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The family of a 15-year-old girl killed in a speedboat crash have spoken of their devastation at her loss as the “coward” skipper and company owner avoided being sent to prison.

Emily Lewis, 15, suffered fatal injuries after the rigid inflatable boat (rib) collided with a 4.5m high buoy at 36.6 knots on Southampton Water on 22 August 2020.

A number of other passengers were also seriously injured.

Speedboat skipper Michael Lawrence and company owner Michael Howley were handed 18-week prison sentences suspended for two years at Winchester Crown Court in connection with the death.

Both men had previously served as RNLI lifeboatmen.

Lawrence, 55, who was driving the boat, was previously found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence, but guilty of failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to proceed at a safe speed, by a jury.

Howley, 52, the owner of Seadogz, the company which ran the boat trip, was convicted by majority verdict of not operating the craft safely.

At the trial, Christine Agnew KC, prosecuting, told how Emily’s parents, Simon and Nikki, had made the decision to take her and sister Amy, 18, for a “high thrills” speedboat ride.

Screengrab taken from footage dated 22/08/20 issued by Hampshire Police which has been shown to the jury at Winchester Crown Court in the trial of a speedboat skipper Michael Lawrence, 55, accused of manslaughter, of the moment his boat crashed into a buoy killing a 15-year-old Emily Lewis
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CCTV showed the moment before the speedboat hit the buoy

The boat was recorded to travel at speeds of 47.8 knots, which is in excess of an expired speed limit of 40 knots (46mph), which she said both defendants believed was still in place.

The ride, which was said to have taken place in “perfect conditions”, saw the Stormforce 950 rib cross the wake of a Red Falcon ferry five times, before heading straight towards the North West Netley buoy, which measures 4.69m above the water line.

The boat was travelling towards it for 14 seconds at a speed of 38.6 knots (44mph), before hitting it and throwing passengers into the water and injuring others.

Emily suffered from internal injuries from being crushed up against the metal handle in front of her.

She was taken ashore by another boat, and then transported to hospital, where she later died.

Her parents decided to turn off her life support after being told by medical staff she had suffered from oxygen starvation to the brain and her injuries were “unsurvivable”.

‘I will never forgive you’

Reading her victim impact statement to the court, Emily’s mother Nicola wiped away tears, as she looked at Lawrence and said: “You have taken away from us not being able to see Emily grow into the beautiful young lady, the amazing adult that she would have been. I will never forgive you for this.

“It is two and a half years and you have kept us in this hell, you could have taken responsibility for what happened that day but you have chosen not to. To me, you are just a coward only thinking about yourself. You show no remorse.

“You are a weak man. I hope that your sentence gives you an opportunity to reflect on what you have done.”

A selfie taken by Michael Lawrence at the start of the fatal ride, showing him wearing a Seadogz face mask
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A selfie taken by Michael Lawrence at the start of the fatal ride

Emily’s father, Simon, said: “The death of my amazing, wonderful daughter Emily has truly broken me.

“There is no day, hour or minute that I do not think about her. I miss her so much that some days that pain is physical. I want and need her back in my life, yet I know that this is not possible.”

Her sister Amy, who was 18 at the time of the crash and suffered a fractured arm, said: “To describe it as the worst day of my life would be an understatement.

“No words can describe the deep pain and suffering of that day, it’s pain you cannot speak of, only experience, and for the last two years I have felt this very feeling every day.”

Mark Ashley, defending Lawrence, of Blackfield, New Forest, said that his client’s actions were “out of character” and added: “We are dealing with a good man who has made a mistake.

“He is deeply, deeply affected by what has happened. There isn’t a day that goes by when he doesn’t wish it was he who died.”

Keely Harvey, representing Howley, of Hordle, Hampshire, said that he “cared” about the safety of his passengers and added: “He is highly remorseful, he is a man who will be forever affected by this.”

The court previously heard that Seadogz had received three complaints from passengers suffering back injuries in 10 years – with one person injured during a ride in 2012 receiving a £300,000 payout.

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Jess Phillips condemns ‘idiot’ councils that don’t believe they have grooming gang problem

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Jess Phillips condemns 'idiot' councils that don't believe they have grooming gang problem

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has told Sky News that councils that believe they don’t have a problem with grooming gangs are “idiots” – as she denied Elon Musk influenced the decision to have a national inquiry on the subject. 

The minister said: “I don’t follow Elon Musk’s advice on anything although maybe I too would like to go to Mars.

“Before anyone even knew Elon Musk’s name, I was working with the victims of these crimes.”

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Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters
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Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters

Mr Musk had called Ms Phillips a “rape genocide apologist” in one of a series of inflammatory posts on X in January and said she should go to jail.

Mr Musk, then a close aide of US President Donald Trump, sparked a significant political row with his comments – with the Conservative Party and Reform UK calling for a new public inquiry into grooming gangs.

At the time, Ms Phillips denied a request for a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham on the basis that it should be done at a local level.

But the government announced a national inquiry after Baroness Casey’s rapid audit on grooming gangs, which was published in June.

Asked if she thought there was, in the words of Baroness Casey, “over representation” among suspects of Asian and Pakistani men, Ms Phillips replied: “My own experience of working with many young girls in my area – yes there is a problem. There are different parts of the country where the problem will look different, organised crime has different flavours across the board.

“But I have to look at the evidence… and the government reacts to the evidence.”

Ms Phillips also said the home secretary has written to all police chiefs telling them that data collection on ethnicity “has to change”, to ensure that it is always recorded, promising “we will legislate to change the way this [collection] is done if necessary”.

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Operation Beaconport has since been established, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), and will be reviewing more than 1,200 closed cases of child sexual exploitation.

Ms Phillips revealed that at least “five, six” councils have asked to be a part of the national review – and denounced councils that believed they don’t have a problem with grooming gangs as “idiots”.

“I don’t want [the inquiry] just to go over places that have already had inquiries and find things the Casey had already identified,” she said.

She confirmed that a shortlist for a chair has been drawn up, and she expects the inquiry to be finished within three years.

Ms Phillips’s comments come after she announced £426,000 of funding to roll out artificial intelligence tools across all 43 police forces in England and Wales to speed up investigations into modern slavery, child sex abuse and county lines gangs.

Some 13 forces have access to the AI apps, which the Home Office says have saved more than £20m and 16,000 hours for investigators.

The apps can translate large amounts of text in foreign languages and analyse data to find relationships between suspects.

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Prince Harry cleared of bullying claims by report into ‘damaging dispute’ at his charity

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Prince Harry cleared of bullying claims by report into 'damaging dispute' at his charity

The Charity Commission has found no evidence of bullying or harassment at a charity set up by Prince Harry.

But it has found that an internal dispute at Sentebale “severely impacted the charity’s reputation”.

Earlier this year its chair, Dr Sophie Chandauka, accused the Duke of Sussex of “harassment and bullying at scale”.

Her comments followed the departure of the prince and several others from the organisation in March.

They had asked her to step down, alleging it was in the “best interest of the charity”.

Dr Chandauka told Sky News that Harry had “authorised the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world” without informing her or Sentebale directors.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to offer any formal response.

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Why was Prince Harry accused of ‘bullying’?

‘Strong perception of ill-treatment’

The Charity Commission said it was reporting after a “damaging internal dispute emerged” and has “criticised all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly”.

That “severely impacted the charity’s reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally”, it said.

But it found no evidence of “widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity”.

Nevertheless, it did acknowledge the “strong perception of ill-treatment felt by a number of parties to the dispute and the impact this may have had on them personally”.

It also found no evidence of “‘over-reach’ by either the chair or the Duke of Sussex as patron”.

‘Confusion exacerbated tensions’

But it was critical of the charity’s “lack of clarity in delegations to the chair which allowed for misunderstandings to occur”.

And it has “identified a lack of clarity around role descriptions and internal policies as the primary cause for weaknesses in the charity’s management”.

That “confusion exacerbated tensions, which culminated in a dispute and multiple resignations of trustees and both founding patrons”.

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Why was Prince Harry accused of ‘bullying’?

Harry: Report falls troublingly short

A spokesperson for Prince Harry said it was “unsurprising” that the commission had announced “no findings of wrongdoing in relation to Sentebale’s co-founder and former patron, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex”.

They added: “Despite all that, their report falls troublingly short in many regards, primarily the fact that the consequences of the current chair’s actions will not be borne by her, but by the children who rely on Sentebale’s support.”

They said the prince will “now focus on finding new ways to continue supporting the children of Lesotho and Botswana”.

Dr Chandauka said: “I appreciate the Charity Commission for its conclusions which confirm the governance concerns I raised privately in February 2025.”

But she added: “The unexpected adverse media campaign that was launched by those who resigned on 24 March 2025 has caused incalculable damage and offers a glimpse of the unacceptable behaviours displayed in private.”

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Police investigating grooming gangs given AI tools to speed up cold case work

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Police investigating grooming gangs given AI tools to speed up cold case work

All police forces investigating grooming gangs in England and Wales will be given access to new AI tools to help speed up their investigations.

The artificial intelligence tools are already thought to have saved officers in 13 forces more than £20m and 16,000 hours of investigation time.

The apps can translate large amounts of text in foreign languages from mobile phones seized by police, and analyse a mass of digital data to find patterns and relationships between suspects.

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Grooming gang inquiry: ‘Our chance for justice’

‘We must punish perpetrators’

The rollout is part of a £426,000 boost for the Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) programme, which supports officers to investigate complex cases involving modern slavery, county lines and child sex abuse.

The increased access to the AI technology follows Baroness Casey’s recommendation for a national operation to review cold grooming gang cases.

That operation will review more than 1,200 closed cases of child sexual exploitation.

“The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes, and we must punish perpetrators, provide justice for victims and survivors, and protect today’s children from harm,” said safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.

“Baroness Casey flagged the need to upgrade police information systems to improve investigations and safeguard children at risk. Today we are investing in these critical tools.”

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Key takeaways from the Casey review

Lack of ethnicity data ‘a major failing’

Police forces have also been instructed by the home secretary to collect ethnicity data, as recommended by Baroness Casey.

Her June report found the lack of data showing sex offenders’ ethnicity and nationality in grooming gangs was “a major failing over the last decade or more”.

She found that officials avoided the issue of ethnicity for fear of being called racist, but there were enough convictions of Asian men “to have warranted closer examination”.

The government has launched a national inquiry into the abuse and further details are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

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