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Man, 18, charged with murder over death of 63-year-old man in Ipswich

Man, 18, charged with murder over death of 63-year-old man in Ipswich

Leader Live3 days ago
Suffolk Police said officers were called to an address in Hawthorn Drive, Ipswich, shortly before 6pm on January 1, where William McNicholl, known as Billy, was found dead inside the property.
The force said results from a Home Office post-mortem examination indicated the cause of Mr McNicholl's death as head injuries and a stab wound to the right shoulder.
A murder inquiry into Mr McNicholl's death was led by Suffolk Constabulary's Major Investigation Team.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a man who was found deceased at his home on New Year's Day in Ipswich.
Read more here >> https://t.co/8uDp3RMntg
— Suffolk Police (@SuffolkPolice) July 22, 2025
On January 22, a 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder before being bailed with conditions.
Police said the man, now 18, was re-arrested on Monday on suspicion of murder and taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre (PIC) for questioning.
Jake McMillan, most recently of Banbury Road, Hackney in London, but formerly of Ipswich, has subsequently been charged with murder and also being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
McMillan has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Ipswich Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
Police said three other people were arrested on April 1 as part of the investigation.
A 17-year-old boy, 18-year-old man and 41-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and being concerned in the supply of Class A and B drugs.
They were taken to Martlesham PIC for questioning and were bailed to return to police on October 1.
A woman in her 50s, who was previously arrested on suspicion of murder before being released on bail, will face no further action.
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These are not extremists. Ordinary British people are being criminalised
These are not extremists. Ordinary British people are being criminalised

Telegraph

time25 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

These are not extremists. Ordinary British people are being criminalised

It is becoming harder by the day to pretend this is all normal. Epping, a leafy Essex town not known for rabble-rousing, has suddenly become a bellwether. It is not extremists making the noise, but mothers: ordinary, decent, quietly exhausted. One protestor's placard said it best: 'I'm not far-Right. I'm worried about my kids.' Eight days. That's how long it took from Hadush Kebatu's illegal arrival on our shores to his alleged assault of a local teenage girl. This criminal charge has pierced through the political haze, not because it is an anomaly, but because it is no longer rare. The British people are not imagining the chaos. They are living it. They see it in Canary Wharf where the once-prestigious Britannia Hotel, now rented by the Home Office at eye-watering prices, is being used to house illegal arrivals. The images are not abstract. The anger is not theoretical. The reality is visible from their windows. In Waterlooville, my own constituency, 35 illegal migrants are earmarked to be placed right in the centre of the shopping centre. Shopkeepers ask how this decision was made. Residents wonder if they were consulted. They weren't. They never are. Indefensibly, the local Lab/Lib council failed to even respond to the Home Office's inquiries about the suitability of the location, such is the level of incompetence. Meanwhile, 1.3 million British citizens sit on housing waiting lists. But when it comes to newly arrived migrants – many of whom have crossed the Channel unlawfully – there are apartments, hotels, hot meals, legal representation and round-the-clock care. The Prime Minister breezily told Parliament this week that 'many local authorities have spare housing' for asylum seekers. Has he visited them? Has he walked through the town centres now marred by decay, disorder, and despair? This is not fringe rhetoric. It is the mainstream voice of Britain. And yet it is silenced, patronised, and, increasingly, criminalised. Up to a quarter of all sexual offences in the UK are committed by foreign nationals. That is not a 'talking point.' That is a statistical fact, available in verified data. And yet to mention it is to risk professional ruin, or worse. People are not fools. They know what they see. Their communities have changed beyond recognition. They watch their taxes rise, yet their schools and hospitals crumble under unmanageable pressure. They are told to tighten belts, while millions are spent accommodating those who arrive in rubber dinghies with no papers, no background checks and no right to be here. This is not just policy failure. It is a moral abdication. And who stands for the British people in this storm? Certainly not the Prime Minister – polished, rehearsed, and utterly insulated. His concern is always too little, too late, and too forced to mean anything. He is not just out of touch. He is out of time. As for law and order, one cannot look at the response of Chief Constable BJ Harrington without concluding that something is deeply rotten in British policing. His now-infamous press conference confirmed what many had long suspected: that there is, in practice, a two-tier system of policing in this country. One for 'approved' protestors and minority groups; another for everyone else. It is not simply ineffectiveness. It is complicity. This same Chief Constable was responsible for the vexatious use of non-crime hate incidents against a journalist, Allison Pearson. But this week, he has surpassed himself. His officers allegedly escorted 'anti-racism' protestors directly into the vicinity of the Bell Hotel, knowing full well tensions were high. Violence followed. Who could have guessed? Public order policing has long relied on one simple principle: keep hostile factions apart. On that day, it was abandoned. The result was predictable, and avoidable. But this is not incompetence born of error. It is ideology dressed in uniform. The same ideology that now governs our police academies, civil service departments, and – let's be honest – most of Westminster. Of course, BJ Harrington is not alone. He has the precedent of Sir Mark Rowley at the Met, who has all but codified two-tier policing in the capital. Antisemitism is waved through on London's streets while British Jews are told to hide their symbols and stay indoors. This is not safety. It is surrender. And it leaves ordinary people with an impossible choice: submit, or act. That is how civil order dies – not in some dramatic coup, but in the slow erosion of trust, until citizens begin to take matters into their own hands. We are closer to that cliff edge than most in power realise. This country is walking on glass. Every step, more fragile than the last. What is needed now is not platitudes. We need leadership – honest, unflinching, and brave. We need a politics that respects the people who built this country, not one that apologises for their existence.

Father of girl, 14, 'sexually assaulted' in Epping backs migrant hotel protests - as asylum seekers are told they'll be made homeless if they refuse to move out
Father of girl, 14, 'sexually assaulted' in Epping backs migrant hotel protests - as asylum seekers are told they'll be made homeless if they refuse to move out

Daily Mail​

time25 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Father of girl, 14, 'sexually assaulted' in Epping backs migrant hotel protests - as asylum seekers are told they'll be made homeless if they refuse to move out

Britons living on the frontlines of the migrant hotel crisis have shared how they really feel about living there as protests erupt around the UK amid fears tensions will boil over. Thousands of migrants are being housed across the country in taxpayer-funded hotels which have been taken over by the Home Office, as Britain struggles to get a grip with the small boats crisis. Violent protests have erupted outside some venues, with riot police clashing with anti-migrant activists in the market town of Epping, Essex, close to one hotel where a migrant allegedly sexually assaulted a schoolgirl. He denies the charges. A wave of demonstrations have followed, including in Norfolk where the Home Office is planning to replace families with single male migrants as well as a four-star Canary Wharf hotel earmarked for housing asylum seekers. But amid the scenes of anger, counter-protesters have rushed to the hotels to insist 'refugees are welcome'. They returned to The Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf today, where police have gathered in anticipation of further protests. The presence of counter-protesters has led to accusations of police double standards after footage emerged of Essex Police and Hampshire Police escorting them to the hotels for demonstrations. Epping has become the eye of the anti-migrant storm, with protests held outside The Bell Hotel on July 13, 17, 20 and again last night. Calls are growing for the Government to close the hotel amid community tension. Those living on the ground face an unprecedented dilemma. They insist they are not right-wing or anti-migrants, but rather no longer feel safe in their own homes. Perhaps summing up the mood of residents in Epping, one woman told BBC Newsnight: 'I'm really disappointed that it's been reopened. It's not right, there is a school right by. It's just not correct. 'It's right the families of this little village actually fight for it. They are not right [wing], they are not Reform or anything like that. They are just there to protect their children. Asked why it's inappropriate with a school nearby, she added: 'We don't know where they've come from. It sounds so right wing but I'm not. I just find it so wrong, why did they close it in the first place? I don't think it should be open at all.' The Bell Hotel housed migrants for two years, ending in April last year, and asylum seekers were moved to other locations. But today, the hotel is the epicentre of the anger, having reopened back up to house migrants three months ago. The crisis exploded once again after after Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences only days after arriving in the UK. The father of a 14-year-old girl allegedly sexually assaulted has backed calls to have The Bell Hotel - where Kebatu was staying - shut down. Conservative Councillor Shane Yerrel read out a message allegedly from the girl's father at a council meeting last night, which reportedly said: 'I just want the hotel to be moved, not only off our streets, but away from making any other family feel how we're feeling right now. 'It's not fair that the Government are putting our children and grandchildren at risk, even their own.' He is then said to have thanked the people of Epping for their 'kind messages' and that they were 'helping [my daughter] get through every day'. It comes as an investigation by The Mail on Sunday revealed the shocking scale of serious crime being committed by migrants living in hotels nationwide. At least 312 asylum seekers have been charged with an astonishing 708 alleged criminal offences in just three years – including rape, sexual assault, attacking emergency workers and theft. The research, based on an analysis of court records, provides a snapshot of crimes recorded at 70 of the 220 taxpayer-funded hotels being used to house migrants, with 18 charges of rape, five of attempted rape, 35 of sexual assault, 51 of theft and 43 drug offences allegedly having been committed by residents. Last night, Epping residents told MailOnline about feeling 'uncomfortable' with the ongoing crisis. Lindsey, 58, said: 'I've been in Epping for 17 years and my daughter goes to the school behind here (the hotel) and also the same school where the poor girl was allegedly attacked. Others in the community say: 'We welcome all migrants'. Pro-migrant protesters have countered at the demonstrations 'We have been uncomfortable. There are 140 men who are there. This is a small town people talk and hear stuff all the time. In big cities those things can get flushed away and airbrushed out here we hear more. 'And we are terrified. I've been here everyday and we are just mums in sundresses, facing up against police is masks and weapons. 'At this point the hotel needs to be closed. And the people sent somewhere where they are not free to roam around before they can be vetted. 'People think this is only about racism but it has nothing to do with race. You can be whatever colour, they could be Scottish people in there but until we know who is in our town they are not welcome. They must be vetted.' Phillip, 64, who is from Buckinghamshire, said: 'We have the same issue in Buckinghamshire that is why I am here. There is a hotel there and a school just round the corner. 'We have had cases of illegals who make gestures at the children. It is disgusting. If I had a young girl I would be terrified. How can the government put us in this situation?' Councillors in Epping have unanimously voted to urge the Government to close The Bell Hotel and the nearby Phoenix Hotel - another lodging housing migrants. When false rumours spread online that the Epping migrants were being moved to The Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf earlier this week, protesters descended on London's financial district to voice their anger. The four-star hotel was surrounded by the Met Police following Wednesday's protest by anti-migrant demonstrators. A ring of steel has been formed around it as workers begun bringing in mattresses and beds. MailOnline spoke to protesters at the hotel yesterday, with many 'outraged' by the Home Office plans. Paul, 41, an account manager who lives in the area and was live-streaming the scene on his phone, told MailOnline: 'It is outrageous. A majority of us couldn't afford to stay in a £400 a night hotel. 'I don't understand why they are getting such treatment. Everyone should be treated equally and fair. 'I think this is going to go on until this whole operation is shut down. People are not happy. It is just not fair on the taxpayer. Me, you, the police, the protesters both the left and the right. Ben Cavanagh, who has lived just a couple of streets away from the hotel in Canary Wharf for all his life, said: 'I am here to peacefully protest about these guys coming into the hotel. 'I am basically here for the safety of my wife, my kids, my relative's kids and anyone else around that lives in the local area. 'We have all seen from other parts of the country what these guys are doing, not all of them but a small minority who are causing havoc to the local women and children and this won't be happening in the Isle of Dogs.' The 45-year-old added: 'It has been all local people protesting. We are protesting for our families on the Isle of Dogs and our community. 'You cannot expect to put a large group of men in one place and not expect there to be repercussions. That is my fear. 'This will just heap more and more pressure on the local community. We are already under pressure massively, financially.' Ben's mother Lorraine, 70, is also concerned for the welfare of the local community. She told MailOnline: 'We are here before the rent-a-mob lot come. We are here peacefully. 'Our concerns are that we don't want a repeat of what happened in Southport or in Epping. Our pensioners are terrified. They are absolutely terrified. We don't want to get to the point of I told you so.' But pro-migrant protesters have fought back, including spraying 'We welcome all migrants' in graffiti outside the hotel. While protests are raging in the south, the feeling is similar in the north. At The Cedar Court hotel in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, residents say they feel 'vulnerable in their own homes'. The hotel hit the headlines when it was revealed a secret Deliveroo and Uber Eats takeaway kitchen was being run, amid fears residents were staffing it. Security was recently stepped up after the premises were daubed with 'Stop the Boats' and 'Boycott Hotel' in red paint on the walls along with other hate messages. Police are investigating after spray paint was used on the walls and signs in the early hours of Wednesday, July 9. Anne Critchell, 70, said the crisis 'is ridiculous and completely out of hand'. She said: 'This lot frighten me. I have got security lights outside so I can see if there is anyone. In the garden. We feel vulnerable in our own homes. 'I don't see an end to it. I just think it is going to get worse. There were protests literally the day we moved in and we thought 'What is going on here?'. Walking his dog Ruby, Graham Bennett, 74, said: 'I think it is disgrace that we are paying to keep them there. It is totally disgusting. They will not give pensioners a rise but they give them buggers it. 'Then there is the homeless as well. The management of the hotel are making money out of us and our taxis. 'No one can stay at the hotel anymore and there is security on the gate stopping us going in. Ninety per cent of people disagree with the agreement. 'The Government say they cannot stop them coming over. But they are giving them more and more money. If they did not give them anything they would not want come over here.' Sophie, 45, who declined to give her second name, said: 'I walk my dog a lot so I see what is going on and you can smell the cannabis. 'My neighbour is having to close her window at night even though it is so warm because of the noise from the hotel. 'Last year, I was walking my dog and found one of their benefit cards. I rang the number on the card and they told me hand it in at the hotel. 'When I got into reception there was security residents drinking and smoking and I was told I was not supposed to set foot on the premises.' Martine, 40, who declined to give her second name, said: 'The other month there was quite a serious incident with my daughter I had to report to police. 'I was painting the fence and my daughter asked to walk the dog down the street to the lamp post and back. 'She is only seven and has never ventured anywhere. I looked up to see a guy crossing the road towards her. 'I shouted to her. She did not hear me. So I legged it down the road. He clocked me and pretended to be stroking the dog. 'But he had been heading directly for my daughter and there was no other reason to cross the road other than seeing a child on her own. 'It was really scary. I reported it to police. They went to the hotel to take his details but there was nothing concrete so there were no charges. 'The noise has got really bad. There is no number to ring when they are playing music really loud at 10pm at night. 'We are concerned that they are protesting again down south. I just don't want it to kick off up here again. 'When it happened last year it was horrendous with all the police presence and goodness knows how much it was all happening.' Terrance Ryder, 80, said: 'It is the same throughout the country. I sympathise with asylum seekers but I don't believe a big percentage of them are asylum seekers. 'They are all young men coming here to work for a while. I think they ought to be moving them on. 'I just don't think the government knows what its doing. They are supposed to be stopping the boats but they are not stopping them at all. Christine Ashton, 71, said: 'I have got seven cameras up on the house now. Our lives have changed. We feel like we are being watched. 'You feel trapped. If you go on holiday it is scary. We had only been on holiday a few days and we got broken into. 'It is all kicking off down in Epping so it is just a matter of time before it comes up here. So everyone is feeling nervy.' Chris Mitchell, 61, said: 'It is getting worse. When these guys first came over five years ago they were really nice. Now the smoke cannabis and party until 12 o clock at night. 'They have got a sense of entitlement over the last six to 12 months. Two weeks ago I was at my wits end because it was so hot. 'I had my windows open and weed was blowing through it. It was beyond a joke. I have to get every morning for work to pay for all them. 'Security and management have lost control now. There used to be a 9pm curfew and it was fine. 'Residents are afraid to walk down the gunnel at night.' Another male resident, aged 75, said: 'I can see they are refugees who may be fleeing death threats. But they are staying in a four star hotel and see to have free reign where they go and what they do.' Meanwhile an asylum seeker hotel in suburban Manchester has been hit by regular rounds of protests after a story went round that migrants were getting private healthcare. Protesters have regularly turned up at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, in recent months - with counter demonstrations from left-wing protestors chanting against them to add to the chaos. The hotel became a focus for anti-migrant protests after widely shared fake claims that the 300 migrants at the hotel were getting free private healthcare Tempers flared at a church hall meeting held by local Conservative councillors after it was wrongly suggested that asylum seekers would receive medical treatment from a private doctors' service. At the same, it was announced that Altrincham Hospital's minor injuries unit would be closing permanently. In reality, Gtd Healthcare, a not-for-profit organisation, rather than local services that had been given a 12-week contract to provide publicly funded NHS healthcare to the migrants. The false claims have also led to a number of so-called anti-migrant influencers turning up with film cameras to the hotel's reception. And some migrant residents say they feel it is 'now dangerous' for them to leave the hotel. One male Nigerian said today: 'We're all scared. 'They were a few protesters who were filming us and asking us where we were from. They were in the hotel grounds. 'A few of them shouted: 'Go home'. It was frightening as they were right in our faces. 'I have also been followed while walking into the town. I came to this country to feel safe but now I don't. 'I came on a small boat and it was not safe. It is not worth it if my life is in danger.' IT worker Sam Brownhill, 45, said: 'I saw about 20 to 30 far right campaigners here the other week with Union Jack flags. 'They were screaming stuff like go home. I fear there could be trouble here especially if the sun comes out more.' There are concerns the unrest will spiral into a summer of protests. Adding to the anger is accusations of police double standards. In Epping, Essex Police admitted escorting pro-migrant protesters to The Bell Hotel after initially denying they had done this. Officers from Hampshire Police were filmed doing the same, on May 10, at Potters International Hotel in Aldershot in new footage. Yesterday, a policing leader said the protests in Epping were a 'signal flare' revealing how ill-equipped forces are to deal with disorder. Tiff Lynch, head of the Police Federation in England and Wales, which represents rank-and-file officers, warned that unrest at The Bell was 'not just a troubling one-off' but a reminder of the 'deep fragility within our public order policing system'. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned: 'There is no question, this is the unhappiest I have seen, I think, the UK in a long, long time and it's all coming to a head.' He told Talk TV: 'The migrants issue is a major cause of this.' Jonathan Reynolds, the Business and Trade Secretary, said protesters in Epping were 'upset for legitimate reasons'. He acknowledged there was 'huge frustration that is shared by the Government' about the asylum system and the pressures it has created on housing. When asked whether he was worried about unrest spreading, the Cabinet minister told Sky News that the Government, police and other enforcement agencies were 'prepared for all situations'. He said: 'I think what we've got to talk about is: Why are people unhappy with, say, the asylum system? Are they reasonable? 'Are they upset for legitimate reasons? Yes, we share those as a government. 'That is why we are sorting it out. And I understand the frustrations people have, but ultimately, you solve those frustrations and solve the problem by fixing and getting a grip of the core issue, which is what we're doing.' Mr Reynolds said the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers in the UK had halved from 400 to about 200. He added: 'The solution is not putting people in different forms of accommodation, it's about having a system where if people shouldn't be in the UK, they have to leave the UK.' Sixteen people were arrested after a protest at The Bell last week. Eight officers were injured and a number of police vehicles were damaged. A planned march from The Bell to an emergency meeting of councillors last night threatened to bring disorder but, thanks to rain and a heavy police presence, fewer protesters than expected turned up. Many seemed to be so-called social media influencers, recording themselves live on their phones. Having been kept behind the metal barriers, a number of women led a steady stream of walkers chanting 'save our kids'. Essex Police had threatened protesters with arrest if they caused trouble, issuing a dispersal order in the area.

Asylum seeker ‘faked baby with European' to win right to stay
Asylum seeker ‘faked baby with European' to win right to stay

Telegraph

timean hour ago

  • Telegraph

Asylum seeker ‘faked baby with European' to win right to stay

An asylum seeker won the right to stay in Britain after using fake birth and death certificates to claim he had a baby, an immigration court heard. Sameer Khan, a Pakistani citizen, presented the forged documents to a tribunal as part of his bid to stay in the UK, judges were told. He used the certificates to successfully argue the child proved his marriage to a European citizen was not one of 'convenience' but a genuine relationship, which therefore gave him the right to remain in Britain. But the Home Office has since uncovered evidence that the documents presented to the court to support his case were fake, throwing into doubt whether the child had ever been born. After the accusation of fraud, Mr Khan's case will now be heard again after judges were told his alleged dishonesty undermines his entire case to stay in Britain. An upper immigration tribunal was told Mr Khan had applied for leave to remain under the European Union settlement scheme after claiming to have married an EEA citizen – named at the hearing as Ms Rumenova – in Cyprus in August 2020. The Home Office refused the application on the basis that there were 'reasonable grounds for suspicion that the marriage was entered into for the purpose of securing leave to remain, and so was a marriage of convenience', the tribunal was told. Mr Khan appealed, and a hearing of a first-tier tribunal in November 2024 presided over by Judge Sarah Farmer was shown documents 'said to establish cohabitation and the relationship'. 'There was also a birth certificate for a child, 'AK', said to have been born in the United Kingdom on 10 August 2023 in Slough, County of Berkshire,' the tribunal was told. '[Mr Khan] and [Ms Rumenova] were named on the birth certificate as the parents of AK.' But the couple did not attend the asylum hearing, the tribunal heard, having emailed to say that the baby had died the week before. 'The Judge recorded in the Decision that [they] had emailed the Tribunal on the morning of the hearing, to say their child, AK... had died in the week before the hearing, and so they could not attend the hearing,' the tribunal said. Later that day, the judge was emailed a death certificate, saying the child had died of epilepsy related seizures and vomiting on Nov 15 2024, at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, and the death had been registered on Nov 18 2024, the same day as the hearing. Judge Farmer allowed Mr Khan's appeal against the Home Office's decision to deny him leave to remain after finding that there was a 'wealth of reliable evidence', including the birth and death certificates, to show the relationship was not one of convenience. Document authenticity concerns After officials made checks, the registry office confirmed the birth and death certificates were forgeries. As a result, upper tribunal judges Daniel Sheridan and Hannah Graves said the evidence undermined the original ruling. They said there was 'sufficient' evidence to establish that there are 'legitimate concerns about whether those documents are genuine and capable of reliance'. 'We therefore find that the Judge was led into error, albeit inadvertently. We find that error was material and infects the credibility assessment made by the Judge, which was central to the findings of fact made and the outcome of the appeal,' they said. 'We therefore do not preserve any findings made in the Decision but set it aside in its entirety. The matter is now remitted to the First-tier Tribunal for a fresh hearing, before another judge than Judge Farmer.'

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