Taylor Swift Is A Descendant Of French King Louis XIV, Joining Danny Dyer, Meghan Markle, And Queen Camilla On Having An Unlikely Celebrity Relative

You won’t have to go far to hear Taylor Swift referred to as the Queen of Pop, given her unprecedented fan following and record-breaking success. However, her royal ancestry was laid bare for the first time, as it was revealed the global superstar is a descendant of French King Louis XIV.

Swift, 34, is the eighth cousin—11 times removed—of Louis, the monarch behind the iconic Palace of Versailles, according to the global family history platform MyHeritage.

While they may seem the most unlikely of relatives at first glance, the heritage site notes that Swift is no stranger to her ancestor’s life of luxury, having filmed the music video for her hit Blank Space in an opulent building bearing similarities to that of Versailles.

The startling revelation comes as France prepares to welcome the singer for a series of six concerts as part of her record-breaking Eras tour, scheduled to take place in Paris (May 9–12) and Lyon (June 2–3).

Their mutual ancestors, Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, and his wife Katherine Stafford, established the groundwork for a regal dynasty in aristocratic England during the 14th century, which is where their relationship originated.

Swift’s paternal English ancestors emigrated to the American colonies in the 17th century, first settling in Massachusetts and then, a few generations later, in Pennsylvania.

Louis XIV’s lineage may be traced back to an English woman who married a count of Béarn in southwest France during the 15th century.

Their great-granddaughter became Queen of Bohemia and Hungary, and her granddaughter Marie de’ Medici was the paternal grandmother of King Louis XIV of France.

Director of Research at MyHeritage, Roi Mandel, told MailOnline: ‘On the occasion of Taylor Swift’s concert tour in Paris, our team at MyHeritage decided to dive into [Taylor’s] family history to check if she has French roots hidden somewhere in the family past.

‘We were amazed to find out that not only are there roots, they are royal roots, and she is nothing less than a distant cousin of King Louis XIV!

‘The Queen of Pop is a relative of the Sun King. It’s a really poetic revelation.’ 

Perhaps the most famous creation of Louis XIV is the Palace of Versailles.

He also founded the French Royal Academy of Dance, the predecessor of the Academy of the National Opera of Paris, which today trains the dancers of the Paris Opera.

She isn’t directly derived from Louis XIV, of course. She is only linked through marriage and other means. Still, the connection exists, and she ought to be pleased that it does. I’m sure I would be.

There are many famous or successful actors in my family tree, including Peter Sellers; however, they are not linked by blood; rather, they are related by marriage. It’s fantastic that I have a large tree and that I’m proud of the information I’ve learned, but it’s useless if you can’t pass it on to others if they have no interest in it.

But if you look back far enough, you will find that everyone is connected to everyone else in some way.

Four UFOs Are Captured On High-Speed Camera As Scientists Investigate Utah’s Skinwalker Portal

A high-speed camera has captured the chilling moment when four UFOs were spotted above the ‘cursed’ Skinwalker Ranch in northeastern Utah.

Never-before-seen footage has exposed a possible ‘portal’ on the haunted ranch, where the team has witnessed a mutilated cow who died under mysterious circumstances.

The video, released by The History Channel in a new episode of ‘The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch,’ features a team of scientists investigating the 512-acre ranch, long known for its paranormal and UFO-related activities. 

Among the eerie sightings, the team observed what appeared to be a possible portal on the ranch.

During the investigation, Erik and Travis, two scientists on the team, were amazed as they observed four UFOs on the high-speed camera.

‘Now, one of the things that stands out … Look, there’s something,’ Erik, a scientist on the team, said. ‘It looks like there’s something under it. Moving with it.’

Travis, another scientist, chimed in: ‘And then what’s this thing at the bottom coming up?’ 

‘You see what’s happening here? Yeah, you got three things on the camera … Four things! There’s one over here,’ Erik added. 

The four unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) were described as rectangular with dark tops and light bottoms, moving swiftly and independently of each other—defying typical aircraft movements.

‘There’s something here. And as you let it move forward, you can see they’re moving. And they’re not necessarily moving together,’ Travis said.

‘Right—but they’re moving at about., said Erik. ‘So we’ve got four things. It never changes its appearance. It always seems to be this rectangular, dark-on-top, light-on-bottom.’ 

‘I don’t see anything like wings flapping around at all. And it’s not moving like an aircraft but something but much faster.’ 

Travis saw that one UFO had suddenly appeared directly over the triangle airspace, which coincided with earlier reports of odd circular patterns picked up by sophisticated technology on the ranch.

‘It’s speeding way up,’ Erik added. ‘And it seems to be diving. But that’s not all it’s gonna do.’ 

‘That thing is basically in the triangle airspace.’

‘So it came from, you know, the middle of nowhere,’ Travis said. ‘swoops in and then turns back.’  

‘Below cloud level and apparently down. Like it’s turning to make a final approach here, like it’s coming in for a landing or something.’ 

‘Seeing this UAP suddenly appear and then manoeuvre directly above the triangle was incredible,’ Travis said. 

The mystery surrounding Skinwalker Ranch, where there have been reports of encounters with maimed livestock and other strange happenings, is increased by this finding.

There is something strange going on at that place. Robert Bigelow ended up buying the property. A guy who became a billionaire selling real estate, and, out of nowhere, created an aerospace company that works directly with NASA—one of the few private companies that has that connection.

He had people doing research at Skinwalker for over a year in secrecy, and he was on the TV show 60 Minutes and he was asked if he thought there was extraterrestrial intelligent life somewhere in outer space. He simply said: “Yes, and they are here”.

However, this man has the wealth he needs to promote any of this alleged ‘weirdness’.

They have been seeing sightings like these for years on the ranch. Nothing ever comes from it, and they just can’t seem to figure it out, but they keep trying. It’s almost as if they were trying to perpetuate a lie to make money. Nah, let’s go with they’re legit snorting scientists!

John Cleese Says ‘Literal-Minded’ People Have Ruined Comedy Because They ‘Don’t Understand Irony’

‘Literal-minded’ people have ruined comedy by failing to understand ‘metaphor, irony and exaggeration’ and missing the punchline, John Cleese has claimed.

Ahead of the premiere of his stage version of the beloved British comedy Fawlty Towers, Cleese talked about the challenges he faced in getting the script off the ground and his concerns about how some of the language would be interpreted by the audience.

Cleese, 84, explained that some of the original dialogue used within the two-hour play, which merges three popular episodes into an overarching storyline, has been edited to remove ‘racial slurs’ due to changing perceptions within society.

‘I think there was a scene where Major (Gowen) used a couple of words you can’t use now—racial slurs they would come under, so we took that out’, he told journalists on Thursday.

‘You see, there is always a problem with comedy that you deal with the literal-minded.’

The play is based on episodes from the sitcom’s two series titled The Hotel Inspector, Communication Problems and The Germans, which originally features a scene in which the Major Gowen character uses offensive language about the West Indies cricket team.

In 2020, the episode was briefly removed from UKTV’s streaming service, which is owned by BBC Studios, due to the ‘racial slurs’ before it was later reinstated with added guidance and warnings highlighting ‘potentially offensive content and language’ featured.

Speaking on the challenges of writing comedy, Cleese said: ‘Whenever you’re doing comedy, you’re up against the literal-minded, and the literal-minded don’t understand irony.

‘And that means if you take them seriously, you get rid of a lot of comedy because literal-minded people don’t understand metaphor, they don’t understand irony, and they don’t understand comic exaggeration.

‘The result is, if you listen to them, these are people who are not, as far as understanding what other human beings are saying and doing, playing with a full deck.’

He also defended the central character within the 1960s comedy Til Death Us Do Part, Alf Garnett, who made offensive remarks, saying that viewers were ‘roaring with laughter at him, not with him’ but also acknowledged that some were saying, ‘Thank God these things are being said at last’.

The cast of the new Fawlty Towers play, in which Adam Jackson-Smith plays the iconic character of Basil, performed two sequences at the play’s premiere. Previews of the production start this Saturday at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.

Reflecting on the state of comedy in UK theatre, Cleese said he felt there had been ‘too much change’ in British society in recent years.

Humour is supposed to offend on occasion. John is right and being funny is no longer acceptable in some quarters. What a sad reflection on life! But there have always been and will always be people who have no or little sense of humour.

Comedians should be able to push boundaries and offend without fear, but unfortunately, society has become closed-minded, and now people simply don’t understand irony. Education standards have fallen dramatically and social media has taken its toll and has manipulated the thoughts of the weaker mind which are now being told how to think.

Much has been imported and distorted British values. British humour is cynicism and sarcasm and if you don’t appreciate either, then you’re no fun.

With everyone becoming too literal in their thinking and people not understanding irony, comedy appears to have taken a decade off. It’s also hard to satirise anything these days.

Restaurants Now Charge You For Paying Your Bill! Shoreditch Eatery Slammed For £2.99 ‘Checkout Fee’ On Top Of 13.5% Service Fee

Diners at a Shoreditch restaurant have been left with a bitter aftertaste after seemingly being charged for the ‘privilege of paying their bill’.

A patron sent a photo of a digital receipt from their March 28 visit to the Italian Trattoria Gloria, where they discovered an odd additional fee.

The consumer was charged a “checkout fee” of £2.99 in addition to a 13.5% service charge, for a total of £26.15 when they received their bill.

As a result, the meal’s total cost increased from £193.50 to £222.64, or an additional £29.14.

The ‘checkout fee’ is a charge added to every bill for those using the mobile phone app Sunday.

French entrepreneurs Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux, who also co-founded The Big Mamma company, which owns Gloria, came up with the idea for the Sunday app.

However, other diners said they were only able to avoid the charge if they went out of their way to ask to pay via contactless card on a card machine. 

The cafe questioned people on social media if it was usual to be charged for paying their bill after posting a photograph of it.

Social media was left outraged by the ‘checkout fee’ and several users took it upon themselves to leave one-star reviews of the restaurant in revenge.

An image of the bill was shared to social media by the dissatisfied diner yesterday with the caption: ‘Is Gloria in Shoreditch the only restaurant that charges you for the privilege of paying your bill?’

The social media post received over 1,600 likes and more than 440 comments from users who were quick to vent their fury at the cheeky ‘checkout fee’.

One user commented: ‘It actually borders tacky. Would put it on their Google reviews; they might not be aware that it shows up like that or that it just ruins the whole experience.

‘They might see it and reconsider. People are sick to the back teeth of booking places, bonkers service charges, still expecting tips, and now stupid things like this.

‘It’s for their own good they know about this!’

Another added: ‘This needs stamping out fast before it spreads. I hope the restaurant gets boycotted until they see sense.’

A third wrote: ‘I’ve done my bit and left a one-star review.’

The hospitality app was launched by the team behind Gloria and was created to save people time at the end of their meals.

Why are eateries permitted to arbitrarily tinker with pricing and tack on extra fees? In any other place, these charges would not be accepted by anyone.

You’ve heard of creative accounting; now this is creative billing. It’s not illegal but it’s not ethical either. The thing is, restaurants don’t expect the majority to make a fuss over their sneaky charges, but if you do, make sure that you know your rights and stand your ground. Prepare to be either shamed or emotionally blackmailed in front of other customers.

Just pay in cash! ‘I promise to pay the bearer’ et cetera. If the service is good, then add 10 percent service.

Refuse to return to the restaurant and boycott it if you’re not satisfied! We must discipline these thieving egits.

The consumer should have complete control over any service fee, and any other money that’s added to the bill is just a sneaky way of trying to rinse their customers of their money.

If restaurants want to add on extra costs, they should notify their customers before they order, or it should be stated clearly on the menu in bold print. Then, if you choose to order your meal, you have to enter into a contract. If they don’t inform you of this, you have only entered into the contract to eat there and pay for what you have eaten, nothing more.

This Serial Dine-And-Dash Solicitor Shut The Door On The Delivery Driver Without Paying For A £43 Takeaway Order From Just Eat

After ordering a £43 takeout and slamming the door on the delivery man, a habitual dine-and-dash solicitor was fired.

Kerry Ann Stevens told a professional tribunal that she had previously paid online for the Just Eat order from a kebab shop, but this was a deception, and the innocent driver had the money taken out of his pay.

Following a magistrates court conviction on two charges of fraud, Ms Stevens was expelled from her profession after a panel determined her to have engaged in misconduct due to her “premeditated and deliberate” actions.

Due to her profession, she would have been in ‘no doubt whatsoever’ that she was committing a crime, the panel found.

It was revealed during the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing that Ms Stevens used the Just Eat app to place a £43.47 meal order from a kebab eatery in January 2021.

Just after 8:00 p.m., a driver showed up at Ms. Stevens’ residence to deliver the meal and requested payment.

But, the Essex-based solicitor insisted she had already paid when she placed the order, and as the driver rang the restaurant to confirm, she shut the door in his face.

The Essex Grill kebab shop said Ms Stevens had not paid for the food. The delivery driver knocked on her door for several minutes, but she did not answer, and the bill was subsequently deducted from the driver’s salary.

The solicitor—who qualified in February 2016—told the police she believed her boyfriend had paid when placing the order online.

The panel heard that last year, at a Harvester restaurant in Rayleigh, Essex, Ms Stevens and her partner placed an order for £60.91 worth of food.

Ms. Stevens’ boyfriend left the restaurant after they had finished dining, and she informed the staff that her companion had stolen her bank card, making it impossible for her to pay for the food.

The solicitor said she would return to settle the bill and provided both her telephone number and her passport to staff.

When the duty manager of the restaurant phoned Ms Stevens later that night to clarify that payment could be handled over the phone, the solicitor stated she didn’t have any additional cards and promised to return the following morning to settle the amount.

However, the manager’s attempt to reach Ms Stevens at the given number the next day was unsuccessful.

She sent an email to the Harvester’s care team months later, informing them that she would need to pick up her passport.

The manager contacted her again using a second telephone number, which was later provided and said she would need to pay the bill and retrieve the passport.

The police were subsequently notified by the restaurant about her, and quite rightly. Those who uphold the law should be exemplary citizens, and the same should apply to the police et cetera, but she got exactly what she deserved, and she will be lucky to get any sort of job now because of her dishonesty.

Was this lady a legal executive or a genuine solicitor? If so, how did she get qualified to practise law?

Why did it take so many crimes to be struck off? Surely one was enough. After all, solicitors are supposed to be law-abiding, and she also threw away a huge figure salary for the sake of a £43 meal, and she probably earned more than enough to pay for the meal.

It still amazes me that she believed she could get away with it. She studied hard and for a long time to obtain her source of income, therefore she wasn’t that smart, was she?

What a truly nasty individual. She should be made to pay all of the money, plus interest and compensation, and it’s so wrong that the delivery driver had the money deducted from his wages. This practice needs to be outlawed, along with hire and fire.

It’s unbelievable, that this woman trained to be a solicitor and upstanding member of society and then acts like the dreg of society—she doesn’t deserve the future that she could have had. 

Stabbing Victim Grace O’Malley-Kumar’s Parents Back Calls For Her To Receive The George Cross After She Died Trying To Save Barnaby Webber

Grace O’Malley-Kumar, who was fatally stabbed while attempting to save her companion, has received requests for the George Cross, and her parents have supported these efforts.

Valdo Calocane, 32, fatally stabbed the 19-year-old student many times as she attempted to assist Barnaby Webber.

The hockey player for England’s under-18 team died a hero, having heroically attempted to repel the triple killer to save her teammate rather than running from the scene.

Grace’s ‘astonishingly bravery’ was recognised during a court hearing in which her father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, praised his daughter as a hero who shunned the opportunity to run away.

MPs and senior police officers have called for Grace to posthumously be given the George Cross—the highest civilian award for acts of ‘the greatest heroism or of the most courage in circumstances of extreme danger’.

Grief-stricken mother Sinead O’Malley told The Sun it ‘would be a remarkable acknowledgement of her bravery’, while her father says the ‘world deserves people like Grace’. 

Mrs O’Malley said: ‘Grace is never coming back to us, but we never want her to be forgotten, and this would certainly make sure she is remembered forever.

‘Our hope is it would help her be remembered as the wonderful person that she was, and not just for the horrendous fate she suffered.’

Dr Kumar said the bravery his daughter showed was ‘incredible for a young girl’. 

‘The accolade would be an example to every other young person,’ he said.

Tory MP Marco Longhi said Grace had shown ‘selfless bravery’ and he backed calls for her to be given the George Cross.

‘This would be a fitting tribute to her and it would be a fitting legacy for her heroism,’ he said.

On June 13, last year, shortly after 4 am, university students Grace and Barney were returning home from a night out in Nottingham when delusional, schizophrenia-ridden Calocane fatally stabbed them.

Calocane then repeatedly knifed 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates and left him for dead before stealing his van, which he used to ram into three other people. They all survived. 

Calocane was handed a hospital order for manslaughter by diminished responsibility after Nottingham Crown Court heard he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Grace O’Malley-Kumar was very brave. A wonderful friend and daughter, loved by all, but is a posthumous George Cross the right recognition for her? Perhaps a statue instead?

A posthumous George Cross might even be a sweetener from our government so that they can sweep this incident under the rug. Medals will not bring back this young woman—we want remedy instead.

Knife crime is all over the world, but our leaders are doing nothing to put an end to it.

This young woman stayed to defend her friend and gave her life in doing so.

I’m not sure what is the right or wrong way to remember this young woman, but I feel very sad for the families involved. These youngsters were ambushed in a senseless and cowardly way and never had a chance. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare, and the best way to honour them would be to bring in stronger legislation to help prevent these crimes.

Understandably, her family want her to be officially recognised in some way, and her family are in deep grief right now. I just hope that thousands of people in this country respect Grace for what she did that day! A one-minute silence and some sort of plaque or statue would be more appropriate.

After ‘Pleasing’ Doctors With His Cancer Treatment, The King Resumes Public Duties 

When King Charles returns to public duties today, it will be to a cancer treatment clinic. The British monarch was told he had the disease in February.

The 75-year-old monarch’s reaction to therapy for an unidentified kind of cancer was deemed satisfactory by physicians, according to a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Friday.

The first public engagement for the king will be today’s visit to a cancer treatment clinic where he will interact with patients and medical professionals.

The Palace has also announced Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, will host a state visit by the Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, in late June.

Charles’s health issues began in January when it was revealed that he would be admitted to the hospital to have a corrective procedure for a benign, enlarged prostate.

The following month, the palace said tests had uncovered the presence of a ‘form of cancer’, but gave no further details beyond saying it did not involve his prostate.

He has rested and undergone treatment for the disease since then, continuing with official state duties in private. He was well enough to greet well-wishers after an Easter church service at the end of March.

Although his diary will be carefully managed to minimise any risks to his health, the palace said he might attend some annual events such as the ‘Trooping the Colour’ military parade in June, as well as commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War Two D-Day landings, also in June.

Charles’s illness came less than 18 months after he succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth. His nephew Peter Phillips has said the monarch, who is renowned for hard work, had found the limitation imposed by his treatment frustrating.

Charles’s daughter-in-law Kate, who is now having preventive chemotherapy following major abdominal surgery, has also been missing. Kate is the wife of his son and heir, Prince William.

It is undoubtedly a relief to all of us that he and Catherine are back and doing well. Normalcy helps;C therefore, it’s always wonderful to see people who are battling cancer or any other serious disease return to their regular lives.

It is wonderful that King Charles is visiting with cancer patients. It will bring more attention to the disease, and it will brighten the patient’s day and it will allow him to have some camaraderie with the people with whom he now has something in common and it’s a brilliant PR move.

However, it does make me question how bad Kate is. With all eyes on her, she may not want to be seen since she is undergoing chemotherapy and, depending on the kind of treatment, may have lost some or all of her hair, but like the King, she will be back when she feels well enough.

Charles should be putting his feet up—his son William is young enough to take over the reins.

Tattooist Lali Sokolov’s Love-At-First-Sight Romance With Fellow Prisoner Gita After He Marked Her Camp Number On Her Arm

It was a love story that began most horrifyingly. 

Lali Sokolov encountered Gita Fuhrmannova—the woman who would become his wife—when she stood before him emaciated and robbed of her dignity at the Auschwitz death camp.

Amidst the evil of the Nazi killing machine, Lali—himself a Jew who had been put to work under threat of death—tattooed a number on her arm like he had done to tens of thousands of people before her.

Decades later, millions of readers were captivated by the romance that resulted between them.

Following its publication in 2018, Heather Morris’ novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz swiftly gained international recognition.

It was founded on the testimony of Lali, who, while working for the Nazis in Nazi-occupied Poland, had tattooed prisoner numbers on hundreds of thousands of prisoners.

A new Sky adaptation of Morris’s novel is being released this week. The six-part series stars both Jonah Hauer-King and Harvey Keitel as Lali, while Polish actress Anna Próchniak portrays Gita. 

Lali and Gita both made it through the Holocaust and were married in October 1945. For many years, Lali kept his story to himself. After Gita passed away, he finally told Morris everything.

In April 1942, the Nazis forced one volunteer from each Slovakian Jewish family to work for the German war machine.

Lali, who was born in Slovakia in 1916, was herded off to Auschwitz in a packed cattle train in horrendous conditions.

Like every other prisoner who was not immediately sent off to die, he was given a number, which became his name. His—32407—was tattooed on his arm by a French academic named Pepan.

He was initially sent to work on the construction of new housing blocks as the camp expanded. 

Lali was taken care of by Pepan, who assigned him to work as his assistant after he became ill with typhoid shortly after arriving at Auschwitz.

One day, Lali was promoted to head tattoo artist when Pepan was transported out of Auschwitz.

An SS officer was assigned to watch over him as he worked.

Because of his role, he was given extra rations and ate in an administration building. He also slept in a single room rather than in a cramped hut in horrendous conditions.

And when there were no new prisoners to tattoo, he was given free time.

I hope the book gives it credit, but it’s unsettling to watch how history is starting to repeat itself in light of all of these insane marches, and I believe that this is only the beginning. We must never forget the past and learn from our mistakes.

True, in the past, Nazi Germany detested Jews and anything that didn’t conform to their conception of the Aryan race, but in the present era, it appears that this pattern is still being followed. Perhaps this time it isn’t the Jews, but we still punish everyone who is different, we seem to encourage hatred, and the majority fall for the propaganda. We haven’t learned anything from the past since we saw where this ended up the last time, and then there are those people who say it never happened, but it actually makes me think how lucky I am to be alive today.

And now the dark rises again across the world, marching in our cities, rampaging through our town, and nobody stops them as the present day’s atmosphere seems to develop towards a repeat, and as much as it was scary back then, it’s scary this time around as well, and we need to stop it before it’s too late.

A Convicted Burglar Who Was Stabbed 16 Times In A Prison Canteen Is Suing The Ministry Of Justice For £5 Million After Being Left Wheelchair-Bound

A convicted burglar who was left wheelchair-bound and ‘unable to work’ after being stabbed 16 times whilst working in a prison canteen is suing the Ministry of Justice for a massive £5 million in compensation.

But government lawyers say that because burglar Steven Wilson, 36, had ‘next to no history’ of having earned an honest penny in his life, he should not get the millions he is claiming.

Wilson suffered injuries including a torn liver, fractured spine, and lacerated spinal cord when convicted murderer Patrick Chandler attacked him ‘out-of-the-blue’ in July 2018 with a nine-inch knife while they both worked in the kitchen at HMP Chelmsford.

He later sued, claiming the MoJ failed to adequately assess whether violent lifer Chandler was safe for kitchen work, given the opportunity to access knives and sharp items.

The Ministry of Justice acknowledged that Wilson was entitled to compensation and took responsibility for the attack.

But its lawyers say that, because he had a 20-year criminal record, with ‘next to no history’ of having earned an honest penny, a £5 million payout would be ‘out of accord with what society would perceive as being reasonable’.

Sitting at the High Court last week, Judge Melissa Clarke was told that Wilson, of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was on remand for an aggravated burglary—of which he was later convicted—when he was attacked by Chandler.

At the time, his attacker was only 24 days into a life sentence imposed for the brutal knife murder of John Comer, 45, in Lawford, Essex, in December 2017.

The formerly ‘fit and fearless’ Wilson recalled Chandler ‘looking at him strangely’ before he lashed out as if he were ‘looking straight through him’.

Despite suffering several serious injuries, he survived after being stabbed in the stomach with such power that it lifted him off the ground.

In November 2018, Chandler was given an extra life sentence with a 10-year minimum term after he later confessed to trying to kill Wilson.

Chandler’s overall risk rating had been assessed by the MoJ as ‘medium’, court documents disclosed, despite him having allegedly told his supervisor two weeks before the attack that ‘he had fantasised about violence and what he was going to do to people and about making weapons’.

Although the MoJ has subsequently acknowledged responsibility for the attack, the two parties are battling in court about Wilson’s rightful compensation sum.

This man might not have earned an honest penny in his entire life, but he was being held by HM Prison Service, and such things like this should not be happening. His criminal record might have included violence but that doesn’t mean he should not be paid out by the Ministry of Justice. However, perhaps some of that money should go to some of his victims as well, and MoJ failed in their duty of care.

This man has a right to sue, although I do disagree with the amount. I doubt he will even get close to the amount he’s claiming.

He might have been a naughty lad, but if you do the crime, you have to do the time. However, nobody deserves to be stabbed, regardless, and he might still be haunted by the attack, but so are the people whose homes he robbed.

However, this is incomprehensible. The other guy was working in the kitchens, which is one of the better jobs if you’re in prison, and it’s better than mopping floors. How can a guy just 23 days into his sentence for a brutal knife attack find himself with a plumb job and have a knife put in his hands? He deserved to be punished heavily for that.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started