St Helens: Man released on bail after double murder arrest
The pair were initially rescued from the house and taken to hospital but later died.Merseyside Police said an accelerant was used to start the fire.
Supt Rachel Wilson said the couple had been together for 30 years and had adult children as well as grandchildren.Police have urged people not to speculate about the incident or post anything on social media that could jeopardise the investigation.They have asked anyone with information about the incident to cone forward.
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Times
22 minutes ago
- Times
My son died in the Air India crash. They sent back the wrong body
Amanda Donaghey stood by the blackened, burnt-out trees, birds still tweeting eerily in their branches, and stared at the wreckage of Air India flight 171. The plane, now twisted pieces of melted metal strewn around a college campus in Ahmedabad, had been carrying her son. Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, 39, and his husband, Jamie, 45, had been returning to Britain after celebrating their wedding anniversary celebrations in India when the plane crashed, less than a minute in to the flight. An investigation is currently focused on why the fuel to the engines was cut — possibly by one of the pilots. Donaghey had known immediately she needed to travel here from her home in France — it was both a grim pilgrimage to the place where her son died and a mother's last duty to bring his remains home. 'Visiting the site and seeing it was something I felt like I had to do. I wanted to understand what had happened,' she said this week. 'I remember all these burnt trees. The trees were scorched black. But there were still birds and squirrels in those trees, which I found quite profound. It was like a bomb site. You would think it was from a war scene, but there were still these small birds twittering,' she recalled. The crash had been devastating; the aircraft had broken up before erupting in a fireball. She was determined to help find Fiongal's remains and gave blood in the hope of finding a DNA match. After three days, just as she was losing confidence in the search, Donaghey was told there was a 'match' for her son. It meant she could finally bring his remains back to the UK, where she hoped to be able to lay him to rest next to Jamie, whose body had already been identified and sent home. 'I arrived back in London Gatwick with the assurance that Fiongal was in the casket,' she said. But just as the family were planning for the funerals of the two men, the police got in touch. The British coroner had run a second DNA test: the remains in Fiongal's coffin were not his. 'It was heartbreaking,' said Donaghey. 'We don't know what poor person is in that casket. This is an appalling thing to have happened.' And it was not an isolated mistake. Last week, Miten Patel revealed that 'other remains' had been found in the coffin he believed contained the body of his mother, Shobhana, 71, who was killed in the crash alongside his father, Ashok, 74. They were finally able to bury her earlier this week in the UK. Donaghey has spoken to The Sunday Times as she asks the British and Indian authorities to do whatever is necessary to find the remains of her son and bring him home. Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek had 'always been a free spirit' with 'a certain charisma that is hard to explain', according to his older brother. Interested in fashion from a young age, he studied at the Royal College of Art and worked as a fashion designer, heading up design houses in London and Asia. Later he delved into spirituality, reiki and yoga, and set up a business in London in 2018, the Wellness Foundry, to 'share my findings, teachings and gifts with others.' He and Jamie married in 2022. Fiongal and Jamie were among the first victims of the Air India crash to be named. On their last night in India, the couple had posted on social media about their 'magical experience'. Smiling in the airport lounge, they posted another short video just before they boarded the aircraft with the message 'Goodbye India'. Donaghey, 66, who moved to France from Cambridgeshire 22 years ago, had not immediately realised her son was on the plane. She had heard about the crash before going out for a horse ride, but thought he had flown home two days earlier. She returned to a call from Fiongal's father. 'He told me the boys were on that plane,' she said. 'And that's when I knew.' Immediately, she decided to travel to India. It was a complicated trip from her home in the south of France and she flew out two days later. In Delhi, she boarded a chartered jet provided by Air India and arrived in Ahmedabad, in Gujarat, western India, on June 17. She was met by a crisis management team from the British High Commission. Family members of victims could take a DNA test at the city's Civil Hospital so the remains could begin to be identified. 'I hadn't slept for two or three days,' Donaghey said. 'They gave me the option to go to a hotel and rest but I decided I wanted to go straight to the hospital and get the test done. I remember thinking, 'the sooner I get tested, the sooner I can get the two boys on the plane and bring them home'.' A DNA sample had already been taken from a family member of Jamie's in the UK and sent to India. Donaghey was taken to the hospital by a female member of the British crisis team and met the helpers, whom she calls 'angels', provided by Air India to support the relatives. She was taken to a converted schoolroom with bench-style seats, where she filled out paperwork and a doctor took her blood. 'I was told, 'the blood test will be analysed to track down Fiongal and that could take up to 72 hours to happen'.' Afterwards she checked into a hotel. While she waited for news, a member of the British crisis team took her to the BJ Medical College hostel, which Flight 171 had hit. Donaghey said: 'It was devastating for the aircraft. Obviously they had a series of cordons and I wasn't allowed to pass the last cordon because the tail of the aircraft was still stuck in one of the buildings and it was dangerous.' While she was going through her search, Miten Patel was doing what he could to bring home his parents, Ashok, a financial advisor, and Shobhana, a retired microbiologist. Married since 1970s, the couple had travelled to India for a Hindu religious trip known as a yatra, which helps people find peace when they eventually die. Miten had flown out from the UK within 24 hours with dental records and DNA samples to help with identifying his parents' bodies. 'It was the first thing on my mind: Mum and Dad are coming home,' he said. While he waited for confirmation of their remains, he was given back some of his parents' belongings from the wreckage — his father's shirt and his mother's swan pendant necklace, which his daughter Amira will now inherit. On June 20, three days after arriving, Donaghey was told a DNA 'match' for Fiongal had been found. The next day she met with representatives from the hospital, the British High Commission and an officer from Avon & Somerset police, sent over from the UK as a disaster victim investigator. 'I was told they had found part of Fiongal but not all of him,' Donaghey said. 'I said I wanted to stay until they had finished looking.' By this time Jamie's body had been found. He was returned to the UK in a coffin on June 26. Jamie had been sitting beside Fiongal, who was in 22A, on the left-hand side of the aircraft. The sole survivor of the crash, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was a few rows in front of them in seat 11A. Donaghey returned to the crash site a second time. 'I was starting to be told by the emergency workers searching the crash site, 'There is nothing left to find'.' The families were told that human remains less than 5cm long would not be recovered. Other remains were sent to a pathology lab in India to be tagged and logged. From there, the remains would be transferred to a coffin. Donaghey then heard from British officials that one of the coffins already returned to the UK had been investigated by a coroner and found to contain the remains of multiple people. This would turn out to be the coffin belonging to Shobhana Patel. 'That was when I was really starting to worry about the recovery process,' Donaghey said. On June 28, she decided to return home with Fiongal's coffin. Time was of the essence, since conditions at the hospital for preserving remains were not up to British standards. The coffin came with paperwork and Fiongal's hospital DNA reference number: A339. Her only option was to travel back with his remains on an Air India flight to Gatwick. Back in Britain, Fiongal's remains were handed over to the senior coroner for Inner West London, Dr Fiona Wilcox. Donaghey returned to Cambridgeshire to be supported by her sister, as well as family liaison officers from Cambridgeshire police. On July 4, family liaison officers asked Donaghey for a meeting the next day with Fiongal's father, sister and brother. That was when the officers told them: 'We don't have Fiongal. We have carried out the DNA tests and we do not have Fiongal.' Donaghey said: 'I had my doubts but to be told that was heartbreaking.' The families realised their hopes of laying Fiongal and Jamie to rest together were no longer possible. 'We have spent every day since then on the phone to the Foreign Office, trying to get a response on where Fiongal is,' Donaghey said. 'All the time, I feel like I'm just standing on the edge of a black hole thinking, 'Has he been disposed of?' 'We would like to be able to do the rites necessary for Fiongal in order for us to move on as a family. And that is what is missing. We don't know what poor person is in that casket. This is an appalling thing to have happened. And we would now like the British government to do everything in its power to find out, and bring Fiongal home.' Of the 242 people on Air India Flight 171, 53 were British. Many of them were of Indian heritage and so were buried in India. Only 12 sets of remains were returned to Britain. It is these that would have undergone the second round of DNA testing. The other 10 were all matches. For Miten the most important thing was to make sure that only his mother's remains were buried. 'There may have been a mistake done. But for religious reasons we need to make sure my mother is my mother and not somebody else's remains,' Miten said. 'Knowing 100 per cent that it is mum is very important to us.' A small comfort was that his father's wedding ring was also finally returned. 'It's a miracle to get it back,' said Miten. Questions remain over whether the remains of those who were buried in India without a second round of tests were correct. James Healy-Pratt, an international aviation lawyer and partner with Keystone Law, who is representing 20 of the bereaved families affected by the air disaster, said the families were in contact with Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister's office and David Lammy, the foreign secretary. Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, visited Britain last week. Healy-Pratt said: 'Losing a loved one in an air accident is traumatic in itself. These families deserve answers about how this co-mingling of DNA and misidentification of remains occurred. Discussions are ongoing with the UK police and the Foreign Office.' A government spokesperson said: 'We understand that this is an extremely distressing time for the families, and our thoughts remain with them. Formal identification of bodies is a matter for the Indian authorities. We continue to liaise with the government of Gujarat and the government of India on behalf of the Inner West London senior coroner to support the coronial process.'
The Sun
22 minutes ago
- The Sun
Asylum seekers are still getting money on taxpayer-funded credit cards after being granted refugee status
ASYLUM seekers are still receiving money on taxpayer-funded credit cards even after being granted refugee status. A probe has been launched after we uncovered cases of migrants saying they were still getting the handouts - despite rules stating payments must stop once leave to remain is granted. It piles fresh pressure on the Home Office, which is already facing questions over the ASPEN card scheme after it emerged thousands of attempts were made to spend the cash in gambling venues. 1 One migrant wrote in a Facebook group: 'I was granted refugee status in January 2025. I'm still getting money on my ASPEN card… do I need to inform the Home Office or will it stop automatically?' Another user replied: 'I know someone else this happened to. But he had payments for a whole year. 'He did not touch the money as the Home Office could ask you to refund if you are not entitled to this.' Another admitted they are getting payments for dependants who have gone home. When asylum seekers arrive in the UK, they are typically housed in fully catered hotels and receive £9.95 a week on their ASPEN card, rising to £49.18 a week if they are later moved to self-catered accommodation. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'The Home Office rules state that – when an individual ceases to qualify for support – their subsistence payments will automatically end, and their card will be cancelled, after a short transitional period. 'As part of our investigation into the functioning of Aspen cards, we will look into any instances where cards have not been cancelled as intended, and take whatever action is necessary to correct any faults.' The Tories last night insisted it was 'further evidence' Labour has 'lost control of the immigration system'. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'We have seen luxury hotels provided for illegal immigrants, record ever numbers crossing the channel, rapes and sex offences being committed by asylum seekers, taxpayers' money being used to fund gambling by illegal immigrants and now we find they can't even switch the payment cards off when they should. 'This system has become a complete farce. No wonder it costs billions each year. It is an insult to taxpayers that illegal immigrants get better treatment than they do.' Reform UK's Richard Tice also let rip: 'We keep being told that there is no waste in government yet it's clear to see taxpayers are being taken for a ride by asylum seekers. 'The solution to this is simple. If you stop the boats, you stop the benefits and the enormous costs that are associated with illegal crossings. Only Reform will do this.' The wider investigation into ASPEN card misuse began earlier this week, after a Freedom of Information request by PoliticsHome revealed more than 6,500 gambling-related transactions had been attempted by asylum seekers in the past year. Although online gambling was blocked, migrants were able to use the cards in physical sites such as casinos, slot machine arcades and lottery retailers. In some cases, they withdrew cash in or near gambling venues. There are currently around 80,000 ASPEN card users in the UK.
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Woman in Union Jack dress was turned away from Wetherspoons during anti-migrants protest
A woman wearing a Union Jack dress was turned away from a Wetherspoons so as 'not to increase tensions' after an anti-migrant protest in the area. Tanya Ostolski, 54, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, says she was knocked back from The Picture House last night, despite being a regular in the pub. Dozens of protestors had gathered in the town centre from around 4.30pm after Reform MP Lee Anderson went against police advice to make an unverified claim that a local man charged with rape was an asylum seeker. It followed similar anti-migrant demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, near Essex, and the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf in central London, in recent weeks. Last night's protests in Sutton-in-Ashfield had ended at around 7pm when protestors made their way back to the where the gathering began, around 50 metres from the pub. Many of those who took to the streets were waving Union flags or were wrapped in the St George's Cross flag and had sought to get into the pub after the demonstrations were over. But clashes with bouncers outside the pub quickly ensued when they were denied access due to a 'no-flag' policy deployed by Wetherspoons in their establishments. Ms Ostolski says she was holding a St George's Cross flag when she was first refused entry by bouncers on the door, before putting it in her bag in the hope that would allow her access. But the 54-year-old said she was 'absolutely disgusted' when she was told by those on the doors that she still wasn't allowed in because of her dress. She said: 'I go in there all the time and they refused entry. They didn't let me in with my flag, the flag is the English flag, so why shouldn't I be allowed to have an English flag? 'It's our flag, it's our nation's flag. I wasn't being aggressive or anything I didn't get lairy or anything. I put the flag back in my bag, and they said I can't come in because of my dress. 'They kept refusing me. I'm probably going to get barred now. They just said Tanya, you're not coming in. I feel absolutely disgusted, why should I be refused entry for wearing a dress or a flag?' The spokesman for Wetherspoons, Eddie Gershon, said the decision was made to ensure calm in the area and 'as a matter of common sense'. He said: 'Pub managers have a duty under the licensing laws, and as a matter of common sense, to judge every situation on its particular circumstances. 'In this case, the pub manager felt that it was important not to increase tensions. Therefore, on this occasion the manager asked customers not to enter with flags or any placards.' Ms Ostolski's knockback comes just days after a schoolgirl was put into isolation for wearing a similar Union Jack dress to celebrate being British at her school's culture day. 'Straight A' student Courtney Wright, 12, wore a Spice Girls-esque dress and wrote a speech about history and traditions as part of the celebrations on July 11. But the Year 7 pupil was told the dress was 'unacceptable' before being hauled out of lessons and made to sit in reception until her father collected her. Downing Street would go on to condemn that decision, with a spokesperson for the Prime Minister saying: 'The PM has always been clear that being British is something to be celebrated. 'You can see that from everything this government has done. We are a tolerant, diverse, open country, proud of being British.'
