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Warning – contains graphic details of sexual assault, self-harm and suicide.

The first time she was groped at work, Freya says she was 24 years old, a newly qualified paramedic, and was cleaning out the cupboards of the ambulance station crew room.

“He came behind me without me realising. I was cleaning away, and he put his hands around my body and grabbed my breasts,” said Freya, which is not her real name.

“Then he said, ‘Well, I won’t bother doing that again’.

“People just laughed, some didn’t even look up from the TV. Like it was nothing, completely normal.”

Her story mirrors that of other current and former paramedics who, in several interviews with Sky News, painted a picture of widespread sexual harassment and a toxic culture of misogyny.

The head of the College of Paramedics, Tracy Nicholls, said: “Problems exist in every [NHS] trust, across all four countries in the United Kingdom.”

NHS England told Sky News that any form of sexual misconduct was “completely unacceptable” and every trust had committed to an action plan to improve sexual safety.

Tracy Nicholls, Chief Executive of the College of Paramedics. Still from Rachael Venables Sky News report on sexual harassment and misogyny in the ambulance service.
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Chief executive of the College of Paramedics Tracy Nicholls

‘I had the career I loved stolen from me’

Freya said she put up with jokes and comments for more than a decade – until one day she was locked in the back of an ambulance and sexually assaulted by a senior colleague.

“He just put his hand straight down my top. I was like, in shock. I couldn’t move. I didn’t know how to react. I just froze, absolutely froze,” she said.

“If that wasn’t enough, he then took my breast out. I remember him sucking on my nipple.

“Then, he took out his pen… and he drew a smiley face above and below my nipple.

“I remember going into a station immediately when we got back, and I washed and scrubbed myself and got rid of the ink. He took a photo of it as well on his phone to send to me.”

Freya said it destroyed both her career and mental health.

“I have scars – mentally and physically. I had the career I loved stolen from me. And I’m lonely now, I’m on my own, because I can’t trust anyone.”

She was later rushed to hospital for trying to amputate her breast and even tried to take her own life.

Freya has since left the ambulance service and received a payout from her former employer.

West Midlands Ambulance Service ambulance. Still from Sky News report on sexual harassment and misogyny in the ambulance service generally

‘A minority just feel that behaviour is acceptable’

After students began speaking up about their experiences of harassment, the College of Paramedics began an investigation, running support workshops for the trainees.

Tracy Nicholls, chief executive of the professional body, said: “We have found that our student or female student council members are experiencing misogyny and sexual harassment – if not on a daily basis then on a weekly basis, by a minority of people who just feel that that behaviour is acceptable.”

Ms Nicholls is particularly concerned with the treatment of student paramedics, some of whom reported to the College being pressured into things in exchange for being passed on assignments.

She said: “Sometimes it’s perceived as banter, but immediately there’s a power imbalance there for that student. And sometimes it progresses to a really difficult space where they say ‘I won’t sign you off, until maybe you come out for a date with me’ or ‘I won’t sign you off until you send me a picture of yourself’.”

Ms Nicholls said she would tell her two granddaughters not to join the ambulance service, unless things dramatically change.

Still from Rachael Venables Sky News report on sexual harassment and misogyny in the ambulance service

‘Fresh meat’

Laura – not her real name – is currently a paramedic for a different ambulance service.

She describes sexual harassment as “incessant” in the profession. She says students and new recruits are routinely referred to as “fresh meat”, subjected to sexual comments, questions and jokes – even in front of patients – and are continually sexualised by some male colleagues.

“It’s exhausting,” she said. “You come to work wanting to help your patients but every day you’re dealing with inappropriate behaviour and sexual comments.”

“I realised I looked forward to the winter months where it’s colder, where I can wear my jacket more often so that I’m more covered up.”

“We’ve got the same uniform, you know, we’ve got a standardised unisex uniform, and I shouldn’t have to feel like I’m being objectified and looked up and down by my colleagues, but that’s what happens.”

Do you have a story you would like to share? Email sky.today@sky.uk or Whatsapp 07583000853

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Laura is also concerned about the prevalence of relationships between mentors and mentees.

“I’m not saying relationships in the workplace are completely off the cards,” she said.

“But, very often the stories I’ve heard of include mentors who have got wives and kids at home, and almost preying on these students who they think don’t know any better.

“And the student looks up to this paramedic, and the mentor will play on that. And will take advantage of the power that they have.”

Laura loves her job and says she’s speaking out because she wants change to ensure she and other women feel safe enough to stay in the service.

Fear of reprisals

Carol King, a former operations manager at South Western Ambulance Service, where she was in charge of 130 staff, says there’s an inherent power imbalance and vulnerability to working as a paramedic that abusers can exploit.

“So you’ve usually got two people together in an ambulance, obviously it’s isolating, you’re really vulnerable. If there’s an age gap the newer paramedic or trainee might see the older one as their idol.

“And if something does happen you’re afraid of saying anything to anybody senior because you always think you’re going to get reprisals, possibly that you won’t get another job, you won’t be able to move up the career ladder.”

Ms King left the Ambulance Service in 2017.

Carol King, former operations manager at South Western Ambulance Service. Still from Rachael Venables Sky News report on sexual harassment and misogyny in the ambulance service.
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Carol King, a former operations manager at South Western Ambulance Service

John Martin, chief executive at the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT), said: “We do not tolerate any member of staff not demonstrating our trust values and behaviours…

“We expect everybody – our people, volunteers and all those that engage with our organisation – to commit to ensuring SWASFT is a safe, supportive and inclusive work place for all.

“We have robust policies and procedures in place for colleagues and volunteers, who include our students, to raise concerns, and we encourage anyone affected by inappropriate conduct to have the confidence to come forward to enable us to take appropriate action.”

‘Completely unacceptable’

The complaints have been backed by a series of reports in recent years into various trusts.

This winter, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published a report highlighting concerns for “sexual safety” of staff working in the sector.

They found sexual harassment is deemed “acceptable” or a “rite of passage” in NHS trusts, which “normalises or creates a toxic culture” with “risks to mental and physical health”, and “potentially patient safety”.

They suggested the reason for such a culture lay in “specific factors, such as the nature of working within the ambulance service, having a hierarchical organisation, and having a workforce that until recently has been male dominated, are all thought to contribute to some potential issues with culture or attitudes”.

An NHS spokesperson said: “Any form of sexual misconduct is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the NHS.

“NHS England is taking action to ensure the safety of patients, staff and students by rolling out better reporting mechanisms, training and support as part of the NHS’s new Sexual Safety Charter, and all trusts and local health systems have been asked to appoint a domestic abuse and sexual violence lead, with more than 300 now in place across England.

“Every ambulance trust in England has committed to a single action plan – co-produced by those who have faced misogyny or sexual harassment in the workplace – which commits to improving sexual safety in the ambulance service.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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Woman’s body found in car boot in east London – as murder investigation launched by two police forces

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Woman's body found in car boot in east London - as murder investigation launched by two police forces

A murder investigation has been launched after a woman’s body was found in the boot of a car in east London.

Detectives said a murder inquiry has been launched into the “suspicious” discovery in Ilford.

The woman, who has not been named but is from Corby in Northamptonshire, may have been the victim of a “targeted incident”, police say.

“Fast track” enquiries were made after the force was contacted by a member of the public with concerns about the welfare of the woman.

This led to the discovery of a body inside a car boot.

Northamptonshire Police said: “The investigation is ongoing and there will be continued police activity over the weekend in various locations, including Corby and Ilford.

“Although we believe that this was a targeted incident and there is no wider risk to members of the public, extra patrols will be taking place in Corby in the coming days for reassurance purposes.”

Detectives from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit major crime team and the Metropolitan Police are working on the case, to try and establish the circumstances that led to the woman’s death.

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Police investigating criminal offence after Daily Telegraph columnist ‘dumbfounded’ by social media post probe

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Police investigating criminal offence after Daily Telegraph columnist 'dumbfounded' by social media post probe

Essex Police say they are investigating an alleged criminal offence of inciting racial hatred, after Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson said she was “dumbfounded and upset” when officers knocked on her door last Sunday.

Ms Pearson revealed she was told she was being investigated over a year-old deleted post online.

She said she wasn’t informed which post had been reported, but suggested it could have been related to the 7 October attacks in Israel or pro-Palestine marches.

She claimed the officers told her she was being investigated for a NCHI (a none crime hate incident) an incident involving an act which is perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards persons with a particular characteristic, but is not illegal.

NCHI reports have long been controversial, with many citing free speech concerns, and Ms Pearson’s account of the police visit has led to widespread support from Conservatives and online commentators, including Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

But an Essex Police spokesperson has told Sky News its investigation was never for an NCHI, and that the matter was always being treated as an investigation into an alleged criminal offence of inciting racial hatred.

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Speaking on her Planet Normal podcast on Wednesday, Ms Pearson said she found the visit “chilling”.

More from Politics

“I was dumbfounded, upset, it’s not very nice,” she said. “I was in my dressing gown on the step of the house, these two coppers were there just outside the door.

“There were people gathering for the Remembrance Day parade so there were people watching from the other side of the road.

“Whatever I did or didn’t tweet, if somebody found it offensive, that to me is still not a reason for two policemen to come to my house on a Sunday morning.

“You know, they don’t do that for burglars, do they? We know policing is under-resourced and they are unable to attend often quite serious crimes.

“This was the most extraordinary overreach and state intrusion into my private life and I don’t think I did anything wrong and I think their response was outrageous.”

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In a statement, Essex Police said: “Officers attended an address in Essex and invited a woman to come to a voluntary interview.

“They said it related to an investigation into an alleged offence of inciting racial hatred, linked to a post on social media.

“For clarity: a complaint of a possible criminal offence was made to the police and this is why we called; to arrange an interview.

“Everyone was polite and professional throughout the brief conversation.”

They said an officer told Ms Pearson: “It’s gone down as an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online. That would be the offence.”

Essex Police say they have complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) over what they call “false reporting” regarding the ongoing investigation.

What is a non-crime hate incident?

Non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) are defined by the government as an incident involving an act which is perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards persons with a particular characteristic.

Those characteristics can include race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity.

These incidents do not amount to a criminal offence, but they are reported to police and recorded in case they escalate into more serious harm or indicate heightened community tensions.

It can be reported to police by anyone, whether they are directly affected by the alleged NCHI or not.

Not all incidents reported to police are recorded as NCHIs.

They need to meet this threshold, according to the government: “A single distinct event or occurrence which disturbs an individual’s, group’s or community’s quality of life or causes them concern.”

Furthermore, the personal data of the person reported should only be included in the reports if the incident in question presents a “real risk of significant harm” to individuals or groups with a particular characteristic and/or a real risk that a future criminal offence may take place against them.

The origins of NCHI recordings stem from the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, who was murdered by a gang of racist attackers in southeast London as he ran to catch a bus.

An inquiry into his death in 1999 called for the creation of “a comprehensive system of reporting and recording of all racist incidents and crimes”.

The first guidance on NCHI was published in 2005, but there have been updates over the years in response to scrutiny over protecting free speech.

The latest guidance was published in June 2023, when an updated code of practice set out a “common sense and proportionate approach that should be adopted by the police”.

The guidance, introduced under the Conservative government, clarified “that debate, humour, satire and personally-held views which are lawfully expressed are not, by themselves, grounds for the recording of an NCHI” and that an NCHI should not be recorded if police deem a report to be “trivial” or “irrational”.

In an interview with The Telegraph published yesterday, Kemi Badenoch said police visiting a journalist over a social media post was “absolutely wrong” and that “we need to look at the laws around non-crime hate incidents”.

“There has been a long-running problem with people not taking free speech seriously,” she said.

She challenged the prime minister to review the laws, saying: “Keir Starmer says he is someone who believes in these things. Now he needs to actually show that he does believe it. All we’ve seen from him is the opposite.”

Ms Badenoch added: “We need to stop this behaviour of people wasting police time on trivial incidents because they don’t like something, as if they’re in a nursery.

“It’s like children reporting each other. And I think that in certain cases, the police do it because they’re afraid that if they don’t do it, they will also be accused of not taking these issues seriously.”

Essex Police said the officers went to the address to invite Ms Pearson to attend a voluntary interview as part of their investigation, which was passed to them by another force.

“The report relates to a social media post which was subsequently removed,” the statement read.

“An investigation is now being carried out under Section 17 of the Public Order Act.”

Essex Police also said they made attempts to contact Ms Pearson before the visit.

Other prominent Conservative voices such as Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Chris Philp have also leapt to Ms Pearson’s defence online, as has X owner Elon Musk, who quoted a post about the incident and said: “This needs to stop.”

Police commentator Graham Wettone told Sky News the police are “duty bound to investigate allegations of crime”.

“They’ve had an allegation of crime made there,” he said. “They will investigate it. If at the end of this they decide that no criminal offence has been committed – and we’re not at that stage yet – then it can still be recorded as a none crime hate incident.”

The police, he said, are duty bound to keep a record of none crime hate incidents.

“Parliament said they want the police to do this, to investigate and record incidents like this. So they are doing exactly what parliament and society asked them to do, and they are getting criticism for doing what people want.”

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Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM

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Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions 'all day long' as farmers slam 'disrespectful' PM

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.

The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.

Sir Keir Starmer

Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.

Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”

He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.

“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”

He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.

And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.

‘PM should have addressed the protesters’

Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.

He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.

He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.

Farmers' tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales
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Farmers’ tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales

Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.

“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”

He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”

Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.

“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”

On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.

“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”

Read more:
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Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones
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Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones

Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.

But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.

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The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.

The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.

To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.

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