Life expectancy figures stall

Tot shake death dad is jailed

A FATHER who shook his 10-week-old baby son so hard the child suffered an internal head injury has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Heating engineer Christopher Barnes insisted to a jury: “I never hurt that little boy. He meant the world to me.”

However prosecutor Jennifer Knight told Lewes crown court: “On 24th June 2017, Harry Barnes collapsed. He never regained consciousness. Medical evidence revealed injuries had been caused during at least two episodes.

“Christopher Barnes who was alone with him at the time of his collapse is responsible for his death and injuries.”

Barnes, 28, of Midhurst, West Sussex, was convicted of manslaughter and GBH.

After sentencing Harry’s mum Laura Millins said: “We have justice for Harry.” INCREASING life expectancy has ground to a halt, according to the latest data.

Figures for those born in 2018 remain the same as the previous year – 79.6 years for males and 83.2 for females.

The standstill is a result of expectancy for the least well off falling and bringing down the average.

The decline began in 2011 as savage Tory cuts began to bite. Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth called the new figures “shameful”. He said: “After years of austerity we are seeing stalling life expectancy. It means poorer people get sick sooner and die earlier.”

Other research has shown that, apart from the US, we have fared worse for life expectancy among industrialised nations with the figures briefly going into reverse between 2014 and 2015.