The final can has yet to be counted, but the London Food Bank’s Thanksgiving drive is already a record-breaker.
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London Food Bank leader reflects on kindness as Thanksgiving drive sets record
PHOTOS: Halloween comes early at Storybook Gardens
Storybook Gardens underwent a spooky transformation over the long weekend, with StoryBoo Halloween returning to the London attraction. It drew families and kids on Monday who navigated through a puppet maze and did some early trick-or-treating. Designed for children 10 and younger, it runs until Oct. 30. Photos by LFP’s Dale Carruthers. dcarruthers@postmedia.com @DaleatLFPress
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This shameful soft justice on paedophiles hoarding child abuse images must end
Now jail them
MOST of us were staggered and appalled when Huw Edwards walked free without spending a single day in prison.
He had, after all, been convicted of leering over child abuse images in Category A — the foulest of all — involving a victim as young as seven.
Such revolting crimes ought inevitably to mean jail.
And it was tempting to wonder if the disgraced BBC star walked free because of his fame and his lawyer’s attempts at mitigation, feeble though they were.
But that wasn’t it.
As we reveal today, scores of other paedophiles have been let loose for offences every bit as grave as Edwards’.
Some cases truly turn the stomach.
Perverts, hoarding images of toddlers aged two being sexually assaulted, sauntering out of court with a smirk.
They could probably barely believe their luck.
We know prison places are short, even after the Government’s controversial early-release scheme.
But what deterrent is there if sick men know they can possess or trade the vilest images imaginable without any risk of seeing the inside of a cell?
What justice is that for the defenceless victims of this evil global trade, whose abuse continues each time a pervert clicks on a picture of their suffering?
After the Edwards case The Sun launched the Keep Our Kids Safe campaign, demanding mandatory prison for anyone caught with Category A images.
We urged “a new intolerance towards perverts fuelling a heinous global trade which destroys children’s lives.”
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has launched a review into these sentences.
We hope she reads our dossier and concludes as we have:
Enough of this shameful soft justice. Time for change.
Clown under
WILL woke left-wing politicians ever emerge from the teenage protest phase they should have grown out of decades ago?
It’s not just those here, though they are bad enough. Look at their behaviour in Australia towards the King.
His visit Down Under this week, requested by the Aussie government, has been planned for months. He’s pausing his cancer treatment for it.
It’s a gruelling trip for any man of 75, even in full health.
And yet six of Australia’s most senior politicians, left-wing republicans, have made excuses to avoid meeting him. What puerile petulance.
How out of touch too with Aussie voters, who now back our monarchy over a theoretical republic by 45 per cent to 33 — and whose fondness for the Royal Family is growing, not declining.
What a pity so many politicians on the Left prioritise virtue-signalling over duty, not to mention over plain good manners.
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins winners revealed after gruelling finale
GEORGIA Harrison and Lani Daniels won Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins after they passed selection in tonight’s final.
Two celebrities triumphantly passed the gruelling course in the concluding episode.
Monday night’s series final saw Georgia Harrison, Lani Daniels, Anthony Ogogo and Bianca attempt to prove their mettle one last time and pass the course.
And doing just that was former Love Island star Georgia Harrison, 29, and pro boxer Lani Daniels, 25, who both passed.
The two women looked delighted as it was revealed that they’d passed.
The instructors gathered together, and told the girls the good news, after they were led out to stand in front of them and removed their hoods.
They said: “We’ve told you from the start what we were looking for.
“Have you got guts, determination, grit? Can you get knocked back and go forward again.
“Do you have courage, trust and honesty? Would we have that person stood next to us?”
Georgia, who was number ten, and Lani, who was number nine, were then told they’d both passed selection.
Georgia and Lani embraced and Lani could be seen with tears in her eyes.
Georgia said: “I can’t believe it was me and you. Thank you, that was brutal, you lot are sick.”
Foxy told the cameras: “I think this has taught me that women are f****** tough. They’re resilient and they’ve outshone the men.”
Lani told the cameras: “I think my downfall is that I’ve never really believed in myself.
“This was my time to shine and there’s nothing that is going to stop me.”
The penultimate episode saw Bobby Norris depart after a doctor recommended his exit following a wrestling match.
Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins winners
Many celebrities have attempted the infamous Channel 4 quasi military training course - but only a select few have successfully passed.
Series 1 (2019) – Wayne Bridge
Series 2 (2020) – Locksmith and Lauren Steadman
Series 3 (2021) – Alexandra Burke, Aled Davies and Wes Nelson
Series 4 (2022) – AJ Pritchard, Calum Best, Ferne McCann and Maisie Smith
Series 5 (2023) – Gareth Gates
He took on towering basketball player Ovie Soko, who won the bout and ripped Bobby’s shirt.
The tough challenge recruits were tasked with wrestling an opponent and getting them outside a makeshift ring filled with mud.
Afterwards, Bobby requested a medic and was sent to a doctor who said he needed to medically withdraw him from the show.
The medical professional said Bobby had “a lot of spasm” going down his neck which was “likely to increase”.
He added: “Your mobility is going to get more restricted, and you’re going to be at risk of doing yourself more damage.”
Former professional boxer Anthony Ogogo was the last competitor standing after all six recruits faced off in the ring.
The episode also saw Love Island star Ovie and presenter Cherry Healey exit.
Cherry was the first to bow out during Sunday night’s instalment.
She told instructor Jason Fox: “It’s been life-changing, but I know when the line is and that’s fine. I thought about this long and hard.”
As for Ovie, he left while “on the run” in a challenge that split the recruits into two teams.
The groups’ aim was to find their way to safety in the middle of the night.
In the meantime, they were being pursued by a hunter force made up of ex-military members.
Speaking to reality star Georgia Harrison, Ovie said: “I’m done… I’m going to hand my armband in.”
Sunday night’s episode also saw the recruits given a chance to speak to their loved ones.
However, boxer-turned-wrestler Anthony decided not to as it would make him “look soft”.
The likes of John Barrowman, Pete Wicks and Shazia Mirza exited earlier in the series.
I built WW2-style underground BUNKER beneath my unassuming bungalow with 35ft tunnel & accessible through old well
A MAN built a World War II-style underground bunker beneath his unassuming bungalow.
Dave Billings, 43, dug deep a whopping 11 years ago when he decided to tunnel 35ft down from an old well.
The DIY project soon escalated to the next level – with Dave constructing a 140ft bunker, likened to the one in the 1963 film The Great Escape.
Dave, from Derbyshire, said: “I’ve always wanted to find a bunker on the property, but when I didn’t I thought I’ll build one myself.
“It’s a bit of a childhood dream, really.”
The site originally had nothing more than an old well, so Dave built stairs which now lead to his 13sqm den.
Inspired by the iconic escape tunnel from WWII prisoner camps, Dave crafted the tunnel by hand.
He now even plans to line it with wood to replicate the original.
Although it’s not connected to his house just yet, Dave plans to extend the bungalow closer and include a secret door inside – joining the two.
Dave added: “I want to be able to walk through the house, down into the bunker, through the tunnel and come up out of the well in the garden.
“It’s like a secret passageway.
“Plus, if I have friends over they can use the tunnel without disturbing my wife!”
Dave has even constructed a “beer lift” disguised as a keg to carry drinks down to the bunker.
He said: “I made a barrel lift because the stairs are tricky for carrying stuff like beers.
“So now I can just send them down in style.”
So far, Dave has spent £30k on his new bunker and he estimates the final cost to be around £35k.
He added: “I spent about £4k on bricks and then other materials like concrete, waterproofing and insulation.
“Since I’m building everything myself, I’ve been able to cut costs on a lot of things.
“I’m just doing silly things. I want to have a remote-controlled fridge that drives up to you with a beer.
“But I haven’t thought how I would turn that dream into reality.
“I designed everything in Computer-aided design but I’ve got a structural engineer checking the specs.”
Fury as 30 paedos caught with most disgusting category of child abuse images walk free without serving a day in jail
THIRTY paedophiles who hoarded thousands of pictures of the abuse of children as young as two have walked free from courts across the UK in the last two weeks alone.
The offenders, all found with the most serious Category A images, were spared prison — with one of the sickos smirking as he tasted continued liberty, our investigation reveals.
One culprit with 12,000 pictures got a suspended sentence because of his “good character” while another avoided jail after pleading guilty to viewing only images of children in “discernible pain” because it was “something to watch”.
Our probe into Britain’s justice system, and its treatment of paedophiles, comes amid continuing anger at a judge’s decision to spare the BBC’s Huw Edwards prison despite his having the worst-rated material.
We are calling for all offenders caught with such Category A images to serve time behind bars as part of our Keep Our Kids Safe campaign.
The offence of “making” an indecent image or video can encompass opening an email attachment, downloading and storing images.
It also includes accessing a website where an indecent image “pops up” on screen, receiving an image through social media or live- streaming images of children.
Sentencing guidelines for possessing them allow for jail terms ranging from 26 weeks to three years.
Judges can impose a suspended sentence if there is strong personal mitigation, a realistic chance of rehabilitation, or a factor which would mean others would be harmed by them going to prison.
As if victims did not matter
An overhaul of the punishments is understood to be “in scope” for a sentencing review due to be announced soon by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Child abuse campaigner Shy Keenan told The Sun that handing paedophiles suspended sentences and community orders made it appear as if victims did not matter.
Shy, who was raped and abused by her stepfather from age four, said: “We victims have been subject to decriminalisation of one the most life and soul-destroying crimes.
“Each new download is a re-victimisation . . . over and over again.
“Our recovery and survival starts with how society deals with the crime in the first place and at the moment the message is clear: we don’t matter. Ignoring this ‘gateway crime’ just kicks these dangerous sex offenders into the long grass for the next children to manage.”
Among those freed in the last two weeks were Tony Swale, 67, who stockpiled pictures and videos of kids as young as four.
He grinned as he left court after telling cops: “I’m the victim.” District Judge Adrian Lower gave him an 18-month community order and a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Only moments earlier on October 2, he had jailed a shoplifter for 22 weeks at York magistrates’ court.
Timothy Johnson, 45, who left court hiding his face, had more than 3,500 images of children as young as two. Of those, 565 were Category A and 401 Category B.
Sentencing him at Bournemouth crown court, Judge Robert Pawson said some were of “the most foul sexual abuse”. Jailing him for 12 months, suspended for two years, he said: “You are directly contributing to the rape of children by downloading those images because if people like you didn’t download them then other people wouldn’t take them and put them on the internet.”
‘The lowest of the low’
Philip Nwaobasi, 53, from Romford, East London, who was found with 2,118 Category A images, the most in our probe, got ten months, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work. He was spared prison after Snaresbrook crown court was told on October 8 that he had come to the “realisation that these are real children”.
Meanwhile, bus driver Charlie Young, 21, from Didcot, Oxfordshire, was allowed to go free after being found with 48 Category A images, one showing the rape of a girl aged between five and seven.
Sentencing him at Oxford crown court on October 4, Recorder Jaron Crooknorth told him: “Your offending fuels offending that causes misery to children.”
These offenders are some of the lowest of the low and it is essential our justice system punishes these dreadful and repulsive criminals to the fullest extent.
ory MP Saqib Bhatti
David Carpenter, 65, got 16 months’ jail, suspended for 18 months, for possessing 277 Category A images, 204 Category B and 257 Category C.
Sentencing him at Luton crown court on October 9, Judge Allison Hunter KC said: “These are extremely serious and disgusting offences to find a man of your advanced age to plead guilty to.”
During our probe, we saw some offenders jailed for accessing indecent images — but only if they faced other charges, such as breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order or making contact with children online.
Backing The Sun’s campaign to increase sentences, Tory MP Saqib Bhatti said: “These offenders are some of the lowest of the low and it is essential our justice system punishes these dreadful and repulsive criminals to the fullest extent.”
Speaking on The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show, former PM Boris Johnson called for tougher sentences for sex offenders.
He stressed: “What they’re doing is feeding a trade that dehumanises and gravely, gravely injures the most vulnerable people.”
The Ministry of Justice said: “Sentences are decided by independent judges after considering the facts of the case. They can impose a range of tough requirements on offenders given suspended sentences and sex offenders will also be put on the register to keep the public safe.”
SICKOS ON OUR STREETS
THESE are the remainder of the paedophiles who avoided jail despite being caught with sick images in all categories, including the most serious:
Robert Senior, 59, from Barnsley, had 65 Category A images. He received a two-year community order and sexual harm prevention order.
Dean Rawlings, 56, from Cullompton, Devon, had six Category A. He got a suspended three-month sentence, and sexual harm prevention order.
Charlie Young, 21, from Didcot, Oxon, had 48 Category A. Six months’ jail suspended for two years, with a sexual harm prevention order.
Vasil Slavilov, 18, from Forest Gate, East London, had 183 Category A images. He got a two-year community order.
Alex Baker, 29, from Walsall, had 193 images including Category A, and got a two-year community order, and a sexual harm prevention order.
Paul Birleson, 48, from Chester Le Street, Co Durham, had one Category A image. He got 24 months’ jail suspended for two years.
Nicholas Brown, 30, from Bedford, had two in Category A. He got a three-year community order.
Robert Allen, 46, from Dartmouth, Devon, had four Category A pics and got a 12-month community order and 180 hours of unpaid work.
Stephen Crawford, 62, from Windermere, Cumbria, had 503 Category A images. He was handed an eight-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and 200 hours of unpaid work.
Gary Redmond, 67, from Shrewsbury, Shrops, had three Category A. He got 20 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.
Kenneth Moncrieff, 44, from Windermere, Cumbria, had one Category A. He go a ten-month sentence, suspended for two years.
Andrej Dano, 70, from Manchester, had one category A image and got a two-year community order.
Christopher Eke, 26, from King’s Lynn, Norfolk, had 69 Category A videos. He was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for 12 months.
Jonathan Shaw, 42, from Holmfirth, West Yorks, had 31 Category A. He got a community order for 18 months and must do 100 hours of unpaid work.
John Evans, 70, from Cardiff, had 32 in Category A and contacted someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl but was actually an undercover cop. He was handed eight months in prison, suspended for two years.
Fans stunned with one team ‘set to host a racecourse’ in sensational FA Cup round one draw blunder
FANS spotted a funny mistake by the FA following the release of the FA Cup first-round fixtures.
The first round proper will take place between November 1-4.
It will feature some big teams like Birmingham, Huddersfield and Wrexham, as well as non-league minnows.
A total of 44 names were pulled out of the hat for the first round – but one appeared as something else on the FA‘s website.
In the list of fixtures they listed a tie between Hartlepool/Brackley vs Aintree.
A correction was later made so the correct team, Braintree Town, was put in place of Aintree.
But not before eagle-eyed fans spotted the mistake, with some joking the game would be held on a racecourse, referencing Aintree’s famous horse racing venue.
One fan reacted saying: “Wonder how long it will take for the FA to realise that they’ve currently got the winner of the Hartlepool-Brackley replay hosting a race course…”
Another added: “To be a fair, a team of players on horses is something I’d pay good money to see.”
Elsewhere there are some notable ties including AFC Wimbledon‘s visit to MK Dons.
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While League One leaders Birmingham face a trip to non league side Sutton United.
Huddersfield also take on non league Tamworth.
Furious BBC bosses haul in Strictly’s Wynne Evans & Katya Jones after ‘grope’ shock to try and draw line after scandals
IT’S the shocking moment dividing Strictly viewers — some reckon Wynne Evans groped Katya Jones on Saturday’s show, while others buy their explanation it was a mutual joke that backfired.
Either way, The Sun can reveal the dance duo have been rapped over the knuckles by BBC bosses for the incident that was broadcast live and has become a viral sensation.
Show veteran Katya, 35, was seen removing the hand of dance partner Wynne, 52, as it slid further round her stomach in the section of Strictly where co-host Claudia Winkleman talks about what’s coming up next.
That came minutes after he was seen holding his arms up for a double high five from Katya, only for her to reject him, looking disgusted.
Last night, on BBC Two Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two, Katya insisted that the controversy had overshadowed their performance “for absolutely no reason”.
She added: “Quite frankly I actually can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he’s not.
“In fact it couldn’t be further away from the truth.
“So I have to make absolutely clear, that this whole incident with the hand and the high five on Saturday night, it was an inside joke between Wynne and I.
“Was it a silly joke? Yes. Was it a bad joke? Yes.
“However, it was a joke and even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is totally nonsense.
“Those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong.
“So hopefully this will be the end of it.”
Wynne added: “I’ve watched it back and I can see how people might have misinterpreted it.”
The controversy is the last thing the beleaguered corporation wanted after a summer of scandal which saw pros Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima leave the show amid allegations of bad behaviour.
Earlier yesterday, a TV insider said: “Strictly wanted to draw a line under one of the most troubling periods in the programme’s history, which had viewers deeply suspicious about what went on behind the scenes of the show.
“Allegations of inappropriate physical and sexual behaviour seemed to take some of the shine off the dance contest and bosses were looking forward to restoring the glitz and fun.
“Now there’s this bizarre incident which seems to suggest some tension between Wynne and Katya, not to mention inappropriate touching.
“The rap over the knuckles from Strictly was informal and there aren’t any plans to take any further action against them.
“But ultimately, amid all the controversy, viewers are left not knowing quite what to think.”
Behind the scenes, Beeb bosses are said to be furious about the incident, but seem to believe Katya and Wynne’s explanation that it was a gag both were complicit in.
On Sunday Katya and Wynne made a joint online video in which they apologised for what happened.
During it, Katya said: “We were just messing around in the Clauditorium and just want to say sorry.”
Best known for playing opera singer Gio Compario on the Go Compare TV adverts, Wynne did a radio interview at the weekend as the hashtag “GropeCompare” started to go viral.
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Wynne Evans and Katya Jones
He said: “I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day.
“Katya and I are really, really close and really good friends.
“It was a stupid joke that went wrong, OK?
“We thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny.
“I’m sorry if anybody was offended by it, but it was a joke.
“I feel weird apologising because I feel like I’ve not done anything.”
But some Strictly fans pointed out the fact Wynne’s girlfriend Liz Brookes, 50, also had to watch the incident as she sat in the show’s audience on Saturday.
‘WHAT ABOUT THIS IS FUNNY?’
Singer Wynne and events organiser Liz, from Cardiff, only started dating earlier this year.
One user of X, formerly Twitter, said: “Let’s see what your Mrs Liz thinks about the grope?”
Another responded to his claims it was just a joke, saying on X: “What about this is funny?
“In light of all the recent issues you thought you’d grope her on camera to be funny?”
Someone added: “So the two of you decided to make a joke about harassment on a show with a history of harassment?”
Another woman said: “It clearly bothered her the way she pushed his hand away. And that is enough.
“The way to stop this is to call it out and chuck him off the show.”
Others defended them.
One X user said: “If you both say it’s a joke, then it’s a joke. Not sure why some people have a problem with that.”
Another X user said: “Why are you apologising for a private joke? The snowflakes out there need to get a grip on reality.”
Someone close to Wynne told The Sun: “My experience of Wynne is that he’s harmless, if a bit ‘of his time’ like any bloke in his fifties.
“But most of us are sure his apology is entirely heartfelt and he will be devastated by how this has played out.”
Others point out that if it really was an ill-judged gag gone wrong, then Katya should face as much scrutiny as Wynne, if not more.
In October 2018, she was pictured kissing her pro partner Seann Walsh in the street, despite the fact she was married to pro dancer Neil Jones at the time, and the stand-up comic had a girlfriend.
Then in October 2021 she found herself on thin ice again as she came close to kissing her celeb partner, swimmer Adam Peaty, at the end of a dance — despite the fact he had a partner.
Now Katya — who joined the show in 2016 — and her latest Strictly partner find themselves back in the spotlight.
A Strictly source said: “If it was a joke, then Katya really should know better.
‘SEASONED PRO’
“She has been on Strictly long enough to know how scandals can affect the show and, let’s face it, she been at the centre of them too.
“The feeling is that she is one of the few people who is often at the heart of a storm and has the resilience to ride this out.
“At the end of the day, Katya is a seasoned pro when it comes to dancing and being a celebrity in her own right.
“There have even been whispers backstage that she won’t mind grabbing headlines off newer dancers like Jowita Przystal, who has been the talk of the series due to her romance with Pete Wicks.”
Meanwhile, the BBC, which has declined to comment on the record, has had its welfare team and production staff check in on Wynne and Katya and does not intend to take any further action.
But it remains to be seen whether the duo, who will be doing the quickstep on next week’s show, will see the viewers’ support wane after their upcoming dance — or if the controversy might even give them a boost.
Human head and hands in freezer identified as teen girl missing 19 years ago
Body parts found inside the freezer of a home have been identified as belonging to a 16-year-old girl who vanished in 2005.
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Former Manchester United chief executive reveals why Ronaldinho transfer failed
'We did chase him hard.'
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