Motive Identified. Classification Updated

Counter-terror officers are now investigating the suspected murder of former minister Ann Widdecombe as “new information and evidence have come to light”, Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) South East said.

A murder inquiry was started after Widdecombe was discovered dead at her home on Thursday.

Police believe she was attacked at around 12.30 pm on Wednesday – nearly 24 hours before her body was discovered with “serious injuries”.

CTP said in a statement today: “A 28-year-old white British man from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday 11 July.

“New information and evidence have come to light during what has been a dynamic and complex investigation and as a result, Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) is now leading the investigation.

“The man in custody has since been re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.”

The Speaker of the House of Commons has paid tribute to the “courageous” and “principled” former MP and minister Ann Widdecombe, who died last week in “tragic, deeply troubling circumstances”.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle told MPs: “Ann was a formidable politician, a prominent figure in public life. She was a member of Parliament for Maidstone for 27 years, holding a number of ministerial posts in the 90s, and was fierce and enjoyed robust political debate.”

“Whether you agreed with her or not, she was principled, spoke her mind and was true to her beliefs, which were informed by a Christian faith.”

He went on to say that she was a “close friend” of Tory MP Sir David Amess, who was murdered in 2021, and said they were both “animal lovers”.

MPs were urged by the Speaker to refrain from saying anything in the chamber that would jeopardise a criminal prosecution in the future.

Concluding his tribute, Hoyle recalled spending “a lot of time” sharing pizza at a Lambeth restaurant with Widdecombe, describing her as “a friend in many ways”.

“Politically we may not agree, but she was without doubt a courageous, principled politician, and all our thoughts are with her family and her friends.”

Former police officer, Martin Gallagher, explained why counter-terror police are now investigating the death of Ann Widdecombe, with officers having earlier said that terrorism was not suspected as a motive.

He said the police would not have had evidence of such a motive at the outset of the investigation, but following this announcement, Gallagher said: “I would surmise from this that the police have now established evidence of some form of motive which has now brought about the involvement of the counter terrorism police.

“The motive will have been found, obviously, during the searches and such that the police are conducting or through interviews with the suspect.

“So it might not have been immediately apparent.”

He added that he would “refrain from any criticism of the police” because when they find out new information, they act on it, which is “the nature of policing”.

The former top police officer also said that the police were very clear in their original statements that there was no evidence of a terror-related or political motive “at this time”.

Asked how the investigation will now change as counter-terror police take over, Gallagher said there will be a “significant increase in resources”, particularly specialist expertise, as well as a change in command structure and a “whole new prism of information that’s going to need to be provided to the public”.

When counterterrorism intervenes, it can only indicate that the violence they have discovered is not typical, and perhaps if they’ve reclassified it, the motive wasn’t personal. It was operational.

CT police are leading after the death of a former minister? That is no longer a murder investigation. That is an evaluation of the threat, and they don’t hand cases to CT unless the evidence speaks louder than speculation.

Marble Arch Motel: Check In With A Cardboard Box, Check Out With A Tourist’s Wallet

Once again, a group of migrants from Eastern Europe are accused of terrorising Mayfair through professional begging, stealing, and pickpocketing.

At the intersection of Park Lane and Oxford Street – in the shadow of Marble Arch – a dozen people lounge on litter-strewn benches, surrounded by shopping trollies piled with bulging bin bags.

Some smoke and roam, while others gulp from big bottles of Peroni, their tummies bulging from under their t-shirts.

While they may appear idle, some of these people are said to form a well-oiled gang of Romanian criminals.

When approached by the Daily Mail, they voluntarily confessed to having ‘no documents to work’ – and claim they have a ‘hard’ life with support from nobody but themselves.

However, Oxford Street employees, who have gotten to know the returning characters well, claim that the gang comes in from Romania every year, with some of them targeting London’s busiest tourist season.

During the summer and right before Winter Wonderland arrives in Hyde Park, their numbers increase. Many return home with their gains in between these times.

Several encampments have emerged on Park Lane over the past couple of years, forcing Transport for London (TfL) and Westminster City Council to spend thousands to clear them out – yet still the same faces return.

Instead of sleeping in tents for the time being, they spend every night under the cover of M&S’s main Oxford Street shop, from which several have been banned for stealing large quantities of steak and vodka.

Each morning, they transport their belongings along the road and set up in the shade of a huge London Plane tree.

Their work revolves around a street begging racket, complete with shift schedules and managers, according to a barista at Pret a Manger over the road.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘What you have to understand is that these are professionals. They each know their role, whether that’s as a beggar, a pickpocket, or a shoplifter.

‘There is usually a lady stationed outside here on the pavement. She will sit there for a few hours begging for money before another one turns up.

‘They hand over the cardboard, and she takes her place. It is shift work, very well organised.

‘Some of the gang have been around for years, since before the days of the Park Lane camp, and so he has, in a strange way, gotten to know them.

‘They will come in each morning very early to get a coffee, sometimes be a bit cheeky and try to get one for free, but they don’t steal from here anymore. Other places get ransacked,’ he said.

After the tourist season, some people even stop over to say goodbye before packing up and heading off.

He said: ‘They will come in here and say, “Bye bye, I’m going on holiday. I’ll be back in a couple of months.”

The barista observed as the group made a camp ‘like a little village’ with a dozen tents outside the Hilton Hotel down Park Lane.

Last year, it was revealed that TfL had forked out £37,000 for bailiffs and lawyers to clear out the encampment across two summers.

The Pret employee, who didn’t want to be named, is adamant that the same group is now assembled by Marble Arch, having assumed a new base after being turfed out.

They plod back along Oxford Street to spread their duvets over the covered walkway outside M&S after a tiring day of deceit.

A security guard told us the entire group is banned from the store after stealing hundreds of pounds worth of meat, alcohol and clothes.

He said: ‘They have caused us lots of problems over the years. We had to stop them coming in because they would steal – lots of stuff, very expensive.

‘If they were just stealing because they were hungry, they would take sandwiches – but they take meat, lots of steak. And alcohol – spirits like vodka, especially.

‘We often have standoffs; I have to tell them, “You’re not coming in.” After a while they get the message, but they have been violent in the past.

‘M&S has chosen to be empathetic by letting them sleep there – the company could easily hire overnight security to clear them out. And this is how they choose to respond.

‘I have noticed more of them sleeping here in the past three or four weeks; there are about 20 here each night.’

Sainsbury’s is one of the gang’s favoured targets, and employees there have several stories of altercations.

A manager says: ‘There are three or four different groups in the area we have problems with, but the Marble Arch lot are the worst.

‘Just yesterday, one of them stole over £100 of Ferrero Rocher from us. Chocolate is something they steal the most, or they also take the magazines. And I don’t think they take them because they like reading.

‘We’ve got the new Facewatch system – facial recognition technology that monitors the door. It is good because it sends an alert to our store phone when a troublemaker comes in.’

A security guard says: ‘They sometimes follow customers around inside the shop and try to pick their pockets. If someone bends down to look at an item, then they might be able to slip their phone from their trousers.’

Some local employees are more understanding.

An attendant at Selfridges food hall, across the road from the M&S where the group sleeps, said: ‘I sometimes give them food at the end of the day if it is going to waste.

‘I’ll just put a few pieces in a paper bag and give it to them as I walk past.’

Cllr David Harvey, Westminster City Council’s cabinet member for housing, told the Daily Mail the authority was ‘actively responding to the situation’, adding that it faces ‘unique pressures’ caused by rough sleepers from ‘across the UK and overseas’.

‘Public spaces cannot become places for long-term encampments, nor can we accept behaviour that causes distress to residents, businesses and visitors,’ he said.

‘Where people refuse repeated offers of support, or where anti-social behaviour and public safety concerns arise, we will take appropriate enforcement action alongside our partners. 

‘While we will continue to help those who are vulnerable, we are determined to keep Westminster’s streets, parks and public spaces safe, accessible and welcoming for everyone.’

A TfL spokesman said: ‘No one should be faced with sleeping rough on London’s streets. This is a busy part of the TfL road network that is not a safe place for people to sleep rough.

‘People who have previously been sleeping rough at this site have been made aware that returning to the site is not an option and that they will be removed.

‘We continue to work with Westminster City Council whose outreach teams can connect people to the support available to them and continue to monitor the area.’

This makes me extremely sad, which politicians pretend to understand, but when I wander the streets of London I see what’s happening with my own eyes. I’m not being melodramatic; I’m describing a real social unravelling that numerous people feel but are too afraid to say aloud for fear of being labelled, ignored, or told they’re imagining it.

We are an extremely small country, and we just don’t have the space for these illegals.

The UK doesn’t intend to “let them in”. What’s happening is a combination of legal obligations, systemic failure, and political avoidance, which creates the impression that people can just come and stay without consequence.

Under international law — specifically the 1951 Refugee Convention and European human rights frameworks — if someone reaches UK territory and declares asylum, the government must process that claim.

They are unable to lawfully refuse admission at the border or force the boat back, and this is why small boats are such a pressure point.

That’s not “letting them in” by choice — it’s the legal structure the UK signed decades ago.

The asylum system has been running with:

  • huge backlogs
  • too few caseworkers
  • slow processing
  • limited removal capacity

This means people remain in the UK for years, even if their claim is weak or eventually rejected, so the delay creates the appearance of “open doors”, even though the system is simply clogged.

Wimbledon Served Sunshine — The Internet Served Outrage

Yesterday’s Wimbledon visit by the Prince and Princess of Wales provoked criticism as onlookers noticed a contentious feature of their oldest son, Prince George’s, clothing.

The 12-year-old joined his parents and little sister, Princess Charlotte, in the Royal Box on Sunday (12 July) evening to witness Italy’s Jannik Sinner’s impressive three-set triumph over German player Alexander Zverev in the Men’s Singles Final.

But not every sports fan was thrilled to see the youngster sitting on Centre Court, especially given his outfit.

Given the extreme heat in London yesterday, some have criticised George’s outfit for being excessively constrictive. He wore a clean, pale blue shirt, a thick navy blazer, and a matching striped tie.

On the last day of the grand slam, temperatures reached a staggering 29C, but while Kate and Charlotte were able to use small sun hats to keep cool, George appeared uncomfortably hot in the direct sunlight.

“Imagine not letting your child wear a T-shirt in this weather,” one X user hit out after noticing. “Or at least a short-sleeved shirt with no jacket and tie.

“Seems ridiculous in this day and age.”

Another wrote: “Dressed him up like a ventriloquist’s doll.”

“Prince George looks hot in that full suit at Wimbledon,” a third continued. “I respect that the English are formal and keep tradition, but feel bad for the kid.

“Could they not have let him wear a polo shirt or something?”

A fourth also asked: “Why did the poor little fella have to wear a jacket and tie?”

Several spectators rushed to defend Kate and William, however, pointing out that George had simply been abiding by the strict rules that come with sitting inside the royal box.

Wimbledon’s official website states on this: “Protocol – dress is smart, suits/jacket and tie, etc. Ladies are asked not to wear hats, as they tend to obscure the vision of those seated behind them.”

Emphasising these regulations, one social media user wrote: “Get with the programme. It’s Wimbledon. It’s the men’s final. It’s the royal box. There is a strict dress code.”

Another added: “Imagine raising the future King of England to respect the rules of the royal box at Wimbledon and to understand his future role.”

A third continued: “There is a dress code in the Royal Box at Wimbledon! And he’s the future king!!!”

The Royal Box’s strict dress code is not the only strict rule in the 149-year-old tournament…

Wimbledon’s strangest rules

From the length of the grass to the temperature of the tennis balls, Wimbledon has stringent rules and regulations. Violations of these restrictions can result in fines of thousands of pounds.

Curfew

While at other grand slams, play continues late into the night, at Wimbledon there’s a strict 11 pm curfew.

This means tennis buffs sometimes have to go to bed on a cliffhanger.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’s 2018 semi-final clash was suspended after the third set. Meanwhile, Andy Murray was especially annoyed when he was in the lead against Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2023, but went on to lose when the game was paused overnight and restarted the following morning.

Timed toilet breaks

Players are limited to one toilet break for matches up to three sets, and two if it goes on for longer.

They may only leave during a set change, and they must return within three minutes or risk gifting their opponent a point.

The longest ever Wimbledon match lasted a whopping 11 hours over three days, so players better get their nervous wees in before the match.

Temper tantrums

Players can be fined up to £36,900 for smashing their rackets. Djokovic is believed to have smashed over 60 of them over the course of his career.

The same maximum penalties may also be imposed for using foul language.

Countdown to serve

As soon as the ball goes out of play, the serving player has just 25 seconds to hit their serve, or the umpire can call a violation which could potentially grant a point to their opponent.

Fines for not trying hard enough

Players must prove they’re giving their all to win the match. Australian player Bernard Tomic was fined an eye-watering £45,000 after he was accused of not putting in enough effort to beat French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, losing after just 58 minutes.

Age limits

Players have to be at least 14 to compete, which means youth sensations like Coco Gauff were originally banned from taking part.

Spectators, meanwhile, have to be accompanied by a guardian if they’re under 16. Under-fives aren’t permitted at all onto show courts.

This meant Serena Williams’ two-year-old daughter Adira River couldn’t watch her mum’s comeback at this year’s grand slam, while not all of Andy Murray’s four children could watch his final doubles appearance in 2024.

The grass and the balls

Everything at Wimbledon is just so. The grass is cut to 8mm, which is apparently best suited for modern tennis play and for the grass to survive.

Meanwhile, the tennis balls are kept in a fridge to maintain a constant temperature of 20°C. A consistent temperature is important because it apparently affects the way the balls bounce.

Tennis whites

It was originally just female players who were required to wear all-white on the court. According to Tennis Fashions: Over 125 Years of Costume Change, the rule was introduced because it was ‘quite unthinkable that a lady should be seen to perspire’.

Eventually, males were also subject to the regulation.

A single trim of colour is allowed around the neckline and sleeve cuffs, but this must be no thicker than 1cm.

In 2022, an exception was made so women could wear dark undershorts to feel more comfortable if they were on their period.

Misdiagnosed As “Mad” — The Truth Was A Monster

A young woman who was misdiagnosed as being severely mentally unwell for one year has said it took GPs, medical professionals and opticians months to find out what was actually wrong with her.

Sarah-Jane Doherty, 24, from Doncaster in Yorkshire, first noticed she was sick in July 2025 when she found herself being extremely fatigued, to the point where she could not stand up for long periods of time.

Other manifestations included depressive episodes, psychosis, hallucinations, manic episodes, and problems with her mood being up and down, which led professionals to believe she was showing symptoms of bipolar disorder. The 24-year-old was put under the care of secondary mental health services and placed on antipsychotic medication.

Sarah-Jane said: “They said that they would put me on an antipsychotic, and my symptoms still weren’t resolving. In fact, some of them are getting worse.

“They said that they thought that my hallucinations were mood congruent, so they were associated with my mood, which was why they weren’t responding to typical antipsychotic treatment. I think when that was said to me, I was a bit deflated.”

During this time, Sarah-Jane also had problems with her vision, including seeing floaters and noticing she was squinting at her computer screen – despite having her glasses on. After seeing her optician, Sarah-Jane said they urged her to get new glasses due to rapid vision decline and the presence of floaters.

But on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Sarah-Jane was taken to A&E after experiencing an excruciating headache that left her in so much pain after 60 seconds that she was crying on her bed. She was also having the feeling of electric shocks running down her left arm.

She said: “I went from not having a headache at all to crying because I was in that much pain. And I rang my mum, and my mum came down straight away, and I was just absolutely inconsolable.

“I couldn’t put my head up, just lying face down on my bed because nothing was helping. I took co-codamol, which eventually relieved it, and then I carried on getting ready and went out with my friends.”

From then on, Sarah continued to feel ill for several days before going to urgent treatment at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, and being taken through to A&E for a CT scan on her head.

After the CT scan brought up what doctors initially believed was a bleed on her brain, Sarah was taken for an MRI scan and placed onto a ward. The next morning, Sarah-Jane’s life changed forever after being told she had a brain tumour around the size of a golf ball.

She said: “They told me in a bay of four people by myself that I had a brain tumour, and that they think it is a glioma. I was just distraught; I was absolutely hysterical.

“I rang my mum straight away, and she came into the hospital. She rang my dad, and he came home from work to see me. I feel a bit like I’m in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, like it just doesn’t feel like it’s actually me.

“I was upset, I was stressed thinking, ‘what if it’s not removable?’ I didn’t know what grade it was. What if it’s spread somewhere else in my body? And I just had so many what-ifs in my mind that I just kept crying.”

Sarah-Jane went through several other tests, including a lumbar puncture and a full body CT, before being referred to Royal Hallamshire Hospital under the neurosurgery department, where she was diagnosed with a suspected Grade 2 Glioma.

She was also told that the antipsychotic medication she was taking was hiding a number of her major symptoms, such as the electric shocks she was feeling down her left side, which would have presented as seizures if she was not on the tablets.

“They gave me loads of leaflets, and there’s a massive list of complications, which is just so scary. I’m just praying that none of them occurs, but it’s brain surgery, so it obviously is risky in itself.

“They said, hopefully they can get it all, but they won’t know for sure whether it’s grade two or a grade three until they take a biopsy when they remove it.

“And if it does turn out to be grade three and it’s gone further, then it’s most likely radio and chemotherapy, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that. My family’s heartbroken; they’re distraught, but they’re staying strong as well as they can be.

“We’re just trying to spend a lot of time together as a family, but it brought us even closer, if that makes sense. My dad keeps crying, my mum keeps crying.

“I hear them cry when I’m not in rooms because they’re trying not to; they’re trying to be brave for me in front of me. My sister lives in London, she’s come home to stay with me.”

After learning about her brain tumour, Sarah-Jane began sharing her experiences on TikTok in an effort to support others going through similar circumstances and to increase awareness of her symptoms so others wouldn’t overlook them.

She said: “I didn’t know anybody my age who’d had a brain tumour. I posted and then obviously a lot of people started viewing it, and it’s kind of inspired me to keep posting because I’ve got a lot of comments from people going through similar things who didn’t know who to talk to about it.

“It’s not normal to feel ill all the time, and we put this aside and blame things like work for not wanting to go to the doctors, but you’re the most important thing, and it’s important to put yourself first.

“Push for a second opinion if there is any chance that you think something is wrong. You have the right to a second opinion; if somebody is experiencing new symptoms, it can’t be put down to your mental health.”

One of the most dangerous blind spots in frontline medicine today isn’t that GPs don’t care; it’s that the system teaches them to treat the presenting symptom, not investigate the underlying cause, unless something is blatantly abnormal.

Headache? Treat the headache. Hallucinations? Treat the hallucinations. This is efficient for common ailments but disastrous for rare or atypical ones, and with 7‑minute appointments (and shrinking), GPs are forced into “pattern matching” rather than full clinical reasoning.

Once a GP thinks “this is anxiety” or “this is psychosis,” every forthcoming symptom gets interpreted through that lens, and you seldom see the same doctor twice, so nobody builds a proper case history.

When someone develops hallucinations, confusion, paranoia, or personality changes out of nowhere, the first question should be:

“What physical process is affecting the brain?”

Not:

  • “Is this schizophrenia?”
  • “Is this stress?”
  • “Is this trauma?”

Because sudden‑onset psychosis is a hallmark of:

B12 deficiency

Autoimmune encephalitis

Thyroid storms

Epilepsy

Brain tumours

Dementia and Alzheimer’s

Infections

Metabolic disorders

Every single one of these can be detected with:

  • blood tests
  • neurological examination
  • MRI or CT scan

But many patients never get those tests.

The system becomes dangerous when physical illness is mistaken for mental illness, and this distinction matters. Because the danger isn’t the individuals — it’s the diagnostic shortcuts, the time pressure, the biases, and the absence of proper medical investigation that lead to fatal mistakes.

Cut The Benefits, Cut The Life

A mother of a disabled woman who died by suicide when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) incorrectly stopped her benefits has demanded an investigation. Housebound Jodey Whiting died in 2017.

Her death came just two weeks after her Employment Support Allowance (ESA) was denied because she was considered fit for work. But Ms Whiting, from Stockton, lived in chronic physical pain and had her benefits wrongly stopped.

Mum Joy Dove has now met with Labour Party cabinet member Sir Stephen Timms, who is conducting and co-chairing the so-called Timms Review, which is exploring changes to Personal Independence Payment assessments and eligibility.

“Jodey was always just a name and a number to them – she was just one of millions and that must stop,” Joy said. She said: “Only a full public inquiry would get to the truth, for all the people that have been failed.”

“The way the DWP treated my daughter was brutal and disgraceful,” she said. “I’ll keep fighting to get justice for Jodey and all the other families who have lost loved ones.”

Bridget Dolan KC, the coroner’s counsel, said: “She wrote about not being able to pay her bills and having no food.

“In some she wrote about feeling breathless and having back pain and trying to pay her bills and being in debt.”

Another note stated: “I have had enough.” One note ended with the words: “Debt, debt, debt.”

At the inquest, Helga Swidenbank, a director at the DWP responsible for accessibility and disability services, said the department should have recognised that Whiting had “good cause” not to attend a health assessment, given her illnesses and mental health concerns.

In a statement, the DWP said: “The Department has acknowledged the findings of the Coroner, apologised to Jodey’s family for the failings in her case, and made significant improvements.”

I am shocked and hollowed with disbelief because this is a system that kills its own.

This lady didn’t fail the DWP; the DWP failed her, and her blood is on their paperwork.

A lot of people on PIP/benefits have paid decades into the system from working hard and unfortunately get hit with illnesses/disabilities.

They have a right to it! God forbid any of you ever find yourself in a situation where you have no control over your health.

Nobody chooses to be sick or incapacitated by long-term illness, and people who are born with impairments and have never been able to work to support the system clearly deserve it as well.

Nobody wants to live with a disability or poor health! Indeed, there are many who take advantage of others and make claims when there is nothing wrong with them. It is necessary to target these individuals! Individuals who have paid into the system, those who continue to do so, and those with severe disabilities who would not have been able to are all eligible and have submitted numerous medical records, letters from consultants, and healthcare providers.

Everyone who is born or develops a disability should have equal access to financial, emotional, and physical support.

Anyone who needs it should have it regardless; it shouldn’t be seen as something a person has “earned.” The majority of claimants would give it up in a second in return for good health and a pain-free life.

DWP. They come from a distant world, and it’s certainly not ours. Basically, they are working in a heartless system, and many are power-grabbing and just as hungry as the system they work in.

It’s extremely sad for this lady who has died because of the DWP’s inhumane decisions and mistakes, because for people struggling to survive emotionally, physically or mentally, it can be the last straw.

It’s time for us to start caring as human beings because no one should die as a result of bureaucracy or technological errors.

Strict Rules, Soaked Dignity — Hackney’s Apology Comes Bone‑Dry

The leaders of an East London academy where vulnerable pupils were found to have potentially been harmed by its disciplinary culture have declined to apologise to children affected.

A safeguarding review into Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy (MVPA) in Hackney, praised for its excellent academic results, concluded in December 2025 that the school’s culture of “punishment no matter what” had been “particularly harmful” for a substantial minority of vulnerable students.

The report, commissioned by the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership and authored by Sir Alan Wood, looked at 342 reports from parents, pupils and staff describing a climate of fear, institutionalised shouting, a lack of reasonable adjustments for SEND children, and techniques designed to humiliate pupils. Sir Alan called on the school to end the practice of isolating children in corridors – known as ‘desking’ – and teachers screaming into pupils’ faces.

Sir Alan urged the school to differentiate between “acceptable voice raising” to gain attention, and “unacceptable shouting” used to humiliate individual pupils. It concluded: “Academic excellence that traumatises some pupils is not true excellence.”

On Wednesday (July 8), figures from MVPA and its multi-academy trust, Mossbourne Federation, claimed that their behaviour policy was “fit for purpose,” but that it was the culture and “implementation” that needed changing. As they faced a grilling by councillors for the first time since the report’s publication, senior figures from the trust said they had made “enormous progress”, but they would not “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.

Since MVPA is an academy, Hackney Council has limited enforcement power over the school, which is presently controlled by the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE was originally scheduled to attend the meeting but pulled out. During the tense meeting, two cabinet members accused the trust of “gender discrimination” by requiring pupils to make up extra time if they take toilet breaks during class.

A dossier of complaints which led to the damning review – usually reserved for cases of serious harm to children – included five reports from parents that pupils with no previous incontinence problems were soiling themselves or menstruating through their uniforms, either because they were banned from going to the toilet or were too afraid to ask.

MVPA’s Principal, Matthew Toothe, said the school was “unwaveringly caring” as he rejected the toilet policy as “restrictive”, claiming that an alternative approach would fail those children who missed learning time. Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Early Intervention, and Cllr Laura-Louise Fairley, Deputy Cabinet Member for SEND, said this discriminated against menstruating children.

Councillors challenged the leadership’s broader response to the report’s findings, arguing they had yet to see proof of change. Cllr Fairley reported that a Year 6 child who had attended a Mossbourne school on a transition day was sanctioned for not bringing a pen. She called on the senior leaders to say sorry to pupils identified by Sir Alan’s review.

Toby Campbell-Gray, Chair of the Mossbourne Federation, said the trust was focused on acting on the recommendations, but despite pressure from councillors, he refused outright to apologise for suffering experienced by schoolchildren.

“We’re not going to get into apology politics for lots of reasons,” he said, as he implied that certain practices could remain. This included desking, which he said could be “restorative” for pupils, including those who sometimes were asking to be removed from the class.

Peter Hughes, CEO of the Mossbourne Federation, said the school’s code of conduct had now been updated to make clear that “no child is belittled or (made) to feel less than”.

Independent Children’s Safeguarding Commissioner Jim Gamble, who led the report in December 2024, has been critical of the trust’s response both leading up to the review and post-publication. In January, Mr Gamble conveyed his shock that nobody from the senior leadership had yet resigned over the report’s findings. He has also called into question the £400,000 the Federation spent on legal fees, including on its own parallel KC-led inquiry – the equivalent of nearly £500 per pupil.

When asked by Labour backbencher, Cllr Daniel Rea, whether this was an “appropriate” use of public funds, Mr Campbell-Gray said the trust would have “preferred to have spent less” and admitted this decision may have been a mistake, adding: “It is what it is”.

Mr Campbell-Gray took over as Mossbourne Federation Chair in March, following the resignation of Henry Colthurst.

Though Mr Gamble said he was pleased by the new chair’s “fresh perspective”, by the meeting’s end he became visibly frustrated with the leadership’s refusal to apologise to children who had “suffered in a place where they should have felt safe”.

“When an apology is warranted, it should be delivered. That candour is what differentiates those who can reflect and learn from those who simply will defend and continue to defend because they can,” he said.

Turning to the DfE, Mr Gamble did not mince words, claiming that “the so-called regulator” had failed to hold the school to account by sanctioning the leadership. “Leadership sets the tone for the culture, and governance should oversee and challenge when that culture has clearly gone wrong,” he said.

“Made to wet themselves? In LONDON? In 2026? What century are Mossbourne living in?”

Strict? This isn’t strict. This is cruelty dressed up as discipline, and if leaders can’t apologise to children, then they shouldn’t be anywhere near them.

Envision defending a policy that leaves kids soaked in urine. Absolutely medieval.

Sanitation is an acknowledged human right. The UK accepts this and has obligations to progressively realise it.

There is no standalone “right to sanitation”, but failures in sanitation provision can still be challenged under broader rights (e.g., dignity, health, discrimination).

Although the UK acknowledges sanitation as a fundamental human right through international obligations, the Human Rights Act does not specifically identify it.

Murder On The Moor

Following the announcement of Ann Widdecombe’s passing on Friday, police have released an important update.

On Friday morning, Good Morning Britain hosts Kate Garraway and Ranvir Singh interrupted the broadcast after Ann’s representative confirmed she had died at the age of 78.

Ann was discovered dead at her Dartmoor house, and later on Friday, Devon & Cornwall Police officers announced they are looking into her death.

The Sun claims that after suffering a severe head injury, Ann was discovered drenched in blood at her Devon house.

In the latest update, as reported by the BBC, a 26-year-old man has been arrested in connection with Ann’s death, Devon & Cornwall Police confirmed. The force said a white British male is in custody.

They added that the incident is not being treated as terrorism and there is “no information” to suggest it was politically motivated.

In a statement earlier on Friday, Detective Chief Inspector Ilona Rosson said: “This is an extremely tragic incident, and our thoughts are very much with the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe at this difficult time.

“Our murder enquiry is in its early stages but moving at a significant pace. We are deploying all of the necessary resources to find out exactly what has happened and to locate the person responsible, who we believe to be a white male.

“I would appeal to anyone who may have information about this incident, however insignificant it may seem, to come forward and speak with us.

“We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the vicinity of Haytor Vale, Haytor, or anyone with CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage which could assist with our investigation.

“We have an increased uniformed police presence in the area to both support the investigation and provide reassurance to residents. Anyone with concerns can speak with our officers at the scene.

“We will release further information when we are able to do so. In the meantime, I would ask people not to speculate about what might have happened, particularly on social media. This is not only potentially harmful to our investigation but also deeply distressing for family and friends of Ann Widdecombe.”

Following the news of the investigation, Ann’s niece Fiona Martin, 52, told The Telegraph: “It’s still very raw, and the family are still processing it. I can’t say any more at this stage.”

It comes after Good Morning Britain broke into its scheduled programme to tell viewers that the former Conservative minister had died. A statement was given by her agent on behalf of her family.

Speaking live on GMB, Kate said: “We haven’t heard about a long illness, have we? So I think it took everybody a little bit by surprise. I think she was even still doing various broadcasting things up until recently.”

Ranvir added: “She lived a full life, you can certainly say that. Sad news there that Ann Widdecombe has passed away.”

Whatever people thought of her politics, this is grim. Murder? On Dartmoor? This is unreal, and this will get messy extremely quickly because people will twist it into politics even though the police said there’s no motive like that.

People are now alarmed since Haytor is small, and nothing like that ever occurs there.

It doesn’t feel real at all. The nation seems to have awoken to a criminal drama.

This isn’t just news — it’s a bomb going off in the middle of the country.

The timeline is the part that freezes you. An assault at midday, a body undiscovered until morning. That’s not drama — that’s forensic horror, but strip away the politics, and you’re left with a stark fact: a human being was violently attacked and left alone, and it’s chilling in its simplicity.

A Family Forced To Job‑Hunt For A Blind, Non‑Verbal, Wheelchair‑Bound Teenager — Proof The DWP Will Grind You Down Even When You Can’t Stand Up

The parents of a severely disabled teenager say they have been forced to spend hours hunting for jobs he can’t do in a “nightmare” battle with the DWP. Connor Donnelly, from Mauchline, East Ayrshire, is wheelchair bound, blind, non-verbal and barely able to sit up after being starved of oxygen at birth.

But since he turned 18 and left school in May, dad Steve, 46, and mum Helen, 44, say they have been facing an ongoing struggle to prove he is unfit to find work while claiming for Universal Credit. Unable to get him to their local job centre, which is inaccessible for his wheelchair, the family requested a face-to-face assessment.

But in the meantime, they say they were told to keep looking for work for him. Steve told the Record: “Both myself and my wife are feeling embarrassed and hurt.

“With Connor’s disabilities, every day is a challenge. You’re having to fight for absolutely everything.

“We explained his complex needs, and it just fell on deaf ears. The woman on the phone was saying he needs to stick to his commitments and do this and that.

“I’m so angry at the fact they expected him to do job searches. We’re getting questions like ‘has he got a mobile phone? Has he got access to the internet? Has he got interview clothes?’

“We’re saying ‘he’s in a wheelchair and can barely sit up unaided.’ What they were asking him to do is a physical impossibility and what we’ve been put through is an absolute nightmare.

“At one point we were sitting thinking ‘is it really worth it for what he’ll actually get?’ I then realised there is bound to be someone else out there like us, going through the same struggle.”

A single person under 25 receives £338.58 per month in Universal Credit. In Scotland, disabled individuals can claim Universal Credit for living costs while simultaneously receiving separate disability living assistance.

You can qualify for additional monthly payments on top of your regular Universal Credit allocation if a medical condition or disability prevents you from working. Your evaluation results will determine the precise monthly additions.

Connor, who has three younger sisters and a big brother, was previously eligible for the benefit as he was enrolled full-time at Willowbank School in Kilmarnock until earlier this year.

Now he has become an adult, Steve said the requirements the family have to fulfil on top of caring for his complex needs have hit them “like a freight train”.

He said: “We had to go through the courts to get guardianship for him because he’s non-verbal and we’ve only got that for five years. We’ve already had a battle over his Motability car and had to prove he was disabled enough to have a vehicle every year.

“His condition is not going to improve. As he’s getting older, it’s getting more complex. It’s not as if he is going to miraculously be able to walk one day. It’s never going to happen. His mum has had to sit and fill out his Motability forms every year in tears, noting down everything that’s wrong with him.

“That has been recently resolved, but Universal Credit is still the issue, and what’s happened with the job centre has just been a disaster. His mum is his carer. The job centre said, ‘You can come in and sign on for him’. But is she supposed to leave him sitting at home?

“Currently, Helen is his appointee, and she has had the commitment to do two hours of job searching a week for Connor. If anyone had actually seen him, we wouldn’t have had to waste time doing this.

“There’s not a job out there that he could possibly do. We also have to provide sick lines to say he’s not fit for work until this gets sorted out.”

If you’ve been raising your child for a long time and are aware of his limitations, it seems like a slap in the face when a paper pusher tells you that he must be able to work and that you need to put in more effort.

I don’t know why this occurs. It should be sufficient to demonstrate his disability and the nature of his disability if he is on PIP.

A UK jobcentre can be breaking the law if it has no wheelchair‑accessible entrance and has not provided any reasonable alternative access. Under the Equality Act 2010, public bodies must remove physical barriers or provide an equivalent, safe way for disabled people to enter and use the service.

Lunatics in charge of the nut house springs to mind.

Hands Off, Miriam — You Don’t Cancel An Icon For Calling For Peace

The persistent effort to deprive Miriam Margolyes, a national treasure, of her OBE is utterly disgraceful.

This brave woman has only expressed her opinions.

She is an 83-year-old Jewish woman who has spoken out about the ongoing atrocities in Gaza with much suffering and empathy, demanding an urgent ceasefire to end the murder of defenceless women and children. ​

However, every time someone dares to oppose the Israeli government’s activities, a concerted effort is made to have them revoked, demonised, and stripped of their awards.

There must be an end to the use of indignation as a weapon to stifle valid political criticism. ​

Miriam Margolyes has always been fiercely independent, kind, and honest.

Not only is it unethical to penalise a Jewish elder or anybody else for caring about human rights, but it’s also a pitiful attempt to stifle free expression. ​

For years, I’ve questioned why she isn’t a Dame. Not to mention depriving her of her OBE! She talks about the Israeli government because, in addition to the fact that what she is saying is accurate, she can do it without being labelled antisemitic since she is a Jewish lady.

What’s wrong with this world? No empathy. If I couldn’t be a humanitarian, I would say to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine if I had an OBE.

She only speaks what everybody else should also be saying, especially our politicians.

If Miriam gets stripped of her OBE, then England is indeed going up the kiber pass. She has spoken out; she’s not pulled the wool over anyone’s eyes. She says it as she sees it, and good for her.

People like Miriam are the true guardians against anti-semitism by showing us that being a Zionist is a significantly different thing to being a Jew.

She is absolutely right. What has transpired in Gaza is appalling. Netanyahu’s behaviour has harmed ordinary decent Jewish people as well. It’s terrible that she is being targeted for standing up for human rights.

They can do whatever they want, but the majority believe she is a hero.

Trying to cancel people for demanding peace. What has happened to humanity? She should be praised, not cancelled.

Attempting to ban individuals for calling for peace. What has become of humanity? Instead of being cancelled, she should be commended.

Her harsh honesty is something I like. She receives a lot of “bad press” for this, but many more people value her direct and honest attitude. Additionally, she doesn’t care who she offends.

She is an incredible lady who upholds her values, so I have no doubt that she would handle it head-on if it occurs. No matter who attempts to blackmail her, she will not allow that threat to prevent her from talking about Palestine and the Zios.

The moral compass in this country has gone; it just doesn’t exist.

Right now, this minute, today, yesterday, and tomorrow, silence is complicit and is literally murdering Palestinians and Lebanese.

If even one tenth of our politicians (who aren’t on Israel’s payroll) or public figures had Miriam Margolyes’s humanity, knowledge or courage to speak out, it would educate and break the indifference in this country.

The woman puts herself in danger by speaking up, and she is deserving of all the praise for her honesty, compassion, and integrity.

Throughout her life, Miriam Margolyes has made many significant choices, and she will do so once more. No one can take away her numerous accomplishments, so no matter what happens, she can still be proud of them. Furthermore, she is aware that the vast majority of people in the United Kingdom support her.

Asked For A Plaster, Got Told To Ring 999. Britain: Where Minor Injuries Get Blue‑Light Treatment

A grandmother of seven who needed a plaster after cutting her finger was refused assistance by her local pharmacy and GP – and told to call 999. Pauline Shillito hurt herself while slicing a melon in her home in Lydd, on Romney Marsh, where she lives alone.

Although the injury was only minor, the 84-year-old started bleeding because she takes blood-thinning medication, so she sought assistance at Well Pharmacy – a three-minute walk away on the corner of High Street and New Lane.

“But the pharmacist said, ‘We don’t deal with blood,’” said Mrs Shillito. “So then I went to the GP, but the receptionist said, ‘We have no nurse on duty today,’ and told me to call 999. “It’s absolutely disgusting. Can you imagine an ambulance coming because of a cut finger when there are people having heart attacks – all I needed was a plaster.”

Pharmacist Tunde Odelade – who spoke to the pensioner following the accident last Wednesday – said his staff are not trained or insured to handle such injuries. “There was a lot of blood. It was literally dripping down her arm onto the floor – in a pharmacy full of people, that’s very unhygienic,” he said.

“I told her I couldn’t help her because I can’t deal with blood. I did offer to take her details and call an ambulance, but she refused.”

Mrs Shillito says she was also turned away from Orchard House GP Surgery in Bleak Road because they “did not have a nurse on duty” – and told to call 999. Fortunately, while walking home, she bumped into a neighbour.

“She saw me crying with a piece of blood-soaked kitchen towel around my finger and helped me,” the former John Lewis shop assistant added. “She cleaned my finger and put a plaster on it. I’m just lucky I have good neighbours.”

A spokesperson for Orchard House Surgery’s operator, Invicta Health, said: “We are aware of the matter you have raised; however, we are unable to comment on issues relating to individual patients’ care due to patient confidentiality. Our practice is committed to ensuring patients receive appropriate advice and access to the right healthcare service based on their clinical needs.”

Mrs Shillito, who moved to Lydd from London seven years ago, said she refused to call 999 because “it wasn’t an emergency” and she “didn’t want to waste the ambulance service’s time”. The NHS says 999 is for life-threatening emergencies like serious road traffic accidents, strokes and heart attacks.

Dialling 111 is recommended when the medical situation does not rise to this severity, but you think medical help is needed right away. The 111 service can direct users to the best place to get help if their GP is unavailable.

It’s unbelievable that a nurse wasn’t on hand, and what? Can’t a doctor clean a wound and apply a plaster? Says everything about the times we live in.

Unless you are on blood thinners, you have no idea. Clotting takes a lot longer, so a cut finger would bleed heavily and not stop. This lady must have been extremely frightened. Worryingly, the places we thought would help us showed so little compassion in this.

Lovely how the surgeries don’t need to be accountable or give their comments due to “patient confidentiality”. Such a suitable cop out on their part.

They could have put disposable gloves on and cleaned it up, then kept her sat in a chair to see if the bleeding had stopped. If not, then got medical advice. The lady is elderly and required help.

So this lady’s neighbour managed to help her when the professionals refused. She just required a plaster and help with putting it on. And also a little compassion and TLC. All are free.

Just do the human thing: help an old lady.

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