NewsBeat
Could you pass a Cambridge English exam from 1913?
BBC News correspondent, East of England
BBCDo you remember the feeling of sitting an exam? The halls crammed with desks and the sound of the ticking clock. Cambridge University Press and Assessment (CUP&A), one of the UK’s biggest exam providers, has been setting papers since the 1850s and its English exams have now been taken by more than 100 million people around the world. But today’s exam is very different to that very first paper.
In 1913, three people sat down to take the first Cambridge English exam. They were all teachers and all of them failed. But would you? This is one of the questions – you can find the answers at the end.
Correct or justify four of the following sentences, giving your reasons:
(a) I hope you are determined to seriously improve.
(b) Comparing Shakespeare with Aeschylus, the former is by no means inferior to the latter.
(c) I admit that I was willing to have made peace with you.
(d) The statement was incorrect, as any one familiar with the spot, and who was acquainted with the facts, will admit.
(e) It has the largest circulation of any paper in England.
(f) The lyrical gifts of Shakespeare are woven into the actual language of the characters.
The exam comprised a series of papers on phonetics, grammar, and translation, which took 12 hours to complete.
“At first, it was an exam for a small elite who wanted to study English as an academic subject, like Latin or Ancient Greek,” says Dr Evelina Galaczi, director of research at CUP&A.
“At the time, grammar and translation were considered the most important thing, but now the exam is much more about using English to communicate.
“The shift was gradual, but in the Second World War English became a global language and so speaking and pronunciation became much more important.
“That was a catalyst for change, and I firmly believe that learning English opens doors.”
By the 1950s, there had been requests for the English exam to offer translation questions in dozens of different languages, ranging from Arabic to Vietnamese.
Gillian Cooke, group archivist at CUP&A, said: ” I think the take up for each language was quite small and so that probably wasn’t cost effective.
“It might be one of the reasons why the translation paper was dropped in the 1970s.”
The Cambridge English exam has continued to evolve.
There are now different versions tailored to the needs of schools, higher education, and businesses.
“More than 100 million people across 130 countries have now sat our English exams,” says marketing director for higher education, Ian Cook.
“They’re recognised by more than 25,000 organisations from governments – which use them for immigration purposes – to employers and universities.
“Some universities in Germany, Sweden, and East Asia, for example, deliver IT and healthcare courses in English in order to attract the best candidates and so students need to show they have the language skills to cope with the course.”
Today, the exams are also available digitally and artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to create adaptive tests.
“In simple terms, the next question you’re served up depends on how well you answered the previous one,” says Mr Cook.
“And by offering a range of slightly more difficult and then easier questions as you go through, the technology will help to find your level.
“Our expertise and research have proven that the more teaching and tests are personalised, the better for students.
“We want people to have confidence, to pass – and show what they’re capable of.”
Despite the changes, CUP&A insists that its approach is as much about continuity as innovation.
Dr Galaczi adds: “Examiners and AI work together in marking and setting content for the exams, so we harness the strengths of both the human being and the machine.”
How did you do?
CUP&A says opinions about correct English grammar have changed, but in 1913, these would have been the expected answers:
(a) This is a split infinitive which would have been considered wrong. It should have said “to improve seriously”
(b) This is a hanging participle. It should have read “Shakespeare is by no means inferior to Aeschylus”. Now we would say “Shakespeare is just as good as”.
(c) Wrong tense. It should be “to make peace”.
(d) “Would admit” not “Will admit”.
(e) Correct
(f) Correct
Politics
Keir Starmer ‘bending knee’ to Brussels as EU looks to undo Brexit with ‘disgraceful’ Customs Union deal
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of “bending the knee” to Brussels as the European Union looks to strike a customs agreement with the UK.
The Prime Minister is under pressure to return Britain to the EU’s orbit after the EU’s new trade chief Maros Sefcovic stresseed such an agreement would represent membership of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM).
PEM operates under common rules which enable parts, ingredients and materials for manufacturing supply chains to be sourced from across dozens of countries in Europe and North Africa tariff-free.
The suggestion, rejected by the previous Tory Governments, was touted during Sefcovic’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Keir Starmer
PA
The Prime Minister is unequioval about his determination to “reset” cross-Channel relations but continues to insist that this will not infringe on the UK’s decision to leave the Single Market or Customs Union.
Responding to Sefcovic’s comments, Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “Labour’s programme of bending the knee to the EU is disgraceful.
“These latest reports that the Government might shackle us to the European Union are deeply concerning, and once again make clear that Keir Starmer and his chums are all too happy to put their ideology ahead of our national interest, no matter the cost.
“The Conservatives will always fight for the democratic freedoms the British public voted for, and will not stand idly by in the face of Labour’s great betrayal of our country.”
Starmer’s Government is reportedly holding consultations with business leaders over the benefits of PEM but no final decision has yet been made.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Priti Patel
PA
Brexiteers have long warned that being part of a Customs Union would block the UK from signing independent Free Trade Agreements, including with the United States.
However, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is already publicly calling for an official return to the Customs Union.
Davey, who is expected to call for the UK to rejoin the EU later down the line, argued it was needed to boost Britain’s economy and its ability to deal with the incoming Donald Trump presidency from a position of strength.
Sefcovic’s suggestion, rejected by the previous Tory Governments, was touted during his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The Brussels bureaucrat said the idea has not been “precisely formulated” by London yet and the “ball is in the UK’s court”.
Sefcovic also hinted at a full-scale veterinary agreement to reduce frictions on farming and food trade, an updating fisheries deal and mobility plan for under 30s.
European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic PASefcovic said it was hoped the scheme would “build bridges for the future for the European Union and the UK”.
“That was the idea,” he said. “[But] we’ve been a little bit surprised what kind of spin it got in the UK.
“It is not freedom of movement,” Sefcovic added. “We have been very clear what we’ve been proposing.”
Despite rejecting previous calls for a return of Freedom of Movement, Starmer could face pressure next month while attending a defence and security focused EU summit.
The Prime Minister is determined to “reset” cross-Channel relations but continues to insist that this will not infringe on the UK’s decision to leave the Single Market or Customs Union.
Keir Starmer
Getty Images
And No10 has since left the door open to accepting Sefcovic’s PEM offer.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The arrangement that’s been discussed is not a customs union.
“Our red line has always been that we will never join a single market, freedom of movement, but we’re just not going to get ahead of those discussions.”
However, MPs have already been exerting pressure on Starmer over under 30s being engaged in a free movement arrangement.
A 10-minute rule bill, introduced by Liberal Democrat MP James McCleary, will receive a second reading on July 25.
NewsBeat
‘We hope it haunts you every day’: Southport families speak out at Axel Rudakubana’s sentencing
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Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been jailed for 52 years after brutally murdering three young girls in a frenzied knife attack last year.
The “sadistic” 18-year-old, who had an obsession with violence, genocide and massacres, was given the life sentence at a packed out courtroom at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.
Throughout the sentencing, Rudakubana repeatedly interrupted the judge by claiming he needed a paramedic, as more than 30 members of his victims’ families sat in the public gallery.
Despite this, the court heard the heart-rending victim impact statements of parents of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, who died in the onslaught.
The court also heard from a number of survivors, including the Taylor Swift-themed dance class instructor Leanne Lucas, 36, who said she has suffered scars she “cannot move on from”.
Here, The Independent has put together some of the heartbreaking victim impact statements read out at the court.
Family of Elsie Dot Stancombe
Elsie’s mother, Jenny Stancombe, described the attack as “the act of a coward” and said Rudakubana was “cruel and pure evil”.
Ms Stancombe said the attack had “stolen” her daughter from her but that it would “not take away our determination to honour her memory”.
Her statement continued: “We are not going to stand here and list everything you have taken away from us, because we refuse to give you the satisfaction of hearing it.
“We will not let you know anything about her because you don’t deserve to know the extraordinary person she was.
“You know what you have done and we hope the weight of that knowledge haunts you every day.”
Family of Alice da Silva Aguiar
In a separate statement read out in court afterwards, Alexandra and Sergio Aguiar said their daughter Alice’s death had “shattered our souls”.
They said: “In a matter of minutes our worlds were shattered and turned upside down by the devastating attack on our Alice.
“A pin drop that changed our lives forever. We kept our hopes up every second during Alice’s 14-hour fight. But, once she had lost her fight, we lost our lives.”
Mr and Mrs Aguiar added: “Living without Alice is not living at all. It’s a state of permanent numbness. We can’t see her picture and videos, they take us back to a time when we were so happy and now we’re in constant pain.
“We have her clothes, her teddies and other belongings. We’ll keep them safe and often hug them when we miss Alice.”
Dance class instructor Leanne Lucas
Ms Lucas told of living in constant fear since the attack, unable to feel safe at work or in public places and said she can not give herself compassion or accept praise, adding: “How can I live knowing I survived when children died?”
She said it left her unable to trust society, revealing the “badness” lurking in plain sight and altering her mindset to believe harm can happen to anyone.
The 36-year-old told the court that she dedicated her life to helping children and families, creating a safe community, but the attack robbed her of her role, purpose and sense of trust in herself.
Ms Lucas said: “On that day, I received several injuries that have not only affected me physically but also mentally. I, as do the girls, have scars we cannot unsee, scars we cannot move on from.”
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’.”
Read more
King to attend 80th anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation
Pupils to ‘talk’ to Holocaust survivors with AI technology
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.
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