Former footballer ‘assaulted Sugababes star and banned her wearing red lipstick'
Taiwo Leo Atieno, 39, faces eight charges relating to his ex-girlfriend, Ms Buchanan, during an approximately 13-year period.
The former Luton Town and Kenya national team player appeared via video link from HMP Wormwood Scrubs wearing a suit and tie.
He was not asked to enter pleas and Judge Ian Bourne KC granted his release from prison on conditional bail during the Harrow Crown Court case sitting at Southwark on Thursday.
Atieno, from Brixton, south London, is charged with assaulting the founding Sugababes singer between January 1 2012 and January 1 2015 causing her actual bodily harm.
He is also charged with controlling or coercive behaviour against Ms Buchanan between December 29 2015 and May 1 2018.
The charge alleges that he opened Ms Buchanan's correspondences, would not let her wear red lipstick, and that he controlled her finances and when she could go to the gym or shower.
The charge claims this caused Ms Buchanan 'serious alarm or distress which had a substantial adverse effect' on her 'usual day-to-day activities'.
He is accused of doing this 'at a time when he knew or ought to have known that the behaviour will have a serious effect' on her.
Atieno is also charged with six counts of breaching a non-molestation order, twice by allegedly posting information about Ms Buchanan to a third party online on July 18 and July 20 last year.
He is also accused of breaching the order by emailing Ms Buchanan on August 2, November 19, December 19 and December 23 2024.
His bail conditions include that he must surrender his passport by Monday afternoon.
The judge said: 'There must not be any contact either directly or indirectly with the complainant Keisha Buchanan.
'That means any form of contact, whether it be by email or other sort of social media messaging system – any contact at all'.
Julian Malins KC, defending, said his client 'fully understands it, and assures the court through us that he will abide by that'.
Atieno was also told not to apply for international travel or to enter the London Borough of Barnet.
He is due to enter pleas on August 22 this year and his trial is set for April 13 2026.
Ms Buchanan was a teenager when she became one of the original members of the Sugababes with Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy in 1998.
Donaghy left in 2001 and was replaced by Heidi Range.
Buena was replaced by Amelle Berrabah in 2005 and Buchanan, the final original member, was replaced by Jade Ewen in 2009.
The founding trio regained the right to use the Sugababes name in 2019 and reunited in 2022 to perform at Glastonbury Festival.
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Sky News
3 days ago
- Sky News
Ex-footballer appears in court charged with assaulting Sugababes singer
A former professional footballer has appeared in court charged with assaulting Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan, as well as controlling or coercive behaviour. Taiwo Leo Atieno faces eight charges relating to his ex-girlfriend, Ms Buchanan, across an approximately 13-year period. The 39-year-old, who played for Luton Town while they were in the Conference Premier league between 2010 and 2011, appeared via video link from HMP Wormwood Scrubs wearing a suit and tie. Atieno was not asked to enter pleas and Judge Ian Bourne KC granted his release from prison on conditional bail during the Harrow Crown Court case sitting at Southwark on Thursday. Atieno, who was born in Brixton in London but played for the Kenyan national team, is charged with assaulting the founding Sugababes singer between 1 January 2012 and 1 January 2015 - causing her actual bodily harm. He is also charged with controlling or coercive behaviour against Ms Buchanan between 29 December 2015 and 1 May 2018. The charge alleges he opened Ms Buchanan's correspondences, controlled her finances and when she could go to the gym and shower, and would not let her wear red lipstick. The charge claims this caused Ms Buchanan "serious alarm or distress which had a substantial adverse effect" on her "usual day-to-day activities". He is accused of doing this "at a time when he knew or ought to have known that the behaviour will have a serious effect" on her. Atieno is also charged with six counts of breaching a non-molestation order, twice by allegedly posting information about Ms Buchanan to a third party online on 18 July and 20 July 2024. He is further accused of breaching the order by emailing Ms Buchanan on 2 August, 19 November, 19 December and 23 December 2024. His bail conditions stipulate that he must surrender his passport. The judge said: "There must not be any contact either directly or indirectly with the complainant Keisha Buchanan. "That means any form of contact, whether it be by email or other sort of social media messaging system - any contact at all". Julian Malins KC, defending, said Atieno "fully understands it, and assures the court through us that he will abide by that". Atieno was also told not to apply for international travel or to enter the London Borough of Barnet. He is due to enter pleas on 22 August. His trial is set to begin on 13 April 2026. Ms Buchanan became one of the original members of the Sugababes with Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy as a teenager in 1998. Donaghy left in 2001 and was replaced by Heidi Rang, while Buena was replaced by Amelle Berrabah in 2005. Buchanan, the last remaining original member, was replaced by Jade Ewen in 2009. The founding trio regained the right to use the Sugababes name in 2019. They reunited to perform at Glastonbury Festival in 2022.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Daily Record
Falkirk councillor suspended for three months over 'bullying' email
Billy Buchanan broke the councillors' code of conduct when he asked for advice on "the suspension of an officer" A Falkirk councillor has been suspended for three months after sending an angry email that said he wanted to "get advice on the suspension of an officer" and threatened to involve the police and a solicitor. A hearing of the Standards Commission today (Thursday) found that Independent councillor Billy Buchanan, who represents Bonnybridge and Larbert, had sent an email regarding a member of Falkirk Council' s planning staff that "amounted to bullying". Morag Ferguson, Standards Commission member and chair of the hearing panel, said: 'The panel found that, in an email of 9 June 2023, Cllr Buchanan was disrespectful towards a planning officer of the council. The panel further found that Cllr Buchanan's conduct, in respect of the email, amounted to bullying, even if this had not been his intent.' Members heard that the email, sent on June 9, 2023, read: "I am looking for a meeting with officials and Councillor K to make a formal complaint and get advice on the suspension of an officer pending the outcome of an investigation." The email referred to a controversial planning application that had been turned down by council officers, before Falkirk Council's planning review committee granted permission for the development to go ahead, subject to a legal agreement being signed. Baillie Buchanan told the panel that the application had sparked abuse that had affected both him and his family as well as other councillors involved. When the applicant's agent contacted him to say that the legal agreement had still not been signed months later, Baillie Buchanan emailed officers to ask that the matter be investigated. Several months later, he received another email - this time from a fellow councillor, who was not named - to say that the matter was still not resolved. A senior planning officer replied to advise members that the delay was caused by the introduction of new planning policy by the Scottish Government. But the panel found that Cllr Buchanan then sent an email, on 2 June 2023, to the other councillor and managers from the senior planning officer's team stating that he wanted 'an immediate investigation' into the situation and the concerns expressed regarding the senior planning officer's 'part in the handling' of the application. This was followed by the email on June 9, which suggested Cllr Buchanan was looking for advice "on the suspension of an officer" and referred to getting the police and his personal solicitor involved. He signed off the email saying, "It's scandalous!" Baillie Buchanan insisted that the reference to the police and his solicitor was not directed at the officer but had been because he and his family, along with other councillors, had been subjected to horrendous abuse because of the decision to grant planning permission. Baillie Buchanan said he had "never at any stage accused the complainant of anything" but he admitted it had been frustrating to send a complaint about a delay and "months and months later" to hear the matter had still not been resolved. He told the panel: "What I said, quite clearly, was that I wanted a meeting to get advice. "The reason to involve the police because we had had so much abuse. "I sent the email to try and bring this to a conclusion." But the panel was satisfied that Cllr Buchanan assumed the senior planning officer was responsible the length of time the application was taking. It was also satisfied that he was also suggesting the officer be suspended as a result, noting that the senior planning officer had been removed from the list of recipients in the email chain. The members of the panel accepted fully that Cllr Buchanan was entitled to raise questions about the progress of applications determined by the Committee and to raise concerns - with the appropriate line manager or senior officer - about delays potentially caused by a council employee. But they considered that anyone reading the email would conclude "from Cllr Buchanan's mention of a disciplinary measure, the police, his solicitor, and his use of the word 'scandalous', that he was clearly implying the senior planning officer was guilty of misconduct and or had deliberately done something that was improper or illegal. Cllr Buchanan said he was very angry that the email, marked private and confidential, had been shared with the officer. But members of the panel felt that "Cllr Buchanan should have known it was likely the contents of his email would be disclosed ... given the reference to disciplinary proceedings and seriousness of the inferred allegations about the officer's conduct (even if the full email was not shared)". The Panel agreed that it would be reasonable for the senior planning officer to have interpreted Cllr Buchanan's comments as a threat to contact both the police and an external solicitor about his conduct. Ms Ferguson said that unless there was a suggestion of illegality, an officer's conduct would be an internal council matter and Cllr Buchanan had not provided any evidence of illegality or misconduct. The panel found that Cllr Buchanan "had breached the provisions in the Code that require councillors to behave respectfully towards council officers and to refrain from any conduct that could amount to bullying". The panel agreed that Cllr Buchanan "should have known how to undertake his scrutiny role in respect of the application and overall process and could have asked relevant senior officers to establish whether and, if so why, any undue delays had occurred, without breaching the Code". Ms Ferguson added that they were concerned that Cllr Buchanan had not shown any remorse or insight into how his conduct may have affected others. But they noted that the conduct was limited to one email exchange and felt that a three-month suspension was an appropriate sanction.
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Former footballer ‘assaulted Sugababes star and banned her wearing red lipstick'
A former professional footballer has appeared in court charged with assaulting Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan, and controlling when she could shower or go to the gym. Taiwo Leo Atieno (39) faces eight charges relating to his ex-girlfriend, Ms Buchanan, during an approximately 13-year period. Advertisement The former Luton Town and Kenya national team player appeared via video link from Wormwood Scrubs prison in England wearing a suit and tie. The Sugababes (left to right) Heidi Range, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan in 2002 (Yui Mok/PA) He was not asked to enter pleas and Judge Ian Bourne KC granted his release from prison on conditional bail during the Harrow Crown Court case sitting at Southwark in London on Thursday. Atieno, from Brixton, south London, is charged with assaulting the founding Sugababes singer between January 1st, 2012, and January 1st, 2015, causing her actual bodily harm. He is also charged with controlling or coercive behaviour against Ms Buchanan between December 29th, 2015, and May 1st, 2018. Advertisement The charge alleges that he opened Ms Buchanan's correspondences, would not let her wear red lipstick, and that he controlled her finances and when she could go to the gym or shower. The charge claims this caused Ms Buchanan 'serious alarm or distress which had a substantial adverse effect' on her 'usual day-to-day activities'. He is accused of doing this 'at a time when he knew or ought to have known that the behaviour will have a serious effect' on her. Atieno is also charged with six counts of breaching a non-molestation order, twice by allegedly posting information about Ms Buchanan to a third party online on July 18th and July 20th last year. Advertisement He is also accused of breaching the order by emailing Ms Buchanan on August 2nd, November 19th, December 19th and December 23rd, 2024. His bail conditions include that he must surrender his passport by Monday afternoon. Taiwo Atieno (right) playing for Torquay United (PA) The judge said: 'There must not be any contact either directly or indirectly with the complainant Keisha Buchanan. 'That means any form of contact, whether it be by email or other sort of social media messaging system – any contact at all'. Advertisement Julian Malins KC, defending, said his client 'fully understands it, and assures the court through us that he will abide by that'. Atieno was also told not to apply for international travel or to enter the London Borough of Barnet. He is due to enter pleas on August 22nd this year and his trial is set for April 13th, 2026. Ms Buchanan was a teenager when she became one of the original members of the Sugababes with Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy in 1998. Advertisement Entertainment Sugababes' Keisha Buchanan: Harshness in music ind... Read More Donaghy left in 2001 and was replaced by Heidi Range. Buena was replaced by Amelle Berrabah in 2005 and Buchanan, the final original member, was replaced by Jade Ewen in 2009. The founding trio regained the right to use the Sugababes name in 2019 and reunited in 2022 to perform at Glastonbury Festival.
