Four boys who died after falling into a frozen lake in Solihull have been named by police.
Brothers Samuel Butler, six, and Finlay Butler, eight; their cousin Thomas Stewart, 11, and Jack Johnson, 10, were identified by West Midlands Police.
Three of the boys, Jack, Thomas and Finlay, died on Sunday after falling into Babbs Mill Lake.
Samuel was taken to hospital in a critical condition, but died yesterday.
In a statement, released through West Midlands Police, the parents of Thomas, Finlay and Samuel, said: “As a family we are devastated at the loss of our beautiful boys Tom, Fin and Sam in such tragic circumstances.
Image: Police divers search the lake in Babbs Mill Park in Kingshurst, Solihull
“We would like to thank the emergency services for all they did in rescuing the boys and to the community for their support, it has been overwhelming.
“We would like to pass on our condolences to Jack’s family at this very sad time, and ask for privacy from the media to begin to grieve.”
‘He was a lively little soul’
Thomas’ older brother paid tribute to him and his cousin.
He wrote: “Thomas was such a lively little soul, he had a big heart for such a young kid and he was so beautiful. He loved being outside playing with his mates.
“I love you Tom, big bro will take care of the family and I will see you soon.”
Paying tribute to Finlay, he wrote: “Can’t forget about my dinosaur man Fin, he loved dinosaurs so much and always showing me new things he built on Minecraft and all the new stuff he learnt on it.
“Gonna miss you little man.”
Image: Officers lay bouquets of flowers and stood in silence near to the scene in Babbs Mill Park
Friends say the four children were playing around the icy lake on Sunday when one of the boys’ legs fell through.
According to one friend, the other three children fell into the water as they attempted to help him.
The four children were all in cardiac arrest when rescue teams pulled them out and emergency services rushed them to hospital.
Police say Finlay and Thomas died shortly after, and Jack also died on Sunday. Samuel died in hospital on Wednesday, officers confirmed.
Extensive underwater searches were carried out following the incident and have now concluded, police say.
‘A tragedy beyond words’
Superintendent Rich Harris described the incident as a “tragedy beyond words”.
In a statement, he said: “(The) grief is unimaginable for the families and friends of the boys.
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Lake deaths: Paramedics pay respects
“The support from the community has been overwhelming, not just for the bereaved families, but also for the emergency services, for which we are extremely grateful.
“Our officers will remain in the area in the coming days. Please come and speak to us if you need to.”
Premier League stars pay tribute
It comes as Aston Villa stars Tyrone Mings and John McGinn paid their respects on Wednesday to the boys.
The Premier League footballers visited a makeshift memorial, set up near to the scene of the incident.
Image: Aston Villa stars John McGinn and Tyrone Mings pay tribute at a makeshift memorial to the boys
Speaking to Sky News at the memorial, Mings said he and McGinn had made a “personal decision” to pay their respects.
Mings said: “I think it has impacted the whole city and we thought it was important to come down on a personal level, just to show that we were supporting.
“Sometimes, as we have seen with other things that have happened across the city, there are things more important than football.
“We thought it was important to come down, show our respects, and show we are thinking about everything that has happened.
“There will be lots of supporters who will have been impacted by what has happened, and we feel that pain too.”
Villa captain McGinn added: “Solihull has been my home for the past five years.
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Tyrone Mings and John McGinn pay respects at lake
“It was certainly moving for us and we saw John Eustace (Birmingham City’s manager) come down yesterday and myself and Tyrone thought it would be great for us to pay our respects.”
Mings and McGinn spent a few moments in silence looking at the hundreds of tributes, cards, bouquets, children’s toys and balloons which have been laid at the foot of a tree next to Babbs Mill Park.
The train crew member who was seriously injured while trying to protect passengers during a mass stabbing has been discharged from hospital.
Samir Zitouni, 48, known as Sam, was working on board the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) train from Doncaster to London when the attack began in Cambridgeshire on Saturday 1 November.
Mr Zitouni had been in a critical condition, having suffered multiple injuries in the incident, but was discharged on Saturday.
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Mahmood praises rail worker
His family said: “We are so grateful for the outpouring of support from the public, and very touched by all the kind words about Sam’s brave actions on the night of the attack.
“While we are really happy to have him home, he still has a significant recovery ahead and we would now like to be left in privacy to care for him as a family.”
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1:39
Train mass stabbing: A timeline of events
David Horne, managing director at LNER, said: “In a moment of crisis, Sam did not hesitate as he stepped forward to protect those around him.
“His actions were incredibly brave, and we are so proud of him, and of all our colleagues who acted with such courage that evening. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Sam and his family. We will continue to support them and wish him a full and speedy recovery.”
The attack is understood to have started shortly after the train left Peterborough, with passengers pulling the emergency alarms on the LNER service.
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Police believe train attacker filmed waving knife
Train driver Andrew Johnson, who served in the Royal Navy for 17 years, contacted a signaller and requested an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon station.
11 people were treated in hospital after the mass stabbing – nine were initially reported as having life-threatening injuries.
Anthony Williams, 32, was remanded into custody at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on November 3, charged with 10 counts of attempted murder over the incident.
He will appear at Cambridge Crown Court on 1 December.
Donald Trump has said he will sue the BBC for between $1bn and $5bn over the editing of his speech on Panorama.
The US president confirmed he would be taking legal action against the broadcaster while on Air Force One overnight on Saturday.
“We’ll sue them. We’ll sue them for anywhere between a billion (£792m) and five billion dollars (£3.79bn), probably sometime next week,” he told reporters.
“We have to do it, they’ve even admitted that they cheated. Not that they couldn’t have not done that. They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
Mr Trump then told reporters he would discuss the matter with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over the weekend, and claimed “the people of the UK are very angry about what happened… because it shows the BBC is fake news”.
The Daily Telegraph reported earlier this month that an internal memo raised concerns about the BBC’s editing of a speech made by Mr Trump on 6 January 2021, just before a mob rioted at the US Capitol building, on its flagship late-night news programme.
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BBC crisis: How did it happen?
The concerns regard clips spliced together from sections of the president’s speech to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell” in the documentary Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election.
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Following a backlash, both BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness resigned from their roles.
‘No basis for defamation claim’
On Thursday, the broadcaster officially apologised to the president and added that it was an “error of judgement” and the programme will “not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms”.
A spokesperson said that “the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited,” but they also added that “we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim”.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump’s lawyers threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn unless it apologised, retracted the clip, and compensated him.
Image: The US president said he would sue the broadcaster for between $1bn and $5bn. File pic: PA
Legal challenges
But legal experts have said that Mr Trump would face challenges taking the case to court in the UK or the US.
The deadline to bring the case to UK courts, where defamation damages rarely exceed £100,000 ($132,000), has already expired because the documentary aired in October 2024, which is more than one year.
Also because the documentary was not shown in the US, it would be hard to show that Americans thought less of the president because of a programme they could not watch.
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Sky’s Katie Spencer on what BBC bosses told staff on call over Trump row
Newsnight allegations
The BBC has said it was looking into fresh allegations, published in The Telegraph, that its Newsnight show also selectively edited footage of the same speech in a report broadcast in June 2022.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC holds itself to the highest editorial standards. This matter has been brought to our attention and we are now looking into it.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
A man has been given a 13-month prison sentence for stealing Banksy’s famous Girl With Balloon print from a London gallery.
Larry Fraser, 49, of Beckton, east London, was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to one count of non-residential burglary at Kingston Crown Court on 9 October.
The print, one of the street artist‘s most famous, was stolen from a gallery in New Cavendish Street in London at around 11pm on 8 September last year.
Image: The recovered artwork back in the gallery. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Fraser used a hammer to smash his way through a glass entrance door at the Grove Gallery before stealing the artwork, which was valued at £270,000.
He concealed his identity with a mask, hooded jacket and gloves, but the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad was able to identify him and track him to a location streets away.
He was also caught on CCTV loading the artwork into a van before fleeing the scene.
A second man, 54-year-old James Love, was accused of being the getaway driver in the burglary, but cleared of stealing the print.
Image: Larry Fraser. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Image: Damage to the Grove Gallery after the theft. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Fraser was arrested at his home address on 10 September, within 48 hours of the burglary, and charged the next day.
Officers were able to recover the artwork after executing a warrant on the Isle of Dogs. It has now been returned to the gallery.
Fraser pleaded to the court that he was struggling with a historic drug debt and agreed to steal the work “under a degree of pressure and fear”.
He said he did not know what he would be stealing, nor its value, until the day of the offence.
Image: Fraser was caught on CCTV taking the artwork away from the gallery. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Jeffrey Israel, defending, said Fraser lived with his mother as her principal carer, and had only managed to “break his cycle of drug addiction” after his last prison sentence.
He added that it “would take a bold advocate” to suggest that the value of the print had increased by the burglary, but insisted “that is probably the reality”.
Judge Anne Brown was unmoved, however, and said the offence was “simply too serious” for a suspended sentence.
“This is a brazen and serious non-domestic burglary,” she said.
“Whilst you did not know the precise value of the print, you obviously understood it to be very valuable.”
She added: “Whilst I am sure there was a high degree of planning, this was not your plan.”
However, Fraser may be eligible for immediate release due to time spent on electronic curfew.
Detective Chief Inspector Scott Mather, who led the Met’s investigation, said: “Banksy’s Girl With Balloon is known across the world – and we reacted immediately to not just bring Fraser to justice but also reunite the artwork with the gallery.
“The speed at which this took place is a testament to the tireless work of the flying squad officers – in total it took just four days for normality to be restored.”
The 2004 artwork was part of a £1.5m collection of 13 Banksy pieces at the gallery.
Gallery manager, Lindor Mehmetaj, said it was “remarkable” for the piece to have been recovered after the theft.
The 29-year-old said: “I was completely, completely shocked, but in a very, very positive way when the Flying Squad showed me the actual artwork.
“It’s very hard to put into words, the weight that comes off your shoulders.”