Horst Mahler obituary: German lawyer jailed for RAF terrorism
After his conviction and imprisonment for terrorist activity, Mahler renounced violence but then underwent another conversion, becoming fascinated with German nationalism. He joined the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) and was once again brought before the courts and convicted for, among other charges, Holocaust denial.
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The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lucy Letby was a ‘broken person'. But now has new hope, claims her lawyer
Child killer Lucy Letby was a 'broken person' but now has a 'new hope', her barrister has said. Letby's parents contacted Mark McDonald almost a year ago and requested he take over from her previous lawyer and free her from prison, he said in an interview with the Sunday Times. A week later he met the killer, who is serving 15 whole-life orders after murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016. Mr McDonald said he is submitting 'new evidence' to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and has also spent the past year working to boost public criticism of her convictions. He gathered a panel of 14 neonatal and paediatric experts, shared the babies' medical notes with them, and held a press conference casting doubt on the prosecution's case. Lawyers for the families of Letby's victims previously rubbished the panel's findings as 'full of analytical holes' and 'a rehash' of the defence case heard at trial. In July, Cheshire Police passed evidence of further allegations related to baby deaths and collapses at the hospitals where Letby, 35, worked. Mr McDonald, who is known for making high-profile appeals, told the Sunday Times: 'Remember, 12 months ago, she'd lost every argument. She had been saying that she was not guilty right from the beginning and nobody believed her. 'She went through a whole trial and she was convicted. She went to the Court of Appeal and she was convicted. 'She had a retrial; she was convicted. She went to the Court of Appeal again; she was convicted. And that was it. 'There, you have a broken person. But today, after everything that has happened in the last 12 months, she's got new hope.' McDonald, 59, estimated he has spent thousands of hours on Letby's case and spoke to the newspaper while on holiday with his two children, aged three and four. He said he speaks to the killer at least once every two weeks and visits her each month at Bronzefield prison, in Ashford, Surrey. 'I'm on holiday in Devon and I'm working on (the case). I had a telephone conference with Lucy yesterday. I won't stop. I will not stop until she is out,' he said. It is important to 'win the public narrative' of a potential miscarriage of justice case before taking on the legal narrative, because 'the Court of Appeal will know that the country is going to be looking at them', he added. The barrister claimed he has never submitted this much evidence to the CCRC and 'if this is not referred back to the Court of Appeal then one has to question the purpose of the CCRC'. Possible potential offences against Letby are now being considered by lawyers at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The news emerged hours after police confirmed three people who were part of the senior leadership team at the hospital where Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. Cheshire Constabulary said the suspects, who occupied senior positions at the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) between 2015 and 2016, were arrested and later bailed pending further inquiries. Police said corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter probes are continuing. Mr McDonald previously said the police's announcement about potential new charges against Letby came at a 'very sensitive time' and that a proper and full public inquiry into failings by the hospital is needed. In the latest interview, Mr McDonald told the Sunday Times: 'I'm not naive; I'm a criminal defence barrister – I've represented many people over the years who are guilty. 'But I'm also able to see very clearly where this has gone wrong. There's no forensic evidence. There's no CCTV. There's no eyewitness evidence. 'There's just a theory by a man called Dewi Evans,' he said, referring to the person who was the lead prosecution medical expert in her trial.
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Robert Jenrick blasts Radio 4 radical over social media slur claiming actress Sydney Sweeney was 'backing the eugenics movement' by mentioning her 'great jeans' in advert
The Radio 4 guest who branded a senior Tory 'xenophobic' for comments about asylum-seekers has also accused actress Sydney Sweeney of 'flirting' with the Nazis' theories of eugenics. Refugee charity boss Dr Krish Kandiah prompted fury after his Today programme criticism of last weekend's The Mail on Sunday front page in which Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said the asylum-seeker influx in small boats made him fear for his daughters' safety. Now it has emerged that earlier this month Dr Kandiah attacked Ms Sweeney for boasting of her 'great jeans' in a clothing advert – saying she was 'backing' Nazi ideologies of racial superiority. The BBC was forced to edit Dr Kandiah's Thought for the Day segment, and apologise to Mr Jenrick, after he said the Tory MP's language had fuelled protests outside hotels housing asylum-seekers. Roger Mahony, Radio 4's Head of Editorial Standards, apologised to Mr Jenrick for some of the language and said two references to xenophobia would be edited from the programme on BBC Sounds. But Mr Jenrick said a cursory look at Dr Kandiah's social media would have revealed his outlandish beliefs, including an attack on the Tories ' Rwanda scheme for returning migrants as unChristian and his criticism of Ms Sweeney. In her advert for American Eagle jeans, White Lotus actress Ms Sweeney, 27, says: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.' A narrator then says: 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.' Refugee charity boss Dr Krish Kandiah (pictured) prompted fury after his Today programme criticism of last weekend's MoS front page in which Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said the asylum-seeker influx in small boats made him fear for his daughters' safety Dr Kandiah retorts on X: 'Why on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War would you be flirting with a eugenics idea? 'Eighty years ago there was another mass movement in the world claiming the same. That was Nazism... we don't need superstars backing the eugenics movement.' Mr Jenrick said: 'It's astonishing the BBC failed to conduct proper checks. A quick glance would have found that this individual recently accused Sydney Sweeney of eugenics for a jeans advert, for goodness sake. 'I have no idea how the editorial team at the BBC thought the remarks about me were balanced.
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Alex Salmond's family accuse 'cowardly' Nicola Sturgeon of 'cashing in' on his death with smears in new memoir
Alex Salmond 's niece has accused Nicola Sturgeon of 'cashing in' on his death by using smears about her uncle to flog her new book. Christina Hendry, 30, branded the former Scottish first minister's claims, which include attacks on his work ethic and references to alleged womanising, as 'cowardly'. She said it had been impossible to shield Mr Salmond's widow Moira, 88, from the accusations - and insisted that Ms Sturgeon would never have levelled them had her uncle still been alive. In the memoir - for which she will receive £300,000 - Ms Sturgeon claims that in the run-up to the 2014 referendum, Mr Salmond failed to read a key 650-page White Paper promoting independence. It is also alleged that he was 'implacably opposed' to gay marriage and was rumoured to have had 'consensual affairs' during his relationship with Moira. Responding to Ms Sturgeon's new memoir, Ms Henry said in an interview with The Sun: 'I find it very distasteful. In some ways it is quite cruel. 'She is using his name for relevance, to promote her book, to earn money — she could have said these things in the past few years. 'She has chosen to wait until he is no longer here to defend himself. It's left to the family to deal with this and there's an element of cowardice to that.' In the book, titled Frankly, Ms Sturgeon also alleges Mr Salmond sought revenge after she refused to intervene in the internal Scottish Government probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Mr Salmond, who was first minister from 2007 to 2014, was cleared of 13 sexual offence counts at a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in March 2020. Earlier misconduct claims made against him by two women led to a massive falling out with his successor Ms Sturgeon and a split in the Nationalist movement. In 2018, Mr Salmond resigned from the SNP after the claims emerged and challenged a Scottish Government probe into them. His successful judicial review showed the in-house inquiry had been unfair, unlawful and 'tainted by apparent bias', and he was awarded £512,00 in legal costs. In an excerpt of her new memoir, Ms Sturgeon speaks of the impact of events on her relationship with Mr Salmond, stating how she initially believed their friendship could survive 'his thirst for revenge'. She added: 'Eventually, though, I had to face the fact that he was determined to destroy me. 'I was now engaged in mortal political combat with someone I knew to be both ruthless and highly effective. 'It was a difficult reality to reconcile myself to. So too was losing him as a friend. I went through what I can only describe as a grieving process.' Referring to the court case against Mr Salmond, Ms Sturgeon said that while he conceded that his behaviour towards women was at times inappropriate he failed to ever show 'contrition' for his actions. She also said he was prepared to repeatedly 'traumatise' the women at the centre of the complaints. In a furious response, Mr MacAskill said: 'Nicola Sturgeon is seeking to rewrite history and distorting the truth. Alex Salmond was vindicated it Scotland's High Court. 'It was Nicola Sturgeons Government which was found to have acted unlawfully procedurally unfairly and tainted with apparent bias. It was for that reason that enhanced expenses were awarded against the Government. 'Far from being some passive bystander Ms Sturgeon was at the centre of events that many see as a conspiracy. 'It's why there has to be an inquiry into the role of the Scottish Government in their actions against Alex Salmond and the cover up that has been ongoing ever since. 'History will judge her cruelly as her legacy is shown to be tawdry and failed but justice dictates that there is a full accounting for her role in this shameful episode.' The memoir also includes Ms Sturgeon's account of the moment when Mr Salmond first informed her of the allegations against him, stating that she was 'shocked' and 'felt sick' on hearing them. She has also insisted she was not the one who had leaked the outcome of the Scottish government investigation into her predecessor to the press - but, astonishingly suggested that Mr Salmond might have. Touching upon the ongoing impact of events and Mr Salmond's role in her life, Ms Sturgeon admitted she will never escape his shadow 'even in death'. Mr Salmond died on October 12 last year and Ms Sturgeon did not attend his funeral on October 29. Addressing the fallout in a BBC interview months before his death, Mr Salmond had said: 'A big regret that Nicola and I are no longer on speaking terms, and I seriously doubt if that's going to improve. 'Now, that's a great pity because I did indicate that you shouldn't say anything's for ever, but that's the way it looks and that's just the way it's going to be.' In other extracts, Ms Sturgeon discussed her arrest in 2023, describing it as 'mental torture', her miscarriage in 2010 and her sexuality, which she said is not 'binary'.
