Tributes have been paid to a man who died after an incident at his East Yorkshire home.
Police were called to Little London Lane in West Cowick at 7.15pm on December 28, where Paul Hanson, 54, was found injured with a stab wound and rushed to hospital but he later died of his injuries. A 53-year-old woman, who police said was known to Mr Hanson, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody while the circumstances of what happened are established.
According to neighbours who knew Mr Hanson, he was a doting dad and grandad that would always stop for a chat. Residents that had only seen him a few days earlier at Snaith Christmas Market with his wife and daughter described "a really lovely family".
Panic spread through the village when police swarmed the narrow lane on Wednesday evening, a sight that a lot of residents had never seen. "I thought a burglary must have happened or something, until the police came knocking on my door asking questions," one man said.
A woman added: "It’s been absolutely manic with police cars down here. Never in a million years did I think something like this would happen."
Paul Hanson was a man that many saw regularly, even if not everyone knew him personally. A man added: "The family have been there for around three or four years, the guy always said ‘alright’ to me when I’d walk my dog. I’d see him coming and going in his work van early in the morning."
A more familiar neighbour would often chat with Paul and his family and knew his grown-up children. "They were a really lovely family.
"They would always stop and speak, they are quite well-known in this village. They have been here a few years and were recently doing the house up and spent Christmas with their family."
CSI officers at the scene of a murder investigation in Little London Lane, West Cowick (Image: Rich Addison)
The Little London Lane resident said that all the neighbours were fairly close and would always look out for each other. Others walking past were shocked that the incident involved someone who lived down there but a dog walker simply said: "I suppose you never know what goes on behind closed doors."
It is thought that Mr Hanson was in the construction business and was often seen in his work van. Police said officers and detectives were working to establish what exactly happened that evening.
Humberside Police said: "A man who sustained a fatal stab wound at a property in West Cowick on Wednesday 28 December has been named by his family as Paul Hanson, aged 54. We were called to reports of an injured male at a property on Little London Way, West Cowick in Snaith at 7.15pm.
"Paul was taken to hospital to receive medical treatment, but sadly he died shortly afterwards. A woman, aged 53 was arrested on suspicion of murder and currently remains in police custody whilst we continue with lines of enquiry.
"Paul’s family continue to be supported by specialist trained officers and have asked for privacy at this time."
Paul Hanson (Image: Facebook)
Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Burnett added: "We understand that news of a tragic incident such as this will cause shock and concern to people in the village and surrounding areas. However, I wish to reassure people that this was an isolated incident between people who were known to each other and, as such, there is no wider risk to members of the public.
"Officers will remain in West Cowick over the coming days whilst we continue with our investigation, and a scene guard will remain in place. Please come to talk to us if you have any concerns, or information that may assist with our enquiries.
"You can also call our non-emergency number 101 quoting log 435 of 28 December. Or, if you would prefer to report information anonymously, you can do so by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
Tony Blair argued Vladimir Putin should be given a seat at the world's "top table" despite misgivings from officials, newly released files reveal.
Papers released by the National Archives show in early 2001, the then-prime minister believed it was important to encourage the new Russian president to adopt Western values.
But officials questioned if the ex-KGB spy could be trusted.
Files also show Mr Putin offered to build a gas pipeline to the the UK.
In early 2001, Mr Blair explained his approach to the Russian President telling new American Vice-President Dick Cheney that it would encourage him to "reach for" Western attitudes and the West's economic model.
He said Mr Putin was a Russian patriot, sensitive to Russia's "loss of respect" in the world, and had a similar "mindset" to French President Charles de Gaulle, though the two were not directly comparable.
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The Russian President was the first world leader to be given a pair of silver No 10 cufflinks, as a birthday gift in October 2001.
Behind the scenes, Downing Street officials were more sceptical. A few months earlier, a paper on "Putin's Progress" was prepared for John Sawers, then defence adviser to the prime minister and later head of MI6.
The anonymous writer pointed out that the Russian President's "constructive" comments to Mr Blair were sometimes "belied" by Russian actions.
The long list of examples included the Kursk tragedy, when 118 Russian sailors had drowned. Mr Putin had said he was grateful for the offers of British help. Yet Russian officials had obstructed assistance. They had also repeated unfounded rumours that a collision with a British submarine caused the disaster.
When it came to Nato, Mr Putin had told Mr Blair that he would not try to slow down the process of the bloc's enlargement. At the same time his Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev had told his Nato counterparts it would a be "major political error" and Russia would "take appropriate steps".
Mr Putin spoke warmly of the "closeness" between the UK and Russia. He had even offered to to build a pipeline across the Baltic Sea to supply gas to the UK.
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He told Mr Blair it would "ensure stable supplies for decades to come". The proposal was raised at a meeting between the two leaders in Moscow in 2002, but that particular pipeline was never built.
Meanwhile, the Russian intelligence presence remained at Cold War levels and "they continue to try to post active and hostile officers to work against British interests worldwide".
'Clinton wanted revenge'
By 2001 the Blair administration had a new US President to deal with too.
The files show it reacted quickly once George Bush's victory was confirmed by the Supreme Court in December 2000. Mr Blair had been close to President Bill Clinton, and wanted to build links quickly with his successor.
Mr Blair was the first foreign leader to call to congratulate the president-elect, in an eight minute phone conversation. The British prime minister asked if they could be on first name terms. The president agreed, but continued to call the prime minister "sir".
Before the president's inauguration, defence adviser John Sawers and Mr Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell went to Washington to meet officials and likely members of President Bush's team.
Mr Powell wrote they were welcomed: "They all said they wanted to keep the relationship special. It will not however be as cosy as with the Clinton administration. Unlike Clinton they will not do political favours for us."
Meanwhile, Mr Clinton himself wanted to maintain his friendship with the prime minister, and to attack his successor.
He "wanted revenge" wrote Mr Powell at the end of March 2001.
"We don't really want to be associated with Clinton," he wrote to the prime minister. But the former president's adviser Sidney Blumenthal had "hinted" that Mr Clinton was disappointed Mr Blair had not called saying "you do not want to look like you are walking away from your former friend".
In a scrawled note Blair added: "Why don't I call him soon?"
Other files include then-cabinet minister Mo Mowlam's support for the legalisation of cannabis, and the Blair government's frustration with what one adviser called the "juvenile media".
Flooding is expected in parts of Scotland after an amber weather warning was issued for heavy rain.
The Met Office alert, covering Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders, forecasts 40-50mm of rain on Friday and warns flooding could pose a danger to life.
Yellow alerts are also in place for rain in central Scotland and for snow and ice in northern areas.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued flood warnings in central and southern areas.
The amber warning runs from 03:00 until 12:00 GMT on Friday.
People in Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders have been told to expect flooding in homes and businesses, with a "good chance some communities will be cut off by flooded roads".
Car parks next to the River Nith in Dumfries, including the Whitesands, were closed on Thursday evening amid flooding concerns.
Travel disruption is also said to be likely.
Turning very wet overnight; rain for most and snow for some. Christopher has the latest. pic.twitter.com/LbAb8xN49C
Transport Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: "The conditions could potentially bring disruption to the transport network, so it's important people plan their journeys before they set off - particularly if they're looking to use the trunk roads or travel by rail.
"Motorists should make sure their routes are available, follow travel advice from Police Scotland and drive to the conditions. The Traffic Scotland website - traffic.gov.scot - offers the latest information on the trunk roads, and you can also follow @TrafficScotland on Twitter which is regularly updated.
"If you are planning to travel by rail, please check with your operator ahead of your journey to see if your service is affected."
Superintendent Stewart Mackie, of Police Scotland's road policing division, said people should consider delaying their travel plans until conditions improve.
"If your journey is essential, please plan ahead by making sure you have sufficient fuel and supplies in your vehicle, a charged mobile telephone and always drive as the conditions allow," he added.
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The Met Office has also updated a yellow weather warning for heavy rain on Friday which now runs from midnight and expires at 14:00 GMT on Friday. The alert covers Central Scotland, Tayside and Fife, south west Scotland, Lothian and Borders and Strathclyde.
A further yellow warning of snow and ice covers northern Scotland, apart from Orkney and Shetland, from midnight until 21:00 GMT on Friday.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has also issued flood alerts for Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran, CentralScotland, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee and Angus, Edinburgh and Lothians, Fife, the Borders, Tayside and west central Scotland.
Jet stream
The wet and windy weather in the UK is being linked to a massive winter storm in North America, during which 60 people died in eight states over the Christmas weekend.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Patridge said the impact on Scotland would be "nowhere near as dramatic".
And BBC Scotland Weather's Christopher Blanchett explained the link with the US storm - known as a bomb cyclone - was not clear-cut.
"It's difficult to trace the overnight rain tonight, directly to the US bomb cyclone system," he said.
"It looks as though that particular system actually went north, though other systems developed in the Atlantic and came towards our shores - which it may have had an impact in helping to create. So it's not a simple clear-cut picture.
"However, the severe cold plunge we saw across the USA in the run up to Christmas, did energise the jet stream - which in turn is giving us the current unsettled spell of weather here in Scotland."
A third person has been arrested over the Christmas Eve pub shooting that killed Elle Edwards and injured four men.
Merseyside Police said the 26-year-old was not thought to have been the target when she was shot by a gunman outside The Lighthouse in Wallasey.
A man, 28, was critically hurt and three others suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
A Tranmere man, aged 31, has been held on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
A 30-year-old man, who was previously arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and a 19-year-old woman, who was held on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, remain in police custody.
Officers have been granted more time to question the pair.
Ms Edwards died after several shots were fired at the entrance to the Lighthouse at about 23:50 GMT on Christmas Eve.
Police said the pub was packed with mainly young people at the time.
He said Merseyside Police "will not rest until we bring the offenders to justice".
"By that, I mean the person who pulled the trigger of the gun in the most indiscriminate way [and] anybody who was responsible for arranging, facilitating or harbouring this individual and anybody who continues to withhold information on who has done this or indeed where the weapon is," he said.
He said the force would be "tireless in our approach to find justice for Elle and her family" and added that officers had already "made great strides forward" in the investigation, thanks in part to the public providing "some tremendous intelligence and community support".
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Cody Fisher, who was stabbed to death at a nightclub on Boxing Day.
West Midlands police said they had detained a 22-year-old man early today, just after midnight, at an address in Birmingham city centre and arrested a 21-year-old man in London.
Fisher, 23, who was a non-league footballer and sports coach, was killed at The Crane nightclub in Birmingham at about 11.45pm on December 26.
Police at the scene on Tuesday
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His family said in a statement that his death had “broken our hearts”.
Fisher’s girlfriend, Jess Chatwin, wrote online: “You didn’t deserve any of this. I’m so sorry this has happened to you my baby please come home. I love you forever Cody Fisher.”
Police are "relentlessly" hunting the killer of a 26-year-old woman who was shot at a pub on Christmas Eve and will target "anybody harbouring them".
Elle Edwards was shot in the head at the Lighthouse in Wallasey Village, Merseyside.
Four other people were hurt, including a man, 28, who remains in hospital.
Dep Ch Con Ian Critchley said he "will not rest" until they find those responsible for "facilitating or harbouring" the killer.
Merseyside Police believe Ms Edwards was not the target of the attack.
Dep Ch Con Critchley described the shooting as "the most appalling and callous murder".
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He said: "We will not rest until we bring the offenders to justice, and by that I mean the person who pulled the trigger of the gun in the most indiscriminate way... anybody who was responsible for arranging, facilitating or harbouring this individual and anybody who continues to withhold information on who has done this or indeed where the weapon is.
"We will be tireless in our approach to find justice for Elle and her family."
Several shots were fired at the entrance to the Lighthouse at about 23:50 GMT on Christmas Eve. The pub was packed with mainly young people.
Ms Edwards was rushed to Arrowe Park Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Speaking outside the Lighthouse, Mr Critchley said the force had "made great strides forward".
"We have two people in custody already, they are on warrants of further detention, but I am still appealing for information," he said.
"To be murdered in the most horrific and brutal way by the most cowardly of actions is quite incomprehensible for us all."
He said the public are "appalled" and "scared" but have provided "some tremendous intelligence and community support to help us with our investigation".
Asked if he could directly link the shooting to a feud between gangs in Wirral, Mr Critchley said: "We have seen over a number of months some level of escalation here."
He said the force had made a number of arrests and drugs and weapons seizures and "the small few cowards who seek to prey on the vulnerability of others for their own greed" will not be tolerated.
