A boy who went missing in 2017 and was found in France this week has spoken to his grandmother and is expected to return to the UK in the “next few days”, police have said.
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes, of the Greater Manchester force, said Susan Caruana was “content” he was her grandson, Alex Batty, but further checks would be carried out when he arrived home.
Image: Alex’s mother Melanie Batty
The family of the youngster, now aged 17, are said to be “massively relieved”.
Alex disappeared with his mother and grandfather six years ago during a family holiday to Spain.
He is believed to have been abducted by the pair to live an “alternative” lifestyle abroad.
Despite international public appeals, Alex’s grandmother – his legal guardian – had not seen him since he left the UK.
Mr Sykes said: “I think I speak on behalf of the whole of Greater Manchester Police when I say we are relieved and overjoyed to receive the news from the French authorities that, they believe Alex Batty has been found safe and well.
“It’s been six years since his disappearance.
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“This is a huge moment for Alex, for his family and for the community in Oldham.”
He added: “The young man and Alex’s grandmother spoke in video call last night.
“And whilst she is content that this is indeed Alex, we obviously have further checks to do when he returns to the United Kingdom.
“Our main priority now is to see Alex returned home to his family in the UK and our investigation team are working around the clock with partner agencies and the French authorities to ensure they are all fully supported.
“Alex and his family remain our focus and we still have some work to do in establishing the full circumstances surrounding his disappearance and where he has been in all those years.
“I can only imagine the emotions they have experienced as a family throughout this ordeal.”
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Student recalls rescuing teenager
Mr Sykes said: “We’re working hard with the French authorities to bring Alex back as soon as possible and he’s getting well cared for by the French authorities.
“We’re in close liaison with them and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our priority is to get him back to the UK and getting back to his family in Oldham as soon as possible.
“I expect it to happen over the next few days.”
Mr Sykes said he had “no idea” where the teenager had been and needed to speak to Alex to “establish the full facts”.
He told reporters the focus was on the teenager’s welfare, but added: “Obviously his mother is part of that conversation and investigation.”
Image: Alex Batty went missing when he was aged just 11. Pic: GMP
Image: Alex’s grandfather David Batty
However, Mr Sykes declined to answer whether the teenager’s mother Melanie Batty, 43, and 64-year-old grandfather David Batty are suspects in his disappearance.
Questioned on how Alex and his grandmother Ms Caruana were feeling, Mr Sykes said: “From what I have seen from the officers that have spoken to the grandmother, she has a whole host of emotions and feelings as you could imagine.
“The French authorities have been looking after Alex really, really well.
“Our real concern is how we bring Alex back to the UK in a safe way and make sure we look after his wellbeing.”
Mr Sykes continued: “The family here in Oldham … they are obviously massively relieved and a whole host of emotions are going through their minds at the moment as they come to terms with this good news.”
Mr Accidini told Sky News Alex revealed since being kidnapped by his mother they had lived in a luxury house in Spain with around 10 people as part of a “spiritual community”, before moving to France in around 2021.
The teenager said he had been hiking in nearby mountains for more than four days in an attempt to return to England.
Two men have been arrested after a customer was stabbed to death inside a Lloyds bank.
The victim – a man in his 30s – was attacked at the branch in St Peter’s Street, Derby, at around 2.35pm on Tuesday.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, Derbyshire Police said.
A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of murder, while another man in his 30s is being held on suspicion of assisting an offender. Both remain in police custody.
They were detained around 6pm at the same property in Western Road, Normanton.
Detective Inspector Tony Owen said: “No one else was hurt and while the investigation is at an early stage, at this time we are treating it as an isolated incident.”
The victim has not yet been formally identified, but police said his family had been made aware.
“Good luck, because it’s a shithole here,” a prisoner shouts as we walk around the grounds at HMP Foston Hall.
Other inmates described this women’s prison in Derbyshire as a “holiday camp”, even “rehab”.
There was no one homogenous view, but there is also not one type of prisoner here – it is home to both murderers and shoplifters.
We’ve come to talk to people ahead of the publication of the sentencing review in the coming days. It’s likely to recommend the scrapping of short sentences for some lower-level crimes, and suggest prison isn’t the best place to punish certain “vulnerable” groups of offenders, including women.
“My kind of theft, I nick chocolate from shops,” inmate Connie Parsons told us as we gathered in her cell.
She’s been convicted of shoplifting nine times and says she’s been in and out of prison since she was 15 years old.
“I normally only get four weeks, three weeks, two weeks. It’s a constant cycle of going out, committing crime,” she said.
Image: Connie has a teenage son but hasn’t seen him for years
At points, Parsons has been homeless and addicted to drugs.
“I used to just come to prison before to have a little lie down and get myself well… to keep myself safe,” she said. “But this prison, you’re not safe… I never self-harmed before I came to this prison. And now I self-harm quite a lot.”
She has a young teenage son on the outside. “I know this might sound harsh, but I think it’s got to the point now I don’t know what to miss about him. But I think about him every single day,” she said.
‘For lots of women, prison is the right place to be’
We put Parsons’ case to the prisons minister, Lord Timpson, who said it was “really sad to hear”, adding he sees “lots of people like Connie” in the prison system.
Pressed on how some will view Parsons as a repeat offender, perhaps deserving of prison, Lord Timpson said: “For lots of women, prison is the right place to be, but where there are certain circumstances, for example non-violent offences for women… you need to work out what is the right path to make sure they don’t commit further crime.”
Lord Timpson said for someone like Parsons, he’d like to see the use of an intensive supervision court or as he called it “problem-solving court”. These work by judges monitoring the progress of offenders on community sentences, offering “wraparound” support, including housing, help for addiction issues and mental health.
Image: Tilat Ajmal served less than three months
Prisoner leaves with jail on her CV
“I had a job, I ain’t got a job now,” said Tilat Ajmal.
Before she went to prison, Ajmal worked for the NHS as a cleaner for 18 years.
As we filmed, she was leaving jail after serving less than three months for smuggling an item into prison while visiting someone. It was her first offence.
Her bags were packed, and in them was a CV she’d prepared. But she didn’t seem hopeful.
“I think it’s a bit bad having a conviction, I’ve been working all my life,” she said.
“As soon as coming out of them gates, I think you just have hundreds and thousands of things going through your head.”
‘Just enough time to rip their lives apart’
After we filmed at the prison, Sky News joined a support session at a women’s centre in Nottingham. It offers mandatory services to people serving sentences in the community, and also those on probation or licence periods.
I asked a case worker to explain why certain women offenders should be considered unique in the criminal justice system.
“I think what happens when a man goes to prison is that there is usually a woman holding everything together,” said Rachel Strong.
“He will be released from prison, his home will still be there, his family. He may have lost his job but there will be someone there. He will come out to his support network in place.
“That woman is that support network – so when she goes to prison, there’s nobody holding that together. People will lose their homes, sometimes their children are taken into care.
“Usually when women are sent to prison it’s for short sentences. Not enough time for anything productive, just enough time to rip their lives apart.”
Image: Donna Pritchards
‘It’s like rehab’
“I don’t mind prison, it’s like rehab,” said Donna Pritchards, who has been to HMP Foston Hall three times.
“I know you get clean when you’re here, and I needed it.”
Drugs are ‘main issue’ in prison
Others told us it was “easy” to get hold of drugs inside jail, with one prisoner describing some leading a “life of luxury”, with jail being like a “holiday camp”.
Amanda Brewer, drug strategy lead, told us: “Illicit drugs are our main issue day to day in everything that we do.
“They’re the main drivers for violence, they can cause self-harm issues, they cause vulnerability.”
Prisoners are also “trading” prescription drugs between one another.
‘Prison is not a nice place to be’
As the government explores greater use of alternatives to custody and scrapping certain short prison sentences, I asked the prisons minister whether criminals might see their approach as a “soft touch”.
“Prison is not a nice place to be,” said Lord Timpson, “but they need to turn their lives around there.”
The government commissioned the sentencing review alongside the creation of the Women’s Justice Board because they have an overcrowding crisis across the prison estate. But they also fundamentally believe prison isn’t the best form of punishment for certain types of offenders.
Women offenders in England and Wales are likely to be disproportionately impacted by the recommendations made in the review.
That’s because we expect it to suggest the scrapping of certain short sentences. In 2022, the Prison Reform Trust found over half (58%) of terms given to women were for less than six months.
Women are also considered by ministers to be a “vulnerable” group, with prison having a knock-on impact on their lives and potential for reoffending. Many report being a victim of crimes like domestic abuse, and 55% of female prisoners are mothers.
After two days of rare and unique access to different parts of the criminal justice system, it’s clear many feel prison isn’t working for female offenders. But what exactly a greater use of alternatives to custody looks like will take some time to figure out.
New portraits of the King and Queen, commissioned to commemorate their coronation in 2023, have been unveiled.
The two separate full-length paintings of Charlesand Camilla were made by artists Peter Kuhfeld and Paul Benny, respectively.
Image: Pic: Reuters
The artists were personally chosen by the King and Queen, who were joined at the unveiling by Camilla’s daughter Laura Lopes.
Mr Kuhfeld, who has known the monarch for more than 40 years, added he hopes his depiction of Charles captured both “the man and the King”.
Mr Benny also said about the Queen: “She said nothing but wonderful things about it, more importantly Laura liked it – you know when the kids like it, you’re probably on the right track.”
Image: Pics: PA
Their portraits will be hung in the National Gallery until 5 June, before moving to their permanent home in Buckingham Palace’s Throne Room.