Latest news with #NicolaWhite
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- The Guardian
UK fire chief took his life after alleged harassment over qualifications, inquest hears
A fire chief took his own life 'because he couldn't take it any more' after months of alleged harassment and questions about his qualifications, an inquest has heard. Wayne Brown, 54, who was the UK's first black fire chief and held the role for the West Midlands fire service (WMFS), was found dead at his flat in Birmingham by police on 24 January 2024. His partner, Nicola White, said that media attention in relation to claims he had lied on his CV about having an MBA postgraduate business qualification – a requirement for chief fire officers – was the 'final straw'. 'He just couldn't take it any more. I said 'Wayne, you need to speak to someone', but he didn't like to show his weaknesses,' she told Birmingham coroner's court. 'He was the first person to support others and tell them to seek help, but he felt he needed to be strong for everyone else.' The inquest was told Brown had been under pressure because of a 'barrage' of harassment and complaints about him in the form of emails, freedom of information requests and letters to his workplace as well as social media posts. He had left a note saying the last 18 months of his life had been 'absolutely awful' and 'I can't do this any more'. The court was told that on 16 January 2024, days before he took his own life, colleagues at the fire service had been copied into an email saying that Brown did not have the MBA qualification from London South Bank university he claimed to, which led to an internal investigation. Satinder Sahota, the monitoring officer for WMFS, said after questioning Brown about the claims he admitted he had started an MBA but had not finished it and apologised for putting it on his CV. Joanne Bowcock, WMFS's deputy fire officer at the time, said in a statement read out at the inquest that she recognised Brown was under pressure due to the alleged harassment and the media interest, but she never considered he would take his own life. She said he appeared to be coping well but told her after the email about the MBA that he had 'the worst two weeks of his life' and feared he would be suspended. DCI Jonathan Kiteley, a police officer investigating the alleged harassment, said a man was charged in 2023 and Brown had expressed frustration that a court date about it had been pushed back. 'I had no idea he would go on to take his own life but I could tell the constant barrage of contact was getting to him,' said Kiteley. The charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service after Brown's death. Louise Hunt, the senior coroner who presided over the inquest, said Brown had died as a result of suicide and indicated she would be raising concerns with WMFS. She said the fire service did not undertake any investigation after the death so lessons could be learned and was concerned that there was no policy requiring them to do so. Brown's son Kai said he was 'loved and respected', had many friends and was their 'shining star'. He added: 'We will be forever proud of him and he leaves a void in our lives which will never be filled.' In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at
BBC News
19-05-2025
- BBC News
Inquest opens into death of West Midlands fire chief Wayne Brown
A fire chief took his own life because he "couldn't take it any more" after months of alleged harassment and questions over his qualifications, an inquest has Brown, chief fire officer at West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS), was found dead at his flat in Birmingham by police on the morning of 24 January last Brown had been under scrutiny from colleagues over claims he had lied on his partner, Nicola White, told the first day of the inquest on Monday that attention from the national press was the "final straw". Birmingham Coroners' Court heard that in the days before his death, an internal investigation had been launched at WMFS into a claim Mr Brown had lied about having an MBA (Master of Business Administration), a requirement for chief fire Sahota, monitoring officer for WMFS, said Mr Brown, who had been in the role permanently since April 2023, admitted he had started an MBA but had not finished it and apologised for putting it on his CV. Ms White said her partner was clearly "low" about the ongoing investigation, but when a national news outlet ran a story about him, "He just couldn't take it anymore. I said, 'Wayne, you need to speak to someone,' but he didn't like to show his weaknesses."She added: "On the Tuesday... I did think to ask him, 'You're not going to do anything silly, are you?' But I put that thought immediately out of my head because I thought he would never do that."Ms White said her partner did say that he felt supported by the fire Mr Sahota said Mr Brown was a "private and stoic" man who did not seek the support from occupational health colleagues that he was urged to take during their one occasion, days before he died, Mr Brown told Mr Sahota that he was feeling under pressure, was exhausted, was struggling to sleep and had "racing thoughts".Mr Sahota told the inquest: "My view at the time was that he was saying he was okay. I urged him to reach out to occupational health."I had to be careful with Wayne... I didn't want to annoy him; it was quite clear he was private, and he was the most senior person in the organisation, and I didn't want to be disrespectful of that because it would affect my relationship with him going forward."Deputy fire chief Joanne Bowcock said in a statement that she recognised Mr Brown was under pressure but that she never considered he would take his own added he appeared to be coping well, but when speaking to him on 18 January, he told her he had had "the worst two weeks of his life" and feared he would be suspended. 'Loved and respected' Det Ch Insp Jonathan Kiteley of West Midlands Police told the court Mr Brown was also "frustrated" that a court date for a man charged with harassing him had been pushed back."I had no idea he would go on to take his own life, but I could tell the constant barrage of contact was getting to him," said Mr charges against the man were dropped following Mr Brown's coroner Louise Hunt, who presided over the inquest, said Mr Brown had died as a result of suicide and indicated she would be writing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to WMFS to raise said the fire service did not undertake any investigation following Mr Brown's death so lessons could be learnt and was concerned that there was no policy requiring them to do Hunt was also concerned that there appeared to be no mechanism for recording concerns raised about the welfare of staff during a fact-finding or formal investigation and that there was no provision in the service's health and wellbeing or mental health policy for employees as senior as Mr Brown a tribute, Mr Brown's son Kai said he was "loved and respected", had many friends and was their "shining star".He said: "We will be forever proud of him, and he leaves a void in our lives which will never be filled."The inquest continues. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
19-05-2025
- The Independent
Fire chief took own life amid probe into claims he lied on his CV, inquest hears
A chief fire officer who was at the centre of a probe into allegations he had lied about his qualifications and faced scrutiny from the media took his own life because he just 'couldn't take it anymore' after months of alleged harassment, his partner has told an inquest. Wayne Brown, 54, chief fire officer at West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS), was found at his flat in Birmingham by police on the morning of January 24 last year after colleagues alerted them that he had failed to turn up for work, Birmingham Coroners' Court was told. Mr Brown, the UK's first black fire chief, had been under pressure because of a 'barrage' of harassment and complaints about his character in the form of emails, Freedom of Information requests and letters to his workplace as well as social media posts making allegations about him, and had left a note for police saying the last 18 months of his life had been 'absolutely awful' and 'I can't do this anymore'. Mr Brown's partner, Nicola White, told the inquest on Monday that national media attention in relation to claims he had lied on his CV and his LinkedIn page about having an MBA postgraduate business qualification – which was a requirement for chief fire officers – was the 'final straw'. The court was told that on January 16 last year, days before he took his own life, colleagues at the fire service had been copied into an email saying that Mr Brown did not have the MBA qualification from London South Bank University he claimed to, which sparked an internal investigation. Satinder Sahota, monitoring officer for WMFS, said after questioning him about the claims, Mr Brown admitted he had started an MBA but had not finished it and apologised for putting it on his CV. Ms White said her partner was clearly 'low' about the ongoing investigation, but felt the 'final straw' for him was when a national news outlet ran a story about him the night before he took his own life. She said: 'He just couldn't take it anymore. I said 'Wayne, you need to speak to someone', but he didn't like to show his weaknesses. 'He was the first person to support others and tell them to seek help, but he felt he needed to be strong for everyone else. 'On the Tuesday… I did think to ask him, 'you're not going to do anything silly are you?' but I put that thought immediately out of my head because I thought he would never do that.' Ms White said her partner did say he felt supported by the fire service, although Mr Sahota said Mr Brown was a 'private and stoic' man who did not seek the support from occupational health colleagues that he was urged to take during their meetings. On one occasion days before he died, the fire chief, who took up the role permanently in April 2023, did tell Mr Sahota that he was feeling under pressure, was exhausted, struggling to sleep and had 'racing thoughts'. Mr Sahota told the inquest: 'My view at the time was that he was saying he was okay. I urged him to reach out to occupational health. 'I had to be careful with Wayne… I didn't want to annoy him, it was quite clear he was private and he was the most senior person in the organisation and I didn't want to be disrespectful of that because it would affect my relationship with him going forward.' Deputy chief fire officer Joanne Bowcock said in a statement read out at the inquest that she recognised Mr Brown was under pressure due to the alleged harassment and the media interest, but that she never considered he would take his own life. She said he appeared to be coping well but when speaking to him on January 18 after the email about the MBA had been received, told her he had 'the worst two weeks of his life' and feared he would be suspended. Detective Chief Inspector Jonathan Kiteley, who was the West Midlands Police officer investigating the alleged harassment, said a man was charged with harassing the fire chief in July 2023 and while there had been some early court appearances, Mr Brown had expressed 'frustration' to DCI Kiteley that a court date had been pushed back. He said: 'I had no idea he would go on to take his own life but I could tell the constant barrage of contact was getting to him. 'I appreciated it was difficult for him to go on with his day job because of other pressures.' The charges against the man accused of harassment were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service after Mr Brown's death. Senior coroner Louise Hunt, who presided over the inquest, said Mr Brown had died as a result of suicide and indicated she would be writing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to WMFS to raise concerns. She said the fire service did not undertake any investigation following Mr Brown's death so lessons could be learned and was concerned that there was no policy requiring them to do so. Mrs Hunt was also concerned that there appeared to be no mechanism for recording concerns raised about the welfare of staff during a fact-finding or formal investigation, and that there was no provision in the service's health and wellbeing or mental health policy for employees as senior as Mr Brown was. In a tribute, Mr Brown's son Kai said he was 'loved and respected', had many friends and was their 'shining star'. He said: 'We will be forever proud of him and he leaves a void in our lives which will never be filled.'
Daily Mirror
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Horror images show vile souvenirs created by trophy hunters from holiday kills
Shocking images in a new exhibition to be shown to MPs to highlight import ban include bear paw slippers and bottle openers made from lions' paws by heartless trophy hunters Footstools made from elephant feet and slippers made from bear paws are just some of the macabre products made as a result of sickening trophy hunting holidays. Images of the gruesome and senseless souvenirs will be part of an exhibition shown to MPs later this month to highlight why a UK import ban on hunting trophies - a Labour Government manifesto commitment - is desperately needed. The exhibition, titled 'Still Life', showcases 35 powerful photographs by award-winning wildlife photographer Britta Jaschinski of hunting trophies - when hunters slaughter threatened and endangered animals simply for fun and bragging rights. The objects in the photos, which include stuffed lion heads, were seized by authorities in the UK and USA for not having the correct paperwork. But currently it is legal for British hunters to travel abroad to kill animals and bring back trophies just like these—a cruel injustice that the Mirror and Humane World for Animals is campaigning to end - with a licence. Senior wildlife campaigns manager Nicola White, said the 'compelling photographs illustrate the tragic waste of animals' lives in this cruel, outdated and damaging industry. She said: 'How much longer must animals continue to suffer and die at the hands of British trophy hunters, to be turned into mundane objects such as bottle openers, pencil holders and rugs? Wildlife trade data shows that the number of hunting trophies from endangered animals imported to the UK increased significantly in 2023 with dozens of trophies from animals including lions, elephants, a brown bear, a leopard, a hippo and a cheetah shipped to our shores. With strong public demand for an end to Britain's role in trophy hunting, the UK Government must deliver its manifesto commitment to ban imports of hunting trophies.' The Labour Government committed to banning imports of hunting trophies in its 2024 manifesto, but so far has not made any progress. A Private Members' Bill sponsored by David Reed MP, the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, is due its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 13th June. The latest wildlife trade data from CITES shows that the number of hunting trophies from endangered animals imported to the UK increased significantly in 2023, hitting an alarming post-Brexit high. Trophies, such as skins and stuffed body parts, from 39 animals—including lions, elephants, a brown bear, a leopard, a hippo and a cheetah—were shipped to the UK in 2023. This year marks 10 years since Cecil the lion suffered for over 10 hours following his wounding by crossbow in 2015, before finally being put out of his misery. Yet the diabolical practice of trophy hunting continues, and trips to kill endangered animals are sold by hunting tour companies here in the UK. Last month the Mirror revealed how trips to slaughter majestic creatures including lions, zebras and leopards where being sold from the Stalking Show which took place in Staffordshire. Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: 'British trophy hunters have turned elephant feet into magazine racks, and their skins into rifle cases. "Trophy hunters also collect the trunks, ears and tails of elephants, the penises of bears and seals, bear paws and worse. Trophy hunting is an evil form of fetishism. They are like serial killers who keep the body parts of their victims as trinkets. 'It's a sick and dangerous sport that needs to be shut down. Our government keeps saying it will ban hunting trophies, but then refuses to say when. It even refuses to publish a timetable. It will soon be the 10th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion. The government should impose an immediate moratorium on these sick souvenirs.' A Defra spokesperson said: "The Government was elected on a mandate to ban the import of hunting trophies - that is exactly what we will do.'
