Gaynor Lord: New footage of missing Norwich woman released

Published

11 months ago

December 14, 2023

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New footage of missing mother-of-three Gaynor Lord, who was last seen on Friday, has been released.

The 55-year-old disappeared after leaving work early in Norwich city centre – with police describing her actions as “out of character”.

The new 33-second clip shows Mrs Lord walking up St Augustines Street at 4.01pm. It was the last time she was captured on CCTV, police said.

She is seen wearing glasses and a long coat as she walks along the road – which is busy with passing traffic.

Follow latest: Police give update on mother
Police release timeline of last known movements

The street is close to Wensum Park, where Mrs Lord was last seen by a passer-by, and where some of her possessions, including her mobile phone and glasses, were later found.

Other CCTV footage released earlier in the week shows her leaving her job at Jarrolds department store at 2.45pm – an hour and 15 minutes earlier than scheduled – and walking towards Norwich Cathedral.

Yoga pose sighting

Mrs Lord was later seen leaving the cathedral’s grounds just after 3.20pm, before making her way through the city centre to St Augustines Street.

Police were alerted that Mrs Lord, who is married, had gone missing on Friday after her possessions were found in Wensum Park just after 8pm. Her ID was also found in her handbag at the scene.

The white shirt and yellow top she was wearing, along with two rings, a mobile phone and glasses, were also found scattered nearby.

Her olive-coloured coat was discovered in the River Wensum, which runs alongside the park.

An eyewitness told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that she saw a woman believed to be Mrs Lord in the park.

She described seeing the woman remove her coat and put it on the ground, before “sort of performing a yoga pose”. The witness added that something “seemed a bit off” because it was “starting to get dark”.

‘We can’t explain some of her behaviour’

Officers believe Mrs Lord entered the water and specialist underwater teams are involved in the search.

In a press conference at the scene on Thursday afternoon, Chief Superintendent Dave Buckley said officers had not been able to establish her state of mind on the day she went missing.

He said that “everything we know is pointing to a high probability that Gaynor went into the water”, but added: “Nobody’s seen her go into the river.”

Detectives are keeping an “open mind” about what happened, but Ch Supt Buckley described some of Mrs Lord’s actions on Friday as “out of character”.

He added: “We can’t explain some of her behaviour that day.”

The senior officer said detectives were speaking to the mother-of-three’s friends and family and “anybody who can help us that we know she’s had contact with”.

He added: “We have got hold of her mobile device, we will work our way through that systematically… and see if we can find out more accurately why we’ve ended up where we have.

“It would be really premature I think if I offered too much suggestion as to what I think has happened.”

However, the senior officer said detectives did have an idea why Mrs Lord left work early, but did not provide any details.

He told reporters: “We’ve got some indications as to why she behaved the way in which she did but what we’re doing is we’re just working backwards now to actually truly understand what may have taken place.

“We’re just cautious of everything we know at the moment”.

Police keen to learn lessons from Bulley case

Police are keen to hear from anyone who saw Mrs Lord between 2.50pm and 3.23pm – because it was “not clear where she goes inside the cathedral grounds during this time”.

Some 30 people have already come forward with information in relation to the disappearance.

Ch Supt Buckley also confirmed that his officers were in direct contact with Lancashire Police – who led the search for Nicola Bulley at the start of the year.

“In terms of Lancashire, we’ve reached out to them and to investigators that worked on that case,” he said.

In further cross-service collaboration, he said a specialist team from Lincolnshire was also assisting in the search.

No marks were found on the grass by the river to indicate that someone had gone in the water, Norfolk Police confirmed.

The force said specialist divers were working in an “extraordinarily challenging environment” and warned it could take “a couple of days” or longer to complete the search of the stretch of river.

Ch Supt Buckley said: “We have been speaking to the dive team on site and visibility in the River Wensum is between zero and one foot underwater with temperatures as low as 4C.

“As soon as you reach one foot in front of you, visibility goes and then there’s obviously leaves, branches, debris, and the flow of the river to contend with, which is the biggest problem because there’s been so much rainfall.”

Sonar equipment is also being used in the search, he added.

A total of 60 officers are involved in the operation to find her.

UK

Teenage girl killed on M5 in Somerset after getting out of police car named

Published

2 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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Teenage girl killed on M5 in Somerset after getting out of police car named

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.

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.”

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.

UK

Mohamed al Fayed’s brother Salah also abused women, say female Harrods employees

Published

2 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed's brother Salah also abused women, say female Harrods employees

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.

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”.

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.”

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

Published

2 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.