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The mother of one of the Nottingham attack victims has paid tribute to her “beautiful boy” as thousands gathered for a city centre vigil.

Emma Webber said the killer was a “monstrous individual” but told the crowd: “He is just a person. Please hold no hate that relates to any colour, sex or religion.”

Holding a photo of Barnaby, and with his younger brother next to her, she added: “My beautiful, beautiful boy – you have mine, your dad and your brother’s heart forever.”

Families of victims speak at vigil – as it happened

The sons of school caretaker Ian Coates wore football shirts with “RIP Dad” on the back as they spoke publicly for the first time.

“It feels like he’s touched a lot of hearts over the years, more than what we assumed and knew that he had,” said James Coates.

“So it’s been really nice and heartwarming to see the messages, and people come out and talk about how he was when they were younger and how he’s helped them… some beautiful comments.”

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Ian Coates’s sons pay tribute


There was a minute's silence at the vigil in the city centre
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There was a minute’s silence – and later some applause

Mr Coates described his father as “an avid fisherman who loved his family, and he also loved Nottingham Forest”.

He promised to support the other grieving families – “anything they need from us, we are here for them”, he said.

Grace O’Malley-Kumar’s mother also gave an emotional speech and said her 19-year-old “treasure” was beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.

“She wanted very few things in life, she wanted to be a doctor, she wanted to play hockey with her pals, she wanted to have fun,” said Dr Sinead O’Malley.

“All they were doing was walking home. They were just walking home after a night out,” she added. “This person must face justice. It is truly unfair.”

Grace Kumar and Barnaby Webber
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Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber

Ian Coates
Pic:Huntingdon Academy
Image:
Ian Coates. Pic: Huntingdon Academy

Grace’s younger brother, James, described her as like a “best friend” and urged the crowd to “cherish all the moments with your loved ones because you never know when it will end”.

Her father also spoke, fighting back tears at times as he said his family, like the Webbers, had suddenly “become three”.

“Imagine a world of just love and no violence. Just imagine that world,” he added.

Read more:
Caretaker ‘selfless’ and ‘brilliant bloke’

Timeline of how attacks unfolded

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Grace’s mother: ‘Say prayers for my baby girl’

There was a minute’s silence in the city’s Old Market Square and – at the request of Barnaby’s mum – a moment of applause.

Tributes were also paid by the headteacher of Mr Coates’s school and the vice-chancellor of Nottingham University.

Meanwhile, police have been given another 36 hours to question the suspect in the attacks and have revealed he used to be a university student in the city.

Detectives are remaining open minded about the motive.

The 31-year-old suspect was tasered and arrested on suspicion of murder after Tuesday morning’s killings.

Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, were found stabbed to death in Ilkeston Road at around 4am.

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Man caught on CCTV trying to enter homeless shelter

Nottingham incident map

Ian Coates, 65, was also found dead from stab wounds in Magdala Road, with his van stolen and used to run people over in Nottingham city centre.

One person was left in a critical condition after that attack.

Video from the same morning also shows a man believed to be the suspect trying to climb into a window of a homeless shelter before being pushed out.

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Rail worker who protected passengers during mass stabbing on Huntingdon train discharged from hospital

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Rail worker who protected passengers during mass stabbing on Huntingdon train discharged from hospital

The train crew member who was seriously injured while trying to protect passengers during a mass stabbing has been discharged from hospital.

Samir Zitouni, 48, known as Sam, was working on board the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) train from Doncaster to London when the attack began in Cambridgeshire on Saturday 1 November.

LNER said Mr Zitouni, who has worked for the firm for more than 20 years, was credited with helping to save multiple lives.

Mr Zitouni had been in a critical condition, having suffered multiple injuries in the incident, but was discharged on Saturday.

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Mahmood praises rail worker

His family said: “We are so grateful for the outpouring of support from the public, and very touched by all the kind words about Sam’s brave actions on the night of the attack.

“While we are really happy to have him home, he still has a significant recovery ahead and we would now like to be left in privacy to care for him as a family.”

Earlier this month, LNER said he has been a “valued member” of staff for over 20 years, working on board as a customer experience host.

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Train mass stabbing: A timeline of events

David Horne, managing director at LNER, said: “In a moment of crisis, Sam did not hesitate as he stepped forward to protect those around him.

“His actions were incredibly brave, and we are so proud of him, and of all our colleagues who acted with such courage that evening. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Sam and his family. We will continue to support them and wish him a full and speedy recovery.”

The attack is understood to have started shortly after the train left Peterborough, with passengers pulling the emergency alarms on the LNER service.

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Police believe train attacker filmed waving knife

Train driver Andrew Johnson, who served in the Royal Navy for 17 years, contacted a signaller and requested an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon station.

11 people were treated in hospital after the mass stabbing – nine were initially reported as having life-threatening injuries.

Anthony Williams, 32, was remanded into custody at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on November 3, charged with 10 counts of attempted murder over the incident.

He will appear at Cambridge Crown Court on 1 December.

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Donald Trump confirms he will sue the BBC over Panorama edit – despite broadcaster’s apology

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Donald Trump confirms he will sue the BBC over Panorama edit - despite broadcaster's apology

Donald Trump has said he will sue the BBC for between $1bn and $5bn over the editing of his speech on Panorama.

The US president confirmed he would be taking legal action against the broadcaster while on Air Force One overnight on Saturday.

“We’ll sue them. We’ll sue them for anywhere between a billion (£792m) and five billion dollars (£3.79bn), probably sometime next week,” he told reporters.

“We have to do it, they’ve even admitted that they cheated. Not that they couldn’t have not done that. They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”

Mr Trump then told reporters he would discuss the matter with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over the weekend, and claimed “the people of the UK are very angry about what happened… because it shows the BBC is fake news”.

The Daily Telegraph reported earlier this month that an internal memo raised concerns about the BBC’s editing of a speech made by Mr Trump on 6 January 2021, just before a mob rioted at the US Capitol building, on its flagship late-night news programme.

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BBC crisis: How did it happen?

The concerns regard clips spliced together from sections of the president’s speech to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell” in the documentary Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election.

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Following a backlash, both BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness resigned from their roles.

‘No basis for defamation claim’

On Thursday, the broadcaster officially apologised to the president and added that it was an “error of judgement” and the programme will “not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms”.

A spokesperson said that “the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited,” but they also added that “we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim”.

Earlier this week, Mr Trump’s lawyers threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn unless it apologised, retracted the clip, and compensated him.

The US president said he would sue the broadcaster for between $1bn and $5bn. File pic: PA
Image:
The US president said he would sue the broadcaster for between $1bn and $5bn. File pic: PA

Legal challenges

But legal experts have said that Mr Trump would face challenges taking the case to court in the UK or the US.

The deadline to bring the case to UK courts, where defamation damages rarely exceed £100,000 ($132,000), has already expired because the documentary aired in October 2024, which is more than one year.

Also because the documentary was not shown in the US, it would be hard to show that Americans thought less of the president because of a programme they could not watch.

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Key findings in 20,000 pages of documents in the Epstein files

Banksy art theft lands burglar with 13-month prison sentence

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Sky’s Katie Spencer on what BBC bosses told staff on call over Trump row

Newsnight allegations

The BBC has said it was looking into fresh allegations, published in The Telegraph, that its Newsnight show also selectively edited footage of the same speech in a report broadcast in June 2022.

A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC holds itself to the highest editorial standards. This matter has been brought to our attention and we are now looking into it.”

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Banksy art theft lands burglar with 13-month prison sentence

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Banksy art theft lands burglar with 13-month prison sentence

A man has been given a 13-month prison sentence for stealing Banksy’s famous Girl With Balloon print from a London gallery.

Larry Fraser, 49, of Beckton, east London, was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to one count of non-residential burglary at Kingston Crown Court on 9 October.

The print, one of the street artist‘s most famous, was stolen from a gallery in New Cavendish Street in London at around 11pm on 8 September last year.

The recovered artwork back in the gallery. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Image:
The recovered artwork back in the gallery. Pic: Metropolitan Police

Fraser used a hammer to smash his way through a glass entrance door at the Grove Gallery before stealing the artwork, which was valued at £270,000.

He concealed his identity with a mask, hooded jacket and gloves, but the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad was able to identify him and track him to a location streets away.

He was also caught on CCTV loading the artwork into a van before fleeing the scene.

A second man, 54-year-old James Love, was accused of being the getaway driver in the burglary, but cleared of stealing the print.

Larry Fraser. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Image:
Larry Fraser. Pic: Metropolitan Police

Damage to the Grove Gallery after the theft. Pic: Metropolitan Police
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Damage to the Grove Gallery after the theft. Pic: Metropolitan Police

Fraser was arrested at his home address on 10 September, within 48 hours of the burglary, and charged the next day.

Officers were able to recover the artwork after executing a warrant on the Isle of Dogs. It has now been returned to the gallery.

Fraser pleaded to the court that he was struggling with a historic drug debt and agreed to steal the work “under a degree of pressure and fear”.

He said he did not know what he would be stealing, nor its value, until the day of the offence.

Fraser was caught on CCTV taking the artwork away from the gallery. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Image:
Fraser was caught on CCTV taking the artwork away from the gallery. Pic: Metropolitan Police

Jeffrey Israel, defending, said Fraser lived with his mother as her principal carer, and had only managed to “break his cycle of drug addiction” after his last prison sentence.

He added that it “would take a bold advocate” to suggest that the value of the print had increased by the burglary, but insisted “that is probably the reality”.

Read more:
Banksy artwork ‘worth millions’ scrubbed off wall outside court
Blink-182 star to auction rare Banksy worth millions

Judge Anne Brown was unmoved, however, and said the offence was “simply too serious” for a suspended sentence.

“This is a brazen and serious non-domestic burglary,” she said.

“Whilst you did not know the precise value of the print, you obviously understood it to be very valuable.”

She added: “Whilst I am sure there was a high degree of planning, this was not your plan.”

However, Fraser may be eligible for immediate release due to time spent on electronic curfew.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Mather, who led the Met’s investigation, said: “Banksy’s Girl With Balloon is known across the world – and we reacted immediately to not just bring Fraser to justice but also reunite the artwork with the gallery.

“The speed at which this took place is a testament to the tireless work of the flying squad officers – in total it took just four days for normality to be restored.”

The 2004 artwork was part of a £1.5m collection of 13 Banksy pieces at the gallery.

Gallery manager, Lindor Mehmetaj, said it was “remarkable” for the piece to have been recovered after the theft.

The 29-year-old said: “I was completely, completely shocked, but in a very, very positive way when the Flying Squad showed me the actual artwork.

“It’s very hard to put into words, the weight that comes off your shoulders.”

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