UK weather: Storm Babet forces evacuations in red alert area of Angus due to floods
Hundreds of residents in northeast Scotland at risk of flooding are to be evacuated as Storm Babet sweeps across the country.
A severe flood warning is set to be put in place for the River South Esk area, Angus Council has said.
The council has identified 335 homes in Brechin and 87 in Tannadice and Finavon where residents will be asked to “evacuate for their own safety”.
The local authority has set up three rest centres for all those affected.
Those that have been evacuated or need shelter can go to Brechin Community Campus, Montrose Sports Centre or Forfar Community Campus.
The council said: “Please bring your own sleeping bags, pillows, blankets and any medication you need.”
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Brechin resident John Stewart with his flood defence
A map showing the areas where people have been ordered to evacuate
Brechin resident John Stewart, 82, said he has no intention of leaving his home.
The pensioner said he has built a wall around his garden and has a floodgate in place to protect his house from water damage.
Mr Stewart said he can’t leave because his “wife’s not well” and is prepared to take the risk.
SEPA is concerned the River South Esk in Brechin will burst its banks
A section of the A933 near Brechin is now impassable due to a fallen tree
Earlier in the day, First Minister Humza Yousaf warned all those in Scotland to “please listen to the advice wherever you are in the country”.
He added: “And to those particularly that are in the red weather warning area, my message is a simple one: Listen to the advice, do not travel.
“We know there is going to be significant disruption. There could be harm to people if they do not listen to that advice.”
It comes as severe weather warnings are in place in parts of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland as Storm Babet hits the UK.
A workman clears the drains in the village of Edzell in Angus
The downpour has already caused disruption to Scotland’s transport network.
A number of ScotRail and Stagecoach services have been cancelled, and around 10,000 homes in Scotland have been affected by power cuts due to the storm.
The RNLI is advising people to stay away from the coast, highlighting the risk of being washed out to sea, and the British Geological Survey has also warned that the storm could cause landslides in areas where the weather is the worst.
Aberdeenshire Council said it will be setting up rest centres in Stonehaven and Laurencekirk for residents unable to remain in their homes.
The local authority has also postponed funerals until next week due to the weather.
A Brechin resident stacking sandbags outside a door
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued 12 flood alerts and eight flood warnings.
In England, the Environment Agency issued five flood warnings – mostly in the North East – and 36 flood alerts, mostly in the Midlands.
An amber warning of rain has been issued for parts of northern England and parts of northern Wales. The warning lasts from midday tomorrow until 6am on Saturday.
The flooding in Midleton, Co Cork
Areas under the warning include Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham, Chester and Bradford.
Ireland was the first to get the brunt of Storm Babet as it swept in from the Atlantic.
Members of the Irish Defence Forces had to be deployed in the town of Midleton, Co Cork, in the south of Ireland, where more than 100 properties were flooded.
A flood defence barrier erected in Edzell’s Church Street
The local council said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in the space of 24 hours.
Brechin is within the Met Office’s red warning area. The worst of the rain is expected between 6pm on Thursday and 12pm on Friday.
Up to 220mm of rain is forecast in some areas of eastern Scotland, an amount close to the highest ever 24-hour total of 238mm at Sloy Main Adit, Argyll and Bute, in 1974.
Brechin is within the Met Office’s red warning area
The Met Office has said to expect:
• Danger to life from fast flowing or deep floodwater
• Extensive flooding to homes and businesses
• Collapsed or damaged buildings or structures
• Road closures and bus and train service delays and cancellations
• Dangerous driving conditions because of spray and flooded roads
• Loss of power and other essential services, such as gas, water and mobile phone service
• Communities completely cut off, perhaps for several days
Angus Council had already confirmed that schools and early years centres across the region would close at lunchtime on Thursday. They will remain closed on Friday.
Road teams across Angus have been actively deploying sandbags to resilience groups around vulnerable areas and buildings.
The council has a “limited supply” of sandbags available for residents.
A maximum of 20 each will be available while stocks last and can be picked up at the council’s roads depots in Brechin, Forfar and Arbroath.
A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.
Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.
She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.
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Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
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The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.
In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”
Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.
A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
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Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
UK
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
Read more on this story:
‘Fix care before assisted dying legislation’
Why assisted dying is controversial – and where it’s already legal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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