Sara Sharif’s stepmother sent her sister some pictures of the 10-year-old looking bruised and miserable – and told her to “delete” them, a court has heard.
“Look what he’s doing,” Beinash Batool told Qandeela Saboohi, referring to the beatings Sara was allegedly getting from her father, Urfan Sharif.
“Delete the pictures.”
A series of WhatsApp messages exchanged between 2020 and 2023, in which Batool told her sister about the physical attacks Sharif was allegedly inflicting on his daughter, were read out to a jury at the Old Bailey.
Batool repeatedly told her sister that Sharif was hitting Sara for being “naughty”, “rude and rebellious”, and because she had cut up his clothes, hidden keys and torn up documents.
Batool, 30, Urfan Sharif, 42, and Sara’s uncle, 29-year-old Faisal Malik, are accused of carrying out a campaign of abuse culminating in Sara’s murder on 8 August last year.
As early as February 2020, Batool described Sharif as going on a “rampage” after spilling hot tea, saying he was “possessed”.
Writing about 10 photographs of Sara, she wrote: “This is how bad he is beating her… I feel really sorry for her. He beat the crap out of her.”
On another occasion, Batool said Sharif “went ballistic” and “beat Sara up like crazy”. She expressed fears he could break an arm or leg.
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In May 2021, Batool told Ms Saboohi: “Not great in our house, it’s all a bit manic. Urfan beat the crap out of Sara and my mind is all in bits. I really want to report him.
“Why the hell doesn’t Urfan learn – she’s covered in bruises, literally beaten black.”
Afterwards, Sharif sat “on his fat bum” and played the board game Ludo, she said.
She went on: “Why the hell I’m even letting him in the house. I’m sorry for Sara, poor girl cannot walk. She literally fainted in the kitchen in the morning. He made her do sit-ups all night.”
Asked what Sara had done, Batool said: “Because she hid the keys.”
By 2022, Batool said she was planning to get some “legal advice” but was advised by her sister to give it time and not to rush.
In an update later that year, Batool said she was thinking about taking Sara out of school, saying: “I don’t want to but kinda don’t have a choice.
“I’m just fed up of her behaviour and Urfan’s. Sara’s body is literally bruised because Urfan beat her up. I cannot even cover it up.
“He beat Sara up yesterday and I can’t send her to school on Monday looking like that.
“She ripped Urfan’s documents in front of him and was being rude and rebellious.”
Referring to an image of Sara in a hijab, Batool wrote: “You haven’t even seen her body, it’s a whole lot worse.”
Days later, she said Sara’s school was worried about her and Sharif was “stressed” about it.
In an apparent reference to Sara’s injuries, she wrote: “Urfan told me to cover it up with makeup and she’s going to wear sunglasses.”
Two months before Sara died, Batool referred to “Sara’s antics”, telling her sister: “Urfan beat the crap out of Sara… Yeah, he beat her up like crazy.
“Her oxygen level dropped really low, she’s finding it hard to stay awake.”
Asked if Sharif had hit her on the head, Batool said: “Nah, but she’s breathing really rapidly.”
The day before Sara died, Ms Saboohi tried to make contact but Batool told her she was “not in the mood to speak”.
Two days later, the defendants were captured on CCTV as they prepared to board a flight to Pakistan from Heathrow Airport.
That CCTV has now been shown to the jury.
On 10 August last year, police found Sara’s body in a bunkbed after Sharif called from Pakistan to say he had beaten her up “too much” for “being naughty”.
William Emlyn Jones KC, the prosecutor, has previously told jurors it was disputed whether messages Batool sent to two of her sisters were accurate or gave a full picture.
All three defendants, formerly of Hammond Road in Woking in Berkshire, have denied murder and causing or allowing the death of a child between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023.
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.”