U.K News

A Neonatal Nurse In A British Hospital Has Been Found Guilty Of Killing 7 Babies

Published

1 year ago

2023-08-19

LONDON, England – A neonatal nurse in a British hospital was found guilty Friday of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more following a yearlong deception campaign in which she preyed on the weaknesses of ailing newborns and their worried parents.

The jury at Manchester Crown Court convicted Lucy Letby, 33, of killing the babies, including two triplet boys, in the newborn ward at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between June 2015 and June 2016. On Monday, she will be sentenced.

“Parents were exposed to her morbid curiosity and fake compassion,” senior prosecutor Pascale Jones said. “Far too many of them went home to empty baby rooms.” Many surviving children are still dealing with the long-term effects of her assaults on their lives.”

Jones described her attacks as “a complete betrayal of the trust placed in her.”

Families of the victims said they would “forever be grateful” to jurors who had to suffer through 145 days of “gruelling” evidence since last October.

They also expressed their appreciation to all individuals who came to give evidence throughout the trial, which they described as “extremely harrowing and distressing” to listen to in a joint statement read outside court.

“Losing a baby is a heartbreaking experience that no parent should ever have to go through,” they stated. “But losing a baby or having a baby harmed in these specific circumstances is unimaginable.”

Letby’s motivations are unknown, but the scope of her acts suggests meticulous planning.

A neonatal nurse in a British hospital was found guilty Friday of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more.

She was accused of intentionally injuring the newborns, pumping air into their bloodstreams and putting air or milk into their stomachs through nasogastric tubes. She was also accused of poisoning infants by tainting intravenous feeding with insulin and messing with breathing tubes.

Soon after the verdicts, the British government established an independent review into the broader circumstances surrounding what happened at the hospital, including handling employee concerns.

“This inquiry will seek to ensure that the parents and families affected receive the answers they require,” stated Health Secretary Steve Barclay. “I am determined that their voices are heard, and that they are involved in shaping the scope of the inquiry if they so desire.”

One of the Countess of Chester Hospital ‘s senior doctors told the BBC that he had frequently sought to raise the alarm about Letby, but hospital management refused to investigate the claims.

Dr. Stephen Brearley, the neonatal unit’s lead doctor, stated that the hospital attempted to suppress clinicians who complained about Letby and delayed notifying the police.

Before reaching its decision, the jury of seven women and four men pondered for 22 days. One juror was excused for personal reasons during deliberations, and the judge later allowed the other 11 jurors to reach a result with 10 individuals in agreement rather than a unanimous vote.

Letby was convicted guilty of seven murders and seven attempted murder charges involving six minors. She was found not guilty on two counts of attempted murder, and the jury could not decide on several others.

A neonatal nurse in a British hospital was found guilty Friday of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more.

Some verdicts were announced in court earlier this month, but the judge barred them from being reported until the deliberations were completed.

During the lengthy trial, prosecutors said that in 2015, the hospital began to see a large increase in the number of babies dying or suffering rapid deterioration in their health for no apparent cause. Some experienced “serious catastrophic collapses” but lived thanks to medical assistance.

Prosecutors described Letby as a “constant malevolent presence” in the neonatal ward when the children collapsed or died in all of the incidents. They said the nurse damaged the newborns inconspicuously and convinced her colleagues that the collapses and deaths were normal.

Letby was accused in November 2020 after police inquired into the hospital’s baby fatalities in May 2017.

“The last thing we expected to find was a suspect responsible for these deaths and non-fatal collapses,” said Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, the lead investigating officer.

“It’s difficult enough to show up at the home of a family who has lost a baby, grieved for their loss, and is trying to move on from that, but having to tell them that someone who was supposed to be caring for their little one could ultimately be responsible for their death — that’s not an easy task,” he added.

A neonatal nurse in a British hospital was found guilty Friday of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more.

Letby testified for 14 days and declared her innocence. During the trial, the defense argued that she was a “hard-working, dedicated, and caring” nurse who loved her job and that the infants’ sudden collapses and deaths could have been caused by natural causes or by other factors such as hospital staffing shortages or failure by others to provide appropriate care.

Letby fought back tears as the jury found her guilty of two counts of attempted murder on Aug. 8 and burst into tears as she exited the courtroom. She was back in court three days later when she was found guilty of four murders and two attempted murders.

She did not appear in court as more verdicts were revealed on Friday, and she has informed the court that she does not desire to be in court on Monday or to watch the sentencing hearing by video link.

A message discovered at Letby’s home following her arrest in 2018 will now be used as a terrifying confession.

“I don’t deserve to live,” she scribbled on a green sticky note displayed in court. “I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them.”

“I am a horrible evil person,” she said. “I AM THE EVIL WHO DID THIS.”

SOURCE – (AP)

U.K News

London Hit With Heavy Snow as Temperatures Plummet

Published

5 days ago

2024-11-19

Geoff Brown

London, England, has been gripped by an Arctic freeze, with temperatures dipping well below zero, snow forcing trains to stop, and over 200 schools closing in and across the UK.

Commuters faced traffic mayhem as Braemar in Aberdeenshire recorded the coldest temperature in the UK this early in the season since 1998, at -11.2C (12.2F).

Today, the Met Office issued three yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across the Midlands and North of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The UK Health Security Agency issued the season’s first amber cold weather health advisory, warning that circumstances could be hazardous to vulnerable people.

Poor weather hampered rail travel, with no trains running between Nottingham and Worksop or between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.

A couple walks on the snow-covered ground at Pavillion Gardens in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Northern services in Yorkshire between Bradford and Huddersfield, Hebden Bridge to Halifax, and Halifax to Hull were all disrupted while flooding at Ulverston in Cumbria caused delays between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster.

Around 130 Welsh schools closed in Wrexham, Powys, Denbighshire, and Flintshire, with closures also reported in Birmingham, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire.

Nearly 5 inches (12 cm) of snow fell at Watnall in Nottinghamshire, with 3 inches (8 cm) at Cranwell in Lincolnshire and 2 inches (5 cm) at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, Wales.

The Met Office issued warnings that vehicles might become trapped, power outages could occur, remote communities could be shut off, and falling on ice could cause injury.

England has a yellow warning until 11 a.m., while Scotland has a warning until 10 a.m. tomorrow. Another warning for Northern Ireland expired at 10 a.m.

The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber cold weather health notice for the East and North of England, the Midlands, Yorkshire, and the Humber.

Yellow health alerts went into effect for the South East, South West, and London at 8 a.m. today and will run until 6 p.m. on Saturday.

National Rail warned that the cold weather would impair several routes on northern rail services until at least 2 p.m. today.

Merseyrail issued a notice informing passengers that due to the possibility of snow and ice covering tracks, the first train on each line in North West England would run without passengers to allow conditions to be examined.

National Highways also issued a strong amber weather advisory for snow, indicating that the M1 in Leeds and Sheffield, the M56 in Manchester, junction 39 of the M6, and junctions 21-23 of the M62 may see interruption.

WEATHER WARNING 1: The Met Office snow warning in Northern Ireland terminated at 10 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 2: A separate snow and ice warning for Northern England until 11 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 3: Scotland’s snow and ice warning is live until 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The Met Office, which characterized the weather as ‘the first taste of winter,’ said heavy snow will cause problems in England, with Derbyshire being the most vulnerable.

According to Dan Suri, the Met Office’s chief meteorologist, a low-pressure system will move eastward on Monday night.

The related frontal system, which marks the border between cold air in the north and milder weather in the south, may deliver disruptive snow to certain locations between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Dr. Agostinho Sousa of the UK Health Security Agency stated, “This is the first amber Cold Weather Health Alert of the season, but we can expect more as winter approaches. It is critical to check in on vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors to ensure they are well prepared for the onset of cold weather.”

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U.K News

Windsor Castle Robbed While Royal Family Slept

Published

6 days ago

2024-11-19

Geoff Brown

UK police report two men broke into the Windsor Castle estate, home to Prince William and Catherine and their three children and stole two vehicles.

According to the Sun newspaper, the robbers broke into a farm building on the Windsor estate and stole a black Isuzu pick-up truck and a red quad bike stashed in a barn.

The Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly arrived at their estate home during the nighttime burglary.

Thames Valley Police stated the individuals ran to the Old Windsor/Datchet area, but no arrests have been made.

“Offenders entered a farm building and stole vehicles,” the police added. An investigation is underway regarding the incident.

There have been previous security incidents at Windsor. On Christmas Day in 2021, an intruder was apprehended on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Jaswant Singh Chail, who was equipped with a crossbow, received a nine-year prison sentence.

The Windsor estate, located west of London, spans 15,800 acres and contains functioning farms, conservation areas, Windsor Great Park, and well-known royal attractions, including Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle received 1.4 million visitors last year, making it the UK’s most popular royal tourist site.

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U.K News

Britain’s Conservative Party Elects Kemi Badenoch as Leader

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-02

Ana Wong

Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as party leader

U.K. Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as their party's new leader

Britain’s Conservative Party elected outspoken MP Kemi Badenoch as its new leader on Saturday, making her the first woman of color to lead a major British political party.

She has promised to give the right-of-center Tories “renewal” by advocating for a smaller state and rejecting identity politics.

The new leader faces a daunting challenge in restoring the party’s reputation after years of division, scandal, and economic turbulence, hammering Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on key issues such as the economy and immigration and returning the Conservatives to power in the 2029 election.

“The task that stands before us is tough but simple,” Kemi Badenoch said in a victory address to a room full of Conservative legislators, staff, and journalists in London. She stated that the party’s role was to hold the Labour administration accountable while developing commitments and a government strategy.

Addressing the party’s electoral defeat, she stated, “We have to be honest — honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.”

“The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party, and our country, the new start that they deserve,” according to Badenoch.

Kemi Badenoch was Born in London

Kemi Badenoch, a business secretary in Sunak’s cabinet, was born in London to Nigerian parents and grew up in West Africa.

The former software engineer positions herself as a disruptor, advocating for a low-tax, free-market economy and promising to “rewire, reboot, and reprogram” the British state. Like her adversary Jenrick, she has opposed multiculturalism and advocated for decreased immigration, but unlike him, she has not asked that Britain abandon the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kemi Badenoch, a self-proclaimed hater of wokeness, opposes identity politics, gender-neutral toilets, and government initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the United Kingdom. During the leadership race, she was chastised for claiming that “not all cultures are equally valid” and implying that maternity pay was excessive.

Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, predicted that under Badenoch, the Conservative Party would “swing to the right both in terms of its economic and social policies.”

He foretold that Badenoch will follow “what you might call the boats, boilers and bathrooms strategy …. focusing very much on the trans issue, the immigration issue and skepticism about progress towards net zero.”

Conservative Party Becoming More Diverse

While the Conservative Party is unrepresentative of the country as a whole, with a decreasing membership of 132,000 mostly affluent, elderly white men, its higher echelons have become significantly more diverse.

Badenoch is the Tories’ fourth female leader, following Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss, who became prime ministers.

She is the second Conservative leader of color, following Sunak, and the first with African heritage. The center-left Labour Party has a more diversified membership, but its leaders have always been white men.

In a more than three-month leadership contest, Conservative MPs narrowed the field from six to two in a series of votes before presenting the last two to a vote of the party’s membership.

Both finalists were from the party’s right-wing and claimed they could reclaim votes from Reform U.K., the hard-right, anti-immigrant group led by populist leader Nigel Farage that has eroded Conservative support.

However, the party lost many votes to the winning party, Labour, and the centrist Liberal Democrats, and some Conservatives are concerned that tacking right may move the party away from popular sentiment.

Kier Starmer’s Labor government has had a difficult first few months in power, plagued by unfavorable headlines, fiscal woes, and a sinking approval rating.

However, Bale stated that the historical record implies Badenoch’s chances of leading the Conservatives back to power in 2029 are slim.

“It’s quite unusual for someone to take over when a party gets very badly beaten and manage to lead it to election victory,” according to him. “However, Keir Starmer did just that after 2019. So there are records to break.”

Source: AP