Ashley Dale: Council worker shot dead after row at Glastonbury ‘reignited feud’

Published

2 years ago

October 5, 2023

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A council worker was shot dead after a row at Glastonbury music festival reignited a feud, a court has heard.

Ashley Dale, 28, was hit in the abdomen by a bullet fired from a machine gun at her home in Liverpool on 21 August last year.

Opening the trial of the five men accused of her murder at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, Paul Greaney KC said: “There can, suggests the prosecution, be no doubt that Ashley’s death was murder.

“She was shot deliberately and, indeed, mercilessly by a man who entered her home intending to kill.”

He told the court Miss Dale had attended Glastonbury festival in June 2022 with her boyfriend Lee Harrison.

Four of the men accused of her murder – Sean Zeisz, 28, Niall Barry, 26, Ian Fitzgibbon, 28 and James Witham, 41 – were also present at the festival.

The jury heard Zeisz was assaulted at Glastonbury and his attackers included a man called Jordan Thompson.

Following the assault, Zeisz’s girlfriend Olivia McDowell stayed with Mr Thompson, Miss Dale and Mr Harrison, compounding Zeisz’s “loss of face”, Mr Greaney added.

The court heard that in the following weeks, Barry sided with Zeisz as he already had a “longstanding antagonism” towards Mr Harrison, who Mr Greaney said appeared to be involved in a “world of criminality”.

Mr Greaney continued: “Niall Barry used these new events at Glastonbury to reignite that old feud.”

He said that on August 20, Fitzgibbon, Zeisz and Barry dispatched “foot soldiers” Witham and the fifth defendant – Joseph Peers, 29 – armed with a Skorpion sub-machine gun to kill Mr Harrison at his home and “to deal with anyone that got in their way, leaving behind no witnesses”.

Miss Dale, whose family members wiped away tears at times during the opening, was at the couple’s home on Leinster Road with her dog on the night of the attack, while Mr Harrison was out.

The jury was told Witham admitted the manslaughter of Miss Dale, but said he shot her by accident in the early hours of 21 August having gone to “send a message” to Mr Harrison following a dispute about drug dealing in North Wales.

Mr Greaney said: “It was James Witham who forced the front door to Leinster Road, James Witham who entered the house and James Witham who proceeded to open fire on Ashley, shooting and killing her.

“James Witham then walked upstairs and into a bedroom, where he fired five bullets into the wall. He did that, the prosecution suggests, to send a firm message to Lee Harrison. That message was that he, Lee Harrison, had been the principal target of this attack and he too should be dead, along with Ashley.”

The court heard Peers drove the gunman to Miss Dale’s address in a Hyundai.

All five deny murdering Miss Dale and also deny conspiracy to murder Lee Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, a Skorpion sub-machine gun, and ammunition.

A sixth defendant, Kallum Radford, 25, denies assisting an offender.

UK

Search for suspects after ‘pepper spray assault’ at Heathrow Airport

Published

2 hours ago

December 7, 2025

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Search for suspects after 'pepper spray assault' at Heathrow Airport

Police are investigating after a “number of people” were believed to have been attacked with pepper spray by a group of men who then fled.

Officers were called at 8.11am to a multi-storey car park at Terminal 3 following reports of multiple people being assaulted, said the Metropolitan Police.

A statement by the force said: “A number of people were sprayed with what is believed to be a form of pepper spray by a group of men who then left the scene.”

What we know so far
• Several assaulted with ‘pepper spray’
• One arrest – police hunt for more suspects
• Incident said to involve people known to each other
• Incident not being treated as terrorism
• 21 people treated by ambulance service – five taken to hospital
• Injuries not believed to be life-threatening
• Traffic disruption reported – but train lines since reopened

Live updates on Heathrow incident

Armed police attended and one man was arrested on suspicion of assault. He remains in custody and enquiries continue to trace further suspects.

Police are not treating the Heathrow incident as terrorism.

London Ambulance Service also attended the scene and treated 21 people, including five who were taken to hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.

There is currently some disruption to traffic in the area and Terminal 3 remains open.

Increased police presence

Commander Peter Stevens said: “At this stage, we believe the incident involved a group of people known to each other, with an argument escalating and resulting in a number of people being injured.

“Our officers responded quickly and there will be an increased police presence at Heathrow Airport throughout the morning, to continue enquiries and ensure the safety of those in the area.

“We are not treating this incident as terrorism. I understand the public’s concerns and would like to thank those in the area for their cooperation this morning.”

‘Significant incident’

The London Ambulance Service said a “significant incident” was declared.

There was a “full deployment” of resources and the ambulance service is treating it as ongoing.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “We were called at 8.14am today to assist emergency service colleagues at an incident near Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport. Firefighters remain at the scene.”

Heathrow is advising passengers to allow extra time when travelling to the airport and to check with their airline for any queries.

There was disruption to train and Tube services, with some delays on the Elizabeth Line and the Piccadilly Line.

National Rail said on its website that lines had been reopened allowing trains to call at Heathrow “following the emergency services dealing with an incident at the airport”.

It said: “Although lines have now reopened, disruption is expected to continue whilst services return to normal, delays of up to 10 minutes and cancellations can be expected until 11.45am.”

National Highways East said on X: “A serious incident within the @HeathrowAirport Tunnel has resulted in the closure of the #M4 spur road southbound between M4 and J4A.

“@metpoliceuk responding. We’ll keep you updated.”

It later said: “Incident has been resolved and all closures lifted on the #M4 southbound @HeathrowAirport spur road between #M4 and J4A.”

People on social media have reported vehicles were being searched at the airport.

A user on X said there was a “major backlog of cars unable to leave the vicinity or enter the drop-off zone” at Terminal 3.

In footage on X, several armed police were seen in a car park.

UK

England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

Published

20 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

England and Scotland fans have found out where their World Cup group games will be played when the tournament kicks off in June.

England, who are in Group L, will begin their tournament against Croatia in Dallas at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 17 June. They will then go on to face Ghana in Boston at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 23 June and Panama in New Jersey, New York, at 5pm EST (10pm BST) on 27 June.

Scotland are in Group C, and their first match will be against Haiti in Boston at 9pm EST on 13 June (2am GMT the following morning).

They will go up against Morocco also in Boston at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 19 June and then Brazil in Miami at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 24 June.

Fans are expected to rush to sort their travel and accommodation plans now that they know where and when the matches take place.

Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to find out if they will qualify.

Wales must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they beat these play-off opponents, they will secure their place in Group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

However, Northern Ireland will also be vying to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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UK

World Cup 2026 – who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Published

1 day ago

December 6, 2025

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World Cup 2026 - who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Scotland and England now know who they will face in the group stage of the next summer’s world cup.

But the fates of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales won’t be determined until they compete in pre-tournament play-off matches in March.

England are in Group L along with Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Their first match will be against Croatia, who beat them in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Scotland’s first match will be against Haiti, in Group C.

Brazil and Morocco are the other Group C teams – both countries were also in the same opening group as Scotland in the 1998 World Cup in France.

Wales have yet to find out if they will qualify as they must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, and then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they can overcome these play-off opponents then they will secure their place in Group B along with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. But Northern Ireland will also be vying and hoping to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Republic of Ireland also need to get through the play-offs first and are paired against the Czech Republic for their semi-final. Should Ireland win that match, they will need to beat either North Macedonia or Denmark to get to the finals where an opening group containing joint hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea awaits.