Man charged after 'runaway' Jaguar stopped on M62
In the aftermath of the incident Jaguar Land Rover said it had launched an investigation.
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BBC News
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- BBC News
Woman suffered multiple bite wounds in Exeter dog attack
A woman has been warned she faces a jail sentence after her three German shepherd cross dogs attacked a woman in a playing Pike, 51, from Exeter, admitted being the owner in charge of dogs dangerously out of control that caused injury at Exwick playing fields, in Exeter, in prosecutor told Exeter Magistrates' Court it was a "pack attack" and a woman suffered multiple bite wounds to her hands and fingers and needed plastic Pike also admitted to two other charges on the same day of being the person in charge of dogs dangerously out of control. She was told she faced up to six months in custody. The dogs called Zac, Storm and Nala, were seized by police at the time, and two other dogs were euthanized following the attack on "other dogs and humans", the court Judge Angela Brereton said an expert report would be prepared about the temperament of the dogs as a destruction order may be made against Pike will be sentenced in September.
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Record number of police officers sacked amid drop in force numbers
A record number of police officers were sacked from forces in England and Wales in the past year, new figures show. Latest Home Office data reveals 426 officers were dismissed or had their contracts terminated in the 12 months to March. This is up 17% year on year from the previous record of 365 and more than double the number fired at the start of the decade, when 164 officers were dismissed in 2019/20. The latest 12-month period also saw 4,806 officers voluntarily leaving policing: the second-highest number since records began in 2006 and down slightly from the peak of 5,151 in 2023/24. The figures come as ministers have sought to tighten rules on standards to improve confidence in policing, while they have also faced warnings from forces that funding falls short to keep its existing workforce. A total of 146,442 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers were in post at the end of March 2025, down almost 1% from 147,745 at the same point last year, which was the highest in modern times. Of the 43 police forces, the Metropolitan Police saw the largest drop of 1,022 FTE officers, down 3% from 34,315 to 33,293. Last month, plans for an average 2.3% rise in police spending per year faced backlash from police leaders, who warned a projected £1.2 billion shortfall will continue to grow and leave forces facing further cuts. Acting national chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch, had said: 'We will lose 10,000 experienced officers a year to resignation by the end of this spending review period, driven out by poor pay and unacceptable working conditions.' Chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council Gavin Stephens added that the amount 'falls far short' of what is needed to fund Government plans and to maintain the existing workforce. Ministers have committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 extra recruits to be in post by spring next year. Meanwhile, the figures show there was a 17% decrease in the number of new recruits joining police forces, 7,874 excluding transfers, compared to 9,492 the year before. This follows a 42% decrease in the year 2022/23, when 16,355 joined policing. Reacting to the figures, the Conservatives said the falling police numbers were a 'devastating blow' to neighbourhoods dealing with rising crime and anti-social behaviour. The figures cover the last three months of the former Conservative government, and the first nine months of Labour in power. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'Labour has let down policing and has let down the public. 'We need police to catch criminals, respond to 999 calls, investigate crime and patrol our streets. 'Labour has massively increased our taxes, squandered the money, and now they're reducing police numbers. The public are less safe as a result of Labour's incompetence.' A Home Office spokesperson said the Government is determined to re-build neighbourhood policing, and there will be an extra 3,000 officers and PCSOs in communities by March 2026 following a £200 million investment. The spokesperson added: 'Officer numbers have been stable since last July despite falling between March and June 2024, however, the promising increase in neighbourhood policing shows that we are finally seeing more officers on our streets'.
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Top lawyer loses appeal against misconduct ruling
A Scottish KC who was found to have acted in a "serious and reprehensible manner" in a legal feud over a dating app business has lost his appeal against a misconduct Smith KC had appealed after the Faculty of Advocates complaints committee found him guilty of three counts of professional misconduct following a complaint by a man involved in a civil dispute with two former business disciplinary tribunal of the Faculty allowed the appeal on one count, but upheld the remaining two, concluding they were "sufficiently serious on their own" to justify the conclusion that Mr Smith's actions amounted to professional Elliott had complained about Mr Smith's conduct during a protracted legal feud over two dating apps, Bender and Brenda. Mr Elliott had planned to launch the apps with two friends, Steven Worley and Kevin Farrell, in 2011. The trio fell out and Mr Elliott tried to launch the business on his own. This led to civil litigation starting in 2013 from Mr Worley and Mr Farrell, who were represented by Mr court cases over the control of the business and its IP ensued, the defence of which Mr Elliot says cost him hundreds of thousands of pounds. He was declared bankrupt in one, but in another, a judge ruled that he had been entitled to set the business up on his Elliott first complained about Mr Smith's conduct in the cases in 2018. He claimed Mr Smith had become personally involved in the business affairs of his clients, contrary to the advocates' rule book, the Guide to the Professional Conduct of year, the Faculty complaints committee agreed and found Mr Smith guilty on three counts and said he had failed to adhere to an advocate's "fundamental obligations" and to "maintain independence".Mr Smith said he was "astonished" by the finding and appealed. In the new Faculty ruling, the disciplinary tribunal agreed with the complaint committee's finding that Mr Smith should not have accepted the instruction to act for Mr Worley and Mr Farrell between January 2015 and May 2018 because of a close personal involvement with their business tribunal agreed that this breached rules around duty of independence and obligation of tribunal also upheld Mr Elliott's complaint that Mr Smith should not have accepted instruction to appear for Mr Worbey and Mr Farrell in May involved Mr Smith acting for the men despite introducing them to his brother, David Smith. David Smith later secured the trademarks for the dating apps through his tribunal dismissed the committee's findings on the third count, relating to alleged improper contact with Mr Elliott's bankruptcy trustee in May it said the two upheld complaints were "sufficiently serious on their own to justify the conclusion that the member's conduct in relation to these issues amounted to professional misconduct". The tribunal acknowledged the committee did not find Mr Smith had acted dishonestly or in bad faith. Rather, the issue had been around a lack of understanding around professional it said the Guide to the Professional Conduct of Advocates attached "considerable importance to the requirement for an advocate to have absolute independence, free from all other influence, especially such as may arise from his personal interests" and said the complaints committee was entitled to conclude Mr Smith's conduct "amounted to professional misconduct".Mr Smith had previously been handed a severe written censure. The tribunal said this sanction would stand because the committee had made no errors in finding breaches to the code on two BBC has tried to contact Mr Smith for comment but he has not been Elliott, the complainer, told the BBC he felt "vindicated" but that the process should not have taken seven years."I should not have had to endure a complaints process so exhausting, intimidating, obstructive, and expensive - a process clearly designed to make people give up," he said the system needed reform and that he hoped his case would encourage other people to speak up "even when the odds are stacked against them".
