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Sara Sharif’s father told police “I’ve killed my daughter”, claiming “I legally punished her, and she died,” after fleeing to Pakistan, a court has heard.

Urfan Sharif dialled 999 in the early hours of 10 August last year, when he and the rest of his family were already thousands of miles away.

Sara Sharif, 10, had suffered dozens of injuries, including bruising, burns and broken bones when her body was found in an upstairs bedroom on a bottom bunk bed in her home in Woking, Surrey.

The Old Bailey heard she had been beaten with objects, strangled, tied up, burnt with an iron and even bitten in the weeks before her death.

In an eight-and-a-half minute phone call played to jurors, minicab driver Sharif, 42, was heard crying before he told the operator: “I’ve killed my daughter”.

He also said: “I legally punished her, and she died,” adding “she was naughty”, and: “I beat her up, it wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much”.

Prosecutors say Sara was killed on 8 August, before Sharif and his family spent more than £5,000 to fly to Pakistan the following day, landing on 10 August.

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Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik. Pics: Surrey Police
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Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik. Pics: Surrey Police

Police later found a note in his handwriting by her body, next to her pillow, which said “Love you Sara” on the first page.

“It’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I am running away because I am scared but I promise that I will hand over myself and take punishment,” it said.

“I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her but I lost it. My daughter is Muslim. Can you bury her like Muslim may be. I will be back before you finish the post-mortem.”

But prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said Sara had been subjected to repeated serious violence over a significant period of time and his claim came “nowhere near to describing the extent of the violence and physical abuse Sara had suffered”.

Sharif is on trial with his wife and Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, and Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 28.

They each deny murder and causing or allowing the death of a child between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023 and will blame each other, the court heard.

Sara Sharif 
Pic:Surrey Police
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Sara Sharif
Pic:Surrey Police

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“At the heart of this case lies a simple but depressing truth. A little girl, a 10-year-old girl, was found dead in her home,” said Mr Emlyn Jones.

“She had been the victim of assault and physical abuse for weeks and weeks, at least,” he said.

“Sara had not just been beaten up. Her treatment, certainly in the last few weeks of her life, had been appalling; it had been brutal.

“And throughout, these three defendants were the adults living in the house where Sara had lived, living in the house where Sara had suffered and living in the house where Sara died.”

‘Catalogue of dreadful mistreatment’

The prosecutor warned jurors to “take something of a deep breath” before outlining the “catalogue of dreadful mistreatment”.

This included 11 separate fractures to her spine, breaks to both hands and evidence of incidents of manual strangulation over a period of six weeks.

“There are other, perhaps even more disturbing, types of injury,” he said.

“The evidence shows that Sara appears to have been bitten.”

Mr Emlyn Jones said experts found “probable human bite marks” and while both men on trial had been excluded, Batool had refused to provide a dental impression.

Burns to her buttocks are believed to have been caused by a domestic iron, while other injuries indicate she was tied up, the court heard.

Prosecutors say all three played their part in the violence and mistreatment that resulted in Sara’s death and it is “inconceivable” that one of them could have carried out so much abuse without the others knowing.

The jury was told Sharif will claim he made a “false confession” to protect his wife, who will say he was a “violent disciplinarian” who she was afraid of.

Malik, who worked part-time at McDonald’s, is expected to say he was not aware of the abuse.

The trial continues.

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Gatwick Airport evacuates ‘large part’ of South Terminal due to ‘security incident’

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Gatwick Airport evacuates 'large part' of South Terminal due to 'security incident'

A large part of Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal has been evacuated after a “suspected prohibited item” was discovered in luggage and a bomb disposal team has been deployed, police said.

Sussex Police said the explosive ordnance disposal team was being sent in “as a precaution” and a security cordon is in place.

The airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.

In a post on X, it said: “Safety and security of our passengers and staff remains our top priority.

“We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

It said the North Terminal was still operating normally.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.

“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.

“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down and 1,000s all over the streets and carparks waiting.”

Another said passengers near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.

Gatwick Express said its trains were not calling at Gatwick Airport.

“Gatwick Airport will not be served until further notice,” it tweeted.

“This is due to the police and emergency services dealing with an incident at the airport.

“At present, the station and airport are being evacuated whilst the police are dealing with an incident. We would recommend delaying your journey until later this morning.”

It said local buses were also affected and would be unable to run to the airport.

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Legal action against MI5 over Manchester Arena bombing cannot continue, judges rule

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Legal action against MI5 over Manchester Arena bombing cannot continue, judges rule

Hundreds of people affected by the Manchester Arena bombing cannot continue legal action against MI5, judges have ruled.

More than 300 people, including survivors and those bereaved by the 2017 attack at an Ariana Grande concert, brought a case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), claiming failures to take “appropriate measures” to prevent the incident infringed their human rights.

In a ruling on Friday, Lord Justice Singh and Mrs Justice Farbey said the cases could not proceed as they were brought too late.

Lord Justice Singh said: “We are particularly conscious of the importance of the rights concerned… We are also conscious of the horrendous impact of the atrocity on the claimants and their families.

“Any reasonable person would have sympathy for them.

“The grief and trauma which they have suffered, particularly where young children were killed, is almost unimaginable.

“Nevertheless, we have reached the conclusion that, in all the circumstances, it would not be equitable to permit the claims to proceed.”

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People stand next to flowers for the victims of the attack in 2017. Pic: AP
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File pic: AP

Lord Justice Singh acknowledged that while the tribunal “readily understand” why the legal claims were not filed until after the final report from the inquiry into the attack, “real expedition” was needed at that point.

The judge added: “We bear in mind the other matters that had to be investigated and arrangements which had to be put in place but, in our view, the filing of the proceedings was not given the priority which, assessed objectively, it should have been.”

Had the claims gone ahead, the judge noted the security services would have needed to “divert time and resources to defending these proceedings rather than their core responsibilities” – which includes preventing future attacks.

Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured hundreds when he detonated a rucksack bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande show at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017.

Salman Abedi killed 22 innocent people
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Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi

Hudgell Solicitors, Slater & Gordon and Broudie Jackson Canter, three of the law firms representing complainants affected, said the ruling was “extremely disappointing” for their clients.

In a statement, the firms said: “Ever since the attack in May 2017, our clients have had to endure continued delays but have done so with great patience and understanding in the hope that by allowing all legal processes to be fully explored, transparency and justice would be achieved.

“It took almost six years for the failings of MI5 to be revealed, confirmed when the inquiry chair published his volume three findings in March 2023, in which he said MI5 had missed a ‘significant opportunity’ to prevent the attack.

“This report concluded that within this six-year period, the security service corporate witnesses X and J gave evidence on oath that had presented an inaccurate picture, and the same inaccurate picture had been presented to Lord Anderson when he compiled his report in December 2017.”

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The law firms said following these findings, their clients believed the IPT would “provide the route to the formal vindication of their human rights”.

The firms added: “We are disappointed that time is one of the reasons now being used against them to prevent their claims progressing. Seven years have now passed since the atrocity in May 2017 – six years of that seven-year delay was caused by MI5.

“This judgment certainly doesn’t exonerate MI5. There were failings by MI5 and multiple other parties leading up to and on the actual evening of 22 May 2017 and collectively we continue to support our clients in their fight for full accountability and justice.”

Police are seen with members of the public after the attack. Pic: PA
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Police with members of the public after the attack. Pic: PA

The inquiry into the bombing found it might have been prevented if MI5 had acted on key intelligence received in the months before the attack.

The agency’s director-general, Ken McCallum, expressed deep regret that such intelligence was not obtained.

Two pieces of information about Abedi were assessed at the time by the security service to not relate to terrorism.

But inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders said, having heard from MI5 witnesses at the hearings, he considered that did not present an “accurate picture”.

Lawyers for those affected previously said the inquiry found there was a “real possibility” that one of the pieces of intelligence could have obtained information which may have led to actions preventing the attack.

And at the hearing earlier this month, Pete Weatherby KC, for those affected, described the IPT claims as “the next step” in vindication for his clients after the inquiry’s findings.

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Britain faces frosty and icy conditions as Storm Bert looms

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Britain faces frosty and icy conditions as Storm Bert looms

Many areas of Britain faced frosty and icy conditions this morning ahead of the arrival of Storm Bert tomorrow.

The Met Office said it expects the storm to bring “heavy rain, strong winds and disruptive snow to parts of the UK through the weekend” and potentially cause travel disruption and flooding.

Much of the UK experienced temperatures close to freezing last night, the Met Office said, with -6C (21.2F) recorded at Tulloch Bridge in Scotland.

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Snowy conditions in the village of Goathland, North York Moors National Park. Pic: PA
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Snowy conditions in the village of Goathland, North York Moors National Park. Pic: PA

Several yellow warnings for snow and ice were in place across the UK until 10am on Friday, while one covering parts of Scotland will remain in place until midday.

They came ahead of an amber warning for heavy snow and ice in place between 7am and 5pm on Saturday in central parts of Scotland.

The Met Office said 10-20cm of snow was likely on ground above 200m and there could be as much as 20-40cm on hills above 400m.

Several other yellow alerts for wind, rain and snow will also cover much of the UK.

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Met Office weather warnings

Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “Through into Friday… snow showers are set to continue mainly around coastal areas though once again still a few feeding inland at times.

“There will also still be plenty of autumnal sunshine. Still feeling cold though, particularly in those brisk winds – once again we’re only looking at highs of around 5C, slightly higher in the southwest around 7C.

“Across the north those temperatures struggling to move past 2-3C.

“As we head into Friday evening, a change is on its way as we introduce Storm Bert moving its way in from the Atlantic. So we’ll see clouds spilling in from the southwest with outbreaks of rain – heavy at times by the time we reach Saturday morning.”

A woman braves the snow in Aviemore, Scotland. Pic: Reuters
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A woman braves the snow in Aviemore, Scotland. Pic: Reuters

“Heavy” outbreaks of rain are likely throughout Saturday, “falling as snow” at times across parts of England and Scotland, Ms Criswick said.

More than 114 schools were shut in the Highland Council area on Thursday because of snow, almost 40 were shut in Aberdeenshire and 12 were closed in Moray.

In England, 89 schools were shut in Devon, 60 in Cornwall and 18 in Dorset, while in Wales 18 were closed in Denbighshire, 10 in Conwy and two in Wrexham.

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