Victim of serial fraudster Mark Acklom demands £750k back from bank he used

Published

2 years ago

September 17, 2023

admin

A woman left penniless by notorious conman Mark Acklom is demanding her stolen money back from the High Street bank he used to fleece her.

During the police investigation, detectives arrested a Barclays bank employee and a former staff member on suspicion of a conspiracy. They had worked in the same department at Barclays.

The two – a man and a woman – were questioned and released on bail for many weeks, though they were later freed without charge.

Carolyn Woods was duped in a romance scam by serial fraudster Acklom, who wooed her and promised to marry her, telling her he was a wealthy Swiss banker called Mark Conway and a secret MI6 agent.

He was jailed four years ago and is now free, but she’s not got back any of the £750,000 she lost.

Ms Woods said: “I put my faith in the criminal justice system, but it has failed me. It just works in favour of the criminal and really doesn’t give much consideration to the victim at all.

“Acklom’s out now, no doubt living well and up to his old tricks and I’m struggling to survive. I should have explored what happened at the bank at the time, but the police advised me not to. They said it was all in their system.”

Acklom isolated Ms Woods from family and friends, then advised her to set up a new bank account with Barclays.

Citing a cash flow problem, he encouraged her to transfer money she thought were loans for building work on a plush home he had bought them.

Within a couple of months in 2012, under Acklom’s coercive control, she transferred all the money in big, sometimes daily, payments of up to £30,000 into the personal account of one of Acklom’s associates.

‘A haemorrhage of money’

Ms Woods believes the bank owed her a duty of care and should have questioned her actions and investigated the payments.

She said: “Looking back now over my bank statements, there was a total haemorrhage of money out of my account, hundreds of thousands of pounds in a matter of a few weeks, all going into one particular account.

“You would think some red flag should have been raised somewhere, I would have expected the bank to contact me.

“If they had shown some interest in me as a client, then perhaps this might not have happened. I mean, I do take responsibility myself, for part of it.”

“But I think one of the very good things that’s happened since I highlighted this sort of coercive control and wrote about it is that people are much, much more aware,” she continued.

“I was very much regarded as just a silly woman at the time. I think things have moved on a lot since then and there’s a lot more understanding about that.”

Soon after she had stopped making transfers, Ms Woods discovered some payments had been made without her authorisation.

When she queried them, she said the bank told her it couldn’t explain the missing funds but the money was paid back into her account.

Barclays then closed her account and wouldn’t say why.

Broke, homeless and suicidal

It was a year before Ms Woods realised she had been lied to and defrauded by Acklom, leaving her broke, homeless and suicidal.

She discovered Acklom’s long history of fraud and was told that far from being a rich bachelor flying in to see her from Switzerland, he had been living nearby with his wife and two young daughters.

By that time Acklom had fled abroad.

After a slow and shoddy start to an investigation, for which they later apologised, Avon and Somerset police arrested the former Barclays employee into whose account Acklom had insisted the money be paid.

He told police that he, too, had been under Acklom’s coercive control, had acted under threat and later became a potential prosecution witness.

The man told me recently: “This is a part of my life I never want to revisit, never want to talk about, never ever want to go back to. Because it was a living hell and a living nightmare for me.

“I’ve worked so hard to rebuild my mental state. I was in such a manipulative position where I could not move, could not see, could not eat, could not drink, could not do a damn thing, unless I was authorised.”

Detectives also arrested a woman who was still working for the bank and whose account had held some of the money at some stage.

When Sky News called at her home this week to try to ask her about her alleged involvement, a young man threatened to call the police. The woman appears to have since deleted her LinkedIn business profile.

During the police investigation, both suspects were questioned and bailed but later released without charge.

In a letter to Barclays Ms Woods, 62, wrote: “I realise that banking safeguards have improved since 2012/13, but some recent events have led me to believe that I wasted my time going after Mark Acklom and his accomplices through the so-called criminal justice system, and that Barclays Bank should have been held equally accountable for my losses – something I thought would follow on naturally once the case came to trial.

“There is absolutely no doubt that this crime was enabled with the help of a bank ‘insider’.”

‘There’s a strong moral argument for Barclays to pay up’

Lawyer Arun Chauhan, who sits on the Fraud Advisory Panel, a charitable body which advises the public on dealing with fraud, said Barclays had no legal obligation to refund Ms Woods anything, but there was a strong moral argument to do so.

He said: “I think Barclays need to look at it and say, ‘well if we, for example, find that our employees were involved to quite a degree and they used their internal information knowledge about how we operate to facilitate and assist the fraud,’ I think they need to stand back and ask themselves ‘should we bear any responsibility morally for this?’

“And that might well lead to them saying they should offer a goodwill payment, but they won’t make any admission of liability.

“If the events of the story took place today, I think the landscape would be very different.

“The banks are very conscious about coercive control, romance fraud, situations where people are being manipulated into making transactions, not just being tricked with false account details, but being manipulated.

“There are guidance standards about customer vulnerability, looking out for vulnerable customers.

“I think there would have been a much greater prospect of a recovery (of the stolen money) if those events happened today. And that’s really unfortunate.”

Barclays has told Ms Woods it was investigating her claim.

A spokesman told Sky News: “For confidentiality reasons we cannot comment on individual customer affairs.”

Mark Acklom, now aged 50, was jailed for five years and eight months in 2019 after pleading guilty to five of the 20 fraud charges he faced, effectively admitting he stole around £300,000 from Ms Woods.

The judge who sentenced him told Ms Woods it was “pretty unlikely” she would get any money back from Acklom.

He was freed after serving little more than two years and should have spent many more months living under licence in the UK with restrictions on his freedom and regular contact with probation officers.

But almost immediately the fraudster was extradited to Spain to complete a prison sentence he had fled from there.

The extradition judge said his UK licence period could be served concurrently with his Spanish sentence.

In agreeing to be extradited, Acklom also avoided the rare imposition of a five-year serious crime prevention order, which would have placed severe restrictions on his freedom.

The extradition judge told him there was no expectation of him returning to Britain.

Acklom was freed in Spain in May, earlier than expected. His whereabouts are unknown.

UK

Cambridge hospital accused of ‘covering up’ concerns about suspended surgeon a decade ago

Published

10 hours ago

May 11, 2025

admin

Cambridge hospital accused of 'covering up' concerns about suspended surgeon a decade ago

One of the country’s leading hospitals has been accused of covering up concerns about a surgeon made a decade before she was eventually suspended.

Kuldeep Stohr was suspended from Addenbrooke’s Hospital in January this year after a review found issues with some of her surgeries – with the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) later saying it was reviewing the care of 800 patients.

A joint investigation by Sky News and The Sunday Times found the trust may have downplayed previous concerns, with a report identifying issues with Ms Stohr back in 2016.

A senior source at the hospital said children were “severely permanently harmed”, and “some of the cases are horrendous”. They said the damage could have been avoided and told Sky News there was “the impression of a cover up”.

In one case, a child injured in a car accident was left with a broken arm for 11 days after Ms Stohr failed to spot it.

Concerns were first raised in 2015, with the CUH commissioning an external expert to examine several of Ms Stohr’s patients and their treatment.

A letter shared between staff at the time – and seen by Sky News – says the trust was satisfied the report did not raise any concerns.

But a copy of the report, obtained by Sky News and The Sunday Times, shows it did identify “technical issues” with the surgeries of multiple patients.

Now questions are being asked about why the hospital didn’t act sooner.

One patient, whose son was treated by the surgeon in 2018, says she is “angry” she was not listened to at the time after she raised concerns about Ms Stohr’s conduct.

Ms Stohr said: “I always strive to provide the highest standards of care to all my patients. I am cooperating fully with the trust investigation and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Dr Susan Broster, chief medical officer at Cambridge University Hospitals said the trust “apologise unreservedly to all the patients and families we have let down”.

She added that patients who were considered in the 2016 report also form part of the latest clinical review: “We have spoken to those patients and families and offered to meet them in person.”

It is not clear if those patients were contacted at the time of the first report.

‘Some of the cases are horrendous’

A source at the hospital said the damage was “all avoidable” while “the lives of children and families have been ruined”.

“Stohr destroyed people’s lives by performing very poor surgery. She destroyed some hip joints,” they said.

But they said staff felt they were “bullied and intimidated when they tried to raise concerns”, and were told the initial 2016 report showed no issues with Ms Stohr.

“I consider that these cases have been properly investigated and am reassured that there is no concern about Kuldeep’s practice,” said a letter sent to staff from the trust in 2016.

“I have the impression there has been a cover up,” the source told Sky News.

Dr Broster, from the CUH, said the trust had commissioned Verita, a specialist investigations company, to carry out an independent investigation to see if issues could have been addressed sooner – but added that it would be inappropriate to comment further while the review was ongoing.

She said the trust would publish the findings of the Verita report and said it was “committed to implementing the findings and recommendations in full”, with the initial findings expected by the autumn.

‘Technical errors’: What the 2016 report said

The doctor who authored the 2016 report wrote he had “some anxieties about the technical aspects” of one patient’s operation.

He highlighted “technical error[s]” on several other operations.

Some patients were “difficult cases” where “decision making was broadly correct”, and issues were not found with each one.

On one patient, the report said an issue that arose was a “known complication and does not indicate poor care. These were difficult hips”.

The report also cited a “divided apartment of paediatric orthopaedics” in which “discussion of difficult cases and mutual support does not exist”.

But the report did say Ms Stohr did not always order CT scans after operations took place.

It said all cases of DDH (Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip) surgery should have an MRI or CT scan after the operation had been completed.

Two reports, nine years apart

Ms Stohr was suspended this year with a 2025 report highlighting similar concerns, including around post-op imaging.

The 2025 findings said one procedure – a pelvic osteotomy, where the pelvic bone is cut and reshaped to improve the alignment of the hip joint – was one “Ms Stohr appears to find difficult”.

It also raised concerns that Ms Stohr “frequently operates on her own”, or with more junior members of staff.

“There have clearly been cases when technical issues arose during surgery where the presence of a consultant colleague may have been helpful,” the latest report said.

It also said the lack of imaging at the end of procedures “is inexplicable and not the standard of care”.

Catherine Slattery, senior associate at Irwin Mitchell who is representing some of the affected families, said both reports showed “similar themes”.

“Clearly things have got much worse in 2025. So, the question is, what could have been done in 2016 to have prevented this from happening?” she said.

Issues, such as Ms Stohr not ordering bone scans, were “very strange”, she added.

“But if we take the individual out, why has nobody else noticed that every other surgeon in the team has been ordering scans, but one person hasn’t?”

But she said the trust has “been playing catch up”: “[It] only seems to be taking steps when they are being prompted to do so by people like me, or journalists, or other people asking difficult questions – or even the local MP having to ask difficult questions.”

‘Leave it in the hands of God’

Seven-year-old Oliver Muhlhausen has constant foot pain – and it’s getting worse.

He was born with a severe deformity which Ms Stohr said didn’t need to be operated on.

Oliver was seen by the specialist surgeon in 2018, but his mother, Nicola, claims she was told: “There is no operation within my remits or that I can or am willing to perform, go away and leave it in the hands of God.”

The family eventually sought a second opinion, moving to be treated at a different hospital, but said Oliver has been left in “constant agony”.

“I’ve been told that if she had done something sooner or even attempted to do something sooner then he probably would have stood a bit better chance than what he’s currently going through.”

Nicola said she “upset and angry” at not being listened to, especially considering concerns were raised internally two years before her son became a patient of Ms Stohr.

“I cannot understand why something was not done sooner, because clearly there were issues,” she said, adding that hospital staff “need to be held accountable”.

She filed a formal complaint in 2019 but said this was “brushed under the carpet”.

In response to her complaint at the time, the trust said Ms Stohr “would like to apologise unreservedly for her failures of clear communication”.

‘Life could be different now’

Ellise Kingsley is now 24 and cannot walk for long periods of time – she is left in daily pain and distress.

She is not one of the 800 cases currently being examined by the CUH but was operated on by Ms Stohr in 2012 and 2016.

She said, had the 2016 report been acted on, life could be very different for her now.

“It is upsetting to think that I could have had a completely different lifestyle as such in the last ten years,” she said.

“I wouldn’t have had to even think about my foot now at 24.

“It stresses me out actually to think that there was a chance for change, but change didn’t happen.”

Pippa Heylings, MP for South Cambridgeshire, said it was an “anxious and distressing time for all involved”, and called on Addenbrooke’s Hospital to be “open and transparent” as well as independent.

She said: “The hospital cannot be seen to be marking its own homework. It is crucial for all to come forward with relevant information and evidence including whistleblowers with no fear of consequence or retaliation.”

The CUH said it has set up a dedicated Patient and Family Liaison Team, and encourages anyone concerned about their care to call the dedicated helpline on 0808 175 6331 or email CUH.helpline@nhs.net.

UK

Migration must be ‘properly controlled’ says home secretary – as sweeping reforms unveiled

Published

11 hours ago

May 10, 2025

admin

Migration must be 'properly controlled' says home secretary - as sweeping reforms unveiled

The government is set to roll out sweeping reforms to the immigration system.

The skilled visa threshold will be raised to require a graduate qualification and a higher salary threshold, under plans outlined in an immigration white paper that will be presented in parliament on Monday.

For jobs below this level, access to the immigration system will be “time-limited” and only granted if there are shortages “critical to the industrial strategy”.

Strategies to increase domestic skills and recruitment would also need to be drawn up, with a labour market evidence group set to be established to identify sectors “overly reliant on overseas labour”.

Under the plans to reduce net migration to the UK, employers will be told that they must train workers in the UK rather than turn to immigration to solve labour shortages.

Net migration – the difference between the number of people immigrating and emigrating to a country – soared when the UK left the EU in January 2020.

It reached 903,000 in the year to June 2023 before falling to 728,000 in mid-2024.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has blamed overseas recruitment for the rise in net migration over the last four years after Labour inherited a “failed” immigration system from the previous government.

“Migration must be properly controlled and managed so the system is fair,” Ms Cooper said.

Ms Cooper added: “Overseas recruitment soared at the same time as big increases in the number of people not working or in education here in the UK.

“The last government lost control of the immigration system and there was no proper plan to tackle skills shortages here at home.

“Under our Plan for Change, we are taking decisive action to restore control and order to the immigration system, raise domestic training and skills, and bring down net migration while promoting economic growth.”

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Meanwhile, the Conservatives will try to force a vote in parliament on capping the number of non-visitor visas that can be issued.

The party is trying to amend the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which if accepted would give the government the power to cap visas in line with the country’s needs, and allow them to be revoked if the limit is exceeded.

The Tories are also behind a separate amendment to the same bill which would look to disapply the Human Rights Act in asylum and deportation cases.

Responding to the government’s white paper, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said “fixing Britain’s migration crisis requires a new radical approach. Labour had the opportunity to do this and have failed”.

He added: “If Labour were serious about immigration, they’d back our binding immigration cap and back our plan to repeal the entire Human Rights Act from immigration matters. But they have got no grip, no guts and no plan.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary Chris Philp and Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice will be among the guests on Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday show from 8.30am today.

UK

Ukraine presses Russia for 30-day ceasefire as Starmer among leaders in Kyiv for talks

Published

22 hours ago

May 10, 2025

admin

Ukraine presses Russia for 30-day ceasefire as Starmer among leaders in Kyiv for talks

Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.

Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.

“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.

Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.

European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing

Dominic Waghorn

International affairs editor

@DominicWaghorn

The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.

But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.

The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.

The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.

European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.

Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.

But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.

Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.

“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.

But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.

“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.

“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”

👉Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app👈

The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.

They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.

Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.