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“They were like savages,” says Sinead Foley, 37, who was strip searched by police in Birmingham in November last year.

She is among several viewers who have contacted Sky News with allegations of abuse in custody by different police forces, following our investigation into Greater Manchester Police.

Sinead was arrested and later released without charge but left with traumatic memories of her time in custody.

Using a subject access request, she has obtained some of the CCTV of her time in the cell, which shows her being undressed on the floor by female officers.

“It just felt like they could violate me, and they’re allowed to do it,” she said.

“You can see I’m compliant, so there’s no need to be dragging people’s clothes off forcibly. It’s totally inhumane.”

Sky News has not seen all the footage and Sinead acknowledges she indicated suicidal thoughts – but says she was then stripped again and left naked for 16 hours without anti-rip garments.

CCTV of Sinead Foley in custody
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CCTV of Sinead Foley in custody

Sinead Foley in custody

At one point male officers are clearly in the cell with her when she is naked – the door is shut, and she is left alone with just a mattress on the floor which she says she later pulled over herself.

“They only left the blue mat in the room, that’s the only thing. So, to try and cover my modesty… I just felt totally violated.”

West Midlands Police told Sky News that no offences were committed by officers.

The force added: “Officers and staff became increasingly concerned for her welfare and took a number of steps to ensure her safety while she was in custody.

“It became necessary to arrange medical attention and to remove her clothing due to concerns for her safety and mental health.

“She was given blankets and water, but custody staff were unable to provide her with food and replacement clothing initially due to her aggressive behaviour and risk to cause herself harm.”

Sinead disputes that she was too aggressive to give clothes to, and asked the police for further footage to be provided of the period she was left naked in the cell.

West Midlands Police told us. “By the time a request for further footage of her sleeping overnight had been received, it had been automatically deleted from force systems, in line with our data retention policy which ensures personal data is not kept for longer than necessary.”

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Mayor responds to Sky’s report on strip searches

Earlier this week Sky News revealed allegations of humiliating and unnecessary strip searches conducted by Greater Manchester Police, with one woman claiming she had been raped in custody. The city’s mayor, Andy Burnham, has said he will launch an independent investigation.

He told Sky News: “People watching this programme will rightly want to know that they will be fully, properly and independently investigated. And I can give people that assurance today.

“And that’s important for two reasons. Obviously, for the individuals concerned, they will want to be assured that every single point that they’ve raised will be properly investigated. But, secondly, it’s important with regard to women’s competence in policing and under, of course, policing in Greater Manchester.”

The former victims commissioner, Vera Baird, said one concern is women being punished for complaining about the police.

She said: “We are all very well aware that there are often sceptical approaches to women, that sometimes women feel that they are the ones on trial and the notion that therefore you might have to press a little hard to get the police to take some notice of you suddenly opens up this new vista that you may yourself then, at its very early stage, become arrested and treated badly because you are behaving in a nuisance way, as it were, to the police.”

Read more:
Minister to contact police watchdog
Met Police officer ‘repeatedly raped’ by colleague

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Are women safe in custody?

After seeing images of Zayna Iman being stripped in custody, a number of Sky News viewers got in touch with their own allegations of abuse by other police forces, with several saying their complaints were ignored.

Quotes from emails include: “I was a victim of a crime and detained naked in a cell overnight in the freezing cold.”

Another reads: “The CCTV of me pinned naked on my back in a cell by four/five officers then pepper sprayed is ‘not available’.”

Another said: “I struggle with the memories of what happened to me. The officer who assaulted me was sadistic, he got off on having that power over me.”

Maggie Oliver, whose foundation has helped provide support to some of the women we have spoken to, said: “This for me is an abuse of power. It’s power in the wrong hands, which means that they believe that they are unaccountable.

“And that is not what a police force or a police service is. They are public servants. And they should be responding when there are allegations of this nature.”

Greater Manchester police said it had found no evidence of officer misconduct in the cases raised, but has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said: “I want to make it absolutely clear that we understand and share the concerns of the public regarding allegations against Greater Manchester Police… Miss Iman’s allegations regarding her treatment in custody, in February 2021, are subject to an ongoing investigation.

“The force made a referral to the IOPC which instructed a GMP-led investigation.

“Having reviewed the content of the television report which highlights additional concerns, I have taken the decision to make another referral to the IOPC in order to assure Miss Iman and the public that all of her allegations will be rigorously and independently reviewed.”

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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.

Read more from Sky News:
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.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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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
Image:
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”.

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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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