WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has made a deal with Scouting America that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday would maintain their century-old partnership but refocus the organization away from diversity initiatives and other “woke” policies he accused it of embracing in recent years.

Hegseth put heavy emphasis on Scouting America’s acceptance of transgender youth, saying the organization will require members to use their “biological sex at birth and not gender identity.” But Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, said the agreement does not change existing policies regarding transgender youth and that they are welcome.

“We have transgender people in our program and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward,” Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone told The Associated Press.

Several of the negotiated changes mirror what the organization suggested to the Pentagon in January, including discontinuing its Citizenship in Society merit badge, introducing a Military Service merit badge and waiving registration fees for the children of military personnel.

Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has taken aim at the military’s partnership with Scouting America, decrying its historic rebrand in 2024 and other changes in recent years that he sees as part of “woke culture” efforts that he wants to root out.

What Hegseth and Scouting America say about transgender scouts

Hegseth said in a video posted on X that Scouting America’s applications will list only options for male and female and the one checked must match the applicant’s birth certificate. He didn’t say how that would be enforced. The group would clarify that youths of opposite genders assigned at birth cannot share bathrooms, tents or other similar spaces, he said.

Krone said the group’s application already has only two boxes — one for boy and one for girl — and that they were already asking about sex assigned at birth. He didn’t offer clarity on how that was reviewed or enforced.

“We do not put boys and girls together in intimate spaces and in order to do that we need to have some knowledge of who they are,” he said.

Krone said “structures” in the organization accommodate transgender youth, noting that there are family troops that include both genders but offering no more details. He said there was nothing in discussions with the Pentagon that changes the way the programs are run.

Hegseth, meanwhile, said in his video that the Pentagon will “vigorously review” the changes Scouting America has made in six months and cease its support of the organization if it fails to comply.

“We hope that doesn’t happen, but it could,” Hegseth said. “Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts as originally founded, a group that develops boys into men. Maybe someday.”

Scouts keep new name and female membership

In a statement Friday, Scouting America noted its need to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting DEI programs.

The Irving, Texas-based organization also pointed out that it maintained its new name and “preserved our service to the more than 200,000 girls who participate in our programs.”

The organization began allowing gay youths in 2013, ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015 and announced in 2017 that it would accept transgender students. It began accepting girls as Cub Scouts as of 2018 and into the flagship Boy Scout program, renamed Scouts BSA, in 2019.

Scouting America said the policy changes deepen the organization’s partnership with the military, which has included Scouts meeting on or near military installations in the U.S. and abroad.

“Scouting America is one of the most reliable pipelines to the United States Armed Forces our country has ever known,” the organization added. “Scouts are significantly more likely to serve in uniform than the general population. Eagle Scouts are heavily represented in ROTC programs, service academies and military leadership tracks.”

Pentagon threatened to pull support

Hegseth’s other anti-DEI efforts have ranged from ending all military training at “woke” Harvard and other Ivy League schools to claiming that the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes will no longer include “woke distractions.” He rolled out the move with Scouting America on Friday as tensions have escalated with Iran and the Trump administration considers possible military action after massing the largest force of U.S. warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades.

The Pentagon said earlier this month that it was reviewing its relationship with Scouting America, claiming it had “lost its way” in many ways and calling the organization’s DEI efforts “unacceptable.”

“Scouting America’s leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration,” the Feb. 6 statement said, “including an embrace of DEI and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances.”

The U.S. military and the Boy Scouts have had longtime ties, including the military providing logistical support for the National Boy Scout Jamboree since its inception in 1937. The military also has maintained a strong relationship with the Eagle Scouts, whose members often enlist.

In a statement last year, Scouting America raised concerns following a report from NPR that the Pentagon planned to cut support for Scouting programs on military bases as well as for the National Jamboree and would eliminate increases in pay grade for Eagle Scouts who enlist.

The group told Hegseth last month that after hearing his suggestions, it had come up with a plan, which, besides the badge changes, included holding a ceremony to rededicate itself to leadership, duty to God, duty to country and service, as well as dissolving its DEI board committee.

Krone said there are about 900,000 youths participating in scouting programs, down from just over 1 million a year ago.

Cultural forces and significant changes

Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America achieved a vaunted status in the U.S. over the decades, with pinewood derbies, the Scout Oath and Eagle Scouts becoming part of the lexicon.

Since then, the organization has faced controversies and significant changes.

Its ban on gay scouts ended in 2013. Two years later, it ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons. In 2017, the Boy Scouts announced that they would allow transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in their boys-only programs.

The Boy Scouts also faced a flood of sexual abuse claims and sought bankruptcy protection in the 2020s. In 2023, a judge upheld the $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan, allowing the organization to keep operating while compensating more than 80,000 men who filed claims saying they were sexually abused while in scouting.

___

Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for help in identifying a vehicle that was spotted driving erratically in Acomb earlier this month.

The car was seen driving erratically in Jute Road, York between 5.45pm and 6.45pm on February 16.

RECOMMENDED READING:

“It has lost control after hitting a speed bump and has mounted the pavement striking a stationary unattended vehicle. The vehicle has then left the scene leaving no details for the vehicle owner,” said a spokesperson for the force.

Police are appealing for any person or businesses in Jute Road to check their CCTV, doorbell, or dash cams to see if they have captured footage of the vehicle or its licence plate.

Police have released two images of the vehicle (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

If you can help the appeal, please email peter.henderson@northyorkshire.police.uk, call 101 and ask for PC1668 Henderson, or if you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote reference 12260032296 when passing on information

Founded in 2007, BrewDog could reportedly be sold next week after a difficult 2025 featuring job cuts and losses of £37 million announced.

Scottish craft beer producer BrewDog is reportedly expected to be sold next week according to an email from the company’s chief executive seen by the BBC. Founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in Aberdeenshire in 2007, BrewDog produces millions of litres of craft beer a year with products available in almost 60 countries.

Two weeks ago, the company brought in consultancy firm AlixPartners after failing to make a profit and employees this week protested about being left in the dark over the sale. According to the BBC, boss James Taylor apologised to staff “for the uncertainty this creates”.

It is understood that Brewdog’s German arm – which includes a brewery and bar in Berlin – is set to be liquidated and won’t be included in the sale. Online sales have temporarily been suspended but the firm’s bars will continue to operate as normal over the weekend.

Mr Taylor said there had been “a great deal of interest” and an update could be forthcoming next week. It is unknown how the sale will affect investors in the firm’s Equity for Punks crowdfunding scheme which launched in 2009.

After the scheme closed in 2021, US equity firm TSG Consumer Partners acquired a 22 per cent stake in the firm which included “preferential shares” rather than the “ordinary” shares offered to Equity for Punks investors. In January, BrewDog halted production of gin and vodka at it’s headquarters in Ellon citing a need to “sharpen” the business’s focus.

That came just three months after job cuts were announced following a loss of £37 million last year. The company also closed 10 bars across the UK including its Aberdeen flagship in 2025. Around 1,400 people are employed by BrewDog which has breweries in the US, Australia and Germany.

It is understood BrewDog are not commenting on the possible sale of the company at this stage.

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE

“I had never seen tanks before.”

As Ukraine marks the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion, Sky News has partnered with Voices of Children, a Ukrainian charity, to tell the stories of teenagers living through war.

They speak of a childhood stolen, and the pain left behind by losses and sacrifices.

Kateryna

I am 14 and I live in Chernihiv, a city in the north of Ukraine near the border with Belarus. In February 2022, I was 10 and couldn’t imagine what war really meant, yet by 22 February my emergency suitcase was packed.

Within days Ukrainian tanks were driving down our street. I had never seen them before. For the first three nights, we slept in the basement. During the day, we counted explosions, and at night, we tried to sleep.

On 4 March, my birthday, we had to leave the city, because Chernihiv was under constant attack from Russian bombers. We travelled for three days, spending the first night with kind people in Brovary, who had taken in the cats and dogs left behind by fleeing families.

The next night was near Khmelnytskyi, where at a checkpoint we were told to stop only in dark places because Russian helicopters might be flying overhead. On the third night, we slept in a kindergarten building on the other side of the country. My family and I stayed there for 40 days before we could go home. It was the hardest time of my life.

Today, the most important thing in my life is creativity, especially writing poetry. I fell in love with literature thanks to my literature teacher, who I can always turn to for help. Writing has become a form of therapy for me.

I do not have many close friends, but I know there are people who help me stay strong, with whom I can talk about everything that worries me. I believe that is important.

Hanna

I’m 17 and I’m from Zaporizhzhia.

In September 2022, a missile hit my building. It was deeply traumatic for me. Everyone survived, but coming to terms with it was extremely hard. The experience pushed me to act because the threat should not destroy my sense of purpose.

Over these four years, I discovered volunteering, civic engagement, various projects and the cultural life of our city. Most importantly, I’ve met an incredible number of amazing people who inspire me every day.

Perhaps, without that terrible shock and the acute awareness of my own mortality, my life would have taken a completely different direction. Would I want Russia’s full-scale invasion never to have happened, never to have touched my life? Of course. But I am learning to live in the reality we face and not to let it stand in my way.

Despite all the difficulties, the celebration must go on.

My Valentine’s Day, for example, was bright and eventful. In the morning, I got on a bus and read a message: my friend wouldn’t be coming to the event because her parents wouldn’t let her go due to the security situation. Drones were buzzing in the background, but I hardly reacted. I’m used to it.

At a modern venue that also serves as a bomb shelter, I immersed myself in an educational training session. I was surrounded by young people full of ideas, eager to change the system, launch their own initiatives and move the city forward.

Time flew and soon I had to rush off. I was one of the organisers of an art exhibition, and that day was the opening. I caught up with my friend Yasia, and we hurried towards the gallery. Even in our haste, we noticed the contrasts of Zaporizhzhia’s streets: a clinic destroyed by a strike, buildings nearly reduced to ruins, memorials to the fallen… And right beside them, a cafe was open. Its owners needed only a week to rebuild after a horrific attack.

Read more:
Meet the Ukrainian who swapped Wall Street for the frontline
The ‘hero city’ 30,000 Russians failed to take

Veronika

I am 16. I lived under Russian occupation for two years in my hometown of Melitopol after the full-scale invasion before my family managed to escape.

The first month under occupation was especially hard. Food was scarce, and what little there was became extremely expensive. It was impossible to buy even basics like bread. My parents and I decided I would not attend a Russian school. My mother, a teacher, also refused to work for the occupation authorities. Because of that, we had to hide. I secretly continued studying at a Ukrainian school online.

We also had to hide every trace at home of my brother, who had gone to fight for Ukraine on the first day of the war.

I don’t have many memories left from the occupation, but I can picture the Russian soldiers, their military vehicles and the aircraft, so many aircraft. My grandparents’ cottage is near an airfield, and throughout my childhood, I loved watching planes arrive. All the helicopters that landed during the occupation had the letter “Z” painted on the side.

The chance to leave Melitopol came through carriers who gathered people in groups and took them across Russia. Before we left, we erased almost everything from our phones – messages in Ukrainian, any mention of my brother.

Half of our group came from Mariupol, so the vehicle stopped to pick them up. It was 2023. I had never seen anything worse in my life than the destroyed Azovstal plant and the Mariupol Drama Theatre, which the Russians were rebuilding. That was the same theatre they had bombed, killing so many people.

At the border, our phones were taken away. My mother was led in for questioning, and I, a child, was left waiting alone in the middle of the customs hall. Finally, at the Latvian border, I remember hearing my native Ukrainian language and feeling a sense of calm.

We moved to Zaporizhzhia. This is where my brother stays when he is on leave. Before the war, the journey here from my hometown took two hours. Now it takes four days and involves crossing three European countries.

Share

Advertisement

Olena’s harrowing rescue mission – and how it almost killed her

I hate how we’ve got used to war. How I have grown used to explosions and air raid alerts that can last for 10 hours. It has become the background of life, a new reality in which we try to make plans for the future. But at the same time, I have realised that there is one thing I cannot get used to: loss.

Today, I was returning home when I saw yet another convoy carrying fallen soldiers. People who passed by stopped and bowed their heads. In that moment, I felt not only pain, but gratitude. Gratitude that we still care. That we do not just drive past. That even as we adapt to war, we do not become indifferent to human grief.

Liza

I’m 18 and I’ve lived in Kyiv for the past two years.

I’m trying to build my life here, but my real home is Oleshky, a small town in the south of Ukraine, in the Kherson region, that is now occupied by Russians. We left to survive. Our neighbours were killed by a shell, and back then, in January 2024, there was no one left in the town to help – no firefighters, no doctors.

We travelled for four days through 20 Russian checkpoints. At a checkpoint in the town of Novoazovsk, my mother and I were taken off the bus for “filtration”. Russians questioned us for four hours.

We started our lives in Kyiv from scratch. We arrived with nothing – just three bags between my sister, my mother and me. But in Kyiv, I met people from my hometown and made new friends. I was able to continue my studies.

Yet I still can’t quite get used to this big city. The first thing I do when I wake up is open the news to check what happened overnight. Then I wash my face. If I’m lucky, there’s warm water and electricity. I have breakfast and log into my lectures. I’m studying psychology. I pay for my education myself. After classes, I work as a cashier, because I already know that nothing comes easily.

During my first year in Kyiv, I felt a sense of relief. Here, I’m not scared to walk outside. You can wear make-up and dress the way you want without fearing Russians would target you just because you’re a girl. Back home, when we went to the store, we put on old clothes and hats so we wouldn’t appear attractive to them. Here, there’s no need to hide in a closet as we did in Oleshky when we heard strangers approaching our home. We continued studying online at a Ukrainian school at our own risk, knowing that at any moment we could be forced to attend a Russian one.

In Kyiv, I still have to hide from Russians – in bomb shelters during their attacks. I’ve grown used to the explosions, so I try to fall asleep before the air raid sirens go off, just to avoid hearing them and get some rest. What’s harder to get used to is what comes after the strikes. When the electricity and heating are cut off, it feels like deja vu. In the last months of our life under occupation, in the cold winter of 2024, we also had no power, gas or water.

No matter how hard it was there, leaving home was unbearably painful. I cried and kept repeating that I just wanted the war to end. That is still my greatest wish. I just want to go home.

The convicted child killer has a bleak chance at surviving the attack which occurred Thursday morning

Advertisement

Armed police are reportedly keeping watch as evil child killer Ian Huntley fights for his life in hospital.

On Thursday (February 26), emergency services came to Huntley’s aid after he was reportedly attacked by a fellow inmate at HMP Frankland, Durham.

It is reported the assailant bashed Huntley with a spiked metal pole, with the 52-year-old now having just a “5% chance of survival“.

Huntley, who is serving a 40-year prison sentence for the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, has since remained in hospital with armed police by his side.

Cops confirmed earlier today Huntley remained in serious condition in hospital, 24 hours after his attack in the workshop of the maximum security prison in Durham.

Advertisement

According to reports, triple killer Anthony Russell allegedly shouted “I’ve done it, I’ve done it” after Huntley was attacked, reports the Daily Star.

Now a source has told the Sun how medical teams worked to save his life after he “clung on”. The publication reported he is now being treated on a hospital ward with armed police standing guard and senior justice officials present.

Speaking to The Sun, the source said: “It is miraculous he is still alive. Medics have worked miracles on him and he has clung on. The prison nurses and staff who first saw him thought he was gone.

“And medics said there was only a 5% chance of survival after an attack like that. It is still touch and go, and he could get worse. But it is extraordinary that he is still alive. When it first happened, he was totally unresponsive and could not breathe.”

On Friday, Durham Constabulary said: “There has been no change in the 52-year-old man’s condition overnight – he remains in hospital in a serious condition.”

The force declined to identify the suspect but on Thursday it said a man in his mid-40s had been detained in the prison, but he had not yet been arrested.

Former caretaker Huntley killed the two children, Jessica and Holly, after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002, then dumped their bodies in a ditch.

Evil Huntley is serving at least 40 years for their murders.

Patrick Teehan, 57, defrauded his customers by taking large deposits while carrying out shoddy work and failing to turn up for work.

A rogue builder took thousands of pounds from his victims and lied about making suicide attempts and his wife having cancer as excuses for not turning up to work. He sent a suicide note to one victim, who was left so concerned they contacted the police.

Patrick Teehan, 57, who operated as a builder in Cardiff would take on jobs and received payment in advance of them. However, the work he carried out was substandard and required restorative work from other builders.

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Friday heard there were 15 victims in total, and in a number of cases the defendant had taken money but did not carry out any work. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Prosecutor Lee Reynolds said Teehan took large deposits up front to be used for materials but only rudimentary and destructive work would be carried out before he would make further demands for money.

The work taken was of a poor standard and unskilled and incompetent workers would be used.

The defendant would also use fake addresses and paperwork in order to evade detection and hid behind outlandish excuses, which included false claims he had made attempts on his own life.

In 2021, Teehan entered into a voluntary agreement regarding his financial circumstances, but continued to offer work to further victims.

In December 2019, the defendant was employed to construct an outbuilding and was paid £2,000 in total but very few materials were purchased and the minimal amount of work carried out was substandard. He failed to attend for the majority of the project, and relatives told the victim Teehan had tried to take his own life.

The work had to be completed by another company at a cost of £11,000. The victim said she found the ordeal stressful and a financial burden. She added: “My trust in trades people has gone… He decided to cheat me out of money.”

The second victim employed the defendant to carry out a loft conversion in Victoria Park, Cardiff, and he was paid a deposit of £1,200 before the Covid lockdown occurred.

Work began in January 2021, and Teehan was paid £60,000 in total but the work was poor and the roof needed to be repaired. The victim lost £25,000. She said: “He said he had a car crash, his van broke down, had no internet, was stuck in Barry, had Covid, his wife had cancer of the blood, and said he tried to commit suicide due to having mental health issues from his time in the army.”

The third victim employed Teehan to carry out a garage conversion in Cowbridge Road East, in Cardiff, which was not completed and was of substandard quality. The victim lost a total of £6,000, after the defendant failed to show and broke promises to carry out the work. Teehan told the victim he couldn’t attend as he was having a drink with his son, overslept, his wife was on the missing person’s list and he was having a mental breakdown.

The defendant also claimed to the victim he had attempted to take his own life and sent him a suicide note on What’s App, which led the victim calling the police out of concern. He said he had been left “devastated and in debt”.

The victim added that he was made to believe by Teehan that he had put so much pressure on him, he had caused him to make an attempt for his own life and believed he would have been responsible for his death.

The fourth victim employed Teehan to build a garage extension, patio and fence at her home in Penarth. She paid £19,000 in December 2020, but the work was never completed and was of a substandard. She was left out of pocket by £3,373.

The fifth victim employed the defendant to replace a roof and conservatory. She paid Teehan £1,400, with the work only meant to take a couple of days. But he did not start the work for four months.

The victim had to pay another contractor to fix and complete the work due to the roof leaking. Teehan claimed he had been unable to attend her home after starting the job as he was in hospital. The victim said she had been left “upset and angry” by the defendant’s actions, and believed he had no remorse.

The sixth victim engaged the defendant to build a single storey extension in 2021, but the work was not completed with the victims left out of pocket by almost £9,500.

The victim said he was told by Teehan’s wife he had admitted himself into a mental health unit for ex servicemen, but found out he was on holiday in west Wales. This left the victim “sickened and angry to the core”.

The seventh victim said she employed the defendant to carry out work on her kitchen in 2021. She lost £6,000 as a result of substandard work and materials which had been paid for not being purchased.

Teehan left the job and made promises to return but he never did. He told the victim he was in a mental health facility, but his social media showed he was training for a boxing match.

The eighth victim engaged Teehan to carry out rendering work at her home in Church Village in 2021. She paid the defendant £4,500 but no materials were purchased despite him claiming he had spent it all. The only work carried out was hacking old rendering off walls, which left her driveway in a mess.

The victim lost £6,000 and when she contacted Teehan, he told her he had been in a clinic for his PTSD.

The ninth victim employed Teehan to carry out work on his chimney and roof at his home, but the defendant simply did not turn up to work and provided no explanation. The victim said he and his family were in “anguish” due to the offence.

The tenth victim engaged the defendant to carry out a garage conversion in 2021 and paid him £5,500. He failed to turn up to begin work.

Teehan made excuses that he had fallen off a ladder and damaged tendons in his hand, there was a delay with materials, his daughter was ill and he had to look after his grandchildren. Someone claiming to be the defendant’s business partner also told the victim he had suffered a breakdown and was in Llandough hospital.

The eleventh victim said Teehan was employed in building a patio, installing a door and removing a wall at an address in Cardiff. They paid £1,500 but the defendant did not return to complete the work. They received some money back from their bank and are owed £737.

The twelfth victims paid £1,800 for plastering work which was not completed and was of a poor standard. Teehan claimed his bank account had been frozen and the victims had to pay £1,200 to complete the work.

The thirteenth victim in Whitchurch paid £1,000 to the defendant but he did not turn up on 10 agreed dates, before failing to take phone calls and blocking the victim.

The victim’s wife took her own life in 2021 and said: “He put me through hell knowing he had gained my trust.”

The fourteenth victim from Lisvane employed Teehan to carry out decking and gardening. The only work carried out was the digging of a trench filled with concrete.

The defendant failed to return and the victims were owed £7,500. Teehan claimed he was in hospital having a heart procedure and left the garden looking like a building site.

The fifteenth victim employed the defendant to build a summerhouse but the work was poor and not finished. A fence, for which the victim had paid £3,000 a year earlier, was destroyed and the garden was left in a mess. The victim was owed a total of £8,000.

Mr Reynolds said Teehan was invited for interview but put it off a number of times, with excuses including him driving a vehicle to the Poland/Ukraine border and cutting his leg with a Stanley knife.

The total loss caused to the victims was calculated at £82,632.

Teehan, of Chichester Way, Ely, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business carried on by a sole trader.

The court heard he has previous convictions of a dissimilar nature, including an offence of robbery for which he received and eight year prison sentence.

In mitigation, Andrew Davies said his client was remoreseful and “overwhelmed by grief” at his offences.

The barrister said the defendant had made an attempt on his own life in November 2021, after he was found unconscious at junction 33 of the M4.

It was said the defendant has travelled to Poland and Ukraine for three years in order to carry out volunteer work.

Sentencing, Judge Carl Harrison said: “You left a trail of devastation for your victim which went far beyond financial loss.”

Teehan was sentenced to a total of 43 months imprisonment.

Ensure our latest news and sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

Baby John was just five-days-old when he was found dead on a beach in County Kerry, Ireland, with 28 stab wounds and a broken neck in 1984 and his killer was never found

Advertisement

A newborn infant was tragically discovered deceased on a beach bearing 28 stab wounds and a fractured neck — yet neither his parents nor the perpetrator have ever been traced.

The devastating find 42 years ago remains amongst the most disturbing unsolved mysteries Ireland has witnessed — with haunting cold cases currently prominent in the nation. This is because there’s an active search underway for missing women Deirdre Jacob and Jo Jo Dullard, linked to notorious rapist Larry Murphy.

Here, we revisit the Kerry Babies case which culminated in the Irish state issuing an apology to one woman after she became embroiled in the deeply troubling scandal — despite being completely innocent.

On April 14, 1984, local farmer Jack Griffin was out jogging on White Strand beach around 8pm in County Kerry when he stumbled upon the most unthinkably horrific discovery — a deceased five-day-old baby boy.

He subsequently told the Irish Times: “It was pink in colour, face downwards with black hair and I thought to myself, it can’t be a baby, I was trying to say to myself it was a doll, but deep down I knew it wasn’t so I blessed myself.”

Advertisement

The infant, subsequently named Baby John, had sustained a broken neck and suffered 28 stab wounds. His body had washed ashore after being discarded into the sea.

The police murder squad travelled from Dublin to investigate — and they quickly focused on their prime suspect. At that time, Joanne Hayes was a 25-year-old receptionist and unmarried mother.

Despite occurring just four decades ago, Ireland was markedly different, with divorce and abortion outlawed, and children born outside marriage deemed illegitimate.

Joanne hailed from Abbeydorney in Kerry, roughly 80km from where Baby John’s body was discovered.

She was taken to hospital on the same day Baby John was found — and medics determined she had recently given birth to an infant.

Officers grew suspicious because there was no trace of the baby she’d had with a married man named Jeremiah Locke. She also had a daughter with Jeremiah called Yvonne.

Investigators believed they’d cracked the case when Hayes signed a statement confessing to having delivered Baby John before ending his life. Her relatives also acknowledged disposing of his body in the sea.

She faced a murder charge whilst four of her family members were accused in relation to the death.

Nevertheless, they subsequently withdrew the confessions, claiming they had been pressured.

It later came to light that Joanne had delivered a baby believed to have either been stillborn or who perished shortly after birth from natural causes. This occurred during the same week as Baby John.

Joanne named her son Shane and laid him to rest on the family farm.

Tests ultimately showed Shane’s blood type was O, matching his parents Joanne and Jeremiah. Baby John meanwhile had blood type A.

Astonishingly, despite this seemingly excluding her from the Baby John inquiry, gardai (Irish police) contended that she may have given birth to twins with two different fathers, a rare condition known as superfecundation.

It was suggested that Joanne could have buried baby Shane following his death before callously killing Baby John and discarding him into the sea.

Unsurprisingly, however, the case fell apart and all charges were subsequently dropped.

Joanne was then compelled to participate in the Kerry Babies tribunal, where she faced public questioning regarding her personal sex life. The inquiry, which attracted widespread criticism, was established to scrutinise police conduct.

At one stage, Joanne was forced to flee the witness stand to reach a toilet, where she was physically ill.

DNA testing carried out in 2018, some 34 years after Baby John was discovered washed ashore, concluded that Joanne could not have been his mother.

Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar issued a formal apology to Joanne and her family. The botched investigation also resulted in them receiving €2.5million (£2.1m) in compensation.

Then Justice Minister Simon Harris described it as a “defining moment in social history” and said the treatment of Joanne was “despicable and unacceptable”.

Joanne published a book entitled My Story in 1985, though she has largely remained out of the public spotlight ever since.

In 2023, two individuals, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s, were arrested in connection with the Kerry Babies case before being released without charge. Yet the mystery surrounding Baby John remains unresolved, with the identities of both the parents and the killer still unknown.

Speaking two years ago, Superintendent Flor Murphy said: “I am again appealing to the public for any information in relation to the death of Baby John in 1984. Anyone who comes forward will be treated with sensitivity and compassion.”

The chilling case was examined in a Channel 4 documentary entitled Murdered: Baby on the Beach.

Cucumbers are often wrapped in plastic at supermarkets, but experts reveal it’s not for hygiene reasons

Advertisement

Cucumbers are a popular addition to numerous salads and sandwiches. When purchased from supermarkets, they typically come wrapped in plastic.

The plastic covering on cucumbers is commonly believed to be there for hygiene purposes. As many of us attempt to reduce our plastic consumption, I sought expert opinions on why cucumbers are sold in plastic and what its true function is.

Ann Cooper from Southampton-based bakery Wonderberrys, which uses cucumber in their afternoon tea sandwiches, explained: “People often assume the plastic wrap on cucumbers is just about cleanliness, but we’ve seen first-hand at Wonderberrys why it’s really there.

“While we mostly focus on cakes and sweet treats, our takeaway afternoon tea offerings rely heavily on fresh cucumber sandwiches. The wrap helps to retain optimum quality by stopping the cucumber from drying out.”

Content creator and Slow Cooker Meals founder Ryan Allen concurred that the plastic covering is primarily about preserving freshness. He elaborated: “Unlike regular field cucumbers, English cucumbers have thin, tender skin.”, reports the Mirror.

“Rapid dehydration no doubt comes from the fact that [it has] thin skin. With the plastic wrap, though, moisture loss is cut to almost nothing, and freshness is retained for up to a week.”

Ryan noted the plastic wrap can also help prevent cucumbers from bruising and even reduce food waste. He stated: “Thin-skinned cucumbers mark easily during transport.

“But the plastic, by serving as a thin protective barrier, still blocks much of the wear, keeping the products looking better, cleaner, newer on the shelf.”

He explained: “If wrapping keeps food from spoiling, then the net environmental impact can be lower than selling items unwrapped and throwing more away.”

Cucumbers wrapped in plastic do remain fresh for longer than their unwrapped counterparts. Consumer website Which? has reported that cucumbers in plastic maintain their freshness for approximately 14 days, compared with merely five when unwrapped.

Cucumbers ought to be stored in the fridge, preferably in the crisper drawer.

They require the plastic wrapping to preserve their moisture content and stop them from becoming dehydrated.

The plastic is understood to function as a secondary skin, preventing moisture loss.

Whilst on display in shops, the plastic covering helps shield the cucumber’s exterior from damage.