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A primary school teacher who murdered her boyfriend before burying him in their garden has been jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years.

Fiona Beal, 50, from Northampton, stabbed Nicholas Billingham, 42, to death sometime between October and November 2021.

After previously pleading guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter by reason of loss of control, Beal last month pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Billingham.

The Old Bailey heard she killed him in “cold blood” before burying his body in their back garden.

Nicholas Billingham. Pic: PA
Image:
Nicholas Billingham. Pic: PA

Mr Billingham’s partly-mummified remains were discovered four-and-a-half months after he was last seen on 1 November, 2021.

Handing her a life sentence on Thursday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: “Having moved and buried the body in the garden you then lied to his mother, numerous friends, all his family and yours as to what you had done and where he was.”

Earlier during the two-day sentencing hearing, Andrew Wheeler KC, defending, told the court Beal had demonstrated “courage” to admit the murder.

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The barrister also said Beal expressed “remorse” in journals she wrote, quoting one entry which recorded her reaching “breaking point” and apologising for a host of things.

It was also heard during the trial that Mr Billingham had affairs.

Mr Wheeler said the purpose for examining the evidence relating to Mr Billingham’s behaviour was not intended “to speak ill of the dead”, but that it was “relevant” to the murder and “does explain how (Beal) came to be broken”.

Fiona Beal. Pic: PA
Image:
Fiona Beal. Pic: PA

Beal had earlier described Mr Billingham as making “belittling comments” and calling her “old” and “fat”.

“To say that what happened eventually…was out of character does not in our submission begin to do it justice,” Mr Wheeler told the court.

On the first day of her sentencing hearing, the prosecution read out a letter Mr Billingham wrote to Beal after he had an affair during their 17-year relationship.

Fiona Beal's garden. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
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Beal buried her partner in a strip of ground to the left of the house. Pic: Northamptonshire Police

Fiona Beal's garden. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
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Fiona Beal’s garden. Pic: Northamptonshire Police

Fiona Beal's garden where she buried her partner. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Image:
Fiona Beal’s garden where she buried her partner. Pic: Northamptonshire Police

In the letter, Mr Billingham accepted his faults and described Beal as “kind hearted”, “generous” and “the most beautiful woman in the world”.

He wrote: “I promise to never again belittle you or make you feel rubbish again.

“My body, my heart, my love has been yours since the day I met you and will be until the day I die.”

A bloodstained mattress discovered in Fiona Beal's cellar. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Image:
A bloodstained mattress discovered in Fiona Beal’s cellar. Pic: Northamptonshire Police

On the day of his death, Mr Billingham had worked on a house renovation before returning to the home he shared with Beal in Northampton.

That evening, she killed him in a “carefully planned domestic execution”, the prosecution said.

Beal stabbed him in the neck and disposed of the body in a shallow grave at the side of their home like “building waste”.

Mr Billingham’s mother Yvonne Valentine last month told Sky News how she had visited the couple’s home in the days after the killing.

She said: “I walked into the house, in the living room, and the first thing I thought was, ‘oh, have you had a turn round of furniture? It all looks different’.

“Fiona offered me a Christmas drink and we sat there… but it always gets to me, because I think Nick was buried in the garden, just a few feet away and I didn’t know he was there.”

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In a victim impact statement, Ms Valentine branded Beal a “coward” and “exceptionally evil and cruel” to send her messages from her son’s phone to convince her he was safe and well.

In February 2022, Beal had been signed off work with anxiety, stress, depression and low mood.

The following month, she rented a cabin in Cumbria and sent messages to family members which gave them cause for concern over her wellbeing, prompting them to call police to check on her.

Fiona Beal's journal in which she wrote: "Hiding a body was hard."Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Image:
Fiona Beal’s journal in which she wrote: “Hiding a body was hard.”Pic: Northamptonshire Police

In the cabin, police found Beal’s journals containing a confession to the killing.

They also included reference to her having a split personality and an alter ego she called Tulip 22.

She also described how during the murder she told Mr Billingham he was killing her so he couldn’t do to another woman “what he has done to me”.

The journals triggered a police investigation and Beal was arrested in March 2022 after Mr Billingham’s body was discovered.

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‘Broken’ water industry set to be overhauled – nine key recommendations from landmark report

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'Broken' water industry set to be overhauled - nine key recommendations from landmark report

The system for regulating water companies in England and Wales should be overhauled and replaced with one single body, a major review of the sector has advised.

It has recommended abolishing regulator Ofwat as well as the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which ensures that public water supplies are safe.

The report, which includes 88 recommendations, suggests a new single integrated regulator to replace existing water watchdogs, mandatory water metering, and a social tariff for vulnerable customers.

The ability to block companies being taken over and the creation of eight new regional water authorities with another for all of Wales to deliver local priorities, has also been suggested.

The review, the largest into the water industry since privatisation in the 1980s, was undertaken by Sir Jon Cunliffe, a career civil servant who oversaw the biggest clean-up of Britain’s banking system in the wake of the financial crash.

He was coaxed out of retirement by Environment Secretary Steve Reed to lead the Independent Water Commission.

Here are nine key recommendations:

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• Single integrated water regulators – a single water regulator in England and a single water regulator in Wales. In England, this would replace Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and water-environment related functions from the Environment Agency and Natural England

• Eight new regional water system planning authorities in England and one national authority in Wales

• Greater consumer protection – this includes upgrading the consumer body Consumer Council for Water into an Ombudsman for Water to give stronger protection to customers and a clearer route to resolving complaints

• Stronger environmental regulation, including compulsory water meters

• Tighter oversight of water company ownership and governance, including new powers for the regulator to block changes in water company ownership

• Public health reforms – this aims to better manage public health risks in water, recognising the many people who swim, surf and enjoy other water-based activities

• Fundamental reset of economic regulation – including changes to ensure companies are investing in and maintaining assets

• Clear strategic direction – a new long-term National Water Strategy should be published by both the UK and Welsh governments with a “minimum horizon of 25 years”

• Infrastructure and asset health reforms – including new requirements for companies to map and assess their assets and new resilience standards

In a speech responding to Sir Jon’s report, Mr Reed is set to describe the water industry as “broken” and welcome the commission’s recommendations to ensure “the failures of the past can never happen again”.

Final recommendations of the commission have been published on Monday morning to clean up the sector and improve public confidence.

Major other suggested steps for the government include greater consumer protection by upgrading the Consumer Council for Water into an ombudsman with advocacy duties being transferred to Citizens Advice.

Stronger and updated regulations have been proposed by Sir Jon, including compulsory water metering, changes to wholesale tariffs for industrial users and greater water reuse and rainwater harvesting schemes. A social tariff is also recommended.

Oversight of companies via the ability to block changes in ownership of water businesses and the addition of “public benefit” clauses in water company licences.

To boost company financial resilience, as the UK’s biggest provider Thames Water struggles to remain in private ownership, the commission has recommended minimum financial requirements, like banks are subject to.

It’s hoped this will, in turn, make companies more appealing to potential investors.

The public health element of water has been recognised, and senior public health representation has been recommended for regional water planning authorities, as have new laws to address pollutants like forever chemicals and microplastics.

A “supervisory” approach has been recommended to intervene before things like pollution occur, rather than penalising the businesses after the event.

A long-term, 25-year national water strategy should be published by the UK and Welsh governments, with ministerial priorities given to water firms every five years.

Companies should also be required to map and assess their assets and resilience

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Inquiry launched to ‘uncover truth’ behind bloody clashes at Orgreave miners’ strike

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Inquiry launched to 'uncover truth' behind bloody clashes at Orgreave miners' strike

A new public inquiry will “uncover the truth” behind the so-called “Battle of Orgreave”, a bloody fight between striking miners and police officers in the 1980s.

One hundred and twenty people were injured in the violent confrontation on 18 June 1984, outside a coal processing factory in Orgreave, South Yorkshire.

Five thousand miners clashed with an equal number of armed and mounted police during a day of fighting.

Police used horse charges, riot shields and batons against the picketers, even as some were retreating.

5000 miners clashed with an equal number of armed and mounted police during a day of fighting
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Masses of miners and police clashed during the day of fighting

Police also used horse charges against protesters
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Police officers on horses charged against protesters

In the aftermath, miners were blamed for the violence in what campaigners believe was an institutional “frame-up”.

“There were so many lies,” says Chris Peace, from campaign group Orgreave Truth and Justice, “and it’s a real historic moment to get to this stage.”

“There’s a lot of information already in the public domain,” she adds, “but there’s still some papers that are embargoed, which will hopefully now be brought to light.”

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Campaigner Chris Peace
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Campaigner Chris Peace

Although dozens of miners were arrested, trials against them all collapsed due to allegations of unreliable police evidence.

Campaigners say some involved have been left with “physical and psychological damage”, but until now, previous governments have refused calls for a public inquiry.

Launching the inquiry today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky Newsi that she wanted to “make sure” campaigners now got “proper answers”.

“We’ve obviously had unanswered questions about what happened at Orgreave for over 40 years,” Ms Cooper says, “and when we were elected to government, we determined to take this forward.”

Although dozens of miners were arrested, trials against them all collapsed due to allegations of unreliable police evidence
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A police officer tackling a miner

Campaigners say some miners involved have been left with 'physical and psychological damage'
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A bleeding protester being led away by police during the ‘Battle of Orgreave’

The Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox
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The Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox, will chair the inquiry

The inquiry will be a statutory one, meaning that witnesses will be compelled to come and give evidence, and chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox.

“I’m really happy,” says Carl Parkinson, a former miner who was at Orgreave on the day of the clash, “but why has it took so long?”

“A lot of those colleagues and close friends have passed away, and they’ll never get to see any outcome.”

Former miner Carl Parkinson
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Former miner Carl Parkinson

Former miner Chris Skidmore
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Former miner Chris Skidmore

Mr Parkinson and Chris Skidmore, who was also there that day, were among the group of campaigners informed first-hand by Ms Cooper about the public inquiry at the Orgreave site.

“It wasn’t frightening to start off with,” Mr Skidmore remembers of the day itself, “but then what I noticed was the amount of police officers who had no identification numbers on. It all felt planned.”

“And it wasn’t just one truncheon,” says Mr Parkinson, “there were about 30, or 40. And it was simultaneous, like it was orchestrated – just boom, boom, boom, boom.

“And there’s lads with a split down their heads for no good reason, they’d done nothing wrong. We were just there to peacefully picket.”

Police used horse charges, riots shields and batons against the picketers, even as some were retreating
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Police used riot shields against the picketers, even as some were retreating

In the aftermath of the fighting, miners were blamed for the violence
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In the aftermath of the fighting, miners were blamed for the violence

In the intervening years, South Yorkshire Police have paid more than £400,000 in compensation to affected miners and their families.

But no official inquiry has ever looked at the documents surrounding the day’s events, the lead-up to it and the aftermath.

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“We need to have trust and confidence restored in the police,” says South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, “and part of that is about people, like this campaign, getting the justice that they deserve.

“Obviously, we’ve had things like Hillsborough, CSE [Child Sexual Exploitation] in Rotherham, and we want to turn the page.”

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New water ombudsman to give public stronger protections, government pledges

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'Broken' water industry set to be overhauled - nine key recommendations from landmark report

Consumers will get stronger protections with a new water watchdog – as trust in water companies takes a record dive.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed will announce on Monday that the government will set up the new water ombudsman with legal powers to resolve disputes, rather than the current voluntary system.

The watchdog will mean an expansion of the Consumer Council for Water’s (CCW) role and will bring the water sector into line with other utilities that have legally binding consumer watchdogs.

Consumers will then have a single point of contact for complaints.

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The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the new watchdog would help “re-establish partnership” between water companies and consumers.

A survey by the CCW in May found trust in water companies had reached a new low, with fewer than two-thirds of people saying they provided value for money.

Just 35% said they thought charges from water companies were fair – even before the impact could be felt from a 26% increase in bills in April.

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‘We’ll be able to eliminate sewage spillages’

Mr Reed is planning a “root and branch reform” of the water industry – which he branded “absolutely broken” – that he will reveal alongside a major review of the sector on Monday.

The review is expected to recommend the scrapping of water regulator Ofwat and the creation of a new one, to incorporate the work of the CCW.

Read more:
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Under-fire water regulator could be scrapped

sewage surfers water pollution protest brighton
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A water pollution protest by Surfers Against Sewage in Brighton

Campaigners and MPs have accused Ofwat of failing to hold water operators to account, while the companies complain a focus on keeping bills down has prevented appropriate infrastructure investment.

On Sunday, Mr Reed avoided answering whether he would get rid of Ofwat or not when asked on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.

He pledged to halve sewage pollution by water companies by 2030 and said Labour would eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages in a decade.

Mr Reed announced £104 billion of private investment to help the government do that.

Victoria Atkins MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “While stronger consumer protections are welcome in principle, they are only one part of the serious long-term reforms the water sector needs.

“We all want the water system to improve, and honesty about the scale of the challenge is essential. Steve Reed must explain that bill payers are paying for the £104 billion investment plan. Ministers must also explain how replacing one quango with another is going to clean up our rivers and lakes.

“Public confidence in the water system will only be rebuilt through transparency, resilience, and delivery.”

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