Latest news with #SexualOffencesAct
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who is David Dinsmore? The former Sun editor given top comms job by Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer has appointed a former editor of The Sun newspaper to a senior communications role in Number 10, bringing him into the centre of government. David Dinsmore was editor of the tabloid newspaper between 2013 and 2015. He will now act as a senior civil servant responsible for overseeing and improving government communications. Whitehall sources indicate Mr Dinsmore's role, permanent secretary for communications, had been newly-created by the prime minister. He was personally selected by Sir Keir after the PM was impressed with his understanding of modern media challenges, The Telegraph reports. Mr Dinsmore began his career in journalism at the Scottish Sun in 1990, and rose to become its editor in 2006. He edited The Sun between 2013 and 2015, after which he was promoted to chief operating officer of News UK. The journalist was again promoted in 2022 to News UK's Executive Vice President, whilst retaining the COO role. He has earned plaudits for his media career, ranking 27th in the 2014 Media Guardian 100 and 67th in GQ magazine's 2015 'Most Connected Men in Britain' list. While parts of The Sun online went behind a paywall during Mr Dinsmore's tenure, he is credited with growing the paper's online subscriber base from an initial 117,000 to almost double, at 225,000. But the appointment is likely to prove controversial among some Labour MPs, especially representing from Liverpool, where there remains a concerted boycott of The Sun over its reporting of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Campaigners have also pointed to several controversies which took place during Mr Dinsmore's time at the tabloid newspaper. In 2016, the former Sun editor was convicted of breaching the Sexual Offences Act after the tabloid printed a photo of a teenage victim of a sexual offence in 2013, which did not conceal the victim's identity, and which happened during his tenure. The teenager was victim of footballer Adam Johnson, a former England player who was found guilty of sexual activity with the 15-year-old girl in 2016. Judge Howard Riddle said he was 'satisfied' Mr Dinsmore did not realise he was committing an offence. He was ordered to pay £1,300 costs and £1,000 in compensation to the victim. Shortly before Mr Dinsmore left the editor post, The Sun dropped its page 3 featuring topless models following prolonged outcry from campaigners. However, he was branded 'sexist of the year' in 2014 by campaign group End Violence Against Women, after initially resisting the move. In 2013, Mr Dinsmore said in an interview it was a 'good way of selling newspapers.' The former newspaper editor was also criticised for platforming Katie Hopkins during his tenure, during which time she held a weekly column promoting her as 'Britain's most controversial columnist.' Both Ms Hopkins and Mr Dinsmore were reported to the Metropolitan Police in 2015 for incitement to racial hatred over a column that appeared in The Sun. The piece saw Ms Hopkins describe asylum seekers looking to reach Britain as 'cockroaches' and suggested the government deploy 'gunships' to stop them landing on shore. Filing his report, barrister Peter Herbert, chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, said the column contained 'some of the most offensive, xenophobic and racist comments I have read in a British newspaper for some years.' While Ms Hopkins was questioned over the comments by police, the Met confirmed neither she nor Mr Dinsmore would be charged. Mr Dinsmore's appointment to Sir Keir's top team has been strongly criticised by campaign group Hacked Off, established in 2011 in response to the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Launching a petition against his appoint, the group said accused Mr Dinsmore of overseeing 'endless and false denials that The Sun was involved in the phone hacking scandal; eventually exposed in January 2025, when The Sun was forced to apologise.' 'Appointing a former Sun editor to a publicly funded role is an insult to the taxpayer, and in particular to all those who were affected by the Hillsborough disaster and were smeared with despicable and false attacks by The Sun newspaper,' it adds.
TimesLIVE
15-07-2025
- TimesLIVE
Ballito residents warned of indecent exposure by young man
Ballito residents have been warned to be on the lookout for a young man who has been indecently exposing himself to women in the popular KwaZulu-Natal north coast town. Ballito Neighbourhood Watch (BNW), on its Facebook page on Monday, issued an alert about 'unfortunate incidents of indecent exposure' in the town. The body said it had received two reports about a white male, believed to be in his early 20s, who has been exposing himself to women. 'In the first incident a female jogger had passed the Boathouse when the driver of a white Toyota Aygo with GP plates stopped and asked for directions. He then exposed himself to her before driving away.' In a separate incident two holidaymakers aged about 16 and 20, were walking on the boardwalk on Saturday when they were confronted by the man. 'When they got close to Clarke Bay, a young, clean-cut white male exposed himself to the women.' BNW appealed to women to 'report immediately if you fall prey to this person'. The body also posted an image of the man from behind walking on the boardwalk. 'If you happen to know who this man is, please contact the authorities immediately. The lack of respect for females in our town is definitely not something that will be tolerated.' BNW did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Public indecency can lead to a fine of up to R4,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both, according to the Sexual Offences Act. Public indecency is a common law crime, not always specified by legislation but rather determined by court rulings. The severity of the act and circumstances influence the sentence. According to Psychology Today, a publication that focuses on psychology matters and human behaviour, 'exhibitionistic disorder is a condition marked by the urge, fantasy or act of exposing one's genitals to non-consenting people, particularly strangers. 'People with exhibitionistic disorder may have a preference to show their genitals to prepubescent children, adults or both. Some people may deny they show their genitals to unsuspecting others or deny the act causes them distress. If they have exposed themselves repeatedly to non-consenting people, they may receive a diagnosis of exhibitionistic disorder.'
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Pictures of former PE teacher charged with sexual offences against boy and two girls
A former PE teacher has appeared in court charged with 13 sexual offences against three children. Bronwen James, 29, of Chippenham, Wiltshire, appeared at Salisbury Magistrates' Court yesterday, Wednesday, accused of sexual activity with two girls and a boy over a three-year period. She is charged with six offences of sexual activity with a child, relating to girls under the age of 16, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act. James is also accused of two counts of sexual communication with a child and one count of making an indecent photograph of a child, namely a Category C – the least serious category – first generation image. The former teacher is also charged with four counts of sexual activity with a boy, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Wiltshire Police previously confirmed that James taught PE at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham and Bitterne Park School in Southampton. Stephen Harrison, chair of the bench, told James that her case would be heard next at Salisbury Crown Court on August 7. He said: 'By virtue of three of these offences being indictable only, which means they can only be heard in the crown court, we will be sending them to the crown court. 'The other 10 offences are associated offences and therefore will be included in the hearing to be heard in front of the crown court. 'The next phase is to attend for a plea and trial preparation hearing which is going to take place at Salisbury Crown Court on August 7. 'In between now and August 7, you are granted bail with conditions. 'If you don't turn up to court at that appointed date and time, you may be committing an offence. 'You are not to have direct or indirect contact with the three complainants in this matter. 'You are not to have any unsupervised contact with any child or young person under the age of 16.' Mr Harrison asked James to confirm that she understood what he had said and to repeat the bail conditions to the court, which she did. The judge also stressed: 'The identities of all complainants for these matters is protected under law. Failure to comply is a criminal offence.' During the short hearing, James, wearing a cream two-piece outfit, also spoke to confirm her name, date of birth and address. She was not asked to enter any pleas to the charges against her. Siobhan Oxley appeared for the prosecution during the hearing, while Joshua Clements represented James. James will next appear before Salisbury Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on August 7.
South Wales Guardian
09-07-2025
- South Wales Guardian
Former PE teacher appears in court charged with sexual offences against children
Bronwen James, 29, of Chippenham, Wiltshire, appeared at Salisbury Magistrates' Court on Wednesday accused of sexual activity with two girls and a boy over a three-year period. She is charged with six offences of sexual activity with a child, relating to girls under the age of 16, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act. James is also accused of two counts of sexual communication with a child and one count of making an indecent photograph of a child, namely a Category C – the least serious category – first generation image. The former teacher is also charged with four counts of sexual activity with a boy, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Wiltshire Police previously confirmed that James taught PE at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham and Bitterne Park School in Southampton. Stephen Harrison, chair of the bench, told James that her case would be heard next at Salisbury Crown Court on August 7. He said: 'By virtue of three of these offences being indictable only, which means they can only be heard in the crown court, we will be sending them to the crown court. 'The other 10 offences are associated offences and therefore will be included in the hearing to be heard in front of the crown court. 'The next phase is to attend for a plea and trial preparation hearing which is going to take place at Salisbury Crown Court on August 7. 'In between now and August 7, you are granted bail with conditions. 'If you don't turn up to court at that appointed date and time, you may be committing an offence. 'You are not to have direct or indirect contact with the three complainants in this matter. 'You are not to have any unsupervised contact with any child or young person under the age of 16.' Mr Harrison asked James to confirm that she understood what he had said and to repeat the bail conditions to the court, which she did. The judge also stressed: 'The identities of all complainants for these matters is protected under law. Failure to comply is a criminal offence.' During the short hearing, James, wearing a cream two-piece outfit, also spoke to confirm her name, date of birth and address. She was not asked to enter any pleas to the charges against her. Siobhan Oxley appeared for the prosecution during the hearing, while Joshua Clements represented James. James will next appear before Salisbury Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on August 7.
Rhyl Journal
09-07-2025
- Rhyl Journal
Former PE teacher appears in court charged with sexual offences against children
Bronwen James, 29, of Chippenham, Wiltshire, appeared at Salisbury Magistrates' Court on Wednesday accused of sexual activity with two girls and a boy over a three-year period. She is charged with six offences of sexual activity with a child, relating to girls under the age of 16, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act. James is also accused of two counts of sexual communication with a child and one count of making an indecent photograph of a child, namely a Category C – the least serious category – first generation image. The former teacher is also charged with four counts of sexual activity with a boy, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Wiltshire Police previously confirmed that James taught PE at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham and Bitterne Park School in Southampton. Stephen Harrison, chair of the bench, told James that her case would be heard next at Salisbury Crown Court on August 7. He said: 'By virtue of three of these offences being indictable only, which means they can only be heard in the crown court, we will be sending them to the crown court. 'The other 10 offences are associated offences and therefore will be included in the hearing to be heard in front of the crown court. 'The next phase is to attend for a plea and trial preparation hearing which is going to take place at Salisbury Crown Court on August 7. 'In between now and August 7, you are granted bail with conditions. 'If you don't turn up to court at that appointed date and time, you may be committing an offence. 'You are not to have direct or indirect contact with the three complainants in this matter. 'You are not to have any unsupervised contact with any child or young person under the age of 16.' Mr Harrison asked James to confirm that she understood what he had said and to repeat the bail conditions to the court, which she did. The judge also stressed: 'The identities of all complainants for these matters is protected under law. Failure to comply is a criminal offence.' During the short hearing, James, wearing a cream two-piece outfit, also spoke to confirm her name, date of birth and address. She was not asked to enter any pleas to the charges against her. Siobhan Oxley appeared for the prosecution during the hearing, while Joshua Clements represented James. James will next appear before Salisbury Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on August 7.
