Several fire engines and the drone team were working with Greater Manchester crews to bring the fire under control last night at Scout Moor.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, with fire crews attending Gin Croft Lane, Bury, just before 6pm.

In an update this morning a Lancashire Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: “At 5.44pm on Monday March 23, four fire engines from Lancashire Fire and Rescue, one fire engine from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, and a wildfire unit from Lancashire Fire and Rescue attended a moorland fire at Gin Croft Lane, Edenfield, Bury.

“Firefighters used beaters to extinguish the fire. Crews were in attendance for approximately four hours.

“We would like to take this opportunity to stress the importance of not igniting wildfires. These incidents are challenging and place people, property, and large areas of land at significant risk.

“They also divert valuable and limited emergency resources away from other incidents where they may be urgently needed.

“The recent incidents on Scout Moor are currently subject to a joint investigation between Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and the Police.”

Greater Manchester Fire Service said last night it was assisting Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to bring a wildfire, under Scout Moor wind turbines, under control.

A spokesperson said: “Please try to avoid the area at the moment, while firefighters carry out their work.”

Lancashire County Councillor for Whitworth and Bacup, Daniel Matchett, shared an update on Monday saying two fires were being dealt with.

One was covering approximately two hectares and had been extinguished. The larger fire, covered around four hectares.

He said: “This is a significant incident and has required the deployment of a Hagglund all-terrain vehicle, which is specifically used for tackling moorland fires.

“Crews are also making use of infrared drone technology to help identify hotspots and monitor the spread of the fire. Lancashire is leading the way in deploying this kind of advanced technology to support firefighting efforts.

“This is the third moorland fire reported across the North West in recent days, with other incidents also recorded in Manchester and West Lancashire.”

The Wednesday letters page is concerned what the decline of Fortnite means for gaming, as one reader has some ideas for Pokémon Pokopia DLC.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Expensive times
So that Nintendo Switch 2 news was a bit of a surprise, huh? I thought something was up when it turned out US sales were down over Christmas, which was clearly not a good sign. As for what’s going wrong, it’s obvious the price is the number one problem, especially when Nintendo is known for cheaper hardware and games. I think the games line-up is a big issue too though and it seems madness to me that we have virtually no idea what’s coming out on the console this year, and it’s already nearly April.

Nintendo knew these sales figures long before we did so surely they could see the damage that this secrecy is doing. How do they expect anyone to want to buy their new console if there’s literally nothing to look forward to on it?

That and no real Christmas game are definite mistakes, but I think the biggest issue is just that nobody’s in the mood for buying expensive consoles – or expensive anything – right now. And that definitely is going to affect Project Helix and PlayStation 6. If I was Sony I’d just keep the PlayStation 5 going for another five years and try and make it cheaper each time. I bet they don’t though.
Focus

Blaming Nintendo
Woof to the idea of the Switch 2 being the fastest-selling console ever. I guess it was at launch but cutting production plans by 30%? That’s a lot! There’s obviously a lot going on here, but I think many people have said that the Switch 2 has seemed off since it was first announced. All the reveals have been bad, a lot of the games have been weird choices for a first year, and no hint of a new Mario or Zelda is just silly.

Fans can exist on just a tiny amount of hype for years, just ask any Rockstar Games fan, so all Nintendo had to do was have a few seconds of footage, or a name, or a bit of artwork or something. Instead, they’ve given us nothing but Metroid Prime 4 and Mario Tennis 34, or whatever it is.

I have the console and it’s great but I’m not happy with the marketing or the games. It was an expensive machine and I want to see my purchase be justified, which his not happening at the moment. Nintendo might not be able to control wars and RAM prices, but they have absolute control of what they say about the console and its games.
Kascogine

Price conscious
This Nintendo news should be a wake-up call to the whole games industry. Microsoft and Sony would be crazy to release expensive next gen consoles at the moment, because Trump and AI and all the other problems are still going to be here next year and probably the year after too.

You can’t react to a cost of living crisis by increasing prices instead of lowering them. I mean, you can but then you’re going to regret it, as Nintendo is proving right now. Games and consoles are too expensive and the company that recognises that problem is going to clean up. In the meantime, indie devs are the solution that already exists.
Zeiss

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Day of reckoning
Epic Games is laying off 1,000 people? After doing almost the same thing two years ago? If it wasn’t obvious by now the games industry is in deep trouble right now. Everything is too expensive to make and buy and the market is not growing at all.

If Fortnite falls then companies are going to be in an absolute shambles working out what to do about it. For a start it’s going to make the games industry look like a failing state and investors aren’t going to touch it with a barge pole.

Fortnite failing means there are no guarantees at all, especially as this happened the same day that the Switch 2’s bubble burst. We are in for rough times ahead, gamers, and as usual no company seems to be doing anything about it.
Royston

GTA who?
I’ll be honest, I genuinely forgot GTA 6 is coming out this year. It’s been so long, with so many delays, that it doesn’t feel like a game that’s actually coming out. Especially as the graphics look so much better than anything else, and by such a long way.

I honestly can’t imagine a future where it’s out and it’s just another video game, like the way we think of GTA 5 at the moment. If it’s as successful as we all know it’ll be it’s going to dominate everything else for months, maybe years.

We might as well number the years of the games industry as before GTA 6 and after GTA 6, like BC and AD. It’s going to be crazy when it all kicks off.
Fybo

Things can only get worse
Something with the Switch 2’s success hasn’t been passing the vibe check for a while. Firstly, it’s blockbuster success in Japan seems to be built on a much cheaper Japanese language model. The price discrepancy is so large I think Western buyers have a right to know for how much they are basically subsidising that machine. When buying the console Nintendo may as well just ask you to post £50 to some random dude in Tokyo.

Then in the UK at least the Black Friday price cut from last November seems to have been stealthily introduced as the new price point (i.e. £385 for the base and £409 for the Mario Kart bundle) for retailers. That combined with the fact the Mario Kart bundle still hasn’t sold out (it was a time limited launch window product) did make me wonder how popular Nintendo’s machine was really proving beyond diehard fans?

Continued poor third party game and accessory sales being another factor in that conversation. I mean the attachment rate for the webcam is less than 4%! GameChat should be put out of its misery, like Kinect on the Xbox One was.

Saying all that… If you are thinking of getting the console (it will see new iterations of Zelda and Mario eventually after all) now is the time to buy. The Iran War and RAM crisis mean prices are only going to rise in the year ahead, and if Nintendo have warehouses of stock the chance of a revision of the console that would still need to be manufactured reduces. So it is worth jumping now.
Marc

Gotta add ‘em all
Just to add to the Pokémon Pokopia love but you can’t help but notice there’s a lot of environments that just aren’t in the game. There’s no snowy area at all, not really a proper desert or water area, and not much in terms of ghosts or metal. There’s some of these pokémon types in there but not as much as some others (so many fighting types!) so I think it’s pretty clear what they could do in terms of expansions.

I’d be there day one though as this is one game where it won’t seem forced and people are actually wanting more of what it’s selling. It’s been one of the best surprises I’ve played in a long time.
Gordo

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Marathon not a sprint
I was not surprised to see someone writing in to comment at how Marathon’s structure has put them off playing the game. I was surprised we haven’t seen more people commenting one way or another on what is surely to go down in history as one of the most Marmite games of this generation.

Cards on the table, I adore it and have been amazed at how it’s pulled my old group of online friends back to regularly playing together multiple times each week. I’ve even enjoyed quite a bit of solo running and playing as a rook, even if my aging reflexes mean I’m unlikely to complete Cryo Storage until three days before reset, if ever.

What is strange is how Bungie have taken everything they learned from Destiny and focused on a single game mode seemingly designed solely for the 10% of their player-base who were ever able to complete raids.

Destiny’s genius was that at its core, it catered to so many players and play styles. That large player-base would all find something they enjoyed in the game and for those who were hooked, offered difficult activities such as Master Nightfalls, raids, and dungeons.

Marathon feels like they nailed that endgame content yet did not build out the game to appeal to a more casual audience, potentially confining Marathon to a small but hardcore player-base.

I do highly recommend you at least give it a try if you’ve ever enjoyed a Bungie title. The gunplay is great, the level design and objectives feel tight, and as long as you treat all your weapons as disposable, or start your night with a free kit, losing all your kit doesn’t feel too bad.
DarKerR (gamertag)

Inbox also-rans
Personally, I can’t foresee any problem with a man driving a giant truck while also playing a racing game at the same time. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
Tension

The thing that makes me laugh is that it’s called Crimson Desert but there isn’t actually a crimson desert in the game, because they didn’t think of that at the time. What a mess.
Kuros

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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MORE: Games Inbox: Is Crimson Desert being underrated?

MORE: Games Inbox: Is Marathon worth playing?

MORE: Games Inbox: Is Crimson Desert worth getting?

The 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year has named its People’s Choice winner, selected from more than 60,000 entries and voted for by the public.

A young lynx tossing a rodent into the air before killing and eating it in Ciudad Real, Spain, was chosen as the winner from 24 shortlisted pictures.

A panel of judges chose the shortlist, in addition to the winning images announced in October.

Here is the winning picture and four “highly commended” photos which impressed wildlife lovers in the public vote.

Conservation efforts mean the Iberian lynx, which was on the brink of extinction in the early 2000s, has now recovered to number more than 2,000. Good news for the lynx, bad news for the local rodents.

This game lasted 20 minutes before the cat got bored and took its prey behind a bush to eat it.

A group of flamingos stands out against a stark industrial backdrop of power lines at a bird sanctuary in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

A mother polar bear and her three cubs resting in the summer heat along the Hudson Bay coast in Canada.

A silhouetted pair of young bear cubs rearing up and play-fighting in the middle of a quiet road in Jasper National Park, Canada.

A sika deer carrying the interlocked severed head of a rival male that had died after their battle on Notsuke Peninsula in Hokkaido, Japan.

The winner and four runners-up will be shown on the voting screens at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in London until it closes on 12 July. The top image will also be on the gallery wall alongside the winning images in the main competition.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian military spokesperson mocked U.S. attempts at a ceasefire deal Wednesday, raising questions about whether a 15-point plan proposed by Washington has a chance to succeed.

The comments from Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which jointly commands Iran’s regular military and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, came after the plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that American officials are negotiating with Iran on the plan, but Zolfaghari, in a recorded video statement that aired on state television, suggested there were no talks.

“Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?” he said.

“Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you,” Zolfaghari said. “Not now, not ever.”

The 15-point plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from Pakistan, who have offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The New York Times was the first to report that the plan had been delivered to Iranian officials.

The Pentagon is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region. The moves are being framed as Trump maneuvering to give himself “max flexibility” on what he will do next, the person added.

Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan, the person said.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, airstrikes battered the Islamic Republic while Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel and sites across the region.

With oil prices rising and consumers feeling the pain at the pump, Trump has been under increasing pressure at home to bring the war to an end.

Tehran’s chokehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing and threatened the world economy.

“The strategic power you used to talk about has turned into a strategic failure,” said Zolfaghari, the Iranian military spokesman. “The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could. Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.”

_____

Madhani reported from Washington. Rising reported from Bangkok, and Magdy reported from Cairo.

The company, which featured on TV’s Dragon’s Den has shipped out nearly 1,000 of its Inhaler Tailor cases to Australia.

The Inhaler Tailor was launched in 2022 producing colourful inhaler cases to boost the use of inhalers, especially among children who might be put off from using traditional inhalers.

The company says 76% of its customers agree the cases encourage them to use their preventer inhaler more frequently.

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York girl, Martha, inspires business The Inhaler Tailor

In addition, 87% of customers agree they feel more confident using their inhaler with the cases, and 99% says the colourful cases makes their inhaler easier to find.

Will Hogge, who founded the business, appeared on tv’s Dragon’s Den in 2024 and has been joined by wife Harriet in the business.

Director Harriet says the couple were approached by Asthma Australia at the end of last summer after they had seen their inhaler cases on social media.

Harriet Hogge in York City Centre showcasing a leopard print cover (Image: Pic supplied)

They trailed them and then placed an order for nearly 1,000 cases.

Harriet told the Press: They were keen to show them at conferences. They were very pleased with the cases. They agreed to list us on their shop.” 

 “It is so gratifying. It’s fantastic. It’s just the start of what will be a long-term partnership and getting distribution to far flung places.”

Asthma Australia CEO Kate Miranda said: “We are always looking for ways to support people with asthma, particularly in overcoming barriers to using their medicines.

“Innovations like Inhaler Tailor covers can boost confidence and make it easier for people to carry and use their inhaler when they need it most. 

“We’re proud to make them available to the Australian community through the Asthma Australia shop.”

Inhaler Tailor has also been in touch with Asthma New Zealand, who is also keen to get involved.

Harriet continued: “This is a test bed to expand in a similar way across the globe. It’s a really good way to expand.”

The orders from Australia build on a successful 2025, where the products were also launched in Walmart and on Amazon in the US.  

 Closer to home, however, whilst individual NHS trusts have received free samples and made ad-hoc purchases through charity funding, the inhalers have yet to make official NHS procurement lists.

Further research is still needed, Harriet explains, but she is convinced the cases will save the NHS money by reducing the hospitalisation of asthma sufferers.

She added the company is innovating with its products, including releasing a glow-in-the-dark case.

“We continue to throw everything at it. We have been going a few years.”

To find out more about The Inhaler Tailor visit https://www.inhalertailor.com/ 

Emma Henson had her leg amputated at the age of one because of a rare condition that made her right leg swell to twice the size of her left leg

A Peterborough woman with one foot is searching for a fellow amputee to share shoes with – so two bin bags full of unwanted right shoes don’t go to waste. Emma Henson, 20, has a rare condition called Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS).

When she was born, her right leg had swelled to double the size of her left one. When Emma turned one, her parents made the decision to have the leg amputated, as she would never be able to walk on it.

Her leg causes her too much pain to wear a prosthetic, so Emma only ever needs to wear one shoe as she uses crutches or a wheelchair to get around. She said that throughout her life, she has struggled to find companies that will sell her a single shoe, leaving her feeling as though she is not accepted.

She is now searching for a left foot amputee, who is a size six shoe, with whom she can share pairs of shoes. Emma, who originally shared her story with Talk To The Press, said: “My leg is constantly swelling and getting infected, so wearing a prosthetic is so painful and makes me bleed.

“I’ve got a whole bin bag, if not two at home, full of right foot shoes. I would love to find a left leg amputee who is also a UK size six so that we could share shoes.

“I’ve tried to give my odd shoes to charities, to help other amputees, but nowhere will accept them. It makes me feel not accepted in the world. I was born like this, I didn’t choose it.”

KTS is a rare congenital condition with symptoms including port-wine stain birthmarks, varicose veins, and limb overgrowth. When she was one, doctors told her parents that they could either choose to have the leg amputated from the knee down, or that she would be in a wheelchair forever.

She said she has emailed countless shoe companies but is always told that she will have to just buy a pair of shoes. She added that she doesn’t think it’s fair that she has to fork out for two shoes, when one will just end up in the back of her wardrobe.

Emma said: “A pair of shoes sometimes costs £150, and I can’t afford that if one of them is just going to sit in the wardrobe. I think companies should give you the option of just buying one shoe, and paying half price for it.

“It would make companies look good, and make everyone feel included. There’s probably a lot of people out there who are having the same issue as me, and it’s so unfair that one shoe just goes to waste.”

She feels that there must be many people like her in the same predicament, so is searching for someone, not only to share shoes with, but also to relate to.

Emma said: “One of my goals is to find someone out there who is like me to talk to about our similarities and help make each other feel better about ourselves.”

The Clitheroe Country Market, held at Clitheroe United Reformed Church on Moor Lane, is open every Tuesday from 9am to 12pm and will run until mid-December.

The market features home baking, crafts, jewellery, cards and prints, home produce, plants, flowers, and preserves.

The market features homemade baking, crafts, jewellery, cards and prints (Image: Supplied)

A spokesperson for the market said: “All the baking and savouries are guaranteed homemade.

“The preserves, including jams, marmalades, jellies and chutneys, contain no preservatives, and the same can be said of the handmade savouries.

“All have that unique good old-fashioned taste.”

Customers can also enjoy refreshments during their visit.

READ MORE:

The spokesperson added: “Coffee and tea will also be available, as will the popular cake of the week feature, when customers can purchase a slice of cake, toasted tea cakes or buttered scones to go with their drinks.”

Handmade cards, pictures, and gifts can be made to order.

All goods sold at the market are made locally.

Iran has attacked energy infrastructure in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Israel. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said since the start of the war at least 40 energy assets across nine countries have been “severely or very severely” damaged.

Two police cars were parked outside Le Feast at Bolton Train Station on Tuesday, March 24.

Police tape was in place outside the café and station entrance, warning passers-by of glass on the pavement.

The glass had seemingly come from a broken window, with a metal bar hanging off its hinges.

The broken window (Image: NQ)

Inside the station, the blue shutters at the main entrance to Le Feast were partially lowered and the premises was vacant.

A police official was seen taking photographs inside the café and incident markers were visible on what appeared to be a broken board.

In a statement, Le Feast said: “We’re really sorry to share that our store was broken into overnight.

“As a small business, this kind of thing hits hard, not just financially, but for our team too.

“Because of this, we will be temporarily closed while we sort everything out.

“At the moment, until we fully understand what needs to be replaced, we’re unsure when we’ll be able to resume trading.

“We’re working as quickly as we can to get back open and serving you again.

“Your support genuinely means everything to us, especially at times like this.

“Thank you for you patience. We’ll keep you updated.”

Officers at the scene told The Bolton News they were unable to share further details at this stage.

Le Feast opened in December 2024 and was the fourth location to be opened in the North West, adding to venues at Poulton-Le-Fylde Train Station, Rochdale Train Station and Blackpool North Train Station, that was opened 13 years ago.

Greater Manchester Police has been contacted for a statement.

Miguel Pirjani was only 13 weeks old when he was murdered by his own parents, but, due to their silence, we will likely never know exactly what happened to him

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“In this career, there are jobs that stay with you for a lifetime”, Detective Inspector Holly Chance says in a small conference room tucked beside the entrance to Merseyside Police’s Rose Hill headquarters. “There are certain jobs that remain with you, and this is definitely one.

“This has been the most distressing case that I’ve ever dealt with. Due to the vulnerability of Miguel, the age of him and the significant trauma that he faced at just 13 weeks old, it’s been highly distressing, not just for myself, but for my colleagues and other professionals.

“It’s something that I will never understand, as a parent, how anyone could inflict such harm on their own flesh and blood. Miguel was 13 weeks old. He was a newborn, and he should have just felt love from his parents. But, instead, he was inflicted with pain and trauma. It’s unbearable to think about.”

At just shy of three months old, Miguel Pirjani was at an age where he might have started babbling and cooing, maybe even laughing and giggling, certainly becoming more curious of the world around him. But, horrifically, this was a world which, at such a tender stage in his young life, he had come to know as cruel and violent, neglected of the love of his own parents who, instead, had beaten him and broken his tiny bones.

It is, frankly, unthinkable that anyone could do such a thing to any child, let alone their own flesh and blood while at their most tender and in as vulnerable a state as is possible. Perhaps it is a small mercy that, due to Miguel’s mum and dad Nivalda Santos and Klevi Pirjani never having had the courage to tell the true story of what happened to him, instead seeking to protect their own and one another’s backs, that we will never know exactly what horrors they subjected their infant son to.

But the mind can attempt to fill in the blanks when confronted with the stark facts of what doctors discovered when he was rushed from the couple’s home on Percy Road in Wirral, to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital one lunchtime in November 2024. DI Chance, who led the force’s investigation into Miguel’s murder, says: “At that time, he displayed no visible features that he was injured.

“It was only when he got to the hospital a short time later, when they did the scan, it soon became apparent that, in fact, he had this horrific skull fracture and it was non-accidental. That’s when the case took a turn.

“He had 39 fractures to his ribs, collarbone, leg, arm, and they were dated two to three weeks prior to his death, all at various stages of healing. Then there were subsequently two further fractures, which were caused within 48 hours prior to him falling ill.”

All of this demonstrated a clear, repeated pattern of abuse that had persisted throughout Miguel’s tragically short time on this Earth. And yet, all that has been hinted at was Nivalda’s patchy, plainly incomplete account during her and Klevi’s trial at Liverpool Crown Court, alleging that Klevi had “got angry and lost control” two days after their baby had first been discharged from hospital following his birth, thereafter “banging him on the bed” and kicking him, as well as apparently headbutting him in the early hours before his collapse and a 999 call in which he referred to his son as “it”.

DI Chance recalled of the mother’s evidence from the witness box: “There was a point when Nivalda gave evidence where she did state that she did witness Klevi assault Miguel. But that was in the early hours of the 24th of November, whereas medical experts say that the injury caused, which stopped him breathing or going into cardiac arrest, was done within hours of the call to 999. That is the only explanation that we’ve had, but it doesn’t account for the multiple fractures that have been caused.

“To this day, I’ve not seen any remorse shown by the parents. We’ve seen the injuries, we’ve read about the injuries, but we’re still not clear what went on behind closed doors, who inflicted which injury. No remorse has been shown and [there has been] no explanation, which is difficult.

“As a mum myself, I could not imagine anybody hurting my child. Only Nivalda knows the answer to why she never asked for help or never prevented it from happening.”

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The only real hint of any regret shown at any stage came in the form of Nivalda’s words as she was permitted to hold Miguel’s hand while he drew his final breaths after five days in hospital, telling him “I should have protected you”. While this was a relationship in which Klevi’s violent and controlling nature appeared to loom large, such sentiments were far too little, far too late.

Both mother and father were unanimously convicted of their son’s murder by a jury and were yesterday handed life sentences with minimum terms of 15 years and three months and 19 years behind bars respectively. If there is any shred of humanity left within them, the punishment of having what they did remaining on their consciences for the rest of their days should weigh far heavier.

Sentencing, High Court judge Mr Justice Baker told them: “Miguel was 13-and-a-half weeks old when he died, born on the 27th of August 2024. You, Nivalda Santos Pirjani and Klevi Pirjani, were his parents, and you killed him by what must have been an act of appalling violence, intending him to suffer really serious harm. It is possible that you intended to kill him to be rid of him, but I am not sure that was your intention, since you made a prompt 999 call for an ambulance.

“I am sure that the fatal trauma Miguel suffered involved a heavy blow or series of blows to the right side of his head with violent oscillation of his head, pivoting on his neck. Precisely how that was inflicted, I cannot say. Whether there was a single blow to the head, or several blows, I cannot say. Whether Miguel’s head was battered onto a hard, unyielding surface or some hard, blunt object was battered onto the side of his head, I cannot say.

“I cannot even say, for sure, which of you did that to Miguel. I think it more probable that it was you, Klevi, because, as Miguel was passing away in hospital Nivalda said to him, ‘I should have protected you’, and I think that may have been her genuine sentiment.

“I cannot say precisely when and how Miguel was fatally battered, shortly before that 999 call, or even be sure about which of you fatally battered him, because only you two know. You have chosen not to tell anyone, and I can only make findings of fact if I am sure of them from the evidence.

“Therefore, what exactly happened to Miguel that morning remains the guilty secret of a warped relationship in which you came first for each other to an unnatural degree. The interests of Team Klevi Nivalda… you put before those of Miguel, with the most severe consequence possible.

“His death was a battered baby death at both of your hands, since the jury was sure that, whichever of you delivered the violence, it was violence encouraged, intentionally, by the other of you, both of you intending Miguel to suffer at least grievous bodily harm. The fatal assault on the 24th of November 2024 was not a one off incident that came out of the blue for whichever of you did not commit the violence.

“I consider there to be no mitigation available to you, Klevi. There is nothing in your personal circumstances or the circumstances of your offending under count four to lessen the seriousness of that offence in your case.

“I acknowledge the difficult start you had in your own life, with a childhood in Albania affected by armed conflict and the death of your father and young sister in quick succession. However, I do not consider that offers any reason to reduce what would otherwise be the proper sentence for what you did to Miguel in your early 30s, in your settled adult life in Liverpool.

“In your case, Nivalda, there is mitigation. You were of previous good character. You were suffering from post natal depression, and you were isolated and somewhat vulnerable, estranged from your own family.

“I do not accept the further claim made on your behalf, or the evidence that you gave, that you were yourself the victim of domestic abuse by Klevi of violence and controlling behaviour. I am sure you were lying to the jury about that. The only victim here was poor Miguel.

“Finally, you have shown a measure of remorse through your parting words to Miguel and through some of what you said to the jury from the witness box. That remorse is rendered a little shallow by your determination, nonetheless, to fight your trial which extended, I am sure, to significant elements of invention to try to limit your criminal liability.”