#Wandsworth Prison

[pilgrim1975]

Gordon Cummins, the ‘Blackout Ripper,’ hanged during an air raid.

It is 8am on June 25, 1942. At airfields across wartime England, RAF Bomber Command are preparing the first thousand-bomber raid. That night large parts of Bremen will be destroyed and dozens of bombers will fail to return. In the House of Commons, Members of Parliament will shortly start the day’s work, debating and voting as they normally do. Just across the River Thames at Wandsworth Prison,…

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#Albert Pierrepoint #crime and punishment #death penalty #Gordon Cummins #History #London #Luftwaffe #Royal Air Force #Second World War #true crime #Wandsworth Prison

[brexiiton]

Terrorism suspect on the run after escaping London prison

By CNN, 9:33am Sep 7, 2023

A manhunt has been launched for a British soldier awaiting trial on terror charges after he escaped from a London prison while dressed as a chef, officials say.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, went missing from Wandsworth prison, in the southwest of the British capital, shortly before 8am on Wednesday. He has been awaiting trial for terror offences and alleged breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

Khalife is a serving member of the British army. He is accused of planting fake bombs at a military base, according to the PA Media news agency.

UK authorities have launched a manhunt for alleged terrorism suspect Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, who went missing from a London prison. (Metropolitan Police via AP) (AP)

The audacious and rare escape prompted a sprawling manhunt that delayed flights and led to heightened checks at British ports.

Khalife was dressed in a "chef's uniform, so red and white trousers, white T-shirt and brown shoes," Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Commander Dominic Murphy told journalists outside Scotland Yard in London on Wednesday.

It is believed he escaped by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery van, the BBC reports.

When asked about the reports, Murphy said it was a question the prison service had to answer.

Police are appealing for the British public to help the search.

He is of slim build, has short brown hair and is 1.9 metres tall, officers said.

Murphy said London is the focus of the investigation currently, but that "we also have notifications out to very force in the country."

Danie Khalife escaped from Wandsworth in London by clinging to a delivery van, police said. (AP)

"We are working really closely with border colleagues to try and understand any risk that might be posed by him leaving the country so at the moment you could describe this as a nationwide manhunt involving every force in the country that has information that might be of use to use," Murphy added.

Asked whether he expects the man to flee the country, Murphy said: "It's difficult to say at this moment in time. We are open minded to wherever he might go, and I think that's why the appeal to the public is so important because actually he's currently at large in the UK and whilst we are focusing on London he is connected to other parts of the UK, including the north-west of the country, so we need to work with everybody to try and find him."

The police announced the charges against Khalife in January. At the time, they alleged he "elicited or attempted to elicit information of a kind likely to by useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" in August 21.

Another charge alleged he placed an item "with the intention of inducing in another a belief that the said article was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property."

#terrorwave #terror wave #terror news #terror #news #united kingdom #uk #khalife #daniel khalife #prison #wandsworth #wandsworth locals fear escaped prisoner is ‘hiding in gardens’ – but one insists ‘this happens all the time!’

[kit-walker-phantom23]

Man könnte es wohl Glück im Unglück nennen. Schließlich wird Boris Becker nur drei Wochen nach seiner Inhaftierung in Wandsworth in ein Gefängnis verlegt, in dem die Bedingungen deutlich erträglicher sein sollen. So genießt er nun neue Freiheiten. Das Wandsworth-Gefängnis, in dem Boris Becker bislang untergebracht war, wurde in den vergangenen Wochen als regelrechter Horrorknast charakterisiert.…

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#Becker #Boris Becker #Insolvenz #Prison #Sport #Tennis #Wandsworth

[scottishcommune]

Toby Shone is an anarchist who was imprisoned in Wandsworth, Bristol and G4S Prison Parc for nearly two years, accused of being the administrator of counter-information project 325.nostate.net. After the political prosecution failed and the cops had to drop the case 5 days before trial in October 2021, Toby received a sentence of 3 years 9 months for possession of psychedelic medicines. He was released on 28 December 2022 under heavy restrictions (license conditions), oversight by a multi-agency team (MAPPA) including the National Security Division (counter-terror) and forced to live in a filthy bail hostel in Gloucester for 9 months. He had just moved back into a flat in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire 9 days ago. On the morning of 19 September 2023, he was driving to an appointment with his probation officer when he was pulled over and arrested by an armed police unit between the Forest of Dean and Gloucester. He was taken to HMP Bristol. He is awaiting more detailed information, but his legal team say that the allegations are that he breached two of his license conditions: being in possession of an [unauthorised] phone and attending a meeting in Bristol in August. Toby is in great spirits as ever and requests letters and books. ■ Please write to him at: Toby Shone A7645EP HMP Bristol 19 Cambridge Road Bishopston Bristol BS7 8PS

#anarchism #uk pol #socialism #freeblr #fire to the prisons #prison abolition

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in November 2023

01/11 Princess Anne, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester attended the Senior Serving and Retired Officers’ Briefing at the Army and Navy Club on Pall Mall in London. 🪖💼

As Chancellor of Harper Adams University, attended the launch of the University’s Strategic Plan at London Bridge Arches. 🎓

With Sir Tim As Royal Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, attended the Grand Day Choral Evensong Service at Temple Church in London. 🎶

With Sir Tim As Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Engineers, attended a Dinner to mark their 40th Anniversary at Mansion House in London. ⚙️

02/11 Held two investiture ceremonies at Buckingham Palace. 🎖️

03/11 As Patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, visited Citizens Advice Malvern Hills in Malvern, Worcestershire. 👩‍⚖️

Opened the Specialist Operations Centre at the Gloucestershire Constabulary and Office of Police and Crime Commissioner in Cheltenham. 👮‍♀️

07/11 Alongside King Charles & Queen Camilla, Princess Anne in her role as Gold Stick in Waiting, was present at the State Opening of Parliament. 👩‍⚖️🪶

Opened the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage and the McDonald Road Community Fire and Ambulance Station in Edinburgh. 👨‍🚒

The Princess Royal, As Patron of the Eric Liddell 100, attended the inaugural Lecture and Reception on board Fingal, Alexandra Dock, in Edinburgh. 🏃🏽🥂

Unofficial Sir Tim attended the memorial service for former university friend and newsreader George Alagiah at St-Martin-in-the-Fields church in London 🎓🕊️

08/11 As Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, presented Royal Medals and attended a Reception at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 🏅

As Patron of Catch22, attended the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum in Birmingham ✍️

As Patron of the Wooden Spoon Society, attended a Reception at the House of Lords in London. 🥄🏉🥂

As Court Member of the Fishmongers’ Company, attended a Livery Dinner at Fishmongers’ Hall in London. 🐟🍽️

09/11 As President of World Horse Welfare, attended the Annual Conference at the Royal Geographical Society. 🐴

As Patron of the Butler Trust, visited HM Prison Wandsworth in London. 🚓👮‍♂️

As Patron of the Whitley Fund for Nature, held a 30th Anniversary Dinner at St James's Palace. 🦋🍃

10/11 The Princess Royal, As President of Royal Yachting Association, chaired the Annual General Meeting and presented Awards before attending a Luncheon in London SW1. 🛥️

Unofficial Announcement that Princess Anne will take over Presidency of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, taking over from the Duke of Kent who Presided over the Commission since 1970 🌹🪦

~ Remembrance weekend ~

11/11 With Sir Tim Attended the Armistice Day Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum. 🌳 🫡

With Sir Tim Attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall with members of the royal family. 🌹

12/11 With Sir Tim Attended the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. Princess Anne laid a wreath whilst Sir Tim stood on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office balcony. 🌹

With Sir Tim Took the salute at the March Past of Ex-Servicemen and Civilian Organisations on Horse Guards Parade, London SWI. 🫡

~ End ~

14/11 As Patron of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK), attended the 10th Anniversary Transport and Logistics Safety Forum Conference at the National Memorial Arboretum. 🚚

Visited the new Institute of Shipbuilding course at City of Glasgow College Riverside Campus in Glasgow. ⚓️

As Patron of the Royal Celtic Society, attended a Reception at Glasgow City Chambers. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Attended Interfaith Glasgow’s Scottish Interfaith Week Forum at Glasgow City Chambers. ☪️✡️✝️🕉️🪯

Unofficial Sir Tim attended a Kent Cricket celebration dinner at Lords Cricket Ground 🏏

15/11 Visited BAE Systems Submarines' Submarine Academy and the University of Cumbria. 🤿 👨‍🎓

Visited the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in Barrow-in-Furness. ☢️

As Patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, visited the Barrow-in-Furness branch to mark its reopening. 🤝

As Patron of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, attended a Dinner at St George's Hall, to mark its 125th anniversary. 🦜💊

16/11 As Vice Patron of the British Horse Society, attended a Coaching Career Insight Day.

As Patron of the Butler Trust, visited HM Prison Drake Hall.

As Patron of Transaid, attended a Reception at London Transport Museum.

17/11 Not Counted Departed Heathrow Airport for Gibraltar but was diverted to Madrid, Spain and arrived in Gibraltar later than intended. ✈️🇪🇸🇬🇮

With Sir Tim As Royal Patron of the Gibraltar International Literary Festival, attended the Literary Festival Opening Dinner at the Sunborn Hotel. 📚🍽️

18/11 In Gibraltar Princess Anne;

As Patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, visited Gibraltar Citizens Advice Bureau to mark its 20th anniversary. 👩‍⚖️

Opened the renovated premises of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Association. 🫡

Met representatives of the Emergency Services and members of the Armed Forces at the Convent. 🚑🪖

With Sir Tim visited specialist vehicles provider Bassadone Automotive Group. 🚗

Unofficial Sir Tim visited the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron, 🇬🇮⚓️

21/11 As Master of the Corporation of Trinity House, presented Merchant Navy medals for Meritorious Service at Trinity House, London. 🏅

With Sir Tim Attended the State Banquet in honour of the President and First Lady of South Korea. 🇬🇧🇰🇷🍽️

22/11 Visited Retrotec Limited near Northiam, East Sussex. ✈️

Visited Focus SB Limited in St Leonards-on-Sea. ⚙️

As Commandant-in-Chief of St John Ambulance (Youth), attended a Reception for Young Achievers at the Priory Church of the Order of St John in London. 🚑

As Chancellor of the University of London, attended Foundation Day at Senate House in London 🎓

23/11 As Commodore-in-Chief of Portsmouth Naval Base, opened Alford Schools of Military Music. 🎶

Attended a Luncheon at Spithead House, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, for The Princess Royal's Patronages based in Hampshire. ⚓️

As President of the City and Guilds of London Institute, presented The Princess Royal Training Awards at St James's Palace. 🏆

With Sir Tim As President of the British Olympic Association, attended the Team GB Ball at the Savoy Hotel. 🏋️‍♀️

24/11 As Royal Patron of the London Scottish Football Club, attended the 10th Anniversary of the St Andrew's Day Luncheon at the Sheraton Grand London on Park Lane. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏉

28/11 Presented The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Awards at Fishmongers’ Hall in London. 🏆

As Chancellor of the University College of Osteopathy, attended a Graduation Ceremony. 🎓

As Royal Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, attended a New Fellows’ Dinner. ⚙️🍽️

29/11 The Princess Royal, As Royal Patron of the National Coastwatch Institution, visited Canvey Island Station and attended a Reception at the Island Yacht Club. 🔎🏝️

Opened Huntingdon Fire Station and Service Training Centre. 🚒

Opened North Cambridgeshire Training Centre. 💼

As Honorary Member of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, attended the Annual General Meeting and Discussion Dinner. 👷🍴

30/11 As Patron of the Not Forgotten Association, held the Christmas Reception at St James’s Palace. 🎄🎅🏻🎁

Total official engagements for Anne in October: 58

2023 total so far: 458

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in October: 11

2023 total so far: 92

#hardest working royal #a busy bee #always there to support his wife 🥰 #unofficial engagement count 2023 #princess anne #princess royal #tim laurence #timothy laurence

[zalimaaa]

so the terrorist who escaped from wandsworth prison in a chefs uniform escaped to CHISWICK im cryingvdcvfvhfvbdsc this country isn’t real

#hbfbhdbffbgcbgdvfcvfcbgv of ALL PLACES #ANY other area & he wouldn’t be found LOOOOL #*

[inmate62763]

HMP prisons from the air.

HMP Birmingham / Winson Green. (Top).

HMP Long Lartin. (Middle).

HMP Wandsworth. (Bottom).

#convict #prisoner #locked up #jail #prison #inmate #behind bars

[fatedtruths]

the dude who escaped from wandsworth pleading not guilty to escaping prison is sending me . it's so funny. like. my guy. you were meant to be in prison and they found you on a push bike in London after a country wide man hunt??? i am ?? fucking 💀💀

#[ ooc. ] #im screaming about it

[justforbooks]

Over the moonlit Sorpe dam in Germany the Lancaster bomber known as T-Tommy made nine aborted runs. Three dams, the Möhne and Sorpe in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Eder in Hesse, were under attack from allied planes on the night of 16-17 May 1943.

Nine Royal Air Force Lancaster bombers were detailed to attack the Möhne and the Eder, five were held in reserve. Five of the nine were targeted on the Sorpe, but just one got through. T-Tommy was piloted by the sole American of 617 Squadron, Flt Lt Joe McCarthy. His bomb-aimer, Sgt George “Johnny” Johnson, who has died aged 101, was the last survivor of the raid. McCarthy was the only officer among the seven-strong crew.

“On the tenth run in,” wrote Johnson “both Joe and I were satisfied we were right on track. I pushed the button and called ‘bomb gone’. And from the rear turret was heard, ‘thank Christ for that’.”

The Dambusters’ bouncing bomb technique, invented by the engineer Barnes Wallis, could not be used on the Sorpe. It had to be dropped by T-Tommy halfway along the length of the dam. In The Last British Dambuster (2014), Johnson wrote that he was convinced he heard Wallis say: “It would take six bombs to crack the Sorpe.”

The dam was hit above the waterline, but not seriously so. However, flying back, at near-ground altitude, Johnson could see that the Möhne, like the Eder, had been severely breached. Just before 3.30am T-Tommy’s crew were back on the ground at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire.

Some 133 fliers took part in the raid; 53 of them never returned, and three became prisoners of war. Around 1,300 people died in the resulting floods, the majority of them slave labourers from the Soviet Union. The Nazi minister of armaments, Albert Speer, observed later that to make the Möhne-Katastrophe truly successful the RAF should have conducted further raids.

Born in the Lincolnshire village of Hameringham, George was the fifth son and last child of Charles Johnson, a farm worker, and Mary Ellen (nee Henfrey), who died just before George’s third birthday.

He remembered a brutal early childhood, thanks to his father. He was raised by his sister, Lena – his salvation, he wrote later. By 1926 all his brothers had left home and, soon after a move to Langford in Nottinghamshire, Lena went into service, and Johnson Sr married a “vicious and hellish woman”, as Johnson Jr recalled her, who left in summer 1928. George was initially educated at a primary school in nearby Winthorpe, and with the full-time return of his sister, life began to improve.

At the age of 11 he won a boarding place to Lord Wandsworth college in Long Sutton, Hampshire. In December 1939 he left it with his school certificate. Having volunteered for the RAF in 1940, by early 1941 he was in Torquay, Devon, and met his wife-to-be, Gwyneth Morgan. She and her family were to be a great influence on his life.

The RAF supplied his “Johnny” nickname. Having failed a pilot’s course in Florida, once back in Britain Johnson moved to air gunnery, and in July 1942 was posted to 97 Squadron in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. There he stayed until spring 1943, initially as a “spare gunner”. During those months, raids took him across Germany and down into Italy.

It was in 1942 that planners separated the roles of navigator and bomb-aimer, for the RAF’s three new four-engined bombers, the Stirling, the Halifax and the Lancaster. The normal crew of a Lancaster was seven: pilot, flight engineer, navigator, wireless operator, mid-upper gunner (missing on 617’s Lancasters), “tail-end charlie” gunner, and, from that year, bomb aimer-cum-front turret gunner. “The difference in pay was from 7 shillings and 6 pence to 12 shillings and 6 pence,” Johnson wrote. “I thought I would have a go.” He took the bomb–aimer’s course. Then he was back on 97 Squadron, “this time as a spare bomb-aimer”.

Soon after, McCarthy, then a pilot officer, was looking for a new bomb-aimer. An initial suspicion from Johnson, wary of his experiences with Americans, gave way to respect. He would come to believe that the Long Islander was the best pilot in 617 Squadron.

Meanwhile he joined his 97 Squadron crew, and on the night of 22-23 December 1942 flew on his first sortie, to Nuremberg. Nineteen raids followed, mostly to Germany, but also taking in Turin, Italy, and the Nazi U-boat pens of Saint-Nazaire, western France.

Then, in mid-March 1943, Wg Cmdr Guy Gibson, commander of 106 Squadron, and known to many of his 106 crews as the “Arch Bastard”, was called to the HQ of 5 Group, in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

There Gibson was asked, according to his own account in Enemy Coast Ahead (1946), by the 5 Group commander, Ralph Cochrane, how he would “like the idea of doing one more trip”? Gibson got the job of heading “Squadron X”, based at Scampton, just north of Lincoln. The squadron would spend two months practising flying Lancasters at very low levels, down to 100ft, and then 60ft.

Among the pilots selected by Gibson was McCarthy. The American asked his crew whether they wished to join X. And that is how Johnson, the Lincolnshire lad, joined what became the most famous squadron in the RAF. For Johnson the next problem was his wedding, scheduled for 3 May 1943, but all leave had been cancelled. McCarthy appealed to Gibson, and Johnson got his wedding.

After the dams raid he was commissioned as an officer and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. With McCarthy he took part in a further 19 raids, before becoming an instructor. After the war, as a navigator, he remained in the RAF, flying Lincoln bombers and Shackleton naval patrol planes.

Sqn Ldr Johnson quit the RAF in 1962. He then became a teacher, first of primary children, then in adult education, working with people with mental health problems.

In retirement he lived in Torquay, and then Bristol. He was active in local Conservative politics, and in 2017 was appointed MBE. That year too he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lincoln, and the following year had a train named after him.

Gwyneth died in 2005. Johnson is survived by three children, eight grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

🔔 George Leonard “Johnny” Johnson, airman, born 25 November 1921; died 7 December 2022

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #George Leonard “Johnny” Johnson #in memoriam

[ronmanmob]

"I can remember precisely the moment my mental illness started, the moment I first became mad. I was twenty-two and in Wandsworth Prison, in London, doing three years on a charge of GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm)...I was doing all right in Wandsworth. Then, one day, a prison warder came into my cell and told me, completely matter-of-factly, 'Kray, your auntie Rose is dead.' The news just shattered me." - Ron Kray, My Story pg. 5

#//from the man's mouth to whomever might listen #Ron Kray #tw: mental illness mention

[artemisia-black]

One minute everyone is up in arms about a prisoner escaping. The next everyone is taking the piss because in 3 days he only travelled from Wandsworth to Chiswick ( the Gails tour of South London).

We are not a serious country.

#uk

[beardedmrbean]

LONDON (AP) — A former British soldier awaiting trial on terror charges who appears to have escaped from a London prison by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery truck remained at large Thursday as police stepped up security checks across the United Kingdom amid concerns he may try to flee the country.

Opposition parties linked the escape to years of financial austerity, while Britain's Conservative government said an independent investigation will take place “in due course” into how Daniel Abed Khalife managed to slip out of the medium-security Wandsworth Prison, which opened in 1851 during the reign of Queen Victoria.

His escape has prompted extra security checks at major transport hubs, particularly in and around the Port of Dover, the main boat crossing from England to France.

Britain's justice secretary told lawmakers that “no stone must be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened” as he confirmed an “independent investigation into this incident.” Alex Chalk also said “urgent” reviews into prison categorization would be carried out as questions remained over how Khalife wasn't being held at a maximum-security facility such as Belmarsh Prison in east London.

Khalife, 21, is accused of planting fake bombs at a military base and of violating Britain’s Official Secrets Act by gathering information “that could be useful to an enemy.” He was discharged from the British army after his arrest earlier this year and had denied the allegations. His trial is set for November.

Chalk said Khalife, who had been working in a kitchen at the prison, escaped at around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, when a vehicle that had made a delivery left.

Shortly afterward, he said, contingency plans for an unaccounted prisoner were activated and police were informed. The vehicle, he added, was subsequently stopped and searched by police after the alert was raised.

“Strapping was found underneath the vehicle which appeared to indicate that Daniel Khalife may have held onto the underside of it in order to escape,” Chalk said.

More than 150 investigators and police staff are on the case, according to Metropolitan Police Commander Dominic Murphy, who is the lead investigator.

“We have issued a nationwide alert that has resulted in increased security at our ports and borders, however currently there have not been any confirmed sightings," he said.

Opposition politicians have sought to pin the blame on the Conservative government, which has been in power since 2010. Many U.K. prisons, including Wandsworth, are over capacity and short of staff. The escape could hardly have come at a worse time for a government that is already scrambling to get all schools to reopen for the new academic year amid concerns over crumbling concrete.

“It simply beggars belief that a man being held on suspected terror charges was able to escape a prison by clinging to the bottom of a food delivery van,” said Shabana Mahmood, the justice spokesperson for the main opposition Labour Party. “How is such an escape even possible?”

Charlie Taylor, who scrutinizes detention facilities in England in his role as the chief inspector of prisons, said staff shortages are “the source of many problems” at Wandsworth.

Taylor said it “should be standard practice” for vehicles entering and leaving the prison to be checked and a prisoner has to earn a “certain level of trust” in order to be allowed to work in a kitchen.

“But the issue that we are particularly concerned about is there are too many prisoners in Wandsworth for the amount of staff who are there," he said. "And that ultimately is the source of many of the problems in the jail.”

In an annual review, published in July, Wandsworth Prison was deemed to be a “serious concern." The prison, which is in the middle of a residential area, holds around 1,600 defendants appearing at London courts and offenders due to be released in five wings.

#nunyas news

[coochiequeens]

Men in dresses made it possible for other men to spy on women

A London Metropolitan police officer who secretly filmed a woman in a unisex Primark fitting room will not serve a prison sentence — despite also possessing hundreds of “disgusting and extremely distressing” pornographic images and videos of children and animals.

Former officer Swaleh Chaudhry, 36, pleaded guilty to to one count of voyeurism, one count of possession of extreme pornography, and three counts of making an indecent image of a child. He was handed a 10-month prison sentence at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, suspended for 18 months. 

In the United Kingdom, a suspended sentence indicates that the offender avoids jail completely and is instead released into the community and expected not to commit another offense within the timeframe of their conditions.

On March 30, Chaudhry was spotted recording video of a woman while she was changing at the Primark store in Wandsworth, South West London. Prosecutor Stephen Apted said that Chaudhry, who was off-duty at the time, had entered the gender-neutral changing rooms 15 minutes before the woman arrived. The woman, who was in her mid-twenties, noticed Chaudhry pointing his phone up at her from the next cubicle after she heard a “rustling” sound, the Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard in April.

The victim then shouted “Are you recording me?” and heard Chaudhry respond “No,” an interaction which was overheard by her boyfriend. Following a confrontation, Chaudhry was escorted to a separate room while the victim called the police.

Initially, Chaudhry had “continued to protest his innocence.” Yet Prosecutor Suleman Hussain said officers found “various videos of the defendant upskirting… and the videos actually show the defendant’s face.”

Following his arrest, an investigation of his Wandsworth home uncovered a collection of “horrific” pornography. More than 1,000 Category B and C indecent images and videos of children were uncovered on numerous devices, as well as at least 52 files of the most serious kind, the court heard.

In 2015, a trans-identified male named Joni Bendall shopping at a Primark in Suffolk was directed towards the men’s changing area by a sales associate “who was about sixteen years old.”

Bendall said: “I paused to take a breath and said: ‘I’m not a man.’ And the assistant turned around and kept folding clothes… It made me feel dysphoric.” Writing about the incident, Bendall described himself as “6 foot 1 and built like a refrigerator,” and compared himself to butch lesbians.

Additionally, in 2018, Primark was ordered to pay £47,000 to a trans-identifying male retail assistant who filed a lawsuit for harassment. The court found that Primark had conducted “very severe” injury to Alexandra de Souza E Souza’s feelings.

Labour MP Rosie Duffield responded to news of Chaudhry’s sentencing by highlighting the necessity of preserving safeguarding measures for women and girls. “Women need safe, single-sex spaces,” Duffield tweeted.

Yet the issue of mixed-sex spaces has been controversial in recent years, with supporters framing opposition as intolerant or transphobic.

Discussing the policy in March 2019, novelist and broadcaster Lucy Beresford told Good Morning Britainhosts, “My worry is that there’s too much segregation in society… We should break away from this idea of segregation because that sets up this idea that there is something very hostile about somebody who is different to you.”

Beresford went on to say that she believed gender-neutral facilities ought to have cubicles. At the time of Chaudhry’s voyeurism offense, Primark’s changing area had single-stall cubicles in place.

Journalist Eleanor Mills hit back by saying “This is the transgender lobby [pushing] really hard against companies to try and get them to change these policies. The vast majority of the public do not want this.”

Numerous studies have found that unisex changing areas are more dangerous for women and girls than single-sex spaces. Research conducted by The Sunday Times in 2018found that nearly 90% of sexual assaults, harassment and voyeurism reported in locker rooms and changing rooms occurred in unisex facilities.

According to Nicola Williams, spokeswoman for women’s rights organization Fair Play for Women, “spaces where women are undressed should be single-sex as a matter of course. This is obvious, elementary safeguarding.”

By Genevieve Gluck Genevieve is the Co-Founder of Reduxx, and the outlet's Chief Investigative Journalist with a focused interest in pornography, sexual predators, and fetish subcultures. She is the creator of the podcast Women's Voices, which features news commentary and interviews regarding women's rights.

#UK #abusive men in law enforcement #Women need single sex spaces #Women’s safety is more important than men’s feelings

[aimeedaisies]

Court Circular | 9th November 2023

St James's Palace

The Princess Royal, President, World Horse Welfare, this morning attended the Annual Conference at the Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7.

Her Royal Highness, Patron, the Butler Trust, this afternoon visited HM Prison Wandsworth, Heathfield Road, London SWI8, and was received by Major Richard Wilson (Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London).

The Princess Royal, Patron, Whitley Fund for Nature, this evening held a Thirtieth Anniversary Dinner at St James's Palace.

#princess anne #princess royal #court circular

[afieldinengland]

“down to the poor thief who, in recognising me as we tramped round the yard at wandsworth, whispered to me in the harsh prison-voice men get from long and compulsory silence: ‘i am sorry for you: it is harder for the the likes of you than it is for the likes of us.’”

#Sorry

[ukrfeminism]

A Metropolitan Police officer caught spying on a woman in the changing room of a London branch of Primark has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

PC Swaleh Chaudhry, 36, was caught out when the victim spotted his phone being used to spy on her at the store in the Southside Shopping Centre in Wandsworth.

After he was arrested, officers found a cache of images of children being sexually abused at his home, with infants said to be among the victims.

At Kingston crown court on Friday, Chaudhry was sentenced to ten months in prison suspended for 18 months.

He has been held in custody since his first court appearance in April, but is not set to be freed.

Scotland Yard said Chaudhry resigned from the Met in the wake of his arrest. “Former Constable Chaudhry’s behaviour was repugnant”, said Commander Kyle Gordon, who leads the Met’s Taskforce.

“His actions go against everything we stand for. 

"Holding the office of constable is a privilege and it comes with great responsibility. He showed himself to be totally unsuitable to hold this office and undeserving of the trust of the public, and it is right that he has resigned.” 

At his first court hearing, Chaudhry pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, possession of extreme pornography involving animals, and voyeurism.

“A female complainant was in the fitting room trying on clothing and she stated she heard rustling in the fitting room next to hers”, said prosecutor Suleman Hussain.

“Under the benches was a gap in between the fitting rooms, she saw a black mobile phone with the camera facing her.

“She saw the camera appearing to follow her as she was moving, she began to scream ‘are you recording me?’.

“There was a response from the cubicle next to hers, saying no. She came out and warned her boyfriend, and the defendant was then challenged.”

The court heard Chaudhry was detained by shop security on March 30, and a later search of his Wandsworth home by police uncovered more than 1,000 images of children being sexually abused including at least 50 in the most serious category.

Chaudhry says the images were downloaded in 2012 and 2014, and he wants to seek treatment. He has been handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.