Five children who travelled to Pakistan with the father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sara Sharif will be taken into care, a judge has ruled.
The children, aged between one and 13, were recovered from the house of Sara’s grandfather in the northeastern city of Jhelum on Monday after a raid by local police.
Their grandfather Mohammad told Sky News the children had been with him since they arrived in Pakistan over a month ago and he felt it was his “duty to protect them”.
Image: Floral tributes for Sara Sharif were laid outside her home in Woking
He had hoped they would be able to come back home following the court hearings in Jhelum, but Senior Judge Javed Iqbal Khokar ruled they should be taken into custody by the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau.
Police also confirmed to Sky News they have at least four teams in the city searching for Sara’s father, stepmother and uncle.
The children are understood to have travelled from the UK to Pakistan with Sara‘s father Urfan Sharif, her stepmother Beinash Batool, and his brother Faisal Shahzad Malik last month.
Authorities want to question the trio over the death of 10-year-old Sara, whose body was found at her home in Woking on 10 August after her father called 999 from Pakistan. He had flown there from the UK a day earlier.
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British officers launched a murder investigation after Sara was found dead. A post-mortem examination revealed she had suffered “multiple and extensive” injuries.
Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, said: “The safety and welfare of these five children has always been a priority for us.
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“A court hearing today has ruled that they will be taken to a Pakistani government childcare facility and we will continue to support our partners in ensuring that the welfare of the five children remains a priority.
“Our enquiries remain ongoing to locate Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik, who we would like to speak to as part of our enquiries into Sara’s death.”
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“Our family in Pakistan are severely affected by all that is going on,” she added, claiming her family had been forced into hiding.
“The groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear for safety.”
She also denied reports that Mr Sharif’s brother Imran had claimed Sara fell downstairs, saying that was spread through a Pakistani media outlet.
Ms Sharif and her husband separated in 2015 – and Sara, along with her older brother, lived with her until 2019, when a family court determined they should reside with their father.
While she retained equal rights to visit her children, Ms Sharif said she found it increasingly challenging to maintain those rights as time went on.
Prince Harry has denied having a fight with Prince Andrew after it was claimed “punches were thrown” between the pair in 2013.
The allegations appeared in excerpts from a new book on the Duke of York being serialised in the Daily Mail.
It claims a row started after Prince Andrew said something behind Harry’s back, with Andrew “left with a bloody nose” and the pair needing to be broken up.
It also claimed the Duke of York once warned his nephew about marrying Meghan and suggested it wouldn’t last long.
However, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex strongly denied the claims.
“I can confirm Prince Harryand Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make the comments he is alleged to have made about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry,” a statement said.
They said a legal letter had been sent to the Daily Mail due to “gross inaccuracies, damaging and defamatory remarks” in its reporting.
The book – Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York – is billed as the first joint biography of Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
It’s said to be based on interviews with “over a hundred people who have never spoken before”.
He said his brother once knocked him to the floor amid a confrontation over Meghan’s “rude” and “abrasive” behaviour.
“It all happened so fast. So very fast,” Harry wrote in the book.
“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me.”
“I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” the prince added.
Harry claimed his brother wanted him to hit him back “but I chose not to”, and that William later returned and apologised.
The Duke Of Sussex has described his relationship with his family as extremely strained after he quit as a working royal and took legal action against the media, and over the removal of his UK police protection.
He claimed earlier this year the King wouldn’t speak to him and there had “been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family”.
Martin Lewis says motorists who were mis-sold car finance are likely to receive “hundreds, not thousands of pounds” – with regulators launching a consultation on a new compensation scheme.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com believes it is “very likely” that about 40% of Britons who entered personal contact purchase or hire purchase agreements between 2007 and 2021 will be eligible for payouts.
“Discretionary commission arrangements” saw brokers and dealers charge higher levels of interest so they could receive more commission, without telling consumers.
Image: Pics: PA
Speaking to Sky News Radio’s Faye Rowlands, Lewis said: “Very rarely will it be thousands of pounds unless you have more than one car finance deal.
“So up to about a maximum of £950 per car finance deal where you are due compensation.”
Lewis explained that consumers who believe they may have been affected should check whether they had a discretionary commission arrangement by writing to their car finance company.
However, the personal finance guru warned against using a claims firm.
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“They’re hardly going to do anything for you and you might get the money paid to you automatically anyway, in which case you’re giving them 30% for nothing,” he added.
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Who’s eligible for payout after car finance scandal?
Yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority said its review of the past use of motor finance “has shown that many firms were not complying with the law or our disclosure rules that were in force when they sold loans to consumers”.
The FCA’s statement added that those affected “should be appropriately compensated in an orderly, consistent and efficient way”.
Lewis told Sky News that the consultation will launch in October – and will take six weeks.
“We expect payouts to come in 2026, assuming this will happen and it’s very likely to happen,” he said.
“As for exactly how will work, it hasn’t decided yet. Firms will have to contact people, although there is an issue about them having destroyed some of the data for older claims.”
He believes claims will either be paid automatically – or affected consumers will need to opt in and apply to get compensation back.
The FCA says you may be affected if you bought a car under a finance scheme, including hire purchase agreements, before 28 January 2021.
Anyone who has already complained does not need to do anything.
The authority added: “Consumers concerned that they were not told about commission, and who think they may have paid too much for the finance, should complain now”.
Its website advises drivers to complain to their finance provider first.
If you’re unhappy with the response, you can then contact the Financial Ombudsman.
Any compensation scheme will be easy to participate in, without drivers needing to use a claims management company or law firm.
The FCA has warned motorists that doing so could end up costing you 30% of any compensation in fees.
The FCA estimates the cost of any scheme – including compensation and administrative costs – to be no lower than £9bn.
But in a video on X, Lewis said that millions of people are likely to be due a share of up to £18bn.
The regulator’s announcement comes after the Supreme Court ruled on a separate, but similar, case on Friday.