Elle Edwards’ dad says Christmas will ‘never be the same’ – as hundreds expected to line streets for funeral
The father of Elle Edwards, who was shot dead at a pub last month, has said “Christmas will never be the same” for him and his family.
In his first interview since her death, Tim Edwards spoke of how his “beautiful and caring” daughter “with a heart of gold” will never leave him – as he reminded people of the impact gun violence has had on his family.
Paying tribute to the 26-year-old beautician and dental nurse, Mr Edwards told Sky News: “She’s the type of person that would walk into the room and everyone would gravitate towards her because she was always smiling.
“She was beautiful looking and she was a great hugger. She was just a fantastic human being with a heart of gold.”
In an emotional interview ahead of her funeral next week, Mr Edwards spoke of the devastation the family felt on Christmas Eve when they found out she had been killed and the “struggle” of the last month.
“Time moves so quick,” he said.
“In our situation with the developments, Christmas Day didn’t mean anything, that had gone. It didn’t feel real and Christmas will never be the same. Christmas will never be a point of celebration for me, ever.”
Mr Edwards said Elle remained “the glue that keeps us all together” and that her death should not be in vain.
Elle was shot while celebrating with friends at the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, shortly before midnight on 24 December.
Connor Chapman, 22, has been charged with her murder and a trial date has been set for 7 June.
Elle’s dad hopes a foundation in her name ‘will be used for good’ and help reduce gun violence
Elle’s killing was the fifth shooting in Merseyside since August 2022 and Mr Edwards is hoping a foundation in her name will bring systemic change around gun violence.
“There’s no winners with gun crime,” he said.
“If you pick up a gun, your future is over and everybody else’s future around you is over. It’s dead simple. It’s absolutely pointless and it solves nothing.”
“I want to see a positive that comes out of this. Elle’s name will be used for good in the future. She can’t be forgotten,” he added.
Mr Edwards says his daughter was ‘a fantastic human being with a heart of gold’
‘Good memories spur you on’
Mr Edwards and his daughter spent time walking in the Lake District, as well as climbing mountains, and he said those memories are helping him grieve.
“They just keep you going, they keep your mind flowing. The good memories spur you on, I can even hear her laugh. It’s emotional and it’s horrible, it really is horrible, but hopefully those memories will never fade.”
Read more:
Man appears in court charged with Elle Edwards’ murder
Mr Edwards said the fact Elle’s life which was cut brutally short at 26 is the “hardest part” because she had so much ahead of her.
“She was just getting going,” he told Sky News.
“She had her focus, she had her own ambitions, and she was achieving them and everything was set in place for her and it was just taken away, and that’s sad.”
Elle’s funeral will take place on 25 January in the town where she grew up, many hundreds are expected to line the streets to pay tribute.
“It’s going to be terrible isn’t it? It’s not going to be nice,” he said.
“But it’s part of the process and it’s something that has to be done. And then we move on to the next thing and keep going. But she will always be here. She’ll never leave me. She’ll live on forever.”
A member of rap trio Kneecap was greeted by hundreds of supporters as he arrived at court this morning, charged with allegedly supporting a proscribed terror organisation.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November last year.
Demonstrators waving flags and holding banners in support of the rapper greeted him with cheers as he made his way into Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The rapper is mobbed by fans and media as he arrives at court. Pics: PA
Supported by his Kneecap bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, it took the rapper more than a minute to enter the building as security officers worked to usher him inside through a crowd of photographers.
Fans held signs which read “Free Mo Chara”, while others waved Irish and Palestinian flags.
As the hearing got under way, O hAnnaidh confirmed his name, date of birth and address, with the court hearing an Irish language interpreter would be present.
During a previous hearing, prosecutors said the 27-year-old is “well within his rights” to voice his opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but said the alleged incident at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town was a “wholly different thing”.
O hAnnaidh is yet to enter a plea to the charge.
Bandmates Naoise O Caireallain (pictured, centre) and JJ O Dochartaigh are supporting O hAnnaidh. Pic: Reuters
Who are Kneecap?
Kneecap put out their first single in 2017 and rose to wider prominence in 2024 after the release of their debut album and an eponymously titled film – a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and their fight to save the Irish language.
The film, in which the trio play themselves and co-star alongside starring Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender, won the BAFTA for outstanding debut earlier this year, for director and writer Rich Peppiatt.
Last year, they won a discrimination case against the UK government after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was business secretary.
They are known for songs including H.O.O.D, Fine Art, and Better Way To Live, featuring Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten.
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A council has won its bid to temporarily block asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel in Essex.
Epping Forest District Council sought an interim injunction to stop migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel in Epping, which is owned by Somani Hotels Limited.
A government attempt to delay the application was rejected by the High Court judge earlier on Tuesday.
The interim injunction now means the hotel has to be cleared of its occupants within 14 days.
Somani Hotels said it intended to appeal the decision.
Several protests have been held outside the hotel in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with trying to kiss a teenage girl and denies the allegations. He is due to stand trial later this month.
Police officers ahead of a demonstration outside The Bell Hotel in July. Pic: PA
At a hearing last week, barristers for the council claimed Somani Hotels breached planning rules because the site is not being used for its intended purpose as a hotel.
Philip Coppel KC, for the council, said the problem was “getting out of hand” and “causing great anxiety” to local people.
He said the hotel “is no more a hotel [to asylum seekers] than a borstal to a young offender”.
File pic: PA
Piers Riley-Smith, for Somani Hotels Limited, said a “draconian” injunction would cause “hardship” for those in the hotel, arguing “political views” were not grounds for an injunction to be granted.
He also said contracts to house asylum seekers were a “financial lifeline” for the hotel, which was only 1% full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers.
Protesters and counter-demonstrators outside The Bell Hotel in July. Pic: PA
The hotel housed migrants from May 2020 to March 2021, then from October 2022 to April 2024, with the council never instigating any formal enforcement proceedings against this use, Mr Riley-Smith said.
They were being placed there again in April 2025 and Mr Riley-Smith said a planning application was not made “having taken advice from the Home Office”.
At the end of the hearing last week, Mr Justice Eyre ordered that Somani Hotels could not “accept any new applications” from asylum seekers to stay at the site until he had made his ruling on the temporary injunction.
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