NewsBeat
Axel Rudakubana’s neighbours sell homes and tell of horror at living next to Southport murderer: latest
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Axel Rudakubana’s neighbours have been selling their homes and telling of their horror at living next to the Southport murderer.
Residents of the quiet cul-de-sac of new build homes where Rudakubana lived with his family in Banks, Lancashire, have been left reeling, with at least one property put on the market in the wake of the attack, local Paul Jones, 66, told The Independent.
Owen Aimson, 21, said: “It’s crazy to know I have lived with him four doors down from me for a few years.”
Rudakubana, 18, on Monday admitted murdering three girls aged between six and nine in his frenzied knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Merseyside last year.
Since then, The Community Church, which his father attended, revealed the killer’s family have been moved to a secret location for their protection.
Sir Keir Starmer warned that those responsible for failures that enabled the “senseless, barbaric” murders would not be allowed “to deflect from their failures” after he announced a public inquiry this week.
The prime minister also reiterated his pledge to take action against the “unacceptable” online sale of “murder weapons” in efforts to tackle knife crime after it emerged that Rudakubana used a knife bought from Amazon in his attack.
Knife sales crackdown divides commentators
Government critics say Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to crack down on online knife sales is missing the point, many pointing to the failure of authorities to stop Southport killer Axel Rudakubana.
Reform leader Nigel Farage claimed: “The truth is there are murder weapons in every kitchen drawer. What we should be talking about is the total failure to stop this terrorist & the cover-up of information.”
But his former Ukip colleague Henry Bolton called for a ban on knives openly sold as “fashion accessories”.
Jane Dalton22 January 2025 16:40
Charities call for knife sales crackdown
Knife crime charities have demanded stricter regulation of online marketplaces, because “careless” retailers are making it too easy for young people to buy knives.
Patrick Green, chief executive of knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, said the tragedy in Southport showed “how careless the online marketplaces are”.
He added that the ease of online sales is “a damning indictment”, saying: “Retailers are just completely focused on making money and not protecting the public. The law has proved inadequate.
“We need to close the loophole that exists around online marketplaces.
“This isn’t an isolated incident. There have been a number of incidents like this.”
Bruce Houlder, founder of Fighting Knife Crime London, told the PA News Agency that knife crime was “more worrying than ever”.
He said: “I think there should be much tougher legislation. It’s foreseeable that these knives are going to be used to cause injury.”
Mr Houlder added there is “insufficient being done” to stop online retailers selling knives, calling them “complicit in the crimes that eventually get committed”.
Jane Dalton22 January 2025 15:40
No 10 could replicate porn access curbs for knife sales
Downing Street has indicated “nothing is off the table” to protect children when asked what actions would be taken to enforce Sir Keir Starmer’s promise of tougher rules on online knife sales.
The prime minister’s official spokesman was asked whether the government was happy to see how the Online Safety Act beds in before considering any further legislation.
He replied: “We have worked at pace to implement the Online Safety Act. Our message remains as the home secretary and technology secretary said yesterday. The social media companies should take action now. There is no need to wait for laws to kick in and the prospect of significant penalties.
“More broadly, we have been clear that nothing is off the table with keeping our children and communities safe.”
Asked whether measures aimed at verifying the age of children trying to access pornography could be replicated for knife sales, the spokesman said: “We are obviously looking at these plans and we will update urgently on how we will deliver on these plans in due course.”
Jane Dalton22 January 2025 15:10
Axel Rudakubana’s neighbours want to move after learning of horrors carried out by Southport murderer
Horrified neighbours in quiet cul-de-sac of new build homes where Axel Rudakubana lived with his family in Banks, Lancashire, have been left reeling after learning the horrors that he perpetrated.
Local councillor John Howard said some people want to move away after angry troublemakers threatened to target properties in the aftermath of the attack.
At least one home has been put on the market in the wake of the tragedy, resident Paul Jones, 66, told The Independent.
It is not known what will happen to the Rudakubana’s three-bedroom semi-detached home, which has lain empty since the family were taken into hiding.
Owen Aimson, 21, said most residents had never even laid eyes on the reclusive teenager, who made the biological toxin ricin in his bedroom, until CCTV emerged of him walking down the road on the day of the attack.
But he recalls seeing a police car outside the home on multiple occasions. Following Rudakubana’s conviction on Monday, police confirmed five calls to were made to the force from the address between 2019 and 2022 relating to concerns about the teen’s behaviour.
“Once in a blue moon I would get home at 10 or 11pm at night and there would be a police car outside his house,” he said. “No commotion or anything, just a police car so they were in the house. No one knew why.
“It’s crazy to know I have lived with him four doors down from me for a few years.”
Tara Cobham22 January 2025 13:29
Starmer reiterates pledge to take action against ‘unacceptable’ online sale of ‘murder weapons’
Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated his pledge to take action against the “unacceptable” sale of “murder weapons” in ongoing efforts to tackle knife crime.
The prime minister told the Commons during PMQs that the government is committed to regulating the online sale of knives.
He said: “It is unacceptable that these murder weapons can be bought with two clicks. The technology is there to stop it and we’re going to take action.”
Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana used a knife bought from Amazon to kill three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, in July.
Tara Cobham22 January 2025 12:39
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NewsBeat
How did Prince Harry force apology out of The Sun and how much will they pay him in damages?
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The Duke of Sussex has settled his claim against the publisher of The Sun on Wednesday, the day after his trial to prove allegations of unlawful information gathering was set to begin.
Prince Harry, 40, was expected to return to the UK in February to give evidence over several days, supporting his claim that journalists and private investigators working for the newspaper targeted him.
He was pursuing the joint case against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) alongside former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson.
On Wednesday morning, the duke’s barrister said the parties had “reached an agreement” and that NGN had offered an “unequivocal apology” and would pay “substantial damages” to Harry.
While it has not yet been confirmed, the sum stretches into a reported “eight-figures”, according to ITV royal correspondent Chris Ship.
The trial, which has been adjourned twice since Harry initiated his legal action, was one of several court battles the prince has undertaken since stepping down as a working royal five years ago.
As the Duke of Sussex’s legal battle is settled, here are the key questions:
What did Harry accuse the publishers of?
Harry brought legal action against NGN over allegations of unlawful information gathering. He claimed that journalists and private investigators working for NGN targeted him to obtain material for news stories.
In July 2023, the High Court ruled that Harry’s case could proceed to trial, though he was barred from bringing a claim related to phone hacking. The case will now focus on other allegations, including the use of private investigators.
In March 2023, Harry was also denied permission to amend his claim to include allegations that The Sun hired private investigators to target his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle in 2016. He was further prohibited from pursuing claims against Rupert Murdoch himself, whom he accused of making a “secret deal” with senior royals.
However, Harry was permitted to use emails exchanged between NGN executives and members of the royal household, sent between 2013 and 2019, as part of his evidence.
What was the outcome of the proceedings?
The Duke settled his legal action against News Group Newspapers as it offered a “full and unequivocal apology” for “serious intrusion” by The Sun and for phone hacking by private investigators working for the News of the World.
An up-to-10-week trial was set to begin at the High Court in London on Tuesday, but three requests for adjournments and a Court of Appeal bid meant that the case remained unopened.
On Wednesday morning, Harry’s barrister David Sherborne said that the parties had “reached an agreement” and that NGN had offered an apology to the duke and would pay “substantial damages”.
Lord Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader, was also taking legal action against the publisher, but also settled his claim.
Lord Watson was also offered a “full and unequivocal apology” by NGN “for the unwarranted intrusion carried out into his private life during his time in Government by the News of the World during the period 2009-2011”.
Who else is involved?
Lord Tom Watson, former deputy leader of the Labour Party, was pursuing legal action alongside Harry but also settled.
While their cases were due proceed to trial, many high-profile individuals previously settled claims against NGN. Between July and December last year, 39 people reached settlements, including actor Hugh Grant, who resolved his claim in April after being warned he risked £10 million in legal costs if his case went to trial.
Other individuals who settled included actress Sienna Miller, former footballer Paul Gascoigne, comedian Catherine Tate, radio presenter Chris Moyles, Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, ex-Boyzone member Shane Lynch, and actor Mathew Horne.
Speaking at The New York Times DealBook Summit in December, Harry seemed set on going through with the trial and said: “They’ve settled because they’ve had to settle. So therefore, one of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that.”
What do NGN say?
NGN, a subsidiary of News UK owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, denied the allegations but issued an apology to Harry as the settlement was announced.
In a statement, News Group Newspapers said it offered a “full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex” for “serious intrusion” by The Sun and for phone hacking by private investigators working for the News of the World.
The statement said: “NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.
“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World.
“NGN further apologises to the Duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years.
“We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the Duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages.”
How does it differ from his claim against the publishers of The Mirror?
In 2023, the High Court ruled on Harry’s case against the publishers of The Mirror.
A 386-page judgment found that “extensive” phone hacking had taken place at Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) titles over several years. This included phone hacking, “blagging” (gaining information by deception), and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
The case against MGN was heard over a seven-week trial and included testimony from Harry, alongside other representative claimants.
Politics
‘Deeply alarming’ new report shows 1 in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants as Home Office fails to publish population data
As many as one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants, a “deeply alarming” new report has revealed.
A previously confidential report found that almost 600,000 people live in the nation’s capital without the right to be in Britain – but the Home Office do not provide any official figures on the scale of the problem.
The figure – some 585,000 in London – has come to light after a study for Thames Water was brought to light by The Telegraph through freedom of information-style laws for the environment.
The report estimates that there are more than one million illegal migrants in the UK as a whole – 60 per cent of which reside in the capital.
As many as one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants, the report found
PA
It suggests that the majority of illegal migrants arrived in the UK on work, study or visitor visas and then overstayed.
Migration experts have even warned that the numbers could be even higher as some of the underlying data dates from 2017, before immigration – both legal and illegal – soared under the former Conservative Government.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp – who served in said Government – called the figures “deeply alarming” and has called on Labour to ramp up its deportations.
In a veiled swipe at the ECHR, Philp added: “It is totally unacceptable to have these numbers of illegal immigrants in the UK. The law needs to be looked at so that spurious human rights, modern slavery and asylum claims cannot be used to delay or prevent removals of illegal immigrants.”
That sentiment was echoed by Reform UK’s migration hardliner MP Rupert Lowe, who said “mass deportations” are now required.
LATEST ON BRITAIN’S MIGRATION NIGHTMARE:
Almost 600,000 people live in the nation’s capital without the right to be in Britain
PA
While the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice warned: “One in 12 people in London are here illegally – probably working illegally using taxpayer-funded public infrastructure and services. It is totally unacceptable.
“It’s another reason why we need to properly control our borders and welcome those who come here legally, but thank those who are here illegally as we return them where they came from.”
The Thames Water report, carried out by Edge Analytics and Leeds University data analysts, had aimed to work out how many people truly used its services to enable the water firm to better meet demand.
It based its research on national estimates of illegal migrants from the Pew Research Center in the US, the London School of Economics, and Office for National Statistics data.
It then used National Insurance registrations for non-EU foreign nationals over a nine-year period to estimate the number of so-called “irregular” migrants in each London borough.
Reform’s Richard Tice called the illegal migration situation ‘totally unacceptable’
PA
For London, the study placed its estimate at a minimum of 390,355 illegal migrants and a maximum of 585,533 at its highest, with a median figure of 487,944.
The capital’s estimated population sits at 7,044,667. As a result, one in 12 of the capital’s population is an illegal migrant.
When other areas outside London covered by Thames Water are included, like Henley, Guildford, Reading, Swindon and Newbury, the range for the number of illegal migrants rises to between 415,568 to 623,351.
But in the face of this, the Home Office does not publish any full data on the total number of illegal migrants in the UK, while only since 2018 has it publicised figures on the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
The Home Office, responding to The Telegraph’s findings, hailed how it had ‘removed 16,400 illegal migrants in just six months’
PA
A Thames Water spokesman said: “Water companies have a regulatory obligation to undertake a ‘water balance’, which includes understanding how much water our customers use on a per-person basis, and how it is distributed across our supply area.
“Analysis to estimate ‘hidden and transient’ populations is carried out by an independent firm of consultants, who draw from publicly available sources including census, surveys, and published academic research.
“Thames Water played no part in the writing of the report and the conclusions drawn are those of the independent firm that carried out the research.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “This Government is strengthening global partnerships and rooting out the criminal gangs who profit from small boat crossings which threaten lives.
“We have also removed 16,400 illegal migrants in just six months, the highest figure in half a decade, making it clear that those who arrive illegally will be returned.”
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The criminal investigation into the alleged abduction of Alex Batty, who returned to the UK after six years abroad, has been discontinued because he and his family would not support a prosecution.
Greater Manchester Police said the inquiry into his disappearance between September 30 2017 and December 13 2023 has officially concluded because there is no “realistic chance of criminal prosecution”.
Mr Batty and his grandmother Susan Caruana have been informed that case has been discontinued, police said.
He went missing at the age of 11 after his mother, who was not his legal guardian, took him on a pre-arranged trip to Spain with his grandfather.
Mr Batty was found by a chiropody student near the French city of Toulouse in December 2023 after walking across the Pyrenees.
Detective Superintendent Matt Walker, who led the investigation said: “Alex and his safety has been at the forefront of our minds and actions since he was found in Toulouse, France, in 2023.
“In our commitment to protecting children, we felt it was important that the circumstances of Alex’s disappearance be properly and thoroughly investigated.
“I led a dedicated team to do exactly that when Alex was first found, and this has continued since.
“We have consulted with various partners, such as a complex case CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) lawyer and the National Crime Agency throughout, and concluded there would be no realistic chance of criminal prosecution.
“Given this, the right thing to do is bring closure to this chapter of Alex and his family’s lives, particularly as this is the outcome they wished for.
“Alex is now an adult, safe, and reintegrated with life back in Greater Manchester surrounded by those who love him, which ultimately is the priority.”
Officers in the UK interviewed Mr Batty when he returned from France and a criminal investigation was subsequently launched.
He left his mother for a better future, telling The Sun newspaper she was “a great person but not a great mum”.
The teenager, who is now under the legal guardianship of his grandmother, in Oldham, Greater Manchester, said his mother was “anti-government, anti-vax”, whose catchphrase was “becoming a slave to the system”.
He had become fed up with his nomadic lifestyle, with “no friends” and “no social life”.
It is thought Mr Batty had previously been living with his mother and grandfather, who had taken him to Spain in September 2017, across Spain, Morocco and France while he was missing.
You, the British people, are being gaslit. You are being lied to.
While the people always sensed there was something unusual about the Southport atrocities ever since that fateful day the authorities have hid behind legal processes and bureaucracies.
Yesterday, Keir Starmer admitted that he knew the details about Axel Rudakubana’s background long before they came out.
But this is not consistent with his previous actions.
Matt Goodwin spoke on GB News
GB NEWS
During the 2017 Finsbury Park terror attack, Starmer called it a terror attack before terrorism charges were announced.
He also did the same in the case of the London Bridge attack in 2017 and the Plymouth attack in 2019.
And of course after Southport he had no problem at all in deriding many people as “far right thugs” before they went to court and had their cases heard
Yesterday, he appealed to contempt of court laws for not releasing the information about Southport earlier.
But if it applies to Southport, why didn’t this apply to three other terror attacks, as well as those protests?
We’re now of course hearing reports that CPS pressured Merseyside Police not to release the suspect’s details.
Keir Starmer said he was aware of some of the circumstances surrounding Rudakubana
POOL
But just to top it all off, the government now wants you to believe this was a case of knife-purchase laws not being strong enough.
You may remember when David Amess was murdered by an Islamist terrorist.
Parliamentarians tried to make the issue about online abuse.
Well, the same thing is happening now.
The government has fast-tracked tighter restrictions on online knife sales for under-18s, as if Amazon was to blame for Southport.
Writing in the Sun today, the Prime Minister called Axel Rudakubana, a two-click killer.
But the fact of the matter is that the system, the state, failed the victims of Southport, much like it failed the victims of Pakistani rape gangs.
It’s time for the obfuscation, the concealment, the cover-ups and the deflections to come to an end.
It’s time for the people in power to tell us the truth!
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NewsBeat
Timeline of Prince Harry’s long-running battle against Rupert Murdoch and The Sun publishers
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The Duke of Sussex has settled his legal claim against the publisher of The Sun, with his barrister describing the agreement as a “monumental victory”.
Prince Harry was one of two remaining claimants, alongside the former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson, who were due to take their claims over alleged unlawful information gathering against News Group Newspapers (NGN), which also ran the now-defunct News Of The World, to trial.
But the High Court was told on Wednesday that the pair “had reached an agreement” with the publisher before the trial started.
The settlement saw NGN, which denied any unlawful activity took place at The Sun, offer a “full and unequivocal apology” to both men and agree to pay them “substantial damages”.
Many others had previously settled their claims against NGN, including: actor Hugh Grant, actress Sienna Miller, ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne, comic Catherine Tate and Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm.
Harry began legal action against NGN in 2019, with the trial twice adjourned before Wednesday’s hearing.
Here is a timeline of the duke’s claim against NGN
2020
March 4: The High Court is told that The Sun unlawfully obtained phone records of Harry’s then-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, in 2005, from a South Africa-based private investigator named Mike Behr.
The court heard that these were sent to The Sun’s then-royal correspondent, Duncan Larcombe, in May that year. NGN did not respond to the allegation in court.
May 20: A judge was asked to extend the period for which claims of alleged unlawful information gathering could be brought against NGN, from 1998-2010 to 1994-2011.
Mr Sherborne said at the time that disclosure of further evidence showed that NGN was “engaged in unlawful information gathering” both before 1998 and after 2010.
June 4: Mr Justice Mann rules that victims of phone hacking can sue NGN for alleged unlawful information gathering between 1996 and 2011.
2021
March 5: The High Court heard allegations, which NGN denied, that senior staff at the publisher paid “hush money” to private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who was jailed for phone hacking, in order to “conceal criminal activity” at the newspaper.
It was alleged that Tom Crone, legal manager of NGN in 2007, arranged for Mulcaire to be kept on the payroll to keep him “non-hostile” ahead of his sentencing for intercepting the voicemails of aides to the royal family.
Les Hinton, then NGN’s chief executive, was said to have been “intimately involved” with the plan to “prevent Mr Mulcaire from revealing the truth” that unlawful information gathering was “widespread” at the publisher’s newspapers, the court heard.
NGN said the allegations were “not accepted”.
March 22: Mr Justice Mann rules that Harry and other claimants cannot have access to sticky notes thought to have been written by a lawyer working for NGN to support his claim.
2023
April 25-27: At a three-day hearing, the High Court heard that a “secret agreement” was reached between the institution of the royal family and NGN stopping them from bringing legal claims, which Harry claimed he was informed of in 2012 and prevented him from bringing legal action sooner.
At the same hearing, NGN applied for the case to be thrown out, arguing it was brought too late.
The publisher also said that the duke did not say in his evidence who made the agreement, who it applied to, when it was made, or a date when it was meant to expire.
In court documents, Harry also claimed that the tabloid press always became involved in his relationships, and tried to ruin them.
In a witness statement, he said: “Whenever I have been in a relationship, I have always tried to be the best partner that I possibly could, but every woman has her limit.
“Unfortunately, they are not just in a relationship with me but with the entire tabloid press as a third party.
“At no point did I have a girlfriend or a relationship with anyone without the tabloids getting involved and ultimately ruining it, or trying to ruin it, using whatever unlawful means at their disposal.”
He also said that in late 2017, he wanted to “push for a resolution” over alleged phone hacking and get an apology from News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch before his wedding to the Duchess of Sussex.
He said that the late Queen backed his bid, but his efforts were blocked by King Charles, then Prince of Wales.
Harry accused Clarence House of “seemingly blocking our every move” as part of a strategy to keep the media “onside in order to smooth the way for my stepmother, and father, to be accepted by the British public as Queen Consort and King respectively”.
July 5: Harry asked the High Court to be allowed to rely on the alleged “secret agreement” at trial. NGN again denied that such an agreement existed.
July 27: Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that Harry could not bring his claim relating to phone hacking.
He also ruled that the duke’s claim over other allegations, including the use of private investigators, should go ahead to a trial, but that Harry could not rely on the alleged “secret agreement” as part of his claim.
2024
March 20-21: Harry’s barristers asked the High Court to update parts of his case, including adding allegations that media mogul Rupert Murdoch “turned a blind eye” to allegations of phone hacking at the News Of The World.
In court documents, Mr Sherborne claimed that it should be “inferred from his dominant position” in the company that Mr Murdoch would have known about phones being hacked as early as 2004 and “was aware of the nature and extent of NGN’s wrongdoing” when allegations were first published by The Guardian in 2009.
NGN resisted the application, with its lawyers saying the proposed changes were “wholly unnecessary” and “positively undesirable”, adding there should be a “serious audit” of the claims.
At the two-day hearing, Harry also asked the court to extend the timescale of his claim, with his barristers stating that several Sun and News Of The World articles dating from 1994 to 2016 showed evidence of unlawful activity.
It was claimed that some of these came from NGN unlawfully intercepting phone calls of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Charles when he was the Prince of Wales and his now-wife, Camilla Parker Bowles.
This had “the inevitable and/or intended consequence” of revealing private information about Harry, the court was told.
Anthony Hudson KC, for NGN, said described the new information as “designed to grab headlines” and that the duke’s updated case was “wholly different in nature to the claims currently made”.
April 19: NGN lost a bid to push back the full trial scheduled for January, claiming that a narrower-in-scope preliminary trial should have been held to decide whether the cases against it have been brought too late and outside a legal time limit.
Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that there was a “plainly considerable risk” of a preliminary trial “increasing costs overall and delaying” a full trial by up to two years.
May 21: Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that claims made against Rupert Murdoch as part of Harry’s legal action could not be tested at trial.
The judge said that the new claims against “trophy targets” such as Mr Murdoch added “nothing material” to the case, but ruled some other amendments could be made, including some concerning other senior NGN executives.
June 27: Harry is accused by NGN of creating an “obstacle course” in its efforts to find relevant material for the legal action.
The High Court was told by the publisher’s lawyers that they were “extremely concerned” about the deletion of exchanges via the Signal messaging service between Harry and John Moehringer, the ghostwriter of the royal’s memoir, Spare.
The duke’s legal team told a judge that NGN had wrongly characterised his approach to disclosing material, accusing the publisher of embarking on a “classic fishing expedition” for potential information that was “entirely unnecessary and disproportionate”.
Mr Justice Fancourt ordered Harry to explain how the messages were “destroyed”, with the judge stating this was “not transparently clear”.
November 15: The High Court was told that Harry was “one of two claimants whose claims are still live” along with Lord Watson, with 39 cases settling since the earlier hearing in July.
2025
January 21: The trial of the legal action failed to begin as expected after barristers for both sides asked for time for “discussions”, stating they were “very close” in negotiations.
January 22: Harry and Lord Watson settled their cases against NGN.
In its apology, the publisher said: “NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.
“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World.
“NGN further apologises to the duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years.
“We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages.
“It is also acknowledged, without any admission of illegality, that NGN’s response to the 2006 arrests and subsequent actions were regrettable.”
In a statement outside the court in London, Mr Sherborne described the agreements as a “vindication”.
He said: “In a monumental victory today, News UK has admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices.
“This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling, without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them.
“After endless resistance, denials and legal battles by News Group Newspapers, including spending more than a billion pounds in payouts and in legal costs, as well as paying off those in the know to prevent the full picture from coming out, News UK is finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law.”
We are witnessing a giant deflection tactic when it comes to the Southport massacre.
Let’s get one thing clear – knives don’t kill people. Deranged lunatics do.
Keir Starmer’s decided that the main problem here is that the monster Axel Rudakubana could buy a knife and now we’re going to get new laws on that.
You’ve got James O’Brien piping up now blaming Jeff Bezos…
Patrick Christys says we are witnessing a ‘massive’ deflection tactic
GB NEWS
Rudakubana was referred to Prevent three times. He was expelled from school. He apparently attacked pupils with a hockey stick at school. He was known to police. His parents must have had an idea that their son was a monster.
His father reportedly stopped him getting in a taxi to his old school, a week before he took another one on his way to commit the dance studio massacre.
Labour wants tougher laws for under-18’s buying knives online. Firstly, that would have prevented him from buying one for a few weeks. Secondly, he could have killed people with the biological weapon he was making. Thirdly, Labour wanted votes for 16-year-olds at the last election.
So he’d have been old enough to vote, but not old enough to buy a knife.
Fourthly, as Nigel Farage points out, you can’t ban knives entirely – there is a murder weapon in every kitchen drawer.
We’ve been here before.
Keir Starmer admitting to knowing details about Axel Rudakubana before the public
GB NEWS
After the murder of Sir David Amess by a jihadi lunatic somehow it all became about passing a new law to clamp down on social media use.
What about clamping down on jihadis instead?
What you’re going to see now in the Southport case is a concerted attempt to do everything apart from tackle the real issue.
GB News Presenter Matt Goodwin said: “Southport is not about buying knives on Amazon, or what big tech lets us watch online…It’s about hapless Western leaders importing masses of people from high conflict societies who are more prone to violence, don’t share our values and don’t care about our people.”
And look at what’s happened today in Germany, again.
An Afghan asylum seeker stabs a toddler and a man to death in a park.
Our establishment politicians will do everything to distract you from the fact it’s their ideologies and their decisions that have put us all, and our children, at risk.
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