Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Arooj Shah case: Police make second arrest

Arooj Shah case: Police make second arrest

POLICE arrested a second man in connection with an arson attack on a council leader's car, reported the BBC.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of committing arson with intent to endanger life, the report added.


A 23-year-old previously held on suspicion of the same offence has been released on conditional bail.

The vehicle of Oldham Council leader Arooj Shah, the first Muslim woman council leader to lead a northern authority, was firebombed in the early hours of Tuesday (13).

The car was damaged following the incident, which also destroyed a neighbouring property, reports said.

Firefighters put out the blaze and nobody was hurt. Police later confirmed it had been started deliberately, the BBC report said.

Detective chief inspector Wesley Knights, of Greater Manchester Police, appealed again for anyone with information to come forward.

He said: "This second arrest hopefully sends a message that we will not rest until the circumstances around this incident are fully understood, and we have found and brought to justice those responsible for this reckless act."

Shah has been leading the local authority since May after the previous leader Sean Fielding lost his seat.

Calling the incident a “cowardly attack,” the Labour peers and politicians across Greater Manchester town have strongly condemned the incident.

Shah has lived in Glodwick, one of England’s poorest wards, her whole life after her parents reportedly moved to the UK from Pakistan in the late 1960s.

After being elected leader of the council in May, she has spoken of her struggles battling racism and misogyny, as well as the opposition she had faced from traditionalists within her community.

More For You

Planning overhaul targets 1.5 million new homes

Keir Starmer speaks during an Advent reception in Downing Street, London, December 11, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS.

Planning overhaul targets 1.5 million new homes

BRITAIN on Thursday (12) outlined details of an overhaul to its planning system to help boost growth and hit a target of 1.5 million new homes in the next five years, including ordering local authorities to build more houses.

The housebuilding target was one of six measurable "milestones" announced by prime minister Keir Starmer a week ago, as he pledged to revamp a planning system he described as having a "chokehold" on growth.

Keep ReadingShow less
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)

Teachers, nurses warn of strikes over 2.8 per cent pay rise proposal

TEACHERS and nurses may strike after the government recommended a 2.8 per cent pay rise for public sector workers for the next financial year.

Ministers cautioned that higher pay awards would require cuts in Whitehall budgets.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

Northern Ireland approves extension of post-Brexit trade rules

NORTHERN Ireland’s devolved government has voted to continue implementing post-Brexit trading arrangements under the Windsor Framework, a deal signed between London and the European Union in February 2023.

The vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont extended the arrangement for four years.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'
Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member.

'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'

THE bereavement rates due to Covid in Scotland have been highest among those identifying with ‘Any other’ ethnic group (68 per cent), followed by Indians (44 per cent) and Pakistanis (38 per cent), a new study revealed. This is significantly higher than the national average of around 25 per cent.

Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member during the Covid crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,  on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump nominates Harmeet Dhillon for top Department of Justice role

US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American attorney Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.

“I am pleased to nominate Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice,” Trump announced on Monday on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Keep ReadingShow less