Connect with us

Published

2 years ago

on

The conviction of Thomas Cashman for the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was largely down to the testimony of a key witness, who now potentially faces a life under witness protection.

While Olivia’s family and police both praised the “powerful and emotional” evidence she gave in court, the witness now could be leaving her community in Liverpool behind – potentially being given a new name and identity.

Currently there is no evidence to suggest the witness, who has been granted lifelong anonymity, has moved into witness protection, but it has been reported she has been “given more death threats than any other protected witness in Merseyside for many years”.

“In her own words in court, she said that her life and the life of her family has been ruined by this whole episode,” Sky’s crime correspondent Martin Brunt explained.

“The woman gave evidence anonymously because she lives within this tight-knit community. She was giving evidence against not just one of her own, but a man with whom she had had an affair.

“Police sources suggest that Thomas Cashman was a much feared gangster in that part of Liverpool. So anybody giving evidence against him would understandably feel vulnerable.”

Despite receiving support from Merseyside Police, it is understood the witness was moved straight out of Liverpool where she now faces a “difficult life” if she wants to maintain her anonymity.

What is witness protection?

In a nutshell, witness protection in the UK is a voluntary scheme that protects a threatened person providing testimony to the justice system.

As Sky’s Martin Brunt explains, it aims to offer individuals with “something better than the alternative” of staying where they are and running the “risk of being killed”.

The precise number of individuals under witness protection is unknown, but there are thousands of people protected to varying degrees.

“It would mean – broadly – moving away from the area you’ve been living in with your family, a new identity, a new back story,” Brunt said.

“One of the difficulties people face is when they make new friends, they have to have a story to explain what they’ve been doing for the previous years, and they have to learn it and stick to it because to make a mistake can cause obvious problems.”

Even simple things such as FaceTiming family members or sending birthday gifts have to be closely monitored and sent through a special channel to be checked by police.

‘I was scared for my mum’

Reece, who spent several years in a witness protection programme during his childhood, said he initially enjoyed being somewhere different until his mother told him it wasn’t going to end.

Growing up, he also found that he would isolate himself from others, becoming “angry and bitter” at the situation he was in.

Read more:
Family’s tribute to ‘one of life’s true gentlemen’ found dead in Caerphilly
Drivers warned about new ‘clip for cash’ crash scam

“My mum didn’t want to go into witness protection but she started getting phone calls from private numbers about what was going to happen to her,” he told Sky News correspondent Sally Lockwood in the Sky News Daily Podcast.

“I was scared for my mum. I remember having to move around a lot. It was a hotel for three weeks, an apartment for a month and then another house. It was all over.”

Reece explained that he and his mum had to leave their house and all their sentimental possessions behind, only taking their clothes. They were also not allowed to contact their family and friends for at least a year at the start of witness protection.

“It was difficult. I started to notice my anger at around age 11 – it really impacted me,” he added.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

Protected people can ‘become complacent’

Criticism of the system has been raised in the past after some people reported being disappointed with their new lives.

Simon McKay, a barrister who has advised the government on witness protection, said one of the main problems when an individual enters witness protection is preconceived “sexy” ideas they have.

However, he says it quickly becomes clear these preconceptions are not true.

“The biggest vulnerability is always the protected person who can become complacent, who is just sick of their life and yearns for some contact with their former loved ones, family and friends,” Mr McKay said.

He added that social media has made things even more difficult to keep protected individuals safe as criminals can start to “put the jigsaw pieces together”, which can potentially lead to where the individuals are now located.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

UK

Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Published

7 hours ago

on

April 5, 2025

By

Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

More on Donald Trump

Related Topics:

JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

Continue Reading

UK

Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Published

7 hours ago

on

April 5, 2025

By

Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

Continue Reading

UK

Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

Published

8 hours ago

on

April 5, 2025

By

Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

More from UK

google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
Image:
Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

Continue Reading

Trending