Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NUMBERS UP.. & UP
Record £180m EuroMillions rollover in Tuesday’s draw
A RECORD jackpot of £180million will be up for grabs in the next EuroMillions draw on Tuesday.
No winner has emerged since a Superdraw on February 5, which has sent the rollover prize rocketing.
The jackpot cap was increased by €10million to its current level after a French player won the then maximum of €200million – which equates to £173million – in December. If there is no winner this Tuesday, the top prize cannot be increased beyond its new limit. However, players who match five main numbers and just one of the Lucky Stars will receive more money. Under the rules, the jackpot can stay at €210million for four draws at most before that amount must be paid out.
But such a huge prize is now likely to spark a surge in ticket sales, boosting the chances of a winner on Tuesday. The precise amount to be won by a successful Brit will depend on the exchange rate on the day, as the prizes are valued in euros.
The two biggest EuroMillions jackpots have come in the last three months and four of the top 10 ever have gone to Brits.
The top three UK wins are £170million by an unnamed player, £161million by Colin and Chris Weir and £148million by Adrian and Gillian Bayford.
FORMER PM Theresa May accepted £115,000 to address a women’s forum founded by the Dubai ruler accused of kidnapping his daughter.
Mrs May flew to the Gulf in February last year to speak at the Global Women’s Forum event.
She was pictured shaking hands with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates.
Last week videos emerged of the 71-year-old billionaire’s daughter Princess Latifa claiming she was being held captive in a villa by her family.
The United Nations has asked the UAE to provide proof she is still alive.
In the videos, released by friends of the princess, Latifa, 35, says: “I don’t know if I’m going to survive this situation. The police said I’d be in prison my whole life – I’d never see the sun again.”
The claims are the latest against Al Maktoum, who has been a guest of the Queen at Royal Ascot. In 2000, Latifa’s sister Princess Shamsa escaped while on holiday in Surrey. She was tracked down, taken to her dad’s home in Newmarket, Suffolk – then returned to Dubai.
She has not been seen in public since.
TORTURED
Two years later, Latifa made her first escape bid by trying to cross the border into Oman. She was caught and jailed for three years at home, where she says she was tortured in solitary confinement. In 2018 Latifa made a second bid for freedom and a life in the US. She was captured off the coast of India and taken back to Dubai. On Friday, the royal family said she was being “cared for at home”. Mrs May’s trip to the emirate came months after Latifa’s stepmother Princess Haya fled to the UK with her two children to claim asylum, reportedly in fear for her life. Records show the bill for Mrs May was footed by the Dubai Women Establishment, founded by the Sheikh in 2006. Its website says: “The Establishment’s mission is to champion women in driving the socio-economic future of Dubai through influencing policies, sharing knowledge, leading initiatives.” But Princess Latifa’s friend, human rights lawyer David Haigh, said the event was arranged by the Dubai establishment as “a publicity stunt designed to distract from the country’s quite appalling treatment of women”. A Sunday Mirror probe found that in the past decade 30 MPs – 17 Tories, 11 Labour and two SNP – accepted trips aimed at forging closer ties with the UAE. In some cases, spouses joined them on the £117,000 trips. Theresa May was unavailable for comment.
THE tragic toll of children killed at the hands of parents known to be abusive has risen once more.
The number killed since child protection laws were last overhauled in 2004 now stands at a horrifying 69.
That is six higher than 2019 when the Sunday Mirror launched the Save Kids From Violent Parents campaign in a bid to change the law, which presumes contact with both parents is in the best interests of the child.
We acted after finding 63 children had died – and kids were allowed to live with convicted killers and paedophiles.
Now investigations have concluded into a further six cases where professionals failed to take steps to protect young victims.
The true figure is expected to be even higher as investigations are ongoing into dozens more deaths.
Some 12 children died in domestic homicides in London alone last year, amid fears lockdown caused a spike in killings.
Our fight is backed by Chelsea Chambers, who escaped through a window when her stepdad David Oakes killed her mum Christine,
38, and two-year-old sister Shania in Braintree, Essex, in 2011.
Oakes, sentenced to life, has since died. He was allowed to see Shania every weekend despite Christine making numerous reports to police about his violence.
Chelsea, now 20, said: “I back this campaign 100%. This man was never fit to have a two-year-old in his care.
“My mum had a non-molestation order, but we still had to meet him to collect Shania.”
The Children Act was updated in 2004
in the wake of the Victoria Climbie tragedy and was supposed to make it easier for local authorities to step in when they know a child is at risk.
Victoria, eight, was starved and tortured by great aunt Marie Therese Kouao, 63, and boyfriend Carl Manning, 46, after agencies missed numerous chances to save her. She died in 2000 and her murderers were jailed for life.
The legislation, introduced in 1989, says welfare of the child must come first.
Yet even violent criminals are not automatically banned from having time alone with their kids. And under human rights laws, both kids and their parents have a right to a family life.
The Government pledged to change the law last June and has promised better training for professionals. A review is set to report back this year.
As part of our ongoing probe, we reviewed the cases of Leo Tompsett, five, Amelia Crichton, seven months, Hope Smith, six months, Kayden Walker, six months, Blake Barrass, 14, and his 13-year-old brother Tristan.
Kayden died of “catastrophic” injuries after being attacked in 2018 by dad Ricky Walker, who got six years for manslaughter. Previous
abuse allegations were not probed. Hope’s dad Neil Smith got life for her 2017 murder. Authorities were aware he had a history of “significant domestic abuse”. The Barrass brothers were murdered in 2019 by mum Sarah and dad Brandon Minchin. He was Sarah’s half brother and the family was known to social services. In total, 54 children have been
killed by dads with a documented history of abuse and six by mums. In nine cases, both parents were complicit.
Some 21 children died after being left with convicted and violent criminals.
In 11 cases, unsupervised contact was ordered directly in the family courts. In the remaining 58, the decision to allow unsupervised contact was made by local authorities. Justice Minister Alex Chalk said: “We are determined to ensure that children are safe, whilst ensuring they have the best possible family life.
“This is a complex, sensitive area and any action we take following the review must be rooted in solid evidence. That is why it’s so important we take time to consider this with the utmost care.”
HARRY and Meghan’s remarks in what looks like a war of words with the Queen have been taken out of context, a friend insists.
Dean Stott said their comment that “We can all live a life of service” should be seen as an indication of the couple’s desire to carry on doing good deeds. Mr Stott, a former Special Forces soldier who has known Harry for 12 years, defended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they were accused of “horribly disrespecting” the Queen. The monarch announced on Friday that the pair will lose their royal patronages. Mr Stott, who lives near Harry and Meghan and their son Archie in California, said: “They’re very much a modern couple and like to do things differently so they see that they can still do a service but in their own way.
“It keeps… Harry and Meghan in the position that they can still be in that public limelight, but obviously always giving back.”
They see they can still do a service...in their way DEAN STOTT ON HARRY AND MEGHAN’S PLANS
FREEDOM
Mr Stott said the comment about “service” should be “taken in context” of the couple’s charity work. He added that the loss of their royal roles gave Harry, 36, and pregnant Meghan, 39, “more opportunity and freedom to do more and help more”.
Mr Stott, who left the military after a parachuting injury, was inspired by Harry to break two world records in 2018 by cycling almost 14,000 miles from Argentina to Alaska.
As royal watchers continued to analyse Harry and Meghan’s words last night, a PR expert predicted huge growth for the couple, who already have a £70million Netflix deal. Mark Borkowski said: “Ultimately, it’s not just about money. It’s about power and influence and, I’m sure, Meghan’s ambitions politically over the next 20 to 30 years. “That’s where the royal family are probably rattled… because clearly they are going to have a huge influence in America.”
EUGENIE REVEALS BABY NAME: P22
ROBBIE Williams is selling his ‘creepy’ English country manor in order to enjoy a new Swiss role with his family.
The singer has decided a £24million villa on the shores of Lake Geneva is the right spot to set up a permanent home with wife Ayda Field, 41, and their four children, Teddy, eight, Charlton, six, Coco, two, and one-year-old Beau.
In the meantime, Robbie has quietly put 17th century Compton Bassett House back on the market.
The singer revealed last year that he believed the eight-bedroom Wiltshire pile was haunted – in particular, daughter Teddy’s bedroom.
“It gives me the creeps,” Robbie, 47, told a podcast. “Teddy told me, ‘That room scares me. I don’t like that house’.
“I said, ‘It scares me too. You don’t have to sleep there any more’.
“If there is great grief or great pain or tragedy, I think it can soak into the walls and leave an essence there that remains for a very, very long time.”
Robbie also said he’d been spooked by seeing the ghost of his old cairn terrier Trixie at the house.
RESHUFFLE
The singer admitted he had bought the £8.1million property on impulse in 2008 – two years before his marriage to actress and model Ayda. But the couple hardly ever spent any time there.
The house, which sits on 75 acres of land, has its own tennis court, swimming pool, home gym, media room and even a football pitch, as well as a helicopter pad and quad bike track in the woods used for what Robbie called “rage racing”. A source told us: “Robbie was in a different phase of his life when he bought Compton Bassett House.
“It seemed like an idyllic hideaway in the English countryside but he never really felt at home there.
“In a matter of months he realised it wasn’t where he and Ayda wanted to settle. “Now he’s planning a reshuffle of his property portfolio since deciding to buy in Switzerland. The family moved there last summer and rented for six months to make sure they wanted to stay.”
Take That hero Robbie, who is worth £200million, also owns a £26million Beverly Hills mansion as well as a £17.5million home in Holland Park in West London.
He and Ayda sold their beachfront house in Malibu, Los Angeles, for £20million last year.
“They’re both really excited to have found exactly the lifestyle they were looking for in Switzerland,” said the source.
“They’ve been there for less than a year but the children are settled in schools and they all love the calm, family vibe they’ve got going on there.”
A spokesman for Williams said he had no comment to make.
Teddy said, ‘That room scares me’. I said, ‘Me too’. It gives me the creeps ROBBIE ON HIS DAUGHTER’S ‘HAUNTED’ BEDROOM
FORMER rugby ace Tommy Bowe says he was happy to put his body on the line – but admits the game is far safer now thanks to new concussion protocols.
Looking back on his stellar 15-year career the Monaghan native said there’s far more to rugby than kicking chunks out of lads on the pitch.
Tommy, 36, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I was putting my body on the line, you do it for your team-mates, that’s the beautiful thing about rugby.
“It’s about the relationship and the camaraderie you have with your teammates.”
A cruciate ligament injury left the player needing knee surgery and he was sidelined throughout his career as a result of injuries and broken bones.
CONCUSSION
But Tommy admits concussion has dominated the sport’s conversation in recent years.
He said: “From a medical point of view, the players are incredibly well looked after now.
“If they were to get a knock or hurt themselves, you’d like to think they’d be OK and get better.
“What the IRFU and world rugby have done now to try to mitigate the risk has been pretty impressive.
“Players feel safer than ever, going out onto the pitch.
“You can’t be expecting players to go out on the pitch and put their bodies on the line if they don’t feel safe doing so.”
Commenting on the dementia controversy within the rugby world, he said: “Nothing can be put to bed because it is a contact sport.
“Anything can happen but the protocols for concussion that have been put in place now are to the highest level.
“Every player at the start of the year will have to put in a baseline concussion test, so that we know the exact level they’re at.
“Throughout the season, you do those tests again and if they see you getting any knock on the pitch at all, you’re whisked off and tested.
“If they feel there’s anything even one per cent off, you don’t come back out onto the pitch again.
“Then there’s a new return to play protocol that the players have to go through.
“The safety has been taken to a whole other level, certainly it’s a whole other level to when I would have started out 15 years ago.”
The dad-of-two starred in the 2013
RTE documentary Body Check, demonstrating the impact the sport had on him.
He said: “I think some people see professional rugby players, ‘Ah sure they go out and do a bit of training and then they go out on a Saturday and kick lumps out of each other’.
“But the level of detail and preparation that goes into rugby is phenomenal.”
The former Ulster winger said: “There’s far more pros and cons. Yes it’s a physical tough sport and I’m sure many parents cringe at the thoughts of their children playing it. If my children Emma