Hampshire officer's death sparks police misconduct review
Ms Browne was being investigated by the force over an allegation that she had used her police email account for non-work purposes.The force has referred itself to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct.It comes after Hampshire police officer PC Alex Hazlett-Beard, who was also under investigation by the force, died in February.Ms Jones said the review would be led by a "qualified individual from outside policing with relevant experience in assessing organisational practices and wellbeing."She added: "This review will not interfere with any ongoing investigations or statutory processes but will help the force and me as commissioner to better understand whether the current systems are appropriate, proportionate and supportive."Ms Jones said while she was "committed to ensuring high standards of integrity within the force", it was critical officers and staff were "treated fairly and compassionately during difficult times".
Acting Chief Constable Sam de Reya said: "Everyone is extremely shocked and saddened by Claire's death and our thoughts remain with her family, friends and colleagues."Claire was a well loved and respected officer and colleague who had worked in many different departments and teams throughout her policing career. She will be missed by us all."Her family said she was a "dedicated officer who served the force and the community diligently and compassionately for 19 years."They added: "Claire will be sorely missed by her many friends and colleagues. Our family is devastated and we ask for understanding, kindness and privacy during this incredibly difficult time."
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The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Two men who cut down Sycamore Gap tree jailed for more than four years
The two men who felled the tree at Sycamore Gap have each been jailed for four years and three months. Former friends Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were convicted of criminal damage to the much-loved tree, which had stood for more than 100 years in a fold in the Northumberland landscape. They were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian's Wall, caused when the sycamore fell on the ancient monument in September 2023. Mrs Justice Lambert sentenced the pair, who have been held in custody following their trial in May, at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday. At trial, Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told jurors the pair had engaged in a 'moronic mission' to cut down the landmark, travelling for more than 40 minutes from their homes in Cumbria, then carrying their equipment across pitch black moorland during a storm back in September 2023. The judge said she was sure Adam Carruthers felled the tree and Daniel Graham drove them to the scene and filmed it and that both were equally responsible for the criminal damage. They took a wedge from the tree as a trophy that has never been recovered and revelled in the media coverage as news of the vandalism caused national and international headlines. Mr Wright told the sentencing hearing that since the trial both defendants have now admitted they 'went on the mission' but denied intending for the tree to be cut down, either saying they were intoxicated or that they 'didn't believe it would happen until it did'. He said: 'The prosecution rejects these late admissions… The court can be sure they were sober and prepared to do what they did.' Mr Wright told the court: 'This was an expedition which required significant planning in terms of taking a vehicle, driving for about 40 minutes to a car park, taking with them appropriate specialist equipment, carrying the equipment for about 20 minutes' walk in each direction. 'The felling was carried out in a deliberate, professional way.' He said one of the aggravating factors was the site's heritage status and the defendants' attempts to avoid detection. Mr Wright said they knew other people, including a young boy, had been arrested in connection with the offence and were 'closely following (the investigation) when they knew they were responsible'. Andrew Poad, a National Trust manager, gave a victim impact statement which was read out by Rebecca Brown, prosecution junior counsel. He said: 'This iconic tree can never be replaced. 'Whilst the National Trust has cared for it on behalf of the nation, it belonged to the people. It was totemic.' Mr Poad added: 'An overwhelming sense of loss and confusion was felt across the world. 'The question was why anyone would do this to such a beautiful tree in such a special place. 'It was beyond comprehension.' Mr Poad said an email address set up within days of the felling for people to share thoughts received 600 responses in a month. One said: 'My husband proposed to me at Sycamore Gap under its leafy shelter. A few years ago after lockdown we took our children to see and walk the same section of the wall. 'I'm so glad we got to share such a beautiful and special spot with them before it was gone.' The court was shown pictures of the new Sycamore Gap Celebration Room at The Sill site in Northumberland, and some comments left by people on a board and in the visitors' book. One said: 'Nature at its best over 300 years, humanity at its worst over one night.' Andrew Gurney, for Adam Carruthers, said his client had finally offered a motive for chopping down the tree and 'wishes to cleanse his conscience of what he has done'. He said: ' People want to know 'Why? Why did you conduct this mindless act?' 'Unfortunately, it is no more than drunken stupidity. 'He felled that tree and it is something he will regret for the rest of his life. There's no better explanation than that.' Chris Knox, defending Graham, said: 'He is a troubled man who has had very real difficulties in his life, which have not all been of his own making.' Mr Knox said Graham, a groundworker, had set up a 'proper business which paid tax and did all the appropriate things'. His home, and the business he operated from it, were attacked after he was remanded in custody, including having windows broken, the barrister said. The tree was a symbol of Northumberland, was the site of countless family visits and featured in the Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. Its destruction, filmed on a mobile phone, took less than three minutes. The maximum sentence for criminal damage is 10 years and aggravating factors include whether it was done to a heritage or cultural asset and evidence of wider impact on the community. The defendants were once close, working and socialising together, but have fallen out since their arrests and each blamed the other. Graham's Range Rover was picked up on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras between Carlisle and Sycamore Gap at night on September 27 2023, and returning early the next morning. His mobile was traced to phone masts making the same journey. When police arrested the pair and searched Graham's phone, they found a two minute and 41 second video which showed the sycamore being cut down at 12.30am on September 28, and had been sent to Carruthers. Messages and voice notes between Graham and Carruthers the next day showed them talking about the story going 'wild' and 'viral'. Graham claimed Carruthers had a fascination with the sycamore, saying he had described it as 'the most famous tree in the world' and spoken of wanting to cut it down, even keeping a piece of string in his workshop that he had used to measure its circumference. Carruthers denied this and told the court he could not understand the outcry over the story, saying it was 'just a tree'. Detective Inspector Calum Meikle, who led the investigation, said police still did not know why the pair felled the tree. He said: 'That is possibly the element of this entire case that is most frustrating to everybody, and it potentially is the one question that will never be truly known.' The National Trust, which owned the tree, said it had received thousands of messages from well-wishers after the tree was attacked. It has grown seedlings from the original sycamore which will be distributed to good causes around the country. A spokesperson said: 'The Sycamore Gap tree was iconic and represented thousands of cherished trees across the country that benefit people, nature, and climate. 'We remain committed to working with partners to secure stronger protections for these irreplaceable natural treasures.' A spokesperson for Northumberland National Park Authority said: 'Whilst today marks the end of the judicial process, work alongside our partners will continue, as we focus on reflecting public feeling about the tree and its cultural significance, as well as doing more for nature for the benefit of us all.'
The Sun
38 minutes ago
- The Sun
Lucy Letby case ‘may be miscarriage of justice' & there's ‘gaps in evidence', coroner's officer who reviewed deaths says
LUCY Letby's case may be a miscarriage of justice with "gaps in evidence" left unexplained, a former coroner's officer has claimed. 4 4 4 4 The nurse also tried to kill seven others - including one baby twice - at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. But now, a former senior coroner's officer has claimed she fears Letby "suffered a miscarriage of justice". Stephanie Davies, who worked within Cheshire Police at the time the investigation into baby deaths was opened, was given three hours to carry out her review in 2017. She argued there were 'gaps' in the explanations given about the deaths of babies. In an interview with The Guardian and Channel 4 News, Davies revealed how she had expressed alarm that a medical procedure conducted on one of the babies was not reported to the coroner at the time. Her report was later integral to the decision to investigate Letby, Davies said. However, she now believes that crucial details about one of the babies could have made a difference to the investigation. 'I am now extremely concerned that the convictions of Ms Letby are wholly unsafe,' she wrote to Cheshire's senior coroner. Davies 'stands by' her initial review but said she feels 'almost guilty that it contributed to a police investigation being started, which led to convictions that I now believe are unsafe and a miscarriage of justice.' Davies added: 'I reported that there were missing jigsaw pieces, that the deaths of the babies hadn't been fully explained. 'I said if the police went ahead with an investigation, they may find those missing pieces. "But I did not say, or see any evidence, that any of the babies had been deliberately harmed.' Dr Neil Aiton and Dr Svilena Dimitrova produced a report for Mark McDonald, Letby's lawyer, on a triplet who died at the hospital and was referred to as Baby O at the trial. The specialist consultant neonatologists suggested that a doctor had mistakenly inserted a needle with a cannula into Baby O's liver when trying to relieve abdominal swelling and that this was a cause of his death. Davies said these explanations 'filled the gaps' she had seen when reviewing the file 'much more than the police and prosecution case against Lucy Letby'. But during the trial, Dr Stephen Brearey, the clinical lead of the neonatal unit who inserted the needle, said it was 'nowhere near' the liver. And prosecution medical experts argued that the procedure was not significant to the harm the baby suffered. However, Letby was found guilty of inflicting the liver damage, and injecting air into the baby's stomach and veins. Davies has now said she has since found the explanations of new medical experts, who have publicly contested the prosecution arguments, compelling. Davies lost her job at Cheshire police in 2023 after a different review she conducted, which challenged the outcomes of two murder investigations. Cheshire cops pursued Davies for gross misconduct, alleging that she breached duties of confidentiality when she sent details to the experts. However, she resigned from the force before her disciplinary hearing. The charges Letby has been convicted of in full Child A, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby injected air intravenously into the bloodstream of the baby boy. COUNT 1 GUILTY. Child B, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby attempted to murder the baby girl, the twin sister of Child A, by injecting air into her bloodstream. COUNT 2 GUILTY. Child C, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said Letby forced air down a feeding tube and into the stomach of the baby boy. COUNT 3 GUILTY. Child D, allegation of murder. The Crown said air was injected intravenously into the baby girl. COUNT 4 GUILTY. Child E, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby murdered the twin baby boy with an injection of air into the bloodstream and also deliberately caused bleeding to the infant. COUNT 5 GUILTY. Child F, allegation of attempted murder. Letby was said by prosecutors to have poisoned the twin brother of Child E with insulin. COUNT 6 GUILTY. Child I, allegation of murder. The prosecution said Letby killed the baby girl at the fourth attempt and had given her air and overfed her with milk. COUNT 12 GUILTY. Child K, allegation of attempted murder. The prosecution said Letby compromised the baby girl as she deliberately dislodged a breathing tube. COUNT 14 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT AT ORIGINAL TRIAL, NOW GUILTY AFTER RETRIAL Child L, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said the nurse poisoned the twin baby boy with insulin. COUNT 15 GUILTY. Child M, allegation of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby injected air into the bloodstream of Child L's twin brother. COUNT 16 GUILTY. Child N, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby inflicted trauma in the baby boy's throat and also injected him with air in the bloodstream. COUNT 17 GUILTY, COUNT 18 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT, COUNT 19 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT. Child O, allegation of murder. Prosecutors say Letby attacked the triplet boy by injecting him with air, overfeeding him with milk and inflicting trauma to his liver with "severe force". COUNT 20 GUILTY. Child P, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said the nurse targeted the triplet brother of Child O by overfeeding him with milk, injecting air and dislodging his breathing tube. COUNT 21 GUILTY. Child Q, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby injected the baby boy with liquid, and possibly air, down his feeding tube. COUNT 22 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT Responding to Davies' concerns about the Lucy Letby case, a Cheshire police spokesperson told The Guardian: "A disciplinary hearing in February 2023 found allegations of gross misconduct by Stephanie Davies unrelated to the Lucy Letby case to be proved and had she not already resigned, she would have been dismissed without notice. 'Cheshire Constabulary strongly refute the credibility of these claims.' The court of appeal twice last year refused Letby's permission to appeal. Her lawyer, Mark McDonald, has applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), arguing that the convictions are unsafe and should be referred back to the court of appeal. Earlier this month it emerged Lucy Letby could be facing more charges over the deaths of babies at hospitals she worked at. Cheshire Police have been investigating further 'deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies'. Letby is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women's Hospital - where she trained as a student - between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015. And it comes after three people - who were in senior leadership roles at the Countess of Chester Hospital - were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as part of an investigation into the baby deaths. In a statement, a spokesman for the CPS said: "We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought. "As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test."
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Moment van driver ploughs into a cyclist before driving away and claiming he had 'hit a sheep'
This is the moment a van driver ploughed into a cyclist, leaving him with a ruptured spine, broken ribs and internal bleeding, before claiming that he thought 'he hit a sheep'. The collision was captured in September 2022 on a camera fitted to the bike, showing the driver approaching the bike directly on the B4280 in Bridgend, Wales, and simply driving away from the scene after the crash. Click above to watch the video in full.
