‘Dangerously stretched’ Met Police has fewer officers working on unsolved murders

Published

5 hours ago

September 21, 2024

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Fewer police officers are working on unsolved murder cases amid warnings the Metropolitan Police is dangerously stretched.

Five officers from the force are moving from a specialist cold case department investigating the 30-year-old murder of Atek Hussain to instead bolster basic command units.

Mr Hussain, 32, was stabbed in the heart as he returned from work in September 1994. He managed to stagger to his home and tell his family that his attackers were Asian before collapsing.

No charges have ever been brought in the case despite two focused appeals by the police on the 10th and 20th anniversaries of his killing.

Mr Hussain’s daughter Yasmin was 10 when she watched her father die in their family home. She told Sky News she had hoped the Met would launch a renewed appeal on the 30th anniversary of his death this week.

“I waited and waited as September approached, hoping they’d say something but all of the officers I’d been dealing with have either retired or moved on, and it seems nobody knows what to do with me,” she said.

“One person told me to call 101.”

The Met told Sky News the case is not currently active. However, no unsolved murder investigation is ever closed and Mr Hussain’s case was last reviewed by its Serious Crime Review Group in August.

“Should any new information come to light, it will be assessed accordingly,” it said in a statement.

“In order to better protect the public, including the prevention of future homicides, we are moving some experienced officers from specialist units to bolster BCU (basic command unit) public protection teams to ensure they have the right skills, experience and capacity.

“The MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) continues to maintain a strong capability to investigate cold case homicides. No unsolved homicide is ever closed and all cases remain under review.”

Clive Driscoll, a former Detective Chief Inspector of the Met Police who finally secured two convictions for the murder of Stephen Lawrence, explains how the forces deal with cold cases.

“Every two years you would review the case to see if there are opportunities. The one that always stands out is forensics opportunities. Forensics moved on while we’ve been talking. So that’s what you would do with a review, you would be looking to see whether or not something has changed from the last time you saw it.”

Mr Driscoll says forces across the country are facing challenges including a shortage of officers and staff, greater scrutiny of the police and an issue with confidence among officers.

“They feel that maybe their job has become harder,” he told Sky News before urging police units to go the extra mile.

“As hard as it may be for a police officer, it can’t be even a slightest comparison of how hard it must be for Mr Hussain’s children who’ve lost their father.”

Recent data shows the annual number of unsolved homicides across Britain has more than doubled since 2010. That is thought to be driven almost entirely by a surge in larger police forces, in particular the Met.

On Wednesday, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the force as “dangerously stretched”, telling an audience at the Police Foundation that a wave of new pressures, a lack of investment, abuse and insults of the police and reduced confidence among officers has left London less safe.

Mr Driscoll warned that failing to properly review unsolved homicides sends a dangerous message.

“We don’t want to send the message out to people that feel they can take the life of a human being and after a certain amount of time ‘oh that’s alright then I’ve got away with it’. The message must always be that if there is an opportunity to affect an arrest, put someone before a court then we will take it. We must always show that we will not forget the victim and also that out there is someone who felt that they can take someone’s life.”

Atek Hussain had spent the evening working at his family-run restaurant in Croydon before arriving home to Burnels Avenue in East Ham at around 2.35am on 18 September 1994.

Officers believe he had just got out of his blue Vauxhall Cavalier and was walking towards his front door when he was attacked and stabbed in the chest.

In the absence of a renewed public plea from the police, Yasmin Hussain has launched her own appeal for help finding her father’s killers.

If you have information that could help police, call 101 or post @MetCC, or to remain 100% anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.

UK

Mohamed al Fayed ‘carried Viagra’ and ‘cherry picked’ women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims

Published

17 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed 'carried Viagra' and 'cherry picked' women from Harrods shop floor, ex-employee claims

A former member of the Harrods management team has told how Mohamed al Fayed would “cherry pick” women from the shop floor.

Speaking to Sky News anonymously, the woman described the billionaire, who died last year aged 94, as “demonic” and said he “controlled everything with fear”.

Lawyers representing 37 alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Fayed branded him a “monster” who was “enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods” at a news conference on Friday.

The former employee of the luxury department store, which the Egyptian businessman took control of in 1985, worked at Harrods at the height of his power.

“We were all told Harrods is the greatest place on Earth – but he controlled everything with fear,” she said.

“The power dynamic was so strong, in the blink of an eye you would lose your career and they would try and destroy you. It was this dark psychological trap and everybody was caught.”

She said she heard stories Fayed, known to staff as “the chairman”, would grope people although she was never a victim herself.

“The chairman would walk around the store and he would cherry pick people from the shop floor, if you had blond hair and brown eyes you were favoured,” she said.

“He used to say, ‘I want that one up in my office now’. He used to carry Viagra around in his pocket, and people were so scared of his ‘floor walks’ – if you weren’t smiling enough you were in the shit, if you smiled too much you were also in the shit.”

The ex-employee, who worked at Harrods in her first job after leaving university, said when women were called to Fayed’s office they “couldn’t say no”.

“I would sit her down and I would say I need to let you know what you are walking into,” she said.

“It’s suddenly a pay rise, and you’ll be invited to expensive events and lavished with expensive gifts but really you need to be aware of something.

“I said you will get invited to Park Lane, and parties where there will be lots of rich men, and you would be invited to sleep with people.”

She said she was once asked to see Fayed in his lounge-like office where he was wearing his slippers and said: “When are you going to come up and work for me here?”

The woman said she told him she did not want to work there and went back to her normal job.

“Afterwards he would smile at me and was courteous but then I started getting extra money in my pay packet. I went to the pay office and they said it’s a bonus for what you are doing. It didn’t last long but it happened just after he’d asked to meet him.”

The woman said she now feels “really conflicted” as she was “vulnerable too”.

“It was my first job leaving university. It leaves me feeling angry that we put up with things in that generation, that was our norm,” she added.

Harrods has said in a statement it is “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.

The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.

UK

Katherine Watson: Body found in search for missing TV chaplain

Published

17 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Katherine Watson: Body found in search for missing TV chaplain

A body has been found in the search for a missing hospital chaplain who starred in a Channel 4 documentary.

Katherine Watson, 50, was last seen in the Heaton Road area of Newcastle, at about 1pm on Thursday and Northumbria Police had become “increasingly concerned” for her welfare.

But after “extensive searches”, the force said a body had been found in the Jesmond Dene area of the city. Although formal identification has yet to take place, “it is believed to be Katherine”, they added.

“Her next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by specially-trained officers,” it said.

“This is an incredibly sad outcome and our thoughts are with Katherine’s loved ones at this difficult time. We will continue to support them in any way we can and we ask that their privacy is respected.”

Also known as Reverend Captain Katie Watson, she joined the army in her late teens, serving in Bosnia in the 1990s and as part of the Royal Military Police.

“Once you have seen genocide first-hand on the streets of a European country, there is nothing left in the world that can faze you after that,” she told the Church Times in 2022, as the Geordie Hospital documentary was first aired on Channel 4.

“I have seen the worst of humanity and I have seen, and continue to see, the very best of it.”

Ms Watson worked at the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for more than 16 years and was made head of chaplaincy in 2020.

Channel 4’s documentary Geordie Hospital was a six-part series that filmed hospital staff through a shift, featuring a cast including porters, surgeons, dental nurses and chaplains.

Speaking about her role in the show, Ms Watson said: “We only have two things to offer, the gifts of time and presence, but we give them whole-heartedly.”

There was an outpouring of support online for Ms Watson following the news she was missing.

“She baptised our baby boy when he passed away at birth and presided over his funeral,” one person wrote on X. “She’s such a wonderful person who gave us unwavering support through our darkest hours.”

Another said: “The compassion and care you gave me and my family when our mum passed last year was a tremendous blessing and support.”

UK

Starmer to no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, Sky News understands

Published

19 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Starmer to no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, Sky News understands

Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, Sky News understands.

Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner also announced they would take the same approach moving forward.

The decision by the prime minister, chancellor and deputy prime minister follows scrutiny of Sir Keir Starmer and his wife for accepting donations.

The prime minister has accepted work clothing donations worth £16,200, and multiple pairs of glasses, to the value of £2,485.

According to the MP register of interests, Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations too, to the value of £2,230.

Sky News understands that in June, the deputy prime minister also received a donation by Lord Waheed Alli, a television executive who has donated to Labour over the last 20 years, of £3,550.

The donation was registered but its nature, now understood to be work clothing, was not published.

Sky News understands that since the backlash over the freebies, the registrar was contacted to ensure the donation was published with all the necessary details.

The chancellor has not accepted any such donations, according to the MPs’ register of interests.

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It’s a strategic move from the newbie government

The amount of political chatter over freebies and hospitality for the Prime Minister was starting to look both indulgent and frivolous and it appears as if Number 10 have finally had enough.

I was told Sir Keir Starmer will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes, and neither will Rachel Reeves or Angela Rayner in an apparent attempt to stop this story spiraling through this week and into the Labour conference this weekend.

It’s a strategic move from the newbie government, who had let the story run on perhaps longer than even colleagues in their own party had wanted.

Baroness Harriet Harman spoke out about number 10 trying to justify these free gifts, stating it was just making things worse.

Ministers had also been defending the Prime Minister’s decision to accept donations for days – the latest was Jess Philips, saying accepting Arsenal season tickets was ‘not important.’

Seven hours later though, it appears they’ve decided some of it is important – and have declared a commitment to not accept any more clothing in the future.

Questions still remain over the other hospitality gifts and it’s not entirely clear yet whether this will stem the bleed of bad news before conference weekend, or whether this tacit admittance of a misstep opens another can of worms.

Sky News revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.

Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP as his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.

This had all been declared as per the rules but backbench MPs had been expressing concern that the government’s rhetoric of tough decisions on the economy jars with the image of a prime minister accepting freebies.

The row started over the weekend with controversy over Sir Keir’s wife’s clothes.

Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said earlier today she is “satisfied” with the prime minister’s explanation of why he has taken the freebies.

She said if he “wasn’t doing a good job in our country” then she “would be more concerned”.

Ms Phillips went on to say it’s not that she doesn’t think it’s important, but added: “I haven’t had a single email about it.

“I have had lots of emails about people not being able to get on a housing list.”

Challenged on the fact that it looks bad having just taken away the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, Ms Phillips said these are “completely separate things”.

“And had he never been to watch the Arsenal, there would still be a £22bn black hole that had to be paid for,” she added.

She said: “All I can say is I’m absolutely knackered trying to make things better.”

What has the PM said in response to criticism?

Speaking to journalists this week, the prime minister said “all MPs get gifts” and he thinks the need to declare them is “a good framework”.

“Wherever there are gifts from anyone, I’m going to comply with the rules,” he said.

“It’s very important to me that the rules are followed. I’ve always said that. I said that before the election. I reinforced it after the election.”

On his acceptance of Arsenal tickets, he added: “I’m a massive Arsenal fan. I can’t go into the stands because of security reasons. Therefore, if I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game. You could say: ‘Well, bad luck.’

“That’s why gifts have to be registered. But… never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is pushing it a bit far.”