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The family of murdered pregnant teacher Marelle Sturrock have spoken of their devastation following her death.

The body of Ms Sturrock, 35, was found at a property in Glasgow’s Jura Street last Tuesday morning.

Police Scotland confirmed she was 29 weeks pregnant and her unborn son did not survive.

Parents Colin and Lorna Sturrock said: “We are devastated following the deaths of our daughter, Marelle, and soon to be grandson, Jayden Sturrock.

“Marelle was the happiest person you could ever meet and was always looking to help others the best she could.

“Marelle and her partner doted on each other, and this incident has come as a total shock to all who knew her.”

Marelle Sturrock and David Yates. Pic: Facebook
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Marelle Sturrock and David Yates. Pic: Facebook

Following the discovery of Ms Sturrock’s body, police opened a murder investigation and launched a search for her missing partner, David Yates.

His body was recovered on Thursday from Mugdock Reservoir around nine miles away within Mugdock Country Park in East Dunbartonshire.

Police said his death was “not being treated as suspicious” and no one else is believed to have been involved in the incident.

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Marelle Sturrock was found dead in a property in Glasgow's Jura Street on Tuesday 25 April.
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Police pictured outside the Jura Street property

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Police search for partner of pregnant teacher who was found dead in Glasgow
Body recovered from Mugdock Reservoir formally identified as David Yates

Ms Sturrock was from the Scottish Highlands but moved to Glasgow when she was 17 to pursue a career in the performing arts.

She later became a primary school teacher after completing her postgraduate diploma in education.

Police divers at the scene at Mugdock Country Park, East Dunbartonshire, as police continue their search for the fiancé of pregnant teacher Marelle Sturrock, 35, who was found dead in suspicious circumstances in Glasgow on Tuesday. Picture date: Thursday April 27, 2023.
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Police divers at Mugdock Country Park on Thursday

Ms Sturrock worked at Sandwood Primary School where she was described as a “lovely, kind, diligent and considerate person who loved and made time for everyone”.

In a statement released through the force, her parents asked for privacy.

They added: “We would like to thank family and friends, colleagues at Sandwood Primary School, [and] Police Scotland officers, both in the Highlands and Glasgow, for their efforts and comforting support following our tragic event.”

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Starmer’s plan to recognise Palestinian state labelled ‘appeasement towards jihadist terrorists’ by Netanyahu

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Starmer's plan to recognise Palestinian state labelled 'appeasement towards jihadist terrorists' by Netanyahu

Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to recognise Palestine as a state has been attacked as “appeasement towards jihadist terrorists” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The prime minister said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state by September unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to end the situation in Gaza, Israel agrees to a ceasefire, commits to a long-term sustainable peace, allows the UN to restart aid supplies and does not annexe the West Bank.

About 250 MPs from all parties – half of them Labour – had signed a letter last week calling for Sir Keir to immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

Politics latest: PM’s Palestine plan labelled ‘absurd’

Sir Keir said that by giving Israel a deadline of 9 September UN meeting, he hoped this would play a part “in changing the conditions on the ground, and making sure aid gets into making sure that there is hope of a two-state solution for the future”.

But Mr Netanyahu condemned the plan, saying Sir Keir “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”.

“A jihadist state on Israel’s border today will threaten Britain tomorrow,” he wrote on X.

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“Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.”

The Israelis also accused Sir Keir of pandering to his MPs and France, after Emmanuel Macron committed to recognising a Palestinian state last week, and harming efforts to release Israeli hostages.

Benjamin Netanyahu
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Benjamin Netanyahu was effusive in his condemnation

Lib Dems and Greens: ‘Bargaining chip’

Sir Keir also faced accusations of using Palestinian state recognition as a “bargaining chip” by both the Lib Dems and the Green Party.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said a Palestinian state should have been recognised “months ago” and “far greater action” is needed to stop the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Jordanian military personnel prepare planes to deliver airdrops in Gaza on Monday
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Jordanian military personnel prepare planes to deliver airdrops in Gaza on Monday

Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson Ellie Chowns, who wants immediate state recognition, said it was a “cynical political gesture”.

Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s former SNP first minister, who revealed a family member was killed in Gaza days ago, told Sky News statehood “shouldn’t be dependent” upon the conditions Sir Keir has set for Israel, but is the “inalienable right” of the Palestinian people.

The British Palestinian Committee, representing Palestinian interests in the UK, described conditions as “absurd and performative”.

UK Jewish groups seek clarity

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the UK’s largest Jewish organisation, said it was “seeking urgent clarification” that the UK will not recognise Palestine as a state if Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity, or if Hamas keeps rejecting a ceasefire deal.

The Labour Friends of Israel group said it has “shared goals” with the government but state recognition “will be a merely symbolic act unless the UK uses its influence to establish the principles of a meaningful pathway to a Palestinian state”.

Read more:
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Children ‘eating out of piles of garbage’ as time runs out for Gaza

Sarah Champion, Labour MP and chair of the international development committee, who started the MP letter calling for state recognition, said she was “delighted and relieved”.

However, she added: “I’m troubled our recognition appears conditional on Israel’s actions.”

When Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the plan at a UN meeting, he received applause.

Not many other Labour MPs commented.

Tories accuse Starmer of appeasing MPs

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of being more focused on a “political problem for the Labour Party” than other issues facing the UK.

“Recognising a Palestinian state won’t bring the hostages home, won’t end the war and won’t get aid into Gaza,” she posted on X.

“This is political posturing at its very worst.”

Tory shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said the announcement was “to appease his backbenchers” as “he knows that promises to recognise Palestine will not secure lasting peace”.

Pic: Reuters
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Aid trucks were allowed into Gaza on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters

Trump did not discuss statehood with Starmer

Donald Trump said he and Sir Keir “never did discuss” the PM’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state during their meetings in Scotland the day before.

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Trump responds to Sky question on Israel

However, Tammy Bruce, spokeswoman for the US state department, said Sir Keir’s plan is a “slap in the face for the victims of October 7”, which “rewards Hamas”, the Telegraph reported.

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Southport remembers ‘three little angels’ one years on from attack

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Southport remembers 'three little angels' one years on from attack

At St Marie’s Catholic Church in Southport, small photos of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar stood on the altar. Candles burned next to them.

During lunchtime mass, Father John Heneghan, who gave Alice her first communion and then conducted her funeral, spoke quietly of the “three little angels” lost a year ago.

Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King.
Pic: Merseyside Police
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(L-R) Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King.
Pic: Merseyside Police

A town and a community, in small and quiet ways, remembered a horror that still haunts them.

St Marie’s was one of the locations chosen for the people of Southport to come and reflect, pray or light a candle in memory of the awful events of 29 July last year.

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Southport survivor ‘thought she was going to die’

Throughout the day, a handful of people have paused for a moment at community centres, libraries and churches.

The town had opted for very little outward show of commemoration.

After discussions, including with the families of the victims, they asked for people to instead donate to local causes, including the charities set up by those families themselves – Elsie’s Story, Bebe’s Hive and Alice’s WonderDance.

More on Southport Stabbings

They requested no flowers at the scene of the attack or the schools the girls attended.

“Let us continue to honour the lives of Alice, Bebe and Elsie,” the leader and chair of Sefton Council said in a letter to the community, “not only through remembrance but by holding onto the values they embodied – joy, creativity, kindness, and love.”

Flowers in the Town Hall Gardens in Southport, 1 year on from the stabbings
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Flowers left at Town Hall Gardens in Southport, near where three children were fatally stabbed a year ago. Pic: PA

Pic PA
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Pic PA

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At 3pm, people stopped to observe the three-minute silence in the town centre.

A few wiped away tears before spontaneous applause broke out.

In Southport’s Town Hall Gardens, which was the focal point of the public mourning a year ago, people again came to place flowers, toys and cards in memory of the victims.

Stones bearing messages of support to the families were also placed there.

“God bless to you three little angels,” read one card.

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Resident doctors threaten further strikes as government rules out additional pay hikes

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Resident doctors threaten further strikes as government rules out additional pay hikes

Resident doctors are not ruling out further strike action as their current walkout comes to an end, with some demands still unmet.

The latest strike began on Friday amid an ongoing row over pay and is expected to last until 7am on Wednesday.

Hospital leaders have urged the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government to end the strikes, which caused widespread disruptions throughout the NHS in England.

The BMA’s Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) says it is ready for further talks with the government but has yet to be contacted by Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

Dozens of resident doctors, previously called junior doctors, took part in a picket line on Tuesday at King George Hospital in Ilford, a facility serving the constituents of the health secretary.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting during a visit to NHS National Operations Centre in London to see how they manage industrial action. NHS resident doctors in England, formerly referred to as junior doctors, have begun a five-day strike after talks with the Government collapsed over pay. Picture date: Friday July 25, 2025. PA Photo. Wes Streeting has sent a personal letter to NHS resident doctors, saying "I deeply regret the position we now find ourselves in" as they prepare to strike. The Health Secretary said while he cannot pledge a bigger pay rise, he is committed to progress to improve their working lives. Photo credit should read: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting visits the NHS National Operations Centre in London to see the response to the industrial action. Pic: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

“Unfortunately, we haven’t heard from him yet. That doesn’t mean that he’s not going to call us tomorrow – our door is always open,” said Dr Melissa Ryan, who co-chairs the committee alongside Dr Ross Nieuwoudt.

Dr Nieuwoudt said: “There does not need to be a single other day of industrial action at all.

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“All Wes Streeting needs to do is come to us now and talk to us now, because that’s what doctors want and that’s what patients need.”

The union has also launched a related dispute with the government over limited training spots, as this year, over 30,000 resident doctors competed for only 10,000 specialty places.

Read more:
Conservatives vow to ban doctor strikes
Resident doctors’ strike explained

A recent poll of 4,400 doctors found that 52% finishing their second training year lack confirmed employment for August.

Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at NHS Confederation, said: “Resident doctors have recently had a very substantial increase in their pay and the government has been pretty clear that at the moment, there isn’t more money to be negotiated.”

Dr McCay said the government “is keen” to discuss non-pay issues, such as workforce conditions.

NHS resident doctors outside St Thomas' Hospital.
Pic: PA
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NHS resident doctors outside St Thomas’ Hospital. Pic: PA.

“I think that the hope of all healthcare leaders is that the BMA will get around the table with the government and figure out a solution to this, because what absolutely nobody wants to see is any further cases of industrial action after this one.”

Streeting has said the union can’t “hold the country to ransom” following a 28.9% pay increase over the past three years, the highest in the public sector.

The BMA has said pay for resident doctors has declined by a fifth since 2008, once inflation is taken into account, despite this uplift.

Meanwhile, health workers represented by the GMB and Unite unions have also turned down a government offer, raising the likelihood of additional industrial action within the NHS.

Nurses are also expected to turn down the pay deal later this week.

The Royal College of Nursing, which represents hundreds of thousands of nurses across the NHS in England, is balloting its members on the 3.6% pay award offered for 2025/26 in England.

A recent YouGov poll found that public opinion in Britain is divided over nurses striking for better pay. Among 4,300 adults surveyed, 19% “strongly support” nurse strikes, while 28% offer some support. In contrast, 23% “strongly oppose” the strikes, and 20% “somewhat oppose” them.

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