General election latest: Starmer hasn’t spoken to Diane Abbott ‘in months’ as Tories pick up in the polls - The Independent

Related: Keir Starmer denies Labour ‘left-wing cull’ after Abbott and Shaheen suspensions

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Sir Keir Starmer has said Diane Abbott is “free” to stand as a Labour candidate in the General Election, following growing concerns over a purge of the left.

Labour is now facing anger from prominent Black personalities who have signed an open letter condemning the party’s “disgraceful” treatment of the Hackney North MP and warned of losing loyal supporters.

The controversy continues as Labour replaced pro-Palestinian Muslim candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green Faiza Shaheen with a member of the Jewish Labour Movement Shama Tatler.

This came after much criticism from Muslim groups and the left of the party of Starmer’s position on Israel.

Adding further fuel to the fire, Sir Keir admitted he would work with convicted felon Donald Trump if he gets into the White House despite facing an “unprecedented” situation.

He added that he “respects the decision of the court” that found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a conspiracy to corrupt.

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Breaking: Starmer says Diane Abbott is free to run for Labour

After days of intense speculation, Sir Keir Stamer has confirmed Diane Abbott is free to stand at the general election.

He said: “Diane was elected in 1987. The first black woman MP. She has been a trailblazer.

“She has carved a path for other people to come into politics and public life. The whip has obviously been restored to her now, and she is free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”

Asked about whether he understands Ms Abbott’s intention to stand, he replied: “She’s free to go forward as a Labour candidate. The whip is back with her. It’s been restored. And of course you know she was a trailblazer for many, many years and has been a path for others to come into politics.

“So, formally a matter for the NEC, I’ve not expressed a view up until now. She’s free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”

(PA Wire)

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 13:47

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Exclusive Poll: Tories recover 2% from post-election shock

Labour is maintaining 45 per cent of voting intention, according to today’s polls from Techne UK, with a 24-point lead over the Conservatives.

The Tories have clawed back 2 per cent in the polls, after Rishi Sunak’s shock election announcement caused a dip in support last week, writes data correspondent Alicja Hagopian.

The Lib Dems and Reform UK have been neck-and-neck across the UK for the month of May, currently at 11 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

For more polls, approval ratings and top issues on the ballot read here.

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 13:00

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Seats visited by party leaders so far in the election campaign

All three of the main party leaders have been on the road every day since the General Election was called – but how many events have they held, and what kind of constituencies have they visited?

Find out here:

Tara Cobham31 May 2024 23:00

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VOICES John Rentoul: Keir Starmer is already the ‘winner’ of next week’s TV election debate

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 22:00

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Labour’s NEC member accuses Starmer of ‘nasty bully boy tactics’

Another member of Labour’s National Executive Committee has attacked Sir Keir Starmer of carrying out  “nasty bully boy tactics” over his treatment of Diane Abbott.

The party’s governing body, with 41 members, is expected to meet on Tuesday to officially list Abbott as a Labour candidate.

Committee member Jess Barnard said Sir Keir’s U-turn was “a huge victory for Diane Abbott” and showed that “the decision was in Starmers hands all along”.

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 21:30

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Starmer says Diane Abbott is free to run for Labour

After days of intense speculation, Sir Keir Stamer has confirmed Diane Abbott is free to stand at the general election.

He said: “Diane was elected in 1987. The first black woman MP. She has been a trailblazer.

“She has carved a path for other people to come into politics and public life. The whip has obviously been restored to her now, and she is free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”

Asked about whether he understands Ms Abbott’s intention to stand, he replied: “She’s free to go forward as a Labour candidate. The whip is back with her. It’s been restored. And of course you know she was a trailblazer for many, many years and has been a path for others to come into politics.

“So, formally a matter for the NEC, I’ve not expressed a view up until now. She’s free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 21:00

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ITV announces further election debate

ITV has announced today that its General Election multi-party debate will take place on Thursday, June 13 at 8.30pm.

The ITV Election Debate 2024 will be broadcast on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.

Leaders or senior representatives from the following parties will participate; Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, Green Party and Plaid Cymru.

The debate will be moderated by Julie Etchingham, who moderated ITV election debates in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

The programme will run for 90 minutes. It will be followed by ITV News at Ten.

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 20:30

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Brexit rethink should be ‘front and centre’ of election campaign - poll

Voters back Lord Heseltine’s claim that the current general election risks being “one of the most dishonest” in history because the main parties will not discuss Britain’s relationship with the European Union, David Maddox reports.

The We Think voter intention poll has revealed that almost six in 10 voters (58 percent) think that Brexit and Britain’s relationship with the EU should be one of the main issues in the election.

The survey of 1,242 voters commissioned by the pro-EU European Movement followed an intervention by the former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine in The Independent this week where he warned no issue can be discussed without referring it to Brexit.

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 20:00

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Julian Knight to stand as independent

The former Conservative MP previously faced allegations of serious sexual assault himself which were investigated then dropped by Essex Police earlier this year.

He has now confirmed he will stand as an independent candidate at the general election.

He said: “Solihull deserves more than a whips appointed candidate who doesn’t get the issues.”

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 19:30

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Ian Dale drops out of Tunbridge Wells election race after 48h

The wannabe Tory MP has dropped out of the race to represent Tunbridge Wells after two days after a clip emerged of him saying he never liked the area.

LBC presenter Iain Dale, who quit on Tuesday night to run for the Conservatives in the general election, has announced he was throwing in the towel.

It came after a clip from his For the Many podcast from 2022 where he told his co-host, former Labour home secretary Jacqui Smith: “I have lived in Tunbridge Wells since 1997, slightly against my will.

“I’ve never liked the place. Still don’t, and would happily live somewhere else.”

Salma Ouaguira31 May 2024 19:00

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Police blamed after human error led to M9 tragedy - BBC.com

M9 crash victim's suffering 'almost incomprehensible'

Lamara Bell and her partner John Yuill were found inside their car after it crashed down an embankment off the M9

Police Scotland's failings led to "almost incomprehensible" suffering for a young woman who was trapped in a car with her dead partner for three days, a fatal accident inquiry has said.

Lamara Bell lay terribly injured but conscious at the bottom of an embankment off the M9 motorway near Stirling for days despite a call being made to police hours after the crash.

Ms Bell's partner John Yuill, who was driving the car, died soon after the crash in July 2015.

But the inquiry found Ms Bell would probably have survived if an "organisational failure" in Police Scotland's call-handling system had not allowed a human error to go undetected.

Sheriff James Williamson, who led the inquiry, said Ms Bell's injuries, together with the delay in rescuing and treating her, led to her death four days after she was finally found.

Heartfelt apology

The sheriff's FAI report said Police Scotland failed to properly risk assess the call-handling procedures and did not have a system that checked calls were acted on.

It said that an organisational failure led to the safety of the public being compromised and had "fatal consequences" for 25-year-old Ms Bell.

Sheriff Williamson was damning in his criticism of Police Scotland and said the man who failed to log the call was inadequately trained and left largely unsupervised to operate a system that allowed for human error to go undetected.

He said that the circumstances of the deaths had a corrosive effect on the public’s confidence in Police Scotland.

However, his report made no recommendations for future actions, saying Police Scotland had learned the lessons of the tragedy and changed its procedures over the past nine years.

A police car on the side of the M9 close to where the car was finally discovered

The sheriff's report said the couple, who were both from Falkirk, had been on a camping trip at Loch Earn and left in the early hours of Sunday 5 July.

Mr Yuill – who only had a provisional licence – was driving and had taken cannabis and had drunk alcohol in the hours before he left.

The car plunged down the embankment some time between 06:00 and 06:15, having crossed the hard shoulder and hit a kerb.

Mr Yuill, 28, died as a result of his injuries but Ms Bell was still alive.

Later that morning – about 11:30 – farmer John Wilson saw the crashed car at the bottom of the embankment and called the police on the non-emergency 101 number.

He assumed the police would take action but the call was never logged on its system.

Over the coming days Mr Wilson saw the car was still there.

On the morning of Wednesday 8 July another farmer saw the car and went down the embankment to investigate.

Mr Yuill was dead but he could hear Ms Bell calling for help.

She was taken to hospital but died four days later.

The FAI report said that if Ms Bell had been admitted to hospital on the day of the accident her head injury could have been managed and the complications such as brain swelling, hypothermia and systemic infection could have been substantially avoided.

It said she would probably have survived but would have suffered a long-term neurological deficit.

Lamara Bell would probably have survived if she had been discovered when the initial call was made

In the initial call to report the car down the embankment, Mr Wilson spoke to Brian Henry, a police sergeant who had volunteered to do overtime to help out at the Bilston Glen contact centre, which the sheriff described as a "confused, fractious working environment".

The report said Mr Henry gave evidence to the inquiry and "did not shrink from the fact that he took the call and failed to action it".

It said Mr Henry gave a "genuine and heartfelt apology" to the families and had been tortured over the years since the accident trying to work out what happened and to provide an explanation for them.

"Ultimately he is unable to do that, beyond simple human error," the report said.

Human error

Sheriff Williamson's FAI determination said Mr Henry did not deliberately ignore the call and appreciated that it should be acted on.

He made hand-written notes in his "Pot Book" but it is thought that while checking to see if the incident had already been logged he was interrupted.

Mr Henry became involved in other phone calls for the remainder of his shift and never went back to check the entries in his notebook.

The report said the system, which did not check incoming calls against outgoing actions, meant that there was a risk of human error going undetected.

It said Police Scotland could have ensured all call handlers - even non-core staff like Mr Henry - were trained to use the Aspire system at all times.

Police Scotland accepted it failed to train Brian Henry and other non-core call handlers.

The report said the force's failings gave rise to circumstances in which such an error such as the one made by Mr Henry could occur.

The sheriff said Police Scotland was an entirely different organisation now than it was in 2015.

He said the force and other experts were confident that the type of error that led to the deaths of Mr Yuill and Ms Bell being repeated were remote.

"So remote that only wilfully ignoring a call would give rise to a call going unactioned," it said.

Police Scotland has previously admitted criminal liability and pleaded guilty to a contravention of the Health and Safety at Work Act that their failure to record and action a a call materially contributed to the death of Ms Bell and was fined £100,000.

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs repeated his apology to the families and said the police had done everything they could to stop a terrible incident such as this being repeated.

"Sheriff Williamson's findings highlight the significant improvements which have been made to our call handling systems," he said.

"How we respond to 999 and 101 calls now is incomparable to how we dealt with them in 2015."

He added: "We are studying the determination in detail for any learning which will form part of this continuous improvement."

John Yuill's father Gordon said he accepted that the crash was his son's fault but he would hate to see anyone go through the ordeal suffered by his and Ms Bell's families over the past nine years.

"We tried to grieve for my son and we weren't allowed to," he said.

"That was taken away from us."

Mr Yuill said the problems with sickness levels and shortages of staff at Police Scotland's Bilston Glen call centre were well known before the incident.

"I don't blame the officer. I don't believe he was given the right training to work the system," he said.

"Without the training, an accident was always going to happen. It should have been built into the system that human error could not happen."

Mr Yuill said he was disappointed that the report did not make any recommendations to ensure the same mistakes could not happen again.

Andy Shanks, who leads on death investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “We recognise that the time taken for our investigation and criminal proceedings to conclude and to initiate the inquiry must have been enormously difficult for the families of Lamara Bell and John Yuill."

He noted that it was a complex case and said the way deaths were investigated had changed in recent years to reduce delays.

Mr Shanks added: “The procurator fiscal service will continue to keep in contact with the families following the conclusion of this complex and lengthy FAI and answer any questions they may have about the determination.”

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Hackney shooting: Harrowing footage shows aftermath at Turkish restaurant in east London after motorbike hitma - Daily Mail

By Elizabeth Haigh

Published: 04:48 EDT, 31 May 2024 | Updated: 05:07 EDT, 31 May 2024

Shocking video footage has shown the moments after a horror shooting in Hackney, London this week which left a nine-year-old girl fighting for her life and three men injured. 

The footage reveals the chaos at Evin restaurant after a shooter pulled up on a motorbike and let off a round of bullets as families ate dinner at the popular Turkish restaurant.

Members of the public can be seen tending to one of the victims on the ground, while others speak on the phone or ask where the emergency services are. 

Emotional cries can be heard in the background as one victim is seen lying on the floor.

The five-second rampage left the girl fighting for her life while three men, aged 26, 37, and 42, sitting at the table in front of her were also hit in the incident, which unfolded at around 9.20pm. 

Police said the girl suffered a gunshot wound and remains in hospital in a critical condition. The three men, who are not believed to have known the child, are in stable condition, but one potentially faces life changing injuries.

In a heart-wrenching account of the brutal shooting the owner of the Evin bistro revealed how the girl's mother crumpled in shock when she saw her daughter shot.

Gazi Degirmenci told MailOnline: 'The girl was not with the three men outside, she was sitting at a table behind them.

'The girl was with her family, her mum and dad and two other children. She was part of a five or six person group.

'The mother was in a really bad way, as you can imagine, really bad, really bad.

'We tried to help as much as we could, we tried to stop the bleeding. We gave her water, and we called the ambulance and police.

'I'm not sure that if our efforts helped. But we helped as much as we could.

'The mum was in a really bad state. I don't want to try to remember how she was, it's too upsetting. Can you imagine being in her shoes? It's an unimaginable horror.

'It's so painful, we are so upset about what happened to that child.

'I'm not sure about who the three men sitting in the front are, and if it's some sort of gang war. But the biggest tragedy is clearly the child.'

The crime bears the hallmarks of a shooting in 2003 which tragically killed two innocent young women in Birmingham.

The mother of 17-year-old Letisha Shakespeare, Dr Marcia Shakespeare, who campaigns on gun violence, told the Today programme: 'As soon as I heard the news I was very saddened to hear that there was a shooting in Hackney and that there were three males involved as well as a nine-year-old girl who was also shot. 

'It just brought back the memories of when Letisha was shot.

'It's very important because a lot of crime, particularly firearms, are fuelled by serious violence, drug debts and feuds, but what's going on around us in the underworld many innocent people are getting caught up.

'It's very disturbing that 21 years later we are still battling drive-by shootings.'

She added: 'Do not take violent crime off the agenda because it's too often that charities who try to obtain funding to try and tackle and diffuse violent crime, they are stopped because something else comes in.

'It's put on the back burner... but it hasn't gone away.'

At a press conference yesterday, Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway pleaded for people to come forward with information. He began his statement by saying 'it saddens me deeply' to say that 'three men and a nine-year-old girl were shot when a firearm was discharged from a motorbike'.

He added: 'I know that local people will be extremely concerned by this incident. We share that concern and an urgent investigation has been launched to identify and apprehend those responsible.'

Detective Conway said: 'As with any child, she was an innocent victim of the indiscriminate nature of gun crime.

'Our thoughts are with her and her family and they are being supported by specialist officers.'

Previously, horrifying footage had shown the moment the shooter pulled up outside the restaurant on a motorbike before letting off five or six shots.

Eyewitnesses told how diners dived under tables in a bid to escape the bullets, but said the little girl who was hit had been playing on chairs behind the intended targets at the time. 

Detective Conway said: 'The investigation is at an early stage and we are keeping an open mind as to the motive. We are keen to identify other witnesses who were in the area around the scene at the time of the shooting.

'Similarly, if you were in the Kingsland High Street area at the time of the shooting and have information or footage from a phone or other device, please share that with us.

'This is a fast-moving, complex investigation, and we will be working closely with our Specialist Crime colleagues to establish the full facts in the coming days.

'Locally, people can expect to see a significant police presence in this area, including armed officers, to provide reassurance and support. We will also continue our unrelenting focus on suppressing violence, gun crime, and the offenders who endanger our communities.

'Events such as these are rarely spontaneous. Someone knows who is responsible for this shooting that has left a little girl fighting for her life.'

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Leading Black figures criticise Labour’s ‘disgraceful’ treatment of Diane Abbott - The Guardian

Leading Black British actors, professors, authors and broadcasters have urged Labour to “rectify and reverse” the “disrespectful” treatment of Diane Abbott or risk losing the backing of the party’s most loyal supporters.

Lenny Henry, David Harewood, Renni Eddo-Lodge, Misan Harriman, Afua Hirsch, Jackie Kay, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Adrian Lester and Gary Younge are among the prominent Black figures to have signed a damning open letter, classing various briefings and Abbott’s own claim that she has been barred from standing for the party as “disproportionate, undemocratic and vindictive”.

The future within Labour for Abbott, who was the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington when the election was called, remains unclear and the situation marks a difficult moment in Labour’s election campaign.

Abbott was given back the Labour whip on Tuesday, six months after an investigation into her conduct was completed and four months after she completed required antisemitism training following her suspension. Over the last year there has been speculation that the return of the whip could have allowed her to “retire with dignity”, with some rumours of a peerage on the cards.

She received a letter from the Labour chief whip, Alan Campbell, confirming that the whip had been restored and reassuring her that she could make what was described as a “dignified exit”, the Guardian was told.

She was also said to have had a meeting with Keir Starmer’s political director about the agreement on Wednesday morning. She said she felt the Labour leadership had gone back on their deal with her, after it was reported that she had been blocked from standing. She said she was dismayed by reports that she could be barred as a candidate.

Starmer has insisted no decision has yet been taken about whether she will be allowed to defend her constituency seat. His deputy, Angela Rayner, said Abbott had not been treated “fairly or appropriately” by some Labour colleagues and should be allowed to stand again for the party at the election if she wished to do so.

The letter from the group of influential Black figures says: “Sir Keir Starmer’s denials on this matter must be treated with some scepticism. Just last Friday he said the investigation into her conduct had not been resolved even though Abbott had satisfactorily completed the disciplinary process in February.

“Indeed, the fact that the party reached its conclusion several months ago and failed to readmit her to the parliamentary party until earlier this week, after the story broke, indicates a determination to humiliate her. Coming from a community where discrimination is a daily reality, we know unfairness when we see it.”

The signatories claim the party’s inability to make a decision on her future since the investigation concluded last year was an example “of the systemic racism highlighted in the Forde report on factionalism in the Labour party commissioned by Starmer himself”.

The letter adds: “Just two months ago it was revealed that the Tory party’s chief funder [Frank Hester] had told a meeting ‘when you see’ Abbott on television ‘you just want to hate all Black women’ and said the MP ‘should be shot’. In the ensuing furore the Labour party then tried to fundraise on the back of Abbott’s predicament, even as they continued to exclude her from the parliamentary party.

“Given Labour’s recent embrace of others who have championed causes far more objectionable to its core values and its commitment to stamp out antisemitism in its ranks, the treatment of Abbott also smacks of a disgraceful double standard.”

The letter notes the feeling of upset felt by Black communities, saying they have been “among Labour’s most loyal supporters, lifelong and through multiple generations”, but warns “that loyalty has never been unconditional”.

“The Labour party seems to have made a strategic decision that the black and brown vote doesn’t matter. Electorally speaking that won’t be true everywhere. But even if it were, it’s not politically or morally right anywhere,” the letter adds.

The signatories

David Harewood OBE, actor

Lenny Henry, actor

Adrian Lester, actor

Gary Younge, professor

Yomi Adegoke, author

Reni Eddo-lodge, author

Misan Harriman, Oscar-nominated director

Afua Hirsch, Writer and producer

Jackie Kay, novelist

Emma Dabiri, author

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, lawyer

Diane Evans, author

Simon Frederick, director

Carys Afoko, podcaster

Sharmaine Lovegrove, publisher

Lola Olokosie, teacher and writer

Azieb Pool, journalist and author

Lemn Sissay, poet

Giles Terera, actor

Patrick Younge, media executive

Afua Hagan, journalist and broadcaster

Rowena Twesigye, Media and Communications consultant

Lynda Smith, self love and empowerment coach

Hugh Woozencroft, presenter

Maxine Wilson, Executive producer

Nelson Abbey, author

Scarlette Douglas, TV presenter

Juliana Olayinka, presenter

Ayo Bakare, reporter

Marvyn Harrison, business leader

Ekow Eshun, writer and journalist

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Jail for 'UK's biggest benefit fraudsters' who stole £53m using fake claims - Sky News

Five gang members who falsely claimed more than £53m in benefits have been jailed for a total of 25 years.

In what is thought to be the largest benefit fraud and money laundering-related scheme in England and Wales, the gang made thousands of false universal credit claims using real people or hijacked identities.

Gyunesh Ali, 34, committed fraud by false representation "on an industrial scale" during the scheme which also involved fellow Bulgarians Galina Nikolova, 39, Stoyan Stoyanov, 28, Tsvetka Todorova, 53, and Patritsia Paneva, 27, Judge David Aaronberg KC said.

Image: Stoyan Stoyanov. Pic: CPS

Image: Tsvetka Todorova. Pic: CPS

At Wood Green Crown Court in London, they were sentenced to a total of 25 years and five months in prison after pleading guilty to multiple fraud and money laundering-related offences.

They were also all warned they are liable to be deported after serving their sentences and the judge acknowledged "an enormous amount of work" was carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to prosecute the gang.

Bundles of cash stuffed in shopping bags and suitcases were found during a raid on their properties, as well as a luxury car and designer watches, jackets and glasses, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

One gang member was also filmed throwing stacks of £20 notes in the air.

More on Crime

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The gang supported their false benefits claims with an array of forged documents, including tenancy agreements, payslips and letters from landlords, employers, schools and GPs.

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1:32

Benefit fraudsters throw money in the air

If the claims were rejected by the DWP, the gang would try again until they were accepted.

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Investigators discovered three "benefit factories" in London, where they claimed to help people obtain national insurance numbers using "claim packs" of forged and false documents, the CPS said.

Image: Patritsia Paneva. Pic: CPS

The court heard they also gave claimants tips on how to fool the system.

After applicants made the claims, they left them in the gang's hands and they then laundered the money through several bank accounts.

Ali and Nikolova were the main people behind the fraud.

The judge said the maximum sentence he could give them under current laws is 10 years but added he would give them credit for their guilty pleas, time served and other mitigating factors.

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Ali, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false representations, possession of articles for use in fraud and possessing criminal property, was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison.

The judge told him: "You played a leading role in a scheme that was complex and sophisticated in nature. Your offending lasted for some four-and-a-half years and were involved in a vast number of false declarations."

He had fled to Bulgaria after his arrest but was extradited back to the UK in February 2023.

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Nikolova, who was found to have caused £25m in losses for taxpayers, was given eight years in prison.

Todorova was given a three-year sentence but she was due to be released on licence on Thursday because of time already served in custody and under house arrest.

In court, it emerged Todorova and Nikolova had tried, unsuccessfully, to flee the UK after their arrests in May 2021.

Paneva was 19 years old and was paid £80 a day when she was recruited by the gang's leaders for the scheme. She was jailed for three years and two months.

Stoyanov was sentenced to four years in prison after also pleading guilty to multiple charges.

An order for a surcharge is set to be made at a future confiscation hearing.

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Police couple who shared footage from murder probe jailed - BBC

Lancashire Constabulary

Laura O'Neill & Kim Pilling

BBC News & PA Media

2 hours ago

A constable and his police colleague wife have been jailed after they shared video footage taken at the crime scene of a murder inquiry.

Cameron Lee Hanson, 33, was a serving officer at Lancashire Constabulary when he attended an address in October 2021 and found the body of 45-year-old James O'Hara.

Hanson recorded the discovery on his body-worn video, but minutes after he left he sent police civilian worker Kirstie Hanson, 33, audio messages about the incident and used his personal phone to take videos of Mr O'Hara.

After admitting misconduct in a public office, Hanson, of Packington Brook, Oswaldwistle, and Kirstie Hanson, of the same address, were jailed for 32 and 18 months respectively.

'Warped bragging'

Manchester Crown Court heard how the morning after receiving the material Kirstie Hanson asked fellow civilian worker Charlotte Riley, 30, if she wanted "to see video from a murder".

Riley replied: "Yeh, of course I do," and Kirstie Hanson sent her the footage with the message: "Don't show anyone that, I'll get in shit."

Two days later, Kirstie Hanson approached two other colleagues and showed them her husband's recording of the body. The colleagues reported the matter to their superiors and an inquiry was launched, with the Hansons' devices seized.

The investigation uncovered another incident in February 2021 in which Cameron Hanson was called to a sudden death and messaged his wife: "Just a potential murder."

He took a photograph of the deceased, whose body was covered by a coat, and sent it Kirstie Hanson who replied: "Babyyy that's creepy. I hope that's not your coat."

Other misconduct revealed included unauthorised access to police computer systems, disclosure of private and sensitive information, and "mockery of vulnerable members of the public".

All three defendants pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to misconduct in a public office, while the Hansons also admitted unauthorised access to a computer.

James Malone

Kirstie Hanson and Riley also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to secure access to computer material.

Riley, of Carholme Avenue, Burnley, received a 12-month sentence suspended for two years.

The various offences took place between January 2019 and November 2021.

The court heard how in January 2021, Hanson sent his wife a phone recording of body worn video taken by him when he used Pava incapacitant spray on an individual known to have mental health difficulties.

He messaged her: "Two arrests, both fights. Pavad a mental health patient lol."

Kirstie Hanson replied with a laughing emoji and wrote: "Thought you weren't allowed to pava them."

Camerson Hanson said: "Tis questionable but justified in this case ha ha."

In October 2021, Cameron Hanson messaged his wife after he attended a report of a sexual offence and also gave her the location.

He wrote: "Rape. Some guy got through a window and raped a woman while her husband sat crying."

'Deep shame'

Last April, Michael Hannan, 32, was jailed at Preston Crown Court for five years and four months for the manslaughter of Mr O'Hara who he punched in an unprovoked stranger attack.

Mr O'Hara's mother Janice read out a victim personal statement from the witness box at Manchester Crown Court about the impact upon the family.

She said: "I can't comprehend why anyone, let alone a serving police officer, could carry out such an atrocity.

"They have stripped our son of the dignity he deserved in death, it dehumanised him, all for some morbid curiosity or some form of warped bragging rights."

Judge Nicholas Dean KC, told the defendants: "We have heard the moving statement of Mrs O'Hara. Hearing her I hope you felt the deep sense of shame that you ought to feel.

"This is a shocking and disturbing case. Shocking and disturbing for what it might tell us about the culture that appears to have existed for a period of time at least within Lancashire Police."

David James, representing Cameron Hanson, said his client wanted to apologise to his victims and their families.

He added: "He was emotionally ill-suited to such a difficult and stressful job."

Patrick Cassidy, for Kirstie Hanson, said she was "deeply ashamed" and had since undertaken a university course on law and ethics as a "manifestation of her reflective state of mind in order to learn".

Patrick Williamson, defending Riley, said she too was ashamed and added: "Her family are frankly horrified and annoyed at her behaviour."

Lancashire Police said all three defendants resigned during the course of its investigation.

Det Ch Insp Eugene Swift, of the force's anti-corruption unit, said: "The behaviour of these three individuals has no place in Lancashire Constabulary and damages public confidence and trust in the police at both a local and national level.

"My thoughts are with the victims of this offending and I hope today's outcome will give them some sense of justice."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

Related Topics

• Lancashire Police
• Oswaldtwistle

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Diane Abbott should be allowed to stand for Labour, says Angela Rayner - The Guardian

Diane Abbott has not been treated “fairly or appropriately” by some Labour colleagues and should be allowed to stand again for the party at the election if she wishes to do so, Angela Rayner has said.

Labour’s deputy leader confirmed that the veteran MP had not been barred from running again despite reports to the contrary and said she “doesn’t see any reason” why Abbott could not run now the party whip had been restored.

In an interview with the Guardian, she also suggested it was up to Abbott to decide whether she retired at this election, although she indicated there was an expectation she would do so. “I want to see her be able to retire with her 37 years of service being respected and being celebrated,” she said.

Abbott on Wednesday night promised to stay on as an MP for “as long as it is possible”, setting up a possible clash with Keir Starmer after a deal for her to retire from parliament broke down. She accused the party of carrying out a “cull of leftwingers” after she and others were blocked or dissuaded from standing.

Rayner rejected claims that only leftwing candidates had been blocked, after two – Faiza Shaheen in Chingford and Woodford Green and Lloyd Russell-Moyle in Brighton Kemptown – announced they had been barred.

“I don’t think it’s a purge,” Rayner said. “I don’t know the details of the individual cases but I do know that we put a robust system in place around vetting and dealing with serious allegations that are made in the party. We had to do that because when me and Keir took over, the party was failing.”

She denied it was just leftwingers who had been affected. “I don’t think it is. There are candidates across the board. I understand that people are nervous about that, but I don’t think it is just a feature of candidates on the left.”

She said: “I don’t think Keir is acting in a factional way. You do have factions in the Labour party but our party will only succeed if we’re a broad church.”

Abbott, the UK’s first black female MP, had been set to make a “dignified exit” from parliament after a four-decade career, in an arrangement in which she was given back the Labour whip after an investigation into comments she made about racism. The deal appeared to collapse after an unknown Labour source briefed journalists that she would nonetheless be barred from standing again in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency, prompting fury from her allies.

Rayner said: “I don’t think that briefing was accurate, fair or even appropriate. I don’t think briefing against colleagues is the way that we should conduct ourselves. I don’t think that helps anyone.”

She did not confirm whether there would be an internal investigation into the affair, but admitted Starmer was “incredibly frustrated” when there was negative briefing in the press about any Labour colleagues.

“Keir is the ultimate professional, he ran the Crown Prosecution Service and he’s meticulous around bringing in that conduct within the party and politics.” she said. “He believes that politics should be above that. He’s definitely a ‘play the ball, not the man’ person … He would want any issues to be dealt with through the right processes rather than briefing.”

Confirming that Abbott had not been barred from standing again, Rayner said: “If Diane wanted to stand again, I don’t see any reason why she can’t … The investigation is concluded and it’s confirmed that she’s now back in the parliamentary Labour party and on the whip.”

She suggested the decision about whether to retire or not was one for Abbott to take herself. “She may do, she may not, but that should be her decision, it’s not for anybody else. I want to see her be able to decide her own future.”

Rayner said Abbott had a firm legacy as a “trailblazer” who had given hope and inspiration to many women from all backgrounds. “She’s a valued colleague across the house, not just in the Labour party but across the political spectrum. I think she deserves to be treated with respect.”

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