Image: Max Dixon pictured with his mother Leanne. Pic: Handout/Avon and Somerset Police
Image: Mason Rist and Max Dixon were stabbed in January this year. Pic: Family handout via Avon and Somerset Police/PA
Max’s mother, Leanne Ekland, has spoken of the panic she went through when she found out her son was dying on a nearby street.
“Me and my partner Trevor, we were up in bed,” she told Sky News, describing the night of the murders. “Max was at home, in his bedroom on his PlayStation and we didn’t think anything of it.
“Next minute a car pulled up outside my house and was shouting at my window – ‘Max has been stabbed’ – and I said: ‘No he’s not, he’s in bed’.”
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A double murder in a case of mistaken identity
Leanne rushed to Ilminster Avenue in the Knowle West area of the city and was allowed by paramedics to sit with her son.
“It was just such a panic, I don’t know what I was thinking, I was sat down on the floor and the paramedics were cutting his clothes,” she said.
Max had met his friend Mason at his home on the Saturday evening to get pizza – but within seconds of leaving were attacked by a group armed with machetes.
The gang were seeking revenge for an attack with bricks on a house in Hartcliffe in Bristol an hour earlier – but both boys had nothing to dowith it.
Image: Max Dixon. Pic: Avon and Somerset Police/PA
‘They didn’t do anything wrong’
The gang’s deadly attack was caught on Mason’s home CCTV.
Leanne said: “When I see Max and Mason on the CCTV, when I see them meet up with each other, I just look at him and I can see him smiling.
“And what’s sad is those boys don’t know what’s going to happen to them when they walk out that gate.
“They must have been petrified. They were just going to get some food.
“They’ve done nothing wrong.”
Leanne added: “I had no idea why they were targeted. Then obviously when I was told, that’s hard. That’s hard to comprehend.
“Because there’s no reason for Max and Mason not to be here today. They didn’t do anything wrong… but sadly they lost their lives.”
Image: Mason Rist with his mum Nikki and his cousin. Pic: Handout/Avon and Somerset Police
Her child’s murderers, Leanne said, have “taken my heart”.
She added: “I love my girls deeply but they’ve also taken my son. I now need to repair my life without him.
“Everyone says it will get better but I don’t think it will. Because he was a massive part of my family and I don’t want to move on.
“He was the glue of our family and to think I’ve got to move on without him is hard. They need to understand that – they destroyed me.”
‘Trial was hardest thing I’ve ever had to do’
Leanne attended much of the trial at Bristol Crown Court, which showed CCTV footage of the attack.
She said no family should have to go through that sort of process.
“It was very difficult to listen to,” she said. “But as Max’s mum I wanted to hear everything, and I wanted to have questions answered and I wanted to know what my boy went through in the last minutes of his life.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But it’s the only thing I can do for Max… to sit through it and know what he went through.”
All five defendants were found guilty of murder and Leanne said that “allowed me to breathe”.
She added: “When that guilty verdict came back I could actually breathe a little bit because someone was held accountable for those deaths. And it just felt like a weight off my shoulders.”
Image: Mason Rist with his grandmother Gail
‘A lot of parents know what children are up to’
Leanne has worked with her son’s local football club to introduce emergency bleed control kits and has spoken to pupils about the risks of violence and carrying knives at Max’s school.
She said there needs to be more education about knife crime, and children should be taught about the “ripple effect” after using a weapon.
Leanne added: “I think it starts at home. With the parents. Because I think there’s a lot of parents out there that know what their children are up to.
“They know what they’re carrying. And I think obviously it starts at home, before we go anywhere else.”
Asked what she has held close to her since her son’s death, she replied: “Everything. I still have a plate and cup in Max’s bedroom which I will not take out as that’s what he used that night.
“Everything around me, that belongs to Max, is precious and I won’t get rid of that.”
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of murders.
Image: (L-R) Yostin Mosquera murdered Albert Alfonso and Paul Longworth
Mosquera’s victims were 62-year-old Albert Alfonso and his civil partner, 71-year-old Paul Longworth. It is believed that Mosquera, a 35-year-old who worked in the adult film industry, first met Mr Alfonso online.
Image: Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso walk with Mosquera from their house. Pic: Met Police
The three men struck up a friendship, the couple visited Mosquera in Colombia, and they repeatedly flew Mosquera to the UK to stay with them at their flat in London.
While the men would take day-trips to tourist attractions, like Madame Tussauds, Mr Alfonso and Mosquera would engage in extreme sex together.
But in the weeks leading up to their murders, Mosquera was clearly planning his attacks.
He looked online for a freezer and, on the day of the killings, searched for: “Where on the head is a knock fatal?”
The prosecution argued he was financially motivated.
Image: Mosquera has been convicted of two murders. Pic: Met Police
Mosquera repeatedly tried to find the price of the couple’s property in Scotts Road, Shepherd’s Bush, and stole money from Mr Alfonso after murdering him.
On 8 July 2024, Mosquera killed Mr Longworth by hitting him with a hammer, shattering his skull, before hiding his body in a divan bed.
That evening, during sex with Mr Alfonso, Mosquera stabbed him with a knife. A postmortem revealed 22 stab wounds.
Image: Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso. Pic: Met Police
All of this was recorded on cameras, which had been placed in the room by Mr Alfonso.
Mosquera then decapitated the bodies, the heads stored in a freezer which he had delivered on 9 July.
Image: A handyman hired by Mosquera loads the victims’ bodies into a van in suitcases. Pic: Met Police
The other remains were put in suitcases and on 10 July, Mosquera hired a van with a driver to transport him and the bags to Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The prosecution argued Mosquera went to Bristol with the intention of throwing the bags off the bridge.
But, struggling with their weight, Mosquera caught the attention of passers-by, telling them the cases contained car parts.
But people noticed liquid leaking from the bags – blood.
Image: Yostin Mosquera ran off after passers-by noticed the suitcases were leaking blood. Pic: Met Police
Image: Mosquera was later arrested just after 2am on 13 July. Pic: Met Police
Mosquera ran off and was later arrested at Bristol Temple Meads station on 13 July 2024 and charged with both murders.
When the case came to trial, initially at the Old Bailey and then at Woolwich Crown Court, the gruesome footage of Mr Alfonso’s murder was repeatedly played to the jury.
‘It was the worst video I have ever seen’
It is not often a murder is caught on camera.
It is even rarer when they are filmed from multiple angles, with sound.
I was at the Old Bailey for the first trial, where the recording of Mosquera killing Albert Alfonso was repeatedly played to the jury.
The two men are naked, taking part in consensual sex, which was filmed by Mr Alfonso on several cameras, a normal practice for the pair.
Unwittingly, Mr Alfonso recorded his own murder.
We see Mosquera hide the knife.
Then, when Mr Alfonso is at his most vulnerable, Mosquera calmly stabs him in the neck.
Mr Alfonso struggles against Mosquera, screaming, but is overpowered.
Mosquera cruelly taunts him, asking, “Do you like it?”
As Alfonso lay dying, Mosquera bizarrely sings and dances before going to Alfonso’s computer.
The judge warned the jury about the graphic video, reassuring them that, if they felt unable to proceed due to its content, they would be excused.
One jury member did not come back the next day and I could completely understand their discomfort.
The sound of screaming was hard to forget.
A murder is always upsetting to watch, but this felt intrusive.
While many aspects of their sexual relationship could be disturbing to an outsider, Albert Alfonso could never have predicted that his private recordings would be so publicly analysed at a trial into his own murder.
Miranda Jollie, Senior Crown Prosecutor at the CPS, said she found the video “horrific”, but maintained that it was necessary to show the video because of Mosquera’s claims.
Mosquera denied the murders, but admitted killing Mr Alfonso – his defence team argued it was manslaughter by loss of control.
However, the video evidence contradicts this claim.
It shows Mosquera had hidden the knife before sex, showing the attack was premeditated.
He was also calm as he attacked Mr Alfonso, who was taken off guard, and went to Mr Alfonso’s computer to try and steal from him as he lay dying.
In court, Mosquera argued, through a Spanish interpreter, that Mr Alfonso had repeatedly “raped him” and that Mr Longworth had been killed by Mr Alfonso.
But the prosecution argued there was no evidence to support these claims, while the couple’s relationship was unconventional, it was also “loving”, and Mr Alfonso would never have killed Mr Longworth.
The system for regulating water companies in England and Wales should be overhauled and replaced with one single body, a major review of the sector has advised.
It has recommended abolishing regulator Ofwat as well as the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which ensures that public water supplies are safe.
The report, which includes 88 recommendations, suggests a new single integrated regulator to replace existing water watchdogs, mandatory water metering, and a social tariff for vulnerable customers.
The ability to block companies being taken over and the creation of eight new regional water authorities with another for all of Wales to deliver local priorities, has also been suggested.
The review, the largest into the water industry since privatisation in the 1980s, was undertaken by Sir Jon Cunliffe, a career civil servant who oversaw the biggest clean-up of Britain’s banking system in the wake of the financial crash.
He was coaxed out of retirement by Environment Secretary Steve Reed to lead the Independent Water Commission.
Here are nine key recommendations:
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• Single integrated water regulators – a single water regulator in England and a single water regulator in Wales. In England, this would replace Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and water-environment related functions from the Environment Agency and Natural England
• Eight new regional water system planning authorities in England and one national authority in Wales
• Greater consumer protection – this includes upgrading the consumer body Consumer Council for Water into an Ombudsman for Water to give stronger protection to customers and a clearer route to resolving complaints
• Stronger environmental regulation, including compulsory water meters
• Tighter oversight of water company ownership and governance, including new powers for the regulator to block changes in water company ownership
• Public health reforms – this aims to better manage public health risks in water, recognising the many people who swim, surf and enjoy other water-based activities
• Fundamental reset of economic regulation – including changes to ensure companies are investing in and maintaining assets
• Clear strategic direction – a newlong-term National Water Strategy should be published by both the UK and Welsh governments with a “minimum horizon of 25 years”
• Infrastructure and asset health reforms – including new requirements for companies to map and assess their assets and new resilience standards
In a speech responding to Sir Jon’s report, Mr Reed is set to describe the water industry as “broken” and welcome the commission’s recommendations to ensure “the failures of the past can never happen again”.
Final recommendations of the commission have been published on Monday morning to clean up the sector and improve public confidence.
Major other suggested steps for the government include greater consumer protection by upgrading the Consumer Council for Water into an ombudsman with advocacy duties being transferred to Citizens Advice.
Stronger and updated regulations have been proposed by Sir Jon, including compulsory water metering, changes to wholesale tariffs for industrial users and greater water reuse and rainwater harvesting schemes. A social tariff is also recommended.
Oversight of companies via the ability to block changes in ownership of water businesses and the addition of “public benefit” clauses in water company licences.
To boost company financial resilience, as the UK’s biggest provider Thames Water struggles to remain in private ownership, the commission has recommended minimum financial requirements, like banks are subject to.
It’s hoped this will, in turn, make companies more appealing to potential investors.
The public health element of water has been recognised, and senior public health representation has been recommended for regional water planning authorities, as have new laws to address pollutants like forever chemicals and microplastics.
A “supervisory” approach has been recommended to intervene before things like pollution occur, rather than penalising the businesses after the event.
A long-term, 25-year national water strategy should be published by the UK and Welsh governments, with ministerial priorities given to water firms every five years.
Companies should also be required to map and assess their assets and resilience
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
A new public inquiry will “uncover the truth” behind the so-called “Battle of Orgreave”, a bloody fight between striking miners and police officers in the 1980s.
One hundred and twenty people were injured in the violent confrontation on 18 June 1984, outside a coal processing factory in Orgreave, South Yorkshire.
Five thousand miners clashed with an equal number of armed and mounted police during a day of fighting.
Police used horse charges, riot shields and batons against the picketers, even as some were retreating.
Image: Masses of miners and police clashed during the day of fighting
Image: Police officers on horses charged against protesters
In the aftermath, miners were blamed for the violence in what campaigners believe was an institutional “frame-up”.
“There were so many lies,” says Chris Peace, from campaign group Orgreave Truth and Justice, “and it’s a real historic moment to get to this stage.”
“There’s a lot of information already in the public domain,” she adds, “but there’s still some papers that are embargoed, which will hopefully now be brought to light.”
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Image: Campaigner Chris Peace
Although dozens of miners were arrested, trials against them all collapsed due to allegations of unreliable police evidence.
Campaigners say some involved have been left with “physical and psychological damage”, but until now, previous governments have refused calls for a public inquiry.
Launching the inquiry today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky Newsi that she wanted to “make sure” campaigners now got “proper answers”.
“We’ve obviously had unanswered questions about what happened at Orgreave for over 40 years,” Ms Cooper says, “and when we were elected to government, we determined to take this forward.”
Image: A police officer tackling a miner
Image: A bleeding protester being led away by police during the ‘Battle of Orgreave’
Image: The Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox, will chair the inquiry
The inquiry will be a statutory one, meaning that witnesses will be compelled to come and give evidence, and chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox.
“I’m really happy,” says Carl Parkinson, a former miner who was at Orgreave on the day of the clash, “but why has it took so long?”
“A lot of those colleagues and close friends have passed away, and they’ll never get to see any outcome.”
Image: Former miner Carl Parkinson
Image: Former miner Chris Skidmore
Mr Parkinson and Chris Skidmore, who was also there that day, were among the group of campaigners informed first-hand by Ms Cooper about the public inquiry at the Orgreave site.
“It wasn’t frightening to start off with,” Mr Skidmore remembers of the day itself, “but then what I noticed was the amount of police officers who had no identification numbers on. It all felt planned.”
“And it wasn’t just one truncheon,” says Mr Parkinson, “there were about 30, or 40. And it was simultaneous, like it was orchestrated – just boom, boom, boom, boom.
“And there’s lads with a split down their heads for no good reason, they’d done nothing wrong. We were just there to peacefully picket.”
Image: Police used riot shields against the picketers, even as some were retreating
Image: In the aftermath of the fighting, miners were blamed for the violence
In the intervening years, South Yorkshire Police have paid more than £400,000 in compensation to affected miners and their families.
But no official inquiry has ever looked at the documents surrounding the day’s events, the lead-up to it and the aftermath.
“We need to have trust and confidence restored in the police,” says South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, “and part of that is about people, like this campaign, getting the justice that they deserve.
“Obviously, we’ve had things like Hillsborough, CSE [Child Sexual Exploitation] in Rotherham, and we want to turn the page.”