An British Asian man was on Monday (29) remanded in custody on charges of three counts of death by dangerous driving after a road collision that killed three teenage boys in London last week.
Jaynesh Chudasama appeared by Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in London, where he was denied bail and remanded to appear before the Old Bailey court in London on February 26.
The 28-year-old had been arrested by Scotland Yard officers after a fatal collision near a bus stop in Hayes, west London, on Friday evening. The Metropolitan Police have named the victims of the crash as Harry Rice, 17, and 16- year-olds George Wilkinson and Josh McGuinness.
They were on their way to a friends birthday party when they were killed.
A second man, aged 34, was also arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after handing himself in to a north London police station on Saturday evening, following a police appeal. He continues to remain is custody as he is questioned.
"Detectives from the Roads and Transport Policing Command continue to lead the investigation and a number of enquiries are ongoing," said Superintendent Colin Wingrove, the local borough commander.
"There is understandably a lot of shock and grief in the local community. These three young men had their whole lives ahead of them," he said.
The three victims were walking to a 16th birthday party at a local football club when a black Audi A5 allegedly crashed into them. Some of their friends who survived the crash are reported to have run after the occupants of the car to try and catch hold of them until the police arrived.
A man on the scene who called the emergency services number 999, Amandeep Matharoo, saw some of the boys "punching and kicking" a man who reportedly tried to flee the car involved in the crash.
"The lads were shouting on the phone and saying three of our friends are dead, they were hysterical and in pieces," he said.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, all three boys were pronounced dead at the scene.
On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered at the site of the crash to lay floral tributes and held a minute?s silence and released balloons.
"We are all shocked and deeply saddened. Our thoughts and condolences are with their families, friends and loved ones. We are offering support to students and staff and ask everyone to respect their privacy. I would like to thank the community for the support it has given," said the head-teacher of Harefield Academy, the school attended by the victims.
A friend of the dead boys who narrowly missed being hurt said the accident was like a "blur".
"Five of us were walking to the party and the next moment three of my friends were dead on the ground. The car lost control," he said.
Photos from the scene showed the smashed wreckage of a car, including a caved-in fence.
A record £3 billion will be invested by Britain to enhance training opportunities for local workers and reduce reliance on migrant labour, the government announced on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that strengthening the domestic workforce and controlling migration are his twin priorities.
The investment aims to create 120,000 new training opportunities in key sectors such as construction, engineering, health and social care, and digital. The move seeks to realign the skills landscape in favour of young, homegrown talent.
The UK’s economic inactivity rate has been rising since the Covid-19 pandemic and currently stands at 21.4%. Official data shows that more than one in five working-age Britons are not in employment and are not actively seeking work.
Since the local election success of the right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party in May, the Labour government has come under pressure to reduce immigration. In response, it plans to tighten citizenship rules, limit skilled worker visas to graduate-level roles, and require companies to invest in training local staff.
A proposed 32% increase in the immigration skills charge is intended to discourage businesses from hiring migrant workers, according to Tuesday’s official statement. This rise could help fund up to 45,000 additional training placements to strengthen the domestic workforce and reduce dependency on foreign labour in priority sectors.
However, businesses have expressed concerns, arguing that they are struggling to recruit enough local workers and that tougher immigration rules could harm the economy unless the country significantly improves its job training infrastructure.
Starmer declared that “the open border experiment has come to an end” with these new measures.
A government spokesperson said the system needed rebalancing to target support to those who need it most, adding that other measures included increasing the national living wage and uprating benefits.
MORE than 100 prominent disabled figures in the UK, including Liz Carr, Rosie Jones, Ruth Madeley and Cherylee Houston, have urged prime minister Keir Starmer to withdraw plans to cut disability benefits.
In an open letter addressed to Starmer ahead of a Commons vote expected next month, the signatories describe the proposed cuts to the personal independence payment (Pip) and the health component of universal credit as “inhumane” and a threat to “basic human rights”, The Guardian reported.
The letter states: “If these plans go ahead, 700,000 families already living in poverty will face further devastation. This is not reform; it is cruelty by policy.”
The letter warns the proposals would remove essential financial support from people who need it most, increase disability-related deaths, and place greater pressure on local councils and unpaid carers. “For us, Pip is not a benefit – it is access to life,” the letter reads.
According to The Guardian, the government’s green paper earlier this year proposed changes that could reduce Pip eligibility for up to 1 million people. Official figures also show 3.2 million could lose an average of £1,720 a year due to changes in the sickness-related component of universal credit.
The campaign, under the hashtag #TakingThePIP, will ask people to share their experiences and contact MPs. Actor Cherylee Houston, a co-organiser, said they “had to do something” and urged the government to listen.
A government spokesperson said the system needed rebalancing to target support to those who need it most, adding that other measures included increasing the national living wage and uprating benefits.
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Tommy Robinson has long been a controversial figure in the UK due to his far-right activism and numerous legal issues
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been released early from prison after a judge ruled he had shown a "change in attitude" in a contempt of court case linked to a 2021 injunction.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had been found guilty of breaching the terms of a High Court injunction by repeating false claims about a Syrian refugee. He was sentenced earlier this month to a 12-month prison term, which included a four-month coercive element that could be lifted if he “purged” his contempt and agreed to comply with the court order.
The 42-year-old had been expected to remain in custody until 26 July but was released within a week after submitting an application to purge his contempt. His legal team told the court last week that he now intended to comply with the terms of the injunction. Lawyers acting for the Solicitor General confirmed they were satisfied with the steps he had taken.
In a ruling, Mr Justice Johnson accepted the application, despite noting Robinson had not expressed remorse.
“There is an absence of contrition or remorse,” the judge said. “But there has been a change in attitude since sentence. He has given an assurance that he will comply with the injunction in the future, that he has no intention of breaching it again, and that he is aware of the consequences of what would happen if he breached the injunction again.”
He concluded: “I consider it appropriate to grant the application.”
Mr Justice Johnson added that the “practical effect”, subject to confirmation by prison authorities, was that Robinson would be released once the punitive part of his sentence had been served.
Following his release, Robinson appeared on social media with a beard and said he had experienced a “change in attitude”, claiming to have found religion. He also launched into a criticism of the media, government, and immigration policy.
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Despite his early release, Robinson is still facing further legal proceedings. Just days before he was freed, he was charged with harassment causing fear of violence in connection with an alleged incident involving two men in August 2024.
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed the charge, which relates to alleged offences occurring between 5 and 7 August last year.
A CPS spokesperson said: “We have authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, 42, with harassment causing fear of violence against two men.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”
Robinson is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 5 June 2025.
Tommy Robinson has long been a controversial figure in the UK due to his far-right activism and numerous legal issues. His early release from prison is likely to draw attention from both supporters and critics as he continues to face scrutiny over his conduct.
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Wes Streeting said it was in no-one's interests for strikes to take place. (Photo: Reuters)
HEALTH SECRETARY Wes Streeting has called on doctors in England to vote no in a ballot on industrial action that starts on Tuesday.
In a BBC interview, he urged resident doctors to work with the government and warned that strikes would hamper NHS progress.
Streeting said it was in no-one's interests for strikes to take place. Last week, it was announced that resident doctors would receive a 5.4 per cent average pay rise this year, higher than other doctors, nurses and teachers. Resident doctors said this was not enough to cover below-inflation pay awards since 2008.
The union is urging members to vote for industrial action, with BBC sources saying strikes were the likely action.
This year's pay rise follows a 22 per cent rise over the previous two years.
The government said the starting salary for a doctor fresh out of university had risen by £9,500 over three years to around £38,800.
BMA co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: "We are urging doctors to vote yes to strike action. By voting yes they will be telling the government there is no alternative to fixing pay."
The ballot runs until 7 July.
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Singh was charged with The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case
A Delhi court has dismissed sexual harassment allegations made by a minor female wrestler against BJP leader and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The complainants had alleged they were molested at training camps and tournaments.
Singh was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which carries a minimum sentence of three years depending on the offence. However, the court found Singh not guilty after the complainant raised no objection to the findings of the police investigation.
The judgment was delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Gomti Manocha at Patiala House Court.
During an in-camera hearing on 1 August 2023, the complainant told the court she was satisfied with the police investigation and did not wish to pursue the case further. Delhi Police moved to close the case after the minor’s father admitted on 15 June 2023 that the complaint had been false.
The case, which involved 20 witnesses, including call recordings, photographs and videos, was closed due to a lack of corroborative evidence.
However, Singh still faces allegations of sexual harassment and stalking in a separate case filed by six adult women wrestlers. Former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar is also an accused in that case. Both men have denied the allegations and requested a trial.
The controversy escalated when Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, along with world champion Vinesh Phogat, were detained during a protest march towards India’s new parliament building. Footage of the athletes being dragged away by police sparked national outrage and drew criticism from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The wrestlers paused their protest following meetings with Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government faced criticism for its slow response to the accusations. The government has denied all allegations of inaction.
Singh faces charges under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), and 506 (part 1) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), based on complaints from two women. Tomar has been charged under Section 506 (part 1), but has not been charged with any other offences.
The Delhi Police filed a 1,599-page chargesheet on 15 June 2023, containing statements from 44 witnesses and photographic evidence. The chargesheet noted that both accused had cooperated with the investigation in accordance with Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), allowing the case to proceed without arrest.
Singh was thus cleared of the charge of molesting a minor, following the testimonies of the girl and her father, who expressed satisfaction with the investigation and raised no objection to the cancellation report.
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