Sara Sharif: Grandfather says it was ‘his duty to protect’ five children recovered by police
Sara Sharif’s grandfather has told Sky News it was “his duty to protect” five children who have been recovered from his home by police searching for his son.
The youngsters, aged between one and 13, are understood to have travelled from the UK to Pakistan with Sara‘s father Urfan Sharif, her stepmother Beinash Batool, and Mr Sharif’s brother Faisal Shahzad Malik last month.
Authorities want to question the trio over the death of 10-year-old Sara, whose body was found at her home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August after her father called 999 from Pakistan. He had flown there from Britain a day earlier.
Sara’s grandfather, Muhammad Sharif, who lives in the city of Jhelum, said the five children had been with him since they came to Pakistan and “it was his duty to protect the children”, adding: “I couldn’t leave them alone.”
He insisted the children were “fine and happy with me”.
Sara Sharif was found dead in Woking
Sara’s grandfather described the police raid on his home by around 15 officers, saying: “We were inside the house, they raided the doors and I don’t know if they had a search warrant.”
He said the five children were in a room when “they took them away”.
Muhammad Sharif admitted he met Mr Sharif, 41, Ms Batool, 29, and Mr Malik, 28, “on the first day” after they travelled to Pakistan.
“They told me they were scared and ran from the UK,” he said, adding: “I told them the kids will stay with me, you go wherever you want to go.”
Police ‘never asked about the kids’
Mr Sharif also told Sky News the police “have never asked me about the kids, and where they are”, claiming officers were “only interested in the parents, they weren’t with me”.
And he said he had not spoken to the trio “for a long time”.
Since the five children were recovered by police and placed in custody at a local police station, they have now been handed back to their grandfather. They are at his home but officers will on Tuesday hand them over to the court.
Sara had suffered ‘multiple and extensive’ injuries, police said. Pic: AP
The search is still ongoing for the three adults, and officers say they are “hopeful” they can locate Mr Sharif and Ms Batool.
The address that was raided is where police believe they had been hiding.
UK officers launched a murder investigation after Sara was found dead. A post-mortem examination revealed she had suffered “multiple and extensive” injuries.
Surrey Police have said the welfare of the children was a “priority”.
In a video shared with Sky News last week, Ms Batool said the family is willing to cooperate with British authorities and “fight our case in court”.
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Sara’s stepmother spoke for the first time in a video shared with Sky News
Ms Batool denied media reports that Mr Sharif’s brother Imran had claimed Sara fell down the stairs, saying that was spread through a Pakistani media outlet.
“Our family in Pakistan are severely affected by all that is going on,” she added.
Ms Batool also expressed concern for the family’s safety, saying they had been forced into “hiding”.
“The groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear for safety,” she added.
In an interview with the Polish television programme “Uwaga!”, Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, shared the distressing account of her visit to see her daughter’s body in a mortuary.
She said: “One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised.
“Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.”
Ms Sharif and her husband separated in 2015, and Sara, along with her older brother, lived with her until 2019, when a family court determined they should reside with their father.
While she retained equal rights to visit her children, Ms Sharif said she found it increasingly challenging to maintain those rights as time went on.
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Sara’s grandfather demands accountability
Sara’s grandfather Muhammad Sharif previously told the BBC that the girl’s father claimed her death was an “accident”.
Surrey Police are appealing for information to help get a better understanding of Sara’s life.
Rory McIlroy has completed a career Grand Slam in golf with his win at the US Masters tournament.
The Masters was the last major tournament left for McIlroy to complete the modern golf Grand Slam – a feat only five others have managed before him.
McIlroy, who was making his 11th attempt at completing the Grand Slam, faced off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to decide the Masters champion, after they finished tied on 11 under at the end of regulation on Sunday.
McIlroy reacts as he wins. Pic: AP
McIlroy reacts after winning against Justin Rose at the Masters. Pic: AP
“It’s my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said just before slipping on the Green Jacket during the presentation ceremony.
“I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
McIlroy had missed his six-foot putt for par, a bogey which dropped him back to 11 under, where he joined Rose – leading to a dramatic play-off between the two.
Only five other golfers have been able to complete a career Grand Slam, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Pic: AP
McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, claiming the prize in 2012 and 2014.
The 35-year-old also won his first major title, the US Open, in 2011, and won The Open Championship in 2014.
How did McIlroy get to the victory?
McIlroy recovered from losing his overnight two-shot advantage with an opening-hole double bogey to initially take control at Augusta National, only to blow a four-shot lead over his closing six holes.
The world No 2 bogeyed the last to close a one-over 73 and slip back to 11 under alongside Rose, who overturned a seven-stroke deficit and posted a stunning final-round 66 to force a play-off.
The players returned to the 18th for the play-off, where McIlroy made amends for his 72nd-hole blunder by firing a stunning approach to within three feet of the pin and making the birdie putt required for a life-changing win.
UK
Race to keep British Steel furnaces running with last-minute efforts to secure raw materials under way
Last-minute efforts to keep British Steel operating are to be carried out today, as the plant races to secure a supply of raw materials.
The Department for Business and Trade said officials are working to secure supplies of materials, including coking coal, to keep British Steel operational, as well as to ensure all staff will be paid.
It added that setting up new supply chains was “crucial” as a fall in blast furnace temperature could risk “irreparable damage to the site, with the steel setting and scarring the machinery”.
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British Steel: What happens next?
Companies including Tata – which ran the now-closed Port Talbot steelworks – and Rainham Steel have offered managerial support and materials to keep the Lincolnshire site running.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement that “when I said steelmaking has a future in the UK, I meant it”.
“Steel is vital for our national security and our ambitious plans for the housing, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors in the UK,” he added.
“We will set out a long-term plan to co-invest with the private sector to ensure steel in the UK has a bright and sustainable future.”
Unions said Jingye decided to cancel orders of key materials for the steelworks
Earlier this month, unions said the steelwork’s owner, Chinese company Jingye, decided to cancel future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
It meant the Scunthorpe plant had been on course to close down by May, bit it sparked urgent calls for government intervention.
Emergency legislation was passed on Saturday bringing the steelworks into effective government control, and officials were on site as soon as the new legislation came into force.
However, the business secretary has warned that does not mean the plant is guaranteed to survive.
Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Reynolds also said he would not bring a Chinese company into the “sensitive” steel sector again.
“I don’t know… the Boris Johnson government when they did this, what exactly the situation was,” he added. “But I think it’s a sensitive area.”
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‘I wouldn’t bring a Chinese company into our steel sector’
Jingye stepped in with a deal to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant out of insolvency in 2020, when Mr Johnson was prime minister.
The minister added that while The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill stops short of the full nationalisation of British Steel, “to be frank, as I said to parliament yesterday, it is perhaps at this stage the likely option”.
The Conservatives accused the government of acting “too late” and implementing a “botched nationalisation” after ignoring warnings about the risk to the steelworks.
Read more:
A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?
How Trump, China and Reform all played their part
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “The Labour Government have landed themselves in a steel crisis entirely of their own making.
“They’ve made poor decisions and let the unions dictate their actions.”
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