Officers investigating Louise Haigh’s “stolen” phone believed a photo she submitted of the handset had been taken after the alleged theft, Sky News has been told.
Two sources said after looking at metadata attached to the photo – information that often details when photos were captured – officers believed it had been taken after the date at which Ms Haigh alleged the phone had been stolen.
Sources close to Ms Haigh did not respond when approached about the allegation.
The Sheffield MP resigned as transport secretary on Friday after Sky News revealed she pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2014 in relation to an allegedly stolen phone.
The conviction is believed to relate to fraud.
The now former transport secretary claims the incident was a “genuine mistake” from which she did not benefit.
However, Sky News has spoken to three sources who say the stolen phone report was pursued by Ms Haigh for her own personal gain.
Sky News had also spoken to one source who alleged that the handset was used to call Ms Haigh’s mother soon after the reported theft, but had been unable to verify the allegation.
Image: Pic: PA
On Thursday night, Ms Haigh said the incident arose after she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She said she reported the incident to the police and gave officers a list of items she believed had been taken – including a work mobile phone.
However, in her statement to Sky News, she said she discovered “some time later” that “the mobile in question had not been taken”.
In the interim she was issued with another work phone. When she turned on the original work device, it “triggered police attention and I was asked to come in for questioning”, she said.
“My solicitor advised me not to comment during that interview and I regret following that advice,” she added.
“Under the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty – despite the fact this was a genuine mistake from which I did not make any gain.
“The magistrates accepted all of these arguments and gave me the lowest possible outcome (a discharge) available.”
It is understood Ms Haigh believes she disclosed the incident in full when she was appointed to the shadow cabinet in 2020.
However, Downing Street said on Friday that Ms Haigh resigned after “new information” emerged, but declined to say officially if the prime minister knew about the conviction when he appointed his cabinet in July.
On Friday, a source told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the story that emerged on Thursday was “inconsistent” with what Sir Keir had been told when Ms Haigh was appointed to his shadow cabinet.
It is understood the prime minister was “not able to square the circle” and as a result the cabinet minister was advised to resign.
Friends of Ms Haigh insist she shared the “full facts” of the conviction and that Sir Keir “had expressed sympathy that police had taken the decision to prosecute her”.
A woman who was stabbed by her “evil” abusive husband in a knife and gun rampage on a Scottish island has revealed she is “glad the jury saw through his lies”.
Rowena Macdonald was stabbed by Finlay Macdonald in a frenzied attack in front of their four children after he flew into a rage over false allegations about an affair.
Macdonald, who was jailed for 28 years on Friday after being found guilty of murdering his brother-in-law and attempting to kill three other people, tried to argue his autism diagnosis was an excuse for his murderous violence on Skye and Lochalsh in 2022.
“She let me down”, he later told a consultant forensic psychiatrist, as he attempted to blame his wife for the violent outburst.
The court heard harrowing evidence of their two-year-old cradling her mother as they awaited emergency services, who would later battle to successfully save her life.
Image: Police at the property in Teangue, Skye. Pic: PA
Image: Forensics officers in Teangue, Skye. Pic: PA
Read more Skye shooter was ‘fully in control’ Murderer ‘not impaired’ by psychological disorders Macdonald ‘felt humiliated’
While the youngsters screamed and cried for help, their father ignored their distress and grabbed his newly bought gun and hundreds of cartridges of ammunition.
He loaded the car and sped off in what was the beginning of a series of attacks that August morning.
Reacting to his conviction and jail sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh, Mrs Macdonald said: “I am glad the jury saw through his life and found him guilty.
“A life sentence of 28 years is as much as we could have asked for. But will never be enough for the damage he has caused.”
Image: Finlay MacDonald
The jury was told there were enough gun cartridges in the home to “start a small war”.
Dashcam and CCTV footage on the Isle of Skye reveal him driving through the winding rural roads en route to his next victim.
His brother-in-law, 47-year-old John MacKinnon was executed in cold blood in his kitchen. Shot dead as he prepared breakfast for his six children.
Image: John MacKinnon. Pic: Police Scotland
MacDonald held a decade-old grudge for apparently losing a fight between the pair.
In his final act of brutality, the killer continued his car journey to attempt to murder another couple he had a grievance with.
The court heard he had made threats to kill a local osteopath who he became fixated on over claims his life had been “ruined”.
He suggested John MacKenzie had made his back injury worse following appointments to fix the issue.
Macdonald fired shots at him and his wife Fay. He still has bullets lodged in his face to this day.
Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Lady Drummond told MacDonald he was guilty of a “series of brutal and mindlessly violent attacks”, and that statements from Mr MacKinnon’s family had been “heartbreaking to read”.
She said: “The last two years have been unimaginably difficult for them all. They miss and grieve him daily.”
“The rain, the clouds, the lack of sun – I feel at home here,” Nikita Vitiugov says. London, the chess grandmaster remarks, feels similar to St Petersburg, in terms of the weather, at least.
One of the best players in the world, Nikita was once one of Russia’s brightest talents.
But after speaking out about the war in Ukraine, he says he can’t risk going back. Now he plays for England and lives in London.
Ukraine war: Follow latest
While the era of the Soviet Union and America going to war over the chessboard to establish intellectual dominance is over, and players no longer attract the same fame and notoriety as chess titans Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer did in their heyday, chess is still a big deal in Russia.
Image: Garry Kasparov playing against Vitali Karpov in 1986. Pic: Sven Simon/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
A number of well-known Russian chess players have denounced the war in Ukraine following the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In a country where dissent is dangerous, it’s a big statement. Nikita was among them.
‘They consider London the capital of hell’
We’re sitting in a cafe in north London, where the 37-year-old grandmaster has made his home with his wife and young son over the last year.
“There was a show on Russian TV about chess players who changed their flags,” Nikita says. He’s wearing a black polo neck jumper, with his long hair pushed back. “They paid special attention to my case.”
While some players who left Russia switched to play for countries like Serbia or Spain, Nikita was the most high-profile to adopt the St George’s Cross as his new national flag. He’s currently ranked 61st in the world and number two in England.
“In Russian propaganda they consider London to be the capital of hell,” he says with a smile.
Image: Nikita Vitiugov in action for England at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Pic: FIDE/Mark Livshitz
In a way, it’s not surprising some in Russia think of Britain this way. The UK has been at the forefront of the European effort to provide weapons to Ukraine and is frequently the subject of the ire of Russian TV pundits.
Since the war broke out, the Chess Federation of Russia has been sanctioned by the world chess community and Russian players are banned from playing under their own flag.
Nikita was living in Spain and playing in Europe when Kremlin tanks rolled over Ukraine’s northern border and stormed towards the capital, Kyiv.
When he woke up the day after the invasion, he knew instinctively that Russia wasn’t his home anymore.
That week, he made his position clear on social media: “You can’t defend yourself on foreign territory. Russians and Ukrainians are brothers, not enemies. Stop the war.”
Image: Nikita Vitiugov
‘That part of my life was over’
At the time, Nikita was the nation’s reigning Russian chess champion and had dreamed of winning gold with the Russian national team one day.
He started playing chess in Russia aged five, and established himself as one of his country’s best players. But he knew he had to leave all that behind.
“It was difficult to accept that part of my life was over,” he says, likening it to a “divorce”.
Some people might not care what country they play for, Nikita says, but for him it was always more than that – he had been proud to represent his country.
Until a change in the rules, switching countries meant either paying a huge release fee of £41,500 to Russia’s chess federation – a non-starter for Nikita – or spending two years in the wilderness, unable to compete in professional chess.
Image: Nikita Vitiugov
With the help of English chess officials, Nikita was able to join the English Chess Federation (ECF) and he, his wife and son were able to secure UK residency permits.
Now, he feels at home in London and is grateful for the freedoms it affords him and his family.
“One of the reasons for moving here is that I want the best future possible for my son… [In the UK] you’re free to have your own opinion which is great.”
And with the London Chess Classic being held this week, Nikita is excited to play in his adopted city.
But while it’s big for English chess, the fact the tournament is taking place at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium is an interesting wrinkle for Nikita, a Tottenham fan.
Image: Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium is hosting the London Chess Classic. File pic: iStock
A chance to emulate an idol
The last couple of years have been full of change, he says. But this tournament is a chance for him to face off against some of the world’s brightest players from England and establish himself again.
I ask Nikita if he draws parallels between himself and Garry Kasparov, the former world champion now living in exile in the US for fear of persecution, who many still believe is the greatest player of all time.
He says he’d prefer to be compared with Viktor Korchnoi, one of his chess idols.
Image: Chess players Anatoly Karpov and Victor Korchnoi in 1978. Pic: AP
Known – perhaps affectionately – as ‘Viktor the Terrible’ in Western media during his prime due to his prodigious skill, Korchnoi was also from St Petersburg (known as Leningrad at the time) and defected from the Soviet Union to Switzerland, via the Netherlands, in the 1970s.
Read more: ‘Chess saved my life’, the story of a Ukrainian chess star England’s nine-year-old chess genius
Image: Nikita Vitiugov plays ‘blind chess’. Credit: Andrew Moss/Chess in Schools and Communities
Nikita’s defection was an immediate boost to the English chess team, which is ranked 15th in the world.
When he joined last year he became the country’s number one player, though he has recently been overtaken by fellow grandmaster and three-time British champion David Howell.
English chess has been enriched by Nikita’s transfer, says Malcolm Pein, director of international chess for the ECF. “Nikita was one of Russia’s top players, his arrival has increased competition for places in the England team. He is also training the next generation.”
Next year, the British championships beckon – will a Russian be the new king of English chess?
A woman is urgently seeking a stem cell donor for her nine-year-old daughter, who has been diagnosed with a rare and potentially fatal blood disorder.
Amilah Hussain, from Horsham, West Sussex, was first taken to her GP to look into repeated bruising on her shins earlier this year.
Blood tests showed low platelet counts and in October Amilah was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Aplastic anaemia is a rare condition that occurs when bone marrow cannot make enough new blood cells for someone’s body to work normally, making it harder to fight infection, stop bleeding or carry oxygen.
Doctors have told Amilah’s mother, Mobeen Hussain, a stem cell transplant is her daughter’s only hope of a cure – but there is currently no match on the stem cell register.
Amilah’s Pakistani heritage means she is more likely to have a unique tissue type, and less likely to find a donor on UK registers compared to those from white, northern European backgrounds.
In a bid to find a suitable donor, Mrs Hussain, 42, has launched the Amilah Means Hope campaign with the Anthony Nolan stem cell charity, to encourage people between 16 and 30 – particularly those from minority ethnic backgrounds – to sign the stem cell register.
Mrs Hussain said: “When we looked into it, it seemed there’s a lack of donors suitable for patients from ethnic minority communities. The general awareness is just not there.
“Knowing it will be difficult for Amilah to find a donor makes me want to do something.”
“Until this happened, I didn’t realise that this [stem cell donation] is something people can do,” she continued. “It’s why I’m doing this.
“Stem cell donation is giving a gift of life; it’s such a precious gift to give anyone.”
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Only 100 to 150 people in the UK are diagnosed with aplastic anaemia every year, according to Anthony Nolan.
A successful transplant will introduce healthy stem cells into Amilah’s bloodstream to help her body grow and produce new blood cells.
Finding a donor will give Amilah – whose name means “hope” in Arabic – “a second chance at life”, added Anthony Nolan’s head of policy and public affairs Yasmin Sheikh.
The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office after the names of the alleged victims of the Westminster honeytrap scandal were revealed to each other.
The force has said it apologises “sincerely for any distress” after an email was “sent in error”.
According to reports, the Met sent an email to all those thought to be victims of the scandal, where the addresses were visible to every recipient.
The recipients’ names were mistakenly visible to each other, and officers will be reminded of their care that should be taken when sending group emails, Sky News understands.
The email is understood to have been a short, routine update to the investigation.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “An email relating to an ongoing investigation was sent in error today.
“We recognise the impact on those involved and apologise sincerely for any distress.
More on Houses Of Parliament
“A referral to the Information Commissioner’s Office has been made and we await advice on next steps.
“Officers will be reaching out to those impacted to personally apologise and provide reassurance.”
The honeytrap scandal was a sexting scam that saw former Tory MP William Wragg give out fellow politicians’ phone numbers to the suspected perpetrator.
Earlier this year, at least 12 men in political circles received unsolicited, flirtatious WhatsApp messages from people calling themselves “Charlie” or “Abi”, Scotland Yard previously said.
Explicit images were exchanged in some instances.
Image: Former MP William Wragg has spoken about being targeted in the scandal. Pic: PA/UK Parliament
Read more on politics: Assisted dying bill backed by MPs How did your MP vote? New transport secretary announced
The ICO had earlier told Sky News it had not received a report, but has been asked for an update given the Met’s announcement.
In their previous statement, the watchdog said: “Organisations must notify the ICO within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach, unless it does not pose a risk to people’s rights and freedoms.
“If an organisation decides that a breach doesn’t need to be reported they should keep their own record of it and be able to explain why it wasn’t reported if necessary.”
Parliamentary authorities have also been updated to the incident.
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In June, a man was arrested as part of the investigation into the scandal.
The Metropolitan Police said they arrested a man in his mid 20s in Islington, north London on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act.
Sky News understands that he was a member of the Labour Party, but has since been suspended.
The coffin of comedian Janey Godley will take a two-day “final tour” of Edinburgh and Glasgow ahead of her funeral on Saturday.
The Scottish comedian died earlier this month aged 63 after receiving palliative treatment for terminal cancer.
Her daughter, comedian Ashley Storrie, shared news of the journey on social media, saying the hearse would travel through her mother’s “beloved festival home” of Edinburgh on Friday before travelling “home to Glasgow“.
The funeral will take place at St Mary’s Cathedral in the West End on Saturday.
Godley, who found viral fame with her dubbed imitations of Nicola Sturgeon’s COVID-19 news briefings during the pandemic, revealed she had ovarian cancer in November 2021.
Despite her diagnosis in 2021, Godley returned to touring her Not Dead Yet gigs and was given the all-clear in 2022.
But later that year, Godley announced another scan had shown signs of the disease in her abdomen.
Never shying away from joking about the darker side of life, in 2023 she won the inaugural Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.
Earlier this year, she cancelled her Why Is She Still Here autumn tour after her stage four ovarian cancer returned with what she said were added complications.
Image: Godley with her daughter, comedian Ashley Storrie. Pic: PA
Godley died in the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow on 2 November, shortly after she had been awarded an honorary degree from the University Of Glasgow.
In the social media post, Ashley Storrie said: “Here’s the details of Janey’s final tour, thank you for all the love and kindness in this past week.
“For the past few years of Ma’s life, it was important to her that she shared her journey with everyone, to offer support for others on the same path and to highlight the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer – all of course in her very singular Janey style, with laughter and candour.
“So many of you who have travelled with us on this journey wish to bid her a final farewell, so here’s the details of my mum’s final tour, in the two cities she loved with all her heart.”
The hearse will travel along the Royal Mile and Lawnmarket in Edinburgh – with a “pause for reflection” at St Giles’ Cathedral before travelling along Cockburn Street, Market Street and on to Glasgow.
After the funeral on Saturday, there will be a private service at a crematorium.
Storrie said her mother would like anyone who wished to wear bright colours to do so, and in place of sending flowers, contributions could be made to the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice or other charities.
“Thanks again everyone for all the love and support,” she said, adding it “does help so much”.
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Born into poverty in the East End of Glasgow in 1961 to alcoholic parents, Godley left school aged 16 with no qualifications.
She went on to forge a stand-up career, which led to her own radio shows and numerous TV appearances.
In 2016, Godley went viral after protesting at Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort with her infamous “unwelcome” sign (Godley’s sign used slightly spicier language).
She then went on to gain attention during the COVID pandemic, voicing videos of Ms Sturgeon’s health briefings before becoming friends with the former first minister.
In 2022, she wrote her first novel, which was warmly received by critics, and earned celebrity fans including Nigella Lawson, who said it was so good she read it in two sittings.
Police have released a facial reconstruction of an unidentified woman whose body was discovered in a river more than eight months ago.
The woman, who was wearing a lime-green Primark crop-top and New Look jeans, was found by a member of the public in the River Mersey, near Chorlton Water Park in Manchester, on 21 March.
She is thought to have been in the water for one or two months before she was discovered.
Her cause of death is being treated as unexplained and further analysis of her body is due to be completed.
Greater Manchester Police has released the facial reconstruction, which was created by Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University, as they continue to try and identify her.
The force said it comes after months of detailed forensic, DNA and investigative work.
Image: The Primark top the woman was wearing. Pic: Greater Manchester Police/PA
Image: Pic: Greater Manchester Police/PA
The woman, who had an elastic band and hair bobble on her wrist, is described as being from a European background, about 5ft 1in tall, of a slim build and with dark brown hair.
Police believe she is between 26 and 40, although could be older or younger.
When discovered, she was wearing a Primark neon green strapless corset style top, New Look branded Jenna black jeans in a size 8, and dark green anti-slip socks, of the type that are believed to be used in hospitals and care facilities, although can also be purchased in shops and online.
Police believe she may have entered the water in a surrounding area or region, with the River Tame and River Goyt both merging into the River Mersey.
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Image: The socks the woman was wearing. Pic: Greater Manchester Police/PA
Image: The inside tag of the jeans the woman was wearing. Pic: Greater Manchester Police/PA
Detective Inspector Louise Edwards, from GMP’s major incident team, said: “We have worked with numerous experts covering a wide range of forensic examinations and tests available to us, but we have sadly been unable to uncover the woman’s identity.
“We want nothing more than to reunite her with her family and friends. She could be someone’s mother, aunty, sister, or cousin – somebody out there will know who she is and we want to ensure she gets back to her loved ones.
“If you have any information at all, please do get in touch with us. Even the smallest amount of information could greatly benefit in finding out who she is, and the circumstances which led to her sadly being discovered in the river more than eight months ago.”
Two female Russian spies in a love triangle were to be used as “honeytraps” in a surveillance operation on targets across Europe, run from the UK, a court has been told.
Katrin Ivanova, 33, a lab assistant, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, a beautician, were intended to be “in direct contact” with targets “as sexual bait to capture more information”, the Old Bailey heard.
They were allegedly assisted by Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, a painter and decorator from Enfield who had previously been in a relationship with Gaberova.
Bizer Dzhambazov, 43, a medical courier who has pleaded guilty to the spying conspiracy, lived with Ivanova in Harrow, northwest London, but was also having a relationship with Gaberova, who had a flat in Euston.
Image: Bizer Dzhambazov. Pic: Met Police
Alison Morgan KC, prosecuting, told the jury: “They may each, in different ways, seek to rely on these relationships to suggest that they were in some way misled, or that they were blindly following others or going around Europe simply out of love.
“The prosecution’s case is that they were all knowingly involved in this conspiracy. This is not the sort of activity that you conduct simply because of a romantic relationship.”
The spy ring was allegedly run by Orlin Roussev, 46, who lived in a guest house in Great Yarmouth and “tasked” a network of spies who included Ivanova, Gaberova, and Ivanchev.
He has also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy.
Image: Orlin Roussev. Pic: Met Police
The spy ring was allegedly directed by a Russian agent called Jan Marsalek, 43, an Austrian national who used the online alias “Rupert Ticz”.
“By gathering the information and passing it on to the Russian state, the defendants were, make no mistake, putting many lives at risk,” Ms Morgan said.
The activity is said to have taken place between 30 August 2020 and 8 February 2023 in locations including London, Vienna, Valencia, Montenegro and Stuttgart.
Each received “significant sums of money for their actions”, Ms Morgan said, and their activities “caused obvious and inevitable prejudice to the safety and interests of the United Kingdom”.
Messages and money
Nearly 80,000 Telegram messages were recovered between Marsalek and Roussev, showing the “genesis and planning of the operations”.
“There are messages about Russia in general and direct references to President Putin in particular,” Ms Morgan said.
When police raided Roussev’s home in Great Yarmouth, they found it packed with technical equipment including 221 mobile phones, 258 hard drives, 495 SIM cards, 55 visual recording devices and 11 drones.
There were also Wi-Fi eavesdropping devices and items including jammers, cyber exploitation hardware, hacking software, card readers and GPS trackers.
There were 91 bank cards in the names of 17 individuals and 75 passports and identity documents in 55 individuals’ names.
Ms Morgan told the Old Bailey: “Over a period of nearly three years, they sought to gather information for the benefit of Russia, an enemy of the UK, about various targets, both people and locations, of particular interest to the Russian state.”
The operations
Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev investigated the Salisbury poisonings for an investigative journalism group called Bellingcat, identifying the poisoners as coming from a Russian military unit called GRU29115.
As a result of his activities, Grozev was placed on the “wanted” list by the Russian Interior Ministry, the court was told, and targeted by the ring.
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The court also heard they targeted a man called Roman Dobrokhotov, a Russian national living in Britain who founded a media outlet called The Insider.
He had been forced to flee Russia in August 2021 after he was arrested and his passport removed.
The spy ring is said to have conducted surveillance at Patch Barracks, a US military Base in Stuttgart where they believed Ukrainian military forces were being trained in late 2022.
The court heard how in London, they planned to stage a demonstration outside the Kazakhstan embassy, in order to pretend they were in possession of genuine intelligence about those responsible, which they would then pass on to the Kazakhstan intelligence services, in order to try to gain favour on behalf of Russia.
They are also allegedly targeted Kazakhstani dissident Bergey Ryskaliyev.
Another target was Kirill Kachur, a Russian national who was living in Montenegro before he left the country in 2021 and was designated as a “foreign agent” by Russia, the court heard.
Mr Justice Hilliard adjourned the trial until Monday.
Remains found in a Greater Manchester park have been identified as that of a newborn girl, police have said.
Officers said the baby’s cause of death “remains unascertained pending further investigation” after a post-mortem on Wednesday.
Police said they have named the baby girl Ava and reiterated their appeal for her mum, family, or anyone who knows anything about what may have happened to come forward.
Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley from the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) major incident team said they believe “someone out there” knows what happened.
“We know that this case has touched the hearts of many people across Greater Manchester, and like you, we’re determined to find out what happened to this little girl,” she added.
“We are continuing to appeal for her mum, who may require medical assistance, or her family to come forward and speak to us.”
The discovery was made at around 12.30pm last Wednesday by a woman walking her dog off Cleggs Lane, in the vicinity of Ashton’s Field in Little Hulton. Police said the baby was wrapped in a pink fabric.
Image: The scene near Ashtons Field last week
Over the past week, officers have gone from house to house and enquired about CCTV to try to figure out exactly what happened to Ava, GMP said.
“You may not have felt confident to come forward yet, but please know that we have trained officers ready to support you, no matter what the circumstances are, please get in touch,” DCI Whalley said, continuing her appeal.
“We are now asking you to cast your minds back to previous months, perhaps you heard something, or saw something that didn’t feel right.
“It may have seemed insignificant at the time, but knowing what you know now, come forward. It could be crucial to finding the truth for Ava.”
Read more: Police make direct appeal to mother
Police will be looking to close their investigation scene at Ashtons Field this weekend, the force said, but “enquiries will continue”.
Tributes left at the site will be cleaned and donated to children’s charities in Ava’s name, GMP said.
Former Tory minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns has joined Reform UK, Nigel Farage has announced.
Ms Jenkyns, who served under the administration of Liz Truss, has been selected to stand as the party’s candidate for the newly created post of Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
The announcement was made during a Reform press conference in which Mr Farage revealed that the party’s membership had increased to 100,000 people.
Dame Andrea was elected to parliament in 2015, famously defeating the sitting shadow chancellor Ed Balls to take his seat of Morley and Outwood.
She served as an education minister in the period after Boris Johnson resigned as the leadership contest was under way, and left government after the demise of the Truss government.
She lost her seat at the general election in July – despite famously having a photo of her with Mr Farage on her election leaflets.
