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Marten and Gordon charged with manslaughter
Runaway couple Constance Marten and Mark Gordon have been charged with the manslaughter of their baby, concealing a birth and perverting the course of justice. The pair will appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court today, the same day as a postmortem examination is carried out on the remains of a child discovered in woodland on Wednesday. Barry Hughes, chief crown prosecutor for CPS London North, said the Crown
Prosecution Service had authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge the pair after the body was found.
“Constance Marten, aged 35, and Mark Gordon, aged 48, have also been charged with concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice. These charges arise from their arrest on Monday as a result of a lengthy police investigation to establish their whereabouts and that of their baby. The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Constance Marten and Mark Gordon are active and that they have the right to a fair trial.”
An infant’s remains were found on Wednesday after a major twoday search operation in Sussex. Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, were arrested at Stanmer Villas in Brighton on Monday after avoiding the attention of police for seven weeks.
‘Too late’ for environment, says Green Party founder
One of the co-founders of the Green Party has said it is “too late” to save the environment as the movement marks 50 years. Michael Benfield said the party has succeeded in “helping to educate the mass of politics,” but failed in “dealing with the battle for environmental survival”.
“I am afraid I have become somewhat of a doomsayer and it is too late,” he said. “The battle for the world’s environmental survival is at this moment lost.” He shared his thoughts at a special event to mark the party’s 50 years in existence which has seen them win council elections and take a seat at parliament. The Green Party has its origins within the People Party, which was founded in 1973, and took its current name in the 1980s with the primary aim of environmental campaigning.
But the occasion was not a complete celebration. The 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report warned the world faced a “now or never” ultimatum and that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 in order to be halved this decade. The world is on course for temperatures to soar to more than 3C above pre-industrial averages, which will have
catastrophic consequences, unless quick and meaningful action is taken. In order for catastrophic events to be avoided, a target of 1.5C has been given.
Witness appeal after truck hits gantry on motorway
Police are appealing for witnesses after a tipper truck smashed into an overhead gantry on a motorway. The crash happened just after 8am yesterday on the M5 near Bristol, closing the road in both directions and causing serious delays to motorists. Part of the vehicle was wedged under the gantry in lane one, but was later removed. At least one sign attached to the structure fell onto the road, and all other signs on the gantry were disrupted as electrical cables were severed.
Hydraulic fluid also spilled onto the carriageway. The carriageways were closed northbound between Junction 18A and Junction 17, and southbound between Junction 17 and Junction 18. The northbound carriageway has since been reopened, with the southbound carriageway anticipated to be open later this evening, National Highways confirmed. PA
Pulp bassist dies, aged 56
Steve Mackey, the bass player of Pulp, has died at the age of 56. A cause of death has not yet been given, but Mackey’s wife, stylist Katie Grand, revealed he had recently been admitted to hospital. She shared her “devastation” over his death in an Instagram post on Thursday 2 March, writing: “After three months in hospital, fighting with all his strength and determination, we are shocked and devastated to have said goodbye to my brilliant, beautiful husband, Steve Mackey.
“Steve died today, a loss which has left myself, his son Marley, parents Kath and Paul, sister Michelle and many friends all heartbroken. Steve was the most talented man I have ever known, an exceptional musician, producer, photographer and filmmaker.” She continued: “As in life, he was adored by everyone whose paths he crossed in the multiple creative
disciplines he conquered. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the NHS staff who worked tirelessly for Steve. He will be missed beyond words. The family has asked for privacy at this time.”
Breathing tube ‘contributed to death’ of first child Covid victim
A misplaced breathing tube contributed to the death of a 13year-old boy who became the UK’s first known child victim of coronavirus, a coroner has ruled. Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, of Brixton, southwest London, died of acute respiratory distress syndrome, caused by Covid-19 pneumonia, in the early hours of 30 March 2020, three days after testing positive for the coronavirus. He had a cardiac arrest before he died.
Ismail’s family members were not able to be with him when he died in King’s College Hospital and were also unable to attend his funeral because they were self-isolating after some of his siblings experienced Covid symptoms. Matt Hancock, who was the health secretary and the father of a 13-year-old child himself, said Ismail dying without a parent at his bedside “made me weep”. And King Charles, then the prince of Wales, said in April 2020 he was “utterly heartbroken” by the teenager’s plight. PA