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Metro
21-05-2025
- Metro
Mum told to pay police officer £50 for striking him in the face with toilet roll
A mum of one has been slapped with a £50 fine after assaulting a police officer with Andrex toilet roll. Mischa Fawbert, 23, 'lunged' at PC Alex Camenzuli while holding the 'soft, strong and very, very long' toilet paper, hitting him in the face. Police had attended Fawbert's flat in Congleton, Cheshire, on February 21 after she dialled 999 in the midst of a mental health crisis. PC Camenzuli and another officer forced their way into Fawbert's home after she didn't open the door. They found her lying in bed, but when Fawbert tried to leave the room, PC Camenzuli said: 'She came swinging her hands at me. She hit me on the right side of the face with her hand. 'She was holding a roll of toilet paper. It caused immediate transient pain and discomfort.' After hitting PC Camenzuli, the mum said: 'I threw the toilet roll at you because you were egging me on.' At Crewe Magistrates' Court, Fawbert admitted assault on an emergency worker and was fined £80 with £117 of costs and a victim surcharge. Defence solicitor Taryn Reay said: 'Police have attended at her address for a welfare check. She is in a mental health crisis, and she had a one-year-old child in her care at the time. 'Police entered the property on their own, given their concern, and Miss Fawbert was struggling to get out of bed. She was triggered by being in bed with two male police officers in the bedroom. 'It was a distressing situation for everybody involved. Her emotions were extremely high. She has been through a lot, but it is clear this was one of the worst times.' Despite this, Reay said her client 'does not feel that the officer handled it very well', and said the matter should be dealt with by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. More Trending 'Comments were made about her flat. Her emotions were high, and at the time of the offence, she was at a low and reached out for help. 'There was no police station interview simply due to Miss Fawbert's mental health at the time,' Reay said. Prosecutor Hannah Darling said: 'We do not accept the defendant's basis of plea, but we agree it will not make a material difference in terms of sentencing.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Man United and Tottenham fans in violent clash before Europa League final MORE: Southport stabbings survivor reveals she hasn't used a kitchen knife since MORE: Mum tried smuggling MDMA into Creamfields hidden in Kinder Eggs inside her body
New Statesman
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes brings horror flooding back
Photo by Stefania Rosini/Disney+ Jeff Pope's meticulous drama Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes would be a harrowing watch wherever you were in July 2005. But if you happened then to be living or working in London, I must warn you that it brings it all flooding back: the shock, the horror, the fear; the sudden mistrust we all carried with us whenever we travelled by Tube or bus. Those dread-filled weeks. The bombings on 7 July, in which 52 people died and more than 700 were injured. The failed bombings on 21 July (this time, only the terrorists' detonators exploded). The shooting by the police of an innocent, young Brazilian electrician called Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Underground station on 22 July. In the past, I haven't always been kind about Pope's work: The Reckoning, the 2023 drama he produced about Jimmy Savile, was, for me, loathsome. But Suspect is brilliantly done, a piece that smoothly dispenses with certain myths even as it delivers what will be new information to some. How attentive it is to all those who were involved. Until now, I was unaware of the quiet bravery of Lana Vandenberghe (Laura Aikman), a Canadian secretary at the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who acted as a whistleblower when it became apparent that what the public was being told about De Menezes's death was contrary to the evidence the IPCC had gathered. There are four parts, the first two of which are devoted to the bombings – a reminder of the highly febrile atmosphere in which the Metropolitan Police were working. So much is happening. In a tunnel, Cliff Todd (Daniel Mays), a forensic officer, is dealing with 40-degree heat and thousands of body parts. In Whitehall, politicians are holding Cobra meetings and panicking. At New Scotland Yard, Commissioner Ian Blair (Conleth Hill), Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick (Russell Tovey) and the head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch, Andy Hayman (Max Beesley), are running the biggest investigation of their lives. De Menezes is, at this point, a peripheral, happy-go-lucky figure; we see him working, we see him eating toast. He doesn't know – he will never know – that he lives in the same building in Tulse Hill as Osman Hussain, one of the perpetrators of the failed attacks of 21 July. Pope must have read hundreds of documents before he went to his desk. His minute-by-minute depiction, in the third episode, of how De Menezes came to be mistaken for Hussain, and of the lies that were told about this afterwards, is unmuddied, dramatic enough in itself to need no writerly embellishment; ditto his reconstruction, in the fourth episode, of the 2008 inquest into De Menezes' death (though the sight of Alex Jennings as Michael Mansfield KC in a long grey wig does briefly threaten the solemnity). But elsewhere, Pope can't resist getting into character, making much of the difficult relationship between Blair and Paddick (the latter is appalled by Blair's handling of events, the way he rushes to make statements before he's in possession of the facts) – and here I wonder slightly at Paul Andrew Williams's direction. Procedural obfuscation doesn't always announce itself loudly, as if it was arriving at a party. Hill makes Blair not only seem like a fool, but a ridiculously camp one at that, his pomposity threatening to bust the buttons of his uniform at moments. I much prefer the portrait of Cressida Dick (Emily Mortimer), the commander of the surveillance operation that led to the killing of De Menezes: her implacability, her sophistry, her refusal to admit to mistakes. In the end, though, this is the definition of an ensemble piece: James Nelson-Joyce, the star of the BBC's This City Is Ours, plays a firearms officer, and has about three lines. I don't know if the cast were motivated by any cause, but the result, generous and committed, not only pays tribute to De Menezes, and the shameful circumstances of his death; this is also 'J'accuse', on a scale both subtle and grand. No officer ever faced charges for his killing. The Metropolitan Police was merely fined £175,000 for breaching health and safety rules. Dick rose to become its commissioner. Blair (like Paddick) sits in the House of Lords, where the lunches are subsidised, and the recent past is a land only dimly recalled. Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes Disney+ Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe [See also: Louis Theroux: The Settlers is a deathly warning] Related
Daily Mirror
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Disney+ Suspect release date, cast, trailer, plot: Everything you need to know
Disney+ is gearing up to release Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes, which stars the likes of Russell Tovey, Max Beesley and Laura Aikman. Suspect is set to drop on Disney+, a gripping drama that explores the tragic killing of Jean Charles De Menezes. Penned and executive produced by Jeff Pope, known for his work on Philomena and Stan And Ollie, Suspect takes viewers on a journey through the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings and the death of Brazilian Jean Charles De Menezes who was tragically mistaken for a terrorist. The drama, brought to life by an ensemble cast, portrays the errors that led to his death and how memories, "both accurate and distorted" can morph into fact. Disney+ Suspect release date Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes is set to be released on Wednesday, 30th April, on Disney+. This limited series is a four-part drama with all episodes being released at once, allowing subscribers to binge-watch the entire series in one go if they so choose. Disney+ Suspect cast Disney+'s Suspect boasts a star-studded cast, each portraying real-life individuals in this graphic reenactment of events. Game Of Thrones actor Conleth Hill plays the role of then Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, with Years and Years and Being Human's Russell Tovey as his deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick and The Gentleman star Max Beesley as assistant commissioner Andy Hayman. Des, The Long Shadow and A Thousand Blows star Daniel Mays will be taking on the role of principal forensic investigator Cliff Todd in the upcoming series. Gavin And Stacey's Laura Aikman will portray Lana Vandenberghe, a secretary at the Independent Police Complaints Commission who plays a crucial part in the aftermath of Menezes' death. The Crown's Alex Jennings will play barrister Michael Mansfield KC, representing Menezes' family at his shooting inquest, while Paddington In Peru's Emily Mortimer will depict Cressida Dick, the Gold Commander of the surveillance operation pursuing those believed to be behind the bombings. Newcomer Edison Alcaide will portray Menenzes himself, marking his first-ever onscreen role in this Disney+ drama. What viewers can expect from Suspect on Disney+ The series follows the terrifying London bombings on July 7, 2005, and a subsequent failed set of planned attacks, leading to one of the UK's largest ever manhunts and a covert surveillance operation led by Commander Cressida Dick (played by Emily Mortimer). The synopsis further reveals: "As tension and uncertainty rises across the nation, a series of extraordinary events unfolds, and the actions of the Metropolitan Police leads to a critical misidentification. "Jean Charles de Menezes, an innocent young Brazilian electrician on his way to work, is mistaken for a terrorist and fatally shot at Stockwell station. "In the wake of these tragic events, Independent Police Complaints Commission secretary Lana Vandenberghe (Laura Aikman) makes a life-changing decision, and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick (Russell Tovey), in a police force engulfed by crisis, fights for the truth to prevail. "What follows is a family's fight for justice and answers, and a long-fought struggle to bring clarity to a situation clouded by disinformation."
The Guardian
21-04-2025
- The Guardian
‘We didn't want to avoid the reality of what happened': the drama telling the true story of Jean Charles de Menezes
On 22 July 2005, 27-year-old Jean Charles de Menezes was shot and killed by firearms officers on the London underground shortly after boarding a train. The information relayed by the Metropolitan police at the time was that he had leapt over the ticket barriers at Stockwell station and was wearing a bulky coat under which officers thought he was hiding a bomb. The incident occurred two weeks after the 7/7 bombings on London's transport network, where 52 people were killed, and the day after a copycat attack in which four men tried – and mercifully failed – to detonate devices on three underground trains and a bus; the bombers in the latter incidents fled the scene, triggering a police manhunt. It later emerged that De Menezes was innocent and the intelligence on him was flawed. But such was the impact of that early narrative – the one where his actions and appearance made him seem guilty at a time when police were on high alert – that, 20 years on, it is still what most people remember. It's certainly what screenwriter Jeff Pope (Philomena, Stan & Ollie) recalled when he was first approached about writing the drama series Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. 'My subconscious memory was that it was a terrible accident, where Jean Charles had unwittingly been the architect of his own downfall, because he had vaulted the barrier and run down the escalator. And when the firearms officers got on the train, he challenged them and it all ended in horror.' But then Pope did some digging, reading the two Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) reports, the inquest transcript plus the 2007 health and safety at work prosecution, where a jury found the Met police had breached health and safety rules and put the public at risk. From these, he gleaned that De Menezes had in fact walked into the station, picked up a newspaper and got on the train without incident. 'I was certain by the time I had absorbed the research that this was a poorly planned and poorly executed operation that morning.' A tense and frequently shocking ensemble piece written by Pope and directed by Paul Andrew Williams, Suspect details the before, during and after of the shooting, laying out the events that led to the misidentification of De Menezes, the shooting in the train carriage and the ensuing prevarications and inconsistencies from police. We see De Menezes, played by newcomer Edison Alcaide, in the days before his death, working two jobs – an electrician by day, he washed dishes in a restaurant at night – and talking to his mother back in Brazil who frets about her son living in a city where bombers are targeting civilians. We also meet the Met's top brass including commissioner Ian Blair (Conleth Hill), who rushes out public statements before he has all the facts; Cressida Dick (Emily Mortimer), gold commander of the surveillance operation that led to De Menezes's shooting; and deputy assistant commissioner, Brian Paddick (played by Russell Tovey), who is appalled at the circulating half-truths and smears on De Menezes' character. 'It's like we're saying: 'Sorry we killed you, but it is your own fault,'' he remarks to another officer. Before taking the role, Tovey already knew Paddick, having met him through Stonewall and Terrence Higgins Trust events. 'I've always found him a bit of a hero figure as an out gay man who had got to that position within the Met while being vocal about LGBTQI+ rights,' he says. 'To be able to hang out with him and pick his brains for this was a wonderful situation to be in.' In the aftermath of the shooting, a question mark hung over exactly when senior officers knew the wrong man had been shot, and whether they released deliberately misleading information about De Menezes, knowing he was innocent. Paddick gave evidence that contradicted statements made by Blair – the implication being that Blair had lied. This ultimately led to Paddick being sidelined at the Met and leaving his job. 'So you see what sticking your neck on the line and making sure the truth is upheld does to someone's career,' says Tovey. In the drama, there is an impossibly tense standoff between Paddick and Blair, with Paddick politely asserting his version of the timeline and Blair calmly and repeatedly telling his deputy he is mistaken. 'You must do what you have to do,' says Blair, 'but we both know the penalty for not telling the truth.' 'That's where good drama comes in,' says Game of Thrones star Conleth Hill, who plays Blair. 'Nobody knows what happened in those meetings apart from the two of them. But [as an actor] you can't torture yourself about that when you've got a good script in front of you.' Though Blair emerges from the story as slippery and over concerned about reputation, Hill says he is sympathetic to the pressure he was under 'during all this panic' and was never going to play him as an out-and-out villain. 'The responsibility is to tell the story, not his story. My father was a news cameraman during the worst of the Troubles and I always admired Blair's unbiased presentation, no matter what he felt himself.' While making Suspect, Pope was in close contact with the De Menezes family, who he says wanted Jean Charles's story to be told accurately, and the misconceptions about him to be corrected. This was a responsibility keenly felt by Brazilian actor Edison Alcaide in playing De Menezes. 'As a story, it hits close to home,' he says. He knew little of the shooting until he moved to London from Brazil in 2008 where his first home happened to be in Stockwell. 'I remember seeing the memorial [containing a mosaic image of De Menezes] outside the tube – that was my first contact with Jean Charles – and thinking: 'What is this about?' And of course, the first thing I heard was: 'Oh, he reacted to the police. He ran away.'' The most shocking scenes in Suspect arrive in the chaos of the shooting – De Menezes was shot at close range seven times in the head – and the blood-soaked stillness that follows. 'They were heavy days,' says Alcaide of the filming, noting that the cast and crew wanted 'to make the story as truthful as possible. None of us wanted to avoid the tough reality of what happened.' Pope adds: 'We thought long and hard about it; we wanted to show exactly what happened, how violent his death was. Seven shots to the head: that actually takes a long time. [Jean Charles's mother] Maria said to us afterwards: 'I watched it, and I'm glad I saw it. I'll never watch it again.'' There is another quietly heroic figure who is often overlooked in accounts of the Menezes case: Lana Vandenberghe, a Canadian secretary and whistleblower at the IPCC who observed with dismay the disconnect between what the public were being told and the evidence being collected by her organisation. And so she photocopied the evidence, put it in a folder and gave it to a journalist at ITN – a decision that cost her her job. In Suspect, she is played by Laura Aikman, who knew nothing of this part of the story. But Pope and producer Kwadjo Dajan had interviewed Vandenberghe as part of their research 'and they pretty much asked everything I would want to ask her', Aikman says. 'So I had snippets of that interview saved on my phone. [What was clear] was that she was really scared … because she knew what the consequences could be for her.' Police later raided Vandenberghe's flat and took her in for questioning. While she was in custody, interviewing officers threatened to charge her with stealing ink and paper. 'Ink and paper!' exclaims Pope. 'These are gifts to a writer. You can see how desperate they were to land a glove on Lana. They could have put out a statement and talked about breach of trust, or that she was working in confidence. But to try and charge her with criminal theft, it's pathetic.' If there is an overarching theme in Suspect, beyond the horrific injustice of the killing of De Menezes, it is the long-term impact of misinformation. 'In the world we live in now,' reflects Pope, 'there are so many grabs on the truth, so I think that makes this piece really relevant.' Tovey agrees: 'The truth doesn't matter any more … so we have to make these shows because art can educate and bring about change.' He points to the conversations around young men in the wake of Netflix's hit drama Adolescence. 'If you dramatise something, it brings it into existence in a way that no other medium really can. We need these series to tell us who we are and to hold people accountable.' Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is on Disney+ from 30 April.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Yahoo
Missing teen's mum calls for grooming gangs inquiry
The mother of a 14-year-old girl believed to have been murdered more than 20 years ago is calling for a set of localised inquiries into grooming gangs to include her town. Police have said Charlene Downes, who was last seen on 1 November 2003, was one of a number of girls who were sexually exploited in Blackpool. The teenager's mother Karen Downes said she was "living in limbo" and wanted justice for her daughter, who has never been found. The Home Office has said there would be five government-backed local inquiries into grooming gangs, although only Oldham has so far been confirmed as a location. The hunt for Charlene has been one of Lancashire Police's longest-running missing person inquiries. Thousands of people were spoken to by officers and almost 7,000 statements were taken. In 2008 a man who ran a local takeaway was cleared of Charlene's murder when a re-trial collapsed due to a judge's "grave concerns" about the evidence. The first trial had ended when a jury failed to reach a verdict. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said at the time that police errors in gathering evidence had contributed to the second trial's collapse. Karen Downes said: "It would mean everything to get answers as we live in limbo, especially if it helped get justice for Charlene and all the other girls affected by grooming gangs." Ronay Crompton, found of the Justice for Charlene Downes campaign group, said a charter in the teenager's name had been developed detailing a safeguarding framework specifically for coastal towns. "We believe Blackpool and similar areas have deep-rooted child sexual exploitation issues that aren't being properly addressed," she said. Last month councillors debated whether to call on the government to hold a full national inquiry into child grooming gangs, including Blackpool. Blackpool Borough Council heard that the resort had many of the risks associated with the exploitation of children, but the motion was not passed. On 16 January the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a "rapid national audit" of child grooming cases as well as five localised inquiries - but stopped short of ordering a statutory national inquiry. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse set up in 2015 and chaired by Professor Alexis Jay, had already carried out 15 investigations, including into grooming gangs and abuse in schools and church settings. Blackpool Council has welcomed the government's decision to implement the recommendations made by the report when it was published in 2022. However, Ms Crompton said: "The report recommendations won't go far enough because they don't take into account the unique challenges coastal towns face." The case also attracted the attention of billionaire Elon Musk, who used his social media platform X to criticise the government and called for a national, statutory inquiry into child sexual exploitation. This included retweeting posts about Charlene, and her mother said she was "grateful" for any attention brought to the case. There is a £100,000 reward on offer for information leading to a conviction in the case. Lancashire Police said inquiries into Charlene's disappearance were ongoing and urged anyone with information however "insignificant" to get in touch. Karen Downes said her family "cannot move on with our lives" and remained determined to get answers. "We are hoping the inquiry would finally bring someone forward to finally end our nightmare, and give Charlene the justice that is rightfully hers," she said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. Missing girl's parents plea to 'end our nightmare' Grooming gangs warning over 2003 murder Murder police quiz three over sex crimes Lancashire Police
