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The conviction of Thomas Cashman for the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was largely down to the testimony of a key witness, who now potentially faces a life under witness protection.

While Olivia’s family and police both praised the “powerful and emotional” evidence she gave in court, the witness now could be leaving her community in Liverpool behind – potentially being given a new name and identity.

Currently there is no evidence to suggest the witness, who has been granted lifelong anonymity, has moved into witness protection, but it has been reported she has been “given more death threats than any other protected witness in Merseyside for many years”.

“In her own words in court, she said that her life and the life of her family has been ruined by this whole episode,” Sky’s crime correspondent Martin Brunt explained.

“The woman gave evidence anonymously because she lives within this tight-knit community. She was giving evidence against not just one of her own, but a man with whom she had had an affair.

“Police sources suggest that Thomas Cashman was a much feared gangster in that part of Liverpool. So anybody giving evidence against him would understandably feel vulnerable.”

Despite receiving support from Merseyside Police, it is understood the witness was moved straight out of Liverpool where she now faces a “difficult life” if she wants to maintain her anonymity.

What is witness protection?

In a nutshell, witness protection in the UK is a voluntary scheme that protects a threatened person providing testimony to the justice system.

As Sky’s Martin Brunt explains, it aims to offer individuals with “something better than the alternative” of staying where they are and running the “risk of being killed”.

The precise number of individuals under witness protection is unknown, but there are thousands of people protected to varying degrees.

“It would mean – broadly – moving away from the area you’ve been living in with your family, a new identity, a new back story,” Brunt said.

“One of the difficulties people face is when they make new friends, they have to have a story to explain what they’ve been doing for the previous years, and they have to learn it and stick to it because to make a mistake can cause obvious problems.”

Even simple things such as FaceTiming family members or sending birthday gifts have to be closely monitored and sent through a special channel to be checked by police.

‘I was scared for my mum’

Reece, who spent several years in a witness protection programme during his childhood, said he initially enjoyed being somewhere different until his mother told him it wasn’t going to end.

Growing up, he also found that he would isolate himself from others, becoming “angry and bitter” at the situation he was in.

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“My mum didn’t want to go into witness protection but she started getting phone calls from private numbers about what was going to happen to her,” he told Sky News correspondent Sally Lockwood in the Sky News Daily Podcast.

“I was scared for my mum. I remember having to move around a lot. It was a hotel for three weeks, an apartment for a month and then another house. It was all over.”

Reece explained that he and his mum had to leave their house and all their sentimental possessions behind, only taking their clothes. They were also not allowed to contact their family and friends for at least a year at the start of witness protection.

“It was difficult. I started to notice my anger at around age 11 – it really impacted me,” he added.

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Protected people can ‘become complacent’

Criticism of the system has been raised in the past after some people reported being disappointed with their new lives.

Simon McKay, a barrister who has advised the government on witness protection, said one of the main problems when an individual enters witness protection is preconceived “sexy” ideas they have.

However, he says it quickly becomes clear these preconceptions are not true.

“The biggest vulnerability is always the protected person who can become complacent, who is just sick of their life and yearns for some contact with their former loved ones, family and friends,” Mr McKay said.

He added that social media has made things even more difficult to keep protected individuals safe as criminals can start to “put the jigsaw pieces together”, which can potentially lead to where the individuals are now located.

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Liverpool win Premier League title to equal Man Utd’s record

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Liverpool win Premier League title to equal Man Utd's record

Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.

Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.

It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.

However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.

Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
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Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters

Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
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Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP

Liverpool's Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
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Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA

Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
Image:
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP

In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.

The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.

But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.

“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”

Liverpool's Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
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Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters

Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Image:
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP

Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.

He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.

Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”

Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.

Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.

Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
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Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP

Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
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Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP

Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
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Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters

Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.

It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.

A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.

The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.

Pic: LNP
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Pic: LNP

They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.

A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.

Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.

More on London Marathon 2025

There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.

More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.

Read more:
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Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform

Pic: LNP
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Pic: LNP

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.

“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”

The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.

The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week’s council elections

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week's council elections

Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.

“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.

However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.

“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.

“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”

She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”

More on Electoral Dysfunction

A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.

It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.

Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.

The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.

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