‘I felt like a criminal’: Record number of women facing illegal abortion investigations

Published

2 weeks ago

June 17, 2024

admin

Sarah’s front room is filled with pictures of her smiling baby. He’s now 18 months old. But for almost a year, she was investigated on suspicion of illegally trying to abort him.

In January 2023, Sarah (not her real name) had just delivered her baby prematurely. She called 999 but before paramedics turned up, police came knocking at her door.

“The front room was just full of police,” Sarah tells Sky News. “I felt like a criminal.”

Her pregnancy was unplanned and she had considered a termination. She went to an abortion clinic but was told she was three days over the legal limit of 24 weeks.

“I wasn’t expecting to be that far gone,” she says. “I was hardly showing. It was a massive shock.”

When she got home, she panicked and started searching adoption, and adoption to friends and family, online. She even put abortion pills in her online shopping basket – but never bought them.

After a few days, Sarah came to terms with the pregnancy. But on the Monday morning, she wasn’t feeling very well and called in sick to work.

“Throughout the day, I’d had back pain and wasn’t getting any better,” she says. “And then at about seven in the evening, eight maybe, I went upstairs to the toilet… and he was here.

“I rang my husband who was downstairs to say ‘I think I’ve just had a baby’.”

He was born at 25 weeks, almost three months premature. He wasn’t breathing. His parents wrapped him in a towel and took him downstairs.

“He was blue in colour, there was no movement. It was horrible,” Sarah says.

When her husband rang 999, the paramedics gave CPR instructions on the phone. But before they arrived, the police came.

It was the start of an investigation that would last a year.

The police force involved said it “attended to assist medical professionals and ensure necessary statutory processes were followed” – as they would “with any involving the potential for the sudden unexplained death of a baby or a child”.

“It was quickly identified that there was information to suggest a criminal offence may have been committed,” the force added.

Sarah’s case was dropped earlier this year and is no longer active.

Her story comes as the British Society of Abortion Care Providers and the British Pregnancy Advice Service (BPAS) – one of the main licensed abortion clinics – today issue a statement saying women under investigation on suspicion of illegally abortions are “incredibly distressed” that a vote on abortion law won’t take place this parliamentary term.

“As soon as the new parliament returns in July, it must urgently act,” BPAS says.

Before the general election was called, MPs were due to debate abortion law.

Amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill aimed at stopping women facing criminal sanction for ending their pregnancy had been proposed.

‘A national scandal’

“There’s an increasing number of women who are facing investigation and suspicion that they have had an illegal abortion,” says Jonathan Lord, an NHS consultant gynaecologist and co-chair of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers.

Anecdotally, he knows of up to 100 women who have been investigated in the last year, which he says is “unprecedented”.

“What these women are going through and the horrific way they’ve been treated… it’s a national scandal,” he adds.

Dr Lord says he’s seen a rise in police approaching abortion providers for records and information about women who had considered an abortion.

Responding to police inquiries has become a “major” part of his job.

“In no other field of medicine would you expect the police to ask for medical records, they are confidential for a reason,” he tells Sky News.

The official numbers are lower than what Dr Lord reports, but still at record levels.

Between 2022 and 2023, 29 people in England and Wales were recorded as under police investigation on suspicion of procuring an illegal abortion – the highest in two decades.

And Freedom of Information data for Sky News shows there’s been a rise in the number of people taken to court for this offence.

Between 2010 and 2019, 17 cases reached court in England and Wales. Only six of those cases resulted in a conviction. That’s about a third.

But in just a few years, between 2020 and 2023, 11 cases went to court. Almost half of those (five) resulted in a conviction.

An illegal abortion is any attempt to procure a miscarriage where it’s not signed off by two doctors, or the medication hasn’t been prescribed.

Experts can’t fully explain what is fuelling this but suggest a combination of factors might be at play, including increased police awareness of the ease of “at home” abortions.

‘Prosecutions not in public interest’

In England, Wales and Scotland, it is legal to terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks in an NHS clinic or approved abortion provider, with the permission of two doctors. In Northern Ireland, abortion was fully decriminalised in 2020.

Women can have a surgical abortion or they can take two pills – known as a medical termination.

Since COVID, the “pills by post” scheme became a permanent measure. It means both pills can be taken at home in the early stages of pregnancy following an online telephone consultation.

Having a termination outside of these circumstances in England and Wales is illegal under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. The maximum penalty is life in prison.

“I think abortion care should come under the umbrella of healthcare,” says Lucie Baylis, an unplanned pregnancy nurse at Royal Cornwall NHS hospital.

“I don’t think there is any public interest in prosecuting women who seek abortion outside of the legal parameters.”

Earlier this year, new guidance was issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists urging medics not to report patients if they suspect a woman of illegally ending their own pregnancy.

In the first official guidance issued of its kind, it says a healthcare worker must “justify” any disclosure of patient data or face “potential fitness to practise proceedings”.

Ms Baylis said “it seems mad” women should be passed to police or authorities rather than handled as a healthcare patient.

‘Law should follow the science’

But others think moves to change the law are “irresponsible” and “would only have the impact of incentivising women to have late-term abortions by themselves, with no medical oversights,” says Calum Miller, a doctor and medical ethics professor at the University of Oxford.

“The current law acts as a deterrent to stop this,” he says.

“Data from other countries is very clear that when you make a certain kind of abortion legal, it does become more common.

“As an example, in New Zealand, there was a 43% increase in abortions after 20 weeks,” he says.

Dr Miller feels proposed amendments have the aim of “legalising abortion up until birth, which isn’t in step with British public opinion”.

In an October YouGov poll, 25% of people said they thought the current 24-week legal limit was too late and should be reduced, while 49% said it was about right, and 6% believed it should be extended.

“Abortion laws should follow the science. And it should say at the very least that if a baby is potentially viable, abortion should not be an option,” says Dr Miller.

While Sarah accepts why she was investigated – for looking for pills online – she is still struggling with the impact the investigation has had on her life.

“It never leaves your mind,” she says.

“Having to live with it for 50-odd weeks… You think ‘am I going to get a knock on the door? Are we going to get taken away?'”

The police force involved with Sarah’s case told us: “Immediate action was taken to secure evidence to ensure that a thorough investigation could take place.

“This was a complex investigation, requiring extensive forensic and medical evidence, and unfortunately these kind of enquiries take time.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Crown Prosecution Service also say these investigations are “rare” and “would only be initiated where there is credible information to suggest criminal activity… often as a result of concerns raised from medical professionals”.

They say they come with “unique” factors and “personal circumstances” that are “carefully” considered.

UK

Reform canvasser in PM racism row says he was ‘a total fool’

Published

8 hours ago

June 28, 2024

admin

Reform canvasser in PM racism row says he was 'a total fool'

A Reform UK canvasser who used a racial slur against Rishi Sunak has called himself a “total fool” and said he has learned his lesson.

Footage from an undercover Channel 4 reporter showed Reform campaigner Andrew Parker using a discriminatory term about the prime minister, as well as saying the army should “just shoot” migrants crossing the Channel.

Election latest: Farage on defensive after supporters caught making racist, homophobic remarks

Police are now assessing the comments to establish if an offence has been committed, while Mr Sunak said the insult directed at him “hurts and it makes me angry”.

Mr Parker, who was canvassing in Clacton, where Reform leader Nigel Farage is standing, told Sky News the sting operation had “proper taught me a lesson”.

He said: “There’s lots of old people like me who are sick to death of this woke agenda… but on that particular day, I was set up and set up good and proper.

“It’s proper taught me a lesson – I was a total fool.”

Pressed on his use of the racial slur, he said he was an “old man” and “I still use old words”.

“There’s no racism at all in it. I am a decent guy to be honest”, he added.

In the Channel 4 report, Mr Parker can be heard using offensive language about the prime minister and also discussing migrants arriving in small boats in Deal, Kent

He said: “Army recruitment – get the young recruits there, with guns, on the f****** beach, target practice. F****** just shoot them.”

He also described Islam as a “disgusting cult”.

Mr Farage said he was “dismayed” by the “appalling” comments and has sought to distance himself from the campaigner, saying he was simply “someone who turned up to help” and “has nothing to do with the party”.

He has also used reports Mr Parker was a part-time actor to suggest the incriminating film was a “total set-up” – something Channel 4 has strongly denied.

Mr Parker himself says his volunteering for Reform was separate from his acting job – and claims he was “goaded” into making the comments.

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “We strongly stand by our rigorous and duly impartial journalism which speaks for itself.

“We met Mr Parker for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters, where he was a Reform party canvasser.

“We did not pay the Reform UK canvasser or anyone else in this report. Mr Parker was not known to Channel 4 News and was filmed covertly via the undercover operation.”

The broadcaster’s investigation also caught another canvasser describing the Pride flag as “degenerate” and suggesting members of the LGBT community are paedophiles.

A spokesman for Essex Police said the force is “urgently assessing” the comments “to establish if there are any criminal offences”.

PM ‘hurt and angry’ over racial slur

Mr Sunak reacted furiously to the comments and said Mr Farage had “some questions to answer”.

He said: “My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing P***. It hurts and it makes me angry and I think he has some questions to answer.

“And I don’t repeat those words lightly. I do so deliberately because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is.

“As prime minister, but more importantly as a father of two young girls, it’s my duty to call out this corrosive and divisive behaviour.”

Unrepentant Farage doubles down

However, Mr Farage was unrepentant when grilled on the row during a BBC Question Time leaders’ special, saying he was “not going to apologise” for the actions of people associated with his party.

Reform UK has faced a series of controversies relating to election candidates saying offensive or racist things.

Asked why his party “attracts racists and extremists”, the former UKIP leader claimed he had “done more to drive the far right out of British politics than anybody else alive” – claiming he took on the British Nationalist Party (BNP) a decade ago.

He also appeared to throw his predecessor Richard Tice under the bus when read racist and xenophobic comments made by Reform candidates, saying he “inherited a start up party” and has “no idea” why the people who said those things had been selected.

The other candidates in Clacton are:

Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, Labour;
Matthew Bensilum, Liberal Democrat;
Craig Jamieson, Climate Party;
Tony Mack, Independent;
Natasha Osben, Green Party;
Tasos Papanastasiou, Heritage Party;
Andrew Pemberton, UK Independence Party;
Giles Watling, Conservative.

UK

Police not looking for anyone else after murder investigation into deaths of paramedic and woman

Published

8 hours ago

June 28, 2024

admin

Police not looking for anyone else after murder investigation into deaths of paramedic and woman

Police say they are not looking for anyone else after a paramedic was found dead along with a woman at a house in Staffordshire.

Detectives had opened a murder investigation after the bodies of Daniel Duffield, 24, from Cannock, and Lauren Evans, 22, from Bridgend in South Wales, were discovered in a property in Hednesford, Cannock, at around 12.30pm on Tuesday afternoon.

But on Friday, the force confirmed that they were not looking for anyone else and that post-mortems have been carried out – they added that the causes of death will be determined at an inquest.

A file is now being prepared for coroners and the families of the two victims are being supported by specialist officers.

Mr Duffield worked for West Midlands Ambulance Service and featured in an episode of 999: On The Frontline which was broadcast in March.

The documentary series follows ambulance crews as they attend to callouts.

‘Families devastated’

Detective Superintendent Nicki Addison said: “This incident has understandably devastated the families and loved ones of those involved.

“We’d like to reiterate that the families have asked for their privacy to be respected at this tragic time. Please respect that.

“And again, we’d like to remind you that speculation is unhelpful and hurtful to the families – and can hinder our investigation.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has given us information. We expect the scene to be released once we’ve finished all of our investigative work and forensic examination.”

Tribute from crewmate

Ellie, his crewmate on the Channel 4 show, said she had spoken to Mr Duffield over the phone around an hour before he was found dead.

She wrote in a tribute on Instagram: “Never in a million years did I think I’d have to sit and write this and yet I’m still trying to come to terms with it, but I just want to express how special you was to me, not only my best friend at work and the best crewmate but one of my best friends who had a massive impact on day to day life.”

Ellie added that she was due to see Mr Duffield “this week” and had been looking forward to it.

She continued: “Dan I can’t believe your (sic) actually gone and I’ll forever cherish the dinner you made me the other week, (surprised how nice you made fajitas tbh).

“Love you forever Dan.”

Richard Barratt, a senior operations manager at the West Midlands Ambulance Service, also paid tribute to Mr Duffield and added: “I hope Daniel’s family can take some comfort from the hundreds of patients he helped through his time as a paramedic.”

Staffordshire Police and South Wales Police have both referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to “recent” and “previous” police contact prior to the two deaths.

UK

Holly Willoughby kidnap plot trial: Moment Gavin Plumb is arrested shown in court

Published

8 hours ago

June 28, 2024

admin

Holly Willoughby kidnap plot trial: Moment Gavin Plumb is arrested shown in court

A security guard told police Holly Willoughby “is a fantasy of mine” when he was arrested for plotting to kidnap the television presenter, in footage played in court.

Giving evidence for the first time on Friday, Gavin Plumb, 37, said Willoughby, 43, was “my celebrity crush” but insisted he never intended to act on his alleged plans.

In footage played at Chelmsford Crown Court, police are seen smashing through the front door of his home in Harlow, Essex, on 4 October last year, before a topless Plumb asks: “What the hell is going on?”

Stood in his bedroom, he is open mouthed as he is handcuffed, before an officer explains he is being arrested over an alleged conspiracy to kidnap the former This Morning host Willoughby while he is sat on his bed.

“I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine,” he says. “She’s a fantasy of a lot of guys I expect.”

Prosecutors say Plumb was obsessed with Willoughby – who stepped down from the ITV show in October last year after 14 years – and planned to abduct, repeatedly rape and murder her.

An undercover US police officer, using the name David Nelson, on Thursday told jurors he believed Plumb posed an “imminent threat” to the presenter, who hosted Dancing On Ice earlier this year.

Plumb shared a video of his “kidnap kit” with the officer and said he would use chloroform to snatch Willoughby from her home to sexually assault her before slitting her throat, the jury has heard.

The officer alerted UK police who found two bottles of liquid, alongside items including handcuffs, rope, shackles and cable ties, at Plumb’s home – but they were found not to contain the substance.

Further footage played in court shows Plumb being held in a police station holding area wearing a dark green T-shirt as officers searched his home as he says: “I can pretty much guess what they’re looking for.”

Plumb denies three charges of soliciting murder and encouraging kidnap and rape between 21 December 2021 and 5 October last year.

Giving evidence for the first time on Friday, he told the jury he spent his life online engaging in “wholesome chat” but also fantasising about having sex with celebrities, including Willoughby, whom he had seen on daytime TV after he became housebound, having gained weight and reaching 35.5 stone.

“She was my celebrity crush,” said Plumb, who sat down in a chair to give his evidence, wearing a light grey sweater and dark trousers, after telling the judge he would not be able to stand.

Asked how many times he thought about her a day, Plumb said: “It would depend how many times I would chat about her. Some days it would be once, other days it would be four, five, six times.”

But the chats became “darker” from 2021, he said, being questioned by his barrister Sasha Wass KC.

Plumb told jurors he was “sorry” for the contents, adding: “I’m absolutely heartbroken, disgusted and shocked that it has come out.”

‘Kidnap kit’

He admitted he found the conversations “exciting” at the time but added: “Looking back at it now it’s massively regrettable because it’s not the sort of chat I would normally participate in.”

Plumb added: “It was kind of like gratification. It was something I knew was never going to happen.”

He told the jury he had bought most of the items, in what has been described as a “kidnap kit”, following a four-month sexual relationship in which he was introduced to “BDSM and rough sex”, while the chloroform was to clean a “large stain next to my fridge”.

Plumb told jurors his weight started to fluctuate from the age of 13, which “really affected my mental health” because he could not play sport and was often put “in the friend zone” with girls.

Attempted double-kidnap

The defendant said he has only had one serious relationship, which he described as “extremely toxic”, and lasted four-and-a-half years, during which there were “constant arguments” and he was “constantly put down”.

“I don’t want to be in a relationship anymore,” he said.

The court has heard he has two convictions for attempted kidnap from 2006, after trying to abduct two women off the Stansted Express train, later claiming they were members of cabin crew. He had rope and an imitation firearm when he was arrested.

Plumb said he was wearing a uniform and travelling between car parks where he worked handing out tickets and although he admitted he “had a stewardess fantasy back then” he said he did it “to get out of the relationship” and it was a “cry for help”.

He was handed a suspended sentence and in 2008 said he used a box cutter to hold two “shouting and screaming and crying” 16-year-old girls in a warehouse where he worked, taping one of their hands behind her back.

Plumb said he committed the offences to “get away from the relationship”, which ended while he was in jail after he was sentenced to 32 months in prison, serving half, after admitting two charges of false imprisonment.

‘Normal fantasy chat’

He told jurors once released he spent 99.9% of his life online, communicating with others about gaming, football and “normal fantasy chat” but it was “completely different” to the “dark” material he later shared.

Plumb said chats about him keeping Willoughby in a “dungeon” were “nothing more than talking”, adding: “It was a rush of excitement as I knew it was online chat to get my gratification and move on”.

He denied encouraging an online contact called Marc, who is believed to be based in Ireland, to kidnap or rape Willoughby, saying he never expected him or the undercover officer, whom he thought was in New York, to come to the UK.

“I knew it was never going to be anything more than a fantasy,” he said, telling jurors he never acted on any of the alleged plans.

The court heard Plumb has no driving licence or access to a car and so said he wouldn’t have been able to get to her house, while his weight at the time – up to 30 stone – meant he would be more likely to trip over a small step than scale the high boundary wall.

‘Violent, graphic descriptions’

But prosecutor Alison Morgan KC read out some of the explicit and degrading messages and suggested: “These are violent, graphic descriptions of what you are going to do to Holly Willoughby.”

“No, because it’s not going to happen,” Plumb replied.

The trial continues.