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Three Metropolitan Police officers are facing allegations of gross misconduct after the strip-search of a 15-year-old schoolgirl in 2020.

Child Q was wrongly accused of possessing cannabis and was searched while on her period and with no appropriate adult present at a school in Hackney, east London.

No drugs were found on her clothing or in her bag before two female officers searched her as two male officers waited outside – again, no drugs were found.

On Thursday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said three officers would face a misconduct hearing, with a fourth officer facing a lesser misconduct meeting.

The allegations include that they discriminated against Child Q because of her race and gender.

“The strip-search of Child Q, a 15-year-old girl, at her school in Hackney caused widespread concern,” IOPC director Steve Noonan said.

“We’ve found that four officers involved in the incident should face disciplinary proceedings for the parts they played.

“Ultimately it will be for that disciplinary panel to decide whether the allegations against them are proven.

“We will now be liaising with the Met Police around disciplinary proceedings. We’ve kept Child Q’s representatives and the officers involved updated throughout our investigation.”

The Met’s bosses have also been told by the IOPC they should consider apologising to Child Q and her mother with formal letters.

The three officers accused of gross misconduct face allegations that:

• The decision to carry out the search was inappropriate

• Child Q was discriminated against because of her race and sex

• There was no appropriate adult present

• And the officers did not get authorisation from a supervisor

If gross misconduct is proved, the officers could be sacked.

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The fourth officer will have a disciplinary meeting over there not being an appropriate adult present at the time.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, who leads policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “We have been clear in saying that the experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable.

“While we have publicly apologised, I am also writing formally to Child Q and her family to say sorry for the trauma that we caused her.

“It will now be for the hearing panel to determine whether the matters against the three officers are proven and it is important we don’t pre-judge the outcome.”

More senior levels of authorisation are now needed for strip searches, he added, and the number of such searches being carried out has been reduced because the force “had been overusing this power”.

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Man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool victory parade faces further 24 charges

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Man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool victory parade faces further 24 charges

A man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool FC’s title parade faces 24 new charges.

More than 130 people, including children, were injured when Paul Doyle allegedly drove his Ford Galaxy vehicle into hordes of fans at the celebrations on 26 May.

The 53-year-old, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was originally charged with two counts of wounding with intent, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, and one count of dangerous driving.

Six of the new alleged offences relate to babies, including one six-month-old and one seven-month-old, proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday.

The new indictment, which was not read out in court, now has 31 counts relating to 29 victims, aged between six months and 77 years old.

Doyle now faces 18 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of wounding with intent, one count of dangerous driving and one count of affray.

He appeared in court via video link from prison and was in tears.

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He did not enter any pleas during the hearing, which lasted around 20 minutes.

The case was adjourned until 4 September, when Doyle is expected to enter pleas.

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Mosquito bite warning after rise in chikungunya cases in travellers returning to UK

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Mosquito bite warning after rise in chikungunya cases in travellers returning to UK

Travellers are being warned about mosquito bites on holiday after a rise in chikungunya infections in people returning to the UK.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also said the first cases of the emerging oropouche virus had been recorded.

Chikungunya typically causes sudden fever and joint pain, which can be debilitating, and lasts from a few days to weeks.

The name comes from a word in a Tanzanian language meaning “that which bends up”, owing to the joint pain associated with it.

Most people recover but in some cases the symptoms can last several months or even years.

It’s spread by mosquito bites in tropical and subtropical regions, and most of the 73 cases reported in the UK so far this year were in London and linked to travel to Sri Lanka, India, and Mauritius.

Only 27 cases were reported in the same January to June period last year.

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Chikungunya can’t spread directly from person to person – so if someone becomes ill in the UK, they can’t pass the infection on, and the mosquitos responsible aren’t present here.

Dr Philip Veal, consultant in public health at the UKHSA, said it can be a “nasty disease” and the increase in cases was “worrying”.

“It is essential to take precautions against mosquito bites when travelling,” he said.

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“Simple steps, such as using insect repellent, covering up your skin and sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets can greatly reduce the risk.”

Chikungunya is mainly found in Asia and Africa, but cases have been reported in Europe and North America this year.

Two vaccines to guard against the infection are available in the UK from private travel clinics.

The first cases of the Oropouche virus have also been confirmed in Britain, according to the UKHSA.

It’s spread by midge and mosquito bites and the three cases are all linked to travel to Brazil.

Oropouche was first identified in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1950s and had been mainly confined to the Amazon area.

However, cases have been increasing since 2023 and have shown up in places such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Peru.

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Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea and vomiting.

Anyone who gets such symptoms after being in Central and South America or the Caribbean is advised to get urgent medical advice.

Most people recover on their own, but it can cause severe disease in the very elderly or those with a weak immune system.

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Man staying at hotel that has been focus of protests denies sexual assault charge

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Man staying at hotel that has been focus of protests denies sexual assault charge

A man staying at a hotel that has been the focus of a series of protests has denied a charge of sexual assault and faces a trial next month.

Mohammed Sharwarq, a 32-year-old Syrian national, was arrested after police were called to the Bell Hotel on the Epping High Road in Essex yesterday, police said.

Sharwarq, who is alleged to have kissed a man on the neck, indicated a plea of not guilty to a charge of sexual assault at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court today.

He indicated guilty pleas to six further charges concerning four complainants – with two counts of common assault and four of assault by beating.

Sharwarq is alleged to have punched a man in the face, thrown an object at a man, slapped a third man in the face and attempted to punch a fourth.

Sky News understands the alleged offences took place inside the hotel between 25 July and 12 August.

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District judge Lynette Woodrow remanded Sharwarq, who was assisted in court by an Arabic interpreter, in custody until his trial on 30 September.

The arrest followed weeks of protests outside the hotel.

Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping Forest, said last month that the protests were a crisis that “risks boiling over”.

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