Tory national service hope
TORY leadership hopeful Rory Stewart has said he will bring back national service if he becomes PM.
The International Development Secretary said his National Citizen Service would unite Britain and boost kids’ confidence.
In his plan every 16-year-old would spend two weeks in an outdoor education setting and two on a community project.
The former Black Watch soldier said on Twitter it would be a “fantastic way to bring people together”.
We have lost our father. But our mum does not deserve to be punished any further
A WOMAN who was freed from jail after killing her husband following years of coercive and controlling abuse yesterday admitted that she “still loves and misses” him.
Sally Challen, 65, hit Richard, 61, more than 20 times with a hammer. She was jailed for life in 2011 for murder and served nearly a decade in prison.
But her conviction was quashed based on evidence that she was psychologically abused by her partner for years.
Yesterday, she walked free after a judge accepted her plea of manslaughter and ruled out a retrial for murder.
He sentenced her to nine years and four months in prison, but with time already served, she was released.
Speaking later at a press conference, Mrs Challen said: “I still love Richard and miss him dearly. I wish none of this had happened. I loved the ideal of Richard.
“Does that make sense? I suppose it doesn’t. He was so charismatic – he could charm the birds off the trees. He was really convincing and charming. I met him at 15 and I had no confidence.
“It is very difficult for domestic abuse victims, and it was in my case, to leave a partner. You have to leave everything you know and break away.
“Richard and I were together for over 40 years – it was just impossible. I would [say] to others to get help now.”
OVERJOYED
She said of her sons, David and James Challen: “As a family, we are overjoyed at the verdict.
“I’m just so happy I can now begin to live my life again. I don’t know how I kept strong during those years in prison.
“I had major ups and major downs. My family kept me going with visits and endless telephone calls. Without them, I don’t know how I would have coped.
“It’s wonderful to be free and to be able to see my sons. I’m so grateful to them. They have served the sentence with me. It’s been a super-long and terrible nine years.”
Standing outside court after the hearing, Mrs Challen had hugged David and James, to cheers from her supporters. She thanked all those who had “worked tirelessly” to secure her freedom.
Mrs Challen had been due to face a retrial for murder from July 1 over the killing of ex-car dealer Richard at their home in Claygate, Surrey, in August 2010. The pair pose for a picture Her original conviction, at Guildford crown court in 2011, was recently quashed after a series of legal challenges. It came after a 2015 law change, which recognised psychological manipulation, or coercive control, as a form of domestic abuse. Yesterday, a senior judge at the Old Bailey ruled out a retrial for murder, saying the killing came after “years of controlling, isolating and humiliating JAMES CHALLEN SPEAKING TO COURT ABOUT FATHER’S KILLING