Corporate manslaughter charge over woman killed by falling bricks
A construction company and four men are to face manslaughter charges over the death of a woman who was killed seven years ago when she was hit by a pallet of bricks that fell from a crane.Michaela Boor, 30, died in hospital the day after she was struck by two tonnes of material on the corner of Burdett Road in Mile End, east London, on 27 March 2018.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Higgins Homes PLC had been charged with corporate manslaughter and a Health and Safety at Work Act offence.Thomas Anstis and Stephen Coulson, both 68, Dawood Mann, 59, and Alexander McInnes, 32, have each been charged with a single count of gross negligence manslaughter.
They have also all been charged with offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 16 June.The Met Police said specialist officers would continue to support Ms Boor's family.Higgins Homes describes itself as having "designed, built and managed a wide portfolio of new build and sensitively considered conversion and restoration projects across London, Essex, Hertfordshire and Sussex".Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS's special crime division, said: "The CPS reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are now active and that they have the right to a fair trial."It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."
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The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
Deputy head had sex with teen girl in cupboard at top school & visited her home for secret trysts while her mum was out
A MARRIED deputy headteacher had sex with a teen girl in a cupboard at a top school. Philip Culling targeted the "vulnerable" pupil while he was director of music at Godolphin and Latymer School in West London. 2 The married dad-of-three, who was in his 40s at the time, had a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old. This included intimate liaisons in his office and a sexual encounter in a cupboard that was interrupted by a dinner lady. His fling was reportedly an "open secret" among staff at the £33,000-a-year private school. He was allowed to quietly resign in 2014 without facing a disciplinary hearing, which allowed him to continue working in education. This included a stint at Holland Park Pre-Prep and Nursery in 2016, which was just one mile from his previous post. But in 2022 - eight years after his resignation - a whistleblower came forward, which triggered a formal probe. Culling has now been banned from teaching for life following a tribunal. The Teaching Regulation Agency found he had embarked on an "inappropriate sexual relationship with a vulnerable pupil". Panel chair Jo Palmer-Tweed said: "Mr Culling was a child protection officer at the school, and as such had appropriate training in safeguarding. "Despite this, he took advantage of the position of trust he was in towards a vulnerable child for his own gratification." The tribunal was told Culling and the girl met up secretly, kissed in parks and embraced in the school lift. They first had sex in a park following a leavers' reception in June 2013 and the pupil performed a sex act on him after the school's jazz night. After the teen left school in 2013, Culling would visit her home while her mum was out and the pair would have sex. The hearing was told: "Mr Culling came around, approximately once a week, and that they would talk and have sexual intercourse. "She stated that she moved into a flat in late August 2013, and that a lot of sexual acts including touching and oral sex happened in very public areas." Culling bought the girl, who was named only as Person B, gifts and referred to her as the "LOML" - love of my life - in a good luck message before her A-levels. He also signed a Valentine's card addressed to "by far the most gorgeous and wonderful person in the entire world". Culling took the girl to the pub for her birthday drink during school hours and received oral sex from her in the cupboard on a number of occasions. Goldolphin leaders did not contact police or teaching regulators because they believed the relationship had only started when the teenager left the school. The girl told the tribunal that Culling had "asked her lie" about the relationship in 2014 amid fears he would lose his job. The deputy head coached her on how to make the fling sound as "recent as it could be", it was said. He even messaged her in 2023 after the probe was launched in a bid to convince her not to help the investigation. Culling told her: "I'm hoping you'll agree with me that it is best not to engage with it. You can't be made to." He has now been banned from teaching indefinitely, with no review period, after being found him guilty of unacceptable professional conduct. The watchdog said: "The panel heard evidence of the long-term impact on Person B including the shame she feels as a result of their relationship and of having been coerced to lie to protect him. "It has tainted her memories of her school experience, and she referred to having 'struggled to see herself in a good light'. "Mr Culling's conduct led to Person B being exposed to, or influenced by, his behaviour in a harmful way." Godolphin and Latymer School, based in Hammersmith, has around 800 female pupils between the ages of 11 and 18. Famous alumni include celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale, singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and TV presenter Davina McCall. A spokesperson said: "he TRA's report reveals a shocking and deeply disturbing pattern of past behaviour which we unequivocally condemn. "We fully support the TRA's decision to bar Philip Culling from working in the teaching profession ever again. "He left Godolphin and Latymer 11 years ago after a comprehensive governor-led investigation into his conduct. "The Hammersmith and Fulham LADO was fully aware and supported the school's actions at the time, and the police were also informed. Information and evidence not previously available to the school have now come to light through the TRA process and we are reviewing this. "Above all, we are devastated to learn that a former pupil suffered in this way." 2
BBC News
32 minutes ago
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Crays Hill man 'refuses to attend court' accused of 41 dog deaths
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Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Chinese restaurant featured in Netflix thriller Black Doves has licence revoked over illegal workers
A top Chinese restaurant which featured in Netflix spy drama Black Doves has had its licence revoked after it hired four illegal workers. Fei Er Cottage in Westminster, central London, was stripped of its right to sell alcohol by the local council last Thursday. It comes after immigration enforcement officers raided the restaurant last year and found four staff working without the correct visas or having illicitly entered the UK. Authorities discovered that the venue, which was used as a filming location in the hit show starring Keira Knightley, had four staff from China and Nepal working illegally in the kitchen or as waiters. A Home Office report claimed that their illegal employment was 'not just an honest mistake by the management but instead was a disregard for the immigration rules'. Further probes found that the restaurant, whose red basement dining area was used in a scene when Ben Whishaw 's character, hitman Sam Young, carries out his first kill, had also breached its CCTV conditions and alcohol licence. Following the immigration raid, a request was made to transfer Fei Er Cottage's licence to the current holder's ex-wife, Xiaoyu Wang. However, documents on Westminster City Council's website show this petition was rejected and the restaurant's licence has now been revoked completely. The Licensing Committee said the current owner Feng Qui had been involved in recruiting illegal workers, paying wages and agreeing rota hours. It also noted that he had been involved in employing another illegal worker at a previous premises in 2018. The committee stated that the restaurant should have severed links with Mr Qui when Ms Wang became the new director of the restaurant. In the decision document, the council said that Mrs Wang 'lacked experience running restaurants' and despite being seperated from her ex-husband, was still 'reliant' on him professionally. It was heard, however, that Mrs Wang had now ensured that all staff employed at Fei Er Cottage were now legal. The immigration raid at the restaurant took place on December 18 last year but it only came to light in March. It was found there was at least one worker doing more than 65 hours a week, according to payslips found by officers. They were being paid £12.50 an hour, which was above the UK minimum wage of £12.21 – but their pay was being 'taxed' by the restaurant by more than a third. It revealed a worker found in the kitchen had 'clandestinely entered the UK in 2012' and was arrested while working at another Chinese restaurant in 2018 before absconding six months later. A second worker entered the UK illegally in 2016, while a woman from China came into the UK on a visitors' visa but overstayed this and never had the right to work in the UK. Meanwhile an employee could only work 20 hours a week in term time because he was on a student visa - but was in fact working more than three times that. The decision by the council means that Fei Er Cottage, described as having some of the best handmade dumplings in London, has lost its licence to sell alcohol.
