Judge rejects Scout leaders' bid to overturn unlawful killing verdict
A senior judge has rejected an attempt to overturn an inquest verdict of unlawful killing on a teenager who died while on a Scout trip.
Ben Leonard, 16, suffered a serious head injury when he fell about 200ft at Great Orme in Llandudno, North Wales.
He died while on a trip with the Reddish Explorer Scouts from Stockport, Greater Manchester, on August 26 2018.
Ben and two friends took a different path from other Scouts, unsupervised by any Scout leaders, who had 'lost' the trio on the Orme.
Ben ended up on a 50cm ledge, which was an animal track, when he lost his footing, slipped and fell to his death.
Following a two-month inquest last year at Manchester Civil Courts of Justice, a jury found Ben was unlawfully killed by the most senior Scout leader on the trip, and an assistant Scout leader, and this was contributed to by neglect by The Scout Association.
The law prevents inquest juries from naming any individual in conclusions.
During the inquest, the Scout leader on the trip, Sean Glaister, declined to answer a series of questions from Ben Richmond KC, lawyer for Fieldfisher, the law firm representing Ben's family. Mary Carr was named as the assistant Scout leader on the trip.
David Pojur, assistant coroner for North Wales east and central, referred The Scout Association and an employee, who cannot be named by court order, to North Wales Police to investigate for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
We are just relieved it is now over and the judicial review failed. We need to try to move forward now but with Ben in our hearts always
Ben's mother, Jackie Leonard
But after the inquest, Mr Glaister and Ms Carr applied for a judicial review of the inquest findings of unlawful killing, heard at the High Court in Manchester in December.
On Thursday, Mr Justice Fordham ruled the coroner Mr Pojur had directed the jury fairly and correctly and rejected the appeal to review the inquest findings.
Ben's mother, Jackie Leonard said: 'We are just relieved it is now over and the judicial review failed. We need to try to move forward now but with Ben in our hearts always.'
At the beginning of the inquest last year, the third after two previous inquests were aborted, The Scout Association for the first time publicly apologised and accepted responsibility for Ben's death.
The inquest also heard Ben's family were lied to as The Scout Association was worried about 'reputational damage', and Ben's family were told, 'people who try and take on the Scouts are never successful' and that 'no-one can touch the Scouts'.
Around 500,000 young people and 145,000 adult volunteers take part in Scouting projects and activities each week, according to the association's own figures.
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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control
Ben's mum was lured into the cult and gave her son up to be part of a 'master race' CULT OF BLONDE My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control BEN Shenton was just 18 months old when his mother gave him up to a well-spoken blonde woman who swore she'd give him the best life possible. Little did she know her decision would put Ben through years of abuse at the hands of a woman who believed she was Jesus Christ reborn. 9 Ben Shenton was handed over to a cult leader Credit: BBC 9 Anne Hamilton-Bryne's 'children' were forced to bleach their hair and wear matching clothes Credit: BBC Handout 9 Anne believed she was Jesus Christ reborn and became the leader of the notorious Australian cult Images of Ben show a happy young boy, but the reality was entirely different - as the youngster was forced to become part of a notorious cult known as 'The Family'. Anne Hamilton-Byrne, who Ben would grow up to know as his mother, became the leader of the cult based in Australia, which drugged and beat him. He had no idea of his life before Anne, as she went to great lengths to keep his adoption a secret, even bleaching his hair platinum blond like hers and his new 'siblings'. Despite abusing more than 20 children, including Ben, Anne and her husband and cult co-leader, Bill Hamilton-Byrne, never faced justice. Now, over four decades on from the abuse, Ben shares his story of growing up in the "Kai Lama" compound, where children were locked in with barbed wire and tortured. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Anne first started out as a yoga teacher before turning to a more 'spiritual life' and eventually believing she was Jesus Christ reincarnated. She was born with the name Evelyn and had three marriages in total - the first coming to an end when her husband died in a car crash, which led to her 'spiritual awakening.' She met English physicist Dr Raynor Johnson in 1963 and the following year, they set up a group dedicated to spreading a surreal combination of Christianity and Hinduism, with Hamilton-Byrne at its centre. Her final husband, Bill, became the person who led the doomsday cult with her in the 1960s, when the world faced existential threats like nuclear warfare, the Vietnam War and the spread of communism. Anne was able to rope people into the cult through yoga lessons, meetings at her house once a week, and then three times a week, until she built the compound on land near her house for them to move into. Inside a 'mind-controlling' CULT which 'forced mum and daughter to hit each other' and chose Fiji as the 'promised land' Anne came across as beautiful, well-spoken and nurturing, so it's no surprise Ben's mum was easily convinced he'd have a better life with her. Ben said Anne manipulated his mother into giving him up in 1970, convincing her that 'only she could give me the best life possible'. The pair consistently preyed on vulnerable people like Ben's mum, Joy, who had suffered a back injury and felt she could not look after him anymore. They also started recruiting people into their cult by approaching patients from Newhaven Hospital in Kew, a private psychiatric facility run and operated by various members of The Family, who targeted vulnerable patients, subjecting them to heavy doses of LSD and electroshock therapy. She and husband Hamilton-Byrne took children through illegal adoptions, allowing the cult to grow in numbers before imprisoning them in a strict home-schooling environment at a rural property near Eildon in Victoria. 9 At one point, Anne had 28 children in her care Credit: Label Distribution 9 She convinced parents to give her their children Using lawyers, social workers, and doctors to forgo official channels, they were able to forge birth documents and raise over a dozen children to believe they were the birth children of the Hamilton-Byrnes. When children were born inside the compound to cult members, they were raised to believe their birth mothers were instead among a handful of 'aunts', who gave out brutal punishments for whatever they saw fit. PICTURE PERFECT FAMILY From the outside, the family looked picture-perfect as they lived on their compound in Victoria, Australia. Life at Kai Lama seemed healthy and even advanced for its years; it featured yoga, exercise, vegetarian meals, meditation and education. Ben lived on the remote property and was raised alongside dozens of other children for 13 years and recalls living with 28 other kids at one point. "Growing up, it was Anne and Bill, they were mum and dad; and then there were foster kids, and they were kids of other sect members, who would either come up on weekends or stay there for stints of a couple of years," Ben, told the BBC. "The greatest amount of kids at any given stage was 28," he added. Anne and Bill brought up the children as their own, even dressing them in matching outfits and dying their hair bleach blond to appear like a real family. I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. Anne Hamilton-Byrne "We were her children. We were different ages. We'd line up von Trapp style (like) The Sound of Music, which we'd watch, dressed in outfits that matched and that was just what we were asked to do," he told the True Crimes Conversation podcast. "You look back on that and you see it's choreographed. "It crafted a belief that she had these children, which she didn't. We were all either adopted or handed over." In an interview years after the children were finally taken from her, Anne said: 'I wanted them to look like brothers and sisters - I must admit this. 'I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. It was beautiful - it was lovely to see.' Asked why she imprisoned 28 children over two decades, she responded: 'I love children.' 9 Ben Shenton pictured after being removed from the cult Credit: Ben Shenton 9 Ben (pictured front right) and his 'silbings' were the targets of abuse for years Credit: BBC UNDER WRAPS But in reality, the children were subjected to years of beatings, mind games, isolation, and forced to take drugs by the cult leader, who had convinced more than 500 people she was Jesus Christ. The couple had convinced their followers they were making a 'master race' while teaching a mixture of Christianity and Hinduism. Ben recalls one form of torture Anne liked to perform on the children was waterboarding. It's a method of torture that creates such horrific psychological pain that its use has even been banned in the US military. "We were all lined up. We were belted. Our head held under the bucket of water, interrogated," he said. "Held there until you thought you were suffocating, brought back out again. "Horrendous experience. It caused nightmares. "These things shape your personality." Ben recalls seeing his siblings being beaten with a belt, and says they were given LSD 'as part of an initiation ritual.' 'I was watching her being belted with a buckle and she's being beaten to the point where she's wriggling out of her clothes,' he said of his sister, Sarah. 'Hearing her body smash across the balustrades - it was horrendous to know they had the power to do that and would do it,' he told the MailOnline. She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative. Ben Shenton Ben says Anne's most effective tactic was to keep the children from forming bonds with each other to keep them all in line. To weed out misdeeds in the children, Anne would perform group interrogations by beating them until someone came clean. Ben said he stayed compliant to avoid punishment. "This was the evil genius of her. She understood that if she could separate us, isolate us, make it so that we couldn't build relationships with one another and punish us, then she could control us," he said. "Anyone who's lived under domestic violence will know the living with fear, the walking on eggshells, the currying favour of those in authority, or the absolute rejection of them, the hatred of them, the love-hate relationship. "It's domestic abuse on steroids," he said. Now, Ben believes Anne was a sociopath or psychopath. "She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative," he said. 'The Family' Cult Timeline 1968 The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. 1974 An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. 1978 Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. 1983 Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. 1987 (14 August) Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. The children are removed from the sect and placed into care. 1987 (Oct/Nov) Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. 1987 (12 December) Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. 1989 (about June) Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. 1989 (11 December) Operation Forest Task Force commences. Operation Forest Task Force commences. 1993 (4 June) Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. 1993 (17 August) Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. 1993 (31 August) Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. 1994 In the County Court, Anne and Bill avoid prison and are fined $5000 each. In the County Court, Anne and Bill avoid prison and are fined $5000 each. 2001 Bill dies, leaving Anne to lead a diminishing group of followers. Bill dies, leaving Anne to lead a diminishing group of followers. 2019 At 97, Anne lives in the dementia wing of a suburban Melbourne nursing home. CAUGHT IN THE ACT It wasn't until 1987 that the cult was finally searched by 100 police officers and the children were rescued. At the time, a 15-year-old Ben was doing his scheduled yoga class when police stormed in. His sister, Sarah Moore, had managed to escape the cult at 17 and headed straight to the police to tell them what was going on. Not taking any chances, police stormed the property and rescued six children, including Ben. While he was reluctant to go with them at first, he soon realised this was his path to freedom. He recalls: 'I think I got this epiphanal moment, realising this is the ticket out of here. So I just I let go, and I went with them." It was only then that Ben found out he was not their biological son and was handed over by his mother Joy, who stayed in the cult as an 'aunt'. At the time, Anne was in Hawaii while Bill stayed on the compound, but he wasn't arrested. Later, he went to New York to meet Anne before the pair were arrested and extradited back to Australia. While many of the children came forward with claims of abuse, both Anne and Bill were only charged with conspiracy to defraud and perjury by falsely registering the birth of triplets. The pair were spared jail and fined just £2,300 each for the crime. Detective Lex de Man, who investigated the case, says evidence of abuse was unable to be taken to court despite multiple victims coming forward. Justice was not done. Ben Shenton Detective de Man recently told The Age: 'My only regret is she was never held totally to account for the misery she caused to the former cult children. 'I have no sympathy for the woman I consider the most evil person I ever met in my police career.' LIFE NOW Ben moved into foster care when he left the cult, and while lying on his bunk bed with fresh pyjamas and a meal in his tummy, he realised he'd never go back to The Family again "I realised then I (didn't) have to do this anymore, I'm free. I don't need to go back," he said. "That, to me, was when I shut the door." Four decades on, Ben is a proud husband to Rajes and a dad to Ellie and Callum, who live in Perth, Australia. He has written a book on his time in the cult, Life Behind the Wire, and runs the organisation, Rescue The Family, to raise awareness on cult manipulation. In 2019, Anne passed away while in a Melbourne care home at the age of 98 and Ben has reconnected with his biological mother. "What Anne did was evil. She used the name of Christ to give herself validity. She used a belief system," Ben said. "Justice was not done." 9 Now Ben educates others on manipulation after his own experience Credit: SBS Productions
ITV News
7 days ago
- ITV News
Street racing: The families who lost loved ones in deadly crash
'I wish the day the police came here and told me what had happened, they'd have just put a bullet in my head. Because to me, my life isn't worth living anymore.' It's through streaming tears that Tracy Challis shares her grief at losing her daughter Liberty, at the age of just 16, in a street racing crash. Describing it as 'heartbreak' doesn't seem to go far enough. This is a life in ruins. Devastation comes off her in waves. 'I was a larger than life character that would have gone anywhere, done anything for anybody, and now, I'm more or less a recluse,' she says. 'It's funny what it does to you. I don't want to go out and enjoy myself - how can I enjoy myself?" 'I know I will never be happy again.' She's standing in the shadow of a mural painted on a street wall in Dudley, in memory of her daughter. The last she saw of Liberty was as she ran out of the door on the evening of November 20th, 2022, saying she was off to see friends and promising not to be long. She had gone to watch a street race along Oldbury Road in Oldbury in Sandwell - with drivers speeding between the traffic roundabouts at Spon Lane South and Rood End Road to perform circuits. One of them, Dhiya Al-Maamoury - aged 54 at the time - lost control. His heavily-modified Nissan Skyline spun off the road, and hit a crowd of pedestrians. Two teenagers, Ebonie Parkes and Ethan Kilburn, suffered life-changing injuries. Liberty, and 19-year-old Ben Corfield, were killed. Now, at the spot where Al-Maamoury's car left the road, a wooden planter adorns the wall in tribute to the pair. It's been more than a year since Ben's parents, Lynette and Damien, have visited the scene. They returned there with ITV News to help share Ben's story - but say the memories of rushing there in the early hours of November 21st still haunt them; as do the questions which can never be answered. 'Was he crying out for us? Was he crying for his mum and dad? You know, was he in pain?' Damien says. 'It's devastating. For me, I just want to go. I don't want to be here at all. Just knowing that this is the place where our son lost his life. He was far greater than that. It's soul destroying, it really is.' Ben had served as a junior councillor and junior MP - and had been in the final stages of interview for a job with Tesla. After his death, his parents learned how he'd been involved with numerous community initiatives they'd never even heard about - as well as stories of how he'd gone out of his way to help others. He'd once helped an elderly couple move out of their semi-detached house into sheltered accommodation, using his own car to do so, when he heard they were worried about the cost of hiring movers. For months afterwards, he would pay them visits to check in on them and see how they were doing. 'He was the most fun-loving, wonderful young man,' Lynette tells us. 'Just a pleasure of a son." 'He'd got so much to offer the world. He was just the most… the purest soul.' They say they still, even now, half expect him to walk through the door as though nothing had happened - to continue living the life he should have been able to live. Instead, they've been left with a gaping hole in their family. That agonising grief - the loss of a lifetime of joy, love, and potential - is one Tracy Challis knows all too well. Liberty - or Lib ('nobody called her Libby', Tracy says) - had dreamed of becoming a presenter at a national radio station, and had been determined to make it happen. 'She'd got big dreams,' Tracy says. 'My dad said to her at the age of four: 'Lib - what are you going to do when you're older?' She was like: 'I'm going to be bigger than Gaga'. 'She was a drama queen. Massively. But she lived life to the full. She was so passionate about life, about charity - she would do anything for anybody. 'And she'd sign me up for everything. 'Mom, we're doing a Zumbathon!' 'Mom, we're doing the Walk for Life!' 'Mom, I'm doing this'. 'I miss her so much.' Al-Maamoury, now 56, from Solihull, was jailed in November last year for 13 years and six months after admitting two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. But for the families of Ben and Liberty - their sentence will last a lifetime.
North Wales Chronicle
22-05-2025
- North Wales Chronicle
Five teenagers held after far-right group planned attacks, German police say
The early-morning arrests in various parts of Germany were accompanied by searches at 13 properties, federal prosecutors said. Four of those arrested – identified only as Benjamin H, Ben-Maxim H, Lenny M and Jason R, in line with German privacy rules – are suspected of membership in a domestic terror organisation. The fifth, Jerome M, is accused of supporting the group. Two of the arrested also are accused of attempted murder and aggravated arson. All are aged between 14 and 18. Prosecutors said they are also investigating three other people, aged 18 to 21, who are already in custody. All the suspects are German citizens. According to the prosecutors, the group was formed in mid-April 2024 or earlier. They said that its members saw themselves as the last resort to defend the 'German nation' and aimed to bring about the collapse of Germany's democratic order. Two of the suspects set a fire at a cultural centre in Altdobern in eastern Germany in October, prosecutors said, adding that several people living in the building at the time escaped injury only by chance. In January, another two suspects allegedly broke a window at a home for asylum-seekers in Schmolln and tried unsuccessfully to start a blaze by setting off fireworks. They daubed the group's initials and slogans such as 'Foreigners out,' 'Germany for the Germans' and 'Nazi area' on the walls, as well as swastikas, prosecutors said. Also in January, three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on a home for asylum-seekers in Senftenberg, but it never came about because of the earlier arrests of two of the men. Justice minister Stefanie Hubig said it was 'particularly shocking' that all of those arrested on Wednesday were minors at the time the group was allegedly founded. 'This is an alarm signal and it shows that right-wing extremist terrorism knows no age,' Ms Hubig said. In a separate case a week ago, German authorities banned a far-right group called 'Kingdom of Germany' as a threat to the country's democratic order and arrested four of its alleged leaders. In an annual report released on Tuesday, the Federal Criminal Police Office said that the number of violent crimes with a right-wing motivation was up 17.2% last year to 1,488. That was part of an overall increase in violent politically motivated offences to 4,107, an increase of 15.3%.
