Actor and director Samantha Morton has said councils who fail to prevent the deaths of children in care should face manslaughter charges.

Warning: This story contains references to suicide.

In a powerful interview with Sky News, the Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning actor and director, who grew up in care, said Britain’s care system needs to be “completely rethought”.

It comes after a Sky News documentary, A Girl Called Nonita, told the story of 18-year-old Nonita Grabovskyte, who died in the care of the state following a catalogue of failures by those responsible for her care.

Nonita took her own life on railway tracks in December 2023, just two weeks after her birthday. She had previously told doctors and social workers that she intended to kill herself as soon as she turned 18. But nothing was done to prevent her death.

“I was a child of the state, just like Nonita,” Morton told Sky News.

“I was put in care at birth until I got the letter to say I was no longer the council’s responsibility. I was kicked out at 16 and put into a homeless hostel.”

After spells of homelessness, she found a local TV actors’ workshop and managed to secure roles that would eventually lead to Hollywood.

But she says she has never forgotten her childhood, which saw her in and out of children’s homes and foster families.

“The lack of care historically is shocking,” she said. “But the lack of care today is worse. Back then, it felt like there was at least some comeuppance.

“The system now is not fit for purpose. It needs root and branch reform. It needs to be completely rethought.”

The data shows a sharp rise in deaths among care leavers – young adults who have aged out of the care system and are expected to live independently, often with little or no support.

The Department for Education only began collecting data for care leavers aged 22 to 25 in 2023, meaning the true scale of deaths over the past decade is likely to be far higher.

Morton says councils should be held more accountable for the deaths of children in their care, especially if local authority failings contributed to deaths.

‘State manslaughter’

“A failure to care has massive consequences,” she told Sky News. “And the consequences are that people like Nonita die. I believe that that is a kind of state manslaughter.

“And individuals who fail to do their job properly should be in a dock.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has told Sky News that deaths of care-experienced young people should “shame us all”.

All deaths of children in the care of the state must be reported to the government via the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification Scheme.

But there are doubts as to whether all deaths are being reported.

‘Shames us as a country’

Ms Phillipson told Sky News she has asked officials to urgently review the process to check for underreporting.

“I’m concerned about serious incident notifications – about making sure we’re receiving all notifications of such incidents taking place,” she said.

“Because it’s only if we know what’s happening, if we fully understand what’s going on in the lives of children, that we as a government, as a country, can provide the support they need.”

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Ms Phillipson added: “It shames us all as a country that we so badly fail many of the most vulnerable children who’ve experienced such appalling trauma and abuse in their early lives.

“I read every single notification personally – and it always stays with you. Every case is a child or young person who deserved better.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, help, and support is available. You can call Samaritans free on 116 123 anytime day or night. You can also email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find support online.

Sally Kirkland, a former model and Oscar nominated actress known for her roles in films such as Anna, The Sting and JFK has died aged 84.

Her representative, Michael Greene, said Kirkland died on Tuesday morning at a Palm Springs hospice.

Kirkland had been unwell and struggling to cover medical bills after she fractured six bones last year and developed two life-threatening infections. She had also been diagnosed with dementia.

A GoFundMePage that was set up by her friends to help pay for her ongoing treatment had raised over £45,000 ($60,000).

Her biggest role was in the 1987 film Anna, as a fading Czech movie star remaking her life in the United States and mentoring a younger actor.

Kirkland won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination alongside Cher in Moonstruck, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, Holly Hunter in Broadcast News and Meryl Streep in Ironweed.

Born in New York City, Kirkland was encouraged to start modelling at age five by her mother, who was a fashion editor at Vogue and Life magazines. Kirkland went on to graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1961.

An early breakout for the star was appearing in Andy Warhol’s 13 Most Beautiful Women in 1964.

Some of her earliest roles were playing Shakespeare parts, including Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Miranda in an off-Broadway production of The Tempest.

She once told the Los Angeles Times: “I don’t think any actor can really call him or herself an actor unless he or she puts in time with Shakespeare.”

Kirkland was also infamous for her nude scenes, often disrobing in films and for social causes. In particular, Kirkland volunteered and advocated for people with AIDS, the homeless and prisoners.

Donald Trump has said he has an “obligation” to sue the BBC over an edit of a speech he gave before the US Capitol riot in 2021.

The president doubled down on his legal threat to the corporation in a Fox News interview on Tuesday night, as the corporation remains in crisis after the resignation of two of its top figures – including director-general Tim Davie.

“They defrauded the public, and they’ve admitted it,” Mr Trump said.

“And this is within one of our great allies, you know?”

It came after concerns emerged about a Panorama documentary from last year which showed Mr Trump appearing to tell supporters he was going to walk to the Capitol with them to “fight like hell”. There was in fact around an hour in between the two parts of the speech that were spliced together.

He told Fox News the Panorama edit had made a “beautiful” and “very calming speech” sound “radical”, which was “incredible” and “very dishonest”.

Mr Trump had faced charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election in light of the violence that befell the Capitol in January 2021, but those efforts were dropped when he beat Kamala Harris in 2024.

Trump’s three demands

Mr Trump is threatening to sue the BBC for $1bn unless it issues a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary, apologises immediately, and “appropriately” compensates him. It’s been given a deadline of 10pm UK time on Friday.

Read Trump’s legal letter in full

The BBC has come under increasingly heavy fire from its critics in the UK over the Panorama programme. The Conservatives have demanded it apologise to Mr Trump and the public, while Reform has reportedly pulled out of a documentary the corporation was planning about the party.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the BBC in the Commons on Tuesday, denying accusations it’s institutionally biased and calling on MPs to “value it, uphold it, and fiercely defend it”.

She said she has been in “regular contact” with BBC chair Samir Shah, ensuring that where standards were not met, “firm, swift and transparent action follows”.

Ms Nandy said a review of the BBC’s Royal Charter will begin “imminently” and a public consultation will be launched, with more details in the “coming weeks”.

‘We made a mistake – but need to fight,’ says outgoing BBC boss

Her Commons statement came after outgoing director-general Mr Davie said the corporation “made some mistakes that have cost us”, but added he was “proud” and that the organisation needed to “fight” for its journalism.

Mr Davie told staff on a call: “I think we did make a mistake, and there was an editorial breach, and I think some responsibility had to be taken.”

Mr Davie, who has worked for the BBC for 20 years and been in charge for the past five, is not stepping down immediately but hopes a successor will be put in place “over the coming months”.

There are several potential candidates who could replace him. The job effectively serves as both the corporation’s chief executive and its editor-in-chief across television, radio and online.

Leak reveals staff anger at Tory-linked board member

In a Q&A with Mr Davie after the all-staff call, staff were frustrated by having their questions vetted, Sky News arts and entertainment correspondent Katie Spencer reported.

Some questions were about the controversial appointment of Sir Robbie Gibb, the former Tory director of communications for prime minister Theresa May, to the BBC board. But when these questions were getting through the vetting process, staff tried to ask questions in the reply boxes, which were public.

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The anonymous comments included questions like “How can we claim to be unbiased if Gibb is on the board?” and “Why is Robbie Gibb still on the board?”.

“I find Robbie Gibb’s continued presence at the BBC to be incredibly demoralising. It feels as if he is fighting against and undermining the work we’re trying to do,” another comment read.

The leaders of the Lib Dems and SNP have both called for Sir Robbie’s removal.

But Ms Nandy told the Commons the government is “unable” to remove Sir Robbie, as “the charter sets a strict legal threshold that must be met before dismissal of a board member”.