The owner of an XL bully that was mistakenly euthanised by police has revealed he had been waiting for a call to collect the family pet when he instead learned he had been put down due to an “administration error”.
Lancashire Police said it has given the family an “unreserved apology” for euthanising the seized dog, named Bruno, while the owners were in the process of applying for an exemption to keep him.
Bruno’s owner, Connor Halliwell, told Sky News he is “devastated… because I was waiting for him to come home”.
The dog was at a police station for four weeks, during which Mr Halliwell, 27, from Morecambe, tried to contact officers to find out what was happening.
He said: “They went to go and see the dog and do an assessment on the dog and see if he was really good and calm, and he was, so I got a phone call about that, saying, ‘we’ve had some good news about Bruno – he’s been brilliant and passed the assessment’.
“A couple of weeks later, I didn’t have a phone call so I got hold of them myself, and I had to go to a meeting at the police station with a sergeant.”
That’s when he was told Bruno had been put down due to an admin error.
“I was waiting for messages, emails, saying, ‘you can come and see Bruno now or we can drop him off at your house’. I was just waiting for a call,” he said.
But Mr Halliwell suggested he was not going to let the matter drop.
“I’m going to take it further,” he told Sky News, adding he would be talking to his MP Lizzi Collinge to see how she could help.
“I’m feeling devastated, upset, and everything else,” he said. “I don’t know how they can get it wrong.”
He said there was nothing “vicious” about Bruno, and revealed some negative comments had been made about the family pet on social media.
“We’ve had a few comments saying, ‘you should put Bruno with the other dogs that have been killed and shot and stabbed, in a graveyard full of animals’,” he said.
“They don’t know Bruno’s background,” he added, describing the two-year-old as a “softie”.
“He was a big dog, he was a beautiful dog, he was good with kids,” he said.
Anyone who owns one of the dogs must have had the animal neutered, have it microchipped and keep it muzzled and on a lead in public, among other restrictions.
In a statement, Lancashire Police said: “In August we seized an XL bully dog from an address in Morecambe as part of our powers under the Dangerous Dogs Act, as XL bully dogs are a banned breed.
“A file was being prepared for consideration of the owner being prosecuted for the relevant offences.
“However, unfortunately, due to an administration error, the dog was subsequently euthanised before the court hearing.”
Ms Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, has demanded answers over the incident.
“This should be a ‘never event’ and I have taken this issue up directly with the police,” she told the BBC.
Across five decades in three different countries and involving as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa, John Smyth QC is said to have subjected his victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives.
The report concluded he might have been brought to justice had Mr Welby formally reported it to police a decade ago.
In a resignation letter Justin Welby said: “Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign.
“The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuse of John Smyth.
“When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and re-traumatising period between 2013 and 2024.
“The last few days have renewed my long-felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For nearly 12 years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.
“In the meantime, I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete.”
Smyth died aged 75 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and so was “never brought to justice for the abuse”, the review said.
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Gary Lineker will step down as host of Match Of The Day at the end of the season, the BBC has confirmed.
The 63-year-old will continue to host coverage of the FA Cup in 2025/26 and the World Cup in 2026, the broadcaster announced.
Lineker will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast while his The Rest Is Football podcast, which features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, will now be hosted on BBC Sounds.
The former England footballer said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”
Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: “Gary is a world-class presenter, and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup.
“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week.
“He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”
Lineker has hosted the Premier League highlights show since 1999, after his predecessor Des Lynam moved to ITV.
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He is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, which produces popular shows such as The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Entertainment, as well as his own football podcast.
The company, founded in 2014, claims to be the UK’s largest independent podcast firm and said in September its podcasts had been downloaded more than 380 million times so far this year.
Lineker has been the BBC’s highest-paid star in recent years for his work on shows including Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year, as well as coverage of major tournaments including World Cups and European Championships.
It is unclear who will take over from Lineker on Match Of The Day.
Former Tottenham Hotspur footballer Jermaine Jenas had at one point been considered to be his natural successor but he was sacked from the BBC in August over claims of inappropriate behaviour.
Lineker enjoyed a successful career as a striker, winning 80 caps for England, before moving into broadcasting.
The Queen will return to public duties today after her chest infection but will miss the Gladiator II premiere on Wednesday to aid her recovery, a royal source has said.
The 77-year-old was forced to withdraw from her duties last week and missed the weekend’s Remembrance Day commemoration events.
Queen Camilla will attend a Booker Prize reception at Clarence House on Tuesday, but will meet guests for a shorter period than planned.
She will also still attend a Palace reception with the King on Wednesday to celebrate the TV and film industry, but she is not expected to be present for the entirety of the engagement.
The changes to her diary are understood to have been made to protect and prioritise her continued recovery, with royal doctors keen to prevent any setback from a seasonal illness.
It comes after Prince William said 2024 has been “brutal” and “probably the hardest year in my life”, due to his wife and father’s cancer diagnoses.
Speaking on a tour of Cape Town this week, he said: “Honestly? It’s been dreadful.
“It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”
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Discussing how his relatives have coped with their health struggles, he added: “I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.
“But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”