A man has pleaded guilty to selling a substance online to assist with the suicide of others.

Miles Cross, 33, admitted four counts of intentionally doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide of another.

Cross provided chemicals to Shubhreet Singh on 22 August last year, Wrexham Magistrates’ Court heard during an October hearing.

Ms Singh, 26, died in West Yorkshire last year.

The three other counts relate to three victims who are alive and cannot be named due to reporting restrictions.

The incidents are said to have happened in August and September 2024.

Police are also investigating a second death in connection with the packages Cross sold online.

Cross had set up a business selling the chemical via an internet discussion forum and interacted with others on the forum under a pseudonym.

He joined the site in July 2024 and posted a QR code, which allowed people to order the chemical directly from him and pay via his bank account.

Cross received payments of £100 from four people and sent them the chemical through the post.

Cross, from Wrexham, was arrested in January following a police investigation into sales via the forum to assist with suicide. Officers found the chemical and other paraphernalia at his address.

His devices were seized, which linked Cross to the forum, social media profiles and the bank account.

“Miles Cross preyed on four people in a distressed state and knowingly provided a substance intended to end their lives,” Alison Storey, specialist prosecutor with the CPS Special Crime Division, said.

“His actions were purely for financial gain, and he made the process of ordering the chemical online easy and accessible.”

She said the case was a “stark reminder of the dangers posed by those who aim to exploit vulnerable individuals online”, adding that the CPS hopes that Cross pleading guilty brings “some measure of justice” to the victims and their families.

North Wales Police’s Detective Superintendent Chris Bell said: “Cross took advantage and exploited his victims in their most desperate moments, profiting off their vulnerability and mental illnesses.

“I hope today’s admission provides the victims and their families with some peace of mind and relief that they are now spared the ordeal of a trial. My thoughts, and those of the whole investigation team, remain with them today.”

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He added: “This has been a highly complex and sensitive investigation over the past 10 months, and I want to acknowledge the courage of the witnesses who played an integral part in the investigation during such difficult circumstances.”

Cross will be sentenced at Mold Crown Court on 7 January.

If you’ve been affected by this story and want to talk to someone, 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.

The Princess of Wales has delivered a rare speech calling on businesses to value “time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success”, as part of her push to make society put the needs of children first. 

During her first speech since she was diagnosed with cancer at the start of 2024, Kate reflected on the importance of love, telling 80 business leaders, “the love we feel in our earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults”.

But in a call to action for businesses, she added: “Every one of you interacts with your own environment; a home, a family, a business, a workforce, a community. These are the ecosystems that you yourselves help to weave.

“Imagine a world where each of these environments were built on valuing time and tenderness just as much as productivity and success.

“As business leaders, you will face the daily challenge of finding the balance between profitability and having a positive impact. But the two are not, and should not be incompatible.”

At the Future Workforce Summit, hosted by her Royal Foundation Business Taskforce, Kate thanked her team at the Centre of Early Childhood “for holding the fort, particularly over the last couple of years”.

She was also joined by former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate as she called on business leaders to invest more in the early years development of children.

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The event came as The Royal Foundation released a new report called “The Human Advantage”, exploring how, as AI increasingly handles technical tasks, competitive advantage will rely on human skills that technology cannot replicate.

But while the survey found that 81% of business leaders believe there will be an increased need for human skills in the next five to 10 years, very few business leaders identified the unique importance of early childhood in the development of these skills.

In summer 2024, the Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood produced a report recommending a range of interventions from creating a culture inside and outside firms that prioritises childhood to supporting parents with greater resources and flexibility in the workplace.

Involving the chief executives of Ikea, NatWest Group and Deloitte, the report highlighted how the nation could benefit from an estimated £45.5bn.

The report followed the launch of Kate’s long-term campaign, Shaping Us, in January 2023, described as the princess’ “life’s work”, and aimed at highlighting the crucial first five years of a child’s life.

A man who inflicted “life-changing” injuries on a neighbour in a savage knife attack amid a row over a parking space has been jailed for more than seven years.

Stephen McAulay, 35, stabbed James Duncan “multiple times” to the head and body during the incident outside their homes in the Carntyne area of Glasgow on 13 May 2024.

It came after bus driver McAulay sustained a minor facial injury during an earlier confrontation over a parking space on their road, with the attacker later returning armed with a blade.

Judge Lord Young told McAulay: “Whatever the rights and wrongs of that dispute, you would not let the matter rest.”

Crane operator Mr Duncan required emergency surgery to a chest wound, while injuries to his head resulted in “significant” loss of vision to one eye.

The judge described the injuries as “life-changing”, adding: “This appears to be an attack caused more by intoxication and loss of face than anything else.”

McAulay last month pleaded guilty to attempted murder at the High Court in Glasgow.

He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

Lord Young dismissed McAulay’s claim that he had taken the knife with him in “self-defence”.

The judge said: “You went looking for your victim to continue the argument, and you took a knife with you that you were prepared to use.”

Lord Young highlighted Mr Duncan’s victim impact statement, noting: “He will struggle to return to work. These were truly life-changing injuries that you have inflicted.”

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Earlier, defence solicitor Ross Yuill described his client’s decision to “arm himself with a knife” and confront his neighbour as “inexplicable”.

The lawyer said McAulay has now had his first experience of custody which he found challenging.

He added: “The consequence for him will be a period of custody but also he will miss the birth of his child.”

Mr Yuill said McAulay was “sorry” for the incident and he “wishes again to offer his apologies to the complainer having had significant time to reflect on his actions”.