Family of This Morning star killed in Air India crash received the wrong body
A woman who lost her brother in the Air India crash says being given the wrong remains has heaped further trauma on her grieving family.
Husbands Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, 39 and 45 respectively, were among the 242 people killed in the crash on June 12 just outside Ahmedabad airport in India's Ahmedabad state.
Fiongal's sister Arwen says the heartbroken family is now seeking accountability from the officials who mislabelled her beloved brother's remains. It comes after reports of a dad's desperate phone call moments before explosion kills him and his daughters.
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Fiongal had been a guest on This Morning earlier this year to promote the wellness brand he'd co-founded with his husband.
Speaking to the BBC, Arwen said she was also looking for "closure for the family" and "dignity" for her brother. She fears the authorities could have even cremated his body as someone else.
"If that is not possible - because the worst case scenario is that he has been cremated as somebody else - then we need to know that in order to move on," she said.
"Somebody mislabelled remains - that has added trauma."
She accused Indian authorities of failing to set up proper "forensic protocols" at the crash site, saying that the site remained open for two days after the plane came down.
"It just can't happen again," she said. "I think the whole family were and still are in complete disbelief because it is things that happen on the news and to other people. It was shocking and is confusing."
According to the Foreign Office, it is supporting the families of Brits involved in the crash - giving them "dedicated caseworkers". However, on the topic of the "formal identification of bodies", it said it's out of their hands and a "matter for the Indian authorities".
Last month, it emerged that some of the deceased were wrongly identified before being flown home to the UK. Relatives of one victim had to abandon funeral plans after being informed that their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger rather than their family member, it is reported.
And the "co-mingled" remnants of more than one person killed in the crash were mistakenly placed in the same casket in another shocking blunder. They had to be separated before the internment could go ahead.
Of the people who died when Air India flight 171 lost power and crashed, seconds after leaving Ahmedabad for London Gatwick, 52 were returning Britons. Two instances of mistaken identity have so far come to light, but there are fears that more such errors could have been made, leaving families under a shadow of uncertainty.
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Glasgow Times
12 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow racist attacks mother in front of son, 11, at bus stop
The woman, whom we are calling FM to protect her identity, was returning home from a hospital appointment with her 11-year-old son. It was a Monday and the sun was shining. They were waiting to change buses outside of Watt Brothers on Hope Street in the heart of the city centre when Chalmers, of Glenfinnan Road, approached. It was as if the sight of her niqab had surprised him, she reflects. He did a double-take before beginning to curse at the 36-year-old mother of two. At first, FM tried to ignore him. A few commuters stood, milling around the bus stop, watching the incident unfold. READ NEXT: Scottish comedian in court accused of indecent assault at BBC studios READ NEXT: Driver who is banned to 2030 caught in 33-mile 100mph high-speed chase She took a step back, widening the space between them. But after two minutes, FM began filming the encounter on her phone. It was not the first time she was subjected to racist abuse. She had experience in dealing with such a situation, but this time was the worst. Fear began to take hold of her. The boy was already terrified. She asked her son to pass over his phone so she could call the police. At first, her son protested. 'We have to do this for our security reasons,' FM told him. She tried to ignore Chalmers while answering questions from the police officers over the phone. She tried not to give him any attention, the camera shaky in her hand. She wasn't intending to film his face; she just wanted a record of what was happening. At least to capture his voice, the things he was saying to her and her frightened child. 'I'm filming this because it's not the first time this has happened to me,' she says to the police over the phone. She is certain the man has approached her because she is a Muslim, covering her face. 'P**** off. Get to f***. P*** off, rat,' Chalmers called. 'Get to f**** you wee rat. Go away. P*** off. Get to f****. Rat c***.' FM moves to get the bus stop number from the shelter to relay it to the officers on the phone. 'Tell them to come down then,' Chalmers said. 'Rat. P*** off. Show your f***ing coupon. Nothing to show you wee mug.' The man moved suddenly towards FM. 'Show your f***ing face,' he said. 'Keep away from me,' she said, pulling back. 'Keep away. Don't come.' He continued to shout at her, calling her a rat and swearing. FM's fear heightened. She told the police over the phone that he had tried to take her niqab off. 'Take your son with you,' Chalmers said. 'Go to Birmingham.' A bystander stepped in following Chalmers' remarks. He told Chalmers to stay away before turning to ask FM if she was okay. 'No, I'm not okay,' she said. Her voice breaks, and FM begins to cry. Chalmers continued shouting behind them. 'Take, take, take,' he said. Glasgow mum FM (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) The police arrived after around 10 minutes, and Chalmers was arrested. FM's brother met her and her son at the incident and went with them to the police station, where they were giving their statements. FM's son was badly shaken in the wake of the incident. He used to love playing outside, but after the attack, he refused to go out. FM worried about his mental health and gently persuaded him to play outside. 'I know it's not the first incident you've encountered with me, but you have to move on,' she told him. 'You have to keep going.' She found the police officers to be really helpful. Chalmers was charged with a hate crime, having found to have been acting in a manner which was racially aggravated and which caused alarm or distress and was sentenced to 12 months of supervision. He was required to pay a fine of £500, and a Community Payback Order was imposed, which included the requirement to perform unpaid work. At first, FM was worried he would only be charged with a fine. If it were just money, he could borrow it from anyone and just pay it back. But with community service, she hoped Chalmers would think a million times before attacking a migrant after that. He was just 'repeating quotes from the far right', like telling her to go back to her country. 'This is my country as well,' she says. 'I'm a migrant here, I have a valid visa here. I'm not here doing something illegal. I pay taxes the same way you pay taxes.' FM moved to Newcastle from Egypt three years ago with her two sons. She lived there for nine months ('I never faced a problem, it was very good for me,' she says) before coming to Glasgow, where her brother and his family were living. The incident at the bus stop happened on July 29, 2024. It was the same day that Axel Rudakubana, 17, carried out a 12-minute knife rampage in Southport, attacking a children's Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop. Two girls died at the scene of the mass stabbing, and another died in the hospital the following day. Six children and two adults were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. After the stabbings, false claims circulated online that Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker (he was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents). By the evening of July 30, rioters swarmed the streets of Southport, throwing objects at a local mosque and police officers. Over the next five days, demonstrators clashed with police officers in cities around the country and the discontent carried on for weeks. The rhetoric of the rioters was awash with racist and anti-immigrant language. Yet in Glasgow, an anti-immigration demonstration in George Square on September 7 was met by thousands of anti-racism counter-protesters. Police Scotland recorded 6,227 hate crimes in 2023-24, the lowest since 2014-15. Glasgow City had the second highest number of reports with 22 crimes per 10,000 population. More than 60% of hate crimes were racially aggravated. (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) 'I work in the refugee sector, so I know how Glasgow is welcoming to people,' FM says. 'I know there are individual actions from individual people. They will not affect my thinking about Glasgow or the city because I know how welcoming Scottish people are. I've seen this myself every day. 'But I believe that there are some racist people, and we will not change them until they change themselves. We can't deny that there are some racist people here. To be honest, I'm not feeling safe all the time, but this also won't change anything." 'Migrants are your neighbour, your teacher, your nurse, your doctor, your cleaner, part of the community you live in,' says Nazek Ramadan, director of charity Migrant Voice. She says the far-right riots which spread across the UK last summer are not isolated in signalling the hate and division which some spread against migrant and marginalised communities. But Scotland has stood apart. 'Instead of the divisive political rhetoric we have seen from some politicians, Scotland has promoted unity among communities, it has championed the rights and acceptance of people coming from other countries,' says Nazek. 'This is not to say Scotland is perfect, we still see hate on the streets, and we still see migrants fearful of going out, but Scotland's approach to inclusivity and combating division has been evidenced by a continuing decline in hate crimes, now at roughly their lowest levels for a decade. 'We still see violence against migrant and marginalised communities across the UK, most recently outside hotels in places such as Epping and in areas of Northern Ireland, causing fear among these communities. 'There is so much more which needs to be done to combat the rising spread of far-right hatred, but by promoting positivity and inclusion, by standing up for communities instead of with those spreading division, we can ensure everyone feels safe.' Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it's free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
Metro
42 minutes ago
- Metro
CBB star Hardeep Singh Kohli accused of sexual assault at BBC studios
Comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli has appeared in court charged with sex-related offences against three women at locations including a BBC studio, with a trial date set for November. Kohli appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday to face a total of six charges against three different women between 2007 and 2016. The 56-year-old, who was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018, denies the charges. Locations include the BBC studios at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, where he allegedly indecently assaulted a woman by squeezing her bottom and trying to hug her between April 2007 and September 2008. It is also alleged that he committed a breach of the peace in the woman's presence in an unknown bar and restaurant in Glasgow between the same dates. He is charged with a further indecent assault on the same woman at the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow, where he allegedly stroked the woman on the back and touched her hair between the same dates. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Kohli is also charged with an indecent assault on a second woman in the Cross Keys Hotel in Canonbie, Dumfries and Galloway, in June 2008 and is alleged to have seized her by the arm, lunged towards her, and attempted to kiss her. On the same occasion, he allegedly committed a breach of the peace and carried out a sex act in the woman's presence, according to prosecutors. It is alleged that in December 2016, Kohli sexually assaulted a third complainant at the Yes Bar in Glasgow and 'seized her by the body and attempted to insert his tongue in her mouth'. Kohli has lodged a special defence to the allegation of indecent assault in the Cross Keys Hotel, claiming it was consensual, the court heard. The court heard that vulnerable witness orders had been made for all three women, and a joint minute had been agreed between the prosecution and the defence. Defence lawyer Urfan Dar said: 'There is a special defence of consent for charge four.' Prosecutor Sean Docherty said that seven civilian witnesses will be called for the prosecution, along with one police officer. More Trending Sheriff John McCormick set a trial for November 24 at Glasgow Sheriff Court, estimated to last five days. Kohli, who appeared in court wearing a purple turban and a black and grey Adidas tracksuit, was released on bail. View More » The comedian, who lives in Glasgow, has appeared on TV shows including Loose Ends and Question Time. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Chris Hughes reveals old-fashioned way he confessed his true feelings to JoJo Siwa MORE: Jojo Siwa's ex Kath Ebbs reveals new romance after being left for Chris Hughes MORE: Chris Hughes hits out at 'disgusting' trolling of girlfriend JoJo Siwa
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
Comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli to stand trial charged with alleged sex offences
Comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli has appeared in court charged with sex-related offences against three women at locations including at a BBC studio, with a trial date set for November. Kohli appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday to face a total of six charges against three different women between 2007 and 2016. The 56-year-old, who was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother, denies the charges. Locations include the BBC studios at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, where he allegedly indecently assaulted a woman by squeezing her bottom and trying to hug her between April 2007 and September 2008. It is also alleged he committed a breach of the peace in the woman's presence in an unknown bar and restaurant in Glasgow between the same dates. He is charged with a further indecent assault on the same woman at the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow, where he allegedly stroked the woman on the back and touched her hair, between the same dates. Kohli is also charged with an indecent assault on a second woman in the Cross Keys Hotel in Canonbie, Dumfries and Galloway, in June 2008 and is alleged to have seized her by the arm, lunged towards her and attempted to kiss her. On the same occasion, he allegedly committed a breach of the peace and carried out a sex act in the woman's presence, according to prosecutors. It is alleged that in December 2016 Kohli sexually assaulted a third complainant at the Yes Bar in Glasgow and 'seized her by the body and attempted to insert his tongue in her mouth'. Kohli has lodged a special defence to the allegation of indecent assault in the Cross Keys Hotel, claiming it was consensual, the court heard. The court heard that vulnerable witness orders had been made for all three women and a joint minute had been agreed between the prosecution and the defence. Defence lawyer Urfan Dar said: 'There is a special defence of consent for charge four.' Prosecutor Sean Docherty said that seven civilian witnesses will be called for the prosecution, along with one police officer. Sheriff John McCormick set a trial for November 24 at Glasgow Sheriff Court, estimated to last five days. Kohli, who appeared in court wearing a purple turban and a black-and-grey Adidas tracksuit, was released on bail. The comedian, who lives in Glasgow, has appeared on TV shows including Loose Ends and Question Time.
