Savile Report: Police Failed Abuse Victims

Police forces across Britain have been criticised for ignoring Jimmy Savile's abuse victims, as it emerged the disgraced presenter's offences dated as far back as 1955.

The earliest record uncovered by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) naming Savile in connection with a sexual abuse investigation is dated 1964, but officers failed to act on the intelligence received.

But a damning report by the Metropolitan Police and the NSPCC said Savile's offending spanned from 1955 to 2009, meaning his reign of abuse could have been cut short by 45 years.

Policing inspectors warned there was a "distinct possibility" that officers could fail to prevent another Savile-like scandal from happening.

Just five allegations and two pieces of intelligence were recorded against Savile during his lifetime, HMIC found.

This is in stark contrast to the 450 claims made against the former Top Of The Pops presenter after Operation Yewtree was launched by the Metropolitan Police in October.

Alan Collins, a solicitor from law firm Pannone who is representing more than 40 of Savile's victims, said many opportunities to investigate Savile had been lost.

"Consequently, Savile was able to carry on regardless, duping the country in the process, and the price was paid by his many victims," he said.

"There is a definite risk that unless policies and attitudes change, Savile will happen again."

As well as the 1964 Metropolitan Police ledger, a record of an anonymous letter was found that was received by the Met in 1998, alleging that Savile was a paedophile.

In addition, five victims made complaints against the presenter - one to the Met in 2003, three to Surrey in 2007 and one to Sussex in 2008.

Savile's offending is believed to have spanned from 1955 to 2009

HMIC expressed concern that other police forces did not deal with complaints properly with eight victims claiming that they tried, unsuccessfully, to report crimes.

These include four who approached the Met and one each who went to police in Cheshire, Merseyside, West Yorkshire and the then Royal Ulster Constabulary.

One man who came forward in 1963 in Cheshire to make an allegation of rape against Savile was told to "forget about it" and "move on", HMIC said.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Drusilla Sharpling said: "The findings in this report are of deep concern, and clearly there were mistakes in how the police handled the allegations made against Savile during his lifetime."

The letter received by the Metropolitan Police Service in 1998 claiming the DJ was a paedophile was classed as "sensitive", meaning other investigators could not find it.

"The 1998 MPS anonymous letter was marked as 'sensitive' because of Savile's celebrity status and because there were allegations of blackmail and paedophilia," the inspectors said.

"This categorisation meant that the intelligence was not readily available to be searched by later investigating officers."

The Met sent the letter to West Yorkshire Police, the area where Savile lived, but other investigators could not access the information until 2011.

Considering whether such abuse on a similar scale could happen again, Ms Sharpling said it was neither "enough nor correct to say this couldn't happen now".

The HMIC report warned that "the inconsistencies in approach that the forces have taken mean that there is a distinct possibility that such failures could be repeated".

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "The public rightly want answers to how victims' voices were ignored for so long. This report brings into sharp focus police failings that allowed Savile to act with impunity over five decades.

A Met Police spokesman said: "All of this needs to be seen in the context of how much we have achieved through our approach to the public response to Operation Yewtree.

"We have seen a step change in the reporting of abuse, with a significant rise in the numbers of people coming forward."

The HMIC report recommended that recently formed professional body the College of Policing should issue guidelines to all police forces about how to deal with investigations into child abuse..

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Falkland Islanders Vote To Remain British

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent, in Stanley

David Cameron has demanded that Argentina respect the result of a referendum in the Falklands which saw an overwhelming majority back staying under British rule.

Just three voted 'No' in the ballot about remaining a British Overseas Territory, with 99.8% supporting the status quo.

International observers ratified the poll, in which 92% of eligible voters - or 1,513 people - took part, as "free and fair"

The Prime Minister warned that Argentina should take "careful note" of the result, which he said was the clearest possible message.

"The Falkland Islands may be thousands of miles away but they are British through and through. That is how they want to stay," he said.

"They want to remain British and that view should be respected by everybody, including by Argentina."

Nigel Haywood, governor of the Falkland Islands, added: "You don't get a much clearer expression of the people's self-determination than such a large turn out and such a large yes vote."

Argentina has yet to officially react to the referendum but had already dismissed the vote as illegal and "pointless".

It claims the people have no voice in deciding what is a dispute about sovereignty that should be resolved directly with Britain.

But delighted residents, who sang Land Of Hope And Glory and Rule Britannia after the result, insisted they must be heard.

One woman celebrating in Stanley told Sky News: "It sends such a strong message to the world that we've been here for a long time.

Falkland Islanders during a 'Proud To Be British' march

"We have the right to determine our own future. How long do you have to live in a country before you're allowed to call it your own?"

The referendum was organised after a deterioration in relations between Britain and Argentina, which claims the Falklands and in 1982 invaded the islands it calls Las Malvinas.

During the war to take back the islands, 255 British serviceman died as well as 655 Argentinians and three locals.

Relations appeared to warm for a period until Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner restated her country's claims of sovereignty and tried to raise the issue with David Cameron and the UN.

Although Buenos Aires dismissed the referendum as illegitimate and refused to talk to Falkland politicians, the islanders hope other countries in South and Central America will be more sympathetic.

As the counting took place in Stanley Town Hall, it quickly became clear the piles of "Yes" votes were growing steadily, while "No" votes were nowhere to be seen.

There was a delay in announcing the result because one vote went missing during the count but officials eventually decided it was not worth a recount for a single missing ballot.

The result means the Falklands will continue to run its own affairs, but shelter under the wing of the motherland when it comes to defence and foreign policy.

Falklands' legislators know the referendum will be dismissed by the Argentine government, but one of them, Dick Sawle had this message for President Kirchner.

"Listen, this is what we've said and it's time you respected our human rights," he said. "It's time you stopped harassing us; it's time you stopped your very aggressive stance towards us.

"We'll be taking that message to various governments and saying 'look, self determination is a fundamental human right, you can't ignore it'. This is what the people of the Falklands have said. Do you have a problem with that?"

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Runaway Killer Brian Lynch Held In Manchester

A convicted murderer who escaped while on day release from prison has been arrested in Manchester, police say.

More follows...

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chris Huhne And Ex-Wife Face Prison Sentences

Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce are expected to be jailed when they are sentenced later for the penalty points swap.

The former Cabinet minister, 58, and Pryce, 60, have been warned they face prison for perverting the course of justice.

Mr Justice Sweeney, at Southwark Crown Court in London, has said they should be under no illusions about their likely punishment.

Perverting the course of justice carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with an average sentence of around 10 months.

Huhne is also facing a hefty legal bill after the Crown Prosecution Service announced plans to recoup the costs of his "sustained challenges" against the prosecution before his 11th-hour guilty plea.

Vicky Pryce smiling after her ex-husband admitted his crime

The sentencing comes after an ugly and protracted trial which saw Pryce claim she had been coerced into taking speeding points for her husband in 2003.

Huhne admitted lying to police on the first day of the planned joint trial, ending months of denials, but ex-wife continued to claim she was forced.

It was revealed during the court case that Pryce told The Sunday Times about the swap to "nail" her ex-husband after he left her for another woman in 2010.

During the trial, she also claimed that the senior Lib Dem had forced her to have an abortion in the 90s - in a bid to show how much influence he had over her.

Huhne with the woman he left Pryce for, Carina Trimingham

The wreckage of their marriage was laid bare in court and bitter text messages between Huhne and his youngest son Peter were also disclosed.

Pryce, a prominent economist and mother-of-five, was convicted last week after a retrial. The first trial collapsed when the jury failed to reach a verdict.

The case brought an end to Huhne's once-promising political career. His charge forced him to stand down as energy secretary and his guilty plea prompted his resignation as Eastleigh MP.

Despite the impact of his prosecution on the party, Huhne was lavished with praise at the weekend's Liberal Democrat spring conference.

Party leader Nick Clegg described him as an "effective" and "outstanding" politician.

He told a fringe event on Saturday: "Not only was he an outstanding local constituency MP, he was also an extremely powerful thinker and indeed a very effective secretary of state."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Weather: Heavy Snow To Cause Travel Problems

Heavy snowfall across parts of Britain is likely to cause travel disruption, as the possibility of a white Easter looms.

The southern counties of England are expected to take the brunt of heavy, repeated snow showers moving in from the South West.

That will be followed by a second band of wintry weather which will hit eastern and central parts of Scotland and England.

A dusting of snow is expected in all other areas, bringing with it a risk of travel problems for the morning and evening rush hours.

Up to 10cm (4in) will settle in the worst-affected areas, including Kent, Sussex and southern Hampshire, as well as over higher ground in areas like the Pennines, while large areas could see around up to 4cm (1.6in) accumulate.

The snow is expected to fall on Monday and Tuesday, and temperatures will remain below freezing in many areas for the next few days, with minimum temperatures as low as -7C.

The Met Office has issued an amber warning of snow in the South West and yellow warnings across east Scotland and England and in the southern regions, urging the public to be prepared for disruption.

Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said: "As well as the snow picture it's going to be a bitterly cold day thanks to those brisk northeasterly winds that will be gusting up to 60mph (96kph) added to the wind chill."

Ladbrokes said they have been forced to slash the odds of snow reappearing across Easter weekend, March 29 to April 1.

On Sunday evening it was even money for snow to fall in any major city, and there is a 4/1 chance it is the coldest Easter on record, the bookmaker said.

Spokeswoman Jessica Bridge said: "The odds of snow falling over Easter are dropping as quick as the temperatures.

"Only a week ago the UK was basking in the sunshine but there's no chance that this month will be the warmest March on record now."

The bookmaker said snow could also play havoc with Cheltenham Festival next week.

Motoring services firm RAC said it expects potential breakdowns to increase by 20% over the next few days and has an increased number of patrols planned.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Antibiotic Resistance 'A Ticking Time Bomb'

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

The Government's Chief Medical Officer is warning of "a dreadful future for our children and grandchildren" unless global action is taken to prevent diseases from becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Professor Dame Sally Davies said diseases are evolving faster than the drugs that exist to treat them.

In the second volume of her annual report, she described the problem as a "ticking time bomb" and calls for it to be put on the Government's National Security Risk Assessment register, alongside terrorism and severe weather.

She said routine operations such as hip replacements or organ donations could pose deadly risks in just 20 years' time if we lose the ability to fight infection.

Dame Sally has made 17 recommendations to politicians and policymakers including better hygiene in schools, hospitals, care homes and public places.

Professor Dame Sally Davies

She also called for better protection of our current stock of antibiotics and is urging GPs to prescribe antibiotics only when absolutely necessary.

"We all have a role to play. And as a public we need to accept that many infections that take us to GPs or keep us at home, don't need antibiotics," she said.

"So if a GP says 'no you don't need an antibiotic', please don't demand an antibiotic and put ridiculous pressure on GPs.

"All it's doing is building antimicrobial resistance and we're giving a dreadful future to our children and grandchildren."

A new infectious disease has been discovered every year for the last 30 years but there have been almost no new classes of antibiotics discovered since 1987.

The plan is to "incentivise" pharmaceutical companies to plough resources into research but no decision has been taken on how to do that.

"We have been waiting for the next new antibiotic to come along and treat those resistant cases but the pipeline is drying up," Dame Sally added.

"There are no new classes of antibiotics in the pipelines across the world and there are very few in development.

"That's because we have not, as a global society, incentivised producing antibiotics. We have market failure and we really need to do something about this."

The Chief Medical Officer said the issue should also be considered by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs because around 50% of antibiotics used in the UK are given to animals.

The Department of Health said it will soon publish the UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy setting out a five-year action plan aiming to address the issue.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Archbishop Warns Benefit Cuts Will Hit Children

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned the Government that "children and families will pay the price" for cuts to the benefits system.

In his first significant criticism of Government policy, The Most Rev Justin Welby has said that the measures will have a "deeply disproportionate" effect on children.

The Most Rev Welby is among 43 bishops who have written an open letter to the Government condemning its plans.

The comments made in the letter indicate that the archbishop, who will be formally enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on March 21, will be willing to enter political debate.

His predecessor, Dr Rowan Williams, was strongly criticised for expressing his views about Government policy.

The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill will cap benefit rises at 1% a year until 2016.

The archbishop said the legislation would remove the protection given to families against the rising cost of living and could push 200,000 children into poverty.

He said: "As a civilised society, we have a duty to support those among us who are vulnerable and in need. When times are hard, that duty should be felt more than ever, not disappear or diminish.

"It is essential that we have a welfare system that responds to need and recognises the rising costs of food, fuel and housing.

Iain Duncan Smith is driving through the benefit reforms

"The current benefits system does that, by ensuring that the support struggling families receive rises with inflation.

"These changes will mean it is children and families who will pay the price for high inflation, rather than the Government."

He added: "Politicians have a clear choice. By protecting children from the effects of this Bill, they can help fulfil their commitment to end child poverty."

Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is attempting to steer the reforms through.

The Government says the changes are needed to help get spending back under control and create a fairer deal for taxpayers.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "In difficult economic times we've protected the incomes of pensioners and disabled people, and most working age benefits will continue to increase 1%.

"This was a tough decision but it's one that will help keep the welfare bill sustainable in the longer term.

"By raising the personal allowance threshold, we've lifted two million people out of tax altogether, clearly benefiting people on a low income."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Qatada: May Pledges To Scrap Human Rights Act

Theresa May has pledged that a Conservative government would scrap the Human Rights Act which she claims has stopped Britain from deporting the radical preacher Abu Qatada.

The Home Secretary also went so far as to indicate the Conservatives could go further by pulling out of its European obligations on Human Rights altogether, an association dating back more than 60 years.

Ms May, who is being touted as a possible future Conservative leader, told Tory activists that the party must "consider very carefully our relationship" with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

She said that Britain must stop human rights laws interfering with its ability to protect the nation.

She pointed to the case of Qatada, once described as Osama bin Laden's right hand man in Europe, who was on Saturday returned to custody following his arrest for allegedly breaching his bail conditions.

Ms May said that the Strasbourg-based court had constantly moved the goalposts on Britain's request for his deportation to Jordan.

"We need to stop human rights legislation interfering with our ability to fight crime and control immigration," she told the Victory 2015 conference.

"That's why, as our last manifesto promised, the next Conservative government will scrap the Human Rights Act, and it's why we should also consider very carefully our relationship with the European Court of Human Rights and the convention it enforces.

Qatada arrives at his London home after his release from prison in November

"When Strasbourg constantly moves the goalposts and prevents the deportation of dangerous men like Abu Qatada, we have to ask ourselves to what end are we signatories to the convention?"

She added: "So by 2015 we'll need a plan for dealing with the European Court of Human Rights. And yes, I want to be clear that all options - including leaving the convention altogether - should be on the table."

The Government is to make a bid at the Court of Appeal on Monday to overturn a judge's decision to allow Qatada, who has been convicted of terrorism charges in Jordan, to remain in Britain.

Ms May made her comments to Tory grassroots as part of a wide-ranging speech in which she also said that she expects the Conservative's public sector reform agenda to "become even more radical" and could include allowing companies to make a profit delivering frontline services.

The country's most senior judge, Lord Neuberger, last week pointed out that if Britain was to scrap the Human Rights Act and end its association with the European Convention on Human Rights, it would also have to withdraw from the United Nations.

He pointed out that it is under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights that terrorists could not be deported to countries where they might be subjected to poor treatment.

Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, said: "She says she wants freedom yet she wants to abolish the Human Rights Act which protects freedom of speech, freedom from torture and freedom of religion.

"And she wants to pull out of the European Convention which is protecting basic freedoms in emerging democracies across Europe and has nothing to do with her failure in deporting fewer foreign criminals."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sex Trafficking Victims 'Failed' By Authorities

Full Interview With Sophie Hayes

Updated: 1:53am UK, Sunday 10 March 2013

Sophie Hayes speaks to Sky's Richard Suchet about her life as a sexual and domestic slave at the hands of the man she thought was her boyfriend.

SOPHIE: "I'd known my trafficker for five years before I was actually trafficked, from the UK to Italy. We'd become friends. Very good friends. Then I went on holiday ... and ... just that it would be a holiday ... until three days in, he told me that he hadn't waited five years for me to just leave and that actually I was there to work for him as a prostitute, and if I didn't there would be severe consequences."

SUCHET: "So you did?"

SOPHIE: "Yeah I did. The first night I thought 'this isn't real, this can't happen' and really believed that maybe the next day I could say 'actually, I just want to go home now' until ... I saw that he just wasn't the person that I thought he was. Everything that he was, everything that I knew had completely changed.

"He'd become aggressive, violent. Threats against me, threats against my family. My younger brother was only thirteen at the time and he was the one that had all of the death threats ... and ... the night that he told me, he strangled me, pinned me up against the wall, and told me that if I didn't do as I was told, I would be punished."

SUCHET: "Mentally, how do you cope with that? What goes through your head the first day, the second day, the third day? Where does your mind take you?"

SOPHIE: "Total disbelief. So ... going from a world where I had a good job, a relatively happy life, to another world with someone who had pretended to be something that he wasn't ... it just didn't feel like that was possible or that that could really happen. There's no way I could have done what he expected me to do.

"But as the days went on, I knew that actually there was no way out because he told me that he had friends in the police, that if I tried to run then someone would be there to catch me and ... the more .... the more time past ... I knew. I knew I would never escape him, I couldn't run anywhere ... until a few weeks later I just ... I just switched off.

"There was nothing left anymore. I wasn't me anymore and ... the best thing to do was ... just ... pretend it wasn't happening, that it was happening to someone else and ... just accept it."

SUCHET: "So you just switch off inside, do you?"

SOPHIE: "Completely. To begin with, I tried to hold on. I would look in the mirror and just ... want to scream. And I'd see bruises which I'd never had before.

"Until one night everything changed, with one of the men that came. After that night, I just let go. To the point that I stopped caring. Because nothing I could do or say, no matter how many tears, how many screams, nothing would change the situation ... because I was too afraid to run.

"Many people have asked me: 'Why? Why would you not run away? Why would you not ask for help?' ... but he was the person who kept me from asking anybody to help me, knowing that my family were at risk - my younger brother could be taken.

"He'd already taken me to a lake to show me that if I did something wrong, that's where he would take me. He would put a knife to my neck, a gun in my mouth, a gun inside of me. I knew there was no boundary for him. All I was to him was money. Other than that he didn't care."

SUCHET: "Was it always sexual? Or were there other things you had to do, like chores round the house, or looking after him in some other way? Or was it purely a sexual thing?"

SOPHIE: "It's always more than just sexual when someone holds you in that way. I was only allowed to speak when he said that was ok. When I cleaned, it had to be cleaned in a certain way. If I didn't do it properly, he would ... hurt me again. 

"If I cooked in the wrong way, there would be consequences. For example, I tried to make pasta one night and he told me there was too much sauce. So he smashed the plate ahead of me, and cleaned the floor up with my hair and then told me he was going to shave my hair off in punishment because I couldn't clean properly, I couldn't cook properly and what kind of a person was I that couldn't even do the most basic things?"

SUCHET: "I don't think people can really imagine how you end up in a situation like that. I mean, people might think you would see it coming?"

SOPHIE: "The general perception is that this happens to girls from a different country, from poor backgrounds, and that they perhaps should see it coming, when actually it's the opposite.

"The traffickers are professional businessmen. They have been doing this for years. How to groom a girl. How to make somebody feel completely isolated so that you don't see it coming. And then you're at the point that you're so frightened of them that you can't think about anything anymore, you can't do anything anymore and ... there's no other choice. No way of escape. They have you as a total prisoner."

SUCHET: "So how did you get out?"

SOPHIE: "During the time, I'd lost quite a lot of weight, so I'd gone down to about six stone. I was only allowed to eat once a day. I'd had pneumonia twice, a broken shoulder blade, and at the point I came out I'd been really ill.

"I couldn't have sex anymore. Because some nights I would have sex with up to 35 different men and it was just so painful. So I managed to go to a hospital. The hospital kept me there for a week. But they told me I had no passport, no ID, and that I would have to pay 10,000 euros.

"I managed to steal a moment to call my mum and they drove over to come and collect me, and drove me back from Italy, back to the UK."

SUCHET: "So, effectively, you became useless to him? That's how you managed to get out of his sight?"

SOPHIE: "I was still with a client when I managed to go to the hospital. I didn't tell him where I'd gone. He told me after three days of being in hospital that he was taking me out because he'd actually met some Russians, and he was going to take some girls. And ... I don't know whether or not I would have been sold to the Russians.

"And when I did come back to the UK, he took my credit card off me, and booked me a ticket to go back to Italy, and that I had to go back to work. He was never willing to just let me go. He would have just carried on. To him, he said I was a gold mine, and that because I was British I was actually the perfect person because I could stay freely in [Italy], and people paid more for me, so I was the perfect person for him."

SUCHET: "What was the reaction from the authorities when you got back to the UK?"

SOPHIE: "I had quite a challenging time with the authorities when I came back because at that time no one really knew - or understood - actually what is human trafficking and, because they'd never dealt with cases of somebody being British being taken out of the country and then back in, there wasn't really anywhere for me to go, or any real understanding.

"One policeman actually told me: "Well, you won't do that again," which ... just .... again made me lose all faith ... and ... I had no one. I was on my own. I had my mum, and my mum helped me through it. And I just .... had to pick myself up and carry on and try to live a normal life again."

SUCHET: "How did you finally extricate yourself from him?"

SOPHIE: "It turns out he was wanted in this country for an attempted shooting, years back. The police had him under surveillance and had an arrest warrant out for him. In 2008, when he returned to the UK, they performed a stop and search on him - but made it look completely random.

"They obviously knew he'd have fake documents and that they could arrest him on those grounds. And they knew that his fingerprint would then link him to other crimes. They sent me abroad for a week while all that happened so it would look as if I had nothing to do with his arrest. Anyway, he went to prison and was eventually deported back to Albania."

SUCHET: "You seem to me like the most stoic and normal person, if I may say. No one would ever be able to tell what you've been through. But is there a part of you that feels a little bit damaged? Do you ever get over something like that?"

SOPHIE: "This is something that I will never get over. But can I manage it? Yes, it has become more manageable. Although many people still don't know who I really am.

"I still have a lot of physical problems. After he broke my shoulder blade, I still have therapy and I need a lot of treatment on my back. And also ... mentally I have to stay really strong ... because ... something like that can't happen for no reason.

"And this is why I feel I have to try and help other women and other girls who are in the same situation, or could be at risk of that situation. I tell myself a lot that I can't let my past steal my future. And no matter what happened, I am still alive. And regardless of how painful it is, how many memories I have, how many times I cry ... actually it's the future, and the hope, and the hope I bring to others, that keeps me strong."

SUCHET: "Do you still cry about it?"

SOPHIE: "Yeah, if I see things or hear things and generally when I can see another women being abused or beaten - that brings it all back to me. Every day I can still picture how much he hurt me and how much he frightened me. What he made me do, hurts me. What he did to me and what he said to me is the memory that stays with me and the echoes that I can still hear."

SUCHET: "Do you trust men? Do you have problems trusting men anymore?"

SOPHIE: "I ... I would like to believe that I can still have trust in people because I can't allow one person to take over how I feel and how I behave in the future, and dictate how I have relationships. So I really try and make sure it doesn't, again, take over me, and absorb, and change my perception on men."

SUCHET: Where is the man who trafficked you? And do you now feel safe?

SOPHIE: "I don't know where he is. We've tried to locate him and police have markers on him so to speak. Potentially he's in prison (abroad). But no, I will never feel 100% free and safe. He will always be on my shoulder.

"So on a mental level, there's always a part of me that won't be free, that can't escape. But setting up the Sophie Hayes foundation has made me feel like he can't dictate my future. I can take a grip of my future, and, in that sense, I'm now free."

'Sophie Hayes' is not her real name. There are only a handful of people who know both her real name and her dreadful story and she says it's important that she remains anonymous: "Who is Sophie? Almost nobody knows. She could be anybody.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boy, 4, Dies After Falling From Flat Window

A four-year-old boy has died in hospital after falling from a window on the third floor of a block of flats in Glasgow, police have said.

He was rushed to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Yorkhill but doctors were unable to save him.

Strathclyde Police are investigating the incident, which happened in St Andrew's Drive in Pollokshields at around 10.20am on Friday.

Norman MacLeod, SNP councillor for the Pollokshields ward, said: "This is distressing news of a young boy in my ward.

"Clearly the proper authorities will require to undertake a full investigation into all the circumstances surrounding this incident.

"In the meantime, I hasten to extend my most profound and heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the youngster."

Scottish Conservative councillor for the area, David Meikle, said: "I'm shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic death of a young boy falling from a block of flats in Pollokshields.

"My thoughts go out to the family who have lost a child."

He added: "There needs to be a full investigation into this incident so we can get to the bottom of what happened and ensure nothing like this happens again."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More