A joke about an unfaithful zookeeper has been named the funniest gag at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Comedian Lorna Rose Treen was voted the winner with her pun: "I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah."
The Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe is chosen by members of the public from a shortlist drawn up by judges.
The zookeeper one-liner was ranked among the best by 44% of those surveyed.
Lorna is the first female comedian to win the accolade since Zoe Lyons at the very first Fringe joke award in 2008.
She described herself as "blooming chuffed" at learning her joke was the winner.
"A huge thank you for awarding my stupid joke with this title!" she said.
A University of Edinburgh graduate and former BBC production trainee, Lorna has also spent time at clown school in Paris.
Top 10 jokes of the 2023 Fringe
I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah - Lorna Rose Treen
The most British thing I've ever heard? A lady who said 'Well I'm sorry, but I don't apologise.' - Liz Guterbock
Last year I had a great joke about inflation. But it's hardly worth it now - Amos Gill
When women gossip we get called bitchy; but when men do it's called a podcast - Sikisa
I thought I'd start off with a joke about The Titanic - just to break the ice - Masai Graham
How do coeliac Germans greet each other? Gluten tag - Frank Lavender
My friend got locked in a coffee place overnight. Now he only ever goes into Starbucks, not the rivals. He's Costa-phobic - Roger Swift
I entered the 'How not to surrender' competition and I won hands down - Bennett Arron
Nationwide must have looked pretty silly when they opened their first branch - William Stone
My grandma describes herself as being in her "twilight years" which I love because they're great films - Daniel Foxx
Originally from the West Midlands, Lorna has won several comedy awards elsewhere, and been billed as "the greatest thing to come out of Redditch since the fishing tackle", a reference to the town's history of angling equipment manufacture.
Now based in London, her multi-character show Skin Pigeon is her Edinburgh Fringe debut. She told BBC News her joke is delivered by a "film noir character with a mouth full of cigarettes".
"She's basically turned up a bar at about 4am and she's telling all these bar keepers - who are my audience - about her life, and that's one of the things she says."
The Joke of the Fringe Award is now in its 14th year, with last year's winner Masai Graham a runner up in this year's contest.
Previous winners also include Ken Cheng, Olaf Falafel, Tim Vine, Rob Auton, Stewart Francis, Zoe Lyons and Nick Helm.
A panel of comedy critics attend hundreds of shows, listening out for the best jokes before drawing up a shortlist of 10 favourites.
The jokes are then voted on anonymously by 2,000 members of the public who are asked to select their top three.
The Edinburgh Fringe is the world's biggest performance art festival, taking place over three weeks every year in August.
This year's event had 3,535 shows registered across across 248 venues, close to the record number seen in 2019 before the Covid pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 festival.
Police footage shows neonatal unit in hospital where Lucy Letby worked
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The sentencing for nurseLucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, is underway, yet the baby murderer is not in the dock.
The 33-year-old was found guilty on Friday of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others when she was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
Letby is being sentenced on Monday from 10am at Manchester Crown Court and could be handed a rare whole-life order by judge Mr Justice Goss.
However, the nurse indicated to her legal team last week that she would not take any part in the hearing, while the judge said the court has no power to force a defendant to attend a sentencing.
Lucy Letby does not appear in dock as sentencing gets underway
Nurse Lucy Letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more.
Nicholas Johnson KC, prosecuting, opened his remarks by confirming that the defendant “has refused to come into court”.
The serial killer had indicated to her legal team last week that she did not want to take any part in the hearing after she was convicted on Friday.
The court will hear from the families of her many victims on Monday before Judge Justice Goss passes his sentence later in the day.
More than a dozen relatives of Letby’s victims sat in the public gallery for the hearing and eight jurors returned to see the sentencing.
Nurse Lucy Letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more
Moment prison van allegedly carrying Letby arrives at court
This is the moment a prison van allegedly carrying Lucy Letby arrives at Manchester Crown Court in a prison van ahead of her sentencing on Monday.
Letby is now the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history.
The 33-year-old was found guilty on Friday of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others when she was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
This is the moment a prison van allegedly carrying Lucy Letby arrives at Manchester Crown Court in a prison van ahead of her sentencing on Monday. Letby is now the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history. The 33-year-old was found guilty on Friday of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others when she was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
Court seen what Letby ‘is really like once “nice Lucy” mask slips'
The mother of Child E, who died, and Child F, who survived, said the court had seen what Letby “is really like once the ‘nice Lucy’ mask slips”.
She told Manchester Crown Court: “The trial felt like a platform for Lucy to relive her crimes and it feels cruel that we had to endure a 10-month trial when she knew all along that she intentionally killed and harmed my babies. She has repeatedly disrespected my boy’s memory.
“I would like to thank Lucy for taking the stand and showing the court what she is really like once the ‘nice Lucy’ mask slips. It was honestly the best thing she could have done to ensure our boys got the justice they deserve.”
She said: “We have been living a nightmare but, for me, it ends today. I refuse to wake up with my first thought be about my boys being harmed. Lucy no longer has control over our lives. She holds no power or relevance in anybody’s life. She is nothing.”
The woman said her son who survived has been diagnosed with severe learning difficulties “which we believe is a result of being poisoned with a large quantity of insulin”, adding: “I never allow him to be alone with medical professionals.”
Change the law to force killers to attend court, says senior Tory
Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland told The Independent that Letby’s refusal to face her victims’ families as she is sentenced “added insult to the most grievous injury she has caused”.
The senior Tory MP called on ministers to amend a Victims and Prisoners Bill currently going through parliament to bring in the change that would force convicted killers to appear in court.
And he suggested beaming the hearing into Letby’s cell using a live link, ensuring she has “nowhere to hide”. Mr Buckland said Letby “needs to hear the victim’s personal statements as impact statements”.
Adam Forrest, Political Correspondent21 August 2023 11:29
Parent ‘uneasy’ during trial as Letby ‘kept looking’ at them
A parent said that they were made to feel “uneasy” by Letby during the trial because she kept looking over at them.
The father said in a statement read out to court: “There was a day when I was at the trial and the public gallery was full and I was sat in Lucy Letby’s line of view and she kept looking over at me. That made me feel quite uncomfortable and uneasy and I had to move in the afternoon so I was out of her view.”
He also told of how Letby’s crimes had “taken its toll on me as a person”, describing how the image of his son collapsing was “forever etched” in his mind and the stress and strain had been unbearable at times.
He said: “Initially doctors told us that the whole events that took place in 2016 surrounding my children was normal for premature babies and we believed what the doctors were telling us at the time. Little did we know that a year or so after their birth the police would come knocking on the door and break the news that this could be an attempted murder case.”
He said he had been prescribed anti-depressants but said: “Even though they have helped they can never take away the feelings I have as a parent knowing now what had truly happened at the Countess of Chester in 2016 and it doesn’t make it any easier to cope with over time.”
Letby decision to not be in court is ‘final act of wickedness from coward’
A mother of one of Letby’s victims has criticised her decision to not be in court to hear the family’s impact statements, describing it as “one final act of wickedness from a coward”.
She said: “Even in these final days of the trial she has tried to control things, the disrespect she has shown the families and the court show what type of person she is.
“We have attended court day in and day out, yet she decides she has had enough, and stays in her cell, just one final act of wickedness from a coward.
“I would like to thank Lucy for taking the stand and showing the court what she is really like once the ‘nice Lucy’ mask slips. It was honestly the best thing she could have done to ensure our [children] got the justice they deserve.”
Watch: Zara Aleena’s aunt calls for reform as Letby refuses to appear for sentencing
The aunt of murder victim Zara Aleena has said that if criminals like Lucy Letby are not persuaded to attend their sentencing it “will continue as a trend”.
Letby has said she won’t appear when she is sentenced for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more.
Farah Naz is calling for a change in the law after the killer of her niece also refused to appear in court. She said reading victim impact statements at the sentencing of her niece’s killer, Jordan McSweeney, without him present “felt farcical” and they “still want to face him”.
The aunt of murder victim Zara Aleena has said that if criminals like Lucy Letby are not persuaded to attend their sentencing it “will continue as a trend”. Letby has said she won’t appear when she is sentenced for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more. Farah Naz is calling for a change in the law after the killer of her niece also refused to appear in court. She said reading victim impact statements at the sentencing of her niece’s killer, Jordan McSweeney, without him present “felt farcical” and they “still want to face him”.
Mother tells of ‘whole body shaking’ at finding out baby’s death was murder
One mother recalled her “whole body shaking” when she found out someone was being arrested for the murder of her baby.
She said in a statement read out to court by lawyers: “When they told us they were arresting someone for [our child’s] murder I remember my whole body shaking and having to tell [my husband], we were both absolutely broken that someone could do something so evil to our precious little [baby] and this has had a massive effect on our family even until this day.
“We dug for years trying to get answers for what had happened and over the years we have been in some very dark places mentally.”
She said she would “wake in the night in a panic because of the nightmares” induced by the death of her baby, while her husband “wished he was dead” and struggled to be around family.
Police footage shows neonatal unit in hospital where Lucy Letby worked
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NurseLucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing in which she is expected to be told she will spend the rest of her life behind bars.
The 33-year-old was found guilty on Friday of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others when she was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
The baby murderer is being sentenced on Monday from 10am at Manchester Crown Court and could be handed a rare whole-life order by judge Mr Justice Goss.
However, Letby indicated to her legal team last week that she would not take any part in the hearing, while the judge said the court has no power to force a defendant to attend a sentencing.
Lucy Letby does not appear in dock as sentencing gets underway
Nurse Lucy Letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more.
Nicholas Johnson KC, prosecuting, opened his remarks by confirming that the defendant “has refused to come into court”.
The serial killer had indicated to her legal team last week that she did not want to take any part in the hearing after she was convicted on Friday.
The court will hear from the families of her many victims on Monday before Judge Justice Goss passes his sentence later in the day.
More than a dozen relatives of Letby’s victims sat in the public gallery for the hearing and eight jurors returned to see the sentencing.
Nurse Lucy Letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more
Mother says Letby murdered child then chose burial gown
A mother of a child murdered by Lucy Letby has told the court that the nurse chose the gown that her child was buried in.
With a shaking voice, she said she had to grieve her child’s death in front of Letby and other members of the neonatal unit and was not given privacy. She added that her child was buried in a gown that was given as a gift from the unit, and it was chosen by Letby. “Not a day passes when I do not regret that decision,” she told the court.
She added: “I still struggle to understand why it happened to us.” She said Letby “presented herself as kind and softly spoken” but “now I know it is an act”.
“The lies that she has told fill me with anger,” the mother added. “The trial felt like a platform for Lucy to relive her crimes. She has repeatedly disrespected my child’s memory.”
The mother hit out at Letby’s refusal to come to court for her sentencing, saying: “She has decided she has had enough and stays in her cell.”
Prime Minister says inquiry should ‘happen as quickly as possible'
Rishi Sunak said the inquiry announced by the Government into the crimes of serial killer Lucy Letby should “happen as quickly as possible”.
The Prime Minister was asked whether the probe should be put on a statutory footing led by a judge, as a growing number of figures are calling for.
He told broadcasters during a visit to a nursery in North Yorkshire: “I think the important thing for the inquiry to do is make sure that families get the answers that they need, that it is possible for us to learn the lessons from what happened, everything conducted transparently and to happen as quickly as possible.
“Those are the objectives that we want for the inquiry and we’ll make sure that it’s set up to deliver on those aims.”
Rishi Sunak said the inquiry announced by the Government into the crimes of serial killer Lucy Letby should “happen as quickly as possible”
Mother who lost child to Letby’s crimes tells court she developed panic attacks
Another mother who had lost her child to Letby’s crimes told the court that she had developed panic attacks as a result.
“I have lost my confidence as a friend, as a woman, as a wife. I feel like I’ve let myself go. My marriage is also scared by all the hurdles we went through,” she said.
She added that it had been hard for her and her husband to “keep strong together at times”, adding: “I have had multiple therapies, panic attacks…I had a car accident and I crashed into a wall. After a nervous breakdown, I took time off work.”
She continued: “I did feel very lonely at times. It felt like I was losing my mind, my sanity, my worth. I considered ending it all. I was hoping that maybe if I went to the other side I would see my child and be with them.”
‘Trauma of night our baby died will live with us till day we die'
One mother of Letby’s victims told the court that “the shock and pain” of the night her baby died would stay with her forever.
“It was so sudden, so unbelievable. It was a pain for us all that was just too hard to bear. The trauma of that night will live with us all till the day we die,” she said.
The realisation that the kind nurse who had watched over the family was actually their child’s killer was like “something out of a horror story”, she said.
Her voice cracking, she continued: “Lucy Letby, to think that you could get any kind of gratification of inflicting pain on my child… I am horrified that someone so evil exists. To you, our child’s life was just collateral damage.
“There is no sentence that will ever compare to the excruciating agony that we have suffered.
“At least now there is no debate that you killed them on purpose… in your own words, you are evil, you did this.”
The realisation that the kind nurse who had watched over the family was actually their child’s killer was like “something out of a horror story”, a mother told the court
Prime Minister condemns ‘cowardly’ Letby for not facing victims
Rishi Sunak said serial child murderer Lucy Letby was “cowardly” for refusing to appear for her sentencing hearing.
The Prime Minister was asked during a visit to a nursery in North Yorkshire whether the Government was too slow in changing the law to force her to be in the dock.
He told broadcasters: “The first thing is to extend my sympathies to everyone affected by this.
“I think, like everyone reading about this, it’s just shocking and harrowing.
“Now, I think it’s cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims and hear firsthand the impact that their crimes have had on them and their families and loved ones.
“We are looking and have been at changing the law to make sure that that happens and that’s something that we’ll bring forward in due course.”
‘You are nothing,’ distraught mother of victim tells Letby
A mother of one of Lucy Letby’s victims has told the nurse “you are nothing” in a devastating statement read out by the prosecuting lawyer in court on Monday.
She said: “2015 was going to be the best year of our lives. We were going to become parents…Never could we have imagined that the most precious things in our lives would have been placed in harm’s way.
“Our minds are so traumatised that it won’t let us remember most of the night when you killed our child. You have been successful in your quest to cause maximum pain.
“You thought it was your right to play god with our children’s lives. You thought you could enter our lives and turn it upside down, but you will never win. My family will never think of you again from this day. You are nothing.”
Crimes ‘so serious they warrant a whole life order'
Prosecution lawyers are arguing that Letby’s crimes are so serious that they merit a whole life order.
Nick Johnson, the prosecution barrister, said there was a substantial degree of premeditation and planning in her offences. He also told the court that there was “sadistic conduct”, which justifies life in prison.
A life order is also merited when “the murder of a child...involves a sadistic motive”, he said.
“For those reasons we submit that this is very very clear case that calls for a whole life order.”
Nurse Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital in a rare case that has shocked the nation.
An independent inquiry has been set up to understand how Letby was able to carry out the killings and attempt six others before being reported to the police.
The reasons why Letby, a neonatal nurse, committed the murders may never be fully understood, although prosecutors and other experts told jurors during her trial of several possible motivations.
‘If Letby not made to attend court then will continue as trend for criminals’
The aunt of murder victim Zara Aleena has said that if criminals like Lucy Letby are not persuaded to attend their sentencing it “will continue as a trend”.
Speaking on Times Radio, Farah Naz, whose niece’s killer, Jordan McSweeney, refused to attend court for his sentencing, said she feels for the families who will not get the “brief moment of retribution”.
She added: “It’s not full, but to see her in court and to stand and to have a moment perhaps where they can see that is part of her punishment…
“And so I feel sad for those families that also may want to address her in their victim impact statements. And, I think, to have that moment to address that person that’s destroyed your life certainly is so important to the process of justice and so important to the victims themselves in their own process of dealing with their trauma.
“But I think it’s much more than that. I know that we, you know, we’ve been talking about ‘face the family’… I think that Letby has to face justice, and she has to face society. And I think we don’t have to drag in the criminal. I think we can persuade them.
“There are certain other ways of getting them into the courtroom so they face justice, and that would be to extend minimum tariffs or to refuse a tariff or to refuse parole or to refuse certain privileges in prison.
“I think, if we don’t do this, this will continue as a trend. And I think what it does when an offender doesn’t appear in the courtroom, it’s another way of the offender spitting in the face of the law, but also of the victims, and taking a bit of power.”
Good morning. The second half of August is normally the worst time of the year for political news, because the summer media campaigns pre-cooked by the political parties (like small boats week) are running out of steam, but today we will at least be hearing from Rishi Sunak, who has a visit planned.
Much of the focus this morning will by on the sentencing of Lucy Letby. It is primarily a horrific crime story, but there are implications for government and this morning Claire Coutinho, the education minister who has been doing an interview round, has been defending the government’s decision not to make the inquiry into the case a statutory one (a non-statutory one would be quicker, she argued) and insisting that ministers do want to change the law to try to stop offenders like Letby not attending court for sentencing. We will be covering these developments in detail in a separate live blog on the Letby proceedings.
Sunak’s visit this morning is linked to an announcement from the Department for Education this morning about childminding. Coutinho was promoting it during her morning media round, and it rather proves the point about late August news announcements from government being a bit thin. She has announced that “housing associations, social landlords and developers in England are being urged to allow childminders to work in their rented properties, to help encourage entry into the profession and increase availability of childcare for parents.”
There was good news for Sunak last week when inflation fell sharply. But there is less good news in the Times today, which is reporting the results of a YouGov poll suggesting that very few people think the PM deserves any credit for this, despite the fact that he has made cutting inflation one of his five key priorities for the year. In the write-up Matt Dathan reports:
A YouGov poll for the Times found that only 8% of voters credited government policy for the fall in inflation, which dropped to 6.8% last month, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics last week.
More people, 17%, believe the Bank of England is responsible despite criticism of its response to high inflation. In June Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, blamed flaws in the Bank’s economic forecasting after it failed to get a grip on runaway inflation.
The polling suggests that the most commonly believed reason for the fall in inflation is external factors such as global oil and gas prices. Thirty-eight per cent cited external factors, but 31% said they did not know what was responsible for the easing of price rises.
The polling is more stark in red wall seats in northern England, where only 5% thought government policy had brought inflation down.
Sunak is due to be speaking to the media on his visit later this morning, and so perhaps we will get a response from him then. We are also getting a No 10 lobby briefing at 11.30am, but otherwise the news diary is mostly empty.
If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line, privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate), or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
Filters BETA
In his pooled interview Rishi Sunak defended his decision not to fly to Australia to support England in the final of the women’s World Cup. (See 10.27am.) Asked if he should have been there, he replied:
Like many others, I watched the game in the pub locally in Northallerton at home.
I’d like nothing more than to be able to watch England play around the world. I love football. I love sport. I love cheering on England.
Sadly I wasn’t able to go to the World Cup in Qatar last year. I wasn’t able to go to this final but as I said, I enjoyed watching it in the pub with friends and constituents in Northallerton.
Here is the picture Sunak posted on Twitter yesterday showing him watching the game in a local pub.
Rishi Sunak has condemned the serial child killer Lucy Letby as “cowardly” for refusing to appear in court for sentencing today. He also confirmed the government wants to change the law to stop other offenders doing the same in future.
In a pooled interview this morning on a visit to a nursery in North Yorkshire, asked about this issue, Sunak said:
The first thing is to extend my sympathies to everyone affected by this.
I think, like everyone reading about this, it’s just shocking and harrowing.
Now, I think it’s cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims and hear first hand the impact that their crimes have had on them and their families and loved ones.
We are looking and have been at changing the law to make sure that that happens and that’s something that we’ll bring forward in due course.
A minister has rejected suggestions that Rishi Sunak would have flown to Australia for the World Cup final if it had been the men’s team playing, not the women’s.
Once England made it into the final, Sunak was criticised for deciding to watch the match at home, instead of heading to Sydney. No member of the royal family attended in person either, and there have been claims that if it had been a men’s final, the UK VIP turnout would have been better.
In an interview with Sky News this morning Claire Coutinho, the education minister, defended Sunak’s decision not to attend in person, saying James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, and Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary were both present.
Asked if Sunak would have flown to Australia if the England men’s team were in the final, Coutinho replied:
I don’t think he would have because his schedule is so busy and I know that from working with him, but I do know how proud he is of the Lionesses like we all are. It’s such a tremendous achievement. It was absolutely just brilliant to see.
The Department for Education says its mini-announcement on childminding today (see 9.25am) is partly prompted by figures showing that the number of childminders operating in England has more than halved over the past 10 years. It also quotes research saying that, of prospective childminders who start but fail to complete the registration process, one in eight say they cannot register because they cannot obtain permission to work from home.
That is why Claire Coutinho, the education minister, is urging landlords to lift restrictions where they apply. The DfE says:
Childminders who are living in leasehold properties are sometimes being blocked by so-called restrictive covenants, which say that the properties cannot be used for business purposes. Some who are living in rented accommodation have found that their tenancy agreements prevent them from registering their business or that their landlords’ mortgage agreements include restrictions from the lender.
Within the letter to landlords, Minister Coutinho has urged them to engage with prospective childminders to unblock these issues wherever possible, for the good of local communities.
In its news release, the DfE has also highlighted other moves intended to encourage people to join, or stay in, the profession. It says:
The government has already tabled amendments to the levelling-up and regeneration bill (LURB) that will mean that childminders can work together in groups of up to four childminders in total, and spend more time working outside of their own homes such as in a community centre or village hall.
The government will also consult on reducing registration times to around 10 weeks, make sure childminders are paid monthly by local authorities, and soon launch the childminder startup grant, worth up to £1,200 for all childminders who have joined the profession since the spring budget.
Keir Starmer has said that Labour would close the “loophole” that allows offenders such as Lucy Letby to avoid being in court for sentencing. In a post on Twitter he said:
As Director of Public Prosecutions, I saw how crucial it is for victims and their families that perpetrators appear in court. That criminals can cowardly hide away is a shamefully exploited loophole, and one Labour will close. Victims must be at the heart of our justice system.
The government has also said it will address this, although it has not said when. Given that there might be limits to the extent to which force could be used, one option would be to allow the courts to impose extra punishments on offenders who do not appear.
Asked about this issue on her media round this morning, Claire Coutinho, the education minister, said it would be “appalling’’ if Letby refused to appear in the dock for sentencing. She went on:
I know that the justice secretary has said he’s very committed to making changes that are needed to make sure that people who have committed awful crimes have to go to court so they can hear things like the victims’ impact statement, which is really their moment to tell that person how this has impacted them.
But Coutinho did not give details of how the government might address this.
Good morning. The second half of August is normally the worst time of the year for political news, because the summer media campaigns pre-cooked by the political parties (like small boats week) are running out of steam, but today we will at least be hearing from Rishi Sunak, who has a visit planned.
Much of the focus this morning will by on the sentencing of Lucy Letby. It is primarily a horrific crime story, but there are implications for government and this morning Claire Coutinho, the education minister who has been doing an interview round, has been defending the government’s decision not to make the inquiry into the case a statutory one (a non-statutory one would be quicker, she argued) and insisting that ministers do want to change the law to try to stop offenders like Letby not attending court for sentencing. We will be covering these developments in detail in a separate live blog on the Letby proceedings.
Sunak’s visit this morning is linked to an announcement from the Department for Education this morning about childminding. Coutinho was promoting it during her morning media round, and it rather proves the point about late August news announcements from government being a bit thin. She has announced that “housing associations, social landlords and developers in England are being urged to allow childminders to work in their rented properties, to help encourage entry into the profession and increase availability of childcare for parents.”
There was good news for Sunak last week when inflation fell sharply. But there is less good news in the Times today, which is reporting the results of a YouGov poll suggesting that very few people think the PM deserves any credit for this, despite the fact that he has made cutting inflation one of his five key priorities for the year. In the write-up Matt Dathan reports:
A YouGov poll for the Times found that only 8% of voters credited government policy for the fall in inflation, which dropped to 6.8% last month, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics last week.
More people, 17%, believe the Bank of England is responsible despite criticism of its response to high inflation. In June Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, blamed flaws in the Bank’s economic forecasting after it failed to get a grip on runaway inflation.
The polling suggests that the most commonly believed reason for the fall in inflation is external factors such as global oil and gas prices. Thirty-eight per cent cited external factors, but 31% said they did not know what was responsible for the easing of price rises.
The polling is more stark in red wall seats in northern England, where only 5% thought government policy had brought inflation down.
Sunak is due to be speaking to the media on his visit later this morning, and so perhaps we will get a response from him then. We are also getting a No 10 lobby briefing at 11.30am, but otherwise the news diary is mostly empty.
If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line, privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate), or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
Police footage shows neonatal unit in hospital where Lucy Letby worked
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Nurse Lucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, is expected to be told she will spend the rest of her life behind bars when she is sentenced later today.
The 33-year-old was found guilty on Friday of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others when she was working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She deliberately injected newborns with air, force-fed others milk, or poisoned them with insulin.
The baby murderer is set to be sentenced on Monday from 10am at Manchester Crown Court and could be handed a rare whole-life order by judge Mr Justice Goss. However, she indicated to her legal team last week that she will not take any part in the hearing.
The judge said the court has no power to force a defendant to attend a sentencing hearing but a government source suggested “lawful enforcement” could be used as a last resort to ensure Letby attends if it is considered necessary, reasonable and proportionate.
‘If Letby not made to attend court then will continue as trend for criminals’
The aunt of murder victim Zara Aleena has said that if criminals like Lucy Letby are not persuaded to attend their sentencing it “will continue as a trend”.
Speaking on Times Radio, Farah Naz, whose niece’s killer, Jordan McSweeney, refused to attend court for his sentencing, said she feels for the families who will not get the “brief moment of retribution”.
She added: “It’s not full, but to see her in court and to stand and to have a moment perhaps where they can see that is part of her punishment…
“And so I feel sad for those families that also may want to address her in their victim impact statements. And, I think, to have that moment to address that person that’s destroyed your life certainly is so important to the process of justice and so important to the victims themselves in their own process of dealing with their trauma.
“But I think it’s much more than that. I know that we, you know, we’ve been talking about ‘face the family’… I think that Letby has to face justice, and she has to face society. And I think we don’t have to drag in the criminal. I think we can persuade them.
“There are certain other ways of getting them into the courtroom so they face justice, and that would be to extend minimum tariffs or to refuse a tariff or to refuse parole or to refuse certain privileges in prison.
“I think, if we don’t do this, this will continue as a trend. And I think what it does when an offender doesn’t appear in the courtroom, it’s another way of the offender spitting in the face of the law, but also of the victims, and taking a bit of power.”
Speed ‘of the essence’ when comes to inquiry, says education minister
Speed is “of the essence” when it comes to the independent inquiry into the circumstances behind Lucy Letby’s baby murders, an education minister has said.
Asked if it should become a statutory inquiry on Sky News, Claire Coutinho said: “Well, whenever something like this happens, there’s always a debate about whether it should be statutory or non-statutory. And there are different benefits to both.
“As you say with a statutory inquiry, it means you can compel people to give evidence. With a non-statutory inquiry is often much quicker. I think, in this case, everyone wants to make sure that this will never ever happen again and I think speed is of the essence to make sure that expectant parents across the country can feel assured that they know that there are steps in place to make sure that this won’t happen again.”
On why existing legislation is not being used to bring Letby to court, Ms Coutinho said: “Well, I’m sure they will look at everything that they can do to make sure that that is enforced. But I think there are some changes that it sounds like are needed as well to make sure that in every instance the perpetrator has to go to court and have that moment, as I said, of justice.”
She added: “I’m not a justice minister, but I think one of the things that may be a challenge is if someone gets a life order, then extending custody by two years might not be enough of an incentive to make sure that people come.”
Doctor calls for hospital managers to stand trial for corporate manslaughter
The prosecution’s lead medical expert in the Lucy Letby trial has called for the hospital managers who ignored consultant’s concerns about the killer nurse to stand trial for gross negligent manslaughter.
Doctor Dewi Evans said warning signs were missed, despite four consultants raising concerns about Letby. She has now been found guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, De Evans said: “It is astonishing. You can not make this up”.
The prosecution’s lead medical expert in the Lucy Letby trial has called for the hospital managers who ignored consultant’s concerns about the killer nurse to stand trial for gross negligent manslaughter. Doctor Dewi Evans said warning signs were missed, despite four consultants raising concerns about Letby. She has now been found guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more. Speaking on Good Morning Britain, De Evans said: “It is astonishing. You can not make this up”. He added: “They should have their collars felt.”
Former chief nursing officer calls for statutory inquiry
A statutory inquiry into the circumstances behind Lucy Letby’s baby murders should take place, a former chief nursing officer has said.
Dame Christine Beasley told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “I think what a statutory inquiry will do is compel people to come and give evidence where in an independent inquiry people can opt out of it if they want to.
“So I really understand parents and families wanting to make sure we get to the bottom of whatever happened there so that we can actually learn.
“So I think I would go down on the side of a statutory inquiry would be better because whatever the outcome of the independent inquiry is, I feel that relatives and patients will not feel that they’ve got to the bottom of it.
“And so I think on balance, it would be best to do a statutory inquiry.”
‘Absolutely sickening’ Letby won’t be in court today, says children’s minister
Children’s minister Claire Coutinho said it is "absolutely sickening" that Lucy Letby will not be in court today.
But the minister defended the government’s decision to launch a non-statutory inquiry into the crisis, claiming it will be "much quicker".
Speaking to Times Radio, Ms Coutinho said: “I think it's absolutely sickening that she's not going.Her crimes have been so appalling.
“That’s the point where victims get to read their impact statements and have their moment to tell the perpetrator exactly the kind of impact that they've had on their lives.”
And asked why the government would not give the inquiry statutory powers, she said: “When you look at statutory and non-statutory inquiries, non-statutory inquiries are quicker.
“I think in this case and non-statutory inquiry, it makes more sense. So we can have that speed of understanding what's happened very quickly.”
Shadow prisons minister joins calls for criminals to attend sentencing
Labour's shadow prisons minister Ellie Reeves has said criminals should be “dragged kicking and screaming” into court to hear sentencing.
Asked about Letby's apparent refusal to be in the dock for her sentencing today, Ms Reeves told BBC Breakfast: “During a trial, the victims and their families have to sit and listen to all of the evidence. The sentencing is their opportunity for their voices to be heard.
“So it is crucial the defendant is there to hear those victim impact statements, to hear about the impact their crimes have had.
“I really do think they need to be in that courtroom to hear it. It is fundamental to our justice system that justice is not only done, but seen to be done.”
Prisoners given a whole-life order, previously known as a whole-life tariff, will never be considered for release unless there are exceptional compassionate grounds to warrant it.
Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which passed through parliament last year, the government has expanded the use of whole-life orders for premeditated murder of a child.
Only three women have previously been handed these whole-life sentences in the UK – Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, who died in 2002, and serial killers Rose West and Joanna Dennehy.
ICYMI: Lucy Letby awaits sentencing after being found guilty
Last Friday, jurors completed their deliberations of 110 hours and 26 minutes - spanning 22 days - following a trial which began last October.
The jury of seven women and four men convicted Letby of seven counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder in relation to six other infants.
Cheshire Police say they are continuing to review the care of some 4,000 babies who were admitted to the Countess of Chester, and also at Liverpool Women’s Hospital when Letby had two work placements, during her employment from 2012.
‘Literal notes of confession’ among discoveries made at Letby’s home
During searches of Lucy Letby’s address, a number of closely written notes were discovered.
On one note she wrote “I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them”, “I am a horrible evil person” and in capital letters “I am evil I did this”.
Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC invited the jurors to read the note “literally” as a confession.
In this frame from a police body-camera video provided by Cheshire Constabulary, Lucy Letby is arrested on 3 July 2018 in Chester, England
(Getty Images)
Her “voyeuristic tendencies” drove her to carry out numerous Facebook searches for parents of children she attacked, he said.
She used various ways to harm the babies, including injecting air into the bloodstream, injecting air into the stomach, overfeeding with milk, physical assaults and poisoning with insulin.
Letby, who denied all the allegations, falsified medical notes to cover her tracks and gaslighted doctors and nurses to persuade them the collapses were “just a run of bad luck”.
