Institute of Licensing (IoL) invites views from all interested parties on its draft revised guidance: ‘Suitability Guidance: Guidance on determining the suitability of applicants and licensees in the taxi and private hire industry’.

The Guidance is intended to assist local licensing authorities in considering their own local licensing policies on determining the suitability of applicants and licence holders for taxi and private hire licensing, in order to protect the public. The consultation will close on 30 September 2024, and all responses should be submitted via the online survey

Charity Commission

1. The Charity Commission has published the report of its inquiry into the St. Laurence Educational Trust and Ampleforth Abbey Trust.

St Laurence Educational Trust runs Ampleforth College, an independent school located on the same site as Ampleforth Abbey, which is operated by the Ampleforth Abbey Trust. Monks from the Abbey provide chaplaincy and teaching to pupils at the college. The inquiry was opened to assess both charities’ approach to safeguarding, including their practices and procedures, and how the charities ensured a safe environment for their beneficiaries.

The findings reveal there were significant weaknesses in the charities’ approach to safeguarding, governance, and management. The Commission identified numerous past instances in which both charities failed to manage safeguarding incidents appropriately and trustees failed to fulfil their responsibilities under charity law, which put students at the college at risk of harm.

The inquiry found that:

• there was ineffective communication between the charities, and the safeguarding committees that were in place at the time the inquiry was opened did not adequately address the needs and requirements of either charity
• St Laurence Educational Trust repeatedly failed to meet independent school standards and these failures, along with the slow pace at which cultural change and improvements were made, exposed beneficiaries to risks of harm and the college to reputational harm
• the trustees of Ampleforth Abbey were found to lack sufficient expertise and oversight, and records relating to safeguarding were poor. The inquiry also found that trustees of Ampleforth Abbey were not adequately managing safeguarding risks to pupils attending the College
• During the inquiry, the Commission recognised the charities’ implementation of structured governance reviews and the recruitment of experienced safeguarding personnel as positive steps towards improving safeguarding culture.

With the St Laurence Educational Trust having since received a ‘Good’ Ofsted inspection and readmittance to the Headmaster’s Conference, alongside the Abbey Trust successfully passing an audit by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency, positive strides have been made by both charities. However, the Commission emphasises the need for continued vigilance and robust safeguarding measures to protect vulnerable individuals associated with the charities.

2. Charity Commission confirms it has disqualified two individuals in The Captain Tom Foundation inquiry

As part of its ongoing statutory inquiry into The Captain Tom Foundation, the Charity Commission confirms it has disqualified two people from being charity trustees and from holding an office or employment with senior management functions in charities. Disqualification orders were made by the Commission for Hannah Ingram-Moore and Colin Ingram-Moore for a period of 10 and 8 years respectively. In this instance, the legal test for disqualification was met because there has been misconduct and/or mismanagement, the individuals are not fit to be a trustee or hold senior management functions and disqualification is in the public interest.

The Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into the charity in June 2022 and, when the inquiry concludes, the Commission will publish a report setting out in detail its findings and all the actions it has taken.

3. Regulator investigates aid charity over concerns about links to a terrorism-promoting news outlet

The Charity Commission is investigating aid charity World Aid Convoy over concerns that the charity has links to a Hamas supporting news agency. The inquiry is seeking to determine what, if any, links there are between the charity and Gaza Now, if any funds have been provided to Gaza Now either directly or via partners, and if these funds can be fully accounted for.. The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge. 

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing the issues examined, any action taken, and the inquiry’s outcomes.

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

4. Independent culture review will be a turning point for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

The NMC has apologised and promised action after an independent review of its culture highlighted safeguarding concerns, and found that people working in the organisation have experienced racism, discrimination and bullying. The NMC takes this extremely seriously and will deliver a culture change programme rooted in the review’s recommendations.

The NMC commissioned Nazir Afzal OBE and Rise Associates to carry out the review after concerns were raised about the organisation’s culture, including racism and fear of speaking up. Over 1,000 current and former NMC colleagues, plus more than 200 panel members who sit on fitness to practise hearings, shared their lived experiences as part of the review. The NMC accepts the report’s recommendations.

The report finds there are at least two cultures at the NMC – colleagues might pass each other in a corridor with experiences that are worlds apart: one may be on an upward career trajectory, highly motivated and satisfied with their work. The other may be subject to bullying and harassment. Where it has been raised in the past, the organisation hasn’t taken enough action to address it and hold people to account. The report’s recommendations will help to address this and move the NMC towards achieving racial equity for its people. The organisation has already started to address some of the regulatory issues raised in the report. The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) has responded to publication of Independent Culture Review of the NMC

The PSA published their last report on the NMC in September 2023. It found the NMC had a number of areas where improvements were required and did not meet Standard 15. This Standard states: ‘The regulator’s process for examining and investigating cases is fair, proportionate, deals with cases as quickly as is consistent with a fair resolution of the case and ensures that appropriate evidence is available to support decision-makers to reach a fair decision that protects the public at each stage of the process.'

As part of regular practice, the PSA is currently reviewing its own Standards.  This provides an opportunity to also look at whether they should consider internal culture, leadership and governance as part of how we assess how well a regulator is delivering on its statutory responsibilities.

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Government acts after report highlights failings at regulator

An independent review of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has identified significant internal failings which is hampering its ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP practices.

The interim report, led by Dr Penny Dash, chair of the North West London Integrated Care Board, found inspection levels were still well below where they were pre-Covid, a lack of clinical expertise among inspectors, a lack of consistency in assessments and problems with the CQC’s IT system.

These failings mean the regulator is currently unable to consistently and effectively judge the quality of health and care services, including those in need of urgent improvement. The report also found that social care providers are waiting too long for their registration and rating to be updated, with implications for local capacity.

The government will now take immediate steps to restore public confidence in the effectiveness of health and social care regulation, including by increasing the level of oversight of the CQC, ahead of a full report by Dr Dash which will be published in the autumn.

This government has already recognised the need for change within the health and care sector. Dr Dash’s interim report comes just days after the announcement of Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS, the findings of which will inform the government’s 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.

1. Ofcom research: A deep dive into deepfakes that demean, defraud and disinform

Deepfakes are videos, pictures or audio clips made with artificial intelligence to look real. The research has found that 43% of people aged 16+ say they have seen at least one deepfake online in the last six months – rising to 50% among children aged 8-15.

Two in five people say they have seen at least one deepfake in the last six months – including depictions of sexual content, politicians, and scam adverts. Only one in ten are confident in their ability to spot them.

Ofcom sets out what tech firms can do to tackle harmful deepfakes.

Among adults who say they have seen deepfake content, one in seven (14%) say they have seen a sexual deepfake. Most of the available evidence indicates that the overwhelming majority of this content features women, many of whom suffer from anxiety, PTSD and suicidal ideation because of their experiences.

Of those who say they have seen a sexual deepfake, two thirds (64%) say it was of a celebrity or public figure, 15% say it was of someone they know, while 6% say it depicted themselves. Worryingly, 17% thought it depicted someone under the age of 18.

The most common type of deepfake 8-15-year-olds say they have encountered was a ‘funny or satirical deepfake’ (58%), followed by a deepfake scam advert (32%).

Fewer than one in ten (9%) of people aged 16+ say they are confident in their ability to identify a deepfake – although older children aged 8-15 are more likely to say so (20%).

Recent technological advances in Generative AI (GenAI) have transformed the landscape of deepfake production in the last two years. In an Ofcom discussion paper, they look at different types of deepfakes and what can be done to reduce the risk of people encountering harmful ones – without undermining the creation of legitimate and innocuous content.

GenAI and synthetic content can augment TV and film; enhance photos and videos; create entertaining or satirical material; and aid the development of online safety technologies. It can also be used to facilitate industry training, medical treatments and criminal investigations.

Ofcom have looked at four routes tech firms could take to mitigate the risks of deepfakes:

Prevention: AI model developers can use prompt filters to prevent certain types of content from being created; remove harmful content from model training datasets; and use output filters that automatically block harmful content from being generated. They can also conduct ‘red teaming’ exercises – a type of AI model evaluation used to identify vulnerabilities.

Embedding: AI model developers and online platforms can embed imperceptible watermarks on content, to make it detectable using a deep learning algorithm; attach metadata to content when it is created; and automatically add visible labels to AI-generated content when it is uploaded.

Detection: Online platforms can use automated and human-led content reviews to help distinguish real from fake content, even where no contextual data has been attached to it. For example, machine learning classifiers that have been trained on known deepfake content.

Enforcement: Online services can set clear rules within their terms of service and community guidelines about the types of synthetic content that can be created and shared on their platform, and act against users that breach those rules, for example by taking down content and suspending or removing user accounts.

These are not requirements, but all the above interventions could help mitigate the creation and spread of harmful

2. Stability AI joins IWF’s mission to make internet a safer space for children

The world’s leading independent open-source generative AI company Stability AI, has partnered with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to tackle the creation of AI generated child sexual abuse imagery online.

As an IWF Member, Stability AI now has access to a suite of cutting-edge tools developed to stop the spread of criminal videos and images on the internet, such as the IWF Hash List.
The Hash List is a special catalogue of criminal images that have been given individual hashes that are completely unique. A hash is a type of digital fingerprint that identifies a picture of confirmed child sexual abuse.

By using the IWF’s Hash List, tech companies can stop criminals from uploading, downloading, viewing, sharing or hosting known images and videos showing child sexual abuse on the internet.

Find out more about becoming a Member and the services the IWF can provide here.

3. Essex school reprimanded after using facial recognition technology for canteen payments

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to a school that broke the law when it introduced Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). Chelmer Valley High School, in Chelmsford, Essex, first started using the technology in March 2023 to take cashless canteen payments from students.

FRT processes biometric data to uniquely identify people and is likely to result in high data protection risks. To use it legally and responsibly, organisations must have a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) in place. This is to identify and manage the higher risks that may arise from processing sensitive data.

Chelmer Valley High School, which has around 1,200 pupils aged 11-18, failed to carry out a DPIA before starting to use the FRT. This meant no prior assessment was made of the risks to the children's information. The school had not properly obtained clear permission to process the students’ biometric information and the students were not given the opportunity to decide whether they did or didn’t want it used in this way. The School also failed to seek opinions from its data protection officer or consult with parents and students before implementing the technology.

In March 2023, a letter was sent to parents with a slip for them to return if they did not want their child to participate in the FRT. Affirmative 'opt-in' consent wasn't sought at this time, meaning until November 2023 the school was wrongly relying on assumed consent. The law does not deem ‘opt out’ a valid form of consent and requires explicit permission. Our reprimand also notes most students were old enough to provide their own consent. Therefore, parental opt-out deprived students of the ability to exercise their rights and freedoms.

1. Domestic abuser who killed two women is sentenced to life imprisonment

Naomi Hunte and Fiona Holm were both loved women from south London killed by a man who took sinister measures to evade justice. Naomi, 41, and Fiona, 48, were killed by Carl Cooper in February 2022 and June 2023, after he had used coercive and controlling methods to target and abuse them.

Naomi was found fatally stabbed in her home, but detectives continue their search for Fiona’s body as Cooper has consistently refused to tell police where she is. The investigation into the search for Fiona is ongoing, and there is a live £20,000 police reward for information which leads to her remains being found.

Cooper was arrested on 18 February 2022 on suspicion of murder. In interview he admitted that he was with Naomi on 10 February but claimed she had taken drugs and begun to act strangely, so he left. On the evening of 10 February, when Naomi was already dead, Cooper made a call to Naomi's mobile phone - the call was not answered and he did not leave a message. After Cooper’s arrest for Naomi’s murder, he was released on bail as there was insufficient evidence at that time to seek a charging decision from the Crown Prosecution Service. Over the next year, police continued with their investigation.

The last sighting of Fiona was at an off license in Verdant Lane, SE6 at shortly before 23:00hrs on Tuesday, 20 June and police have never found any further footage or images of her after this time. The evidence for both cases was entirely circumstantial and the facts surrounding the deaths of each woman, strengthened the overall case against Cooper.

Cooper appeared at Woolwich Crown Court accused of the murders of Naomi Hunte and Fiona Holm and, on Friday 28 June, the jury found him guilty of both murders. At the same court on Tuesday, 2 July he was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum term of 35 years.

Anyone who has information which could aid our search for Fiona, is asked to contact police or give information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The Metropolitan Police has, as part of their A New Met for London reprioritised how it will protect the public from harm and transforming how it safeguards the vulnerable.

2. Headteacher guilty of harassment

A Norfolk headteacher has been found guilty of harassing a colleague who said she lived in constant fear of his reprimands and hounding. Gregory Hill appeared at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court Thursday 18 July 2024 and was found guilty of one count of harassment between 12 March 2022 and 22 February 2023, and another count of resisting arrest on 6 March 2023.

Hill had pleaded not guilty to both counts. During the trial, the court heard the victim joined the school where Hill was headteacher in September 2021 as a newly qualified teacher. It was her first teaching job. At first, Hill’s messages to the victim, which he sent from the school’s social media accounts, were work related but became personal from February 2022 onwards.

On one occasion, Hill messaged her: "Can’t wait to see this smile, this beautiful face and wonderful person tomorrow." Another time, he messaged: “I’d love to build a future for us in school and outside of school xx.”

The victim told Hill she did not want a personal relationship with him, and he continued to harass her up until 19 February 2023 when she reported his behaviour to police.

Over the course of 12 months Hill claimed he had “fallen in love” with the victim, continued messaging her on social media, insisted she join him on a school trip instead of colleagues, and blamed a “slip of the finger” for a WhatsApp telephone call he made to her just before midnight one evening.

The court was told how Hill resisted arrest for 33 minutes: he prevented officers from putting him in handcuffs, grabbed hold of a hedgerow and refused to let go, claimed officers were trying to break his wrist and his arms, bit his own lip and pretended to pass out. The hearing was adjourned until 2 September 2024 for sentencing.

3  Self-healing practitioner found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter after death of diabetic woman

A man has been convicted of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of a 71-year-old diabetic woman at a ‘slapping therapy’ workshop. Hongchi Xiao from California, USA, had promoted the practice as a ‘cure’ for diabetes at the workshop in Seend, Wiltshire in 2016.Danielle Carr-Gomm, who had Type 1 diabetes, died on 20 October, 2016 from diabetic ketoacidosis after she stopped taking her insulin at the event.

Among those attending court were the parents of a six-year-old boy called Aidan. At the workshop, Aidan’s parents stopped giving him insulin and he became extremely unwell, with symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis.Following Aidan’s death, Xiao was prosecuted for manslaughter in Australia and was convicted. The judge at that trial found that Xiao had given instructions to Aiden’s mother to stop injecting him with insulin, and that he had repeated this instruction a number of times during the workshop.

The CPS’s Extradition Unit was instrumental in Xiao being convicted both in England and Australia. Initially, they represented Australia in the English extradition court process, which resulted in Xiao’s return to Australia, for prosecution. He was then successfully extradited back to England in 2023 following further work between the CPS’s Extradition Unit and its Australian counterparts, so that he could be successfully prosecuted for the manslaughter of Mrs Carr-Gomm by the CPS Special Crime Division. At Winchester Crown Court today, Xiao was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of Mrs Carr-Gomm. He will be sentenced at the same court on 1 October.

1. Headteacher who abused position of trust and targeted children jailed for 17 years

A predatory headteacher who sexually assaulted children has been jailed for 17 years. Neil Frederick Foden, of Gwynant, Old Colwyn, appeared at Mold Crown Court Monday July 1st. He was convicted of 19 charges relating to four victims, including 12 counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of sexual activity with a child in a position of trust, causing or inciting child sexual activity, attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence, sexual communication with a child, possession of indecent photographs of a child and sexual assault of a child.

An investigation into Foden was launched on September 6th 2023, following a report that he was in a relationship with a child. The child, known for legal reasons as Child A, showed an adult an image of Foden on her phone and screenshots of conversations between them, which happened over a period of around six months. He encouraged Child A to hug and kiss him, telling her she must ‘take it to the grave and not tell anyone’. They began to WhatsApp each other, with Foden telling the girl to delete the messages daily. The messaging and contact soon became sexualised, with Foden sexually assaulting her several times, persisting even when she tried to stop him.

Following his arrest, further victims bravely came forward with more information about incidents that happened between 2019 and 2023. Foden was sentenced to 17 years in prison and must serve two thirds of the sentence before he is considered for release. The judge also imposed a sexual harm prevention order for life and a ten-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his victim. He is also barred from teaching indefinitely.

2. Investigation into child's injuries results in two people pleading guilty

Two people have been convicted of causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm after a thorough police investigation left them with no choice but to admit their guilt. Vicky Hoad, 30 and Tyler Williams, 28, previously pleaded guilty to the offence earlier this year. Hoad also pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
A third person was found not guilty of the same offence following a trial which concluded on Thursday, 27 June. The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was subject to a campaign of physical abuse and suffered life-threatening injuries.

On 26 December 2022, Hoad took the child to a hospital in Essex, saying they had fallen off a bike a couple of days earlier and become unwell. Medical professionals quickly established that the child’s injuries were far more extensive than Hoad suggested, and police were called. Hoad was arrested later the same evening – she continued to maintain her initial account to police and other professionals throughout the following months. On admission to hospital, the child was found to have swelling to the scalp, missing hair believed to have been forcibly pulled out, an intracranial injury, damage to brain tissue, a fractured jaw, fractured vertebrae and multiple bruises to the body. The victim also had multiple areas of scarring. Despite their life-threatening condition, they underwent emergency surgery and survived, thanks to the expertise of doctors.

Following Hoad’s arrest, specialist safeguarding detectives based in east London began an extensive investigation and built a significant amount of evidence to prove that the child had been subjected to assaults over a period of months, and that both defendants were implicated in the offence. Hoad and Williams will be sentenced later at the same court

3. Drug dealers found at vulnerable man’s home

A pair of drug dealers were found by neighbourhood officers checking on the welfare of a vulnerable man in Peterborough. Valerijus Roscenkovas, 21, and Ghulaam Ali, 20, were found at a flat in Eastgate, on 19 December last year. Officers from the Neighbourhood Support Team (NST) were carrying out a welfare check on the occupant after receiving information about him possibly being exploited and the flat being used by drug dealers. As officers knocked on the front door, Ali opened it with Roscenkovas and a 16-year-old boy stood with him. Officers were let into the flat where drugs paraphernalia linked to both use and supply were found.

Ali had left but was stopped just as he was about to leave the block of flats. He was detained for a stop-search and told officers he had “found a package” earlier on and that it was in his pocket. A plastic bag containing 74 MDMA tablets worth about £740 was found, resulting in him being arrested. Due to the findings in the flat, both Roscenkovas and the teenage boy were also arrested and taken into police custody to be strip-searched.

A “burner” mobile phone was found concealed in Roscenkovas’ underpants, which was later found to have evidence of the supply of cannabis on it, resulting in him being charged with being concerned in the supply of class B drugs, as well as perverting the course of justice after he gave false details to police. Enquiries led officers to believe the boy was being exploited and was released with no further action being taken against him, but safeguarding measures put in place.

Roscenkovas was sentenced to a two-year community order which requires him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, a 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) and a nine-month Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR), after previously admitting being concerned in the supply of cannabis and perverting the course of justice – namely providing false details to police. Ali was sentenced to a two-year community order consisting of 300 hours of unpaid work and a 40-day RAR, after previously admitting possession with intent to supply MDMA.

4. Man convicted of taking bomb to hospital and planning attack on RAF base

A student nurse who took a pressure cooker bomb to a hospital and planned a terrorist attack on an RAF base has been found guilty. Mohammad Farooq, 28, was arrested outside the maternity ward of St James’s Hospital in Leeds on 20 January 2023 after showing a member of the public a gun and saying that he ‘felt like killing everyone’. When police arrived, Farooq, a former student nurse at the hospital, told officers he had a bomb, and a subsequent search of his bag revealed a pressure cooker with wires attached. Bomb disposal experts attended and confirmed the home-made explosive was a viable device. A Gediz 9mm P.A.K. semi-automatic pistol, discovered to be an imitation, was also discovered nearby.

Farooq’s car was located at the hospital and items including a quantity of nails, a knife, five plastic tubs containing low explosive mixture and a floorplan of four hospital wards were found. Following his arrest, key electronic devices revealed significant evidence of Farooq’s interest in the ideology of radical Islam and Jihad, as well as his activities, including those relating to the manufacture of the explosive device, and of his attack planning.

Online searches of RAF Menwith Hill, an RAF base in North Yorkshire, were also made by Farooq and location data extracted from his phone revealed he was in the vicinity of the base on two occasions. He denied his actions were a reconnaissance of the military site and for any terrorist purpose, but prosecutors were able to prove during trial that his interest went beyond internet research, and he was planning an attack. Farooq was found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court and will be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court at a later date.

5. Teesside crime group convicted of trafficking migrants into the UK

A National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation has dismantled a prolific criminal network responsible for smuggling hundreds of migrants into the UK illegally. The Teesside-based network, including its figurehead, 43-year-old Muhammad Zada, were found guilty by a jury on 11 July following a six-week trial.

Zada, from Middlesbrough, coordinated at least five conspiracies to smuggle Iraqi-Kurdish migrants into the UK from mainland Europe in 2017.His associates were responsible for recruiting drivers and facilitating the movement of people into the country. were: Pareiz Abdullah, 41, Khalid Mahmud, 50, Marek Sochanic, 39, Gurprit Kahlon, 67, and Bestoon Moslih, 41.

Migrants were charged between £5,000 and £10,000 by the crime group to be hidden in vehicles, including refrigerated lorry trailers, and brought to the UK. The crime group also duped drivers to unwittingly smuggle migrants by tasking them to transport legitimate commodities between the UK to mainland Europe. People were then loaded into vehicles without the driver’s knowledge. Zada is believed to have successfully brought hundreds of migrants into the UK illegally prior to these attempts. Footage captured by NCA officers shows Zada examining the campervan hired by his co-conspirator Gurprit Kahlon to transport the migrants from France.

Following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Mohammed Zada was found guilty of five counts of conspiring to facilitate breaches of immigration law. Marek Sochanic, Khaled Mahmud and Pareiz Abdullah were found guilty on one count of the same charge. Gurprit Kahlon and Bestoon Moslih both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to facilitate breaches of immigration law at earlier court hearings. Zada and Sochanic were convicted in their absence having absconded before the trial began. Work to locate the pair and bring them into custody is ongoing.

6 Fraudster convicted for lying about qualifications to gain employment as senior nurse in neonatal unit

A woman who gave false information and lied about her qualifications when applying and interviewing for a job as a senior nurse at a Welsh neonatal unit has been found guilty of fraud.

Following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court, Tanya Nasir, 45, from Hertfordshire, was found guilty of nine charges, including fraud, using a false instrument with intent, possession of articles for use in fraud, and securing unauthorised access to computer material with intent.
Nasir was prosecuted by the CPS following an investigation by the NHS Local Counter Fraud Authority.

Nasir’s deception began in 2010, when she failed to disclose a conviction whilst studying for a diploma in Higher Nursing Education from Buckinghamshire New University. This was a breach of the university’s fitness to practice policy. She gave the university a letter she had fabricated herself, claiming that it was from Hertfordshire Probation Service, which said she was not under any obligation to tell them about the convictions. This letter convinced the university to allow her to continue her studies. From February 2013 until October 2015, the defendant was employed as a Staff Nurse Assistant (effectively an unqualified nurse) at Hillingdon Hospital. Following qualification, she then worked for a short period at Spire Bushey Hospital in Watford as a Band 5 Registered General Nurse, before returning to Hillingdon until June 2019.

In September 2019, Nasir was employed in the role of a Band 7 Ward Manager at the Neonatal Ward of the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend. It was found that the information the defendant provided on her application forms for employment at the Princess of Wales Hospital and for two applications to Hillingdon Hospital were false.

In January 2020, concerns were raised by her line manager at the Princess of Wales Hospital during a routine revalidation of her Nursing and Midwifery Council registration. The line manager discovered inconsistencies with her references following further checks of Nasir’s application and CV. Nasir was subsequently suspended from her post in February 2020 and the investigation was commenced which discovered anomalies with the defendant’s qualifications.

Support for Letby surprising, says lead witness
The support received by convicted baby murderer Lucy Letby has been "rather surprising", according to the chief prosecution witness in her trial. Dr Dewi Evans said some of Letby's supporters had refused to believe the evidence against her and had reported him to the General Medical Council (GMC).

Last week, Letby was sentenced to a 15th whole-life term for trying to kill a premature baby girl. The 34-year-old had already been jailed for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016.