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John Hunt has told the man convicted of murdering his two daughters and wife that hell will roll out a “red carpet” for him.

Kyle Clifford, 26, was given a whole-life sentence for triple murder and rape at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday.

He admitted shooting his ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt, 25, and her sister Hannah Hunt, 28, with a crossbow and fatally stabbing their mother, 61-year-old Carol Hunt, last July.

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He had denied raping Louise during the attack, but was found guilty last week.

Mr Hunt delivered a powerful victim impact statement in court, aimed at Clifford,

Here is what he said – warning readers may find some of the content below upsetting:

My name is John Hunt and I am blessed to be Carol’s husband and Hannah, Louise and Amy’s dad.

Thank you for returning the guilty verdict today.

That you had to consider the evidence was purely down to Kyle choosing to not admit responsibility.

You too, are victims of his callous, cowardly, vindictive behaviours and I wish he hadn’t put you through that.

I so wanted to deliver these words, eye to eye with Kyle. I will continue to act as if I am doing so.

‘You simply failed to be the person she needed’

When I was first invited to provide a victim impact statement I initially misunderstood its purpose. Do I really need to detail the impact of having three quarters of my family murdered?

But then I realised that this was my final opportunity to say what I want to say to you specifically Kyle, words that will also be directed to your family who will carry guilt forward for the rest of their lives; I know you valued them so poorly from all the conversations we had Kyle, but I suppose even they must be damaged by what you have done.

I also want to confirm to the world the truth, especially how Louise conducted herself within a textbook, mature breakup on her part, understanding the conflict of saying goodbye to someone she once loved but not allowing those memories to cloud her certain knowledge that you simply failed to be the person she needed.

You failed.

I am so proud of all of my girls. Unlike you Kyle, at every step of their lives they made the correct choices to improve themselves as people; Louise enjoyed more success and fulfilment in one morning than you achieved in your entire miserable life.

Do you recall Kyle, how kind we all were to you?

Helping you and Louise enjoy trips away, do you remember how she loved a swanky hotel?

You were always invited to meals out. A Sunday lunch at the pub or a special celebration, you were always made welcome.

The only Christmas you spent together was at our house. Was it four or five days you spent with us? The food, the games, the laughter, the normality… what was it about that blissful existence you hated so much, Kyle? Could you not handle how pleasant it was, such a contrast to what you were used to.

The trips to Italy, Disneyland and many more; Louise gave your relationship so much effort, which you were never able or willing to match.

We all offered you kindness, especially Carol. She had picked up on your personal inadequacies right from the start. She sensed your immaturity but always knew Louise would work things out.

Carol still displayed her compassion right up until the moment she answered the door to you on 9 July. Do you remember her kindness, Kyle; how she urged you to get some relationship help and guidance for fear that you would never be able to sustain a lasting relationship.

You calmly accepted that advice on the doorstep and then seconds later, savagely stabbed her eight times and ended her life.

‘You are a psychopath’

When I challenge myself about how you were able to deceive us all, I simply say that you are a psychopath who, for the duration of your time together with Louise, was able to disguise yourself as an ordinary human being.

You reserved your best, make-believe version of yourself for the times you were in our house.

You managed to maintain that veneer of decency throughout the first year of your time with Louise, but you couldn’t maintain it in the early part of 2024.

Although Carol and I never witnessed any alarming behaviour, your visits became less frequent. You began the first of two affairs that we know about, your aversion to a day’s hard work continued as you messed up yet another job at Reynolds.

It wasn’t only the Army that found you worthless.

I often think of the list Louise wrote to herself to remind her of the reasons that you fell short. The racism. She was rightly disgusted by that. Your belittling language. The fact that your family is a mess.

Like any woman should be allowed to do, she worked you out despite repeated deceit and said enough is enough. I hope women around the world will take Louise’s bravery as a shining beacon for their lives.

If you feel enough is enough, then it is.

I’d like to remind you Kyle, of how gracious Louise was to you in that final text to you. This is what she said on the 26 June, the morning after she had finished with you face to face.

She texted you thanking you for what was a wonderful year together, explaining how much she once loved you, that she never wanted any animosity to develop between you and that she wanted you to take care of yourself.

You texted back saying: “Thank you for the clarity Louise, so we can both start our healing process. I love you so much and I will for a very long time. I will always be here for you if you ever need me, please don’t hesitate. I wish you all the best and take care of yourself too.”

The difference was, we know now, that Louise meant every word whereas you simply lied.

‘You killed three beautiful mockingbirds, Kyle’

You didn’t love her enough to stop you having those two affairs in the spring of last year. Or to start planning to kill her and her family just days later.

And that a horrific rape on her was part of the plan. Your levels of misogyny are off the scale.

Louise’s favourite novel from her schooldays was Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill A Mockingbird. She was captivated by the goodness of Atticus Finch both as a father and a lawyer.

She would often quote lines from the novel to match life’s challenges.

One of those quotes that comes to mind, right here in this moment is that of Miss Maudie reasserting Atticus’ assertion that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.

She said: “Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

All their lives, Carol, Hannah and Louise similarly spent their time bringing joy and colour and happiness to other people’s lives.

You killed three beautiful mockingbirds, Kyle.

‘I can’t imagine a more cowardly act’

So, to remind you, over a period of four hours you brutally killed Carol, waited over an hour until Louise came into the house. You incapacitated her, raped her and when you realised Hannah was coming home, you shot Louise in the back.

I can’t imagine a more cowardly act. You couldn’t look her in the eye. You murdered Hannah minutes later. So four hours.

A few weeks later I also spent four hours with them Kyle; in the funeral director’s.

The usual room wasn’t big enough for three bodies but they removed a partition wall so we could all be together. I sat for a while with Louise to my right, she looked so peaceful and Hannah to my left. I couldn’t quite reach to hold their hands at the same time.

Amy and I placed a photograph of Chester in Louise’s right hand. Carol was at the top of the room. She was dressed in a beautiful orange dress she had bought for a wedding we went to a month beforehand.

I stroked her hair and told her how much I loved her. I thanked her for being such a wonderful partner in life and wonderful mother. They were my four hours Kyle.

‘I am lucky’

And what about me? The impact of what you have done will be taken to my grave but on the way there, I want you to know that I stand strong before you today.

As you are consigned to a fate far greater than death, I can draw on the love and strength that I still feel from the girls in every moment of every day.

I am lucky. I have the most wonderful daughter, Amy, who gives me such focus and purpose. I have Gareth and Alex.

I have my extended family, reaching far beyond my mum, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles and cousins. I have many friends who watch out for me on an hourly basis.

Carol’s friends are mine and I now have a renewed relationship with Hannah and Louise’s best friends. I will always be there for them and they will be there for me too.

So whilst I am so badly damaged, I am determined to see what my future is, surrounded by so many amazing people. And the chance to do so has been gifted to me by my incredible Hannah.

I firmly believe that, had she not managed to show such amazing physical and mental strength in raising the alarm after you fatally injured her, then I would have been your fourth victim that day.

Hannah handed me a second chance, one that she worked so hard to achieve for me. Do you really think after what she did for me, I will slight her memory and example by just giving up?

Even though the days are difficult and feel on many occasions, impossible, I will channel my inner Atticus Finch at all times. He said: “I want you to see what real courage is. Instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand, its when you know you are licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

And now comes the time when your fate on this earth will be confirmed.

‘Your misery will last for eternity’

Every single person in the world, I’m thinking of mothers and fathers in particular, especially those daughters, now expects the formality of a life sentence.

Never again to make choices of your own. To breathe fresh air only occasionally. To eat when someone else tells you to eat.

But just remember one thing. Whatever sentence you are about to receive, whatever misery lies ahead for you for the next 60 years. Remember that after your days on earth are done, on your dying day, there will be no release for you.

The screams of hell, Kyle, I can hear them faintly now. The red carpet will come out for you.

At that point, when the person you could have been meets the person you are, you will realise your miserable fate will last for eternity.

Amy Hunt – Mr Hunt’s surviving daughter – also delivered a victim impact statement in court.

Here is what she said:

‘You are a monster’

That day you intruded into a beloved family home, where you yourself had spent lots of happy times, and attacked three defenceless women one by one, alone and out of the blue, with such hideous weapons that ensured they had no means of defending themselves.

I can think of nothing more cowardly than that.

That day, you had a choice, Kyle, and you chose to inflict violence of a horrific scale, all for your own selfish, sadistic aims – all the time, truly thinking of yourself alone.

I can only assume that, in the days after Louise broke up with you, you created a false narrative in your head about how we had supposedly wronged you, in order to allow you to avoid confronting the pain and shame within you – and the truth, that the break-up was entirely your fault.

That day, my mum, Hannah and Louise were all simply living their lives – getting on with their day in their home, working or returning home after work. Their home is a place that was, and should have continued to be safe for them, and you made it the most unsafe place in the world for those few hours. You are a monster.

What you did to Louise that day, Kyle, is nothing short of demonic. To put her through the torture you did is inexplicably horrific.

And I ask again, for what? Because she dared to dump you? Something that was her right and choice? For that alone, you have earnt yourself your rightful spot in hell one day – and we can only hope that even you, who has continually denied this act, feel crippling shame every single moment for being the rapist that you are.

‘Someone who put her family above all else’

My mother Carol was everything to us – hysterically funny, loving, quick-witted, honest, the most caring and someone who put her family above all else her entire life.

She adored her husband and her girls, and was fiercely protective of her children. She loved her home and her extended family and shared the most wonderful, loving, supportive and fun relationships with our dad, that provided me, Hannah and Louise with the perfect example of love – and our home was full of just that every single day, because of her.

She and dad gave us the most amazing childhood we could have ever asked for. My mum and I would talk for hours on end, either in person or on the phone, and she was the very best for providing advice, loving words, or comfort. I will miss the sound of her warm, reasurring voice for the rest of my life.

‘Signature smile and contagious giggle’

Hannah was feisty, hilarious, hard-working, eternally positive and inspiring, straight-talking and the most supportive and protective person you could ever hope to meet.

She would do anything for those she loved, and whenever Hannah was in a room, she couldn’t help but make it better, making everyone there smile and laugh.

She had the strength of a lion and was guaranteed to greet everyone with her signature smile and contagious giggle. Her beauty clients loved and respected her hugely, treasuring their sessions with her, and she them.

She loved hard and had found her soulmate in Alex – their life and future together was written in the stars. And she too adored her family more than anything.

Louise ‘loved passionately and fiercely, but not freely’

Louise was the most gentle, kind, caring, beautiful, sweet and hard-working person there is. But more than that, she had an immensely strong, sassy side to her. In the midst of her bucketfuls of compassion and empathy. She was a values-driven woman, who loved passionately and fiercely, but not freely, and not just to anyone.

She adored animals, mostly dogs, which is why her business had become so hugely successful – though it wasn’t just a business for Louise, but a passion.

But she was so much more than that, of the many things she adored, Louise loved to treat herself to the very best things in life, having worked hard for the priviledge of doing so. As her family, we were besotted with her and she us.

She had the closest group of friends who adored her – and she them. They always has the most fun together, laughing endlessly and simply being silly with each other.

‘My mum and sisters were my very best friends’

My mum and sisters were my very best friends and the impact of their loss is something I cannot put into words. There is nothing I do not notice their absence in. It’s something I will feel every second of every day, until my own dying day.

So, when the stain of Kyle Clifford begins to fade – a man who will be remembered only for his hideousness, evil and cowardice – if he is even remembered at all – the lives and egacy of Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt will live on forever, because as I mentioned, love is the only thing that means anything in this world.

And my mum, Hannah and Louise are shining beacons of exactly that.

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Heidi Alexander says ‘fairness’ will be government’s ‘guiding principle’ when it comes to taxes at next budget

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Heidi Alexander says 'fairness' will be government's 'guiding principle' when it comes to taxes at next budget

Another hint that tax rises are coming in this autumn’s budget has been given by a senior minister.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was asked if Sir Keir Starmer and the rest of the cabinet had discussed hiking taxes in the wake of the government’s failed welfare reforms, which were shot down by their own MPs.

Trevor Phillips asked specifically if tax rises were discussed among the cabinet last week – including on an away day on Friday.

Politics Hub: Catch up on the latest

Tax increases were not discussed “directly”, Ms Alexander said, but ministers were “cognisant” of the challenges facing them.

Asked what this means, Ms Alexander added: “I think your viewers would be surprised if we didn’t recognise that at the budget, the chancellor will need to look at the OBR forecast that is given to her and will make decisions in line with the fiscal rules that she has set out.

“We made a commitment in our manifesto not to be putting up taxes on people on modest incomes, working people. We have stuck to that.”

Ms Alexander said she wouldn’t comment directly on taxes and the budget at this point, adding: “So, the chancellor will set her budget. I’m not going to sit in a TV studio today and speculate on what the contents of that budget might be.

“When it comes to taxation, fairness is going to be our guiding principle.”

Read more:
Reeves won’t rule out tax rises

What is a wealth tax and how would it work?

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈      

Afterwards, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Phillips: “That sounds to me like a barely disguised reference to tax rises coming in the autumn.”

He then went on to repeat the Conservative attack lines that Labour are “crashing the economy”.

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Chris Philp also criticsed the government’s migration deal with France

Mr Philp then attacked the prime minister as “weak” for being unable to get his welfare reforms through the Commons.

Discussions about potential tax rises have come to the fore after the government had to gut its welfare reforms.

Sir Keir had wanted to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), but a large Labour rebellion forced him to axe the changes.

With the savings from these proposed changes – around £5bn – already worked into the government’s sums, they will now need to find the money somewhere else.

The general belief is that this will take the form of tax rises, rather than spending cuts, with more money needed for military spending commitments, as well as other areas of priority for the government, such as the NHS.

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Justice system ‘frustrating’, Met Police chief says – as he admits London’s ‘shameful’ racism challenge

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Justice system 'frustrating', Met Police chief says - as he admits London's 'shameful' racism challenge

It is “shameful” that black boys growing up in London are “far more likely” to die than white boys, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has told Sky News.

In a wide-ranging interview with Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the commissioner said that relations with minority communities are “difficult for us”, while also speaking about the state of the justice system and the size of the police force.

Sir Mark, who came out of retirement to become head of the UK’s largest police force in 2022, said: “We can’t pretend otherwise that we’ve got a history between policing and black communities where policing has got a lot wrong.

“And we get a lot more right today, but we do still make mistakes. That’s not in doubt. I’m being as relentless in that as it can be.”

He said the “vast majority” of the force are “good people”.

However, he added: “But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.”

Sir Mark, who also leads the UK’s counter-terrorism policing, said black boys growing up in London “are far more likely to be dead by the time they’re 18” than white boys.

“That’s, I think, shameful for the city,” he admitted.

“The challenge for us is, as we reach in to tackle those issues, that confrontation that comes from that reaching in, whether it’s stop and search on the streets or the sort of operations you seek.

“The danger is that’s landing in an environment with less trust.

“And that makes it even harder. But the people who win out of that [are] all of the criminals.”

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said racism is still an issue in the force
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Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley

The commissioner added: “I’m so determined to find a way to get past this because if policing in black communities can find a way to confront these issues, together we can give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we’re seeing at the moment.

“And it’s not simply about policing, is it?”

Sir Mark said: “I think black boys are several times more likely to be excluded from school, for example, than white boys.

“And there are multiple issues layered on top of each other that feed into disproportionality.”

‘We’re stretched, but there’s hope and determination’

Sir Mark said the Met is a “stretched service” but people who call 999 can expect an officer to attend.

“If you are in the middle of a crisis and something awful is happening and you dial 999, officers will get there really quickly,” Sir Mark said.

“I don’t pretend we’re not a stretched service.

“We are smaller than I think we ought to be, but I don’t want to give a sort of message of a lack of hope or a lack of determination.”

“I’ve seen the mayor and the home secretary fighting hard for police resourcing,” he added.

“It’s not what I’d want it to be, but it’s better than it might be without their efforts.”

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How police tracked and chased suspected phone thief

‘Close to broken’ justice system facing ‘awful’ delays

Sir Mark said the criminal justice system was “close to broken” and can be “frustrating” for police officers.

“The thing that is frustrating is that the system – and no system can be perfect – but when the system hasn’t managed to turn that person’s life around and get them on the straight and narrow, and it just becomes a revolving door,” he said.

“When that happens, of course that’s frustrating for officers.

“So the more successful prisons and probation can be in terms of getting people onto a law-abiding life from the path they’re on, the better.

“But that is a real challenge. I mean, we’re talking just after Sir Brian Leveson put his report out about the close-to-broken criminal justice system.

“And it’s absolutely vital that those repairs and reforms that he’s talking about happen really quickly, because the system is now so stressed.”

Giving an example, the police commissioner went on: “We’ve got Snaresbrook [Crown Court] in London – it’s now got more than 100 cases listed for 2029.”

Sir Mark asked Trevor Phillips to imagine he had been the victim of a crime, saying: “We’ve caught the person, we’ve charged him, ‘great news, Mr Phillips, we’ve got him charged, they’re going to court’.

“And then a few weeks later, I see the trial’s listed for 2029. That doesn’t feel great, does it?”

Asked about the fact that suspects could still be on the streets for years before going to trial, Sir Mark conceded it’s “pretty awful”.

He added: “If it’s someone on bail, who might have stolen your phone or whatever, and they’re going in for a criminal court trial, that could be four years away. And that’s pretty unacceptable, isn’t it?”

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Leveson explains plans to fix justice system

Challenge to reform the Met

The Met chief’s comments come two years after an official report found the force is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

Baroness Casey was commissioned in 2021 to look into the Met Police after serving police officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

She pinned the primary blame for the Met’s culture on its past leadership and found stop and search and the use of force against black people was excessive.

At the time, Sir Mark, who had been commissioner for six months when the report was published, said he would not use the labels of institutionally racist, institutionally misogynistic and institutionally homophobic, which Baroness Casey insisted the Met deserved.

However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who helped hire Sir Mark – and could fire him – made it clear the commissioner agreed with Baroness Casey’s verdict.

A few months after the report, Sir Mark launched a two-year £366m plan to overhaul the Met, including increased emphasis on neighbourhood policing to rebuild public trust and plans to recruit 500 more community support officers and an extra 565 people to work with teams investigating domestic violence, sexual offences and child sexual abuse and exploitation.

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UK measles cases rising among children – with leading NHS hospital ‘concerned’

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UK measles cases rising among children - with leading NHS hospital 'concerned'

A leading NHS hospital has warned measles is on the rise among children in the UK, after treating 17 cases since June.

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool said it is “concerned” about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting the highly contagious virus.

It said the cases it has treated since June were for effects and complications of the disease, which, in rare cases, can be fatal if left untreated.

“We are concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles. Measles is a highly contagious viral illness which can cause children to be seriously unwell, requiring hospital treatment, and in rare cases, death,” the hospital said in a statement to Sky News.

In a separate open letter to parents and carers in Merseyside earlier this month, Alder Hey, along with the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) and directors of Public Health for Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley, warned the increase in measles in the region could be down to fewer people getting vaccinated.

The letter read: “We are seeing more cases of measles in our children and young people because fewer people are having the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles and two other viruses called mumps and rubella.

“Children in hospital, who are very poorly for another reason, are at higher risk of catching the virus.”

What are the symptoms of measles?

The first symptoms of measles include:

• A high temperature

• A runny or blocked nose

• Sneezing

• A cough

• Red, sore or watery eyes

Cold-like symptoms are followed a few days later by a rash, which starts on the face and behind the ears, before it spreads.

The spots are usually raised and can join together to form blotchy patches which are not usually itchy.

Some people may get small spots in their mouth too.

What should you do if you think your child has measles?

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111 if you think your child has measles.

If your child has been vaccinated, it is very unlikely they have measles.

You should not go to the doctor without calling ahead, as measles is very infectious.

If your child is diagnosed with measles by a doctor, make sure they avoid close contact with babies and anyone who is pregnant or has a weakened immune system.

The skin of a patient after 3 days of measles infection
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The skin of a patient after three days of measles infection

It comes after a Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) report released earlier this month determined that uptake of vaccines in the UK has stalled over the last decade and is, in many cases, declining.

It said none of the routine childhood vaccinations have met the 95% coverage target since 2021, putting youngsters at risk of measles, meningitis and whooping cough.

The MMR vaccine has been available through the NHS for years. Two doses gives lifelong protection against measles, mumps and rubella.

File photo of a MMR vaccine
Image:
Two doses of the MMR vaccine give lifelong protection against measles, mumps and rubella. Pic: iStock

According to the latest NHS data, Liverpool was one of the cities outside London with the lowest uptake of the MMR vaccination in 2023-2024.

By the time children were five years old, 86.5% had been give one dose, decreasing to 73.4% for a second dose.

The RCPCH report put the nationwide decline down to fears over vaccinations, as well as families having trouble booking appointments and a lack of continuous care in the NHS, with many seeing a different GP on each visit.

Read more from Sky News:
Met Police chief on London’s ‘shameful’ racism challenge
‘My voice box was removed after NHS missed cancer’

In the US, measles cases are at their highest in more than three decades.

Cases reached 1,288 on Wednesday this week, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, with 14 states battling active outbreaks.

The largest outbreak started five months ago in communities in West Texas, where vaccination uptake is low. Since then, three people have died – including two children in Texas and an adult in New Mexico – with dozens more in hospital.

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