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The mother of four young brothers who died trapped alone in a house fire while she was shopping in Sainsbury’s has been jailed.

Deveca Rose had left her two sets of twins in the locked terraced house when the fatal blaze broke out on the evening of 16 December 2021.

Rose had gone to the supermarket, leaving Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three; and four-year-olds Kyson and Bryson Hoath alone at the rented home in Sutton, southwest London.

The 30-year-old defendant, who had split up from her partner and suffered from mental health problems, was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter following an Old Bailey trial.

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Sentencing Rose to 10 years behind bars at the Old Bailey on Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: “There are no words to describe this case other than a deeply tragic one.”

He noted that Rose had already been to Sainsbury’s earlier that day and her return trip at the time of the fire was not to purchase any items that were “essential or vital”.

He told her: “You were not there and the children were too young to know what to do. As a result of what you did, they were all killed.”

He described the victims as lively and engaging children who were “deeply loved” by all who had a role in their care.

Rose and the children had been living in squalor, surrounded by rubbish and human excrement, before the tragedy, her trial was told.

Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC had told the court: “There was rubbish thickly spread throughout the house. The toilet and the bath were full of rubbish and could not be used. Buckets and pots were used as toilets instead.”

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When a cigarette or tea light in the living room sparked a fire, the boys were trapped and ran upstairs calling for help.

A neighbour tried to break down the front door before firefighters in breathing apparatus went in and found the children’s bodies under beds.

They were rushed to two separate hospitals but attempts to save them failed and they died from inhalation of fumes later that night.

Rose arrived home while firefighters were still tackling the blaze and she was taken in by a neighbour.

She had claimed she left the children with a friend called Jade, which prompted firefighters to go back into the house to search for her.

Police carried out extensive inquiries to find Jade and concluded she either did not exist or had not been at the house that day.

In police interviews, Rose admitted leaving the boys alone in the house on two earlier occasions.

The children’s father, Dalton Hoath, said in a statement that she had left them alone once or twice to go to the nearby shop before.

Mr Hoath, who had split up with the defendant, added that he was “devastated” and his world had been turned “upside down” by the loss of his “young, boisterous lads”.

Paternal great-grandmother Sally Johnson said: “I was aware that she would leave the boys by themselves in the house. When I asked her about this, she would say, ‘Oh no, I just went to the pop shop’ which is a local shop just seven houses away.

“I do not know how often this happened but I remember several times I phoned the house and Kyson answered the phone and told me, ‘mummy has gone to the pop shop’.”

Paternal step-grandmother Kerrie Hoath described the boys as “polite, carefree and very much loved” but recalled Rose not allowing her into the house.

Jurors were told that social worker Georgia Singh had raised concerns about the family, but the case was closed three months before the fire.

Previously, a health visitor had raised concerns about the family but they were not followed up after she retired, jurors were told.

The children had not attended school for three weeks before their deaths.

Rose, of Wallington, south London, attended much of the trial by video-link from home on medical advice and declined to give evidence in her defence.

The court heard there was evidence suggesting she was probably depressed and may have suffered from a personality disorder, but the prosecution asserted that was not a defence.

National Farmers’ Union President Tom Bradshaw has hit out at Labour’s “unfair” inheritance tax raid on farmers as he and the Welsh union leader hand their petitions into Downing Street.

Bradshaw told GB News: “Over 270,000 people have supported our petition. We’d like to thank every one of them for their support. It means so much to the farming industry, but food production is something that everyone in this country relies on.

“And unfortunately, the confidence of the industry has been absolutely broken.”

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A senior cabinet minister has insisted that there will be no new inquiry or restrictions into the activities of the media in the UK despite The Sun paying damages to Prince Harry.

Actor Hugh Grant, a leading member of the campaign group Hacked Off, had led demands for a second inquiry following the one chaired by the leading High Court judge Lord Leveson which reported in 2012.

It had been initiated because of industrial scale phone hacking by newspapers at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Trinity Mirror.

A second inquiry, which was shelved by former prime minister David Cameron, was meant to look at the relationship between the police and the press.

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But speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning, defence secretary John Healey stated that there would be no further action against the media.

While he said that “all laws are kept under review” action would only be considered “if there was new evidence”.

But asked about the second stage of the Leveson inquiry which has been shelved, he said: “We have made the decision we won’t proceed with the second stage of the Leveson inquiry. But we will take account of any new evidence that is put to us.”

It was pointed out that in May 2018 former Labour leader Ed Miliband, now in the current cabinet, said that there needed to be a second Leveson inquiry “no ifs, no buts, no maybes”.

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Asked what had changed, Mr Healey responded: “Seven years, two elections and we went into the last election last year with a commitment to do what we can but a decision we would not go ahead with the second stage of an inquiry.

“We need to strike a balance between the protection of individuals and the right of a free press.”

The Duke of Sussex, 40, alleged that journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN) – which also published the now-defunct News of the World – had unlawfully targeted him.

On Wednesday, his barrister confirmed that the parties had “reached an agreement”, with NGN offering an “unequivocal apology” and agreeing to pay “substantial damages”, reportedly an “eight-figure” sum.

Delivering a scathing rebuke on the steps of the High Court, Harry’s barrister, David Sherborne, described the settlement as a “monumental victory”.

He declared: “The lies are laid bare, the cover-ups are exposed, and today proves that no one is above the law.”

Earlier, Mr Grant, who also took News Corp to court, told the Today Programme: “In light of these findings [in the Prince Harry case], we think that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police should launch a new criminal investigation into this.

“That was the aim of Prince Harry’s case as I understand it and certainly was my original aim in my case.

“Also quite clearly there should be Leveson 2. This is something that was repeatedly promised by the Labour Party in opposition to victims of press abuse over and over again and now suddenly seems to have disappeared from their priority list now that they are in government.”

“It is clear that in the period that we lost them, ideally we need some help. We were short already and now we are even shorter. The team still copes with that.”

However, he said he would only do “what is right for the club” and is “actively looking” to “get the right player”.

“Any player, no,” he added. “[It has to be] someone that makes us better and has an impact in the team.”

Arsenal have been linked with RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko and also Wolves forward Matheus Cunha but Arteta, who did not comment on either player in his pre-match news conference said it’s not a certainty that Arsenal will be able to complete a deal for a forward.

“It doesn’t just depend on Arsenal, on Mikel or our will. It depends on the market and a lot of different factors.” Arteta added.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said after the win over north London rivals Tottenham that he would not be “surprised” if Arsenal do try to sign a striker in this window, but Arteta said his players haven’t said to him that they feel like they need someone to come in.

“We have all been there, we all look at each other.” Arteta said.

“We have very, very short numbers for many, many weeks and they recognise the situation, we all do.”

However, the Arsenal boss did say that he does sometimes speak to his players about potential signings, especially if they have played together before, to get an insight into their characters.

“That’s getting us away from the computer and what the data is saying and it is real,” said the Spaniard.

“I have seen it, I sense it. A player can score a lot of goals, great. How does this player react when he hasn’t scored for six or seven games?

“This is what I am interested in. Watch an interview with a player who hasn’t scored for six games, and then what kind of goals does he score?

“Against which teams in which context? Is it first half or second half? Is it only with his right foot, only headers, only in open spaces? Does he like the physical contact of this league?

“There are a lot of things. So when you have a player that has spent a lot of days with him, that is really valuable information to have.”

Reform UK’s Greater Lincolnshire mayoral candidate Dame Andrea Jenkyns has called for the return of capital punishment following the sentencing of Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana.

Speaking to GB News, Jenkyns suggested a public vote on reinstating the death penalty, arguing that British taxpayers should not “give a penny to evil people”.

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Britain has no plans to along with Donald Trump’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, The Independent understands.

Amid a slew of executive orders he signed on his return to the Whitehouse, the new president used executive order 14170 to “restore names that honour American greatness”.

“The area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America,” the order states.

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Mr Trump cited the abundance of oil and natural gas in the basin, the “vibrant American fisheries” in the Gulf as well as its status as a favourite for American tourists.

He said it will “continue to play a pivotal role in shaping America’s future and the global economy”.

“In recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America,” Mr Trump added.

The executive order means all government references to the area will refer to it as the Gulf of America, with the Gulf of Mexico stripped from America’s Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).

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Navigation apps such as Google Maps are under pressure from Republicans to follow along with the name change, but Mr Trump cannot compel foreign countries to use the new name.

While the US can choose how to label geographical features on its coastline, the UK will continue its existing process for labelling landmarks and regions, The Independent understands.

And sources told The Telegraph the name will not change on British maps until ‘Gulf of America’ becomes the most commonly used name for it, which is unlikely.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has hit back at the president over the name change, saying “the Gulf of Mexico is a name recognized by the United Nations”.

“For us and for the entire world it will continue to be called the Gulf of Mexico,” she said.

And she joked that if Trump went ahead with the renaming, her country would rename North America “Mexican America”.

Hugh Grant has called for police to open a new criminal investigation into the owners of The Sun, saying the job is not done “by any means” after Prince Harry settled his privacy claim on Wednesday.

News Group Newspapers (NGN) agreed to pay “substantial damages” and apologised to the Duke of Sussex for “serious intrusion” by The Sun between 1996 and 2011, and admitted “incidents of unlawful activity” were carried out by private investigators working for the newspaper.

Grant also settled a privacy claim against NGN in 2024, saying he could have faced a bill of up to £10m even if he had won.

The actor said both incidents had shown a civil case was “not the right instrument” to get to “the real truth” of what happened at the newspaper.

Former Labour leader Lord Tom Watson, who also reached a settlement with NGN on Wednesday, said a legal team would be passing a dossier to the Metropolitan Police.

The force said on Friday there were no active investigations into allegations of phone hacking or related matters.

“We await any correspondence from the parties involved, which we will respond to in due course,” a spokesperson said.

Grant said NGN had “gamed” the civil courts to silence complainants and a criminal investigation was needed.

“That’s what they’ve done consistently over the last 10 years,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday.

“They’ve spent £1bn to make sure these things are never looked at in court… and you don’t get proper judicial findings.

“I think what they’re terrified of is that those findings would trigger a new criminal inquiry.”

In the civil courts, claimants could end up paying the costs of their opponents if the damages award is less than they have been offered to settle – even if they win.

Grant had accused The Sun of using private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, and said he settled because he could not face the possible costs of proceeding to trial.

NGN had denied the allegations and said the settlement was reached “without admission of liability”.

The actor called on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Metropolitan Police to investigate.

The CPS told the BBC criminal investigations were matters for the police.

Grant also argued a new investigation was needed because people who were at the paper at the time that private investigators who carried out “unlawful activity” were instructed were still in “positions of great power”.

NGN apologised to Prince Harry for serious intrusion into his private life by The Sun that took place between 1996 and 2011.

The paper’s editor during part of that time, Rebekah Brooks, is currently the CEO of News UK. She was cleared of conspiracy to hack voicemails in a 2014 trial.

“A lot of the foot soldiers for those newspapers have now come over to our side… to say this is awful,” the actor said.

“We’ve been punished, we’ve been to prison, we’ve paid fines, we’ve lost our jobs.

“But the people who commanded all this, they’re still there.”

Meanwhile, Grant said the government should launch part two of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in light of the Duke of Sussex’s case.

The 2012 inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press was launched in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.

“This is something that was repeatedly promised by Labour in opposition to victims of press abuse, over and over.

“And now suddenly seem to have disappeared from their priority list now that they’re in government.”

On Thursday, Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, ruled out opening a second stage of the inquiry, saying it was no longer “fit for purpose”.

“A lengthy inquiry that was formulated in a different era before a lot of the cases that we’ve seen since arise from what happens online, which is where a lot of people consume news nowadays,” Lisa Nandy told the BBC.

The BBC has contacted The Sun, News UK and the government for a response.

Reform UK MPs have ramped up calls for a debate around the death penalty after Southport’s remorseless killer Axel Rudakubana was handed an “unduly lenient” 52-year-sentence.

Ashfield MP Lee Anderson, Boston & Skegness MP Richard Tice and Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe all demanded a conversation about the reintroduction of capital punishment.

Lee Anderson and Richard Tice

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Lowe also claimed that it was now “time for a national debate” on the use of capital punishment “in exceptional circumstances”.

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The death penalty was only officially abolished in Britain in 1998.

However, Peter Anthony and Gwynne Owen Evans were the last people executed in the UK back in 1964.

Following Rudakubana’s sentencing yesterday, a petition was launched on the Houses of Parliament website demanding the abolition of whole life orders and reintroduction of the death penalty.

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Axel RudakubanaPA

The most recent opinion poll on reintroducing the death penalty, conducted by YouGov in 2022, suggests Britain is split on the return of capital punishment.

YouGov found that 40 per cent supported its return, with 60 per cent opposing.

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However, in cases of multiple murder, terrorism and the murder of a child, the proportion of Britons supporting the death penalty soars past 50 per cent.

Judge Mr Justice Goose was unable to hand Rudakubana a whole life order because he was just nine days away from turning 18 at the time of the horrific attack last July.

Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty to murdering three young girls in the Southport knife attack in July 2024PA

Southport’s Labour MP Patrick Hurley said the 52-year sentence was “not severe enough” and asked Attorney General to review the sentence as “unduly lenient”.

Attorney General Lord Hermer and Solicitor General Lucy Rigby have 28 days to decide whether to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.

In a statement release following yesterday’s sentencing, Sir Keir Starmer described the Southport attack, which left three children dead and another eight wounded, as “one of the most harrowing moments in our country’s history.”

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Directly addressing Rudakubana’s sentence, the Prime Minister added: “What happened in Southport was an atrocity and as the judge has stated, this vile offender will likely never be released.”