Merseyside Police officers who confronted Southport killer honoured
Sgt Gillespie was the first to arrive at Hart Street in Southport and he described seeing "chaos", with "extremely panicked" people in the street.He directed paramedics to a seriously injured child before being joined by PC Holden and PCSO Parry.They witnessed members of the public running away from the dance studio carrying young children.
'Split-second decisions'
Armed with a baton and a Taser, Sgt Gillespie and PC Holden entered the building while PCSO Parry covered the exit.They found Rudakubana, then aged 17, holding a large knife at the top of the stairs.They approached while shouting at him to drop the knife. PCSO Parry also ran in to assist.Rudakubana, who was jailed for a minimum of 52 years in January, dropped the weapon and was handcuffed and arrested after the trio struck him with a baton.Police Federation of England and Wales national chairwoman Tiff Lynch said of all the winners: "Whether confronting violent attackers, rescuing individuals from life-threatening situations, or making split-second decisions under immense pressure, these officers have shown exceptional courage and selflessness".
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This can't be it, she can't just spend the rest of her life in prison. I'm living a life that Lucy should be living beside me. 'We should both be having families. We'd both bought our houses, and we were looking forward to the next chapter of our lives – and then all this happens. There's so much guilt that I'm living a life that Lucy should also be living.' The striking loyalty of a lifelong friend and a senior colleague are not the only elements of the programme, produced by Anouk Curry, which will shake the beliefs of many in Letby's guilt. It also provides a devastating counter to prosecution claims that babies on the unit were poisoned with insulin. Many on the prosecution side viewed this as the nearest they had to a 'smoking gun' in a trial which lacked any hard evidence. The 'immuno-assay' test used to make this claim was useless for the purpose, according to Matt Johl, an American expert in chemistry and forensic science. 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Josh also eloquently recalls the astounding moment in the trial when Ms Letby's original defence offered no expert witnesses to rebut the charges against her. Now such experts have spoken.
