A VIDEO of a reputed grammar school headmaster using the N-word while privately scolding a student for using the racist slur was leaked on social media, prompting police to investigate the matter.
Kent Police found that Mark Tomkins of Maidstone Grammar School was not at fault but launched an investigation into the sharing of the one-minute video of the conversation.
After a football match, the headmaster was caught on video telling a pupil, “I was told that some comment had been made about a student and the word N… was used”.
“First thing I thought was that someone had used that word against you, but I found out you were the one who used it,” he said in the conversation recorded on an Apple Watch.
A spokesman for the school said it was an offence to make recorded conversations public or share them online without the participant’s consent.
“The recording of what was intended as a private conversation was subsequently shared by the boy and posted more widely by other parties,” the spokesperson told The Telegraph.
The 473-year-old school denied that the headmaster was being racist, saying it was disappointed that a few students tried to tarnish its reputation.
Site Navigation
Search
AI Powered
Human content,
AI powered search.
Latest Stories
Start your day right!
Get latest updates and insights delivered to your inbox.
Related News
More For You
Government to introduce digital driving licences via smartphone app
Jan 19, 2025
THE GOVERNMENT is preparing to introduce digital driving licences as part of efforts to modernise public services.
Accessible through a new government smartphone app, these digital licences could be used for tasks such as purchasing alcohol, voting, or boarding domestic flights.
Physical licences will continue to be issued, but the voluntary digital option aims to enhance convenience and security, reported The Times.
A government spokesperson told the BBC: “This government is committed to using technology to make people's lives easier and transform public services. Technology now makes it possible for digital identities to be more secure than physical ones, but we remain clear that they will not be made mandatory.”
According to The Times, features of the virtual licences may include allowing users to hide their address in certain settings, such as shops or bars.
The app, called Gov.uk, will include a secure "wallet" designed with banking-style protections like biometrics and multifactor authentication to ensure only the licence owner can access it.
The government is also exploring options to integrate additional services into the app, such as tax payments, benefits claims, and other forms of identification like national insurance numbers. However, physical IDs will not be replaced entirely.
The idea of digital licences was first discussed by the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in 2016.
Similar systems are already in use in Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and some US states.
The European Union is requiring all member states to introduce at least one form of digital ID by 2026.
Keep ReadingShow less
Most Popular
Parliament closes popular bar amid drink spiking probe
Jan 18, 2025
PARLIAMENT will shut a bar popular with lawmakers from Monday (20) as it reviews its security arrangements following an alleged drink spiking incident that police are investigating.
Strangers' Bar, located in the Palace of Westminster, is one of several bars in the parliamentary estate.
Open to members of parliament, their guests and some grades of parliamentary staff, the bar is among the most popular places for lawmakers to socialise.
"We are aware of an incident which took place on the parliamentary estate in early January, which was reported to parliamentary security and is now being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service," a UK parliament spokesperson said.
"The safety of everyone on the estate remains a key priority of both Houses," a House of Commons spokesperson added.
London's Metropolitan Police confirmed it was investigating the incident.
"Police received reports of an alleged spiking at an establishment in the House of Commons, on Tuesday, 7 January at around 18:30hrs," they said. "The victim is being supported by officers. There have been no arrests at this stage."
Politico reported that the victim, a woman who works as a parliamentary researcher, alerted bar staff and parliamentary security.
Drink spiking is a specific crime in Britain, where police receive thousands of reports of spiking every year even as many incidents go unreported.
(Reuters)
Keep ReadingShow less
Eight men jailed for child sexual abuse in Keighley
Jan 18, 2025
EIGHT men have been jailed for a total of nearly 58 years for sexually abusing two children in Keighley during the late 1990s.
The men were convicted in two separate trials at Bradford Crown Court for offences that took place between 1996 and 1999. The victims were girls aged between 13 and 16 at the time of the abuse, said West Yorkshire Police in a statement.
Mohammed Din, 47, received the longest sentence of 14 years after being found guilty of 11 counts of rape against both victims. The other men were convicted of offences against the first victim.
In the first trial that ended in October 2023, four other men were jailed: Amreaz Asghar, 47, received four and a half years; Perwaz Asghar, 50, got six and a half years; Sajid Mahmood Khan, 45, was sentenced to three years; and Zehroon Razak, 47, received six and-a-half years.
Three more men were convicted in a second trial concluding in December 2024. Ibrar Hussain, 47, was jailed for six-and-a-half years, while Fayaz Ahmed, 45, and Imtiaz Ahmed, 61, were sentenced to seven-and-a-half years and nine years respectively after being found guilty in their absence.
According to police, a bench warrant has been issued for the arrests of Imtiaz and Fayaz and enquiries are ongoing to locate them.
The investigation began when one woman contacted police years later to report abuse she had endured as a teenager. This led Bradford's historical sex abuse team to launch an inquiry, during which a second victim was identified.
In court, the victim, now in her forties described the lasting trauma of abuse she suffered as a teenager. "I went through too much, too young," she said, explaining that she still struggles with the impact of her ordeal.
She revealed how she was given drugs and alcohol before being sexually abused, with men sometimes queuing to assault her at a flat. She described being groomed before being passed between different men, leading to substance addiction as she tried to cope with her experiences.
Judge Ahmed Nadim criticised the authorities' failure to act, noting that the girl's mother had repeatedly reported her missing. He said police and social services either failed to understand what was happening or showed little interest in helping the victims.
Instead, he noted, officials had blamed the girls for their situation.
"If I had been listened to sooner, my life could have been different," the victim told the court.
Detective chief inspector Vicky Greenbank praised the victims' courage throughout the court process, noting that the abuse had robbed them of their childhood. She said the case sent a clear message that police would pursue justice regardless of when offences occurred.
The Crown Prosecution Service revealed that some of the men had targeted a vulnerable young girl, supplying her with Class A drugs and alcohol until she became dependent.
Michael Quinn from the CPS said, “These convictions send a very clear message that the CPS, working alongside law enforcement colleagues, will relentlessly pursue justice for victims and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, whenever that abuse took place.
“I encourage any victims of child sexual abuse and sexual violence to report the crimes committed against them. It is never too late to seek justice - you are not alone and there is help available”
A ninth man, aged 47, was found to have committed rape in a trial of facts but was deemed unfit to stand trial. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Keep ReadingShow less
56 baby deaths at Leeds Hospitals may have been preventable: Report
Jan 17, 2025
AT LEAST 56 baby deaths and two maternal deaths at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust since 2019 may have been preventable, according to a BBC investigation.
The findings, based on Freedom of Information data and whistleblower accounts, raise concerns about maternity safety at the trust’s units at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital.
The data revealed 27 stillbirths and 29 neonatal deaths where trust review groups identified care issues that could have changed outcomes. The reviews also included two maternal deaths.
The trust stated that most births were safe, attributing its high neonatal mortality rate to its role as a specialist centre for complex cases.
Leeds recorded the highest neonatal mortality rate in the UK, with 4.46 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, compared to 3.30 in 2017, reported BBC.
MBRRACE-UK data shows the trust's rate is 70 per cent higher than comparable NHS trusts. The trust cited an increase in complex pregnancies and babies with severe cardiac conditions as contributing factors.
Parents who lost their children during this period have expressed concerns about the trust’s practices. Fiona and Dan Ramm, whose baby Aliona Grace died in January 2020, blamed delays in care for their daughter’s death.
An inquest in 2023 found "gross failures of the most basic nature" had contributed to the tragedy. The couple believes the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has not held the trust accountable.
Another family, Amarjit Kaur and Mandip Singh Matharoo, reported being sent home despite severe abdominal pain during pregnancy.
Their daughter Asees was stillborn in January 2024, with a trust review identifying care issues. Amarjit raised concerns about racial discrimination, stating she was treated differently due to her Indian ethnicity, BBC reported.
Whistleblowers have also highlighted unsafe practices. Lisa Elliott, a former maternity support worker, described "chaotic" care and a failure to listen to patients. An anonymous staff member described chronic understaffing and a "broken" system.
The trust's chief executive, Prof Phil Wood, apologised to families, citing its role as a specialist centre for treating the most critically ill babies.
Meanwhile, the CQC stated it is reviewing evidence from families and recently inspected the trust’s maternity services, with findings pending.
The Department of Health and Social Care pledged to support improvements in maternity care, including training more midwives to ensure safe and compassionate care.
Keep ReadingShow less
Government to conduct local inquiries into child sexual exploitation
Jan 17, 2025
THE UK government on Thursday announced a national review to assess the scale of child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs and plans to launch new local inquiries into abuse cases.
The issue gained renewed attention earlier this month when a political row erupted between US tech billionaire Elon Musk and prime minister Keir Starmer, centred on historic sex offences involving British girls and men, primarily of South Asian origin, in northern English towns.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament that the government would conduct a three-month "rapid audit" to understand the current extent and nature of gang-based exploitation across the country.
The review will examine "cultural and societal drivers" of child sexual abuse and include an analysis of ethnicity data and demographics of the gangs and their victims, Cooper said.
In addition to the national review, Cooper announced new local inquiries similar to those conducted in other areas, dismissing opposition Conservative Party calls for a new nationwide inquiry.
"As we have seen, effective local inquiries can delve into far more local detail and deliver more locally relevant answers, and change, than a lengthy nationwide inquiry can provide," she said.
(With inputs from AFP)
Keep ReadingShow less
Load More
© Copyright 2025 Garavi Gujarat Publications Ltd & Garavi Gujarat Publications