high-profile guests he interviewed, Sir Michael said boxer Muhammad Ali was his favourite.

His TV career also included ITV's TV-am breakfast show, Give Us a Clue, and BBC One's Going For a Song.

Sir Michael also hosted a Sky Arts series called Michael Parkinson: Masterclass from 2012 to 2014.

He was made a CBE in 2000 and was knighted in 2008.

The presenter revealed he was receiving radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer in 2013, and said he got the all-clear from doctors two years later.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer called Sir Michael a "broadcasting giant who set a gold standard for the television interview".

"He spent his life entertaining millions of us with his Saturday night talk show and was one of our most treasured TV personalities," she said. "My thoughts are with Michael's family and friends."

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2023-08-17 09:30:04Z
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West Country mum's heartbreaking tribute as daughter is found dead and manhunt is launched - Bristol Live

A heartbroken West Country mum has issued a moving tribute after her young daughter was found dead. Olga Sharif's daughter Sara is believed to have been killed at her dad's £550,000 home.

The discovery of the 10-year-old's lifeless body shattered a quiet village as a large-scale police investigation and manhunt got underway in the early hours of Thursday morning. Officers are looking to speak to three people known to the victim who are believed to have left the country, reports Somerset Live.

Olga, from Somerset, said she was on her way to Poland when she received a phone call from police telling her that Sara had been found dead. Overcome with grief, she travelled six hours to get back to the UK. Olga said that she was only allowed to see her children twice since she lost custody of them in 2019.

READ MORE: Man raped girl, 12, after meeting on social media

The 36-year-old claimed her ex-husband Urfan Sharif, 41, had been given sole custody of Sara by a court. However, she said they "always stayed close", bonding over a love of arts and crafts and trips to the local zoo.

She has now spoken about her "amazing" daughter, describing Sara as "happy and always laughing", she told The Sun: "My life will never be the same again. Sara should be with me right now. She was too young."

She described her as an "outgoing" and "cheeky" girl who had lots of friends at school and was a fan of Frozen Disney films. They would spend time together knitting jumpers and learning to crochet, she added.

"I couldn't see my daughter for four years, and now she is dead. She's only a kid, she had done nothing wrong."

She claimed that she used to be sent frequent photos of her children until 2021, when an argument between her and Urfan's new partner allegedly led to her being cut off completely. Sara's body was found in the village of of Horsell, near Woking, in Surrey.

The grief-stricken mum, who is set to see Sara's body after a post-mortem examination today (Tuesday, August 15), said she is yet to be told how her daughter's tragic death unfolded.

She continued: "There is nothing I can do that can bring her back to life, so I have to only remember the good times with her now. Life is really hard. It’s just not fair."

Her comments come as police say three people sought by detectives were known to the victim.

A spokesman said: "Inquires are ongoing to locate the three identified people we would like to speak to in connection with our investigation into the death of a 10-year-old girl in Woking.

"Detectives have confirmed that no other people were present at the address when they attended in the early hours of Thursday morning. The three people they would like to speak to were known to the victim."

Last week, there was a heavy police presence at the semi-detached property and neighbours told that a Pakistani family with six "very young" children had moved into the house in April.

Surrey police, which did not give any further information about the victim or the three people, said officers are still at the address and that no arrests have yet been made. A post-mortem examination is due to be held this afternoon and formal identification has yet to take place.

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2023-08-17 06:34:36Z
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British Museum worker sacked after items found 'stolen or damaged' - The Independent

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The British Museum has announced items from its collection were found to be missing, stolen or damaged.

The London museum, which houses artefacts from around the world, has launched an independent review of security as it said a staff member at the institution has been dismissed.

The matter is also under investigation by the economic crime command of the Metropolitan Police.

It is understood that the items were taken before 2023 and over a “significant” period of time.

The museum’s director Hartwig Fischer apologised for the missing artefacts, explaining “we are determined to put this right” and ready to “throw our efforts into the recovery of objects”.

Chair of the museum, George Osborne, said the trustees were “extremely concerned” by the incident and “used all the disciplinary powers available to us to deal with the individual we believe to be responsible”.

The items reported stolen, missing, or damaged include gold jewellery, semi-precious stones and glass dating from 1500BC to the 19th century.

The museum described these as small pieces which hadn’t been on public display recently and were mainly used for research and academic work.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said their investigations are ongoing and no arrests have been made, but declined to provide any further information.

Mr Fischer said: “The museum apologises for what has happened, but we have now brought an end to this – and we are determined to put things right.

“We have already tightened our security arrangements and we are working alongside outside experts to complete a definitive account of what is missing, damaged and stolen. This will allow us to throw our efforts into the recovery of objects.”

Mr Osborne outlined key priorities for its trustees including recovering the missing objects and taking steps to ensure an incident like this does not happen again.

He said: “The trustees of the British Museum were extremely concerned when we learnt earlier this year that items of the collection had been stolen.

“The trustees have taken decisive action to deal with the situation, working with the team at the museum.

The museum said it had dismissed a member of staff after items from its collection were found to be ‘missing, stolen or damaged’

“We called in the police, imposed emergency measures to increase security, set up an independent review into what happened and lessons to learn, and used all the disciplinary powers available to us to deal with the individual we believe to be responsible.

“Our priority is now threefold: first, to recover the stolen items; second, to find out what, if anything, could have been done to stop this; and third, to do whatever it takes, with investment in security and collection records, to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“This incident only reinforces the case for the re-imagination of the museum we have embarked upon. It’s a sad day for all who love our British Museum, but we’re determined to right the wrongs and use the experience to build a stronger museum.”

Items have gone missing from the museum in previous years including a number of coins and medals in the 1970s and a 1993 break-in when Roman coins were taken.

In 2002, the museum reviewed security following a 2,500-year-old Greek statue being stolen by a member of the public.

The institution said at the time that the Greek Archaic Gallery had been open to the public but there was no permanent guard on duty when the 12cm-high marble head was taken.

Two years later, Chinese gems also went missing.

In 2017, it was revealed a £750,000 Cartier ring diamond from the heritage asset collection had been reported absent in 2011.

A view of the British Museum, one of London’s most famous tourist attractions

The incident comes days after a man was stabbed while waiting in a queue outside the world-famous tourist attraction in London.

Police officers responded to reports of a knife attack near the museum on 8 August, with an eyewitness recalling seeing “a pool and trail of blood” on the ground.

Witnesses described how the middle-aged male victim, who was stabbed in the arm, “dripping blood everywhere” along the busy street while trying to escape.

He was treated at the scene before being taken by the London Ambulance Service to a hospital.

Additional reporting on agencies.

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2023-08-17 04:03:36Z
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