Bereaved parents campaign for tougher laws on unlicensed driving
Harry Parker was just 14 years old when he was hit and killed by a car on his way to school in Swindon.
“He was a lovely lad, full of life. A football fanatic,” said Harry’s dad, Adam. “He would always make people smile and just have a good time. He was my right hand man. Daddy’s boy.”
His mum Kelly says the memory of what happened that day in November 2022 is seared into her mind.
“I can remember walking into that room now, he was in resus, lying on a trolley. He was just absolutely lifeless. I pushed all the doctors away, I pushed everyone out the way and just went to him and said ‘Harry, please, come on son, you’ve got me. We can do this together’.
“But half an hour later, the doctors came through and told us the devastating news that there was nothing anybody could do for him. As a nurse I’m at the hospital every day, helping people. I love that, that’s my job. But I couldn’t help my son. Nobody could.
“The hardest part was when we had to say goodbye to him. We had to make the decision to turn the life support machine off. Harry was in the middle, me and his dad lay on each side of him, holding him so tight and feeling his heart beat, until we felt the very last beat.”
The driver of the car didn’t have a licence, insurance, or stop at the scene.
But two years after Harry’s death the Crown Prosecution Service told his parents that they were dropping the charges.
They said: “We examined this case in great detail – including obtaining the advice of a forensic collision expert – and it has become clear that there is not enough evidence to demonstrate that this collision could reasonably have been avoided, and therefore that the driving was careless.”
Harry Parker’s father, Adam, described his son as ‘football mad’
For Adam and Kelly it was a huge blow.
“I was enraged, angry,” said Adam. “I just wanted to lash out. But there’s no point in doing that. The only way to win this fight is to go through the legal procedures and do this properly. I can’t believe that the law is so lenient on people who haven’t got a licence.”
There is no current national data on the number of unlicensed drivers, though past research by the Department for Transport estimated they commit 9.3% – or nearly 1 in 10 – of all motoring offences. It was thought there could be as many as 470,000 on the roads.
In 2006 the Labour government introduced a new offence of causing death while driving without a licence or insurance, punishable by up to two years in prison.
But in 2013 the Supreme Court ruled that, due to the way the legislation was worded, prosecutors still had to prove the driving was at fault – thus rendering the new law fairly redundant, as a driver could then be charged by careless or dangerous driving.
The judges were concerned about faultless drivers being charged if a drunk pedestrian fell into the road in front of them, or if someone attempted suicide by jumping out into the road.
The Parkers’ local MP, Will Stone, believes the law needs to be changed to reflect the spirit and intention of the 2006 legislation.
He has a Ten Minute Rule Bill today – a motion to seek MPs’ permission to introduce a bill to make the case for a new law.
Will Stone, Labour MP for Swindon North, wants the law to be changed.
Pic: UK Parliament
Labour MP Mr Stone is hoping the government will adopt the bill as part of their forthcoming road safety strategy.
“What we’re specifically looking to do with the Harry Parker Bill, is that if a driver without a licence crashes into somebody and it results in death, it would automatically be deemed careless,” he said.
“There is clearly a loophole in the rules. You need a driving licence to drive. Therefore, choosing to go without one is careless by default. You shouldn’t be on the road because you don’t have the requirements to operate a car, and I think that is a safety risk.“
The Department of Transport said: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Harry Parker.
“The government takes road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the number of those killed and injured on our roads.”
Harry Parker’s father, Adam, believes there is ‘clearly a loophole in the rules’
Adam Parker now spends every morning on the road outside Harry’s school, making sure all the pupils get across safety. He and Kelly are campaigning to raise awareness of road safety, hoping that Harry’s legacy will be to protect other children.
“You shouldn’t send your child off to school, planning what you’re going to cook them that evening, planning what they’re going to have for their birthday in five days time, but it doesn’t happen because someone just hits him,” said Kelly. “We don’t want any other parents to have to go through this.”
The family of a father shot dead in a suspected case of mistaken identity in north London have said he “deserves justice” as they appealed for information.
Mahad Abdi Mohamed, 27, died from a gunshot wound to the head in hospital after he was hit with bullets fired from a stolen Mitsubishi Outlander, which was later found burnt out.
Detectives believe those responsible for his murder had set out to hurt someone else in a “pre-meditated and targeted attack” in Waverley Road, Tottenham, at 8.45pm on Thursday 20 March.
Mr Abdi Mohamed’s younger sister, Amal Abdi Mohamed, 23, said he was a “loving father” to his five-year-old son, who “looked up to him like a superhero”, and was planning to get married in the summer.
Mahad Abdi Mohamed with his sister, Amal Abdi Mohamed. Pic: Met Police
“He was taken away from us through gun violence,” she said.
“A bullet didn’t just take his life, it tore through our family, through our heart, and it’s truly shocking, it’s devastating, and it’s so senseless, because this type of violence should never be normal.
“It should never be something a family ever has to expect, prepare for, or live with.”
Mr Abdi’s 26-year-old friend, with whom he had been breaking his Ramadan fast, was also shot in the leg and was treated in hospital for a wound police said was not life-changing.
The Metropolitan Police arrested four men on suspicion of murder, who have been released on bail pending further investigations.
Detectives are appealing for witnesses who saw a silver Mitsubishi Outlander in the area, which was found burnt out in Runcorn Close, the following morning.
A Mitsubishi was found burnt out the following day. Pic: Met Police
“This tragic event and Mahad’s death, has had a profound impact on the community and all those who loved him. Someone out there knows what happened. And that person, or people, must come forward,” said Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Woodsford.
“Regardless of how small you think your information is, please share it with us. It could be the missing link we need to secure justice for Mahad and his family.”
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Compensation scheme for Capture victims announced
‘To stay silent is to be complicit’
Many of Mr Abdi Mohamed’s family members were in tears as they visited the scene of his murder as part of the appeal for information.
“My sweet Mahad was the kind of person who could light up a room without even trying,” said his sister.
“His laugh was so loud, and it still echoes in our memories.”
Ms Abdi Mohamed said her brother “was funny, he was honest, and overall he was just a good man” but “wasn’t perfect”.
She said he had “made mistakes but turned his life around” working at Waterloo Station, and part-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Royal Ascot as a security guard.
Mr Abdi Mohamed with his mother, Zahra Ali Seef. Pic: Met Police
“How do you look at a child who adored him day and night, and tell them that he’s gone and you don’t have the answers why? That boy will have to grow up with no dad,” she said.
“If you think you may know anything or have seen anything – you may think it doesn’t matter, but it might be the key to giving us an answer, and it might be the thing that finally lets our family take a breath.
“To stay silent is to be complicit.
“To stay silent is to let a grieving mother suffer in confusion. To stay silent is to let a little boy grow up not knowing what happened to his father.
“If you know something and you haven’t come forward, please think about that. Think about a family that cannot begin to heal because the truth is still hiding in the shadows. My brother deserves better. He deserves justice.”
UK
Post Office Capture scandal: Sir Alan Bates calls for those responsible for wrongful convictions to be ‘brought to account’
Sir Alan Bates has called for those responsible for the wrongful convictions of sub postmasters in the Capture IT scandal to be “brought to account”.
It comes after Sky News unearthed a report showing Post Office lawyers knew of faults in the software nearly three decades ago.
The documents, found in a garage by a retired computer expert, describe the Capture system as “an accident waiting to happen”.
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Post Office: The lost ‘Capture’ files
Sir Alan said the Sky News investigation showed “yet another failure of government oversight; another failure of the Post Office board to ensure [the] Post Office recruited senior people competent of bringing in IT systems” and management that was “out of touch with what was going on within its organisation”.
The unearthed Capture report was commissioned by the defence team for sub postmistress Patricia Owen and served on the Post Office in 1998 at her trial.
It described the software as “quite capable of producing absurd gibberish” and concluded “reasonable doubt” existed as to “whether any criminal offence” had taken place.
Ms Owen was found guilty of stealing from her branch and given a suspended prison sentence.
She died in 2003 and her family had always believed the computer expert, who was due to give evidence on the report, “never turned up”.
Patricia Owen (right) was convicted in 1998 of stealing from her post office branch. She died in 2003
Adrian Montagu reached out after seeing a Sky News report earlier this year and said he was actually stood down by the defending barrister with “no reason given”.
The barrister said he had no recollection of the case.
Victims and their lawyers hope the newly found “damning” expert report, which may never have been seen by a jury, could help overturn Capture convictions.
Read more: Post Office scandal redress must not only be fair – it must be fast
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What is the Capture scandal?
‘These people have to be brought to account’
Sir Alan, the leading campaigner for victims of the Horizon Post Office scandal, said while “no programme is bug free, why [was the] Post Office allowed to transfer the financial risk from these bugs on to a third party ie the sub postmaster, and why did its lawyers continue with prosecutions seemingly knowing of these system bugs?”
He continued: “Whether it was incompetence or corporate malice, these people have to be brought to account for their actions, be it for Capture or Horizon.”
More than 100 victims have come forward
More than 100 victims, including those who were not convicted but who were affected by the faulty software, have so far come forward.
Capture was used in 2,500 branches between 1992 and 1999, just before Horizon was introduced – which saw hundreds wrongfully convicted.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the body responsible for investigating potential miscarriages of justice, is currently looking at a number of Capture convictions.
A CCRC spokesperson told Sky News: “We have received applications regarding 29 convictions which pre-date Horizon.
25 of these applications are being actively investigated by case review managers, and two more recent applications are in the preparatory stage and will be assigned to case review managers before the end of June.
“We have issued notices under s.17 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 to Post Office Ltd requiring them to produce all material relating to the applications received.
“To date, POL have provided some material in relation to 17 of the cases and confirmed that they hold no material in relation to another 5. The CCRC is awaiting a response from POL in relation to 6 cases.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: “Postmasters negatively affected by Capture endured immeasurable suffering. We continue to listen to those who have been sharing their stories on the Capture system, and have taken their thoughts on board when designing the Capture Redress Scheme.”
Sir Keir Starmer could end up allowing Donald Trump to use British bases to launch strikes on Iran, Harriet Harman has said.
Speaking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman said this was despite the prime minister being part of a generation “shaped” by opposition to the Iraq War.
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Baroness Harman was solicitor general when Sir Tony Blair decided to take Britain to war in Iraq alongside the United States in 2003.
She said the decisions made by Sir Tony would be “burning bright” in Sir Keir‘s mind.
Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq will be ‘burning bright’ in the PM’s mind, Baroness Harman said. Pic: PA
“He’s part of the political generation of the Labour Party that grew up, which was shaped by its opposition to what Tony Blair was doing in relation to Iraq,” Baroness Harman said.
“So it would be a massive change for him.”
Asked if the UK could end up giving permission for US aircraft to use British military bases on Cyprus and Diego Garcia, but not go any further than that, Baroness Harman said: “Exactly”.
Soldiers guard the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus. File pic: Reuters
Read more:
‘Questions’ on legality of Israel’s actions in Iran
Donald Trump ‘may or may not’ strike Iran
Sky News reported on Thursday that Attorney General Richard Hermer has raised questions over whether Israel’s actions in Iran are lawful, potentially limiting what support he believes the UK could offer the US.
Baroness Harman said that for Sir Keir, the “rules-based international order is the most important thing”.
“If the attorney general says that the government can’t do something because it’s illegal, it can’t do it. So he’s in a very crucial position,” she added.
Harriet Harman (R) with Beth Rigby
But Baroness Harman said it would be difficult for Sir Keir to say “thank you for the trade deal” to Mr Trump and then deny the president use of the airbases.
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