‘I lost my father to suicide’: Schoolgirl’s assembly on the hardest of subjects

Published

2 months ago

May 29, 2025

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Evie likes scary movies, musicals and Taylor Swift – but there is something that sets her apart.

The 16-year-old hates the way other children at school casually joke about suicide.

“People saying things like ‘I’m going to kill myself if I have to sit another maths test’, you’d be surprised how often people say things like that,” Evie Roodhouse tells me.

“People don’t understand the seriousness, saying they are ‘depressed’ as if it’s a positive thing. I think it’s become even a trend that some people think is cool or funny.”

Evie and younger sister Ada lost their father in 2018, and what they rarely tell anyone is that was suicide. However, Evie’s approach to this deeply personal subject is about to change. She has decided to give a school assembly on the subject.

Eight-year-old sister Ada supports Evie’s decision and has experienced her own frustrations: “She [Evie] gets people joking about it,” says Ada, “In my school I just get people, like, complaining about their parents being gone for a week, say on holiday, especially their dad. ‘My dad’s going to this place for a week, and I won’t get to see him.’ ‘Oh he’s not here on Father’s Day.’ Or, ‘he’ll be away for a whole month, that’s almost as much as you.’ – It’s not. It’s really not.”

It’s entirely understandable that, up until now, Evie has been extremely private around the cause of her father’s death. Her presentation on the subject for a room of her peers at Brighton Hill Community School in Basingstoke, would surely be one of the most courageous school assemblies ever given.

The night before, I met up with Evie along with Mother Caroline and sister Ada. “This is the first time I’ve openly shared my own personal experience, my story so that’s where the nerves are coming in,” Evie says as we get on to the subject of her presentation.

Her previous experience of confiding in friends is that their response varies between asking invasive questions, wanting details that Evie doesn’t want to share, or they feel awkward and change the subject. What Evie wants is for people to be able to talk about the subject and understand how to talk about it, especially if they themselves are struggling.

“With mental health we know that opening up and talking about it is the best thing you can do,” she says. “I think we understand ourselves better if we talk about our mental health. Communication is the best way around the stigma.”

However, this conversation around Evie’s home dining table is going to take us to some dark places, and it occurs to me how difficult it must have been for Caroline to explain what happened, to her young children. Did she have a choice? Could she have invented some other form of death to protect them from the truth?

Caroline explains her decision to tell them. “I had no idea Steve was going to take his own life. On the day I found out, luckily a friend of mine contacted an amazing charity called Winston’s Wish and they gave me some important advice, and that was honesty.

“However, uncomfortable that was, however brutal that was at the time. I’m grateful for that advice – because it’s meant that we’ve always had trust between us.”

Suicide rates in the UK have remained roughly the same for the last two decades, although the 7,055 deaths recorded in 2023 was the highest rate since 1999.

Men are three times more likely to take their own lives, and with Evie and Ada’s father there was no warning and no note to explain why.

Caroline says loss by suicide is “grief with a microphone”. One of the hardest things for her to manage has been her feeling of abandonment.

“I wanted to talk to Steve, and he’s the person responsible for not being here. Trying to get your head round the fact that, yes, they took their own life, but they weren’t in a rational state at that point in time, but then you’re feeling angry at the same time. It’s tiring. It’s exhausting.”

Eight-year-old Ada picks up: “You don’t blame them for being sad – but you’re also angry that they are not here.”

“…And that they didn’t tell you that they were struggling,” adds Caroline.

“They act all happy and fine. It’s quite unusual,” says Ada.

“It doesn’t make sense, does it?” offers Caroline. It is just a glimpse into the impossible conversations, the heartbreak and tears this family has endured.

Photographs of Steve with his children tell of a loving husband and father, hugging his children close, taking pride in his girls and valuing his precious time with them.

Evie tries to explain her own feelings on this, “Rather than someone being taken away from you – that person’s chosen to take themselves away from you.”

“They don’t want to be with you,” says Ada.

Evie picks up: “There’s sadness that they must have been struggling – but you made that decision. You must have thought whatever you had going on, was a bigger deal than me needing a father in my life, and that’s been a big thing for me.”

But Caroline has a consoling thought – a moment she says that changed everything. “It wasn’t that long ago maybe last year I was asked a question that completely knocked me off my feet – and took away most of my anger. I was asked by somebody – ‘What do you think Steve would say if he could come back and speak to you, right now.'”

“And my response to that, knowing what an amazing person he was, is that he would say ‘sorry’ and he didn’t want to cause us any pain. And in that moment imagining him saying ‘sorry’ – took away all my anger.”

Then she adds, “The problem is that replaces the anger with sadness.”

There is a deep chasm in the room. They will never know why. There are no answers. No clues and no way to change that. The profound complexity of emotions is something anyone would struggle with, yet both children Evie have found ways of coping.

“You have the first couple of years of feeling – ‘this is going to be my life now this is how I’m going to feel…’ says Evie. Her emotions break through, she pauses to compose herself then determinedly finishes her point. “…and I think being able to move past that and understand that you are not defined by that loss – and you are more than the person who took themselves away from you – and you are stronger.”

The next day as the assembly loomed Evie emitted quiet confidence. Mum Caroline came to watch and said she felt protective but at the same time “unbelievably proud”.

What then happened was an extraordinary 20 minutes. Around 80 children watched the presentation, which included a thought-provoking animated film that Evie helped to create. She told the room how she lost her father to suicide in 2018 when she was nine years old and warned, “When you hear someone joking about something that has completely turned your world around it can be so hurtful.”

She also had sage advice on where teenagers can get help themselves, listing school provision and organisations outside of school such as Childline and the Samaritans.

Research recently published by the Mental Health Foundation found a third of young people accessed self-harm content online and the theme this year’s Mental Health Awareness week was community. Evie’s presentation couldn’t have been more appropriate.

She told her peers: “Unfortunately, in my experience the people who don’t talk about it, the people who keep their emotions down and don’t want to speak about those feelings are the people who we lose thorough suicide.”

Caroline was right to be proud and so too was headmaster of Brighton Hill Community School, Chris Edwards. He said afterwards: “I bang on about this quite a lot – the younger generation – and the press that they get does not match the depiction that I see day in day out.

“They are phenomenal – and the assembly we’ve seen today which Evie ran was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in my career. Not just because she was able to tackle a subject that’s very difficult to her, but to do it to her peers is doubly difficult. And I was also proud of the way the children responded.”

It is rare this subject is talked about, and it must be done sensitively. Evie gave a masterclass in how to do it.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

UK

Southport stabbing victim reveals how she survived attack – and fears ‘it could happen again’

Published

4 hours ago

July 29, 2025

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Southport stabbing victim reveals how she survived attack - and fears 'it could happen again'

A girl who was stabbed in the Southport attack has told Sky News how she thought she was going to die that day.

Warning: Some readers may find this content distressing

It is exactly a year since Axel Rudakubana killed three girls and attempted to murder eight others at a summer holiday Taylor Swift-themed dance event in the seaside town.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was stabbed in the back and the arm after going to the class with her younger sister.

She is now campaigning for children to have mandatory first aid training at school in response to the growth of knife crime.

She said she clearly remembers what happened that day.

“Some of the girls were sat down in a circle making bracelets with the teachers, and a couple of them were getting up to get beads. I was standing between two tables and he came through the doors.

“He stabbed a little girl in front of me and then came for me and stabbed my arm. I turned and then he stabbed my back, even though I didn’t feel it at the time.

“There was a bunch of girls huddled around so I just started pushing them down the stairs, telling them to get out and run.

“I was thinking ‘Where’s my sister?’ and ‘We need to get out’.”

She and many of the other victims ran to the house of a neighbour for shelter. “I just thought that I was going to die,” she said.

Killer ‘looked possessed’

The girl said she can clearly picture Rudakubana that day.

“What I remember most about him is his eyes. They just didn’t look human, they looked possessed. It was kind of like a dream and you’re on a movie set and watching yourself go through it and make these decisions.

“It’s just kind of like adrenaline. People like to think they know what they’d do in that situation but, in reality, you don’t until you’re in it.”

Six-year-old Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, who was seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar died in the attack. It is something she finds difficult to talk about.

“I don’t think I can express how I feel about it,” the girl said. “A lot of anger and sadness.”

In January, Rudakubana was jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 52 years before he can be considered for release.

The chairman of the public inquiry into the atrocity called the attack “one of the most egregious crimes in our country’s history”.

Carrying knives ‘disgusting’

The girl who survived has now launched a campaign, supported by a clothing range called “Go Anywhere, Be Anything” to raise funds, to improve the ability of schoolchildren to help in the event of knife attacks.

“Everyone that’s going out and carrying knives is getting younger and younger,” she said. “And to think that it’s people my age is like disgusting.

“I just want to try and do the best I can to let people know that it’s not okay to do that and that they need to think about what they’re doing and the risks and how they’re harming themselves and other people.”

Her sister, who was also there that day, helped design “Go Anywhere, Be Anything”.

A three-minute silence will be held in Southport at 3pm to mark one year on from the attack. In an open letter to the community, Sefton Council wrote: “This period is incredibly hard for the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie and all of those children and adults injured or who suffered lifelong psychological impact of witnessing the attack, and we acknowledge the huge impact on their lives, too.

“We must not forget the local people who rushed to support and to our emergency responders. They all remain always in our thoughts.”

It is a sentiment shared by the survivor.

“You live in fear every day that it could happen again,” she said.

“Physically I’m getting better every day and healing. Obviously, my scars stay as a reminder but everyone from that day is going to have mental scars forever.”

UK

Revealed: The scale of cheap Chinese imports flown into UK without paying any tariffs

Published

4 hours ago

July 29, 2025

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Revealed: The scale of cheap Chinese imports flown into UK without paying any tariffs

The scale of cheap Chinese e-commerce imports flown into Britain without paying any tariffs has become clearer following a Sky News investigation into this new multi-billion pound phenomenon.

We have uncovered the first official estimate of the value of so-called “de minimis” imports into Britain, ahead of an official inquiry into whether this legal clause – which excludes packages worth less than £135 from paying customs duties – should be allowed to continue.

Companies like Shein and Temu have become big players in British retail, not to mention elsewhere around the world, by manufacturing cheap products in China and then posting them directly to consumers, benefiting from the de minimis rules.

Clothing manufacturers in the UK claim that de minimis makes it nearly impossible to compete with these Chinese competitors, raising questions about the viability of domestic textile and apparel production.

However, economists argue that the main beneficiaries of the policy to exclude cheap imports from customs are lower-income households, since it allows them to spend less on their shopping. Removing it, they say, would disproportionately affect poorer families.

The government has committed to an inquiry into the rules, which are also being changed in the EU and the US, but up until now there has been no official estimate of its scale.

According to HM Revenue and Customs data released to Sky News following a Freedom of Information request, the total declared trade value of de minimis imports into the UK in the last fiscal year (2024-25) was £5.9bn.

That was a 53% increase on the previous year (£3.9bn), underlining the scale of growth of e-commerce imports into the UK.

While it is hard to gauge how much revenue this means the Treasury has forgone, an illustrative 20% tariff on flows of that order could raise more than £1bn.

While that sum alone would not fill the fiscal black hole faced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the coming budget, it would nonetheless be nearly enough to pay for the government’s recent U-turn on winter fuel allowances.

Sky has also obtained the first television access deep into the supply chain, helping bring those goods into the UK, as it boarded a flight that had just travelled from Chongqing to Bournemouth Airport.

We filmed inside the belly of a plane belonging to European Cargo, one of a number of air cargo firms booming as a result of these trade flows.

The untold story about de minimis is that it hasn’t just had an impact on shopping habits in the UK, or for that matter, the textiles manufacturing sector – it has also changed patterns of distribution.

Struggling regional airports that never saw their passenger numbers recover after the pandemic are now re-establishing themselves as hubs for cargo.

European Cargo is now the single biggest airline at Bournemouth Airport, despite not carrying a single passenger.

Other regional airports like East Midlands Airport and Prestwick in Scotland are seeing rapid growth in flows of trade.

All of which raises the stakes for the government’s inquiry into the de minimis system.

At present, there is no timeline for its decision, but removing the clause would have far-reaching effects across the economy.

UK

Lionesses parade: The route and key timings as thousands of England fans to descend on central London

Published

7 hours ago

July 29, 2025

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Lionesses parade: The route and key timings as thousands of England fans to descend on central London

The Lionesses will celebrate with thousands of England fans in central London today as the players take part in an open-top bus procession.

The bus will carry the team through central London, allowing supporters to celebrate the team’s defence of their Women’s Euros title alongside the likes of Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly and catch a glimpse of the silverware.

Here is all you need to know.

Where will the parade go and when?

The team’s open-top bus will travel along The Mall from 12.10pm.

It will end with a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, which is expected to start at roughly 12.30pm and end at 1pm, the Football Association (FA) announced.

The Royal Marines Portsmouth band and the Central Band of the Royal Air Force will perform on the stage and highlights from the tournament will be shown on big screens.

England manager Sarina Wiegman will then lead her triumphant team out on stage to lift the trophy.

The event will be hosted by former Lioness and football pundit Alex Scott.

Fans will be able to attend the event for free, but the FA have warned that the capital is going to be “very busy”.

“People should plan their visits carefully, both coming into central London and travelling home,” the association said.

How to watch

You can watch coverage of the entire event live on Sky News from 10am and follow all the action with our live blog.

Fans can also follow coverage of the event on the BBC, ITV and across England’s social media channels.

Celebrations with the deputy PM

The Lionesses landed back in the UK from Basel, Switzerland, on Monday, where celebrations continued with a reception at Downing Street.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and sports minister Stephanie Peacock hosted the team ahead of today’s bus parade.

Sir Keir Starmer said: “The Lionesses have once again captured the hearts of the nation.

“Their victory is not only a remarkable sporting achievement, but an inspiration for young people across the country.”

An extra bank holiday?

As the team have become the first senior England side to win a major tournament on foreign soil, some have called for an extra bank holiday to mark the occasion.

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey was one of those who asked the prime minister if it was “time for that bank holiday”.

He was referring to comments made by Sir Keir in 2023. When, as leader of the opposition, he wrote on X that there “should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home”.

But with estimates suggesting an extra bank holiday would cost the economy £2.4bn, it’s understood such a move isn’t being planned by Downing Street.

‘There is no stopping them now’

The impact of the Lionesses second consecutive Euros title is already being felt across the UK.

At Bearsted Football Club in Maidstone, Kent, a mural of Alessia Russo, who levelled Sunday’s final with a goal in the 56th minute, has been unveiled.

The club is where Russo first started playing, and chairman Jamie Houston told Sky News the Lionesses have helped transform the women’s game.

“Five years ago we never had a girl’s football team,” he told Sky correspondent Mollie Malone. “Now we have five separate teams for girls, and boys are accepting of more girls in the game.

“There is no stopping them now.”

Lynda Hale, who played in the England squad in the first ever international women’s match against Scotland in 1972, reiterated that women’s football has changed drastically since she played.

“When I first started playing there was hardly anyone that would watch,” she told Sky News Breakfast.

“To put on the England shirt and think what we started has grown to this magnitude, and it is still going to grow, is absolutely fantastic. I think the sky’s the limit in women’s football.”

Asked what advice she would have for the current England squad after their win, Ms Hale said: “The girls need to make as many memories as they can and take everything in their stride.”