Connect with us

Published

on

Imagine being four years old. One minute your dad is reading you a bedtime story. The next he is lying on the doorstep of your family home, drawing his final breaths.

Blood is seeping from bullet wounds to his face and body, pooling in the hallway, while the innocent eyes of a young boy gaze from the nearby staircase, unable to comprehend he was witnessing an event that would change his life forever.

“I still get that image of my dad in nightmares,” Andrew Wilson, now aged 24, says as he relives the childhood horror he experienced, two decades on from the gangland-style attack that killed his father, Alistair.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Doorstep murder’ case explained

Warning: Contains descriptions some readers may find distressing

Andrew is quiet as he shows me a picture of him and his bank manager dad, taken hours before the fatal evening of 28 November 2004.

The beaming smiles of father and son, captured on a grainy film camera, resemble old photos that usually gather dust in well-thumbed family photo albums. The picture was taken during a relaxed walk in the woods, and shows them both wearing blue outdoor jackets, holding hands. Andrew comes up to his dad’s hip and is leaning his head on his arm.

But this is all Andrew has left. It is the last image of his father alive.

The final photo of Andrew and Alistair
Image:
The final photo of Andrew and Alistair

The gunman vanished into the night

The contrast between the family fun on a Sunday afternoon with the brutal violence that would follow the same day is eerie.

The murder of Alistair Wilson is one of Britain’s longest-running unsolved cases.

Even the brightest and most seasoned detectives have been baffled by the fact a gunman carried out such a brutal execution in a sleepy Highland town before vanishing into the night, never to be caught.

No motive has ever been established, although in recent years police have zoned in on a planning dispute across the road.

Andrew is now 24, and grew up without a father
Image:
Andrew is now 24, and grew up without a father

The absence of his father is something Andrew has been forced to come to terms with.

“A lot of my friends’ dads were very good. My uncles all tried to have their influence on me but it wasn’t the same. I remember my grandad teaching me how to kick a football properly… that’s something my dad would have taught me”, he says.

Speaking with a Highland lilt in his voice, he ponders the small but significant moments he missed out on like sharing his “first legal pint” with his dad on his 18th birthday.

“I blanked out a lot of my childhood memories,” he says.

Andrew has had to come to terms with growing up without a father
Image:
Andrew has had to come to terms with growing up without a father

The knock at the door

It all began on Crescent Road, a long side street in Nairn. Victorian three-storey houses sit near a church, while a nearby beach looks out across the Moray Firth. Crime was rare – there hadn’t been a murder in Nairn for almost 20 years.

Alistair was upstairs with his two young boys, getting them ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. His wife, Veronica, answered a stranger who asked for her husband by name.

The house on Crescent Road
Image:
The house on Crescent Road

Envelope with ‘Paul’ written on it

Nothing about that interaction seemed to raise suspicion or cause alarm, and Alistair left the boys to come downstairs.

The stranger handed him an empty blue envelope with the word “Paul” written on it, and he closed the door. But bewildered, Alistair opened it again to ask questions. He was instantly shot in a gangland-style attack.

Andrew talks about the family’s plans to visit his dad’s grave, to commemorate the anniversary of his murder.

“He would have been 50 this year,” he says. His tone of voice is matter-of-fact, but his gaze wanders off.

“The whole family got together and marked it.”

Read more from Sky News:
Jaguar boss defends rebrand after backlash – as new electric car revealed
Elton John unable to watch new musical

Harvey Weinstein rushed to hospital after ‘alarming blood test’

The weapon used in the murder
Image:
A replica of the weapon used in the murder. Pic: Police Scotland

A planning dispute

Speculation has run rife over the years in Nairn as to the motives behind the murder. Could it have been connected to Alistair’s career at the bank? Could a hitman have carried it out? Andrew says the worst part was when his mum was rumoured to be a suspect.

“It was difficult when people would say it was mum,” he says, emotion audible in his voice for the first time. Sounding protective, Andrew edges forward in his seat.

“I got in trouble at school for fighting because someone would say it was my mum,” he says. “I’d already lost a parent, and my other one was being made out to be something I knew they weren’t. That was my biggest struggle.”

Veronica and Alistair on their wedding day
Image:
Veronica and Alistair on their wedding day

Owner remains a key witness

Andrew is full of praise for how his mother dealt with being the focus of such hurtful gossip, while being both mother and father to her two sons. “She has done an amazing job,” he says.

In more recent years, police thought a possible motive could be linked to a planning objection Alastair had to a large decking area being built at the pub across the road from his house. His opposition was made public three days before he was killed.

Could a planning grievance really trigger such violence?

Police have stressed the then owner of the venue, who now lives in Canada, is a key witness and not a suspect.

Andrew was a young father when he was shot
Image:
Alistair was a young father when he was shot

‘Murkier and murkier’

Relations between Alistair Wilson’s family and Police Scotland were typically strong. There was no reason to question the strategy and the abilities of officers to do their jobs properly. When detectives told them, 18 months ago, that they were going to make an arrest, they were elated – finally it seemed justice might be done. But it wasn’t to be – the police went silent, and after chasing them for an answer, they found out the arrest had been cancelled.

From there it got “murkier and murkier”, Andrew says, with no explanation given. He and his family feel “let down” by the police, he says, and have no confidence they will ever catch the killer.

They are now calling for Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell, who was appointed in October 2023, to resign and take responsibility for her “callous” approach, after she refused to meet the family on multiple occasions.

Alistair and his sons
Image:
Alistair and his sons

‘Committed to answers’

“If her force has let us down for 20 years and she can’t get a hold of it, how are they going to get us somewhere?” Andrew asks. Police Scotland did not address questions from Sky News about the future of the chief constable.

Sky News confronted Jo Farrell as she arrived at a meeting in Glasgow on 1 December.

“I won’t be resigning, she said, when asked if she would quit over “failing to get a grip” on this.

“I am committed to us getting answers and finding the people responsible for the murder.”

She walked away when questioned further about her competence, or lack thereof, as the Wilson family see it.

Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell
Image:
Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell

New senior detective in place

The new senior detective reinvestigating the murder from scratch has said she is determined to find the answers to crack the case.

Detective Chief Superintendent Suzanne Chow, who has met the family face to face, admitted she is currently “not in a position” to arrest anyone and conceded the various inquiries over the years have been “protracted”.

DCS Chow defended her boss’ decision to cancel the arrest.

“The chief’s not being callous,” she said.

Andrew and his brother at their father's grave
Image:
Andrew and his brother at their father’s grave

‘We are a tick box’

While this row between the family and police continues there are questions about whether Andrew and his family will ever find closure.

“All we can do is wait,” Andrew says. “We are a tick box to police. Ever since the arrest was pulled it is clear we are just a number to them.”

Photos from the Wilson family

Continue Reading

UK

Cases of winter flu ‘rising rapidly’ with school-aged children worst affected

Published

on

By

Cases of winter flu 'rising rapidly' with school-aged children worst affected

Cases of winter flu are “rising rapidly” – with England’s health boss urging those eligible to get vaccinated.

Cases are highest among those aged five to 14, with 16.9% of tests positive for flu – up from 11.5% last week.

Sharing the data on X, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “Influenza is now rising rapidly. Antiviral flu medicines can now be used in primary care.”

“If you are eligible please get vaccinated.”

The number of cases is in line with the 2022 to 2023 season, which peaked on 20 December, with 33% of tests positive for flu.

Last year, the peak was much smaller – with 16.7% of tests positive – and came more than a month later, on 27 January.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) indicates while influenza rates are increasing, they remain at “low activity levels”.

Figures show the positive return rate for flu tests was 7.9% on 27 November, the most recent date for which data is available.

Flu is one of the illnesses circulating in the UK that have been dubbed the “quad-demic”.

COVID-19, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and norovirus are all expected to peak at different times during the season.

Dr Alexander Allen, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Flu is the cause of the rise in winter illnesses that we’ve seen in the past week, with emergency department attendances also increasing.

“Anyone still eligible for the flu, COVID-19 or RSV vaccines should get booked in ahead of the busy winter period, when we expect flu, and other respiratory viruses to spread between people more easily.

“Vaccination offers the best defence against these diseases, and now is the time to get protected before Christmas.”

THERE ARE HINTS THIS SEASON COULD BE A BAD ONE



Tom Clarke

Science and technology editor

@t0mclark3

Flu season is upon us once again. The big question, not just for anyone looking forward to a healthy Christmas break but for a creaking NHS which can be crippled by a severe flu season, is: how bad will it be?

The Chief Medical Officer Sir Chris Whitty took to social media to remind all those who are eligible to come forward for a flu jab. This is a sensible reminder in any given year – but there were some hints in the data he shared that this season might be a hard one.

Compared to last year flu cases have been rising faster earlier. In the last couple of weeks, the number of flu tests coming back positive has increased sharply. The speed of the rise is in line with the increase seen in the 2022-23 flu season.

No flu season is the same – the severity can vary due to the strains of flu circulating, the level of vaccination in the community, and the weather – but the 2022-23 season was, according to recent analysis, the worst in the UK in five years.

There are some other concerning signs – flu cases appear to be highest among school aged children– despite the fact vaccine uptake in this group is the highest it’s been.

For the time being at least, infection and hospitalisation rates in the most vulnerable groups – the very young and the elderly — remain low, although they are increasing.

The advice, as it is every season is for anyone who is eligible for a flu jab – children from 2 to 11, pregnant women, everyone over 65, vulnerable groups and health and social care workers – should get a flu jab if they haven’t already had one.

Australia has worst flu season on record

Australia has experienced its worst flu season on record.

Figures from Australia’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System showed 358,256 laboratory-confirmed cases of flu.

This beat 2019’s previous high of 313,615 cases and comes amid a declining rate in flu vaccinations.

Pic: iStock
Image:
Pic: iStock

How can you protect yourself?

You can catch the flu all year round, but it is especially common in winter.

The NHS says symptoms include: a sudden high temperature, an aching body, feeling exhausted, a dry cough, a sore throat, headache and difficulty sleeping.

“Vaccines work against the quad-demic,” Dr David Lloyd, a GP, previously told Sky News.

In fact, by getting vaccinated you halve your risk of catching any of the four illnesses, he said.

The NHS provides vaccinations against three of the four illnesses; flu, COVID-19 and, as of September this year, RSV.

Read more from Sky News:
Inside the UK’s ‘wild west’ court system
How US abortion bans put women at risk

The flu vaccine is offered on the NHS every year in autumn and early winter. You can get it for free if you are over 65, have a long-term health condition, are pregnant, live in a care home, are a carer for someone, or live with someone with a weakened immune system.

Front line health and social care workers can also get a flu vaccine through their employer.

Analysis of the latest NHS vaccination data showed 335 vaccinations were given per minute for COVID, flu and RSV on average from 30 September to 17 November.

This works out to around 3.4 million vaccinations a week.

Continue Reading

UK

Gregg Wallace allegations ‘truly upsetting’, says MasterChef co-host John Torode

Published

on

By

Gregg Wallace allegations 'truly upsetting', says MasterChef co-host John Torode

MasterChef presenter John Torode has said he has found the recent reports about co-host Gregg Wallace “truly upsetting”.

In his first comments since the allegations surfaced, Torode said he would continue to be part of the programme, adding: “The thought of anyone who has appeared on our show not having a brilliant experience is awful to hear.”

Wallace is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour from more than a dozen people across a range of shows over a 17-year period. His lawyers have said it’s “entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Torode said he had been away filming MasterChef overseas since last Friday, shortly after the allegations were made public.

“I love my job, and I love MasterChef,” he said. “I love being part of it and will continue to be part of it.

“During the last few days, I’ve been trying to make the best cookery programme, so being busy making the show and caring for our contestants has allowed me little time to think about anything else, but that has been hard.”

Torode said he “fully” supports the current investigation into Wallace’s alleged behaviour, but could not comment further while it is ongoing.

“I hope that you all understand and respect my silence on the matter moving forward,” he added.

On Tuesday, the BBC confirmed it was removing two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials from the schedule. However, the current series of MasterChef: The Professionals is continuing as planned.

A spokesperson for the broadcaster said it took the decision as the series can be “life-changing” for the chefs taking part, but the “Christmas specials are obviously a different type of show”.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

UK

Met Office issues weather warnings for heavy rain and gusts of up to 80mph across UK

Published

on

By

Met Office issues weather warnings for heavy rain and gusts of up to 80mph across UK

Weather warnings have been issued across the UK for strong winds of up to 80mph and heavy rain over the next few days.

A Met Office yellow warning for gusty conditions – 65-75mph in places – begins from 4pm today in north and northwest Scotland until Thursday morning.

That is followed by a second warning for strong and gusty winds on Thursday and Friday with “disruption possible” on the roads and railways.

Get the five-day forecast where you are

It covers an area of the UK from Northern Ireland, extending across parts of Scotland, north Wales, northern England, the north Midlands and East Anglia.

Map showing weather warnings for 4-6th Dec 2024
Image:
Two wind warnings have been issued for Wednesday in northern Scotland and a larger area of the UK for Thursday. Pic: Met Office

Inland gusts could hit between 40-50mph but along exposed coasts through the North Channel and Irish Sea it might reach 60-70mph.

Forecasters also predict heavy showers at times, until the warning expires at 6am on Sunday.

More on Uk Weather

The Met Office advises, those on the coast, to “stay safe during stormy weather by being aware of large waves”.

A third warning for strong winds and heavy rain also comes into force – for England and Wales – from Friday afternoon.

Forecasters are predicting these winds “may quite widely gust to around 40-50mph” but “perhaps locally nearer 80mph”.

This could cause difficult driving conditions, travel disruption and flooding in places, it has warned.

Around 15-25mm (0.6-1in) of rain may fall quite widely, but “exposed higher ground in the north and west – particularly parts of Wales – could see closer to 50-70mm (2-2.7in) and are at risk of flooding.

UK flooding risk returns

The Met Office said there is a slight chance of damage to buildings, homes and businesses being flooded, difficult driving conditions, road closures and power cuts.

Some snow on higher ground above about 200m (656ft) is also predicted.

Around the UK, shipping areas have been warned of intense winds.

Two areas – Faeroes and Bailey – are on alert for storm force 10 and the risk of violent storm force 11, which involves gusts of 69 knots (79mph).

That would be ranked as the second highest level, just below hurricane force.

Read more from Sky News:
British Army could not cope in major war
Mother sues over porn website on doll packaging
Cases of winter flu ‘rising rapidly’

Concerns after Storms Bert and Conall

Several communities are still recovering from damaging flooding caused by Storm Bert between 22 – 25 November.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Businesses ‘destroyed’ by Storm Bert

Winds of more than 80mph were recorded across the UK during the height of the storm.

The Met Office says the weekend of 23-24 November was “exceptionally wet” across South Wales and South West England, with more than 150mm (5.9in) falling in some upland areas.

Handout photo courtesy of Emmawales123 @EmmaLWales of the River Taff flooding in Pontypridd, Wales. Another weather warning has been issued and more than 200 flood alerts are in place in the UK as Storm Bert continues to sweep across the country. Picture date: Sunday November 24, 2024.
Image:
Storm Bert caused the River Taff to burst its banks and flood homes in Pontypridd. File pic: PA

On 23 November, the average amount of rainfall across the UK was 24mm (1in) making it the wettest day since October 2020.

Among dozens of flood warnings that were issued, a rare severe flood warning – meaning a danger to life – was put in place for the River Nene near Northampton.

Flooded caravans at Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park near Northampton, Northamptonshire. Storm Bert will continue to bring disruption into Monday after torrential downpours caused "devastating" flooding over the weekend. Picture date: Monday November 25, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story WEATHER Bert. Photo credit should read: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
Image:
The Billing Aquadrome was badly flooded by the River Nene during Storm Bert. File pic: PA

Storm Bert was followed by Conall on 27 November which dropped up to 30mm (1.18in) of rain across southern coastal counties of the UK.

It did cause some flooding, but the Met Office says the disruption was more isolated than Bert.

Continue Reading

Trending