Cabinet Minister Warns Brits Could Face ‘Pretty Depressing’ Summer Amid Jet Fuel Crisis

Brits could face a ‘pretty depressing’ summer if jet fuel supply issues are not resolved over the coming months, a Cabinet minister has warned amid a staycation boom.

Bookings for UK holidays over the coming months are increasing as concern over higher ticket prices because of surging jet fuel costs puts people off overseas holidays.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane that once carried a fifth of global oil and gas, has sent oil prices soaring since the US-Israeli war on Iran started.

Some airlines have already warned they will have to increase fares to offset higher costs, while online travel firms have claimed the conflict is discouraging holidaymakers from destinations in the Gulf and eastern Mediterranean, while UK hotels are cashing in.

The jet fuel price rose from approximately $99 (£73) per barrel at the end of February to as high as $209 (£155) a barrel at the beginning of April. The latest figure is $185 (£137).

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones has said the conflict will likely continue to raise prices for flight tickets, energy and food in the coming months. 

The Government is looking at how to offset the impact of oil prices on consumers while simultaneously striving to secure stocks of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is used by breweries, to ensure an adequate supply of beer during the World Cup.

Mr Jones told the BBC: ‘I raised this issue because if there is a problem with jet fuel on holidays and carbon dioxide on beer, the summer might be pretty depressing for people, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure that it’s not the case.’

Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the US ceasefire with Iran last week that paused most fighting, but further steps towards ending the conflict have fallen flat after the President told his envoys not to travel to Pakistan for talks. 

UK airlines insist they are not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel because they buy it in advance and airports maintain stocks, while the Government has said it is ‘closely monitoring’ stocks and urged people to avoid changing upcoming travel plans. 

Airports will make it easier for airlines to cancel flights without running the risk of losing their allocated ‘slots’ – scheduled times for take-off or landing which some UK airports assign to airlines – if fuel shortages stop them from flying.

To be honest, we were already facing a rather depressing summer; it’s called the Labour Party.

What we should be focusing on is the survival of our country, not holidays, which I must confess are fun, but pleasure is a rare commodity now with Rachel Reeves robbing us blind, but even without the holidays, it’s a pretty depressing wake-up call each morning!

Depression was already rife in Britain with the cost-of-living crisis, but now we have the fuel crisis, and now people can’t get to work because they can’t afford the fuel that has soared, and what is our government doing about it? They might say they are doing everything possible, but I see absolutely no evidence of this because our government don’t represent the working class anymore and hasn’t done so for a long time.

We have had two years of depression under Labour and three more to come, with the sky-high fuel prices, cost of living crisis, thousands of unwanted intruders, failing NHS, add this to the most enept, ineffective Prime Minister and government of all time – I mean, what is there to be cheerful about?

Councillor Apologises For ‘Speak English’ Remarks

A councillor who told a call handler from Sri Lanka to ‘speak English’ while reporting a fly-tipping incident has apologised.

Janet Cleverly, an independent on Newport City Council, has been reprimanded over her ‘derogatory and humiliating’ remarks, and told she must complete extra training.

She called the council’s customer service line and spoke to a call handler, who had only been in the job for four weeks after moving to the UK from Sri Lanka in 2022. 

During the conversation, in August 2024, the handler attempted to explain that there were ‘disruptive sounds’, and invited her to repeat specific details, but Cleverly then interrupted the handler and said: ‘I’m sorry, can I speak to somebody who’s speaking English?’, according to a report by the Ombudsman.

A few minutes later, when the call handler was attempting to clarify details, she said again: ‘Sorry? I can’t understand anything you’re saying. Speak English.’

The councillor followed up the call with an email to the cabinet member accountable for environmental matters, which read: ‘The person I spoke to could not speak English properly…

‘I am all for equal opportunity, but this person took all my information wrong after I had to repeat everything 3-4 times and spell everything lots of times.’

A customer services manager listened to a recording of the call and raised concerns over Cleverly’s ‘unnecessary’ tone.

Even though the call handler didn’t want to file a complaint, this led to an investigation.

A council monitoring officer assessed that the call handler’s English was fluent, and Cleverly’s remarks were ‘consciously or otherwise, racially motivated’ and ‘discriminatory’.

The customer service team manager said Cleverly had been ‘derogatory’ and ‘highly inappropriate’.

She said the called handler, who had only been in the role for around four weeks’, was left feeling ‘belittled and inferior’, and that she was not up to the job. 

For her part, Cleverly told the ombudsman that she had ‘lots of BME friends’, meaning people black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

She said it had been a ‘really frustrating’ phone call, and disagreed that the handler had spoken in a clear and fluent way.

However, she also apologised, saying she felt ‘absolutely awful’ about upsetting the handler.

Parts of Thursday’s committee hearing took place in private to safeguard the identity of the call handler, who was not attending.

Cleverly told the panel: ‘I was absolutely mortified by my actions that day.’

The committee found Cleverly had breached three areas of the council’s code for members relating to equality, respect and consideration of others, and disreputable conduct.

The ombudsman, Michelle Morris, found that her ‘underlying motivation’ was that she was ‘irritated from the outset by the way the call handler spoke’.

Cllr Kevin Whitehead, who leads the Bettws ward’s independents, said the phone call showed a ‘lack of etiquette’ from his colleague but questioned any suggestion there was a racial element to the matter.

Being a call handler is not the most straightforward job to do. You have to be courteous all the time, even if the person on the other end of the line is not – you still have to be polite. However, to be a call handler, you need a spine because some people on the other end of the line can be extremely rude, but you still have to take it on the chin because it’s your job, and if you are the type of person who gets easily offended, then it’s not the job for you!

It said that the ‘call handler’s’ English was fluent, evidently not that fluent if she couldn’t be understood.

If you want an English-speaking call handler and you are courteous about it, then I don’t see why you can’t have one. I am hard of hearing and I cannot always understand the call handler because they tend to talk extremely fast, and even though they are speaking English, it with an accent and I just can’t understand them, but I always point out that I am not being discriminatory, it’s just that they are talking too fast for me and I am hard of hearing, and they usually oblige.

However, it can be aggravating when you can’t understand someone, or they can’t understand you, and you have to keep repeating yourself. By the end of any phone call, I end up feeling like I’ve got Tourette’s! No discourtesy to those who do have Tourette’s.

Police Rogues Are Rooted Out By AI Spy Program

Following Scotland Yard’s deployment of an artificial intelligence surveillance software to uncover wrongdoing, corruption, and crime, hundreds of rogue police officers are in danger of being fired.

In an unprecedented crackdown, Britain’s biggest force discreetly unleashed the AI tool to root out bad behaviour – letting it loose on internal systems which monitor sickness levels, overtime, expenses, entry to buildings and public complaints.

The controversial tool was provided by the US tech company Palantir, which also works for the Israeli military and Donald Trump’s ICE operation.

It found that police had committed grave crimes and corruption, including fraud, sexual assault, and misuse of power for sex.

For years, senior executives have been exploiting Met systems by filing fictitious claims for overtime, tricking systems to obtain more days off, lying about working from home, and concealing their Freemason membership.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is already thinking about the possibility of using comparable AI programs in investigations to identify the most dangerous predators and crime hotspots.

Palantir discovered evidence of cops sexually harassing coworkers and manipulating HR systems to obtain additional compensation during a week-long AI pilot that was conducted without the knowledge of staff or officers.

As a consequence, 100 are being investigated for gross misconduct, and 615 have received warning notices. Of those cases, 598 concern the abuse of the IT shift system for officers’ personal or financial gain.

About 42 senior officers from chief inspector to chief superintendent rank face losing their positions after lying about being in the office when they were working from home in breach of Met guidelines, which state they must be in the office at least 80 per cent of their time.

There are also 12 officers facing gross misconduct proceedings for not declaring that they are Freemasons, and an additional 30 officers are still under suspicion. Three officers have been suspended and two arrested for abusing their position.

Red flags were raised about another 30 officers for ‘suspicious behaviour’, but the force says that is ‘currently uncorroborated’.

To identify the offenders, the AI technology examined years’ worth of internal data.

Following the Charing Cross affair, when racist and sexist policemen were seen on camera by BBC Panorama, Sir Mark commissioned the initiative.

Since he took on the UK’s top policing job in 2022, 1,500 officers have been sacked, but Sir Mark believed AI could unearth bad conduct that had not previously been spotted.

This is a brilliant idea, now can we set it loose on the House of Commons! They won’t do that, though; they will just root it out on everybody else instead, but I believe that this AI programme should be used to spy on all politicians and White Hall civil servants so that we can catch up with all their fraud, blackmail, bribes and general dishonest and unethical conduct because it doesn’t seem like our politicians are not representing the interests of this country or its people, and I believe that AI would demonstrate this beyond reasonable doubt.

Most of the police that I see these days, on our streets and in the media, look incapable of even tackling anything other than a fish supper.

The only problem I can see is this: who will set the parameters of what is to be deemed as ‘bad behaviour’

Migrant Village With A Picturesque Setting

Yards from the Thames, in the churchyard of All Saints, which dates from the 12th Century, is the final resting place of the Victorian poet Matthew Arnold.

In fact, the village of Laleham in Surrey is pretty much as quintessentially sleepy old England as you can still find.

So locals whose youngsters attend the Church of England primary here were shocked in recent weeks to discover a young Afghan man constantly loitering outside, approaching female pupils, and becoming confrontational when spoken to.

According to one group of parents, he spat at them and seemed to suggest that paying to be smuggled into Britain by dinghy gave him free rein. ‘I’m allowed to stand where I want – I paid £3,000 to be here,’ is what locals say he told them.

Following police calls, the asylum seeker disregarded warnings and was taken into custody in accordance with the Mental Health Act.

Only then did it emerge that the Afghan, in his 20s, had last month been placed in a 1920s semi along with five other migrants, at the behest of the Home Office.

The house had been bought by north London businessman Joshua Grunt, 48, in October for £500,000, who immediately let it out via an agent to house migrants.

However, the local authority, Spelthorne Borough Council, insists it had neither been informed nor consulted over the arrival of any migrants, saying: ‘The Council has written to the Home Office asking for an explanation and an assurance that this will not happen again.’

Yet a Daily Mail investigation has found that such sudden arrivals of migrants in villages and towns are about to happen on a massive scale – all over the country – as a direct result of Labour’s promises to close migrant hotels. And the only people celebrating will be those making fat profits as a result, at taxpayers’ expense.

Investigations started last week at the edge of the Garden of England, where the people of Walderslade, a Kent suburb of Chatham, were furious.

Thanks only to a leak to a local councillor, they had discovered that they, just like the residents of Laleham, were about to find out what Keir Starmer’s dispersal policy looks like in practice.

What it is going to mean in Walderslade – where oast houses and miles of countryside are on the doorstep – is the sudden arrival, on two quiet residential cul-de-sacs, of two groups of asylum seekers, amid long-standing residents.

In total, some 221 migrants are officially expected to arrive shortly on residential streets across the predominantly rural borough of Tonbridge and Malling, and what is truly remarkable is that this is likely to be the template for the entire country.

To be honest, there are no words to describe how outraged I am, and we all need to express ourselves much more than sheer outrage because it looks like, from where I’m sitting, that the Labour Party despises Britain.

We are just being deceived by Keir Starmer and his Labour Party because they say they are starting to close down the migrant hotels, and they appear as if they are taking action, but what they are actually doing is taking them from one accommodation to another, so the numbers will still be the same.

It’s simple, Keir Starmer – we don’t want them in our hotels, we don’t want them in HMOs, we don’t want them in our country!

‘Muslim Only’ Flats Advertised In East London

Homeowners are illegally advertising ‘Muslim only’ flats in parts of East London, as politicians condemned the listings as ‘disgusting and anti-British’.

Apartments in Woodford, Stratford, and Leyton are being advertised exclusively for Muslims, according to online advertisements and social media posts.

The phrase ‘Muslims only’ is strictly prohibited in ads, but is still being used by live-in landlords to guarantee they receive applications from those of the same faith.

Others get around the prohibition by expressing their preference for a Muslim individual, which is permitted, but only for those renting out a room in the home where they reside.

Among those leading outrage at the ads was Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s economic spokesman, who said on X: ‘These adverts are disgusting and anti-British. 

‘It goes without saying that there would be a national outrage if the tables were turned. Is anything going to happen, or is this now acceptable in two-tier Britain?’

Tory frontbencher Sir James Cleverly described the ads as ‘plainly unacceptable’ and called on ministers to ‘urgently ensure the rules are enforced properly’.

The shadow housing secretary said: ‘This is plainly unacceptable. Discriminating against tenants on the basis of religion is unlawful under the Equality Act and has no place in our housing market.’

‘Reports of “Muslim only” rental listings in London are a failure of enforcement and a breach of the law, which undermines fairness for all renters. Ministers must urgently ensure the rules are enforced properly and that those flouting them face consequences.’

Due to equality rules, landlords and rental agencies are prohibited from advertising their properties for a certain faith, but the rules are more relaxed for ads written by flatmates and people with lodgers, because they are entitled to have a preference on their new flatmate’s religion.

Those expressing a religious preference are advised to explain it clearly and without exclusionary wording – meaning they cannot say that the room is for ‘Muslims only.’

They can, however, state a preferred flatmate, and thus an acceptable statement might be: ‘This is a halal household, so we’d prefer a Muslim housemate.’

One homeowner who advertised a room in a ‘Muslim flat’ in East London has insisted he is not racist, telling the Daily Mail he was merely highlighting ‘a cultural thing’ when he rented out ‘a luxurious single room in a shared male Muslim house’.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said he did not want to ‘discriminate against anybody’, saying: ‘It’s my house. It’s not discrimination. In this house we are Muslim’.

He might not want to discriminate, but he has, and it’s illegal. You just couldn’t make this stuff up, could you? But we are now past the point of no return, because nothing will be done about it. I wonder what would happen if we advertised our homes, but only to Christian faith people. Honestly, I’m just curious.

I’ll tell you what would happen. There would be demonstrations out on the streets, and we would be named and shamed, and the police would turn up in their droves.

The UK stands for the United Kingdom, well, at least it was once, but don’t worry, just be happy! However, the worm is turning, and it’s time for the British people to take back control, because what is going on is despicable. This is British, not a Muslim, country. It doesn’t belong to them, it belongs to us!

Chinese Military Scientists Die Mysteriously

At least nine scientists have mysteriously died in China as speculation increases over the deaths and disappearances of 11 American scientists.

In many of the Chinese cases, the causes of death are recorded as accidents, sickness, or unexplained incidents, and while these reasons seem straightforward individually, taken together, they are attracting increased scrutiny. 

One of the most baffling cases is that of Feng Yanghe, a 38-year-old defence technology professor who died in July 2023.

He had reportedly been working on simulations related to a potential Taiwan invasion before his death in a late-night car crash in Beijing, Newsweek reports.

Official accounts state that Feng had been leaving a work meeting when the crash occurred at around 2.35 am, but speculation increased after his obituary described the scientist as having been ‘sacrificed while performing official duties,’ wording that some observers found unusual for what was described as a traffic accident.

Further attention was drawn by his burial in a high-profile cemetery normally reserved for national figures. Such honours are seldom associated with standard accident cases.

At least nine Chinese scientists have reportedly died in similar ways in previous years.

Many of them were working in highly sensitive fields, including military artificial intelligence, space defence and hypersonic weapons.

Among them was Zhang Xiaoxin, a space expert who died in a reported car accident in December 2024.

Chen Shuming, a specialist in microelectronics, also died in a similar incident in 2018, and chemist Zhou Guangyuan passed away in December 2023, with no official cause of death revealed. 

Other cases include Yan Hong, who died after an illness and Fang Daining, who died following what was described as an unexpected medical episode abroad. They both worked in the field of hypersonics.

Meanwhile, drone specialist Zhang Daibing and data scientist Liu Donghao also died under circumstances that remain murky.

Officials, however, have not indicated that foul play is involved despite the increased scrutiny.

The deaths come as at least 11 American professionals with ties to NASA, nuclear research, aerospace programs and classified projects have disappeared or turned up dead in recent years.

Many of the people held top security clearances, giving them access to sensitive information on space missions, nuclear technology or advanced defence systems, spurring speculation about possible ‘sinister’ connections.

This alarming pattern first emerged after retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland vanished on February 28.

He was last seen leaving his New Mexico home without his phone, wearable devices or glasses less than two months ago. He was only carrying a pistol, and his wife told 911 dispatchers that it appeared he was trying ‘not to be found.’

Oh, the pleasures of a communist state. No freedom of speech, no journalism, no elections, no political accountability – no freedom whatsoever. It sounds like the direction the UK is going – don’t say you weren’t forewarned! And this isn’t just happening in communist states; it’s happening globally, and they are all in one big bath, but someone at the top of the mountain is going to die from hyperthermia.

‘End-Of-Life’ Brit Spends £10k

After her only son passed away, a British mother without a fatal condition is going to Switzerland to end her life at an assisted dying facility.

Wendy Duffy, 56, a former care worker from the West Midlands, has paid £10,000 to end her life at Pegasos, a Swiss assisted dying clinic, after losing her son Marcus, 23, four years ago. Despite years of therapy and antidepressants, she has been unable to come to terms with his death.

Speaking just days before her death, Wendy said, “I won’t change my mind. I know it’s hard for you, sweetheart. It will be hard for everyone. But I want to die, and that’s what I’m going to do. And I’ll have a smile on my face when I do, so please be happy for me. My life; my choice.” She added: “I can’t wait.”

In an interview with Daily Mail journalist Jenny Johnson, Wendy told how she lost Marcus in harrowing circumstances four years ago. He had fallen asleep on the sofa while eating a sandwich, hungover after a heavy night out. Soon after, she was faced with every parent’s worst nightmare.

“He was purple,” she said. “I thought, ‘It’s his heart.”

Wendy, who is medically trained, got Marcus to the floor and started CPR, calling for help. Paramedics came and rushed him to the hospital, where the worst news came: half a cherry tomato had been discovered lodged in his windpipe. It had taken specialist equipment to remove it.

Wendy sat with him for five days before his life support was switched off. His organs were donated for transplant. She said, “Afterwards, I got a letter from the man who got his heart. He said that thanks to Marcus, he was able to play with his kids again,” she said. Another recipient was a four-year-old child. “That was a comfort, but it also ripped at me.”

Every day, she went to the funeral home to spend time with her son while listening to his Spotify playlist.

“In the funeral home, I went in every day, and just sat with him, playing through his Spotify list. I broke when I saw him in there. My boy, on a metal table. You can’t come back from that, you know. That’s when I died too, inside. I’m not the same person now as I was. I used to feel things. I don’t care about anything any more.”

It is her choice to end her life. If you have never lost a child, you wouldn’t understand.

Everybody loses someone at some point in their life, but certain losses are irreversible, and everyone handles sorrow differently.

Nothing was going to bring back this woman’s son, and depression isn’t fleeting; it’s a lifelong illness, and for some people, the black dog is an enduring daily visitor.

Regardless of the circumstances, no one else has the authority to dictate to someone what they can do with their body or life since each individual is unique.

Sadly, pain is part of life. It’s called the human condition. I guess that’s why people find religion to find a way of coping, but this decision that this lady has come to is rational to her, but perhaps not so rational to others. She feels that she can’t work past her pain. It’s her decision, but I fear it will leave terrible scars for those left behind.

Surveyor Dies After GP Advised To Call 111

A man died from diabetes complications after a GP told him to ring 111 when he called three times to ask for urgent help, an inquest has heard.

Joshua Haines, 30, was found dead at his home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, on March 16 last year, three days after calling a GP fearing he had life-threatening, untreated diabetes.

Mr Haines expressed worries about his deteriorating symptoms and speculated that he could have a chronic illness.

After reporting extreme dehydration, slurred speech and vomiting, the GP recommended him to contact the non-emergency NHS number 111 instead of being seen in person.

An inquest held at Wakefield Coroner’s Court found Mr Haines died from diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening complication linked to undiagnosed diabetes.

Dr Saleh Majid, whom Mr Haines spoke to on three occasions, said he initially believed the symptoms indicated a stomach bug due to persistent vomiting. The GP told the hearing: ‘I could have done things differently on reflection. I have had time to learn and reflect on this tragic case.’

Assistant coroner Naomi McLoughlin said there were ‘missed opportunities’ to get Mr Haines ‘urgent medical help’.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Haines’s sister Jessica Parker, said: ‘We’re deeply disappointed and devastated.

‘All we want from this is for no family to go through what we’ve had to go through.’

Claire Lindsey, a spokeswoman of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, testified before the inquest.

She said had Mr Haines disclosed his symptoms to the GP, he would likely have been classed as a category two emergency.

In this instance, an ambulance should have aimed to be with him in about 40 minutes.

Daniel Lawton, a senior paramedic, said crews attending would likely have identified the condition, begun rehydration and taken Mr Haines to hospital as an emergency.

In further evidence, an investigating doctor added that ‘red flags were missed’ by the NHS GP Extended Access services Mr Haines contacted.

Dr Saleh Majid said diabetes had been considered but agreed it could develop ‘out of the blue’; however, he added he could not assess ‘how far down the line he was’ and did not ‘envisage it being at a life-threatening stage’.

Asked if he made mistakes, Dr Majid said: ‘I could have done things differently on reflection. I have had time to learn and reflect on this tragic case.

‘Things will be done differently.’

Unfortunately, you can’t trust a general practitioner these days since they appear to believe they are all-knowing and divine. When a patient informs their doctor that they don’t feel well, it should be taken seriously and looked into because a person knows their own body, because it’s their body, and the patient should never be frowned upon and looked at like they don’t know what they’re talking about, and this was a terrible waste of a lovely young man.

What happened here was dreadful and so undeserved, and it’s about time the law was changed, and these doctors were charged with manslaughter. How ill do you have to be to be taken seriously? And the doctor had the cheek to say that things would be done differently in the future, but that’s no use to this poor man, is it?

Prisoner Dies After Being Beaten To Death

A child prisoner has died after claims he was ‘beaten to a pulp’ at a young offenders’ institution.

The 16-year-old boy was said to have been found unresponsive in his cell at Feltham Young Offenders’ Institute, in south-west London, on Monday.

Prison staff called for an ambulance, and the teenager was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead two hours later.

His girlfriend, who asked not to be named, said the teenager suffered from a heart condition but did not believe this was the cause of his death.

And when she was asked to examine the body, she said he appeared to have suffered severe injuries.

Last night, a Scotland Yard spokesman said the death was being treated as ‘unexpected’.

They said: ‘On Tuesday, April 21, at 12.05 am, police were notified by staff at Feltham Prison and Young Offender Institute about the death of a boy who had been found unresponsive and later died in hospital.

‘The London Ambulance Service were called at around 9.30 pm on Monday, April 20 and treated the boy, aged 16, before taking him to hospital. He sadly died at 11.43 pm.

‘At this stage, the death is being treated as unexpected, and enquiries remain ongoing. A post-mortem examination will take place in due course.’

The young man’s girlfriend said she had identified his body at West Middlesex Hospital.

‘His body had been beaten to a pulp, he was covered in scuff marks and bruises,’ she told the Daily Mail.

‘We had to look at him through a glass window; we weren’t allowed to say goodbye properly.

‘We are so confused. We don’t know how he died. He did have a heart condition, but it is one that is very rare to die from.

‘His mother is completely broken. She was originally told he had died in the prison, but then later that it was in hospital, so we just don’t know what happened.

‘He had been in trouble, but he was 16, a child, and should have been protected. He had his whole life ahead of him and planned to go back to college, but now he can’t.

‘It is a complete disgrace that this happened.’

A prison source said that if the boy had been injured, he should have been subjected to regular checks every 15 minutes from staff.

‘Heads may roll for this,’ they said. The revelations at the coroner’s court might actually shut Feltham down once and for all.’

Sadly, this teenager was attacked in a young offenders’ prison. A teenager is all that he was. He was not a child, but he wasn’t an adult either.

A child becomes a teenager at 13, and an adult at 20, but the strongest point here is that this site is still operating, and it shouldn’t; it should be shut down.

It was said that the lad’s death was ‘unexpected.’ Well, I would imagine it was unexpected. We don’t expect people to be battered to death in a secure facility, and it wasn’t just ‘unexpected,’ it was murder, and where were all the guards when this was happening? Perhaps they were on a tea break?

Some people are going to question why the lad was in prison – well, it doesn’t actually matter now, he’s dead.

I mean, what could conceivably go wrong in a prison with a load of hormonal lads, who are clearly in there for one reason or another, but whatever the reason, they undoubtedly need support and rehabilitation, not be battered to death, defeats the object, really, don’t you think? Yes, let’s all beat our dysfunctional teenagers to death, one less to worry about! Makes you wonder where our mindset actually is on all of this.

Blue And Floppy Newborn Placed On Mother’s Chest

A midwife positioned a ‘blue and floppy’ newborn on her mother’s chest and said ‘there’s your baby’, an inquest has heard.

Following problems during a scheduled home delivery with the Edgware Midwives home birth team, Poppy Hope Lomas was taken to the hospital and died at the age of seven days.

Barnet Coroner’s Court heard Gemma Lomas was not properly consulted about the risks surrounding the natural delivery of her second child, having delivered her first daughter, Willow, via caesarean section.

Ms Lomas described how midwives were slow to react when Poppy was born ‘blue and floppy’. Doctors from University College Hospital in London later discovered the baby girl had been ‘starved of oxygen’ for ‘around seven to eight minutes’.

In a witness statement read out by her lawyer, Teresa Hargreaves, Ms Lomas said: ‘The midwife placed Poppy on my chest and said, “There’s your baby”.

‘Poppy was blue and floppy. There was blood coming out of her mouth, and her head fell back. That’s a horrific memory that sticks in my mind, being handed my dead baby.

‘I said “there’s something wrong”, but the midwives moved very slowly, there was no sense of urgency.’

The inquest heard Alice Boardman, who was head midwife at Edgware Midwives, had encouraged a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) at home but failed to explain the potential risks. 

In her statement, Ms Lomas said: ‘I immediately trusted Alice. She was young, and I felt like she was really advocating for me. She was very upbeat and said, “Let’s go for this.”

‘VBACs were something they did every day. She said they’d just delivered a lady with a VBAC with twins.

‘She said that, because of my previous C-section, I’d have to “jump through a few hoops” and speak to their consultant.

‘I was very much led to believe that the conversation I’d be having with their consultant was just a tick box exercise and there was no good reason I could not have a VBAC at home.’

VBAC deliveries should take place in a ‘suitably staffed and equipped delivery suite’ and ‘with resources available for immediate caesarean delivery’, according to guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

Poppy was rushed to the hospital after the midwives, who are the designated home birth team at Barnet Hospital, told Mr Lomas to ring 999. 

After Poppy’s brain was scanned, Dr Giles Kendall, a consultant neonatologist, described the scan as ‘one of the worst that he’d seen in his career’, according to Ms Lomas’s statement.

Dr Kendall believed Poppy had been ‘starved of oxygen for a long time’, Ms Lomas said, while Ms Boardman estimated it to be around seven to eight minutes. 

Ms Lomas said: ‘I still don’t understand how she was without oxygen for so long when the midwives were supposedly monitoring her heart rate.’

Poppy, who had been a healthy baby throughout the pregnancy, died aged seven days old when her breathing tube was removed. Ms Lomas said: ‘That was the worst week of our lives. We knew she wasn’t going to make it.’

The inquest, conducted by senior coroner Andrew Walker, heard midwives also dismissed Ms Lomas’s complaints of pain from her previous C-section scar, including Ms Boardman.

Ms Lomas said: ‘I complained my scar was hurting. It was tight and was starting to really hurt. It felt like it was stretching rather than ripping.

‘I remember saying that it really hurt when she was pushing the Doppler (a handheld ultrasound device used to monitor a baby’s heart rate) hard against my stomach and asking her to stop.

‘She said: “I need to do this, it’s important.’

RCOG guidance states practitioners should be cautious when managing deliveries involving uterine scars, as there is a one in 200 risk of uterine rupture.

Ms Lomas said losing Poppy was even harder to deal with as the baby had been healthy during pregnancy.

She said: ‘She was perfectly fine inside me. She had no defects or problems. It was just those final moments of her birth.

‘That makes her loss even harder to deal with. The fact that it all happened in our home, a place where we should feel safe, has also made the trauma so much worse.’

Edgware Midwives is the designated home birth team at Barnet Hospital, which is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. 

A Royal Free London spokesperson said: ‘Our heartfelt condolences remain with Poppy Lomas’s family at this incredibly difficult time. 

‘An investigation into the care provided to Ms Lomas and to Poppy has been carried out, and the findings shared with the Lomas family. 

‘We await the outcome of the inquest and will carefully review any matters which are raised.’

All births should be conducted in a hospital, regardless of choice, because if anything goes wrong in a hospital, there is always a team of professionals immediately available for mother and baby.

Home births are not safe because there is no life-saving equipment and medical professionals to help.

Numerous deliveries result in post-partum haemorrhages, and if not conducted in a hospital setting, would likely have resulted in the mother or baby not surviving.

There is a reason women started having babies in hospitals, and I can’t believe that some women still prefer this route, unless there simply is not enough time to get the mother to the hospital. However, the hospital is the more suitable option because there are things you can never plan for during birth.

It is appalling what happened here. I understand that they were from the NHS Midwifery Team, but it is disgusting how casual these caregivers were, especially given the years of experience they must have evidently had. I just hope this case is not buried in reams of paperwork because this needs to be spotlighted. After all, a baby died in their care, and these parents will have to relive this trauma for the rest of their lives.

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