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Not all schools impacted by concrete safety fears have been contacted and it is not clear how many will have to shut fully, a minister has admitted.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said in most cases “just a few buildings” or rooms within the affected schools will have to shut but “in some cases it will be the whole school”.

Asked whether all affected schools have been contacted, Mr Gibb told Sky News: “The vast majority have, we’ve been calling them yesterday. But there is a few more that we’re calling today.”

However, asked for a number on the full closures, he said: “We don’t know yet.”

The government announced on Thursday that around 104 schools or “settings” in England found with concrete prone to collapse are set to be closed or disrupted – on top of 52 that have already been affected this year.

Labour is calling on ministers to “come clean” and publish the full list of schools that will be impacted, as they have not yet been publicly named.

Mr Gibb said the government intended to do that “in due course” but he wanted parents to be informed by the school before they read about it in the media.

He also suggested more schools could be affected as not all building surveys have been completed.

The type of concrete forcing the closures is Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, known as RAAC.

Ministers are facing questions over why they made the announcement just days before the start of the new school term.

Minister ‘doesn’t know’ how many schools will have to close – politics latest

What is Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete?

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete – handily shortened to RAAC – is essentially a lightweight form of concrete.

It was used to build roofs, schools, colleges and other buildings from the 1950s until the mid-1990s, according to GOV.UK.

In comparison to traditional concrete, RAAC is weaker. It is made in factories using fine aggregate, with chemicals to create gas bubbles and heat.

Both the material properties and structural behaviour differs significantly from traditional reinforced concrete.

In 2019, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety highlighted the significant risk of failure of RAAC planks.

Three years later in 2022, the Office of Government Property sent a safety briefing notice to all property leaders, saying that “RAAC is now life-expired and liable to collapse”.

Chris Goodier, professor of construction engineering and materials at Loughborough University, said: “It is RAAC from the 1950s, 60s and 70s that is of main concern, especially if it has not been adequately maintained.

“RAAC examples have been found with bearings (supports) which aren’t big enough, and RAAC with the steel reinforcement in the wrong place, both of which can have structural implications.”

Mr Gibb said “new evidence” over the safety of RAAC emerged over the summer which prompted the government to change its guidance.

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Pupils will be out of school ‘for short period’

Previously remediation was required when the RAAC was in critical condition, but Mr Gibb said the Department for Education (DfE) is now taking the “cautious approach” that all RAAC should be removed.

Mr Gibb said: “In most cases it will be just a few buildings or a few rooms, or just a cupboard. But in some cases it will be the whole school. And in those circumstances we will be finding alternative accommodation.”

He insisted in cases where schools need to shut, children will only be out of face-to-face education for a “short period of time” – for an average of about six days.

And he said all costs of the remediation will be covered by the government.

“We’ve made it very clear we will cover all capital costs,” Mr Gibb said.

“So if in the worst-case scenario, we need portacabins in the school estate for an alternative accommodation, we will cover all those costs.”

Schools minister left parents with four key unanswered questions



Mhari Aurora

Politics and business correspondent

@MhariAurora

As schools scramble to put new safety measures in place, many parents will be asking why it has taken the government so long to wake up to the gravity of this problem.

Education minister Nick Gibb told Sky News the government was taking a cautious approach to the problem of RAAC (reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete) in schools.

However, many would question the sincerity of those comments as the government has known about the risks of this type of concrete for years and was even told in September 2022 that the material was life-expired and liable to collapse.

Although Mr Gibb clarified that government will be paying for alternative accommodation for schools where necessary and that it would publish the full list of affected schools in due course, he left parents with four key questions.

Firstly, how many schools will have to close entirely? The minister couldn’t answer that question despite speculation it could be as many as 30.

Second, are all schools safe? Mr Gibb insisted they were, but the government is yet to receive all the data on RAAC in schools as not all schools have been checked.

Thirdly, although Mr Gibb guaranteed the list of affected schools would be published, he did not go as far as to say when that would be – leaving parents worried their children’s schools could be affected without them knowing.

And finally, the minister explained that not all schools impacted by RAAC had been informed yet, meaning there are schools that remain in the dark about whether they may need to be fully or partially closed.

With term beginning in a matter of days, the timing of these revelations come at a moment when Rishi Sunak and his government were hoping for a reset.

Mini reshuffle completed and refreshed from parliamentary recess, Mr Sunak will be frustrated by this false start ahead of the return to schools and Westminster.

Read more:
How will I know if my child’s school is being closed?
Once wonder material will cause chaotic start to school year – analysis

Government ‘not being truthful’

Labour condemned the government for delay and inaction.

Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said safety concerns about RAAC have been known for years and blamed the issue on Tory “incompetence and neglect”.

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Steve Reed “You can’t deliver first rate education in second rate buildings.”

He told Sky News: “We know, and so do government ministers, that five years ago in 2018, there was a school in Gravesend in North Kent that collapsed because it had this kind of concrete.

“They had a report from the Department for Education itself just last December telling them the situation was critical at that point.

In the last two years, my colleague Bridget Phillipson (shadow education secretary) has raised this issue in questions and debates in parliament over 150 times.

So if they’re telling you they didn’t know this was a problem, they’re not being truthful and they should have taken action the beginning of the summer holidays.”

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Man guilty of murder of Cher Maximen at Notting Hill Carnival

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Man guilty of murder of Cher Maximen at Notting Hill Carnival

A man has been found guilty of murdering a mother as she attended Notting Hill Carnival with her three-year-old daughter.

Cher Maximen, 32, was at the event in west London on 25 August last year when she was stabbed in the groin after trying to intervene in a fight.

Shakeil Thibou, 20, was charged with her murder after she died in hospital on 31 August.

He was found guilty by a majority of 10 to two jurors and is due for sentencing on 16 May.

Cher Maximen
Image:
Cher Maximen

Read more:
Mother killed in Notting Hill Carnival attack was ‘beautiful soul

Moments before stabbing Ms Maximen, Thibou carried out an “equally horrifying attack” on a man who was backing away from him, the Old Bailey has heard.

He was also convicted of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to 20-year-old Adjei Isaac with intent, and having an offensive weapon.

At the opening of the trial in February, prosecutor Ed Brown KC told the court Ms Maximen and the group she was with had got caught up in the middle of a “horrifying outbreak of violence”.

At the time, Ms Maximen had been crouched chatting to her friends as they sat on the ground with their children.

 Cher Maximen
Image:
Cher Maximen

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She suffered a 12cm deep knife wound, which caused severe internal bleeding in her groin.

‘Pure anger’ in accused face

As jurors were shown police bodycam footage of the incident during a previous hearing at the Old Bailey, Mr Brown KC told them: “You will see pure anger in the face of Shakeil Thibou. This was right in front of her [Ms Maximen’s] three-year-old daughter.”

The “truly shocking” incident happened in just eight seconds.

How did it happen?

The Old Bailey previously heard how a crowd of hundreds splintered on Golborne Road in west London as Thibou and his two brothers, who were on trial alongside him facing separate charges, had an altercation with at least two other males.

 Cher Maximen
Image:
Cher Maximen

Thibou produced a “huge” knife, described by one witness as a zombie knife, and lunged repeatedly at Mr Isaac in a “determined, thrusting movement”, the Old Bailey heard.

Mr Isaac recoiled and during the altercation the pair bumped into Ms Maximen who had been crouched chatting to her friends as they sat on the ground with their children.

The knife, the prosecutor said, missed Mr Isaac by “centimetres”.

Mr Brown KC told the court Ms Maximen struggled to regain her footing after being knocked to the ground.

He said: “Cher Maximen in those moments grabbed hold of Shakeil Thibou’s coat, pulled it and managed to get partially to her feet.

“She appeared to attempt to strike out with her hand at Shakeil who of course was still holding that knife in his hand. Cher Maximen took a step towards Shakeil Thibou and at the same time attempted to raise her right leg out towards him.

“It was at this moment, Shakeil Thibou raised the knife directly towards Cher Maximen and deliberately thrust it towards her, stabbing her in the groin.”

Sheldon Thibou was found guilty of violent disorder and guilty of assault on an emergency worker, PC Oliver Mort.

Shaeim Thibou was cleared of violent disorder but found guilty of assault on an emergency worker, PC Mort.

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Cher Maximen: Family’s ‘rage’ after mother fatally stubbed in front of daughter at Notting Hill Carnival

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Cher Maximen: Family's 'rage' after mother fatally stubbed in front of daughter at Notting Hill Carnival

The family of a mother who was fatally stabbed as she attended Notting Hill Carnival with her three-year-old daughter has said “the feeling of loss is overwhelming, but so is the feeling of rage”.

Cher Maximen, 32, was stabbed at the west London carnival’s “Family Day” on 25 August last year.

Shakeil Thibou, 20, has now been found guilty of her murder, by a majority jury verdict of 10-2, after a trial at the Old Bailey.

“I’ve lost my parents. I’ve lost my brother. Nothing has felt like this ever,” Ms Maximen’s cousin Lawrence Hoo told Sky News.

“It is the cruellest thing, it truly is.”

Lawrence Hoo
Image:
Lawrence Hoo

Ms Maximen died at a carnival she had been to so many times – she barely missed one.

On the day, Ms Maximen and her three-year-old daughter arrived at Europe’s biggest street party with a group of friends and their children. They’d been sitting and chatting when she was knocked over by some men who had started fighting.

News of her stabbing came almost immediately. Mr Hoo remembers receiving the call. “When I first heard that she’d been stabbed, I know it sounds silly, but I thought Cher will be alright. Cher’s strong, she’ll get through this.”

Ms Maximen was taken to hospital and underwent a number of emergency procedures before being put on life support.

Cher Maximen and a family member

Mr Hoo immediately headed to London to be at her bedside.

“I can remember being in the hospital being sat there with her, with other family members and that’s the last time I saw her. It still doesn’t feel real. There’s still disbelief,” he said.

“It’s the most senseless act to someone who had so much life and so much to give.”

Ms Maximen died from her injuries six days after the incident.

She was a vivacious young woman who grew up in Bristol and then London, finding her feet working with people in music and entertainment.

Ms Maximen was described as a “people person”, which for Mr Hoo manifested in her being “a bright light” in the lives of her loved ones.

He said: “It’s just this energy she had, she lit up the room. If you walked into a space, you’d know that Cher was there. Her energy itself would fill the room. She was a very bright light.”

Her life changed three years before her death when she became a mother in her late 20s.

Her daughter became her life’s work, she poured her love and energy into creating a person her family describe as her mini-me, “she’s Cher 2.0” Mr Hoo said.

Cher Maximen pictured as a child with her uncle Ty
Image:
Cher Maximen pictured as a child with her uncle Ty

Ms Maximen was stabbed just metres from her daughter on that day.

Mr Hoo said the idea of the toddler witnessing her mother on the ground punctuates the sadness the family feel with anger.

“The feeling of loss is overwhelming, but so is the feeling of rage,” he said. “She [Ms Maximen’s daughter] is aware that on that day, something happened to her mother.

“She saw her mother drop to the floor, and then she saw her mother bleed. That’s the daughter’s last living memory of her mother. And to live with that, knowing that that’s happened, that somebody did that. That’s why it’s so hard and that’s where the rage comes from.”

The family is now rallying around the little girl who is growing up without her mother.

Mr Hoo said the attack “will be a memory that will recur” for Ms Maximen’s daughter, adding “that is why it is so painful and hard to try to live with”.

“I think the trauma is going to be there, and trauma will raise its head when it chooses to come up. But we’ll be there for her,” he said.

The family held Ms Maximen’s funeral in October, and dozens came to remember a woman who loved to spread joy.

Mr Hoo said their focus is now Cher’s daughter: “It’s difficult to say how do we celebrate this life that was taken so prematurely. But I think it goes into her daughter, and it’s to give her daughter the best life and love, and tell her who her mother was.

“I just wish that we had so much more time.”

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Abuser who murdered husband and buried him in Canterbury garden jailed for 22 years

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Abuser who murdered husband and buried him in Canterbury garden jailed for 22 years

A domestic abuser who murdered her “frail” husband and buried him in the garden has been jailed for at least 22 years.

Maureen Rickards caused her husband “unimaginable pain and suffering”, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

She was found guilty at Canterbury Crown Court last month and today got a life sentence with a minimum of 22 years.

Jeremy Rickards, 65, was found wrapped in bin bags inside a hold-all at the couple’s property in St Martin’s Road, Canterbury, on 11 July last year.

He had five stab wounds to his chest – two of which pierced his heart.

There were also non-fatal injuries sustained about 10 days before his death, as well as other wounds thought to have been weeks old.

Grass cuttings were put over the body in an attempt to hide it, but the judge said police were alerted by an “overpowering odour” that “made them feel ill”.

Kent Police believe he was killed a month earlier and his corpse stored in an attic room cupboard before being moved.

Rickards, 50, told their daughter he had gone to Saudi Arabia for work, but police had no record of him leaving the UK.

The daughter became concerned by the style of messages she received and asked her mother if she’d taken over his phone.

She eventually reported him missing.

Jeremy Rickards: Pic: LinkedIn
Image:
Jeremy Rickards: Pic: LinkedIn

The last record of Mr Rickards being alive was when he topped up his phone on 8 June.

CCTV showed his wife of 27 years using his bank card a few weeks later, with the judge saying the cleaning products she bought were probably to clean up the killing.

Rickards was initially arrested for fraud – but officers searched the property and found the body.

The murder weapon has never been found.

Police said the victim was also seen with bruising on his face a few weeks before his death, telling a pub staff member he had been in a car accident.

But video found on his wife’s phone showed her shouting at him and the sounds of her beating him.

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Man guilty of murdering woman at Carnival

Mr Rickards briefly moved out of home in early June and was seen with numerous injuries at the property he stayed in.

His wife did not attend sentencing, but judge Mr Justice Kerr directed his comments towards her, saying: “Your videos also clearly show you threatening Jeremy, abusing him, using violence on him, and expressing an intention to kill him.

“He was in frail health and largely defenceless against you.”

Detectives said Rickards has never expressed remorse for the killing and tried to blame others.

“This was a horrific murder of a man who we believe had been a supportive husband to his wife, despite her violence towards him,” said Detective Inspector Colin McKeen.

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