Author: Darren Smith

A three-year-old boy is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after being thrown into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo in Cambridgeshire, with a 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Police were called to Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, just before 1.30pm today. The child was rushed to hospital with serious injuries following the incident, which is understood to have occurred in front of other visitors at the zoo. Cambridgeshire Police said the arrested man, from Norfolk, is not believed to be known to the child or his family. The force is now speaking to…

A 13-year-old girl drowned in a North Yorkshire river while celebrating her birthday with her family, an inquest has heard, in a tragedy that unfolded within minutes of her parents preparing to leave a popular picnic spot. Palwasha Akbar, from Bradford, had gone with her family to the River Wharfe at Burnsall on 31 May for a barbecue in what was the day before her 14th birthday. At the opening of an inquest in Northallerton on Thursday, Assistant North Yorkshire Coroner Alison Norton said the teenager “got into some difficulty in the water” and was retrieved before being taken to…

The UK government has lifted its advice against all but essential travel to several Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, following the signing of an interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated its travel guidance shortly after Washington and Tehran signed their memorandum of understanding, which is designed to bring an end to the conflict that had destabilised the wider region and raised fears of broader escalation across the Gulf. The change will come as a significant relief to British travellers, businesses and airlines, as well as…

Jamie Varley has been sentenced to a whole life order for the murder of his 13-month-old adopted son Preston Davey, meaning he will never be released from prison. The 37-year-old textiles teacher from Blackpool, who also served as head of year and safeguarding lead at a comprehensive school, was told by Mr Justice Turner at Preston Crown Court: “You will stay in prison for the rest of your life.” Varley had claimed Preston drowned in the bath in July 2023 after he left him unattended for a couple of minutes. But a post-mortem examination found more than 40 injuries on…

Three people were taken to hospital and Scotland’s busiest motorway was closed for several hours after a car crashed into a barrier on the M8 in Glasgow on Wednesday evening. Emergency services were called to the westbound carriageway at Govan, between the Junction 24 slip roads, at around 7.15pm after a grey Skoda Octavia struck a central barrier. A 21-year-old man who was driving the vehicle and two 22-year-old female passengers were taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. A 26-year-old male passenger was assessed by medics at the scene. Traffic Scotland posted about the incident on social media, advising…

Patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital in Northern Ireland were subjected to abuse and systematic bullying by staff members whose job it was to care for them, a major public inquiry has concluded, with the inquiry chair declaring the scandal “was clearly preventable.” Tom Kark KC, chairing the inquiry, made clear in stark terms what the investigation had established. “Patients were abused at Muckamore Abbey Hospital. It is important to state that bold and simple fact,” the report states. Many patients had their lives made “miserable” by certain members of staff, the inquiry found, though it was careful to note that…

The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a formal apology for the Church of England’s role in historical forced adoptions, telling the thousands of mothers affected that “the shame is ours” in a video statement that arrives a day before the government is expected to make its own apology in the House of Commons. Dame Sarah Mullally said the Church was “profoundly sorry” for the pain caused by adoption practices in homes affiliated to the Church of England, describing the impact on many people as “lifelong.” “You have nothing to be ashamed of, the shame is ours,” she said. “We are…

A Dutch court has ruled that alleged Scottish crime clan leader Steven Lyons can be extradited to Spain, clearing the way for him to face charges of money laundering, drug trafficking and running a global criminal empire through a network of shell companies. Amsterdam judges granted Spain’s extradition request at a hearing on Thursday, rejecting arguments from Lyons’s defence team that his removal should be blocked on human rights grounds. His solicitor had previously told the court that his arrest amounted to “a secretive extradition — basically kidnapping of my client.” Lyons, alleged head of the notorious Lyon crime clan…

A Royal Navy captain who appeared in a BBC documentary about life aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges, in what is believed to be the most senior naval officer to face such a trial in modern history. Captain Chris Ansell, 49, appeared by video link at Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire, dressed in his military uniform, where he denied one count of rape, one of attempted sexual assault and two counts of sexual assault by penetration. He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas. The charges relate to alleged…

A senior traffic warden whose job included catching people who misused disabled parking badges has been dismissed after he was found using his deceased mother’s blue badge to avoid paying for parking while he went shopping — and has now lost his unfair dismissal claim at tribunal. Dinesh Patel, who had worked for the London Borough of Harrow for more than 20 years, was caught with his late mother’s blue badge on display in his car on 20 September 2021, some four months after she had died. He was issued a Penalty Charge Notice and in May 2022 pleaded guilty…