Latest news with #CherylKorbel
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer was 'surreal', says OIivia's mum
The mother of a nine-year-old girl who was murdered in Liverpool has described a meeting with the prime minister as "surreal" as she continues her campaign to stop criminals refusing to attend sentencing Pratt-Korbel was shot dead in her family home in August 2022 as gunman Thomas Cashman fired shots at a rival drug dealer he was mother Cheryl Korbel met Sir Keir Starmer to discuss her campaign after this week's prime ministers questions, alongside her cousin Antonia ElversonMs Korbel said: "I think I'm still in shock, because we've been thrown into a world we knew nothing about. So even sitting in the House of Commons it's – mouth open, surreal." Ms Korbel began her fight after Olivia's killer Cashman refused to appear in the dock for his sentencing.A new bill has since been introduced in parliament that could give judges additional powers to punish offenders who skip their sentencing. Starmer praised Ms Korbel and said her determination to bring about change would be "heard by the whole world".Ms Korbel's victim impact statement from Cashman's trial was read to the Commons by her MP Anneliese Midgley during a debate on the Victims and Courts Bill Elverson said: "We were actually invited to PMQs by the prime minister. It was important that we were there to hear what he had to say about Cheryl's statement."And as he said, it will be heard around the world. "Then we had a private meeting with Sir Keir afterwards which was a really nice moment." It is not the first time the family have met the prime minister, who last year said the pledge to bring in the law was a "promise" he "intended to keep".Speaking after Wednesday's meeting, Ms Korbel said: "Me as a person, if something needs doing it gets done. "Olivia and the other families who have gone through this are the driving force so other families don't have to go through what we did." In the Commons, Starmer said: "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." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230
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.'
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Criminals not attending sentencing is ‘final insult' to victims, says Mahmood
Defendants who refuse to appear in court for sentencing are giving a 'final insult to victims and their families', the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has said, as an impact statement from the mother of a murdered girl was read to MPs. During the second reading of the victims and courts bill, the Labour MP Anneliese Midgley read a statement on behalf of Cheryl Korbel, the mother of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead in her Liverpool home in 2022. Her killer, Thomas Cashman, refused to attend his sentencing. 'These are the words Thomas Cashman refused to hear,' Midgley said. 'Let them ring out in this chamber, as they should have in Thomas Cashman's ears that day.' In the statement, read aloud in the Commons with Korbel present in the public gallery and in tears, she recalled the moment she realised Olivia had been shot: 'I was not able to do CPR properly on her because of my injury … I felt helpless. It was only then my neighbour came in and tried all he could to save my baby.' Cashman, who killed Olivia as he chased a drug dealer who had tried to run into her home in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, did not appear in court to hear his life sentence in April 2023. Korbel's statement described the pain of being separated from her daughter in the final moments of her life: 'I was the first person to hold my baby girl – and as her mum I should have been the last.' Proposed legislation backed by the government, referred to as Olivia's law, would give judges the power to impose up to two additional years in prison on convicted offenders who refuse to attend sentencing. Courts could also strip prisoners of privileges, including visitation rights, extra gym time or access to communal areas. Mahmood said: 'When a guilty defendant fails to show up to hear how their crime has shattered lives, it is a final insult to victims and their families, because it robs them of the chance to tell offenders through victim impact statements the pain they have caused.' Korbel described the anguish of living without her daughter: 'It's so very lonely without her. Everything is just so quiet … I just can't cope with the silence. The day gets to half two and I think about the school pickup – something I will never get to do again as a mum.' Midgley praised Korbel's determination to fight for change: 'Nothing in this world can bring Olivia back. But instead of collapsing under this weight, Cheryl fought back … Olivia's law is her work. It is Olivia's legacy. It is Cheryl's legacy.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Keir Starmer has said he will carry through the proposed legal change after meeting Korbel – continuing a promise made by his predecessor, Rishi Sunak. The bill is expected to move forward with broad support in the coming weeks. Mahmood said the bill 'marks an important step forward in our mission to rebuild our justice system, so that it serves the victims who, in recent years, it has all too often failed'. The shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, said the government should 'enact the most radical and serious changes' in an effort 'to rebalance the criminal justice system in the favour of victims'.
BBC News
07-05-2025
- BBC News
Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum backs more jail time for skipping sentencing
Olivia's mum backs sentencing refusal law change 7 minutes ago Share Save Claire Hamilton BBC Political Reporter, Merseyside Share Save Family Handout Olivia, nine, was murdered by Thomas Cashman in August 2022 The mother of a nine-year-old girl whose murderer refused to appear in court to hear his sentence has welcomed new powers which could see offenders who avoid the dock given more time in jail. Olivia Pratt-Korbel was fatally shot by Thomas Cashman when he chased a fellow drug dealer into her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on 22 August 2022. Cheryl Korbel said she had wanted to speak directly to Cashman and "look him in the eye" in April 2023, but was shocked when told he did not have to appear. A new bill was introduced earlier in parliament that could give judges additional powers to punish offenders who skip their sentencing. Cashman was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 42 years in April 2023 and Olivia's family have spent the last two years campaigning for a change in the law to force criminals to appear for sentencing. Cheryl Korbel told BBC Radio Merseyside she had been "annoyed, angry and shocked" when she was told Cashman did not have to be in court to hear the sentence at the time of his trial. She said the family had been "unaware" he could refuse to appear. His absence from court meant Cashman did not hear Ms Korbel read her victim impact statement, detailing how his crime and her daughter's murder had shattered her life. Ms Korbel said she had considered not reading her statement in his absence, but then changed her mind. "Every criminal should be in the dock and listen to the impact statement," she said. "No disrespect to the courts; solicitors and barristers who read out impact statements, but it is more powerful when it comes from a victim or a victim's family." Cheryl Korbel has previously said Cashman should have had to hear about "the pain he's caused" The measure has been included in the government's Victims and Courts Bill after calls by campaigners to change the law. It could apply to any case in the Crown Court, including for offenders who attend court but are removed for disruptive behaviour - like Southport killer Axel Rudakubana. Ms Korbel said she understood that some families might find a disruptive defendant distressing but they "should be given the choice to have them there or not". She said she had considered the prospect that Cashman could have disrupted proceedings. "If that was the case that he was going to come up causing a fuss and commotion, I would still have said that was fine, he couldn't hurt me or my family more than we were already hurt," she said. "I do understand other families who might not want to go through that." 'Ultimate price' Ms Korbel said the sentencing, including victim impact statements and judge's comments, should be relayed to a criminal in their cell if they refused to leave. "If they are able to hear it and they are handcuffed, they can't put their fingers in their ears," she said. "Change the law to 'you have no choice, you have to come up' or be forced to listen." Ms Korbel said campaigning to change the law had given her a sense of purpose. Her cousin Antonia Elverson said "We are doing this for the greater good, but we have paid the ultimate price. "We were just ordinary working class families and now we have been thrown into this world."
