Latest news with #AnnelieseMidgley
Sky News
7 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Hundreds face imminent eviction as Merseyside tower blocks condemned by firefighters
Hundreds of people are facing imminent homelessness after their Merseyside flat blocks were condemned by the fire service as being unsafe. Residents of Beech Rise and Willow Rise in Kirkby, Merseyside - consisting of 160 flats in total - have been told they need to find somewhere else to live "immediately". Sky News understands a meeting took place this morning involving the government to discuss the situation, although one source described the circumstances as a "waiting game" to see what other parties do next. Due to the worsening condition of the buildings, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service issued a notice saying a round-the-clock "waking watch" - a fire safety system where trained personnel continuously patrol a building - was required as a safety measure. However, the money to pay for the waking watch has run out, and with no money for repairs, the fire service has told inhabitants to leave using a rarely employed power known as a prohibition notice. Among the issues are broken lifts, poorly fitted doors and malfunctioning fire alarms. Knowsley Council says it is funding a short-term extension to the watch - understood to cost thousands of pounds per day - while people search for accommodation, but only has the money to do this "for a short period". Anneliese Midgley, the MP for Knowsley, says she is working with the council and government to support the impacted families. She said the situation is "nothing short of a scandal". But there remains the prospect of an "emergency evacuation" if a watch is not in place. There are allegations of mismanagement against previous owners and management firms, including around finances, made by the buildings' current managers, the Parklands Management, in which residents are shareholders. Dempster Management, the most recent firm appointed to run and maintain the buildings, is understood to be continuing to help with operations as Parklands has run out of money. Graham Morgan, the leader of Knowsley Council, said the residents have been "let down and neglected for years" by private owners of the blocks. 3:10 Vulnerable residents have been contacted by the council, and some could receive emergency rehousing if necessary. Mr Morgan added that the council has asked the government for help with funding - and help potentially going after the private companies "to recover costs". The buildings were previously council properties but were taken over by the private sector in the mid-2000s. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: "MFRS officers have worked tirelessly alongside Knowsley Council for several years to engage with successive management agents to ensure responsible persons fulfil their obligations under fire safety law, including issuing enforcement notices requiring remediation work to be carried out. "A waking watch has been in place in both Beech Rise and Willow Rise to ensure the safety of residents while works are carried out, however, it has become evident that the work required has not progressed and is unlikely to be carried out. "The management company would not fund the waking watch beyond 21 May 2025. The funding of the waking watch has been extended by Knowsley Council for a short period at their cost, despite them not owning the buildings, but this is not sustainable. "This means the buildings will no longer be safe for residents to live in after the current waking watch ends, and MFRS will have no choice but to issue a prohibition notice. When the prohibition notice is served, residents must leave immediately, and they will need to be rehoused. "We understand that this is disruptive and unpleasant for residents, however, all other options have been exhausted and the safety of residents is of paramount importance." Parklands Management told Sky News: "The situation at Parklands has become appalling for all involved. Residents and leaseholders are facing an unprecedented and deeply distressing crisis that stems from years of systemic neglect and mismanagement." They added: "The scale of investment now required to bring Parklands up to standard is in the multi-millions, and yet those bearing the burden are ordinary leaseholders, many with no financial capacity to contribute further." Dempster, who took over the management of the towers in late 2023, told Sky News: "Upon our appointment, we inherited a development that had suffered from years of serious neglect. The scale of disrepair was significant, requiring substantial investment that could only be funded through service charges payable by leaseholders" The statement added: "Despite our brief tenure, we have faced exceptionally difficult circumstances, largely due to the dire financial position and structural issues left behind by previous directors and managing agents." The decision of Dempster to resign in April 2025 was a "commercial" one because conditions were "impossible". "We remain hopeful that the residents and leaseholders of Parklands will find justice and a lasting resolution. In today's society, no one should be left to face the threat of homelessness, especially due to failures beyond their control," the company added. A spokesperson for the head lessor, the Virgin Island registered company Rockwell FC100, said the requirement to keep the buildings safe rested with Parklands Management, and said it was "extremely disappointing that due to a combination of factors including their non-collection of significant essential funding, the buildings have been allowed to deteriorate to the extent which they have". They added they were "investigating how best to move forward". Parklands said they have spent more than £170,000 on safety works and service charge arrears are at more than £700,000, with £250,000 also owed to creditors. They claim that, because post-Grenfell cladding work has not been completed, recovering service charges is "virtually impossible" and, due to disrepair, flats can be worth as little as £10,000.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Olivia's Law: Mum backs sanctions for killers who skip sentencing
Plans to stop prison visits for criminals who refuse to attend their sentencing hearing have been supported by the mother of a murdered nine-year-old Korbel, whose daughter Olivia Pratt-Korbel was fatally shot by Thomas Cashman in Dovecot, Liverpool, in August 2022, said: "If we want to see our loved ones, we have to visit a cemetery but they still have the right to see their family."Cashman refused to attend court to be sentenced in April 2023, prompting Olivia's family to campaign for a change in the Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised Ms Korbel, saying her determination to bring about change would be "heard by the whole world". Olivia was fatally shot by Cashman when he chased a fellow drug dealer into her home on 22 August Law is part of the Victims and Courts Bill which is progressing through Parliament. It would mean that criminals who refuse to attend sentencing, or disrupt hearings in England and Wales, could face an additional two years in prison as well as other sanctions, including missing out on family Korbel told BBC Radio Merseyside: "If we want to see our loved ones that aren't here anymore we have to go to a cemetery, but they still have the right to see their family. "If they are going to object to coming up (for sentencing) then that sanction should be put in place."The proposed legislation had its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Her MP Anneliese Midgley, who represents Knowsley, spoke in the speech included the victim impact statement which Ms Korbel read at Cashman's sentencing hearing, despite him not being in court to hear Korbel and her cousin Antonia Elverson were also present for Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, where Midgley asked the Starmer to commit Olivia's Law to the statue books "as soon as possible".Starmer welcomed Olivia's family to the House of Commons before adding: "I am always humbled by those with the courage to respond to appalling heartbreak by campaigning for change and I know the whole house will pay tribute to her extraordinary courage and resolve."He thanked Midgley for reading Ms Korbel's victim impact statement "because I know from talking to Cheryl how hard it was for her to make in the first place". The prime minister went on: "It took a huge amount of courage and grief, and she wanted to read that statement to the perpetrator as she should have been able to do, and I know how visceral the pain is to her of not being able to have done so." Starmer said: "Cowards who commit these heinous crimes should face the consequences of their actions and that's why we will force offenders to attend sentencing hearings." 'So poignant' Midgley said she wanted to read the statement in full to ensure the words were forever recorded in Hansard, the Parliamentary record."They were words she was denied saying to the murderer of her child in court, and spearheaded her campaign to get the law changed," said the Labour MP, adding that she hoped it would bring Ms Korbel "a sense of justice" that "she was denied". Ms Korbel said hearing her words read in Parliament had been "one of the hardest moments" of her campaign. Ms Elverson said: "It's so poignant because those words are going to go down in history. "They will be there for anyone to research and when we are gone for our family to look back on." She said it had been "really difficult" because "it did take us back" to the time of Cashman's said there were provisions in the Bill which would mean that, as well as having their sentence extended, offenders who refused to attend sentencing hearings could face unlimited fines and lose privileges including family visits and social said the Bill had received cross-party support from more scrutiny, the draft law will return to the Commons for a third and final reading. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Words of heartbroken mother read out in Parliament in emotional speech by MP
The words of Olivia Pratt-Korbel's heartbroken mother have been spoken in Parliament by an MP, as measures to compel criminals to appear in the dock for sentencing were brought to the Commons. In an emotional contribution, Anneliese Midgley read out Cheryl Korbel's victim's statement, which her nine-year-old daughter's killer 'refused to hear' in court. Thomas Cashman, the gunman who killed Olivia as he chased a drug dealer who had tried to run into her home in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, did not appear to hear his life sentence in April 2023. As Ms Korbel watched tearfully from the gallery, the Labour MP for Knowsley praised her for her campaigning on Olivia's law. Under the legislation, judges will be given the power to sentence offenders for up to two more years in prison for avoiding justice. For offenders who already face lengthy imprisonment or whole life orders, judges could also impose a range of prison punishments on offenders such as confinement to their cells and being stripped of privileges such as extra gym time. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to carry on the pledge to change the law, first made by his predecessor Rishi Sunak, when he met with Ms Korbel in January this year. The measures are part of the Victims and Courts Bill, which had its second reading in the Commons on Tuesday. Speaking during the debate, Ms Midgley said: 'Today I speak to one part of this Bill that will require convicted offenders to attend their sentence hearings and provide consequences where they refuse. It's known as Olivia's law. 'Olivia Pratt-Korbel was nine years old when she was murdered in her own home, by a stranger with a gun. The murderer, Thomas Cashman fired a bullet through the door of Olivia's home, which passed through the wrist of my constituent, Cheryl Korbel, Olivia's mother, before hitting Olivia in the chest and ending her life. 'Cheryl and her cousin Antonia are with us in the chamber today. 'To lose a child to murder in your own home while trying to protect them is a burden no parent should ever be asked to bear. But under our current justice system, convicted criminals can opt-out of attending their own sentencing. 'That's what Olivia's murderer did. Cashman remained in his cell, refusing to face the court, to hear Cheryl's words, to look her in the eye. It was the act of a coward. That injustice must end. 'Nothing in this world can bring Olivia back, but instead of collapsing under this weight, Cheryl fought back. She and her family have campaigned so no other family would suffer the same. 'Olivia's law is her work, it's Olivia's legacy, it's Cheryl's legacy. 'Today I will read out Cheryl's victim impact statement. These are the words the murderer, the coward Thomas Cashman refused to hear. I want the words of Cheryl Korbel committed to this House, so they will be on record in this place forever. 'Let her words ring out in this chamber, like they should have done in Cashman's ears that day.' In her victim statement, Ms Korbel described Olivia as 'the light of our lives, our beautiful, sassy, chatty girl who never ran out of energy'. Ms Korbel had also said: 'My worst nightmare was being separated from Liv and not being with her when she needed me the most, I was the first person to hold my baby girl, and as her mum, I should have been the last. 'I cannot get my head around how Cashman continued to shoot after hearing the terrifying screams, the utter devastation he has caused, he doesn't care, how could he? 'His actions have left the biggest hole in our lives that can never be filled. That man set out to do a job and he didn't care about anyone else or who got in the way. He certainly couldn't own it either.' Concluding her speech, Ms Midgley said: 'Let Cheryl's words be heard. Let them be honoured. Let Olivia's law pass, and make sure that no victim's voice is ever shut out of justice again.'
