Boris Johnson says ‘infuriating’ police aren’t taking violence against women seriously enough
Boris Johnson says “infuriating” police forces don’t take violence against women seriously enough and are “not doing enough help victims”.
In the aftermath of the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by former Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, the prime minister blamed the failure on the slow progress of those types of cases in the criminal justice system – adding “we need to fix that”.
In an interview with the Times about Ms Everard’s case, Mr Johnson said the problem “is partly caused by the failure of the criminal justice system to dispose of these (cases)”.
“Are the police taking this issue seriously enough? It’s infuriating. I think the public feel that they aren’t and they’re not wrong,” he added.
Sarah Everard was raped and murdered by former police officer Wayne Couzens
Mr Johnson said that officers seem to be losing hope in the justice system, saying: “The police are realising when they arrest someone they’re not getting through the system fast enough.
“Very sadly that may well be one of the reasons why they’re not doing enough to help the victims that report and we need to fix that.”
But he defended the police as trustworthy. “Do I fundamentally believe the police are on our side? Yes absolutely they are.
“Can you trust the police? Yes, you can. But there is an issue about how we handle sexual violence, domestic violence, the sensitivity, the diligence, the time, the delay, the confusion about your mobile phone. That’s the thing we need to fix.”
His outspoken words come after broadcast interviews in which he backed Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, who has faced calls to resign.
A YouGov poll found 38% of adults in the UK think she should quit (27% said she should stay and 35% didn’t know).
Asked if he has confidence in the Met Police given vetting failures over Couzens, Mr Johnson said: “Yes I do. And I think that needs to be looked into.
“And I think that (Home Secretary) Priti Patel is absolutely right, we’ve got to get to the bottom of what on earth happened with Wayne Couzens, we need to make sure that nothing like that happens again.
Boris Johnson has given his backing to Dame Cressida Dick
“But what we’re doing is now not just putting more, a lot more money into safer streets, into CCTV… but recruiting more female police officers. And I think that can make the most fundamental change of all.”
Mr Johnson said hundreds of thousands of officers will be “heartsick” by the “appalling murder of Ms Everard“.
“I think there will be hundreds of thousands of police officers, let alone myself, up and down the country who will be absolutely heartsick by what has happened, the appalling murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer,” he said.
“And what I would really urge the public, I want to make it clear, I do believe in the police.”
Are women safe on our streets?
The murder of Ms Everard by a serving Metropolitan Police officer has triggered an outpouring of concern over women’s safety in the UK.
We want you to share your experiences, and your questions for our panel of experts. We’d also love to hear your solutions.
Email thegreatdebate@sky.uk to get involved.
UK
Mohamed al Fayed ‘carried Viagra’ and ‘cherry picked’ women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims
A former member of the Harrods management team has told how Mohamed al Fayed would “cherry pick” women from the shop floor.
Speaking to Sky News anonymously, the woman described the billionaire, who died last year aged 94, as “demonic” and said he “controlled everything with fear”.
Lawyers representing 37 alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Fayed branded him a “monster” who was “enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods” at a news conference on Friday.
The former employee of the luxury department store, which the Egyptian businessman took control of in 1985, worked at Harrods at the height of his power.
“We were all told Harrods is the greatest place on Earth – but he controlled everything with fear,” she said.
“The power dynamic was so strong, in the blink of an eye you would lose your career and they would try and destroy you. It was this dark psychological trap and everybody was caught.”
She said she heard stories Fayed, known to staff as “the chairman”, would grope people although she was never a victim herself.
Harrods department store in London. Pic: AP
“The chairman would walk around the store and he would cherry pick people from the shop floor, if you had blond hair and brown eyes you were favoured,” she said.
“He used to say, ‘I want that one up in my office now’. He used to carry Viagra around in his pocket, and people were so scared of his ‘floor walks’ – if you weren’t smiling enough you were in the shit, if you smiled too much you were also in the shit.”
Read more: Egyptian tycoon was never far from controversy
The ex-employee, who worked at Harrods in her first job after leaving university, said when women were called to Fayed’s office they “couldn’t say no”.
“I would sit her down and I would say I need to let you know what you are walking into,” she said.
“It’s suddenly a pay rise, and you’ll be invited to expensive events and lavished with expensive gifts but really you need to be aware of something.
“I said you will get invited to Park Lane, and parties where there will be lots of rich men, and you would be invited to sleep with people.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
She said she was once asked to see Fayed in his lounge-like office where he was wearing his slippers and said: “When are you going to come up and work for me here?”
The woman said she told him she did not want to work there and went back to her normal job.
“Afterwards he would smile at me and was courteous but then I started getting extra money in my pay packet. I went to the pay office and they said it’s a bonus for what you are doing. It didn’t last long but it happened just after he’d asked to meet him.”
The woman said she now feels “really conflicted” as she was “vulnerable too”.
“It was my first job leaving university. It leaves me feeling angry that we put up with things in that generation, that was our norm,” she added.
Harrods has said in a statement it is “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.
The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.
A body has been found in the search for a missing hospital chaplain who starred in a Channel 4 documentary.
Katherine Watson, 50, was last seen in the Heaton Road area of Newcastle, at about 1pm on Thursday and Northumbria Police had become “increasingly concerned” for her welfare.
But after “extensive searches”, the force said a body had been found in the Jesmond Dene area of the city. Although formal identification has yet to take place, “it is believed to be Katherine”, they added.
“Her next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by specially-trained officers,” it said.
“This is an incredibly sad outcome and our thoughts are with Katherine’s loved ones at this difficult time. We will continue to support them in any way we can and we ask that their privacy is respected.”
Also known as Reverend Captain Katie Watson, she joined the army in her late teens, serving in Bosnia in the 1990s and as part of the Royal Military Police.
“Once you have seen genocide first-hand on the streets of a European country, there is nothing left in the world that can faze you after that,” she told the Church Times in 2022, as the Geordie Hospital documentary was first aired on Channel 4.
“I have seen the worst of humanity and I have seen, and continue to see, the very best of it.”
Ms Watson worked at the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for more than 16 years and was made head of chaplaincy in 2020.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Channel 4’s documentary Geordie Hospital was a six-part series that filmed hospital staff through a shift, featuring a cast including porters, surgeons, dental nurses and chaplains.
Speaking about her role in the show, Ms Watson said: “We only have two things to offer, the gifts of time and presence, but we give them whole-heartedly.”
Read more on Sky News:
Parents die on Hawaii ‘babymoon’ holiday
Victim on how her upskirting report led to France mass rape trial
There was an outpouring of support online for Ms Watson following the news she was missing.
“She baptised our baby boy when he passed away at birth and presided over his funeral,” one person wrote on X. “She’s such a wonderful person who gave us unwavering support through our darkest hours.”
Another said: “The compassion and care you gave me and my family when our mum passed last year was a tremendous blessing and support.”
Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, Sky News understands.
Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner also announced they would take the same approach moving forward.
The decision by the prime minister, chancellor and deputy prime minister follows scrutiny of Sir Keir Starmer and his wife for accepting donations.
The prime minister has accepted work clothing donations worth £16,200, and multiple pairs of glasses, to the value of £2,485.
According to the MP register of interests, Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations too, to the value of £2,230.
Sky News understands that in June, the deputy prime minister also received a donation by Lord Waheed Alli, a television executive who has donated to Labour over the last 20 years, of £3,550.
The donation was registered but its nature, now understood to be work clothing, was not published.
Sky News understands that since the backlash over the freebies, the registrar was contacted to ensure the donation was published with all the necessary details.
The chancellor has not accepted any such donations, according to the MPs’ register of interests.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Nigel Farage has called out the PM for accepting free gifts
Sky News revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.
Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP as his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.
This had all been declared as per the rules but backbench MPs had been expressing concern that the government’s rhetoric of tough decisions on the economy jars with the image of a prime minister accepting freebies.
The row started over the weekend with controversy over Sir Keir’s wife’s clothes.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said earlier today she is “satisfied” with the prime minister’s explanation of why he has taken the freebies.
She said if he “wasn’t doing a good job in our country” then she “would be more concerned”.
Ms Phillips went on to say it’s not that she doesn’t think it’s important, but added: “I haven’t had a single email about it.
“I have had lots of emails about people not being able to get on a housing list.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
People react to the prime minister receiving gifts and freebies
Challenged on the fact that it looks bad having just taken away the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, Ms Phillips said these are “completely separate things”.
“And had he never been to watch the Arsenal, there would still be a £22bn black hole that had to be paid for,” she added.
She said: “All I can say is I’m absolutely knackered trying to make things better.”
What has the PM said in response to criticism?
Speaking to journalists this week, the prime minister said “all MPs get gifts” and he thinks the need to declare them is “a good framework”.
“Wherever there are gifts from anyone, I’m going to comply with the rules,” he said.
“It’s very important to me that the rules are followed. I’ve always said that. I said that before the election. I reinforced it after the election.”
On his acceptance of Arsenal tickets, he added: “I’m a massive Arsenal fan. I can’t go into the stands because of security reasons. Therefore, if I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game. You could say: ‘Well, bad luck.’
“That’s why gifts have to be registered. But… never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is pushing it a bit far.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports6 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports11 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company