Lucy Letby moans ‘I'm the fattest I've EVER been' after splurging prison job cash on junk food & chocolate, inmates say
The former nurse devours junk food and Quality Street chocolates paid for by working three different prison jobs inside HMP Bronzefield.
2
Britain's most prolific child killer is serving 15 whole-life orders.
The 35-year-old from Herefordshire was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others while working at the Countess of Chester in 2015 and 2016.
One fellow inmate complained to the Mirror that Letby's behaviour is annoying other lags - and she cries to win sympathy from guards.
They said that staff are scared of the nurse so "pander" to her and treat her like "a princess".
The killer has jobs as a laundry worker, earning £8 a week, a kitchen worker - another £8 a week - and a library worker.
A source told the Mirror: "She gets almost £20 a week, which in prison money is a lot. She buys loads, and loads of junk food. She's put on loads of weight, she's got quite fat, you wouldn't recognise her. It's all put on around her face.
"She was moaning that she's the fattest she's ever been. She weighs 72 kilos [almost 11 stone 5oz] - she's not fat, but fat for her, you know as she was really, really skinny."
It comes after The Sun reported Letby and the stepmother of murdered Sara Sharif have bonded in prison over family card game Uno.
Letby and Beinash Batool — who is serving 33 years over ten-year-old Sara's death — spend hours playing the game in their cushy jail unit.
The child killers — both inmates with 'enhanced' privileges at HMP Bronzefield, Surrey — also spend time in each other's cells and in the kitchen together.
But their love of the Uno game, which sees players try to match cards and yell 'Uno' when they have just one left, has sparked fury among staff and lags.
Our source said: 'It's a grim spectacle. They spend ages at the table playing and get really into it.
'People are angry, but staff have to do what they can to keep prisoners happy.
'Letby and Batool started sticking together and have now become quite friendly.
'They are both enhanced prisoners, so they get a lot of freedom and can buy decent food. And they are often in the kitchen, chatting and making cheese toasties.
'The difference between them is that Batool does not discuss her crime, while Letby tells anyone who will listen that she is innocent.
'They both have jobs, with Letby doing cleaning and Batool helping in the library.
'They are also monitored closely by staff as they are at risk of attack. But their lives will stay quite comfortable as long as they behave.'
Letby, 35, and Batool, 31, are held on Unit 4 of 527-inmate Bronzefield, which is run by private firm Sodexo.
They both have TVs with Freeview channels and a DVD player, along with books and films, which they can order from the library.
Others on the unit include Sian Hedges, jailed for life in 2024 for killing 18-month-old son Alfie Phillips.
Shamed prison officer Linda de Sousa Abreu, who romped with a lag, was also held there until her release last month.
Letby — convicted of the murders of seven babies and attempted murders of seven more while a neonatal nurse — has regular legal meetings as she plans her appeal.
Sara's dad, Urfan Sharif, is serving at least 40 years for murder after she was beaten to death at the couple's home in Woking, Surrey.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
One year on, this is how the Southport attack has changed Britain
A year ago today, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana walked into the Hart Space dance studio in Meols Cop, Southport, where 26 children were midway through a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. In a 12-minute knife rampage, Rudakubana murdered three girls, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and attempted to murder many others. In January, Rudakubana was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 52 years. While the survivors and the families of the victims try to rebuild their lives, 12 months on from Rudakubana's attack, its effects continue to reverberate around Britain. The days after the attack provided a second tragedy. Initially, police stated only that a man 'born in Cardiff' had been arrested. As false rumours that the killer was in fact a Muslim asylum seeker spread quickly online, a wave of public disorder was unleashed in Southport and beyond. Emotions stirred up by the nature of the killings combined with online misinformation and a lack of clarity from authorities to provoke widespread rioting. This was not just in Southport, where 50 police officers were injured, but all over the country: London, Belfast, Burnley. A judge eventually named Rudakubana, the Cardiff-born son of Rwandan immigrants, who had moved to the UK in 2002, but the fuse had been lit. In Tamworth, rioters attacked police and attempted to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers. Filipino nurses were attacked in Sunderland. In Stoke-on-Trent, 94 people were arrested. In total, more than 1,800 were arrested, many sentenced summarily as Keir Starmer sought to restore the impression of order. In January, Andrew McIntyre was jailed for seven and a half years for using an account called 'Southport Wake Up' to encourage disorder around July 30. The Southport attack was a crime of such enormity, and the scale of fallout so large, that it has had ramifications far beyond the immediate victims and surrounding area. Policing, sentencing guidelines, immigration, knife laws, free speech, the right to protest: all have been in the spotlight since last July. Ministers promised that things would change. In January, when the Home Office announced a public inquiry into the killings, the prime minister said that Southport must be a 'line in the sand'. Six months on from that statement, it has not proved so. Fractures exposed by Southport and its aftermath are far from healed. Recent protests outside an asylum hotel in Epping Forest and a supposed asylum hotel in Canary Wharf are obvious examples of stories that can be traced directly back to Southport. But the attack's macabre echoes can be heard whenever an online rumour spreads before authorities can react, or someone is arrested for a social media post, or a peaceful protest threatens to spill over into something more sinister. A town changed for ever In Southport, reaction to the attack was grief and fury. Thousands of locals held a vigil, laying flowers and clutching pink ribbons. As the outpouring gave way to rage, the recently elected Labour MP for Southport, Patrick Hurley, told journalists the town was 'united to say the atrocity on Monday, which is the worst in living memory in the town, and also the riots on Tuesday night, are not the Southport we know and love'. The mosque still has shutters over its windows. Child-focused businesses report lower levels of trade. In the aftermath of the attacks, many other youth clubs and classes reviewed their safety procedures, some cancelling them altogether. But in other ways the town is slowly putting itself back together. In an interview earlier this year, Marion Atkinson, the Sefton council leader, said Southport would 'not let one person's actions break us apart'. A new £10m garden is being built in the centre of town, a 'legacy' rather than a memorial. 'I don't think we can move on from what happens,' she tells The Telegraph. 'Moving forward, is how I would say things are going. Our community's response was bravery, compassion, solidarity, and we keep that in our hearts as we go forward. People are still grieving; the most important thing is to remain as supportive as we can.' The victims' families, supported by Sefton council, asked that there be no large-scale vigils or flower-laying to mark the anniversary. 'This period is incredibly hard for the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie and all of those children and adults injured or who suffered lifelong psychological impact of witnessing the attack, and we acknowledge the huge impact on their lives too,' it said in an open letter. Instead it urged people to donate to local causes. 'While it showed the worst, it also showed the best of us, and it definitely grew our community together,' says Atkinson. 'We have to keep on looking after each other.' More calls for knife control Rudakubana used a knife he had bought on Amazon when he was 17, despite it being illegal to sell knives to under-18s. In September 2024, six weeks after the killings, Starmer and Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, with the actor Idris Elba as its figurehead. So-called zombie knives, which are serrated to make wounds more difficult to treat, were banned on September 24. Ninja swords will be banned this Friday, August 1. Announcing a new Crime and Policing Bill earlier this year, Starmer said that it 'remains shockingly easy for our children to get their hands on deadly knives', adding that 'the lessons of [the Southport] case could not be clearer'. Patrick Green, the chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, a knife crime charity, says: 'One of the issues Southport raises is how easy it was for the perpetrator to get hold of knives. It's deeply concerning because we know it's not an isolated incident. Recent legislation is a step in the right direction but much more needs to be done. It has never been easier for an under-18 to buy a knife than it is at the moment.' The legislation includes measures to raise the maximum sentence for selling knives to children from six months to two years, and make tech executives personally liable if illegal weapons were listed on their site. Those trying to buy knives online would be required to submit two types of identification. While the law restricts ninja swords and zombie knives, however, would-be attackers can still easily get hold of kitchen knives. In May, Leanne Lucas, a dance teacher who survived the attack, launched Let's Be Blunt, a campaign to have pointed tips on kitchen knives replaced by blunt ones. 'As a consumer you have a choice,' Green says. 'You don't have to buy a pointed knife. Our kitchens are an armoury. Rounded knives perform the kitchen function as well if not better than a pointed knife. As consumers we all have a part to play.' The implications for free speech In the months after the attacks, police forces around the country clamped down on online speech. Southport did not begin the trend for policing social media, but it accelerated it. The most famous case was that of Lucy Connolly. In July 2024, during the frenzy of online speculation about the identity of the attacker, in which it was thought it might be an illegal immigrant, Connolly, then a 41-year-old childminder from Northampton, wrote a 51-word post on X: 'Mass deportation now. Set fire to all the f---ing hotels full of the bastards for all I care. While you're at it, take the treacherous government and politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it.' She deleted the post less than four hours later, but by then, it had been seen more than 310,000 times. In October, Connolly was given a 31-month jail sentence after admitting inciting racial hatred. Her case has become a flashpoint for conversations about free speech in the UK. Stephen O'Grady, an officer with the Free Speech Union, said the case was 'emblematic of wider concerns' with regard to police interest in online activity. Police make an average of around 30 arrests per day for online posts. In November 2024, Essex Police visited Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson's home over a post on X about the Israel-Hamas war which incited racial hatred. Coming in and around a United States presidential election in which freedom of speech was a contested topic, particularly by Elon Musk, such cases were used as evidence that the UK – and Europe – was far behind the US on free speech. JD Vance, Donald Trump's vice-president, has repeatedly attacked Europe for its limitations on freedom of speech. In a scathing speech to the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance made reference to the case of Adam Smith-Connor, who was jailed for praying outside an abortion clinic, and argued that 'the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular' were under threat. In May, Trump said he was 'monitoring' the Connolly case. As high-profile police investigations into the music acts Kneecap and Bob Vylan have shown, it is not only during riots that police are using their new powers, but day-to-day. This week, it was reported that the police are planning to set up a new elite unit, the National Internet Intelligence Investigations team, to help police online posts. The unit, proposed in a letter to MPs by the policing minister, Diana Johnson, as part of the response to Southport, would offer 'enhanced capacity to monitor and respond to social media at the national level'. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said the proposal was 'sinister, dangerous and must be fought', and that it was 'the beginning of the state controlling free speech'. Public protests tipping into riots The eruption of public violence in late July and early August last year saw the most damaging public protests since the riots of 2011. They showed how difficult it can be for the authorities, bound by restrictions on what can and can't be said, to keep pace in the internet era, when a lie can travel the world in seconds. The police were not legally allowed to name Rudakubana, as he was under 18. A local parent, Eddie Murray, posted on LinkedIn claiming a 'migrant' was responsible for the attack, which was quickly reshared by prominent Right-wing accounts. To try to quell the violence, by August 1, a judge had removed the reporting restrictions, arguing that the 'idiotic rioting' made it in the public interest for the killer to be named. Dame Melanie Dawes, the Ofcom chief executive, wrote: 'Posts about the Southport incident and subsequent events from high-profile accounts reached millions of users, demonstrating the role that virality and algorithmic recommendations can play in driving divisive narratives in a crisis period.' Unlike other comparable protests, the riots after Southport were not organised by one group but rather by the coming together of many different groups, fuelled by misinformation. They led to counterprotests, too, by anti-racist groups. In a recent paper, John Drury, a professor of social psychology at the University of Sussex, argued that the Southport protests had more in common with the 'race' riots in Notting Hill and Nottingham in 1958 than with the riots of 2011. Rather than protests by minorities against authority, the protests in response to Southport were more like 'some kind of direct action' and were more attacks than traditional protests. The recent charged protests in Epping Forest and Canary Wharf follow the example of Southport: information spreads online, harnessed by disparate Right-wing groups, who descend on the target location. There, they are often met by counterprotesters. Georgina Laming, the campaigns and communications director of Hope not Hate, believes the far Right has been emboldened by the killings and their violent aftermath. 'Those more extreme protests have emboldened people to share more racist views than they would have before,' she says. 'It has had a knock-on effect of more persistent everyday racism. I don't think we are prepared for another set of riots. It's essential the police and Government learn the lessons.' Policing under renewed scrutiny One of the most shocking revelations in the case was that Rudakubana's teachers had warned the Prevent counterterrorism scheme three times that he was obsessed with violence. On each occasion, his case was closed because he did not have a terrorist motive. In a major review of Prevent released earlier this month, Lord David Anderson KC argued that it could have intervened and possibly stopped Rudakubana before he had become violent. 'It's a failure of the system,' Lord Anderson said, adding that 'it has to be made clear that these so-called violence-fascinated individuals do fall within its scope'. In January, Yvette Cooper argued that Southport had been failed by the police, the courts and Prevent. Widespread changes to Prevent have been announced, including new referral thresholds, improved training and an independent commissioner to act better on warning signs. The Government has also re-prioritised community-based policing and services as a counterbalance to online misinformation. In January, the Government announced another £200m for local policing. A report about the attacks by Cetas, the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security, said that because trust in official sources was so low, unofficial sources could help dispel false narratives. 'There are quite low levels of trust and confidence in government and law enforcement,' said Sam Stockwell, a co-author of the study. 'So if you can get non-government-affiliated sources sharing the same kind of information and facts, you are more likely to be able to resonate and engage with wider audiences.' Concerns about knife crime, free speech, immigration, protest and children's safety did not begin with Southport. The attack was so terrible that it exposed cracks that were already growing. Arguably no other single crime in recent memory has had such a disastrous effect on public order. The chaos after the attack gave politicians, such as Nigel Farage, space to make political hay with Southport. Ultimately, Southport undermined faith in the authorities and became a rallying cry for the far Right. For them, Southport was evidence of the need for tougher policing and sentencing. Despite Rudakubana being born in the UK, it also became a flashpoint for concerns about migration. For those on the Left, the response to Southport was evidence of far-Right opportunism in using a tragedy to advance its arguments, on immigration, for example, regardless of the truth of the events. The murders may have united Southport in grief and solidarity, but it is far from clear that it has had such a potent effect on the country at large. A year on, the long-term effects of Southport are only just becoming clear.
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The truth about Britain's 'dark economy': Map reveals how nearly 1,000 businesses were fined £37MILLION for hiring illegal workers last year
Nearly a thousand businesses the length and breadth of Britain were fined more than £37million for employing illegal workers last year. Firms received penalties of up to £360,000 as part of the clampdown, which exposes the vast size of the UK's 'dark economy'. The ability to work without papers is considered a major pull factor for migrants overstaying visas or arriving illegally on small boats and lorries. MailOnline used Home Office data covering the whole of 2024 to name and shame businesses that have been caught out. They range from car washes, barbers, salons, hotels and takeaways to haulage firms, care providers and home renovation services. The biggest fine of £360,000 was given to D&T Hand Car Wash in Leatherhead, followed by £280,000 for a south London real estate company called Arya Rae Ltd and £270,000 for nursing agency Wrexham Care in Staffordshire. Also among the top ten were two more car washes, two construction companies, a haulage firm, one care provider and one restaurant - Portofino in New Brighton, Merseyside. Fines issued by Immigration Enforcement teams totalled £37,625,000, although it is unclear how much of this money has been paid. Businesses found to be employing people illegally face fines of up to £45,000 per worker for the first offence and up to £60,000 per worker for repeat offenders. While many are small firms, inspectors have netted some major names, including the famous Royal China restaurant on London's Baker Street. The well-known eatery has paid fines totalling £470,000 after three visits by immigration officers between 2018 and 2024. At least 20 people were arrested during the raids, which found one staff member who was receiving an hourly rate of £6 while carrying out 66-hour weeks. The council later stripped the venue of its licence to serve alcohol - labelling it 'the worst licensed premises in Westminster'. The latest raid by the Home Office's Central London ICE (Immigration Compliance and Enforcement) took place on May 10 2024, with nine members of staff detained - almost a third of those on duty at the time. The Royal China Group was fined £360,000 on that occasion, with six Indonesian and two Malaysian men deemed to have overstayed visas, and a Chinese woman working in breach of hers. During a raid in Oldham, immigration Enforcement officers found makeshift shipping containers that had been turned into a kitchen and living room In June, the Home Office revealed its officers had visited more than 9,000 businesses in the previous 12 months for checks on paperwork and working conditions. More than 6,400 people were arrested during the raids. The Home Office said there were a range of industries exploiting migrant workers with businesses often subjecting migrants to 'squalid conditions and illegal working hours' and below-minimum wages. In one case, migrants were found living in appalling conditions inside shipping containers at a car salvage yard in Oldham, where they were paid just £2.33 an hour. The illegal workers, from Malaysia, Lithuania and Belarus, were working between 50 and 60 gruelling hours a week. Officers found makeshift sleeping cabins, fitted with small beds and bathrooms, as well as shipping containers that had been turned into a kitchen and living room. Immigration officials said the migrants were promised accommodation and three meals a day - but once these costs were deducted it is suspected they only received £500 a month, or £2.33 per hour. Last year, MailOnline witnessed more than 30 officers raiding a bedding and mattress factory before making a dozen arrests. Specialist immigration enforcement teams in six vans surrounded the large warehouse near Tipton in the West Midlands before rushing in just after 10am. Several workers started running away after spotting the officers and tried to hide between timber pallets and piles of mattresses before they were handcuffed. The name of the business, Giomani Designs, was on a sign outside, and its products - which include leather beds and outdoor rattan furniture - were sold direct to consumers online. Officers interviewed all the men at the factory before arresting seven Indian men for suspected illegal working. Those found to be legally employed were allowed to return to their shift.
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Convicted Algerian criminal is allowed to stay in Britain... because he would be mocked in his home country for dressing as a woman
A convicted Algerian criminal has been allowed to stay in Britain after claiming he would be mocked for wearing women's clothes and makeup if he returned to Algeria. The 27-year-old, who claims to be transgender, has been jailed for robbery and committed multiple offences including burglary, theft and battery since being granted refugee status in 2013. In arguing against his deportation, the repeat offender, identified only as MS, claimed he would be targeted in Algeria because of his sexuality - described to a court as 'gay, transvestite and/or transgender'. And an asylum judge agreed, upholding his appeal against the Home Office 's revocation of his refugee status. Upper Tribunal Judge Christopher Hanson said: 'Were MS to return to Algeria and be open about his sexuality, he would be at risk of mockery, harassment, discrimination and potential harm from non-state actors. 'Were he to wear women's clothes and makeup, he would certainly draw negative attention to himself, and would likely be subjected to ridicule, hostility and possible harm... 'Algerian society would not generally accept men dressing as women or asserting that they are transgender. 'Indeed, [his] being ridiculed for wearing women's clothes and make up in public areas is entirely plausible, as are his father's threats to kill him on account of his behaviour. 'A family would deem such actions as deeply shameful and humiliating, and would do their utmost to prevent their son from bringing embarrassment and shame in this way. 'If MS chooses to dress in women's clothing or make up, this would heighten the threat of abuse.' The Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT) of the Asylum and Immigration Chamber was told that MS is a gay man recognised as a refugee 'who was and is a transvestite and/or is transgender'. The hearing, held in Birmingham, was told that since arriving in Britain 12 years ago he had been convicted of numerous crimes. 'Between April 2014 and January 2015, [MS] received four convictions for offences including: burglary and theft; attempted burglary with intent to steal; using threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear or provocation of violence; theft,' the tribunal heard. MS received a warning letter from officials in September 2015, after the decision was taken not to deport him due to Algeria's 'situation'. He received eight further convictions between May 2016 and June 2018 for offences including 'theft; resisting or obstructing a constable; failing to surrender to custody at appointed time and various driving offences'. In August of the same year, he was convicted for offences including theft and 'racially or religiously aggravated fear or provocation of violence in words or writing'. He was again given a warning letter in September 2018 after a decision was made not to pursue deportation, and after further convictions between December 2018 and January 2019 he was given more warning letters. In February 2019, he was issued 'administrative removal papers as an overstayer', following the expiry of his refugee limited leave to remain. MS was in and out of prison after this point, and came to the attention of authorities in January of the following year after being convicted for offences including battery. He was sentenced to four years and three months in prison after receiving a conviction for robbery and breaching a criminal behaviour order. A deportation order was made in August 2022, and he was served with a notice of the decision to revoke his refugee status in the same month. The Home Office asserted in July 2023 that the situation in Algeria had changed and that MS would no longer be an 'individual who would face treatment amounting to persecution' in the country. However, a 'country expert' told the tribunal that while 'homosexuality is not illegal in Algeria engaging in homosexual acts is a punishable offence', and those who do not hide their sexuality are at risk of 'physical violence'. The Upper Tribunal heard that in interviews in May 2023, MS said: 'He liked to play with girls and would dress up in his sister's clothes for which his father would beat him. 'His father would chain him to a wall and throw "rocks" at him.' MS said that he had been raped as a child and had also been bullied in school for acting 'like a girl'. He said he feared for his life if he had to return to Algeria, where their father still lives. The judge found that the asylum seeker 'could well end up destitute and living on the streets', and that 'mental health problems would make him particularly vulnerable in this respect'. Judge Hanson said: 'I find a holistic assessment of the evidence shows there is sufficient to justify the maintaining of the grant of international protection.' The judge found the first-tier tribunal made a legal error because it did not consider the 'protected characteristics' for which the asylum seeker has been 'recognised as a refugee'.
