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Rishi Sunak has avoided a clean sweep of by-election defeats after holding onto Uxbridge and South Ruislip in a night of three votes.

There had been pessimism in the Conservative Party that they would lose the west London seat, alongside Selby and Ainsty in North Yorkshire and Somerton and Frome in Somerset.

But the vote in west London was dominated by the expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone – ULEZ – into the area by Labour‘s mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Follow by-election coverage live: Tories hang on in Uxbridge after ULEZ backlash

It means Mr Sunak avoids becoming the first prime minister since Harold Wilson in 1968 to lose three by-elections in one go.

Sir Keir Starmer will be disappointed to not have gained the west London seat. The majority before the vote was around 7,000 – and at one point in the campaign, Labour candidate Danny Beales had an eight-point lead over the Tories’ Steve Tuckwell.

Mr Tuckwell walked away with a majority of 495 votes – and claimed Mr Khan had “lost Labour this election” after bagging 13,965 to Labour’s 13,470.

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At the other end of the country, in North Yorkshire, Labour sealed their largest ever by-election win – overturning a Conservative lead of roughly 20,000 – by taking 16,456 compared to 12,295.

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Labour: Today we have made history

The party threw a substantial amount of resources at the Selby and Ainsty seat, which was not on their target list before the snap vote was called when former MP Nigel Adams stepped aside.

But Conservative voters appeared to stay at home, letting Labour take home the seat with a swing of 23.7 points.

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‘Lib Dems back in the West Country’

There was further grim reading for the Tories in Somerset’s Somerton and Frome as the Liberal Democrats overturned a majority of 19,213, reclaiming a seat they had held until 2015. Now the Tories trail by 11,008 behind the Liberal Democrats’ 21,187 votes with 10,179.

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Labour secure record win in Selby and Ainsty

Lib Dems win Somerton and Frome
Conservatives hold Uxbridge and South Ruislip

Early on in the night, the Conservatives were playing down the likelihood they would hold any of the three seats.

The Lib Dems were so confident in their lead in Somerton and Frome, they declared their victory before all the ballot boxes had even been opened to start counting.

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‘Sadiq Khan lost Labour this election’

The Conservatives’ expectation management appears to have worked for them – and they can now claim the election win in Boris Johnson’s old seat as a victory, a rare win for a government in a by-election, and a condemnation of Sir Keir as a leader.

Labour are now claiming the ULEZ issue that dominated Uxbridge and South Ruislip does not represent the feeling across the UK.

A Labour spokesman said: “This was always going to be a difficult battle in a seat that has never had a Labour MP, and we didn’t even win in 1997.

“We know that the Conservatives crashing the economy has hit working people hard, so it’s unsurprising that the ULEZ expansion was a concern for voters here in a by-election.”

Labour MP Steve Reed was a bit more blunt in his conclusions.

He said: “I think the winning Conservative candidate just said it, didn’t he? He said that if it wasn’t for ULEZ, he believes Labour would have won this by-election.

“Clearly, it did resonate with a lot of people. They didn’t like the fact that ULEZ was going to cost people more to drive around at a time when there’s a cost-of-living crisis going on. That’s exactly what Danny Beales was saying all the way through the campaign.

“But I think when the voters speak, any party that seeks to govern has to listen. So that’s what Labour will be doing after this.”

The by-elections came about after Mr Johnson, Mr Adam and David Warburton stood aside from their seats amid scandal and shunned honours.

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‘Rapper’ who murdered schoolboy recalled to prison after ‘boasting about his violent crime’, Probation Service says

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'Rapper' who murdered schoolboy recalled to prison after 'boasting about his violent crime', Probation Service says

The man who served 14 years in jail for the murder of schoolboy Jimmy Mizen has been recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions.

It follows reporting in The Sun newspaper that Jake Fahri, 35, was a drill rapper releasing music under the name TEN, who conceals his identity with a balaclava, and was played on BBC 1Xtra.

A Probation Service spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Jimmy Mizen’s family who deserve better than to see their son’s murderer shamelessly boasting about his violent crime.”

Jimmy’s father Barry told Sky News: “We’re not gloating or anything, in a way it’s quite sad.”

His son bled to death after Fahri threw an oven dish at him in a south London bakery on 10 May 2008.

The dish shattered on his chin and severed an artery in the schoolboy’s neck.

Fahri was 19 when he was given a life sentence in 2009 with a minimum term of 14 years and was released on licence in June 2023.

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His music was played on BBC 1Xtra less than 18 months later, the Sun reported, adding that DJ Theo Johnson named him an “up-and-coming star”.

Undated Family handout photo of 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen. Comedian Harry Hill will today present the keys of two minibuses in memory of the murdered schoolboy. Just days before the anniversary of the teenager's death on May 10, Hill will hadn over the keys of the "Jimmybuses" which will help Scouts travel around the UK.
Image:
Jimmy Mizen. Pic: PA

Jimmy’s father earlier said he and his wife Margaret were “stunned into silence” when they were told about Fahri’s music, which often features violent themes.

In one song, which appears to reference Jimmy’s death, he raps about “sharpening” a blade.

“Judge took a look at me, before the trial even started he already knows he’s gonna throw the book at me,” the lyrics say.

Another track includes the lines: “See a man’s soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone… I wanted more, it made it less wrong. Seeing blood spilled same floor he was left on.”

The BBC has said the artist’s tracks do not feature on any BBC playlists, and that a track which appeared to reference Jimmy’s death had never been played on its channels.

A spokesman for the broadcaster added there were “no further plans to play his music”, adding: “We were not aware of his background and we in no way condone his actions.”

Read more from Sky News:
Madeleine McCann suspect ‘won’t face charges for foreseeable future’

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A Probation Service spokesperson said: “All offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions. As this case shows, we will recall them to prison if they break the rules.”

Jimmy’s parents founded the Mizen Foundation after their son’s death. The charity helps young people in London who are escaping violence.

Mr Mizen said: “It appears that if he’s been recalled to prison, he must’ve breached his licence conditions

“What happens next, we’ve absolutely no idea.”

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Madeleine McCann suspect won’t face charges for foreseeable future, prosecutor tells Sky News

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Madeleine McCann suspect won't face charges for foreseeable future, prosecutor tells Sky News

The man suspected of abducting Madeleine McCann won’t face any charges in the foreseeable future, a prosecutor has told Sky News.

German drifter Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under his country’s privacy law, is expected to be freed from an unrelated jail sentence this year while police in three countries continue to search for evidence against him.

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: “There is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case.

“As things stand, the accused Christian B’s imprisonment will end in early September.”

Madeleine, aged three, was asleep with her younger twin siblings in the family’s Portuguese rented holiday apartment before mother Kate discovered her missing at around 10pm on 3 May, 2007.

Her parents were dining nearby on the complex with friends and taking turns to check on all their sleeping children every half an hour.

A man, who is a suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal, stands next to his lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher at his trial on unrelated sexual assault charges in Braunschweig, Germany, October 2, 2024. Christian B., is charged with three counts of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual abuse of children in Portugal between June 2007 and December 2000. Moritz Frankenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Image:
Christian B at his trial on unrelated sexual assault charges in Germany last year. Pic: Reuters

Madeleine’s disappearance has become the world’s most mysterious missing child case.

Philipp Marquort, one of Christian B’s defence lawyers, welcomed the prosecutor’s pessimism about bringing charges.

He said: “This confirms the suspicions that we have repeatedly expressed, namely that there is no reliable evidence against our client.

“We regret that we have not yet been granted access to the investigation files. We have not yet been able to effectively counter the public prejudice arising from statements made by the prosecutor’s office.”

Christian B, 47, is in jail and coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where Madeleine disappeared.

In October, he was acquitted on a series of rape and indecent assault charges after a non-jury trial in Germany, in which several references were made to his status as the main suspect in the Madeleine case.

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File photo dated 30/04/17 of Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal seventeen years ago. They have released a statement on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, saying "the absence still aches". Earlier this week, it was confirmed that up to a further ..192,000 has been granted by the Home Office for the Scotland Yard investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. Issue date: Friday May 3, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Portugal. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire....
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Kate and Gerry McCann. Pic: PA

The prosecutor said he was awaiting the court’s written judgment before launching an appeal against the acquittal. He believes the trial judges were biased against the prosecution.

If successful, he could apply for a new arrest warrant for Christian B to keep him in custody until a retrial with new judges.

He said: “We hope that the Federal Court of Justice will decide before the end of the accused’s imprisonment. If the Federal Court follows our legal opinion, we could apply for a new arrest warrant for the accused’s offences, so that the accused would then remain in custody beyond September 2025.

Mr Marquort said the defence team would oppose the prosecution’s appeal against the acquittal.

Prosecutor Mr Wolters has said in the past that he believes Madeleine is dead and that Christian B was responsible for her death. The suspect denies any involvement.

The case against Christian B is purely circumstantial; he’s alleged to have confessed to a friend that he abducted Madeleine, he has convictions for sex crimes against children, he was living in the area at the time, his mobile phone was close by when the young girl vanished and he re-registered one of his vehicles the next day.

The prosecutor won’t say what evidence he has to convince him Madeleine is dead, but he admitted he is still trying to find forensic evidence to link Christian B to the girl.

Christian B is acquitted of sex attacks not related to the Madeleine McCann case
Image:
Christian B coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly woman

Jim Gamble, former head of the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, said he had expected the prosecutor to charge Christian B soon.

“He’s implied the whole way through that he has something more than the public are aware of,” he said.

“He’s made fairly definitive statements about whether Madeleine is alive or dead so you would expect their strategy to have been to charge him sooner rather than later.

“From what he’s said today I wonder if we’re witnessing the re-positioning of something to manage the disappointment that’ll come.”

Mr Wolters, who is based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, is investigating the case with the help of Portuguese police and detectives from Scotland Yard.

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Man arrested after death of woman and two-year-old girl found with serious injuries in Ashford, Surrey

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Man arrested after death of woman and two-year-old girl found with serious injuries in Ashford, Surrey

A man has been arrested after the death of a woman in her 20s and a two-year-old girl was found with serious injuries in Surrey.

The man, in his 30s, has been detained on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, Surrey Police said.

Officers went to a property in Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, at 1.15pm on Thursday following a report of concern for safety.

The woman and child were found at the address with serious injuries and despite treatment from paramedics, the woman died at the scene.

The child was taken to hospital.

Officers said the victim and the suspect were known to each other.

Read more from Sky News:
‘Rapper’ who murdered schoolboy recalled to prison
Jamie Theakston reveals he’s cancer free

A forensics officer at the scene at Imtech House on Woodthorpe Road in Ashford, Surrey, after a woman in her 20s died and a two-year-old girl was found with serious injuries. A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Picture date: Friday January 17, 2025.
Image:
Pic: PA

An investigation, led by the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, is under way and inquiries remain ongoing, police said.

Senior Investigating Officer DCI Kimball Edey said specialist officers “are working around the clock to gather as much information as possible,” and that the force’s “thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims at this unbelievably difficult time”.

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