Milton Keynes man charged with murder months after woman's death
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The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Dunn family raise concerns Foreign Office will try to ‘hide' final review report
The family of Harry Dunn have expressed concerns the Foreign Office will attempt to 'hide' the final report from a parliamentary review into the case following an eleventh hour invite to meet the Foreign Secretary. Harry's mother, Charlotte Charles, as well as other family members, are due to meet David Lammy on Wednesday following an invitation for him to 'hear the family's views and concerns'. The review is not set to scrutinise the role or actions of the US government, but will examine the support the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) offered the Dunn family after the teenager was killed by a former US state department employee in a road crash in 2019. The Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger told FCDO officials they were concerned there was 'no explicit provision for the publication of the final report' in the review's proposed terms of reference. His words prompted an invitation to meet with Mr Lammy on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the review's official announcement, which is expected on Thursday. Mrs Charles said she was 'apprehensive' ahead of the meeting, adding: 'I won't accept anything less than a full, open and transparent process.' Mr Seiger told the PA news agency the family will 'have no part in any process that lacks transparency'. Anne Sacoolas, the American driver who killed Harry, had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf following the incident outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire before a senior Foreign Office official said the US government should 'feel able' to put her on the next flight home. Ahead of the meeting, Mr Seiger told PA: 'We are grateful to the Foreign Secretary for making time to meet us today. 'That said, it is not lost on us that the only reason we appear to have been called in is because we asked for only one basic and reasonable assurance – that Anne Owers' report will be published. 'That request appears to have put the cat amongst the pigeons ahead of the government formally announcing the inquiry tomorrow. 'The fact that it has prompted such an urgent response gives us real concern that publication of the report may not have been the Government's intention.' Mr Seiger continued: 'Although we will not get ahead of ourselves, if that proves to be the case, I can say categorically on behalf of the family that we will have no part in any process that lacks transparency. 'It would defeat the entire purpose of the inquiry and would represent a betrayal of everything Harry stood for and the brave fight the family put up on his behalf. 'We have always been grateful for David Lammy's support over the years. 'It must follow that Anne Owers' report, the first and only detailed look into those failures must be published. Without that, we cannot move forward. 'We owe it to Harry, to our public institutions, and to every future family who might find themselves in a similar nightmare.' Mrs Charles said any attempt by the Government to 'hide' the final report 'fills me with dread'. She told PA: 'I feel incredibly apprehensive going into this meeting. 'After everything we've been through, the idea that the Government might try to hide Anne Owers' report fills me with dread. 'We have never wanted anything more than the full truth and for lessons to be learned, not just for Harry, but to stop any other family from suffering like we have. 'I won't accept anything less than a full, open and transparent process.' In a statement, the FCDO said: 'The Foreign Secretary has always made clear his commitment to support Harry Dunn's family and learn lessons from this tragedy. 'It is right we brief the family first on any developments and will announce further details in due course.'
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Jury sworn in to hear airport police assault case
A jury has been sworn in to hear the trial of two brothers accused of assaulting police officers at Manchester Airport. Footage of the disturbance at the Terminal 2 building on July 23 last year was widely shared online at the time. On Wednesday, jurors were selected at Liverpool Crown Court and then sent home until Thursday afternoon when it is hoped the prosecution will outline its case. Judge Neil Flewitt KC told jurors: 'I told you on Monday that yesterday I would be dealing with some legal issues that have to be resolved before this trial may start. 'Unfortunately we were unable to deal with all those issues yesterday and will deal with them this afternoon and tomorrow morning. 'When you return tomorrow afternoon, the leading counsel for the prosecution will open the case and tell you what it's all about.' Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, is alleged to have assaulted Pc Zachary Marsden and Pc Lydia Ward, causing them actual bodily harm. He is also accused of the assault of emergency worker Pc Ellie Cook in the same incident at the terminal's car park pay station, and the earlier assault of Abdulkareem Ismaeil, a member of the public, at a nearby Starbucks cafe. Muhammad Amaad, 26, also from Rochdale, is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden, causing actual bodily harm. Both deny the allegations. Judge Flewitt reminded the jury not to look on the internet for information about the case or to carry out their own research. He repeated that it was of 'the utmost importance' that they do not allow themselves to be influenced by news reports of the case or any comments made on social media. The judge said: 'Your task will be to assess the evidence that is presented to you over the next few days and weeks, and then applying the law to reach verdicts based on that evidence. ' The trial is scheduled to last up to four weeks.
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Man jailed for 15 months after ‘burn hotels' social media post during riots
An engineer who posted 'burn any hotels with those scruffy bastards in it' on social media during last summer's riots has been jailed for 15 months. Joseph Haythorne, 26, posted the comment on X, formerly Twitter, at lunchtime on August 4 2024, just as violence erupted outside a hotel housing asylum seekers near Rotherham, South Yorkshire. More than 60 officers were injured in the violence that afternoon as hundreds of people bombarded police and the hotel with missiles. At one point rioters set fire to a bin against a fire door of the hotel, which had 240 asylum seekers inside as well as more than 20 staff. Sheffield Crown Court heard that Haythorne's post from an anonymised account, which was viewed by 1,100 people in 17 minutes before he deleted it, included a link to a now-deleted post by activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. The defendant's full post read: 'Go on Rotherham. Burn any hotels with them scruffy bastards in it.' Prosecutors said the case had some similarities with the case of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed last year for 31 months after she posted on X: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.' Bianca Brasoveanu, defending Haythorne, said he 'made a wrongful connection between the Southport events and immigration in general' after reading a 'poisonous' post online. She told the court the case was different to that of Connolly, whose post was live for hours and an investigation into her social media 'revealed other posts including further racist remarks'. 'None of this was present within Mr Haythorne's social media. The defendant is more interested in football than anything else,' Ms Brasoveanu said. She said Haythorne, who is from Ashford in Surrey, had 'displayed a very different way of behaviour' by deleting the post after 17 minutes and handing himself in at a police station. The barrister said the defendant has problems around depression which would make him vulnerable in prison as his symptoms could worsen. Judge Jeremy Richardson KC called the defendant's post 'vile'. The judge said Haythorne had been distressed by comments online about the 'dreadful events in Southport', adding that there had been 'an awful lot of malicious and malignant nonsense on the internet'. He reduced the sentence after considering the defendant's clinical depression, his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and personal mitigation. But Judge Richardson was sure that immediate custody was necessary due to the seriousness of the offence and he jailed Haythorne for 15 months. He said: 'It gives me no pleasure whatsoever in sending someone like you to prison because you have many positive attributes in life. 'But unfortunately, in that whole episode in August of last year, whilst there were some very bad people conducting themselves very badly, there were also a number of otherwise perfectly good people who did something very bad, and you are in that category.' Earlier on Wednesday, before adjourning to consider his sentence, the judge said Haythorne 'took leave of his senses' after being 'inflamed by malignant comments on social media' and made the post 'just as the incident at Rotherham was taking off in a very unpleasant fashion'. He read the defendant's post about burning hotels and told him: 'Within one and a half to two hours, that is exactly what happened.' Haythorne had been due to be sentenced last week but his original conviction was quashed when it emerged that the offence he was charged with – publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred – requires permission from the Attorney General before charges can be brought, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had not sought permission due to an 'oversight'. His case was sent back to magistrates' court, where he pleaded guilty to the charge for a second time.
