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An asylum seeker will be detained for nine years and six months for the manslaughter of four fellow migrants who drowned attempting to cross the Channel to the UK.

Ibrahima Bah, who is over 18, piloted the “unseaworthy” boat which got into trouble after setting off from France on 14 December 2022.

During a trial, jurors were told the home-built, low-quality inflatable should have had no more than 20 people on board but carried at least 43 people that night.

Bah told Canterbury Crown Court that smugglers threatened to kill him if he did not drive the vessel.

But prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said the Senegalese national was not telling the truth.

He said that while the majority of travellers paid thousands of euros to smugglers for a spot in the overcrowded vessel, it appeared Bah did not pay for his journey because he piloted the dingy, therefore owing his fellow passengers a “duty of care”.

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From December 2022: There were ‘bodies everywhere around the boat’

Bah was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter by jurors by a majority verdict of 10 to two in what is believed to be the first conviction of its kind on Monday.

He was also found unanimously guilty of facilitating illegal entry to the UK.

Campaigners are expected to protest the conviction at the Home Office on Friday evening, arguing it represents a “violent escalation in the persecution of migrants” to carry out the government’s pledge to “stop the boats”.

The prosecution said Bah was not trained or licensed to lead the voyage and there was insufficient safety equipment such as life jackets and no flares or radio on board.

When the boat got into trouble, a number of migrants inside the boat described water reaching their knees within 30 minutes of leaving the French coast, the court heard.

A total of 39 survivors were brought to shore, while the exact number of migrants who drowned is unknown as the prosecution said at least one migrant’s body may not have been recovered.

Read more:
Six taken to hospital after migrants found in lorry
Home Office to pay influencers to urge migrants not to cross Channel
Migrants found in luggage hold after school trip

The boat in which four passengers drowned in the English Channel.
Pic: PA
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The boat in which four passengers drowned in the English Channel. Pic: PA

Three of the people who died were known only as unknown male persons while the other man was named as Hajratullah Ahmadi.

One asylum seeker, Amrullah Ahmadzai, described to jurors how everyone on the boat was screaming and trying to call for help on their mobile phones during the journey.

The crew of a UK fishing boat tried to rescue the passengers, with help from the RNLI, air ambulance and UK Border Force.

The boat in which four passengers drowned in the English Channel.
Pic: PA
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The boat in which four passengers drowned in the English Channel. Pic: PA

Sentencing Bah on Friday, Mr Justice Johnson KC, said: “The boat was wholly inadequate, and not remotely seaworthy for a Channel crossing.

“It was a death trap, just as every boat of its type which sets off across the Channel in similar circumstances is a death trap – the fact that in many cases fatalities do not occur is not remotely reassuring.

“What happened is an utter tragedy for those who died and for their families.”

Following the verdict on Monday, Captain Support UK, a solidarity platform for those accused of driving boats to Europe, said Bah’s conviction was a “violent escalation in the persecution of migrants to ‘Stop the Boats'”.

However, illegal immigration minister Michael Tomlinson said on X: “Ibrahima Bah put dozens of lives in extreme danger by taking charge of a perilous and illegal small boat crossing. It is right that he has been brought to justice today.

“Once you get into a small boat, criminal gangs don’t care whether you live or die.”

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UK weather: Storm Herminia to bring heavy rain and gales after ‘strongest’ storm in decade

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UK weather: Storm Herminia to bring heavy rain and gales after 'strongest' storm in decade

Storm Eowyn was “probably the strongest” to hit the UK in at least a decade, according to the Met Office – and in some areas was the most intense in “20 or 30 years”.

But don’t expect settled weather because Storm Eowyn has gone, Sky News meteorologist Dr Chris England warned.

“The Spanish-named Storm Herminia will bring heavy rain, gales and hill snow up from the South West on Sunday and on Monday,” he said.

“It won’t be as windy as Friday, but with trees and structures already damaged in places, there’s a greater risk than normal with a storm of this intensity.”

Latest weather updates

A damaged gable end in South Hetton, County Durham
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A car was damaged by falling bricks from a building in South Hetton, County Durham

A damaged gable end in South Hetton, County Durham

More than a million people in the UK were left without power, and there was significant travel disruption across the UK and Ireland.

On Friday, a 100mph gust was recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, and parts of Ireland had the highest windspeeds since records began, getting up to 114mph in Mace Head, County Galway.

As of around 5pm on Saturday, SP Energy Networks in Scotland said 28,000 customers were still cut off.

In Northern Ireland, 140,000 homes and businesses remained without power and across the Republic of Ireland, around 460,000 had no power.

Check the forecast in your area

A Cobra meeting was held on Saturday to discuss Storm Eowyn and the government will “stand ready to provide further support”, a spokesperson said.

Engineers have been dispatched to Northern Ireland and Scotland, they said.

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has appealed for “patience” as work is carried out to restore power supplies and transport services in the storm’s aftermath.

On Friday, people all over Scotland were urged to stay indoors to avoid injury in hurricane-force winds, as a rare Met Office red weather warning was issued for much of the south of the country.

Among the buildings affected was a Co-op store in Scotland which collapsed on Friday after Storm Eowyn passed through Denny, Falkirk.

A damaged Co-op store in Denny, Falkirk
A damaged  Co-op store in Denny, Falkirk

Man killed by falling tree

A man who died in County Donegal after a tree fell on his car during the storm has been named as 20-year-old Kacper Dudek. The incident happened around 5.30am on Friday at Feddyglass in Raphoe.

Police forensic collision investigators are carrying out a full examination of the scene.

20-year-old Kacper Dudek. Pic: Family handout
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20-year-old Kacper Dudek. Pic: Family handout

What’s the forecast like for the next few days?

Although the storm has now cleared the UK, it will remain windy in the coming days, with “numerous yellow wind warnings” in place, the Met Office said.

Saturday into Sunday

A yellow warning for snow and ice runs from 6pm on Saturday to 10am on Sunday and covers large parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with a yellow wind warning from 6pm on Saturday to 6am on Sunday for the Highlands and Strathclyde.

Pic: Met Office
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Weather warnings for the rest of Saturday into Sunday. Pic: Met Office

Sunday

A yellow wind warning has been issued for parts of North West England, South West England, Northern Ireland, Wales and southwest Scotland, running from 8am until 3pm on Sunday.

“Winds are likely to gust 50 to 60mph quite widely, and around some exposed coasts and hills, gusts to 70mph are possible,” forecasters said.

Also, a yellow warning for heavy rain which may lead to local flooding will be in place from 8am on Sunday until 6am on Monday.

The warning was issued on Thursday and covers the East Midlands, West Midlands, North West England, South West England, East of England, London, South East England and Wales.

“Quite widely, 10-20mm will fall, with locally nearer 30-50mm over high ground,” said the Met Office.

Pic: Met Office
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Weather warnings for Sunday. Pic: Met Office

Monday

For the start of the week, a yellow wind warning lasting from 6am on Monday to 6am on Tuesday has been issued covering the East of England, London and the South East, and the South West as well as much of Wales.

Gusts of 60 or 70mph are possible near the coast, with potential gusts of 50mph inland, said the Met Office.

Some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will probably be affected by spray or large waves.

The agency added that some disruption to transport and short-term power outages were likely.

There is also a yellow warning for heavy rain from 6am to 11.59pm on Monday that could bring “some disruption and flooding” in the West Midlands and much of Wales.

Read more from Sky News:
Three teenagers die after car hits tree
School and mosques vandalised with anti-Muslim graffiti

Pic: Met Office
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Weather warnings for Monday. Pic: Met Office

Bus and rail services will likely be affected and spray and flooding on roads will probably increase journey times, the Met Office said.

Flooding of “a few homes and businesses” is likely, as is “some interruption to power supplies and other services”.

Heavy rain means 20mm-40mm will probably fall “fairly widely” while higher ground could see 50-70mm.

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Trump praises Starmer for doing ‘very good job’ so far – and plans to call him within 24 hours

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Trump praises Starmer for doing 'very good job' so far - and plans to call him within 24 hours

Donald Trump has said he thinks Sir Keir Starmer has “done a very good job” so far and said the pair will speak over the phone “over the next 24 hours”.

The US president said he and the prime minister “get along well” despite Sir Keir being “liberal, which is a little bit different from me”.

“But I think he’s a very good person,” Mr Trump said. “I think he’s done a very good job thus far.

“He’s represented his country in terms of his philosophy. I may not agree with his philosophy but I have a very good relationship with him.”

Sir Keir previously met Mr Trump for dinner at Trump Tower in New York in September, before he was elected president for a second time, and has held two pre-inauguration calls with him.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Pic: PA
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Sir Keir Starmer. Pic: PA

Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One that his first international trip could be to the UK, or Saudi Arabia – the first country he travelled to as president during his first term.

The US president said “traditionally it could be UK”, but last time he travelled to Saudi Arabia because it agreed to buy billions of dollars of US merchandise.

“If that offer were right, I’d do that again,” he said.

Mr Trump’s warm remarks about Sir Keir were at odds with those of billionaire Elon Musk, who has played a starring role in his second presidency so far, and has repeatedly called for the prime minister to be replaced.

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Prime minister sends message to Trump for inauguration

Trump reverses Biden’s halt on 2,000lb bombs for Israel

Mr Trump also said he had instructed the US military to reverse an order from former president Joe Biden halting the supply of heavy 2,000lb bombs to Israel.

“They paid for them and they’ve been waiting for them for a long time,” Mr Trump said about the munitions.

Mr Biden had paused delivery of the bombs to Israel over concerns about the impact they could have on civilians during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

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Why Trump sees Churchill as an icon to emulate
Musk urges German far-right crowd to move beyond ‘past guilt’
Thieves use explosives to steal Romanian prehistoric artefacts
Holocaust survivor describes his extraordinary escape

Trump says Egypt and Jordan should take more Palestinians from Gaza

Mr Trump also said Egypt and Jordan should take more Palestinians from Gaza and when asked if it was a temporary or long-term suggestion, he replied: “Could be either.”

Speaking of his call to Jordan’s King Abdullah on Saturday, the president said: “I said to him I’d love you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. I’d like him to take people.”

“I’d like Egypt to take people,” he added, saying he would speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi on Sunday.

He said the Palestinian enclave was “literally a demolition site, almost everything is demolished and people are dying there”, adding: “So I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”

President fires inspectors general at several agencies

Mr Trump also confirmed he had fired 17 independent inspectors general at several government agencies and said he would “put good people in there that will be very good”.

Inspectors generally act as an independent check on mismanagement and abuse of power inside US government agencies, and while they are appointed by the president, they are expected to be nonpartisan and some serve presidents from both parties.

It comes after the US State Department ordered a freeze on new funding for almost all American foreign development assistance following an executive order issued by Mr Trump.

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Tech companies ‘risk another Southport’ if extreme content isn’t removed, warns home secretary

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Tech companies 'risk another Southport' if extreme content isn't removed, warns home secretary

Terrorist material viewed by Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana could inspire another atrocity unless tech companies take action, the home secretary has warned.

In a letter seen by Sky News to TikTok, X, Meta and Google, Yvette Cooper and technology secretary Peter Kyle warned the potential consequences of leaving dangerous content online have been “laid bare”.

This week, the court heard how Rudakubana “easily” downloaded an al Qaeda training manual and watched graphic footage of a terrorist knife attack in the hours before he murdered three young girls.

The manual remains available online, despite its inclusion in a Home Office list of illegal material that “may be useful to an individual preparing to carry out an act of mass violence or terrorism”, the letter said.

Graphic footage showing the stabbing of Sydney bishop Mari Emmanuel also remains available in the UK despite being removed by authorities in Australia.

Yvette Cooper near the scene in Hart Street, Southport.
Pic: PA
Image:
Yvette Cooper after the attack in Southport. File pic: PA

The home and technology secretaries asked the companies to “swiftly remove any unlawful material on this list available on your services, including the material used by Axel Rudakubana”.

“The ease of access to such dangerous, illegal content is unacceptable,” the ministers wrote.

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‘Our lives went with them – he took us too’

From March, companies will have to remove illegal content, including violent material, from their platforms under the new Online Safety Act.

From the summer, they’ll also have to take action on content that is inappropriate for children.

The two ministers told the tech giants they have a “moral responsibility” to take action on this content now.

“There is no justification for waiting for laws to kick in,” they said.

Read more from Sky News:
Fresh warnings for strong winds and flooding across UK
Three teenagers die after car hits tree

Axel Rudakubana received the second-longest life sentence in English history on Thursday after pleading guilty in court.

The 18-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years for the murder of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in July last year at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

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