A 56-year-old woman, who admitted to the manslaughter of an elderly Indian-origin patient while they were both receiving medical care at a hospital in the UK, has been handed a seven-year prison sentence.
Philomena Wilson, known as Brenda, was a patient at City Hospital in Birmingham in January 2021 when she is said to have launched an unprovoked assault on 83-year-old Vidya Kaur, who was also a patient at the time.
West Midlands Police said the elderly woman suffered a fractured skull and died from her injuries a few weeks later.
Wilson was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court last week and was told she would spend a further five years under extended licence provisions, or monitoring, at the end of her seven-year jail term.
"Our thoughts remain with the elderly lady's family after losing their loved one in such terrible circumstances,” said Detective Inspector Michelle Thurgood, from the West Midlands Police Homicide Team.
"They have had to wait many months for justice and I hope this finally brings them some closure,” she said. The court heard that as nurses and another patient came to the aid of Kaur, they too were attacked and received minor injuries.
Wilson had been admitted to hospital after being arrested for assault and wounding another victim.
She initially claimed to have no memory of the events that followed, when she had punched the elderly patient repeatedly and banged her head off the floor.
However, Wilson finally pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility in April this year and has now been sentenced for the crime.
(PTI)
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.