A BRITISH court has sentenced three women for a total of 15 months while two others were handed community service.
The court found them guilty of abusive actions towards a 94-year-old Indian-origin woman in a care home in north-west London.
Paniben Shah was abused by the women, many of who were also of South Asian-origin, in Meera House from 2017.
The allegations levelled against them were proved through a hidden camera, which showed the actions of the abusers.
The convicted handled Shah roughly, verbally abusing her, threatening and hitting her, as well as dripping scalding water on her in March last year.
Judge Lana Wood told the women who were found guilty: "You deprived Mrs Shah of the dignity and respect she was entitled to.
"She should have been treated with care and compassion. But she was treated without humanity and sometimes physically assaulted. There was also a culture of accepting ill treatment."
Amit Shah was quoted by the Evening Standard: "We couldn’t believe it. The home seemed so professional at first. It's horrible to think of the horrific cruelty my grandmother suffered at the hands of these women."
"She was 94 when she went in there, but she was strong for her age. Then her health went downhill. She was a broken woman," he said.
Meera House is a special care home for Indian and South Asian origin elderly in Brent.
After the family showed local Brent Council the videos in 2018, the home suspended the women caught on camera.
Meera House said: "We have subsequently worked closely with the police to assist in the prosecutions they have pursued. No member of staff involved in the incident remains at the home," a spokesperson said.
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.