Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

‘They have blood on their hands': Family blames government and Probation Service for Zara Aleena’s murder

Jordan McSweeney, who was on probation following his previous offences, killed the law graduate in London in June last year.

‘They have blood on their hands': Family blames government and Probation Service for Zara Aleena’s murder

The family of law graduate Zara Aleena who was murdered by a violent misogynist last June has accused the government and the probation service of being responsible for the loss of life.

“They have blood on their hands,” Aleena’s aunt Farah Naz said after a watchdog revealed the Probation Service “incorrectly assessed” the killer Jordan McSweeney before his release from jail.

“The probation service has a big part to play in Zara’s murder, they have a responsibility here”, she told the Guardian.

“Government bears responsibility too, it is not just the probation service,” she said.

Aleena was walking home in Ilford in London on June 26 morning when the racist, who was on probation, approached her from behind and dragged her into a driveway before launching a “ferocious and repetitive" attack on her.

She died at a hospital on the same day and McSweeney who pleaded guilty to murder and sexual assault was sentenced to life imprisonment in December.

Justin Russell, the chief inspector of probation, said in his damning report that the Probation Service failed to consider him as a “high risk of serious harm offender,” despite his history of violence.

Because of the wrong assessment, McSweeney could walk free to commit the heinous crime on the 35-year-old woman, the report said.

“McSweeney should have been considered a high risk of serious harm offender” and such an assessment would have led to “more urgent action to recall him to prison after he missed his supervision appointments on release from custody,” it said.

He had been known to the criminal justice system since 2005 and imprisoned many times before he killed Aleena. Having displayed violent and racially aggravated behaviour, he had been subjected to a restraining order for an offence against a woman in 2021.

“All the evidence shows that McSweeney should have been assessed, on release from prison, as high risk of serious harm. Instead, he was incorrectly assessed as being of medium risk because each of the offences, his behaviours in prison, and his criminal history, had been reviewed in isolation” the report said.

It went on: “Following his release from prison and successive appointments being missed, the Probation Service failed to take prompt action to recall him to custody”.

The report also highlighted the workloads the probation staff are experiencing and the high rate of vacancy rates.

More For You

Sunita-Williams-Reuters

Sunita Williams was part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission and had been stranded in space for over nine months. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters)

India looks amazing from space, says Sunita Williams

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams described India as "amazing" from space and expressed her intention to visit her "father's home country" to share her experiences on space exploration.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, she responded to a question about how India appeared from space and the possibility of collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Keep ReadingShow less
british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less