Southwater fire affecting five homes leads to police appeal
A fire affecting five homes in West Sussex has led to a police appeal for information.Sussex Police said enquiries around the circumstances of the blaze in Southwater on Sunday were continuing.Emergency services attended reports of a fire in Roman Lane at about 12:00 GMT.The road was closed while West Sussex Fire and Rescue worked to control and extinguish the flames, which had spread to four neighbouring properties, police said.
No injuries were reported and police have asked anyone with information or footage to contact them.At 13:45 the fire service said the blaze was under control and the response would be scaled back.
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Times
an hour ago
- Times
Police officer who quit to avoid misconduct hearing ‘cannot be barred'
A senior Metropolitan Police counterterrorism officer accused of inappropriate behaviour towards a female officer at an International Women's Day event in the Maldives was allowed to resign before a gross misconduct hearing. Detective Superintendent Jim Knowles was heralded in the event brochure as a 'strong advocate' for gender equality and a 'HeForShe ally' before he allegedly caused distress to a Maldivian police officer, the local liaison for the Met contingent. It is understood that the complaint lodged with the Met alleged that Knowles texted the woman inappropriately after meeting her at the conference in March 2023. He was said to have turned up unannounced at her hotel room after dinner and, although he left when asked, the encounter left her feeling distressed and uncomfortable. An investigation found that Knowles, who has worked in royalty protection and intelligence, had a case to answer for gross misconduct. He faced the sack if found guilty but resigned before proceedings were brought. He now works for a private security company. The case is another test of the Met's commitment to addressing misconduct within its ranks, a key pledge of Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, after a series of scandals involving police predators. Gross misconduct hearings, which can be carried out in the absence of former officers, also have the power to bar individuals from working in policing again. That was no longer an option in relation to Knowles once the hearing was cancelled. The Met said that his conduct would be part of his file and come up if he applied for jobs that required vetting in the future. Officers from the Met's counterterror squad are regularly sent overseas to engage and advise local police forces, including in the Maldives, which had one of the highest rates per capita of fighters joining Islamic State. Since the collapse of the Islamist caliphate, there is an enhanced threat from fighters who have returned home. In March 2023 Knowles, then the deputy national co-ordinator for Protect and Prepare, a key element of the UK's counterterror strategy, travelled to the Maldives with two colleagues. The Foreign Office arranged an event, at which Knowles was a speaker, with more than 130 female officers to mark International Women's Day, celebrate women in policing and improve co-ordination between law enforcement agencies involved in the Maldives. The morning after the incident, Knowles's colleagues saw the Maldivian officer in distress. A complaint was made about his alleged inappropriate behaviour on their return to the UK. A disciplinary board was convened 20 months later in November last year, but the force confirmed that it was cancelled when Knowles resigned. The Met would not say who took that decision but cited the need to bring the alleged victim from overseas to give evidence and claimed that she was by then living in a country that did not allow video evidence. A Met spokeswoman said: 'We investigated a complaint of inappropriate behaviour by a Met officer seconded to Counter Terrorism Policing towards a woman in the Maldives on March 8, 2023. 'While our investigation determined the officer should face a misconduct hearing, this was reviewed following his resignation from the force and the hearing was cancelled. The matter remains on the former officer's conduct file and would need to be disclosed during any future vetting process. 'There is no place in the Met for anyone who cannot be trusted to work with women or is a risk to the public.' The Met declined to comment on whether Knowles had to get permission from anyone to resign, and if so who. The Times has attempted to contact Knowles.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Trans police officers blocked from strip-searching biological women
Transgender police officers will no longer be able to strip-search people of a different biological sex to them. Six forces across England had previously been accused of a lack of urgency in changing policies to ensure detainees should only be searched by an officer of the same sex in the wake of the landmark legal ruling on the definition of sex in April. The constabularies of Merseyside, Sussex, Surrey and Northumbria, as well as the Metropolitan Police and the British Transport Police, previously allowed trans officers to search people if their gender matched the sex of the detainee. This allowed biological male officers who identified as female and had a gender recognition certificate to strip-search women. However, recent interim guidance issued by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has now been sent to all police forces stating that strip searches 'must be conducted with officers of the same biological sex as the person being searched'. This was based on legal advice following the Supreme Court ruling that found that sex is biological under the Equality Act. Now, it has emerged that the six police forces have reversed their stance and are adopting the NPCC guidance. The reversal has been hailed as a victory by women's rights campaigners who launched a legal challenge on this point. 'Forces have finally about-turned' Maya Forstater, chief executive of human rights charity Sex Matters, said: 'The British Transport Police, the Met Police and several other forces have finally about-turned on strip-searching policies based on gender recognition certificates. 'They should never have considered a man with a £5 certificate based on a change of pronouns and a medical diagnosis of 'dysphoria' as suitable to strip-search women and girls.' The NPCC guidance offers detainees who are transgender the ability to request to be searched by an officer who is of their gender, and not their biological sex. A biological man who identifies as a female, for example, could request the strip-search to be performed by a female officer. The NPCC guidance says that 'as far as operationally viable' this option will be provided to people whose 'lived-in gender is not the same as their biological sex'. For these individuals who are being strip-searched by police, the guidance indicates that written consent from the detainee, the searching officer and the authorising officer will be needed. In these instances, which the NPCC identifies as a rare occurrence, the officer will not be of the same sex as the detainee. 'Dangerous loophole' Ms Forstater called the NPCC guidance, which allows opposite-sex strip-searching by 'consent', a 'dangerous loophole'. 'It leaves female officers exposed to pressure and coercion within the custody suite and when out on the beat. 'This is particularly concerning given the years in which trans lobby groups have trained forces across the UK to centre the demands of trans-identifying men and disregard women's rights and needs. 'The question remains: how has the ethical and legal position of police forces across the UK deteriorated to such a point that they are putting such immense effort into enabling something as sordid as opposite-sex strip-searching?' Campaigners are now investigating if this is a breach of the law under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). This ensured intimate searches would not be done by a person of the opposite sex. Sex Matters believes this loophole for transgender detainees may be in breach of the law following the ruling of the Supreme Court case that defined sex under the Equality Act 2010. Some female officers have anonymously raised concerns that if they were asked to strip-search a trans woman who has male genitalia they may feel unable to refuse the request for fear of being branded 'transphobic' or unprofessional. 'Nonsensical jumble' The Police Federation called the suggested consensual regime for transgender detainees a 'wholly unworkable idea' and called the guidance a 'nonsensical jumble'. 'We believe that the only lawful option following the Supreme Court decision is to exempt transsexual officers from searching either biological sex and this should be the default situation for all transsexual officers,' it added. All police forces have been approached for comment. A National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman said: 'Those in policing and our communities would benefit from a clear and consistent position across the country in this complex and sensitive area. 'The guidance is explicit that officers will face no career detriment from declining to carry out searches, and any search not conducted in line with biological sex must have the written consent of the detainee, the officer carrying out the search as well as the authorising officer. 'The interim guidance is based on legal advice and has been developed after seeking views across policing as well as those of partners. It reflects working practice that already happens every day across policing, where officers and detainees make requests about searches for a multitude of reasons. 'We understand the depth of feeling there is on these issues, both among transgender communities, as well as those who hold gender-critical views. Policing remains committed to treating everyone with fairness, dignity and respect.'
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Arrest after Derby attack leaves man in hospital
A man has been arrested after a serious assault in Derby city before 01:00 BST on Sunday a man was attacked on Curzon Street and was taken to hospital for treatment, police said.A 57-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident and remains in police custody.A cordon was set up, with Curzon Street, Bramble Street and part of The Wardwick closed off, officers said, but they have since reopened. The severity of the victim's injuries are unclear, but police have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
