Latest news with #Standfast
BBC News
01-05-2025
- BBC News
Teens robbed Uber delivery driver in Bradford on Christmas Eve
Two teenagers car-jacked an Uber delivery driver and fired an imitation handgun during a Christmas Eve robbery, a court has two boys, aged 15 and 16 at the time, demanded the driver's keys after confronting him in Bradford on the evening of 24 December masked pair had lurked in an alleyway in the Bradford Road area while the victim dropped off a food delivery, before firing the pistol in his offenders, who cannot be named due to their ages, were each spared custody following a sentencing at Bradford Crown Court. Prosecutor Philip Standfast said the victim had reported seeing one of the youths raise a gun and a spark flying from it, as something flew past him. He then handed over his keys and the teenagers got into the vehicle and drove off. A 9mm (0.3 inches) cartridge was later found at the scene and the car was found crashed on Clayton Road shortly after the robbery."The victim reported being very frightened by the incident and thought he might lose his life," Mr Standfast court heard that DNA found on a sword in the damaged car linked it to the 15-year-old robber. When that youth was later arrested, he was in possession of a black imitation handgun and ammunition, it was Standfast said the weapon was a good visual copy of a Beretta pistol, but it was an imitation court heard that neither teenager had any previous convictions and both of them had kept out of the trouble for the last 16 Fuad Arshad, for the 16-year-old, said his client had been "criminally exploited" by older offenders at the time, but he had now moved to another part of the country with his for the 17-year-old, Jeremy Hill-Baker said his client had been "keeping his head down" since December 2023 and was working. 'He thought he might lose his life' Both boys admitted offences of robbery and possession of an imitation firearm in a public younger defendant also admitted a further charge of possession of an imitation firearm relating to his arrest and an offence of possessing ammunition without a firearms Jonathan Gibson KC sentenced the 16-year-old to an 18-month youth rehabilitation order, which included requirements to attend weapons and victim awareness older co-defendant received a 12-month referral order. Both were banned from contacting their victim for five years. Judge Gibson said: "At the time he clearly believed he had been fired at with a real gun and immediately passed over his car keys."He certainly thought at the time he might lose his life." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ITN HR Boss Exiting To 'Pursue Other Opportunities'
EXCLUSIVE: The head of HR at ITN is to exit not long after the publication of a report into ITN's controversial use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Alexandra Standfast, who was Chief People Officer at the ITV and Channel 4 newsmaker and ran what is called the People Team, had her exit announced last month. In a note to staff, ITN CEO Rachel Corp said Standfast had 'decided to step down from her role at ITN and is leaving to pursue other opportunities that allow her to spend more time with her family in Wales.' More from Deadline L.A. Wildfires: How The International Industry Responded & What Happened Next "This Is Our World Cup Final": British TV News' Biggest Players Reveal How They Are Gearing Up For Election Night UK News Networks Will Not Be Able To Counter Deepfakes On General Election Day, Says Head Of ITN Corp said Standfast had 'developed and spearheaded an ambitious People Strategy for ITN' during her five-year tenure at ITN's Grays Inn Road HQ in London, 'championing cultural change and introducing a range of progressive policies.' We are told ITN is currently recruiting for Standfast's replacement. We have reached to her for comment. She has been in the ITN HR team for the past five years and it is her second stint with the outfit. Standfast's replacement will have to slowly get to grips with a number of recommendations from the review into NDAs and internal complaints, which we are told ITN is currently working through. The report from lawyer Simmons & Simmons, which has not been made public, was reported by The Guardian to have urged ITN to review its use of NDAs and improve whistleblowing processes after concerns were raised that NDAs were being used to cover up gender pay discrimination, harassment and bullying. In a leaked recording obtained by Deadline from an ITN town hall in October 2024 just after Simmons & Simmons had reported back, the specific issue of high turnover in the People Team was raised. Lead Channel 4 anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy can be heard saying the report 'highlights quite a major failure in the People Team.' During the town hall, Corp was questioned by one ITN employee who claimed that more than 30 people had left the People Team in the past five years 'and many more before that.' 'What is being done about this to ensure women are able to stay in this team and support the business effectively?,' the employee asked. 'Why are women leaving at such a high rate and often with no jobs to go to?' Corp responded during the town hall by acknowledging the high turnover but saying 'we now have a really strong team in place.' She flagged the 'pressure' the People Team had been under, which she said was highlighted in the review, and stressed several times that the findings from the review were across the board and not just concentrated on HR. The leaked recording also contained broader criticism of ITN management from several high-profile journalists including Guru-Murthy and ITV News anchor Rohit Kachroo, which was reported at the time by The Guardian and Financial Times. Guru-Murthy said: 'If we [ITN journalists] were covering this we would say, looking at this report, I'm surprised there have been no resignations or firings.' Kachroo can be heard criticizing the 'cycle' of ITN reviews that take place once every few years. 'Issues are left to languish and the people who raised concerns are left to languish,' he said. An ITN spokeswoman said last October: 'We fully accept the findings of this independent review into our handling of complaints which found that at times our management processes fell short, and for this we apologise. We are committed to a culture of openness and trust and will implement the review's recommendations to make sure that any time a concern is raised, it is addressed promptly, thoroughly, and fairly.' Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Emily In Paris' Season 5 So Far Everything We Know About Season 3 Of 'Euphoria' So Far 'Poker Face' Season 2: Everything We Know So Far
