NewsBeat
Corpse flower: Plant with ‘deadly’ stench pulls huge crowds for rare bloom in Sydney | Offbeat News
People have queued for hours at a Sydney greenhouse to get a whiff of the infamous corpse flower, as it bloomed for the first time in years.
The sizeable flower, officially called the amorphophallus titanium, gets its nickname from its “deadly” stench, described by some as the smell of rotting flesh, though others detect hints of rotting food, sweaty socks or even garlic.
The rare specimen, of which there are only thought to be about 1,000 worldwide, has attracted thousands of admirers at the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden, with its blooming finally happening after a seven-year wait since it arrived at the centre.
When its flower was spotted in December it was just 25cm (10 inches) high. By Thursday, as its flower spike slowly opened, it was 1.6m (5ft 3) tall.
For a week, the flower fronted a stately and gothic display in front of a purple curtain and wreathed in mist from a humidifier at the garden, attracting up to 20,000 admirers who filed past, hoping to experience the smell for themselves.
People line up to view the smell plant. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
This particular flower has been nicknamed Putricia by fans – a combination of “putrid” and “Patricia”, and has become something of a social media star, with a 24/7 live stream established by the botanic garden drawing close to a million views in the days approaching its bloom.
When it finally opened on Thursday, fans in attendance took selfies and leaned in for a sniff – and staff prepared for the worst.
“We did have a few conversations early on about whether or not we should have vomit bags in the room,” said garden spokesperson Sophie Daniel, who designed Putricia’s display, adding garden staff ultimately decided against it.
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Pic: Reuters
“I haven’t heard of anyone actually being harmed.”
The corpse flower only blooms for one to three days despite taking up to a decade to do so.
“The fact that they open very rarely, so they flower rarely, is obviously something that puts them at a little bit of a disadvantage in the wild,” Ms Daniel said.
“When they open, they have to hope that another flower is open nearby, because they can’t self-pollinate.”
The amorphophallus titanum is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra and is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Sweeney also denied speculation that he was planning to ride out the furore in the hope of stepping down in the wake of a successful Women’s Rugby World Cup later this year.
The tournament is being hosted in England, has already brought in record ticket sales, and the Red Roses are hot favourites to win the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
“I saw something a while back saying I have some specific bonus linked to a women’s World Cup win – that is not the case, that is not true,” Sweeney said.
“If I was in a mind to step down, I would have done it now and I wouldn’t wait until after a women’s World Cup.
“I still have some unfinished business here until the end of 2027. [England men’s head coach] Steve Borthwick is a great coach and we have a great squad of men’s players as well as women’s.
“There is a buzz and a good atmosphere around the place and I would like to see that through.”
Sweeney has said that, contrary to criticisms of his time in charge, he is proud of the RFU’s finances in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
The chief executive said record losses in the past financial year were down to the four-year cycle around the men’s Rugby World Cup, in which tournament years add extra expenses while wiping money-spinning autumn internationals off the fixture list, and a steep rise in utility and business costs.
He also defended his own pay, which was made up of £742,000 and a bonus of £358,000 last year.
Sweeney said that, while he had unsuccessfully explored the possibility of deferring his bonus payment, it was the result of a scheme intended to retain senior leaders through the pandemic and benchmark their performance against specific goals.
“When you are the recipient of something like an LTIP [long-term incentive plan], you don’t request it, you don’t design it, you don’t set the criteria for its payment,” he said.
“The payment was against very clear criteria of which 77% were hit, so part of me says that was put in place to deliver something to a level which we delivered.
“I don’t feel we need to apologise for that scheme.”
Sweeney and other RFU officials are embarking on a tour of grassroots clubs over the next few months to put forward their case before a special general meeting on his future.
Rob Sigley, the founder of the Community Clubs Union, believes it is already too late for Sweeney to win over many in the sport who feel that too much money has been focused on the elite game.
“We have openly called for his head and for him to resign,” said Sigley of Sweeney.
“He sits there at the top and is part of these decision-making processes and he’s accountable for it.”
NewsBeat
Queen evokes ‘deadly seeds of Holocaust’ in warning over antisemitism and Islamophobia | UK News
The Queen has urged people to heed the warning of history and speak out over rising levels of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Speaking at an event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, Camilla pointed out that the genocide of European Jews during the Second World War was foreshadowed by “small acts of exclusion, of aggression and of discrimination”.
She told the reception hosted by the Anne Frank Trust: “Today, more than ever, with levels of antisemitism at their highest level for a generation; and disturbing rises in Islamophobia and other forms of racism and prejudice, we must heed this warning.
Anne Frank became a globally recognised symbol of Holocaust victims after the publication of the diaries she kept during the war. File pic: AP
“The deadly seeds of the Holocaust were sown at first in small acts of exclusion, of aggression and of discrimination towards those who had previously been neighbours and friends.
“Over a terrifying short period of time, those seeds took root through the complacency of which we can all be guilty: of turning away from injustice, of ignoring that which we know to be wrong, of thinking that someone else will do what’s needed – and of remaining silent.
“Let’s unite in our commitment to take action, to speak up and to ensure that the words ‘never forget’ are a guiding light that charts a path towards a better, brighter, and more tolerant future for us all.
“As Anne wrote in her diary on 7th May 1944: ‘What is done cannot be undone, but at least one can prevent it from happening again’.”
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Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany led the systematic murder of around six million Jews, around two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population.
Anne Frank kept a diary while in hiding in Amsterdam and it was published after the war, turning her into a globally recognised symbol of Holocaust victims.
She died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp aged 15, shortly before it was liberated by Allied forces.
Politics
Keir Starmer issues direct message to Southport community after Axel Rudakubana sentencing and vows action as he addresses ‘harrowing moment’
Sir Keir Starmer has branded Axel Rudakubana’s crimes “one of the most harrowing moments in our country’s history” in a direct message to the Southport community this evening.
Speaking after Rudakubana was sentenced to a minimum term of 51 years in prison, the Prime Minister said: “The thoughts of the entire nation are with the families and everyone affected by the unimaginable horrors that unfolded in Southport.
“No words will ever be able to capture the depth of their pain.
“I want to say directly to the survivors, families and community of Southport – you are not alone. We stand with you in your grief.
‘You are not alone. We stand with you in your grief,’ the Prime Minister said
PA
“What happened in Southport was an atrocity and as the judge has stated, this vile offender will likely never be released.
“After one of the most harrowing moments in our country’s history we owe it to these innocent young girls and all those affected to deliver the change that they deserve.”
Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor at the CPS’s Mersey-Cheshire branch, also paid tribute “to the victims and their families in this harrowing case” in a further statement on Thursday.
Calling Rudakubana’s crimes “dreadful”, Hammond said that the case “is one of the most harrowing that I, as the Chief Crown Prosecutor for this area, have ever come across”.
READ MORE AS AXEL RUDAKUBANA IS SENT DOWN:
Rudakubana was sentenced to a minimum term of 51 years in prison today
PA
“Axel Rudakubana is a murderer; utter devastation followed as he acted out a meticulously planned rampage of murder and violence,” she said.
“His purpose was to kill and he targeted the youngest, most vulnerable – no doubt in order to spread the greatest level of fear and outrage, which he did.
“Three days ago, he pleaded guilty to all 16 counts against him, saving the families of the victims the trauma of reliving the events of that day in a trial.
“But he has never expressed any remorse, only cowardice, in his refusal to face the families whose lives he has forever changed.
Axel Rudakubana, as seen in a court sketch from his sentencing hearing on January 23
PA
“This has been an extremely difficult case for the whole prosecution team and police officers at Merseyside Police. They have had to work through some harrowing footage and evidence.
“I would like to thank them for their perseverance, compassion and determination to achieve justice for the victims and their families.
“This sentencing brings to an end this case, but the events of that day will leave a tragic legacy that will unfortunately endure for many years.”
The victims and their families “have shown tremendous dignity and composure in the face of unbelievable horror”, she added.
NewsBeat
Axel Rudakubana likely to spend life in prison after being sentenced to 52 years for Southport murders
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A disturbed teenager who murdered three innocent girls in a mass stabbing at a children’s dance class in Southport and later gloated “I’m glad they’re dead” is likely to never be released from prison.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 52 years for carrying out the horrific attack which was described as a “pre-meditated attempt to commit indiscriminate mass murder”.
The remorseless killer, who admitted 16 offences, was absent from the dock as the sentence was read out on Thursday, having twice been removed from court for shouting.
He was given 13 life sentences with a minimum term of 51 years and 190 days. Some time was taken off his 52-year sentence due to time already served in custody.
Judge Mr Justice Goose said he was unable to hand him a rare whole life order because he was only 17 at the time of the attack on 29 July last year. He turned 18 just nine days after the attack.
The teenager dramatically changed his plea on the first day of his trial on Monday, admitting to murdering six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice, who died from her injuries in hospital after she fled the rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday class.
He also pleaded guilty to attempting to murder eight children who were wounded – with some stabbed in the back as they tried to escape – and two adults who tried to protect them.
He further admitted to producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing a document containing an al-Qaeda training material, which included information on knife attacks which he used to help plot his assault.
The judge said the killer was intent on “horrific extreme violence” and would have killed all 26 children at the class and any adult who got in his way if he could.
“In his mind was an intention to murder as many of them as he possibly could”, he said. “He wanted to carry out mass murder on innocent, happy young girls.
“Over 15 minutes, he savagely killed three of them and attempted to kill eight more as well as two adults who tried to stop him.”
The court heard how violence-obsessed Rudakubana had travelled by taxi from his home in Banks, Lancashire, to the Hart Space in Southport, where 26 girls aged six to 13 were attending a fully booked children’s holiday class.
They were making friendship bracelets and singing Taylor Swift songs when he entered the room wearing a surgical face mask and bright green hoodie, brandishing a 20cm kitchen knife.
He grabbed the nearest child and stabbed her, before he then moved through the room systematically stabbing as many as possible.
Some were stabbed in the back as they desperately tried to escape, with one girl later seen running out of the building only to be dragged back in by the knifeman.
Members of victims families sobbed in the public gallery as harrowing CCTV of the attack was played to the court. In the footage, girls could be seen screaming in terror as they fled the dance studio into the carpark.
Shortly afterwards, a seven-year-old girl dressed in summer shorts and stroppy top, was shown being pulled back inside the studio by Rudakubana. Later, she was seen stumbling out of the door with visible wounds – clinging to a wall for support before she collapsed on the floor.
When the girl’s father eventually arrived on the scene, her injuries were so horrific he did not recognise her because her long-blonde hair was so soaked with blood it looked brown, the court heard.
When police arrived, officers found Rudakubana at the top of the stairs standing over the lifeless body of Bebe holding the kitchen knife, which he dropped when officers told him to.
The “sadistic” injuries he inflicted on her and Elsie, who both died at the scene after suffering 122 and 85 sharp force injuries, were “untreatable” no matter how quickly paramedics arrived, prosecutor Deanna Hear KC told the court.
The teenager remained silent in police interview but appeared to gloat about the horrific attack in unsolicited comments made in the police custody suite, which were noted down or recorded on CCTV, saying: “I’m glad those kids are dead, it makes me happy.”
He also said: “I don’t care, I’m feeling neutral,” and “so happy, six years old. It’s a good thing they are dead, yeah.”
Police searches of his address and analysis of his computers uncovered a disturbing fascination with violence, death and genocide – as well as a plastic container of deadly poison ricin.
He had researched car bombs, detonators and nitric acid, and owned weapons including a machete, scabbard and another knife identical to the one used in the attack.
Searches of his devices also revealed an obsession with massacres, torture and a wide range of brutal conflicts, including the genocide in Rwanda, where his parents are from.
Detective chief inspector Jason Pye, the senior investigating officer, said the evidence showed this was “no random acts of violence, but a planned, premeditated attempt to commit indiscriminate mass murder”.
“He wasn’t fighting for a cause,” he said. “His only purpose was to kill and to target the youngest, most vulnerable, no doubt to spread the greatest fear and outrage.”
In a series of harrowing victim impact statements read to the court, class teacher Leanne Lucas, who was stabbed trying to protect the girls, said: “How can I live knowing I survived when children died?”
“He targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey,” she added. “To discover that he had always set out to hurt the vulnerable is beyond comprehensible.”
Alice’s grief-stricken parents, Alexandra and Sergio, sobbed and wiped away tears as the court heard how their lives ended too after she succumbed to her injuries in hospital.
“Once she had lost her fight, we lost our lives,” they said in a statement. “Everything stopped still and we froze in time and space. Our life went with her. He took us too. Six months of continuous pain and a lifetime sentence of it.”
Merseyside chief constable Serena Kennedy said the “beautiful faces and names” of the three murder victims “will be etched on the minds of the people of Merseyside forever.”
“The victims were enjoying a day of youthful innocence, untainted by the twisted and unhealthy fascination with violence that drove Axel Rudakubana to carry out the atrocities he had planned in the days leading up to the event,” she added.
“His terrifying attack resulted in the deaths of Bebe, Elsie and Alice – according to prosecution counsel today two of those children suffered particularly horrific injuries which can only be described as sadistic in nature.”
Getty ImagesCharli XCX leads this year’s Brit Awards with five nominations, including a nod for album of the year with Brat.
She is also nominated for artist of the year, best pop and dance act and song of the year with Guess, featuring Billie Eilish, which went to number one in August.
Her sixth studio album was released in June and grew into a cultural movement – Brat was crowned Collins Dictionary 2024 word of the year and it even reached US politics with presidential candidate Kamala Harris giving her social media a brat rebrand.
Seven-time Brit winner Dua Lipa has received four nominations including pop act which she won last year.
Getty ImagesMaking an epic comeback this year is rock band The Cure who have received their first nomination in three decades.
Their album Songs of a Lost World, which is the band’s first new music in 16 years, is up for album of the year.
They are also nominated for group of the year and best alterative/rock act which is voted for by the public.
The Beatles are another oldie but goldie band nominated. They are nominated for song of the year with Now And Then, making it their first nomination since 1977.
Billed as their “final song”, Now and Then was started by John Lennon in 1978, but only completed in 2022 by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Star.
Released in November 2023, the song meets the eligibility criteria as it has spent at least eight weeks in the top 15 ranked British songs based on sales.
Ezra Collective, make their Brits debut with four nominations. The group become the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize in 2023 with their album Where I’m Meant To Be.
Similarly, The Last Dinner Party – last year’s rising star winners – have four nominations.
Both groups are nominated for album of the year, group of the year and best new artist.
Joining them in the best new artist category is Indie band English Teacher who won the 2024 Mercury Prize for their debut album, This Could Be Texas.
Myles Smith is also nominated in the category and his feel-good foot-stomper Stargazing, which became the biggest-selling British single of 2024, is up for song of the year.
At the award ceremony in March he’ll receive the Brit Awards’ rising star prize – following in the footsteps of Sam Fender, Adele and Rag ‘N’ Bone Man.
Getty ImagesThere are 70 nominees across 13 categories.
Nominations in the three biggest categories are:
Artist of the year
- Beabadoobee
- Central Cee
- Charli XCX
- Dua Lipa
- Fred Again
- Jamie xx
- Michael Kiwanuka
- Nia Archives
- Rachel Chinouriri
- Sam Fender
Group of the year
- Bring Me The Horizon
- Coldplay
- The Cure
- Ezra Collective
- The Last Dinner Party
Album of the Year
- Charli XCX – BRAT
- The Cure – Songs of A Lost World
- Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism
- Ezra Collective – Dance, No One’s Watching
- The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy
Getty ImagesBritish artists up for multiple awards this year include Beabadoobee, Central Cee, Chase & Status, Fred Again, JADE, Nia Archives, Michael Kiwanuka, Rachel Chinouriri and Sam Fender.
Coldplay, who headlined Glastonbury last year, have received nominations for group of the year and song of the year with feelslikeimfallinginlove. However, the British band’s 10th album – Moon Music – was not nominated for album of the year.
The international artist of the year category is once again a tough battle with the majority of nominees being female American pop singers. Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish are among the nominees.
Roan has just won BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2025 – the station’s annual poll to identify music’s biggest rising stars.
Getty Images
A 17-year-old has been found guilty of murdering a boy who he stabbed in broad daylight following a row over a stolen moped.
The killer, who cannot be named because of his age, attacked 16-year-old Kamari Johnson with a machete in Hayes, west London, on 24 May last year.
The Old Bailey heard the pair met up after the defendant made contact over Snapchat about wanting to buy the moped from Kamari.
The two “haggled” over the price, with Kamari wanting £180, prosecutor Joel Smith KC said.
However, when they met up, Kamari took the defendant’s money and drove off, jurors were told.
Mr Smith said: “It seems that when they met, having taken [the defendant’s] cash, Mr Johnson went back on his side of the deal and simply rode off. In short, he took the money and ran.”
The prosecutor said the defendant was left feeling “pretty foolish, pretty embarrassed and, no doubt, pretty angry”.
He told jurors: “But whatever Mr Johnson had done, you may feel, he didn’t deserve what happened next.”
Minutes later the 17-year-old walked to Kamari’s house to confront him and get the bike, the court heard.
Mr Smith said: “He knew where Mr Johnson lived and he went there looking for him, and when he found him, he stabbed him.
“He stabbed him once through his chest and into his heart, and although Mr Johnson managed to flee on the moped, he collapsed minutes later and died on the street.”
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CCTV footage played to jurors showed the defendant turning into the victim’s road. About 20 seconds later, Kamari was seen driving out of the road on the black moped as the defendant chased after him, carrying a large knife with a curved blade.
A witness described seeing the 17-year-old carrying a blood-stained knife he estimated to be about 30cm long, the prosecutor said.
Further CCTV video played in court showed Kamari crashing the moped in a nearby pub car park and then collapsing.
In police interviews, the killer declined to answer questions but claimed in a statement that he “acted in self-defence at all times”.
The youth made no reaction and Kamari’s family members wept in court as the jury announced its verdict after deliberating for 13 hours and 35 minutes. The youth was also found guilty of having an article with a blade or point.
Detective Chief Inspector Alex Gammampila, from the Metropolitan Police, said: “This was a senseless killing, which took place out in the open. Members of the public rushed to Kamari’s aid but were unable to save him.
“In the absence of a murder weapon, CCTV evidence proved crucial in convicting the killer. Residents around the scene of the crime were encouraged to upload footage from their own cameras to an online portal. From this, investigators were able to reconstruct the killer’s movements on the day.”
He added: “My thoughts are with Kamari’s loved ones, who have suffered an unimaginable loss. I also pay tribute to the members of the public who came to Kamari’s aid as he lay dying, and to those who assisted with the investigation.”
The defendant is due to be sentenced on Friday 14 March.
NewsBeat
Warning signs missed: Southport killer Axel Rudakubana’s parents asked police four times for help with teen
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Axel Rudakubana’s parents asked police for help to cope with their violence-obsessed son in one of a string of callouts over his worrying behaviour before the Southport attack, it can be revealed.
Officers from Lancashire Constabulary attended the family’s three-bedroom home four times between 2021 and 2022, but each time failed to identify the threat he posed.
The revelations come after the 18-year-old was sentenced to at least 52 years in prison for carrying out the horrific attack which was described by a judge as a “pre-meditated attempt to commit indiscriminate mass murder”.
The remorseless killer was absent from the dock as the sentence was read out on Thursday after he was removed from court for shouting and disrupting the hearing.
He was given 13 life sentences with a minimum term of 51 years and 190 days. Some time was taken off his 52-year sentence due to time already served in custody.
Officers said on their last visit on 14 May 2022 – made after Rudakubana’s father called the police claiming his son’s behaviour had escalated because they denied him access to a computer – the family appealed to the officers for help with his behaviour.
It came just two months after he was found carrying a knife on a bus after his mother had reported him missing. Officers took him back to their property in Banks, Lancashire, where they gave the mother advice on securing knives in the home.
In another callout on 30 November 2021, it was reported that Rudakubana had kicked his father Alphonse, a minicab driver, and damaged his car. However, the father did not want to press charges.
It was the second time police had called to the property that month, after Rudakubana became distressed when a stranger came to the door on 5 November that year.
On each callout, officers made a vulnerable child referral to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), a partnership of agencies including police, education, social and healthcare teams designed to work together to identify and address risks to children and vulnerable adults.
All the police interactions are set to be scrutinised in a public inquiry into the atrocity, which claimed the lives of three girls, after the prime minister said the country had “failed in its duty” to protect the girls from the troubled teenager.
Sir Keir Starmer said Britain is facing a new threat from “young men in their bedrooms” accessing radical materials online as he warned: “Terrorism has changed”.
Assistant chief constable Mark Winstanley, of Lancashire Police, vowed to “fully cooperate” with the inquiry process to ensure any learning for police will be fully implemented.
Details of the police callouts were shared as the scale of missed opportunities to stop the killer was laid bare, including three referrals to the government’s counter-terrorism Prevent programme.
One was made by his school in 2019, amid concerns over his behaviour and searches about mass shootings. He was flagged again in February 2021 after a fellow pupil raised concerns about social media posts about the late Libyan despot Muammar Gaddafi.
A third referral was made in April 2021, after a teacher saw he was using a school computer to research the 2017 London Bridge terror attack, which saw eight killed and 48 injured by Islamist extremists who rammed pedestrians before launching a knife attack.
Despite the three referrals, he was never deemed suitable for the anti-extremism scheme.
Senior national coordinator for Prevent and Pursue at Counter Terrorism Policing Vicki Evans said at the time of the referrals their approach to threats from lone individuals “fixated with violence” but with no clear ideology was “evolving” and “less developed”.
“At the time, the Prevent partnership response to the increasing fixation of extreme violence was evolving,” she said.
“It was less developed than it is today. We’ve spoken about the growing number of young people with complex fixations with violence…but who have no clear ideology despite that violent fascination.
“Although improvements to help tackle this challenge have been made, it is right that questions are asked about what more needs to be done across the whole Prevent system and beyond.”
Measures needed include better identification and reducing the “ready access to weapons and horrific, toxic, online material”, she added, noting police have found no evidence to explain why he chose to attack those children or that event.
Just a week before he launched his deadly rampage on 29 July 2024 at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday class in Southport, Rudakubana booked a taxi to take him to Range High School in Formby, but his father stopped him from leaving.
The teenager, who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, had been expelled from the school in 2019 over claims he was carrying a knife. He later returned and attacked a pupil with a hockey stick and admitted to causing actual bodily harm.
Merseyside Police chief constable Serena Kennedy said it was “devastating” to think things could have been done to prevent the atrocious attack, which also left eight girls and two adults wounded.
“I think it’s important that all of the agencies that have had contact with Rudakubana engage fully with the public inquiry to make sure that we can fully understand when the reviews were made, what was done about them, the decisions that were made, to make sure the learning can be taken forward in the future,” she said.
“I think that we owe that to all of the families, and we owe that to all of the victims.”
A new parliamentary inquiry into Jobcentre reform has been launched by the Work and Pensions Committee, examining proposals from the Government’s Get Britain Working white paper published in November 2024.
The inquiry will be the first in a series scrutinising plans to help achieve the Government’s target of an 80 per cent employment rate. Key proposals include merging the National Career Service with Jobcentre Plus and reforming how Jobcentres operate across the country.
As part of the committee investigation, MPs will examine the current role of Jobcentres and customer experiences with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), while exploring how they can better collaborate with external organisations and careers advisers to support people into employment.
The Government is expected to publish additional details about the white paper proposals later this year. There are over 600 Jobcentres operating across the UK, with significant concentrations in specific regions.
Currently, the highest density of centres can be found in the central Scotland belt, South Wales, and the North East of England. Major urban areas including Birmingham and London also host substantial numbers of Jobcentre locations.
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These geographical concentrations mean reforms could have a particularly strong impact on Universal Credit, PIP and other benefit claimants in these regions, where higher numbers of people access Jobcentre services.
According to the white paper, Jobcentres have become “too focused on box ticking” around benefit claims, with services that are overly centralised, standardised and impersonal. The Government aims to shift focus away from benefit administration towards providing more personalised employment support.
A key objective is to transform Jobcentres into centres that prioritise skills development and career advancement. This represents a significant change from the current approach, which the white paper suggests has become too bureaucratic.
The reforms seek to create a more dynamic service that better serves jobseekers’ individual needs.
Committee Chair Debbie Abrahams shared: “We know that good work has many benefits to individuals and their families, but also to the local economy and for wider economic growth.”
Abrahams warned of the consequences of worklessness, noting that “for someone of working age not in work, whether that’s through unemployment or economic inactivity, there are long-term negative impacts on health and wellbeing.”
Current statistics show significant challenges, with the employment rate at 74.8 per cent and economic inactivity at 21.6 per cent.
The Committee Chair emphasised the urgent need to address skills development, saying: “There is no hiding from the challenge of ensuring people have the skills they need to access and progress in work, including the jobs of the future.”
Addressing the proposed reforms, Abrahams questioned: “The Government plans reforms to refocus the Jobcentre by folding in the work of the careers service.
“But due to the way the Jobcentre touches people’s lives, being both an access point for benefits and employment opportunities, getting this formula for reform right, if it needs it, is essential.”
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“But what should these reforms look like? And what would be the fairest and most effective changes that would help deliver a boost in employment, and people’s prospects?”
The Committee is now seeking wide-ranging input to help shape the reforms. “We want to hear broadly about the Jobcentre experience from customers, and from experts and careers advisors to help inform the debate on what precisely these reforms should look like,” Abrahams said.
The inquiry forms part of a broader workstream examining employment reforms and policy. A key aim is to advise the Government on best practices for Jobcentre reform.
The Committee is specifically seeking solutions that can achieve cross-party political consensus. This approach is designed to ensure any reforms implemented will have long-term stability.
The focus on building political agreement reflects the Committee’s commitment to creating lasting change in how Jobcentres operate.
BBC News, Liverpool
BBC/Jonny Humphries“I’ve seen many tears shed throughout this from professionals, not just within policing.”
Those are the words of the man who had the heavy responsibility of leading the investigation into the Southport stabbing attack that killed Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King, six.
It was approaching 13:00 BST on 29 July when Det Ch Insp Jason Pye heard the news.
The vastly experienced detective was in Liverpool Crown Court dealing with another case when he got a phone call about what had just unfolded at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in Hart Street.
One hour earlier, Axel Rudakubana had moved through the Hart Space dance studio systematically stabbing child after child.
Rudakubana ended his rampage meekly, dropping his kitchen knife and surrounding to the police without a word.
But by then, three children were dead, eight children and two adults were seriously injured and 15 other children were left with unimaginable trauma.
Det Ch Insp Pye said it was a “long six months” until the moment, on Monday, when Rudakubana surprised everyone by changing his pleas to guilty on what should have been the first day of his trial.
For much of that time, and in the full glare of the international media, his investigation team and the wider Merseyside Police force had seen and heard the most harrowing evidence of their collective careers.
“Yes this is our job, we put our hand up to do it,” he said.
“We never expect to wake up in the morning and come to something like this but neither did any of those 26 children or their families or the adults as well.”
Acknowledging the toll of the case, Det Ch Insp Pye added: “It is difficult.
“It’s difficult for people who constantly see some of the details, and who have had to read through it on a constant basis, not just within policing…
“But it’s the families and getting justice that keeps us going day-by-day.”
The exceptionally harrowing nature of Rudakubana’s crimes has meant several officers in the force have had to take sick leave.
“I know that there are some police officers who are still struggling and are off work at the moment because of what they’ve come across and what they’ve seen,” he said.
The horrific details of Rudakubana’s crimes were only one part of the immense strain placed on Merseyside Police last summer.
PA MediaLess than 48 hours after he had been taken to Copy Lane police station, the appalling details of the crimes – coupled with misinformation about the killer’s identity and background – sparked violence on the streets.
A vigil on the evening after the murders turned into what the force’s Chief Constable, Serena Kennedy, described as “one of the worst nights of my career”.
More than 100 officers and police staff injured during outbreaks of violence, first in Southport, then in Liverpool City Centre and in Walton.
Some of those called to battle with rioters hurling missiles and damaging police vehicles had also been called to the aftermath of the massacre on 29 July.
For the detectives laser-focused on unravelling the truth of what happened, the mayhem on the streets was absolutely baffling.
Det Ch Insp Pye said: “It was very, very fast moving until we got him charged.
“He was arrested round about 12 o’clock on the Monday [29 July] and with an extension I could have 72 hours maximum, so we had to charge him by just after midnight on the Wednesday.
“To come in and see those riots within the community where these three little girls had lost their lives and everybody else had been impacted in the way that they had was really distasteful for us, it was difficult to understand why it was happening, and it had a real impact on the families as well.”
‘Distressing’
For Det Ch Insp Pye, the task of the 80-strong team of detectives was to tune out the unfolding catastrophe and carry on with the task at hand.
There was no painstaking investigative work needed to get the killer identified and into custody – that was the “easy bit” – according to Det Ch Insp Pye.
“The difficult part is what I class as all this noise that’s been around it,” he said.
“We have to assess the noise, we have to see whether we need to bring it in evidentially, so that’s what’s been difficult, that’s what’s created the complex investigation not the actual evidence itself.
“I’ve tried, if I’m honest, to stay away from social media and stay away from the conspiracy theories but we have had to be aware of it as an investigation team in case there was anything that we would have to bring into the investigation.”
The most important task is now done -Rudakubana has admitted every offence against him and will more than likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
For Det Ch Insp Pye, now is the time most distressing parts of their careers could manifest itself.
“Now that we’ve [got justice] and now that things have steadied down a little bit – that might be the time that we need – to reflect and just consider the welfare of all of our officers,” he said.
NewsBeat
Kyle Walker: Premier League star heading to Italy after Man City accept AC Milan loan bid | UK News
Manchester City have accepted AC Milan’s loan-to-buy offer for defender Kyle Walker.
Under the terms of the deal the Italian club can sign the England international permanently in the summer, for a fee of around £4.2m (€5m), Sky in Italy said.
Walker, 34, will arrive in the city around lunchtime on Thursday and have a medical in the afternoon before signing the contract at AC Milan’s headquarters, Casa Milan, Sky Sports said.
Kyle Walker arrives for his medical ahead of his move to AC Milan. Pic: Reuters
Manchester City celebrating winning their fourth consecutive Premier League in May. File pic: Reuters
Walker, who moved to the club from Tottenham for £50m in 2017, has helped City win 17 trophies, including six Premier League titles – including a record four in a row – and the Champions League.
He was close to joining Bayern Munich after City’s treble win in 2023 but instead signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until 2026.
Last month, the player revealed he suffered “vile, racist and threatening” abuse on social media after a Champions League defeat at Juventus.
He said Instagram and the authorities “need to stop this happening for the sake of all who are suffering this abuse”.
Read more from Sky News:
Thousands flee new wildfires
‘Weather bomb’ heads for UK
Supermarket sheds 3,000 jobs
The news of his departure comes the day after another defeat in Europe’s premier club competition, as City were beaten 4-2 in Paris by Paris Saint-Germain, despite having led 2-0.
They are out of the knockout places with one game left in the league phase having taken eight points from seven matches so far.
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