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A Nigerian senator, his wife and a medical “middleman” have been jailed for conspiring to traffic a market trader to the UK to harvest his kidney.

Politician Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 56, stood trial accused of a conspiracy to bring the man to Britain from Lagos so he could provide an organ for their 25-year-old daughter Sonia Ekweremadu.

The couple, along with medical “middleman” Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, were found guilty in the Old Bailey in March.

Sonia Ekweremadu – who has a serious kidney condition – wept in court as she was cleared of the same charge.

At a sentencing hearing on Friday, Ekweremadu was jailed for nine years and eight months, his wife Beatrice was sentenced to four years and six months in prison, while Obeta received a 10-year prison term.

Beatrice Ekweremadu
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Beatrice Ekweremadu

Mr Justice Johnson told the defendants: “In each of your cases the offence you committed is so serious that neither a fine nor a community sentence can be justified.”

It was alleged the 21-year-old market trader was to be rewarded for donating the organ in an £80,000 private procedure at London’s Royal Free Hospital.

The prosecution claimed the donor, who cannot be identified for legal reason, was offered up to £7,000 along with the promise of a better life in the UK.

The donor did not understand until his first appointment with a consultant at the hospital that he was there for a kidney transplant, the Old Bailey was told.

According to the consultant, he had a “limited understanding” of why he was there and was “visibly relieved” at being told the operation would not go ahead.

It was claimed the man was falsely presented as Sonia Ekweremadu’s cousin in a failed attempt to persuade medics to carry out the procedure at the Royal Free Hospital.

Sonia Ekweremadu
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Sonia Ekweremadu

Defendants ‘intended harm’ to donor

On the question of harm to the victim, the judge said: “The transplant did not go ahead but each intended that it should go ahead and you each intended the harm to the donor that would result.

“He would have faced spending the rest of his life with only one kidney and without the requisite funding for the required aftercare.”

He added that the risks had not been properly explained to the victim and there had been no consent “in any meaningful sense”.

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The Ekweremadus, who have an address in Willesden Green, northwest London, and Dr Obeta, from Southwark, south London, had denied the charge against them.

Sonia Ekweremadu, who takes dialysis weekly, declined to give evidence but it was said on her behalf she knew nothing of a reward offered to donors.

The case marked the first time defendants have been convicted under the Modern Slavery Act of an organ harvesting conspiracy.

While it is lawful to donate a kidney, it becomes criminal if money or another material advantage is rewarded.

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Kids ‘sleep with vapes under pillows’ – but will sales ban on disposables have any effect?

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Kids 'sleep with vapes under pillows' - but will sales ban on disposables have any effect?

As a ban on the sale of disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday, a doctor who set up the first-ever clinic to help children stop vaping has said she has seen patients so addicted they couldn’t sleep through the night without them.

Professor Rachel Isba established the clinic at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool in January and has now seen several patients as young as 11 years old who are nicotine dependent.

“Some of the young people vape before they get out of bed. They are sleeping with them under their pillow,” she told Sky News.

Professor Rachel Isba set up the first-ever stop vaping clinic for children
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Professor Rachel Isba set up the first-ever stop vaping clinic for children

“I’m hearing stories of some children waking up at three o’clock in the morning, thinking they can’t sleep, thinking the vape will help them get back to sleep. Whereas, actually, that’s the complete opposite of how nicotine works.”

Ms Isba said most of her patients use disposable vapes, and while some young people may use the chance to give up, others will simply move to refillable devices after the ban.

“To me, vaping feels quite a lot like the beginning of smoking. I’m not surprised, but disappointed on behalf of the children that history has repeated itself.”

A government ban on single-use vapes comes into effect from Sunday, prohibiting the sale of disposable vaping products across the UK, both online and in-store, whether or not they contain nicotine.

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The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said usage among young vapers remained too high, and the ban would “put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation’s streets”.

A sign for customers at a Tesco store in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, advising customers that the sale of disposable vapes will end on 30 May 2025. Picture date: Wednesday May 14, 2025. Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today. The government calls time on these nasty devices.”

At nearby Shrewsbury House Youth Club in Everton, a group of 11 and 12-year-old girls said vape addiction is already rife among their friends.

Yasmin Dumbell said: “Every day we go out, and at least someone has a vape. I know people who started in year five. It’s constantly in their hand.”

Yasmin Dumbell says she knows students who started vaping in year five
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Yasmin Dumbell says she knows students who started vaping in year five

Her friend Una Quayle said metal detectors were installed at her school to try to stop pupils bringing in vapes, and they are having special assemblies about the dangers of the devices.

But, she said, students “find ways to get around the scanners though – they hide them in their shorts and go to the bathroom and do it”.

Una Quayle says metal detectors installed at her school won't stop students using vapes
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Una Quayle says metal detectors installed at her school won’t stop students using vapes

The girls said the ban on disposables is unlikely to make a difference for their friends who are already addicted.

According to Una, they’ll “find a way to get nicotine into their system”.

As well as trying to address the rise in young people vaping, the government hopes banning single-use vapes will reduce some of the environmental impact the devices have.

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Although all vapes can be recycled, only a tiny proportion are – with around eight million a week ending up in the bin or on the floor.

Pulled apart by hand

Even those that are recycled have to be pulled apart by hand, as there is currently no way to automate the process.

Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, a recycling non-profit group, said vapes were “some of the most environmentally wasteful, damaging, dangerous consumer products ever sold”.

His organisation worries that with new, legal models being designed to almost exactly mimic disposables in look and feel – and being sold for a similar price – people will just keep throwing them away.

He said the behaviour “is too ingrained. The general public have been told ‘vapes are disposable’. They’ve even been marketed this way. But they never were disposable”.

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Why stockpiling vapes could be dangerous – as ban on disposables nears

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Why stockpiling vapes could be dangerous - as ban on disposables nears

A ban on disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday, with a warning issued about the “life-threatening dangers” of stockpiling.

From Sunday it will be illegal for any business to sell or supply, or have in their possession for sale, all single-use or disposable vapes.

Online nicotine retailer Haypp said 82% of the 369 customers they surveyed plan to bulk purchase the vapes before they are no longer available.

But the vapes contain lithium batteries and could catch fire if not stored correctly.

A sign for customers at a Tesco store in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, advising customers that the sale of disposable vapes will end on 30 May 2025. Picture date: Wednesday May 14, 2025. Pic: PA
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A sign for customers at a Tesco store in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. Pic: PA

While more than a third (34%) of people surveyed by Haypp said they would consider buying an illegal vape after the ban, the overall number of people using disposable products has fallen from 30% to to 24% of vapers, according to Action on Smoking and Health.

Shops selling vapes are required to offer a “take back” service, where they accept vapes and vape parts that customers return for recycling – including single use products.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the ban

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The Local Government Association (LGA) led the call for a ban two years ago, due to environmental and wellbeing concerns, and is warning people not to stockpile.

Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Failing to store disposable vapes correctly could cost lives, given the significant fire risk they pose.”

How disposable vapes catch fire – or even explode

Figures obtained by the Electric Tobacconist, via Freedom of Information requests, found an increase in vape related fires – from 89 in 2020 to 399 in 2024.

Many disposable vapes use cheap, or even unregulated lithium-ion batteries, to keep the costs down. These batteries often lack proper safety features, like thermal cut offs, making them more prone to overheating and catching fire.

If the battery is damaged, or overheats in any way it can cause thermal runaway – a chain reaction where the battery’s temperature rapidly increases, causing it to overheat uncontrollably.

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Then, once these fires start start, they are very hard to stop. Water alone can make things worse if the battery is still generating heat, so they require specialised fire suppressants to put them out.

Batteries can then re-ignite hours, or even days later, making them a persistent hazard.

Disposable vapes are a hazard for waste and litter collection and cause fires in bin lorries, even though customers have been warned not to throw them away in household waste. They are almost impossible to recycle because they are designed as one unit so the batteries cannot be separated from plastic.

Some 8.2 million units were thrown away, or recycled incorrectly, every week prior to the ban.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said usage among young vapers remained too high, and the ban would “put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation’s streets”.

Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today.

“The government calls time on these nasty devices.”

‘One in five say they will return to cigarettes’

Separate research by life insurance experts at Confused.com found two in five people (37%) planned to stop vaping when the ban starts.

Nearly one in five (19%) said they would return to cigarettes once the ban comes into force.

The research was based on the answers of 500 UK adults who currently vape.

Vaping and smoking also appears to be on the rise, with Confused.com saying there was a 44% increase in the number of people declaring they smoke or vape on their life insurance policy since 2019.

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Russell Brand: Comedian and actor pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges

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Russell Brand: Comedian and actor pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges

Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges as he appeared in court in London.

The British comedian and actor, from Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, was charged by post last month with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape as well as two counts of sexual assault.

The charges relate to alleged incidents involving four separate women between 1999 and 2005.

The 49-year-old, who has been living in the US, was flanked by two officers as he pleaded not guilty to all the charges at Southwark Crown Court today.

Russell Brand appears at Southwark Crown Court.
Pic: Reuters
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Russell Brand appears at Southwark Crown Court. Pic: Reuters

Brand stood completely still and looked straight ahead as he delivered his pleas.

The comedian, who has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago, is due to stand trial in June 2026.

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Russell Brand arrives in court
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Russell Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court on Friday

He previously told his 11.2 million followers on X that he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.

The allegations were first made in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches in September 2023.

As Friday’s hearing finished, Brand replaced his sunglasses before exiting the dock and calmly walking past reporters.

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