There were claims of ‘extremely high’ numbers of family voting incidents in Gorton and Denton

Independent election observers have claimed there were ‘extremely high’ cases of illegal ‘family voting’ at polling stations as Gorton and Denton constituents headed out to vote on Thursday (February 26).

It has sparked concern among commentators and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has hit out about the ‘integrity of the democratic process’ after the findings were released by Democracy Volunteers, who are impartial observers allowed into polling stations.

The group has claimed that there was an ‘extremely high’ number of family voting incidents at the polls after they visited 22 of the 45 polling stations. They have claimed to have witnessed incidents of family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations observed, with some 32 cases in total.

They said it was the ‘highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10 year history of observing elections in the UK’ and claimed one polling station saw nine instances of family voting.

What is family voting?

Family voting is usually when members of the same family or household enter a voting booth together and collude or direct voting intentions. However in the UK, this is a criminal offence.

In 2023, the United Kingdom passed the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 to make family voting a criminal offence. The practice of family voting was made more clearly a breach of the secret ballot and enforceable by staff in polling stations.

Signage is now on hand at polling stations to discourage the practice, although Democracy Volunteers said they found these at only 45 per cent of the polling stations observed.

Two voters either conferring or colluding to direct each other on voting is a breach of the secret ballot.

In a statement, John Ault, Director of Democracy Volunteers said: “Today we have seen concerningly high levels of family voting in Gorton and Denton. Based on our assessment of today’s observations, we have seen the highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10 year history of observing elections in the UK.’

“We rarely issue a report on the night of an election, but the data we have collected today on family voting, when compared to other recent by-elections, is extremely high.’

“In the other recent Westminster parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby we saw family voting in 12 per cent of polling stations, affecting 1 per cent of voters. In Gorton and Denton, we observed family voting in 68 per cent of polling stations, affecting 12 per cent of those voters observed.

“The team also observed cases of voters being turned away, however, in each case this was due to them not being a registered voter for Westminster elections, such as having EU citizenship, and only being allowed to vote in local elections.

“The team also saw a number of voters taking photographs of their ballot papers and one voter being authorised to vote despite them already having been marked as voted earlier in the day.”

Manchester City Council were informed of the findings. A spokesperson for the Acting Returning Officer said: “Polling station staff are trained to look out for any evidence of undue influence on voters. No such issues have been reported today. If Democracy Volunteers were so concerned about alleged issues they could and should have raised them with us during polling hours so that immediate action could be taken.

“We have operated a central by-election hub which was has been rapidly responding to reported issues during the day, in liaison with the police – who had a presence at every polling station – where necessary. It is extremely disappointing that Democracy Volunteers have waited until after polls have closed to make such claims.”

The man has been jailed for over a year.

A man who punched and stamped on another man in a pub has been jailed. Kyle Harry, 36, was at the Wheatsheaf Inn in Church Terrace, Wisbech on December 23, 2025.

He and a woman were involved in an argument with another man in the outside area of the pub. The victim was punched multiple times and stamped on while he was unconscious.

Cambridgeshire Police were called and the victim was taken to hospital for treatment for cuts on his face and head. Harris, of Prince Street, Wisbech, was found nearby by later that day and arrested.

In Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday (February 25), he was jailed for 14 months. DC Lauren McKeever said: “There is no place for violence like this in Wisbech.

“Harris’ actions were shameful. I’m pleased he was apprehended nearby and has now appeared in court to answer for his behaviour.”

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James was just two years old when he was murdered by then-10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson

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The grave of James Bulger was vandalised today as his ‘heartbroken’ mother is appealing for information. James was just two years old when he was attacked and murdered by then-10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson in February 1993.

Denise Fergus revealed in a social media post that someone walking near James’s cemetery saw the headstone and surround had been damaged. She has now issued an appeal for any information on the vandals.

She believes the incident took place today (February 26) between 10am and 3.30pm.

LiverpoolEcho reports that Denise’s post read: “Today I felt my heart break once again. We got a message from a lady walking her dog at the cemetery where James’s resting place is.

“She sadly told us his headstone and surround had been vandalised. We rushed down there to find the cherubs each side of his headstone had been smashed to pieces.

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“I need to find whoever [has] done this to my son’s resting place. I try to help as many families as I can with either justice campaigns or helping families through the charity I set up in his memory and some horrid b*****d has done this… to a baby’s grave! Really??

“If anyone has any information please send it via the charity page or contact Merseyside Police and let them know if you have seen or heard something. We think this happened between 10am and 3.30pm today.

“Could you please share this post to make sure the person or persons involved are caught and prosecuted? I’m devastated someone could be so cruel and hurtful to my James.”

In photos shared of the grave, the heads of two stone angels, which sit in front of the gravestone, have been damaged, leaving the statues headless. The heads were left broken on the floor.

Earlier this year, Denise hit out at murderer Venables being granted another parole hearing. Venables was released on licence in July 2001 and recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer.

He was once again freed in August 2013 and then called back in November 2017 for the same offence and was jailed for three years and four months. Denise was granted access to attend one of Venables’ hearings for the very first time.

She will then be taken to a secret prison or court facility to participate in the parole hearing, where Venables’ identity, now aged 43, will remain protected. Though she will hear his voice via video link from a separate chamber.

Parole chiefs are likely to hear mitigation from Venables about why he believes he has been rehabilitated, the first time the grieving mum has heard her son’s killer’s voice for 30 years.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Denise said: “It is distressing and frankly makes me angry that I’ve now been told that James’ killer will be afforded a parole hearing and a chance of release. Surely this person has proved he can not be given yet another chance yet he’s been given one.

“The parole board must remember, he’s not a 10-year-old anymore. He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s got more wits about him.

“He’s been educated to lie to his back teeth. My worry is that if he’s released, he’ll lose that protection, he’ll be looking over his shoulder the whole time, he’ll have a target on his back.

“He’s not going to like it in the real world. What is he going to do to get back inside?”

If you have any information about the vandalism contact Merseyside Police on 101 or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Nottm Forest Ortega; Jair Cunha, Murillo, Morato, Hutchinson,  Dominguez, Yates, Anderson, Williams;  McAtee’ Lucca. 
Substitutes  Gunn, Willows, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Igor Jesus, Bakwa, Milenkovic, Aina, Abbott. 

Fenerbahce  Tarik Cetin; Muldur, Guendouzi, Demir, Brown;  Aydin, Yuksek, Kante; Dorgeles, Cherif, Akturkoglu. 
Substitutes Biterge, Ceylan, Asensio, Mercan, Nelson Semedo, Ekici, Uregen. 

Referee Maurizio Mariani (Italy)

Jobs have been lost after HMRC issued a winding-up order for Nottinghamshire company Midland Skip Hire Limited, which was set up back in 2002

A skip hire firm which served the community for a quarter of a century has entered liquidation.

Midland Skip Hire Limited, which had traded from Bottesford near Bingham, Nottinghamshire, for 24 years, has been issued with a winding-up order, initiated by HMRC. The High Court approved the closure of the waste management and skip rental business, which was founded back in 2002.

Commissioners for HMRC had filed the petition to shut the company and sell its assets back in November. The firm is currently under the control of a receiver and the Government’s Insolvency Service is assisting former employees to claim redundancy payments.

Midland Skip Hire’s financial accounts filed last summer for the year up to June 30, 2024, explained the company had £3,079,867 in fixed assets, but had needed to pay significant amounts to creditors in coming years.

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Documents submitted to Companies House stated that the firm had an average of 40 employees in 2024, up from 36 in 2023. It is not currently known how many staff have been made redundant as a result of the firm’s liquidation, the Nottinghamshire Live reports.

Midland Skip Hire had labelled itself as “one of the East Midlands’ premier skip hire companies” and had a history of operating in the towns of Bingham, Newark and Grantham and their surrounding areas.

“We provide a high quality service to both residential and commercial customers at competitive prices, offering a great range of waste management services,” reads the company’s website, which is still online.

“As a family run business we pride ourselves on offering low prices for a great service.

“We pride ourselves on offering low prices for a great service and we are located not far off the A52, making us available to our customers in Bingham, Newark, Grantham and the surrounding areas.”

Asif Vali, 56, who denied all the charges, was found guilty by a jury on December 18 of last year following a three-day long trial at Bolton Crown Court.

He was sentenced on Thursday (February 26) at the same court for a string of sex offences he was accused of committing against a woman in Bolton in 2013.

Vali, of Hill Cot Road, Astley Bridge, was found guilty of two counts of exposure, two counts of sexual assault and a single count of assault by penetration.

Huw Edwards, prosecuting, said that Vali’s “sexual interest” in his victim began with texts before he “progressed his sexual behaviour”.

Mr Edwards said that Vali would perform sex acts in her presence and make vulgar suggestions.

He said she “felt afraid of the defendant and also unable to report his behaviour”.

Mr Edwards read a second statement she had written after Vali was found guilty, in which she said: “Asif Vali ruined my life and my potential for a long time.”

She called him a “volatile and unpredictable man”.

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss)

She said that she had felt shame since the incident, and said: “I’ve continued to punish myself for something I know is not my fault.

“I’m slowly beginning to learn that what happened to me was Asif Vali’s behaviour and not mine.

“He can take my self-worth but he will never, never, take away my strength and resilience.”

Tom Worsfold, defending, said that Vali had been on bail for six years until his conviction “without any issues”.

He said that Vali had been previously convicted for unrelated offences when he was much younger, and “he was able to turn his life around following that spate of offending”.

Mr Worsfold said that Vali had been involved with youth work following this, which is when he met Amir Khan before becoming his manager.

He said that Vali’s son had passed away at the age of 15 from cancer in 2015 and “since then he had his own mental health difficulties”.

Mr Worsfold said that following this, Vali had set up a charity to fund children’s funerals.

He called the assault “a significant fall from grace for a man with a strong moral compass and it saddens him to know that work is now tarnished by these offences”.

Judge Clarke addressed Vali and said: “By the time you were 46 years of age you had all the trappings of a successful life.

“You had been involved with Amir Khan in events all around the world and through this you had developed some standing in the local community.”

He said that Vali’s advances were “both unwelcome and offensive to her”.

Judge Clarke said: “This was the most disgusting behaviour – unfortunately she was afraid of you and felt unable to report it.

“She knows what you know – that she offered you no encouragement at all.

“Hopefully these proceedings will bring some closure knowing that she has been listened to, heard and believed.”

Vali was jailed for 11 years, with two-thirds to be served in custody, and was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements.

Over nearly two years, from February 2002 to November 2003, Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane to Europe, Africa, Asia, Russia and – closer to home – Miami and New York, according to the flight logs. At the time, Clinton’s team was trying to raise money for his foundation – as much as $100m (£74.3m), according to a memo published by WikiLeaks.

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery has determined that Paramount’s latest takeover offer is superior to the streaming and studio agreement it struck with Netflix, marking a stark shift in momentum in the fight for the storied Hollywood giant.

The owner of HBO Max, DC Studios and popular titles like “Harry Potter” had backed Netflix’s proposal for months. But after Skydance-owned Paramount upped its rival bid for the entire company to $31 per share, in addition to other revisions, Warner’s board on Thursday said that the offer “constitutes a ‘company superior proposal.’”

That could mean the start of a fresh bidding war over Warner. Netflix now has four business days to try and match Paramount’s proposal to further revise its offer — which currently stands at $27.75 per share for Warner’s studio and streaming business.

Warner on Thursday maintained that Netflix’s bid remains on the table. And despite Thursday’s decision, the board noted that it “has not withdrawn or modified” its previous recommendation in favor of that transaction.

Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Paramount CEO David Ellison applauded the news — noting in a statement that the company was “pleased WBD’s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer.”

The fight for Warner is complicated because Netflix and Paramount want different things. Unlike the streaming giant, Paramount wants all of Warner’s operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery.

The companies have spent the last couple of months in a heated, public back and forth over who has a stronger deal. And Thursday’s announcement arrived shortly after Paramount upped the ante on its offer.

Beyond increasing its proposed purchase price for Warner, the company also agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion. And Paramount pledged to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee.” The company had said it would pay 25 cents per share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now it’s agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesn’t go through by the end of September, Warner said.

The man is alleged to have committed a number of offences in Derry

A man will appear in court on Friday charged with a number of offences including kidnap.

It follows an investigation by detectives at Strand Road after a report of a kidnapping in the Northland Terrace area of Derry on October 1, 2025.

The man, aged 31, has been charged with kidnap, false imprisonment, attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, burglary and theft.

He is expected to appear before Londonderry Magistrates Court, tomorrow, Friday, February 27.

PSNI added that as is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

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A source reveals that inmates at high security HMP Frankland have been vying to be the one to ‘do in Ian Huntley’ for a long time after the child killer suffered serious injuries in an attack on Thursday.

Soham murderer Ian Huntley was left in a pool of blood after an attack by a fellow inmate at the prison. The now 52-year-old is in a serious condition in hospital police have said.

One insider said that many prisoners inside the so-called ‘Monster Mansion’ would love to earn themselves the reputation as the one who hurt Huntley.

A man, who spoke to the Chronicle under the agreement he wouldn’t be named said he came across Huntley at HMP Frankland and ‘despised’ the way staff treated him. He said: “He’s up there with one of the most hated prisoners. It could have been anyone.

“The majority would attack him for the reputation, not because of what he has done. They will want to be the one that done in Ian Huntley.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened. It’s always going to happen. If he survives it’s always going to happen every few years. If he has annoyed someone really bad or someone wants to be able to say they have killed him.

“He’s probably one of the most famous prisoners in the country.”

Huntley was jailed for life for murdering Holly and Jessica, both 10, in a crime that sent shockwaves across the country. The then caretaker enticed the friends into his Cambridgeshire home and and killed them. Their bodies were found dumped in a ditch 12 miles away.

It is understood Huntley was held on an ‘enhanced’ wing at HMP Frankland. Inmates on this wing do not mix with other prisoners, the source explained.

He said: “He is sort of protected in prison but so are the likes of Levi Belfield and Wayne Couzens. They all get moved around together. You could never put him in normal prison population.”

Huntley and other prisoners on his wing attend a recycling workshop, the source said, adding that Huntley had recently started going to the gym inside.

“He would have been easier to get to him in the workshop he goes to. Only his wing’s prisoners go to that workshop, it could be someone on his wing,” he said.

“The only workshop they do is recycling. They think they are big and clever, but they are going through other people’s rubbish.

“But he has been going to the gym so it could have happened there. I came across him a lot.

“He’s a self-righteous p***k. He thinks he’s above everybody else. He used to get on really well with the staff in his wing. They used to do crosswords with him, which I despised. But they were just feeding his ego. He was always polite, but I couldn’t stand him.”

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Today’s attack was not the first time the child killer was attacked by fellow inmates. In September 2005 Huntley was scalded with boiling water while being held at HMP Wakefield, in Yorkshire.

In 2010 he was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham after being slashed across the throat with a makeshift weapon. Damien Fowkes, 36, admitted attempting to murder Huntley and killing another inmate, paedophile and child murderer Colin Hatch – at Full Sutton Prison, near York.

Fowkes inflicted a seven-inch wound on Huntley’s neck with a razor melted on to a piece of plastic cutlery. It’s reported that Fowkes asked a prison officer: “Is he dead? I hope so.”

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