Storm Babet: £37k raised for hard-hit town – but ‘long road to recovery’ ahead
Scotland’s first minister has pledged to support an Angus town that has been left devastated by Storm Babet.
On Monday, Humza Yousaf met those affected by the severe flooding in Brechin after the River South Esk burst its banks during the heavy rainfall.
Mr Yousaf warned that the clean-up would take some time but said the council would receive Scottish government funding to help with the recovery.
Speaking to a resident, he said: “We’ll support you as much as we can.”
He added: “It’s going to be a long road to recovery.”
Mr Yousaf speaking to residents
Six people across the UK have died as a result of Storm Babet.
Wendy Taylor, 57, was swept away in the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, on Thursday.
Ms Taylor, a director at Errol-based Taylors Snacks, previously known as Mackie’s, was described by her family as a “ray of sunshine” and a “beautiful, kind, funny and caring person”.
Maureen Gilbert, 83, also died after her home in Chesterfield flooded.
Her son told Sky News how he found her body floating in the water at the property.
Mr Yousaf thanked members of the emergency services and Angus Council for their efforts in responding to the flooding
On Thursday, Angus Council mobilised to evacuate hundreds of residents across the region that were at risk of flooding due to the downpour.
Rest centres were set up to accommodate all those forced to leave their homes.
In Brechin, the River South Esk breached defences and flooded River Street.
Brechin residents being evacuated during the storm
Councillor Gavin Nicol, who represents the Brechin and Edzell ward, has warned that some residents could be out of their homes “for months, if not permanently”.
During his visit to River Street, Mr Yousaf said he is yet to have a conversation with the UK government about funding.
Mr Yousaf speaking to Kim Clark as he looks at water damage in her house
He said: “I think it’s important that the assessments are done in terms of the scale of devastation, what the impacts will be and what funding is required.
“Then, of course, if necessary, we’ll have those conversations with the UK government.”
The first minister added: “I’m very keen to give an assurance to residents here that I’ve spoken to, to businesses here that I’ve spoken to, the government is there to support them as much as we can during the long road to recovery.”
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Brechin residents tell Sky’s Katerina Vittozzi that they are ‘upset and exhausted’ after flooding damaged their property
Read more:
Why Storm Babet brought so much rain
Meantime, two fundraisers have been set up for the Brechin residents affected by the storm.
Brechin Buccaneers, a charity cricket club, has raised more than £27,000 to help the townsfolk “rebuild their lives”.
Rosie Galloway looking at the flood water outside her property in Brechin
Local resident John Morrison has also set up a GoFundMe page, which has raised almost £10,000.
Mr Morrison told Sky News the money will be added to the Brechin Buccaneers fundraiser.
He said: “Things are going well under the circumstances. People in part have been able to access their homes to assess the damage.”
Mr Morrison praised the response to the flooding and said locals continue to rally round those affected by offering items to people in need.
He added: “The true community spirit continues as they start to rebuild.
“The donations have been overwhelming from the local community, but also reaching further afield from people who don’t live here.
“The generosity has been outstanding and humbling.”
Mr Morrison hopes the money raised will help “once the dust settles”.
He said: “Especially this close to Christmas too – people will have less. So if it brings a smile and warms a heart, then it’s met its aim.”
UK
Mohamed al Fayed: Former royal security head says he warned Royal Family before Diana went on holiday with businessman
The former head of royal protection says he warned the Royal Family about Mohamed al Fayed’s reputation before Princess Diana took her sons on holiday with him.
The former Harrods owner, who died last year at the age of 94, was described as a “monster” earlier this week by lawyers representing 37 alleged sexual abuse victims.
The women say he raped and sexually assaulted them while they worked at the luxury department store, prowling the shop floor and “cherry-picking” women to be brought to his executive suite.
Now, Mr Davies says people were aware of the Egyptian businessman’s reputation as far back as the 1990s, and that he raised concerns about him to the Royal Family.
Princess Diana on the quay of the residence of Mohamed al Fayed in Saint Tropez on 20 July 1997. File pic: AP
“This was a man who I would be concerned [about] if a relative of mine was going on holiday with him, let alone the future king and his brother and their mother, Princess Diana,” Dai Davies told Sky News.
Mohamed al Fayed during a match at Craven Cottage stadium in 2013: File pic: PA
In July 1997, a month before she died, Princess Diana went on holiday with Fayed and his wife to their residence in St Tropez.
She took the two young princes with her – a holiday Prince Harry described as “heaven” in his 2023 memoir Spare.
“I was horrified because I was aware of some of the allegations even then that were going around,” said Mr Davies.
“I was aware that he had tried very hard to ingratiate himself with the Royal Family and obviously knowing, as I did, the reputation he was alleged [to have] then, I was concerned, and I took the opportunity to inform the Royal Family.”
Princess Diana, Prince William (right) and Prince Harry (left) in Saint Tropez on 14 July 1997. File pic: AP
Mr Davies says he was told: “Her Majesty is aware.”
“The rest is history,” he said.
Buckingham Palace told Sky News it had no comment on the allegations.
Fulham ‘deeply disturbed’ by allegations
Fulham FC, a football club that was owned by Fayed between 1997 and 2013, has said it is “deeply troubled” by the dozens of “disturbing” sexual abuse allegations against the businessman.
The Premier League club also said it is “in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected” by this alleged behaviour.
Mohamed al Fayed waves a Fulham scarf in front of supporters in 2012. Pic: Reuters
However, Gaute Haugenes, who managed the club’s women’s team between 2001 and 2003, told the BBC extra precautions were taken to protect female players from Fayed.
“We were aware he liked young, blonde girls. So we just made sure that situations couldn’t occur. We protected the players.”
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Body found in search for missing TV chaplain
Four arrested after ‘concerns’ about prison staff conduct
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‘The door was locked behind me’
A former Harrods employee told Sky News she was summoned to Fayed’s apartment when she began working for the department store at 19 years old.
She was told the meeting was a “job review” before “the door was locked behind me”.
“I saw his bedroom door partially open – there were sex toys on view,” she said.
“I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then… my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me.”
Read more: ‘One of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation’
Harrods said in a statement on Thursday it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.
The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The legal team involved in a civil claim against Harrods for allegedly failing to provide a safe system of work for its employees said they aimed to seek justice for the victims of a “vast web of abuse”.
Lily Allen says she had her children “for all the wrong reasons,” at a “high pressure” point in her career when she felt “overwhelmed”.
The singer and actress had her two daughters, Marnie, 12 and Ethel, 11, with her ex-husband Sam Cooper when she was in her mid-20s.
By the time she became a mum, she’d already had hit singles including Smile and The Fear, released two studio albums and received a Brit Award for best British female solo artist.
Speaking about motherhood on the BBC podcast Miss Me?, which Allen hosts with her long-time friend Miquita Oliver, she said: “I think I had children for all the wrong reasons, really.
“Because I was yearning for unconditional love, which I haven’t felt in my life since I was a child.”
The now 39-year-old star added: “And also, my career was at such high speed, high pressure, and I felt like very overwhelmed by what was happening. I just didn’t get much respite you know?
“And I felt like the only way to stop people hassling me was to say, ‘It’s not about me, actually this is about this other person that’s inside me’.
When asked by Oliver if it worked, Allen says: “Yeah, they did leave me alone. I don’t think I really understood what was happening, what I got myself into.”
The daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, she went on to discuss her own childhood.
“My mum, bless her, had children really early as well, and she really struggled. But she doesn’t really talk about the struggle. And so… She inadvertently gaslit me into thinking it was, you know, easy.
“You just sort of throw the kid over your shoulder and you get on with it.
“Her job was very static, and in one place and went to an office and mine wasn’t like that at all. It wasn’t easy. It just wasn’t easy.”
Allen is married to Stranger Things star David Harbour
The ‘nasty scars’ caused by absent parents
Allen previously told the Radio Times podcast that while she loves her children, having them “ruined her career”.
She said her decision to prioritise them over her pop career was a decision she made so as not to inflict the “nasty scars” of being an “absent” parent onto them.
She also said the myth of having it all “really annoyed” as it simply was not true.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Allen, whose younger brother is Game Of Thrones actor Alfie Allen, married Stranger Things star David Harbour in 2020.
Away from her music career, Allen has branched out into acting over the last few years, starring in two plays in London’s West End, and winning a role in Sky drama Dreamland last year.
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