Child killed and several injured in Somerset coach crash
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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
UK fears new summer of unrest, year after Southport riots
Concern is mounting that recent violent anti-immigrant protests could herald a new summer of unrest, a year after the UK was rocked by its worst riots in decades. Police have arrested 16 people since protests flared last week outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town of Epping, northeast of London. In one demonstration, eight police officers were injured. The unrest was "not just a troubling one-off", said the chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch. "It was a signal flare. A reminder of how little it takes for tensions to erupt and how ill-prepared we remain to deal with it," she wrote in the Daily Telegraph. Protestors shouted "save our children" and "send them home", while banners called for the expulsion of "foreign criminals". Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds on Thursday urged people not to speculate or exaggerate the situation, saying "the government, all the key agencies, the police, they prepare for all situations. "I understand the frustrations people have," he told Sky News. The government was trying to fix the problem and that the number of hotels occupied by asylum seekers had dropped from 400 to 200, he added. The issue of thousands of irregular migrants arriving in small boats across the Channel, coupled with the UK's worsening economy, has triggered rising anger among some Britons. Such sentiments have been amplified by inflammatory messaging on social networks, fuelled by far-right activists. Almost exactly a year ago on July 29, 2024, three young girls were stabbed to death in a frenzied attack in northwestern Southport. The shocking killings stoked days of riots across the country after false reports that the killer -- a UK-born teenager whose family came to the country from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide -- was a migrant. Nearly 24,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel so far in 2025, the highest-ever tally at this point in a year. The issue has become politically perilous, putting pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's centre-left government, as the anti-immigrant, far-right Reform UK party rises in the polls. - 'More unrest likely' - The Epping protests were stirred after a 38-year-old asylum seeker, who only arrived in Britain in late June, was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault. Images from the protests have gone viral on social networks, mirroring what happened last July. But Epping residents have maintained that the protests are being fuelled by people from outside the community. "These violent scenes ... are not Epping, and they are not what we stand for," the Conservative MP for Epping, Neil Hudson, told parliament Monday. While calm was restored to Epping, a middle-class suburban town with a population of 12,000, tensions remain palpable. "This is the first time something like this has happened," one local who lives close to the Bell Hotel told AFP, asking not to be named. "The issue is not the hotel, but extremists applying a political ideology," he added. Late on Thursday, the hotel, cordoned off behind barriers, was again the centre of a protest involving dozens of people, with police making one arrest. With another protest expected on Sunday, the local council voted through a motion to demand the government no longer house asylum seekers at the hotel. The UK is "likely to see more racist riots take place this summer", said Aurelien Mondon, politics professor and expert on far-right and reactionary discourse at Bath University. Anti-immigrant protests have already erupted elsewhere, with demonstrations in the southeastern town of Diss in Norfolk outside a similar hotel on Monday. Last month, clashes flared for several days in the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland after two teenagers with Romanian roots were arrested for the alleged attempted rape of a young girl. - 'Civil disobedience' - "It is well documented that many of the protests we are witnessing are not the result of grassroots, local movements," Mondon said. "Social media plays a role and facilitates coordination amongst extreme-right groups," but it is "also crucial not to exaggerate" its power, he added. High-profile far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who was blamed for stoking the Southport unrest, announced he would be in Epping on Sunday, before later seeming to scrap the plan. The firebrand anti-Islam campaigner has just been freed from jail after spreading fake news about a Syrian immigrant, but faces trial on a separate issue in 2026. "I don't think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale," said Reform leader Nigel Farage. "Most of the people outside that hotel in Epping weren't far right or far left," he said, they "were just genuinely concerned families". mct-ebl/jkb/jj/lb
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
FHP: High Springs man on foot stops traffic on US 27, hit and killed while exiting roadway
A 66-year-old High Springs man was hit and killed by a pickup truck on July 23 while walking on U.S. Highway 27, according to a news release from the Florida Highway Patrol. Here's what we know: When did the incident happen? July 23 at about 11:13 a.m. Local news: FHP: Gainesville man on motorcycle killed in crash on Archer Road in Gainesville Where did it happen? South of High Springs on U.S. 27 (State Road 45), near its intersection with Northwest 172nd Street. The FHP news release According to the FHP, a 66-year-old Newberry man was driving a pickup truck north on U.S. 27 at the same time the High Springs man was walking in the roadway, causing traffic to backup in both directions. The pickup truck "swerved" to the right to avoid the stopped traffic and subsequently hit the High Springs man, who was exiting the roadway. The High Springs man was transported to UF Health Shands Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the truck and his 32-year-old passenger were not injured. The crash remains under investigation. This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Man walking on US 27 hit and killed while exiting road in Alachua County Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scottish airport fined £144,000 for failures that led to death of employee
The company that runs Glasgow Prestwick Airport has been fined more than £144,000 for failures that led to a member of airport staff falling to his death when a guardrail gave way. Joseph Dempsey, an experienced member of the airport's ground handling team, died in the incident on January 11 2023. The 59-year-old had been preparing to unload cargo from an aircraft using a pallet loader. He had positioned the loader alongside the aircraft and was repositioning a guardrail when it suddenly gave way and he fell to the tarmac some 10 feet (three metres) below. Mr Dempsey's colleagues immediately went to his assistance and paramedics attempted CPR and advanced life support. However, these efforts proved unsuccessful and Mr Dempsey was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that one of the guardrail posts had completely fractured, and that there were visible signs of significant corrosion, discolouration and flaking white paint around the area. At Ayr Sheriff Court on June 25, Glasgow Prestwick Airport Ltd pled guilty to a breach of health and safety legislation, having failed to ensure the pallet loader was maintained and in good repair. At the same court on Thursday, the company was fined £144,050, including a victim surcharge of £10,050. Debbie Carroll leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). Speaking after the sentencing, she said: 'Joseph Dempsey lost his life in circumstances which could have been avoided if Prestwick Airport had in place a suitable and adequate maintenance and inspection programme to ensure the equipment he was using was in a good state of repair. 'This prosecution should remind duty holders that a failure to fulfil their obligations can have fatal consequences and they will be held accountable for this failure.' Metallurgical examination of the guardrail posts carried out during the investigation found differences in chemical composition, manufacturing, and wall thickness which indicated the posts were manufactured from two different tubing sections. The HSE found these welded sections were not a feature of the manufacture's original design, and appeared to have been modified while the loader was under the ownership of Prestwick Airport. The investigation also found the welds on both the guardrail posts contained defects which would allow moisture in, creating a corrosive environment and speeding up deterioration. It was also found that the maintenance programme in place at the time did not cover the parts of the guardrail where failure or deterioration could lead to health and safety risks. Graeme McMinn, HM principal inspector of health and safety, said: 'Employers have an absolute legal duty to ensure that equipment they use at work is maintained in an efficient state and in good repair and full working order. 'This incident is a tragic reminder of what can result when that does not happen.' Since the incident, Prestwick Airport has undertaken a review of all work at height, and checks of the guardrails on the platform loaders have been made part of the regular service and inspection schedule.
