Hull grooming gang: Alleged female victims complain after police officers diverted to deal with summer riots

Published

1 year ago

September 17, 2024

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Two young women who claim to have been repeatedly raped as part of an organised child sexual abuse ring have complained to Humberside Police after being told officers from their investigation have been diverted to deal with cases from the summer riots.

‘Anna’ and ‘Sarah’ – not their real names – were teenagers when Sky News first interviewed them in the summer of 2021.

Now young women they are still waiting for justice and say sometimes, when in town, they still see the men who abused them as children.

The investigation into their allegations was originally wound down in 2021 but was reopened after a Sky News investigation revealed evidence the police seemed to have overlooked.

After submitting the investigation to be reviewed by an independent body, Humberside Police promised to put fresh eyes on the case.

That was two years ago, but in a meeting last month Anna and Sarah were told that officers were only just starting.

“They said they’ve just finished reading through all the evidence from the previous investigation and now they are starting at the beginning, which I think two years is a long time for it to be only at the beginning of the investigation,” Sarah says.

Anna adds: “I was really angry because it made us think ‘how long is it going to go on for?’ This all started in 2016/2017, so it’s been going on long enough already.”

Adding to their frustration is that they’ve been told some officers have been taken off their case to deal with the riots as well as the investigation into a funeral parlour in Hull over the treatment of bodies.

“It’s frustrating because obviously it is serious what they’re looking into, but I do believe that men going around raping and abusing young girls is more important than the riots,” Anna says.

“Why are they so concerned that a couple of people have set a bin on fire in the middle of the town centre, but young girls are out there being raped and forced to do things that they should never, ever have to do,” adds Sarah.

“It’s not like it ends with us. It carries on with all the other people after us, after we left the grooming gangs. It’s still going on with the next generation of young girls that they’ll find and it’s never going to stop.”

In a letter to the interim chief constable of Humberside Police, Judi Heaton, the two women say they feel like their case “is neither a priority nor being taken very seriously”.

They add: “It was reopened two years ago after the initial investigation was found to be inadequate. We therefore assumed this error would be rectified with a full and thorough investigation second time around. This hasn’t happened.”

Sarah says she sometimes still sees the men who abused her, one of them very recently.

“He was so close to me, and I felt so sick I that he’d been anywhere near me. It’s a horrible, horrible feeling that comes over you.

“I can see them sometimes in my local Tesco. I can be doing a food shop, and I’ll see them, and they just ruined your day because all day you think is – ‘they’ve seen me’. So are they going to tell their friends that they’ve seen me and is there going to be someone waiting outside for me – all these emotions and thoughts run through your head.”

Anna says one of her abusers has since been convicted of raping a teenager.

She says: “He’s been put in prison for that now. If they’d have listened when I first reported it, then that probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Humberside police told Sky News that this is a complex investigation with victims at the heart of it, and some aspects of the investigation are “well advanced”.

Deputy Chief Constable Dave Marshall said: “Child sexual abuse and exploitation is a deplorable and condemnable crime.

“I can offer my utmost assurance that regardless of any other investigation or incident which occurs, Operation Conference remains a priority for Humberside Police.

“We are determined to thoroughly examine every piece of information and evidence available, to ensure we are in a position where we can hold those responsible to account.

“Over the last two years, an untold amount of work has taken place. We are unable to share specific details in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and to not jeopardise any future criminal or judicial proceedings.

“There is still a way to go, but we are determined that we do the right thing by our victims and seek the justice they deserve, they are survivors of truly horrific experiences. We will continue to do all we can to support and help them in any way we can.”

The government also says combating violence against women and girls is a priority, but for Anna and Sarah – it doesn’t feel like it.

Sarah says they both need to see an end point.

“It’s been nearly six years, and we’ve stopped and started and stopped and started. We are trying to move on with our lives – trying to better ourselves and this is just holding us back.

“We want to be able to live our lives and be able to walk down the street without looking over our shoulders, thinking somebody is going to hurt us.”

UK

British fighter jets defend Polish skies after Russian drone incursion

Published

21 mins ago

September 21, 2025

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British fighter jets defend Polish skies after Russian drone incursion

Two British fighter jets have flown their first defence mission over Poland after a Russian drone incursion into the country’s skies.

The flight was part of NATO‘s operation “Eastern Sentry”, launched to bolster Europe’s eastern flank after Poland shot down Russian drones earlier this month.

A Russian drone was intercepted flying over Romania days later, while three Russian jets entered Estonian airspace without permission for 12 minutes on Friday.

The three incursions into NATO airspace fuelled concerns about the potential expansion of Russia‘s three-year war in Ukraine and have been seen as an attempt by Moscow to test the military alliance’s response.

The incident over Poland prompted its prime minister, Donald Tusk, to warn that his country was the closest to “open conflict” it had been since the Second World War, while the UK announced it would provide Warsaw with extra air cover.

Two RAF Typhoons, supported by an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling plane, took off from RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, on Friday night to defend Poland’s skies before returning safely early on Saturday morning.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the mission sends a clear signal that “NATO airspace will be defended”.

“I’m proud of the outstanding British pilots and air crew who took part in this successful operation to defend our allies from reckless Russian aggression.”

He said the mission was “especially poignant” coming as the UK marks the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – when Polish pilots came to the aid of the UK – this weekend.

The head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, said: “This sortie marks the RAF’s first operational mission on Eastern Sentry, reinforcing the UK’s steadfast commitment to NATO and its allies.

“We remain agile, integrated, and ready to project airpower at range.”

UK

Starmer to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

Published

9 hours ago

September 21, 2025

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Starmer to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

The UK will formally recognise Palestine as a state, it is understood.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement on Sunday after he said in July that the government would make the move unless Israel met certain conditions.

The prime minister had called on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to take substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“, agree to a ceasefire, commit to a long-term sustainable peace, allow the UN to restart the supply of aid, and not annex the West Bank.

The Israeli foreign ministry furiously rejected his statement, with Mr Netanyahu claiming that “Starmer rewards Hamas‘s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”.

Ilay David, brother of Hamas hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a video last month, said giving recognition was “like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.’

“This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.”

There has been no ceasefire, and the situation in Gaza has deteriorated, with a declaration of a famine in Gaza City and the expansion of Israeli military operations.

Israel has launched a major ground offensive to seize all of Gaza City and destroy Hamas in an operation which has prompted widespread condemnation, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling it “utterly reckless and appalling”.

Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel said the claim was “distorted and false”.

The UK will join 147 of the 193 members of the UN who recognise Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday.

Other nations, including France, Australia and Canada, have said they plan to take the same step at the UN gathering as part of a broad international effort to put pressure on Israel.

During a joint news conference with the prime minister at Chequers on Thursday, Donald Trump said he disagreed with recognition, and US politicians have urged the UK and other allies to reverse their stance.

Sky News understands that Israel is considering options in response to the UK’s decision, but the strength of that reaction is still under consideration.

Family members of some of the 48 hostages still in captivity, after Hamas and other militant groups stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, have written an open letter to Sir Keir, condemning the move.

“Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal,” they said.

“We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.”

The UK government is understood to be looking at further sanctions on Hamas, and has demanded the group release all hostages, agree to an immediate ceasefire, accept it will have no role in governing Gaza, and commit to disarmament.

UK

Heathrow among major airports hit by delays after cyber attack

Published

12 hours ago

September 20, 2025

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Heathrow among major airports hit by delays after cyber attack

Heathrow was among a number of major airports across Europe hit by delays after a suspected cyber attack that targeted a service provider for check-in and boarding systems.

The “technical issue” affecting Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding services for various airlines, resulted in 14 flights being cancelled at Brussels Airport on Saturday, and several more being delayed at London Heathrow, Berlin, and Dublin, among others.

‘Very clever cyber attack’ cancels flights in Europe – latest

Passengers have reported being unable to check in online, instead queuing for hours for staff to deal with them manually at desks and departure gates, only to be told their flights are not taking off.

Helen Steel, 49, left Dorset for Heathrow at 3am to travel home to Oslo, with her cat Thomas – but was “shouted at by staff” who told her she would not be able to fly until Sunday.

Describing the situation as an “absolute nightmare”, she said: “I’ve got an animal here, so I’m very concerned about his welfare.

“I’ve been shouted at twice and I broke down in tears because I was worried about him. None of us have had any information whatsoever. Whenever we ask ground staff, they shout at us.”

Ms Steel says she spent two hours in the queue on the phone to customer service and is now having to find a hotel to stay in overnight.

Sam arrived at Heathrow expecting to drop his girlfriend off for her flight to Rio de Janeiro – but was still at the airport seven hours later.

When they arrived, it was “chaos everywhere”, he told Sky News, with “nobody seeming to know what was going on”.

The couple say they were not told about the cyber attack by airport staff, finding out about it online instead.

After queuing for three hours, they made it to the front, only to be told the plane was not taking off, he adds.

“Her flight was at 8.40am and it was held back until 10.15am. At 10.10am they sent everyone away and told them to contact the airline. But there are no representatives for any airlines whatsoever. It’s been a bit of a farce.

“Nobody knew where they were going – and they were sending people left, right, and centre.

“She’s going tomorrow now, but we’ve got to find a hotel, and no one is here to give us any hotel vouchers. They just give you a piece of paper and say ‘you’ve got to pay for it yourself’.”

‘Insane queues’ and ‘skeleton staff’

Passenger Tereza Pultarova waited around 10 hours at Heathrow after she arrived at 4.30am for her flight to Cape Town via Amsterdam.

“We were kind of stranded here because KLM wasn’t able to issue us boarding passes digitally, and requested us to collect them at the check-in desk,” she said.

“And then they told us that there is some sort of global issue with the system they’re using for check-in and boarding, and they have to do everything manually. So then they were checking in people at the rate of, like, one person per 10 minutes.

“I’m not exaggerating. It was just insane, the queue wasn’t moving. And then suddenly they said, ‘Oh, the flight will be departing, we’re closing the gate’.

Maria Casey was due to fly to Thailand with Etihad Airways – but had to wait three hours to drop off her luggage at Heathrow, with staff taking between five and 10 minutes to deal with each passenger.

“The queues are terrible,” she told Sky News. “It was an absolute skeleton staff. Out of six of the desks there were probably two people”.

A Heathrow spokesperson advised people to arrive no more than three hours early for a flight and apologised for any inconvenience.

It is understood British Airways at Terminal 5 remains unaffected and is operating as normal.

Collins Aerospace said it is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

“We have become aware of a cyber-related disruption to our Muse (Multi-User System Environment) software in select airports, the firm said in a statement.

“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations. We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.”