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“For a while, seeing a police officer in uniform, I’d have flashbacks,” says “Sally”, who is herself a serving police officer, left traumatised by sexual abuse from a fellow officer.

Sally, not her real name, works for Humberside Police and her testimony perhaps indicates the need for a Louise Casey-style review in every force.

She is one of two women we’ve spoken to from Humberside who reveal problems with misogyny within the local constabulary; a problem, which she describes as “a monster.”

The other woman, a victim we are calling Anna, says police records show they in part blamed her “lifestyle choices” and “attention seeking” after she reported being groomed and raped.

This comes after the Casey review found that the Met police was institutionally sexist, racist and homophobic, and said women were being failed because of a misogynistic culture.

Serving officer Sally says this is true too in Humberside. She claims any young female recruit is considered “fresh meat” and senior female officers have their achievements undermined by mutterings that they’ve “slept their way to the top”.

She says she was seduced by a senior officer and found herself in a controlling, sexually violent relationship.

Humberside Constabulary was rated outstanding by the police inspectorate, but Sally says when it became known she’d reported a fellow officer her colleagues rallied around him.

“I was ostracised, given the cold shoulder. It was like passive-aggressive behaviour,” she says.

“So, I’d be stared at, or given dirty looks. They were like schoolyard bullies. I’d come down the stairs and they’d be all sat together, just look up and stare at me.”

She adds: “After the misconduct hearing, so after he lost his job, I lost count of the amount of officers that came up to me and said – ‘oh he’s always been like that.'”

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How have the Met failed women?

“I thought well why have they not said anything then? He had basically the same nicknames as those monsters in the Met.”

She is referring to Met officer Wayne Couzens who was nicknamed “the rapist” by colleagues before he abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard. Serial rapist David Carrick was in the same unit.

The Casey report found the Metropolitan Police force badly failed women and questions are now being asked whether the rot spreads beyond London. Sally believes it does.

She says several colleagues in Humberside knew that one predatory officer would sift through victims’ statements to find women he could ask out.

Wayne Couzens
Image:
Wayne Couzens

‘I was really vulnerable’

Sky News has found evidence of bad attitudes being applied to investigations in Humberside.

Anna, not her real name, alleges that as a teenager she was being raped by a gang of men, who intimidated her into repeatedly going back to them.

After her investigation was closed, she used what’s called a Subject Access Request (SAR) to gain police records on herself. She found the following types of comments made by officers:

“The female herself is making lifestyle choices of her own.”

“This victim doesn’t come across as the best type of witness/victim that I have seen.”

“She finds herself in a position where it could be suggested she is allowing sexual tension to rise.”

Read more:
Metropolitan Police is ‘institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic’, review finds

Policewoman ‘repeatedly raped’ by colleague: Key findings of report

Now in her 20’s, Anna says: “That whole time I was still under social services I was really vulnerable.

“I was on a protection plan. It said how I was getting strangled. I was being sexually assaulted I was high risk but they never did anything to stop that.

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“If you read those records, they’re saying ‘we’ve got an unreliable witness, not the perfect victim. She wouldn’t stand a chance in court.’

“There’s no wonder the case was never brought to court because before it’s even got there, they’ve completely undermined it.”

In one extract they seem to accept the alleged attacker’s story over Anna’s, even after she has been injured.

The SAR reads: “The victim states that she has received injuries, and these have been seen by police officers.

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‘Challenge for police nationally’

Read: Six of the worst scandals the force has faced in recent years

“The issue that we have is that the suspect admits to causing these injuries to the victim but states that these were with consent as the victim ‘liked it’.

“It is difficult for us to disprove this, and I would suggest the victim is too undermined in this investigation to take her word above that of the suspect.”

Anna says it is “disgusting” to suggest that she would enjoy being injured.

‘Misogynistic behaviour will not be tolerated’

Louise Casey, whose findings have rocked London’s police force, has told Sky News there should be versions of her study done in every other police force.

She says: “I think we need a wholesale change of public protection particularly for women I think we all say violence against girls and women is a priority, then you see what is actually happening on the ground in relation to that and I don’t think it’s good enough.

“It rings hollow to me, and I think it rings hollow nationally.”

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Still ‘toxic individuals’ in Met

Humberside Police Deputy Chief Constable Paul Anderson says in response: “Misogynistic behaviour will not be tolerated. There is an existing robust process in place to put an end to any type of misogyny in our Force.

“Anyone who exhibits any form of misogynistic or discriminatory behaviour will be held accountable for their actions.

“We are internally communicating with all officers and staff in regards to sexual harassment and have launched our ‘knowing the line’ campaign to raise awareness and to fully encourage reports, whether personal or witnessed, to be made to our Professional Standards Department.

“Whilst Baroness Casey’s report into the culture at the Metropolitan Police makes for some incredibly hard reading, we welcome the findings and see it as a step forward in rebuilding public trust and confidence in policing nationally.”

‘The problem is now a monster’

With regard to “Anna”, DCC Anderson adds: “Child sexual abuse and exploitation is a deplorable and condemnable crime and we are determined to bring offenders to justice and hold them accountable for their actions.”

Anna’s investigation was reopened last year and for that reason, the force adds: “As the investigation is active, it is imperative we protect its integrity; as such are unable to comment on aspects of the investigation as this could impact or jeopardise any criminal or judicial proceedings.”

Sally says she’s still proud to be a police officer, but she’s speaking out because she wants her colleagues to make the changes from within.

She says: “They’ve been battening it down that much its now snowballed into a massive thing. It’s now a monster.”

The Casey review suggests that the monster needs to be exposed and acknowledged before it can be properly tackled.

Have you got a story to tell about your experience with the police? Email news@skynews.com

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Police search for missing sisters last seen three days ago near Aberdeen river

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Police search for missing sisters last seen three days ago near Aberdeen river

Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.

The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.

Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland

Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland

Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.

Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”

Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.

The Huszti sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
Image:
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland

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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.

Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.

The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.

Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.

CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”

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Britain’s gas storage levels ‘concerningly low’ after cold snap, says owner of British Gas

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Britain's gas storage levels 'concerningly low' after cold snap, says owner of British Gas

Britain’s gas storage levels are “concerningly low” with less than a week of demand in store, the operator of the country’s largest gas storage site said on Friday.

Plunging temperatures and high demand for gas-fired power stations are the main factors behind the low levels, Centrica said.

The UK is heavily reliant on gas for its home heating and also uses a significant amount for electricity generation.

As of the 9th of January 2025, UK storage sites are 26% lower than last year’s inventory at the same time, leaving them around half full,” Centrica said.

“This means the UK has less than a week of gas demand in store.”

The firm’s Rough gas storage site, a depleted field off England’s east coast, makes up around half of the country’s gas storage capacity.

Gas storage was already lower than usual heading into December as a result of the early onset of winter.

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Combined with stubbornly high gas prices, this has meant it has been more difficult to top up storage over Christmas.

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UK’s first taxpayer-funded injection room to open in radical move to tackle drugs epidemic

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UK's first taxpayer-funded injection room to open in radical move to tackle drugs epidemic

Glasgow has been a city crying out for solutions to a devastating drugs epidemic that is ravaging people hooked on deadly narcotics. 

We have spent time with vulnerable addicts in recent months and witnessed first-hand the dirty, dangerous street corners and back alleys where they would inject their £10 heroin hit, not knowing – or, in many cases, not caring – whether that would be the moment they die.

“Dying would be better than this life,” one man told me.

It was a grim insight into the daily reality of life in the capital of Europe’s drug death crisis.

Scotland has a stubborn addiction to substances spanning generations. Politicians of all persuasions have failed to properly get a grip of the emergency.

But there is a new concept in town.

From Monday, a taxpayer-funded unit is allowing addicts to bring their own heroin and cocaine and inject it while NHS medical teams supervise.

A dirty needle thrown less than 100 metres from the new injection centre
Image:
A dirty needle thrown less than 100 metres from the new injection centre

It may be a UK-first but it is a regular feature in some other major European cities that have claimed high success rates in saving lives.

Glasgow has looked on with envy at these other models.

One supermarket car park less than a hundred metres from this new facility is a perfect illustration of the problem. An area littered with dirty needles and paraphernalia. A minefield where one wrong step risks contracting a nasty disease.

Drugs paraphernalia in a supermarket car park in Glasgow, near the new facility
Image:
Drugs paraphernalia in a supermarket car park in Glasgow, near the new facility

It is estimated hundreds of users inject heroin in public places in Glasgow every week. HIV has been rife.

The new building, which will be open from 9am until 9pm 365 days a year, includes bays where clean needles are provided as part of a persuasive tactic to lure addicts indoors in a controlled environment.

There is a welcome area where people will check in before being invited into one of eight bays. The room is clinical, covered in mirrors, with a row of small medical bins.

Clean needles are provided to lure addicts to inject in a controlled environment
Image:
Clean needles are provided to lure addicts to inject in a controlled environment

One of the eight bays users can inject in
Image:
There are eight bays users can inject in

We were shown the aftercare area where users will relax after their hit in the company of housing and social workers.

The idea is controversial and not cheap – £2.3m has been ring-fenced every year.

The aftercare area
Image:
The aftercare area

Read more: ‘Dying would be better than my £1,000 a month heroin addiction’

Authorities in the city first floated a ‘safer drug consumption room’ in 2016. It failed to get off the ground as the UK Home Office under the Conservatives said they would not allow people to break the law to feed habits.

The usual wrangle between Edinburgh and London continued for years with Downing Street suggesting Scotland could, if it wanted, use its discretion to allow these injecting rooms to go ahead.

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The stalemate ended when Scotland’s most senior prosecutor issued a landmark decision that it would not be in the public interest to arrest those using such a facility.

One expert has told me this new concept is unlikely to lead to an overall reduction in deaths across Scotland. Another described it as an expensive vanity project. Supporters clearly disagree.

The question is what does success look like?

The big test will be if there is a spike in crime around the building and how it will work alongside law enforcement given drug dealers know exactly where to find their clients now.

It is not disputed this is a radical approach – and other cities across Britain will be watching closely.

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