‘She took over their lives’: Cancer nurse struck off after abusing position to gain inheritance
Ian Percival was walking his dog, Snowy, along the coast near his home in South Wales, when he met Anita George, a cancer nurse at a local Swansea hospital. It was the same route he took every night, but this time he stopped.
“She happened to be on the promenade and crying about her relationship, I believe,” says Ian’s daughter Helen, who doesn’t think that meeting was a coincidence.
What happened next set in motion a chain of events that would lead to allegations of financial grooming, neglect and an NHS nurse being struck off.
Ian Percival was a wealthy businessman in his 70s, who worked as an investor in property and an insurance broker. Part of his business involved renting homes to NHS staff locally.
“Dad was a workaholic, he loved it,” his son, Richard, says fondly.
Ian and his wife, Margaret, who were married for more than 50 years, were well-known and well-liked figures in the Swansea area.
Ian and Margaret as a young couple
Anita was a seemingly trustworthy nurse – who, just three days after meeting Ian, moved into one of his properties to help look after Margaret, who had mobility problems. It was a private arrangement, a deal struck personally, not through the NHS.
“I was doubtful about her from day one,” says Richard.
This is the first time Ian’s children have spoken publicly about what happened, from their home in Brisbane, Australia.
Anita George with Ian and Margaret
‘She took over their lives’
As time went on, they became increasingly concerned about how involved Anita was becoming with their parents. When Ian was diagnosed with cancer, she began also caring for him.
“She took over our parents’ lives. She was constantly with them,” Richard recalls. Increasingly, he felt she was coming between their parents and isolating them from their family.
“Mum was getting excluded,” says Richard. “I felt that she [Anita] had full control, which I have never witnessed before. I just don’t understand how, after mum and dad being together for 52 years, things she did changed everything.”
Margaret and Anita
Helen says Anita’s professional credentials initially reassured her. “I trusted her because she was a nurse at a local hospital.”
But in the months before Ian’s death in December 2016, she could tell things had drastically changed. Anita was refusing to take care of their mother, Helen claims. Instead, she focused all her attention on Ian.
It wasn’t until their father died, that Helen and Richard became aware of the extent of Anita’s involvement with Ian. They believe she’d struck up an inappropriate personal relationship, manipulating him for financial gain.
As they investigated, they moved Margaret to live with them in Australia, where she later died in 2018.
“On dad’s computer, we managed to find some evidence. We thought, this is crazy. I don’t understand… so it made us dig deeper,” says Richard.
Richard with his parents
Cash, a car and property
Ian had given her nearly £15,000 in cash and shares, a car and left her a property worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
“I felt sick because I knew this was her doing,” recalls Helen. “The first thing that came to my mind was that he was financially groomed… she had one motive – to get money.”
“Only when the will was read did I realise how skewed it was.”
Helen believes the will had “huge input” from Anita.
Anita George said she was simply receiving gifts from a friend – but this is not just a story about money and material goods. On Ian’s medical records she had listed herself as his next of kin, even as his daughter and adoptive daughter. All this without his wife or children’s knowledge.
She was managing his hospital appointments, taking his bloods at home, accessing medical equipment. How did Helen feel about a woman she barely knew passing herself off as her father’s daughter?
“It’s devastating. It should never have happened. That’s a massive failing by the NHS.”
It has taken eight years for the family of Ian Percival to achieve any form of justice.
Ian and Margaret
Struck off as a nurse
In December 2024, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) carried out a hearing into the allegations – and found that Anita George had breached professional standards and abused the position of trust as a registered nurse to gain inheritance from a patient.
It ruled that her actions were motivated by the pursuit of financial gain, and it struck her off from the nursing register – its toughest sanction. The NMC report outlines how Ian and Margaret’s isolation, poor health and geographical separation from their children made them particularly vulnerable.
Anita George declined our request for an interview.
During the hearing her legal team argued this all happened outside of her formal employment as a nurse. The situation was unlikely to happen again as her personal life has changed and she’s now married, they added.
Swansea Bay University Health Board, which runs the hospital, is now carrying out a review into any possible failures:
“In light of the findings of the NMC’s hearing we are appalled and want to state clearly to the family that we’re very sorry about what happened. We will be reviewing this case to see if there are any learnings that need to be taken into account. It is important, however, to clarify that the inappropriate financial relationships did not relate to care provided within an NHS context.”
Helen with her father, Ian
South Wales Police carried out an investigation at the time but no charges were brought.
It says it will reopen the case if new lines of inquiry are found.
Financial exploitation of the elderly
The case of Anita George and Ian Percival highlights the growing issue of financial exploitation of the elderly. The Hourglass charity, which works exclusively in this field, says the problem is now at “epidemic” levels.
The number of calls it has received since 2017 has risen by 182% from around 4,500 to 12,700.
In just 14% of economic abuse cases in the last three years, £53m has been reported stolen from the elderly.
It says awareness among the public of what constitutes economic abuse is “shockingly low” – with a poll last year finding more than 26% of people did not believe forcing an older relative to change their will was an act of abuse.
The charity says abuse of the elderly comes in many forms including financial, psychological and physical.
“There are lots of cases we’ve dealt with where the enormity of the abuse is only obvious once the person has passed away,” says Richard Robinson, the charity’s chief executive.
“But there is another issue here; lots of older people don’t want to criminalise their family or their carers because if they [do so] they’ll be left to fend for themselves or they’ll be put into a home.”
While Ian’s children hope police will reopen the case, they also want tougher rules on how carers become involved with patients. Currently, nurses must adhere to the NMC’s professional standards known as the Code, which include acting with “honesty and integrity” in any financial dealings.
“We want legislation put in place so that carers can’t be caring without proper background checks, the next of kin cannot just be somebody they’ve known for two years.”
Helen and her father, Ian
‘Someone finally listened’
Richard added that they were “relieved” Anita George was struck off following the damning report by the NMC.
“Somebody listened to us and took our evidence onboard. You can’t have someone doing what she did – using her position as a nurse…to gain their trust.”
While the pair cherish their memories of their father what happened with Anita George has tarnished the end of his life, for them.
Neither of his parents deserved to suffer this type of abuse, says Richard.
“Dad was a genuine hard-working guy who loved his family. It’s just horrible,” he says, grimly.
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A care worker who reported the alleged abuse of an elderly care home resident, which triggered a criminal investigation, is facing destitution and potential removal from Britain after speaking up.
“Meera”, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, said she witnessed an elderly male resident being punched several times in the back by a carer at the home where she worked.
Sky News is unable to name the care home for legal reasons because of the ongoing police investigation.
“I was [a] whistleblower there,” said Meera, who came to the UK from India last year to work at the home.
“Instead of addressing things, they fired me… I told them everything and they made me feel like I am criminal. I am not criminal, I am saving lives,” she added.
‘Meera’ spoke up about abuse she said she witnessed in the care home where she worked
Like thousands of foreign care workers, Meera’s employer sponsored her visa. Unless she can find another sponsor, she now faces the prospect of removal from the country.
“I am in trouble right now and no one is trying to help me,” she said.
Meera said she reported the alleged abuse to her bosses, but was called to a meeting with a manager and told to “change your statement, otherwise we will dismiss you”.
She refused. The following month, she was sacked.
The care home claimed she failed to perform to the required standard in the job.
She went to the police to report the alleged abuse and since then, a number of people from the care home have been arrested. They remain under investigation.
‘Migrants recruited because many are too afraid to speak out’
The home has capacity for over 60 residents. It is unclear if the care home residents or their relatives know about the police investigation or claim of physical abuse.
Since the arrests, the regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), carried out an investigation at the home triggered by the concerns – but the home retained its ‘good’ rating.
Meera has had no reassurance from the authorities that she will be allowed to remain in Britain.
In order to stay, she’ll need to find another care home to sponsor her which she believes will be impossible without references from her previous employer.
She warned families: “I just want to know people in care homes like these… your person, your father, your parents, is not safe.”
She claimed some care homes have preferred to recruit migrants because many are too afraid to speak out.
“You hire local staff, they know the legal rights,” she said. “They can complain, they can work anywhere… they can raise [their] voice,” she said.
Sky’s Becky Johnson spoke to ‘Meera’
Sky News has reported widespread exploitation of care visas and migrant care workers.
Read more:
More than 100 migrants face being in UK illegally
Immigration crackdown will fuel ‘exodus’ of nurses
New English language and UK citizenship requirements for migrants
Currently migrants make up around a third of the adult social care workforce, with the majority here on visas that are sponsored by their employers.
As part of measures announced in April in the government’s immigration white paper, the care visa route will be closed, meaning care homes will no longer be able to recruit abroad.
‘Whole system is based on power imbalance’
But the chief executive of the Work Rights Centre, a charity that helps migrants with employment issues, is warning that little will change for the tens of thousands of foreign care workers already here.
“The whole system is based on power imbalance and the government announcement doesn’t change that,” Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol told Sky News.
She linked the conditions for workers to poor care for residents.
Work Rights Centre CEO Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol
“I think the power that employers have over migrant workers’ visas really makes a terrible contribution to the quality of care,” she said.
Imran agrees. He came to the UK from Bangladesh, sponsored by a care company unrelated to the one Meera worked for. He says he frequently had to work 14-hour shifts with no break because there weren’t enough staff. He too believes vulnerable people are being put at risk by the working conditions of their carers.
Migrant workers ‘threatened’ over visas
“For four clients, there is [a] minimum requirement for two or three staff. I was doing [it] alone,” he said, in broken English.
“When I try to speak, they just directly threaten me about my visa,” he said.
“I knew two or three of my colleagues, they are facing the same issue like me. But they’re still afraid to speak up because of the visa.”
A government spokesperson called what happened to Imran and Meera “shocking”.
“No one should go to work in fear of their employer, and all employees have a right to speak up if they witness poor practice and care.”
James Bullion, from the CQC, told Sky News it acts on intelligence passed to it to ensure people stay safe in care settings.
Additional research by Leah Adin
Donald Trump may be denied the honour of addressing parliament on his state visit to the UK later this year, with no formal request yet submitted for him to be given that privilege.
It comes after President Macron’s successful state visit this week, in which he was invited to speak in front of both Houses of Parliament.
Sky News has been told the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, hasn’t so far received a request to invite the US president to speak in parliament when he is expected to visit in September.
It was confirmed to MPs who have raised concerns about the US president being allowed to address both houses.
Kate Osborne, Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, wrote to the speaker in April asking him to stop Mr Trump from addressing parliament, and tabled an early-day motion outlining her concerns.
“I was happy to see Macron here but feel very differently about Trump,” she said.
“Trump has made some very uncomfortable and worrying comments around the UK government, democracy, the Middle East, particularly around equalities and, of course, Ukraine.
“So, I think there are many reasons why, when we’re looking at a state visit, we should be looking at why they’re being afforded that privilege. Because, of course, it is a privilege for somebody to come and address both of the houses.”
But the timing of the visit may mean that any diplomatic sensitivities, or perceptions of a snub, could be avoided.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron addressed parliament during his state visit this month
Lord Ricketts, a former UK ambassador to France, pointed out that parliament isn’t sitting for much of September, and that could help resolve the issue.
In 2017, he wrote a public letter questioning the decision to give Donald Trump his first state visit, saying it put Queen Elizabeth II in a “very difficult position”.
Parliament rises from 16 September until 13 October due to party conferences.
The dates for the state visit haven’t yet been confirmed by Buckingham Palace or the government.
However, they have not denied that it will take place in September, after Mr Trump appeared to confirm they were planning to hold the state visit that month. The palace confirmed this week that the formal planning for his arrival had begun.
With the King likely to still be in Scotland in early September for events such as the Braemar Gathering, and the anniversary of his accession and the death of Queen Elizabeth on the 8th September, it may be expected that the visit would take place sometime from mid to the end of September, also taking into consideration the dates of the Labour Party conference starting on the 28th September and possibly the Lib Dem’s conference from the 20th-23rd.
Mr Trump has said he believes the trip to the UK will take place in September. Pic: Reuters
When asked about parliamentary recess potentially solving the issue, Ms Osborne said: “It may be a way of dealing with it in a very diplomatic way… I don’t know how much control we have over Trump’s diary.
“But if we can manoeuvre it in a way that means that the House isn’t sitting, then that seems like a good solution, maybe not perfect, because I’d actually like him to know that he’s not welcome.”
A message from the speaker’s office, seen by Sky News, says: “Formal addresses to both Houses of Parliament are not automatically included in the itinerary of such a state visit.
“Whether a foreign head of state addresses parliament, during a state visit or otherwise, is part of the planning decisions.”
Mr Trump made his first state visit to the UK in June 2019 during his first presidency. File pic: Reuters
It’s understood that if the government agrees to a joint address to parliament, the Lord Chamberlain’s office writes to the two speakers, on behalf of the King, to ask them to host this.
It will be Mr Trump’s second state visit.
During his first, in 2019, he didn’t address parliament, despite the fact that his predecessor, Barack Obama, was asked to do so.
It was unclear if this was due to the fact John Bercow, the speaker at the time, made it clear he wasn’t welcome to do so.
However, it didn’t appear to dampen Mr Trump’s excitement about his time with the Royal Family.
Read more from Sky News:
Two women killed as BMW crashes into care home
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Speaking earlier this year, he described his state visit as “a fest” adding “it’s an honour… I’m a friend of Charles, I have great respect for King Charles and the family, William; we have really just a great respect for the family. And I think they’re setting a date for September.”
It is expected that, like Mr Macron, the pageantry for his trip this time will revolve around Windsor, with refurbishment taking place at Buckingham Palace.
Liverpool have retired the number 20 shirt in honour of Diogo Jota – the first time it has made such a gesture.
The club said it was a “unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person” and the decision was made in consultation with his wife and family.
The number 20 will be retired at all levels, including the men’s and women’s first teams and academy squads.
A statement said: “It was the number he wore with pride and distinction, leading us to countless victories in the process – and Diogo Jota will forever be Liverpool Football Club’s number 20.”
The club called it a “recognition of not only the immeasurable contribution our lad from Portugal made to the Reds’ on-pitch successes over the last five years, but also the profound personal impact he had on his teammates, colleagues and supporters and the everlasting connections he built with them”.
Jota’s wife joined Liverpool players to view tributes at Anfield on Friday. Pic: Liverpool FC
Pic: Liverpool FC
Newly-married Jota died alongside his brother when his Lamborghini crashed in northern Spain on 3 July.
Police said this week that all the evidence so far suggests Jota was the one driving the vehicle.
Liverpool teammates joined members of Jota’s family, including his wife Rute, at a huge memorial site outside Anfield on Friday.
Read more from Sky News:
Mystery in space is most likely ‘oldest comet ever seen’
Trump may be denied privilege of addressing parliament
A fan looks at messages on a memorial wall near Anfield. Pic: Reuters
Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson were among players at the funeral. Pic: Reuters
The star’s funeral took place last weekend, with Liverpool colleagues and members of the Portuguese national team in attendance.
Reds captain Virgil van Dijk carried a shirt bearing the number 20 made from flowers.
Liverpool players returned to the club’s training ground for the start of pre-season on Tuesday.
Their first game since Jota’s death will be on Sunday when they play a friendly away against Preston North End.
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