Failures ‘across multiple agencies’ contributed to murder of Zara Aleena

Published

1 year ago

June 26, 2024

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Failures “across multiple agencies” contributed to the murder of Zara Aleena, an inquest has found.

The 35-year-old law graduate was killed as she walked home from a night out in east London.

Her killer Jordan McSweeney was freed from prison nine days before he attacked Ms Aleena as she walked home in Ilford on 26 June 2022.

Ms Aleena died in hospital from a blunt force head injury and neck compression, the jury said.

On Wednesday, it found “Zara’s death was contributed to by the failure of multiple state agencies to act in accordance to policies and procedures – to share intelligence, accurately assess risk of serious harm, [and] act and plan in response to the risk in a sufficient, timely and coordinated way”.

There were “significant failures to appropriately assess risk” by the prison and probation service, with McSweeney not being rated high risk.

It added there was “failure to define, understand and execute roles and responsibilities across multiple agencies to manage the offender effectively”.

“Attempts [by the Metropolitan Police] to arrest the offender post-recall were impeded by a number of factors, including inaccurate data on the recall and a lack of professional curiosity and follow-ups on Saturday 25 June,” the jury said.

McSweeney was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years at the Old Bailey in December 2022 after admitting Ms Aleena’s murder and sexual assault.

In November 2023, he won a Court of Appeal bid to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence to 33 years.

Area coroner Nadia Persaud had asked jurors to consider whether any failings by the prison and probation services or Metropolitan Police contributed to Ms Aleena’s death.

Delays in recall to prison

Police were unable to make contact with McSweeney after he was released on licence on 17 June 2022, but probation waited five days before initiating his recall to prison.

He missed his probation appointment on the day he was let out, with his mother telling staff he had passed out drunk at her house. Although it was rescheduled twice, McSweeney did not attend either appointment and his mother said she did not know where he was.

Despite the lack of contact, his recall was not initiated until 22 June and the recall report was signed on 24 June 2022.

Police were given powers to arrest McSweeney at 4.10pm the same day. In the early hours of 26 June McSweeney murdered Ms Aleena.

Probation officer: McSweeney should have been graded high risk

His recently qualified probation officer Austin Uwaifo said McSweeney should have been graded high risk and, if he had been, he would have pushed for him to have been recalled to prison earlier.

Mr Uwaifo said: “At the time, the thinking was that because he came out on the Friday, my thinking was to give him the opportunity to return – possibly he came out and decided to, for whatever reason, decided to go out and get drunk.”

Mr Uwaifo said the probation office was not staffed over the weekend but he would have requested a faster out-of-hours emergency recall if McSweeney had been graded high risk.

Initial inquiries closed prematurely

The police officer who actioned McSweeney’s recall said initial inquiries into his whereabouts were closed prematurely and more checks should have been carried out.

Metropolitan Police operations sergeant Ian Batten said he did not foresee McSweeney being a risk to the public after receiving a recall to prison notice for him on 24 June 2022.

Mr Batten also said he did not know initial inquiries into McSweeney’s whereabouts were closed before the end of his shift.

UK

Fans to see Ticketmaster changes after Oasis investigation – here’s what they are

Published

6 hours ago

September 25, 2025

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Fans to see Ticketmaster changes after Oasis investigation - here's what they are

Fans will see a series of changes to Ticketmaster sales practices after an investigation into Oasis concert prices.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured a number of commitments from Ticketmaster after its investigation found it did not offer fans enough clarity on pricing.

Money latest: Ticketmaster forced to change sales process

It identified that Ticketmaster did not tell Oasis fans waiting in lengthy queues that standing tickets were being sold at two different prices – and that prices would jump as soon as the cheap tickets sold out.

It also said Ticketmaster sold some “platinum” tickets at almost 2.5 times the price of ‘standard’ tickets – without sufficiently explaining that they offered no additional benefits over some ‘standard’ tickets in the same areas of the venue.

Ticketmaster will now be required to:

Tell fans 24 hours in advance if a tiered pricing system is being used. This means fans will know beforehand if there are multiple prices for the same type of ticket, and that more expensive ones will be released once the cheapest sell out;
Provide more information about ticket prices during online queues, helping fans anticipate how much they might have to pay;
Give additional information to help fans make the best decisions, and give more information about the prices of tickets sold using tiered pricing;
Not use any misleading ticket labels, giving the impression that one ticket is better than another when that is not the case;
Provide regular reports to the CMA on how it has implemented the changes over the next two years to ensure robust compliance.

Failure to implement these measures could result in enforcement action.

Separate to the CMA report, Ticketmaster have now also stopped using “platinum” labels in the UK.

The CMA said it hopes the measures will send a “clear message” to other ticketing websites, adding: “If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”

“Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information, upfront,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.

“We can’t ensure every fan gets a ticket for events as popular as the Oasis tour, but we can help ensure that next time an event like this comes along, fans have the information they need, when they need it.”

Responding to the findings, Ticketmaster said: “We welcome the CMA’s confirmation there was no dynamic pricing, no unfair practices and that we did not breach consumer law.

“To further improve the customer experience, we’ve voluntarily committed to clearer communication about ticket prices in queues. This builds on our capped resale, strong bot protection, and clear pricing displays, and we encourage the CMA to hold the entire industry to these same standards.”

The watchdog launched its investigation following widespread complaints about the sale that saw over 900,000 tickets purchased through the site.

Some ended up paying as much as £355 for tickets originally advertised for £148.

The CMA had made it clear, in an update in March, that it was seeking a series of remedies that were yet to be agreed.

It explained then that Ticketmaster labelled certain seated tickets as “platinum” and sold them for nearly two-and-a-half times the price of equivalent standard tickets, without explaining why they were more expensive.

It found that it “risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better”.

The regulator also concluded that Ticketmaster did not inform fans that there were two categories of standing tickets at different prices, but it said there was no evidence that dynamic pricing – a form of surge pricing where costs can rise depending on levels of demand – was used.

The UK leg of the Oasis tour will end at Wembley Stadium this coming weekend.

A major test of the CMA’s agreement with Ticketmaster could come soon, however, as it is widely believed that Oasis plan to return to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire next year for a gig to mark the 30th anniversary of their celebrated 1996 concert.

UK

UK boosts pandemic readiness with new vaccine factory

Published

9 hours ago

September 25, 2025

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UK boosts pandemic readiness with new vaccine factory

A US vaccine firm has opened the first mRNA manufacturing plant in the UK, against a backdrop of increasing anti-jab rhetoric back home.

The new facility outside Oxford is part of a £1bn investment in the UK by Moderna, which specialises in mRNA.

The novel vaccine technology delivered some of the most effective and fastest-to-develop jabs during the COVID pandemic.

Several pharma companies, including Germany’s leading mRNA pioneer BioNTech, are now racing to develop new therapies.

Moderna says the plant will produce up to 100 million doses of its existing vaccine products each year. It has also been designed to scale-up production to 250 million doses a year in the event of a new disease outbreak.

“God-forbid, if there is another pandemic, we can switch the facility any day,” said Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel.

The UK investment deal was agreed by the previous government, but the plant’s opening is welcome relief for the current one.

In recent weeks, four major pharmaceutical companies have halted planned investments in the UK following disputes over drug pricing and profitability in the UK.

‘A great statement’

It also promises to restore domestic vaccine manufacturing capability in the UK, the lack of which was exposed when dangerous supply interruptions threatened the early COVID response.

“It’s a really fast way of getting new vaccines discovered,” said Lord Patrick Vallance, former chief scientist and now science minister.

“It’s also a great statement of confidence in the UK that [Moderna has] chosen to base themselves here.”

Moderna: UK ‘still believes’ in vaccines

The mRNA molecule is the same used by our cells to order the production of new proteins, and allows vaccines to be produced using just the genetic code of a virus or other biological target.

Moderna’s investment decision pre-dated Donald Trump’s return to the White House, but the Moderna CEO said its operation in the UK – a country that “still believes in vaccination” – may pay dividends if anti-vaccine rhetoric translates into a lack of demand for its products in the US.

“If there is less appetite by governments around the world, including in the US, to use vaccines, we might invest less in vaccines,” said Mr Bancel.

“We have to invest where there’s a demand for our products.”

The UK presents other attractions for the company which has suffered substantial losses as demand for its COVID vaccine has fallen.

It’s betting that leading UK universities and a large patient population will make for successful clinical trials.

The company has ongoing NHS trials of new jabs against seasonal flu, a combination COVID and flu vaccine, cancer vaccines and mRNA therapies for two inherited childhood diseases.

Moderna says it is now the largest private commercial sponsor of clinical trials in the UK.

UK

Wayne Rooney says he’d be dead if it wasn’t for wife Coleen

Published

11 hours ago

September 25, 2025

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Wayne Rooney says he'd be dead if it wasn't for wife Coleen

Footballer Wayne Rooney has said he believes he would be dead if it wasn’t for his wife Coleen’s help with his alcohol issues.

The former England and Manchester United star told his friend and former teammate Rio Ferdinand he would “drink for two days straight” at the peak of his career.

Recalling that period on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, he said he would “come training and at the weekend I’d score two goals and then I’d go back and go and drink for two days straight again”.

But the 39-year-old said his wife “helped me control that massively” and “managed me because I needed managing”.

“I honestly believe, if she weren’t there, I’d be dead,” he said.

Speaking to Ferdinand, he recalled meeting Coleen when they were at secondary school together in Liverpool and getting married in 2008 after six years of dating.

“When I was 17, she could see, she knew my mind and she knew I was a bit out there,” he said.

“I loved my football, obsessed with football, but also I loved a night out or whatever, going out. She’s seen it very early on and she’s controlled that. Well, not controlled, but helped me control that massively.”

Gum and eye drops to hide drinking at work

When he was playing for Manchester United, he would try to hide his drinking sessions from manager Sir Alex Ferguson by chewing gum and using eye drops, he added.

The couple have four children together. Their marriage has been impacted by several allegations of Rooney being unfaithful, for which he has issued public apologies.

The former striker, who is still Manchester United’s all-time record goal scorer, was arrested for drink-driving in 2017.

After he was caught over the limit in Wilmslow, Cheshire, he pleaded guilty to drink-driving and was banned for two years, made to do 100 hours of unpaid work, and was fined two weeks’ wages by his then-team Everton.

He was arrested for “public intoxication” in the US a year later and fined $116 (£86) without going to court.

Having left his role as head coach at Plymouth Argyle, Rooney now has his own BBC podcast and works as a pundit on Match Of The Day.