Connect with us

Published

on

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.”

More on Manchester

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

Read more from Sky News:
‘Blood on their hands’: Could MI5 have prevented the Manchester attack?

Manchester attack survivors awarded £45k after suing man who claims it was a hoax
Police officers who went for kebab on night of terror attack given final warnings

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
Image:
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.

Continue Reading

UK

UK weather: Weather warnings across the country with temperatures as low as -16C expected

Published

on

By

UK weather: Weather warnings across the country with temperatures as low as -16C expected

Warnings of widespread disruption caused by freezing weather have been issued, with temperatures expected to plummet to as low as -16C in some areas.

Snow, ice and fog warnings have been issued, following on from severe weather on Wednesday, with the South West and south of England particularly affected by heavy snow.

All of the warnings are yellow, meaning there is a danger of injury from slips and falls and some disruption to travel expected.

Devon and Cornwall saw roads closed and motorists stationary for “long periods of time”, a joint statement from Devon and Cornwall Police and Devon County Council Highways said.

Snow ploughs became stuck in queues of traffic caused by “minor incidents”, the statement added.

Ploughs have been fitted to gritters which will work into Thursday morning to clear routes in the area, police and highways officials said.

Temperatures are expected to fall as low as -16C on Thursday night both in the northeast of England and Scotland, the Met Office has said.

More on Uk Weather

Get the forecast for your area

Met office weather warnings for Thursday Pic: Met Office
Image:
Met office weather warnings for Thursday Pic: Met Office

Huge waves smash against the sea front at Whitley Bay in North Tyneside Pic: PA
Image:
Huge waves smash against the sea front at Whitley Bay in North Tyneside Pic: PA

A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until midnight on Thursday and another snow and ice warning is in force for Northern Ireland until 11am on Thursday as sleet and snow showers are set to continue.

Meanwhile, a yellow fog warning has been issued for Northern Ireland until 9am on Thursday.

A further yellow warning for snow and ice affecting Cornwall, much of Wales and parts of northwest England has been issued until 11am on Thursday.

And a yellow ice warning has been issued for parts of southern England and south-east Wales until 10.30am on Thursday.

Travel disruption to road and rail services are likely on Thursday in the warning areas, as well as the potential for accidents in icy places, the forecaster said.

As icy conditions persist, motorists are being urged to stick to major roads that are most likely to have been gritted.

Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.

Continue Reading

UK

Obesity rates may start falling this year due to weight loss jabs, seller says

Published

on

By

Obesity rates may start falling this year due to weight loss jabs, seller says

The UK may have reached peak obesity and rates could start falling rapidly later this year, Sky News has been told.

Data collected by one of the biggest online sellers of weight loss jabs suggests that so many people are now taking effective medication that the inexorable rise in obesity could start to reverse.

According to Simple Online Pharmacy, which has access to wholesale figures, 500,000 people in the UK are currently taking either Mounjaro or Wegovy – and they can expect to lose 15% to 20% of their weight over a matter of months.

Rebecca Moore, the company’s chief operating officer, said: “Our projections are that around a million people will reverse their obesity in a year.

“We should be at the point now, we believe, where we’re starting to see rates decline.

“We would not be surprised if by the end of this year we’ve seen a really significant decline in obesity.”

Rebecca Moore, chief operating officer of Simple Online Pharmacy
Image:
Rebecca Moore, chief operating officer of Simple Online Pharmacy

The company has supplied the drugs to 200,000 people, who have collectively lost 600 tonnes of their weight.

Demand for medication is growing by 10% to 40% month-on-month, and the company has had to build a walk-in fridge to store enough medication to supply 400 patients an hour.

“The narrative has really shifted in the last few months,” said Ms Moore.

“People are recognising that obesity is a lifelong chronic condition. They’re recognising that this medication is a once-in-a-generation revolutionary technology.

“People are much more open to it and I expect that next year there will be another huge surge in growth.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The weight-loss drug that’s ‘too good’

Latest NHS figures show 27% of adults in England are obese, up from 15% in 1993.

Rates have started to plateau in the last couple of years as public health measures such as the sugar tax take effect.

But there are indications that obesity jabs have already begun to reverse obesity in the US and the same is likely to happen in the UK.

Around 95% of all patients using the medication are buying it privately, at a cost of around £150 a month.

Access on the NHS is poor, with research by Sky News showing just 800 patients had been prescribed Wegovy in specialist clinics four months after the rollout started in December 2023. That’s just 6% of the expected number.

And last month the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) bowed to demands from the NHS to restrict access to Mounjaro to just 200,000 of 3.4 million eligible patients over the first three years of the rollout.

Read more:
King Kong’ of weight loss jabs just too effective for NHS
Thousands denied jab due to slow NHS rollout

Wegovy injections

Sarah Le Brocq, founder of All About Obesity, sits as a patient representative on the NICE committee.

She said it was “hugely frustrating” that so many patients in need are being denied treatment.

“It’s not the NHS’s fault that they can’t fund these drugs,” she said.

“They need to have that money coming through [from government] because they can’t take it from cancer and put it into obesity.

“We are going to have tiered access. The wealthy can be healthy, but people who really need treatment can’t have it.”

Angela Chesworth had to do a ‘clinical trial’ of treatment on herself to prove to the NHS that the drugs could stop agonising abdominal pains that she suffered several times a week.

Angela Chesworth and her husband Paul
Image:
Angela Chesworth and her husband Paul

Her consultant had agreed that her extra pounds were pulling on scar tissue from previous stomach surgery, but he was powerless to prescribe the treatment.

But since the summer, when she started weekly injections of Mounjaro, she has only had a couple of abdominal cramps and the NHS has now agreed to fund treatment.

“When you know there’s something out there that can help you, but you can’t have that help because of money or somebody who makes the rules, you feel worthless,” she told Sky News.

“Come and live in my shoes and see how I am and see how it affects me and then tell me I’m not worth the money.

“You want me to be part of society, you want me to do a job, you want me to expand the economy?

“I needed help, so it was very frustrating to be told no. And especially by the medical professionals.”

Her husband, Paul, is still having to buy his supply privately, despite being on the cusp of type 2 diabetes. After three months of treatment, he has lost two stone and is now healthy.

“I want to be healthy as long as I possibly can,” he said.

“For the last 15 years of his life my dad did not have good health or a good quality of life. He wasn’t able to get up in the morning quickly and ended up on a mobility scooter because he couldn’t walk far.

“All those things I want to try and avoid.”

The Department of Health said new drugs recommended by NICE need to be funded from existing NHS budgets. A spokesperson added: “We are also acting to tackle [obesity’s] causes, shifting our focus from treatment to prevention as part of our 10 Year Health Plan.”

Continue Reading

UK

Food prices will rise due to budget tax hikes, retail body warns

Published

on

By

Food prices will rise due to budget tax hikes, retail body warns

Grocery shoppers are being warned of more hikes to food costs in the months ahead due to retailers passing on the cost of budget tax rises.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned that food prices will increase by an average of 4.2% in the latter half of the year – piling more pressure on households at a time when consumers are already facing leaps in unavoidable costs including water, council tax and energy bills.

It blamed the impact of budget measures announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October, which businesses have widely denounced as an attack on investment, jobs, and pay.

The retail body spoke up as many top retail brands reported on their Christmas progress ahead of April’s looming surge in costs.

Money latest: Pound sinks to nine-month low

Tesco warned of a £250m annual impact from higher employer National Insurance contributions alone from the next financial year while maintaining its annual profit forecast for 2024/25.

It cheered winning considerable market share over the festive season, leaving the UK’s biggest retailer in its best position since 2016.

More from Money

M&S reported robust growth in food sales, by 8.9% on a comparable basis, while growth in clothing and home and beauty was up by almost 2%.

Industry data released earlier this week already revealed Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and M&S were the big sales winners over Christmas, as far as groceries were concerned. Asda and the Co-op were seen as the main strugglers.

Ocado, which has a retail partnership with M&S, saw the largest growth in the online sphere.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Warning of price hikes ahead

Much of the focus, however, is on the future given the volume of complaints within the sector – one of the country’s biggest employers – about the budget measures.

The key message since the fiscal event has been that shoppers will pay a price.

The industry sales data, revealed by Kantar Worldpanel on Tuesday, showed the annual rate of grocery price inflation at 3.7% in the four-week December period, its highest level since March, and a jump on the 2.6% reported for the 12 months to November.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

HMV owner slams budget ‘burden’

Read more: Growing threat to finances from rising bills

The BRC’s chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said on Thursday: “As retailers battle the £7bn of increased costs in 2025 from the budget, including higher employer NI (National Insurance), National Living Wage, and new packaging levies, there is little hope of prices going anywhere but up.

“Modelling by the BRC and retail chief financial officers suggest food prices will rise by an average of 4.2% in the latter half of the year, while non-food will return firmly to inflation.

“Government can still take steps to mitigate these price pressures, and it must ensure that its proposed reforms to business rates do not result in any stores paying more in rates than they do already.”

Despite the looming pressure ahead on supermarket margins from the budget, it is clear that grocery chains had a robust Christmas season.

Tesco boss Ken Murphy said: “We delivered our biggest-ever Christmas, with continued market share growth and switching gains.

“Our strong performance reflects the investments we have made, positioning Tesco as the UK’s cheapest full-line grocer for over two years, improving quality across all our ranges, with more than half of this year’s Christmas range new or improved, and providing the best experience for our customers in-store and online.”

His counterpart at M&S, Stuart Machin, said: “The external environment remains challenging, with cost and economic headwinds to navigate, but there is much within our control.

“At M&S, we stay close to our customers and their needs, and with that in mind our investment in trusted value, along with great quality, style and innovation remains our priority.”

Continue Reading

Trending