At Sheffield Crown Court where a defendant who has just pleaded not guilty to sex offences is wearing a t-shirt with the word ‘guilty’ emblazoned across it. You couldn’t make it up.
Sheffield Crown Court's beloved "court watcher" Andrew Mollison died this week, and judges, barristers and legal staff alike have all paid tribute to him. He'd been coming to SCC since the 1970s and may have been England's longest-serving court watcher.
Was tasked with coming to youth court at Doncaster Magistrates’ Court this morning. Knowing it wouldn’t be straight forward I made sure I had the part of the law that states we’re allowed in (S47 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933) memorised. 1/
Looking slightly sheepish, his barrister told the judge (once the defendant had left court): “I’ll have a word with him about the attire he wears for trial.”
I'm excited to start a new role at the
@SheffieldStar
I'll be focusing on food, drink and retail in the city. I can't wait to showcase some of Sheffield's brilliant pubs/restaurants/shops/cafés & to report on the places we all miss reopening. Please send me your stories! DMs open
@deanatkinspix
BREAKING: Dale Houghton has just been sentenced to 12 weeks’ custody, suspended for 18 months. He’s also received a 5-year football banning order, and must complete 200 hours of unpaid work
The event, inspired by the popular BBC One show, Call The Midwife, has also been organised to coincide with International Midwives’ Day. The global event aims to celebrate the hard work done by the people at the frontline of care for newborn babies all around the word.
But it shouldn’t be this difficult to access court hearings we’re legally entitled to. And reporters really shouldn’t be treated with such a high level of suspicion, especially when they show court staff their credentials & relevant law that allows them access from the offset 9/
Haven’t been able to go to Sheffield carols as normal this year, of course, but I’ve just had a little taste of that experience after this group of musicians turned up at the corner of our street and started playing Christmas carols. What a lovely thing to do ❤️
That's it for today. Court will start at 10.30 tomorrow, when Prince Abdullah will continue his evidence. I'll post a court report summarising today's key points later today!
#twitterblades
#sufc
Morning! I'm going to be putting together a list of the Sheffield pubs that'll be opening during the next 2 stages of the roadmap out of lockdown, the provisional dates for which are currently April 12 (outdoor hospitality) & May 17 (indoor hospitality). Get in touch! DMs open
A short time later I was allowed back in and they confirmed I was right, and outlined section 49 which prohibits the identification of juveniles (fair enough). The legal adviser then said: ‘there really won’t be that much that you can report’ which really misses the point 4/
Watching tonight’s
#Dispatches
about who has profited most from the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, straight after a Channel 4 News report on the number of homeless people who have died on the streets over the last 18 months is pretty hard to stomach.
BREAKING: Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin have just been sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum, of 35 years, for the murders of Blake Barrass, 14, and Tristan Barrass, 13.
Prince Abdullah is asked whether he also considered buying Leeds United, as well as Sheffield United. He initially replied by saying: ‘I looked at many clubs,’ before conceding that he ‘looked at’ Leeds United around a year before he bought
#SUFC
#twitterblades
And that’s lunch. Court will resume again at 2pm.
Can’t deny that I’m a little glad to have a bit of a screen break after that marathon Tweeting session.
So now I’m waiting outside again while they make a decision, despite it already being established that the press are entitled access to youth court. Sigh. I do appreciate that it is becoming more and more rare for staff at magistrates’ court to see reporters 8/
...and rather forgets the public interest, and the concept of justice being seen to be done. The magistrates then asked to see my press card again, and told me they would need to make a copy of it. I asked why, and was told ‘for the court record’ in case you breach the act 5/
A defendant appearing at Sheffield Crown Court over prison video link has just reponded to the judge asking whether he can 'see and hear' him by saying: "You what, pal?"😅
Back after a little while off work. It’s been a pretty difficult few months. I may talk about it on here eventually, or even write about it one day.
But for now, I’m looking forward to getting back to a job I love & writing about all things Sheffield. Please send stories! ✍🏻
Staff and customers at The Broadfield seem really excited to be back, and there's a lovely buzz about the place. The pub opened at midday and had about four or five groups queuing to come in.
I questioned why that was necessary and the magistrate asked if I would like for him to ‘phone my editor’. I asked why that was necessary, and he said: ‘because you seem to want to argue with the bench’. I explained that I was just informing him what the press are entitled to 6/
Sue and Phil Cliff, along with son Simon Cliff and his fiancé Caroline Facey are among the first to visit the Broadfield after it reopened. This is one of the first outings Simon and Caroline's four-month-old daughter Matilda has had.
It’d be great if newspapers had the staff to send reporters to magistrates court more, but that’s becoming increasingly more difficult. I don’t really know what the answer is, but it’d be great if we could work with the court service to improve matters 12/
Several United fans have complained about heavy-handed and aggressive conduct from group a of new stewards working on the Kop during Wednesday's fixture against Sunderland. The club says it is investigating complaints of 'inappropriate behaviour'.
Profits from the new Thornbridge beer "Root 66" will be given to Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity to build a new cancer & Leukaemia ward. It's part of a collaboration with Sheffield cricketer Joe Root & will be an aptly brewed 6.6% ABV. Cheers!🍻
I’m down to the last box of the 1500 Yorkshire Tea bags I won in a Twitter draw from the
@Leadmill
almost 3 years ago. I brought a load into the newsroom & gave quite a lot away to foodbanks, friends & family; but am still surprised it’s taken this long to get through them 😲☕️
Morning 👋🏻 just arrived at the High Court for this morning’s proceedings. Things are due to get underway at around 10.30, when Prince Abdullah will begin his second day of evidence. I’ll be Tweeting live throughout the day.
#twitterblades
#sufc
That's it for today. Court isn't sitting tomorrow, but the case will be back in on Friday when the delightful
@dhayes_news
will be covering. Super
@samcoopernews
will pick up the case next week. I'll post a court report of today's evidence shortly!
#twitterblades
#sufc
She then said that I would have to make an application to the magistrates. I told them I did not need to make an application because it was an automatic freedom awarded to members of the press. They told me I was wrong, and was asked to wait outside while they made a decision 3/
...which needs to be publicised too. While I was taught about the relevant law that allows us access to youth court fairly early on in my journalism training, I’m not sure I would have had the confidence to use it to insist upon being let in when I was starting out.
Sheffield’s Dame Jessica Ennis is at the Jessop Wing this morning to support a charity fundraiser that will see dozens of midwives get on their bikes and brave the city’s hills to raise vital funds for the development of three new state of the art birthing pools.
Today, my 88-year-old granddad who has asthma and COPD will be given the Covid-19 vaccine at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. I knew he'd be near the top of the list because of his age & conditions, but I still think it's amazing that he'll get it 9 days after the first vaccination
In the haze of a very busy December, I neglected to post a little update about the fact I've taken up the role of one of the specialist editors in
@JPIMediaLtd
North Midlands South Yorkshire region. I'm working with a lot of brilliant people and am loving it so far!
So in South Yorkshire we had one week of Tier 2 before Tier 3 was brought in, and now, just over a week later, we’re told the country’s headed towards national lockdown. Anyone else feel like they have whiplash? It’s almost like we could have avoided the tier system altogether..
I went to a really great and useful round table held by the Society of Editors and the court service in July in which we were told about the new guidelines that had been issued to court staff and had been approved by SoC that explained what the press were entitled to 10/
A senior South Yorkshire Police officer ‘slipped under the radar,’ moving from police force to police force, in spite of 2 criminal investigations being launched against him for allegations including coercive control, voyeurism, threats to kill & assault
As soon as I entered the court I informed the usher that I was a member of the press, showed her my press card & told her the relevant part of the act that allows us access. She went to a legal adviser, who told me the press were not allowed access. I reiterated the law again 2/
So, I was able to sit in on youth court until the case I was there for was called on. It’s just a shame that getting that access was such a battle. Especially after witnessing the careful consideration given by those magistrates in how best to help/rehabilitate juveniles...
At Sheffield Crown Court where Sarah Barrass & Brandon Machin are due to be sentenced for the murder of Barrass’ sons, Blake, 14, and Tristan, 13. The boys died following an incident at Gregg House Road, Shiregreen on May 24 this year.Their cause of death has never been confirmed
And in a weird/meta development, one of my Tweets from yesterday in which I reported on Prince Abdullah's net worth as being $200million in 2013 after clarifying the figure with his team, has just been read to the court in evidence.
#twitterblades
#sufc
The matter appeared to be finished, and I was asked to leave so they could continue with a private hearing among court staff. I agreed. Youth court started. I tried to go in & the usher questioned whether I was allowed to attend hearings other than the 1 I said I was here for 7/
I was quite hopeful that this sort of thing might be less likely after those new guidelines were issued, but here we are. You don’t often have these sort of problems at crown court because court staff are far more used to dealing with the press 11/
🧵I’m at Leeds Crown Court this morning to cover the second day of the trial of former Sheffield Hallam MP, Jared O’Mara, for the
@SheffieldStar
He is accused of trying to use taxpayers’ money to fund ‘an extensive cocaine habit’.
I know there are a few other things going on at the moment, but I had to take a second to mark the
@SheffieldStar
’s last day in our current office on Pinfold Street. We’ve been here since Jan ‘18 & will be moving down the road on Monday. Missing a few faces who aren’t in today
An eye-witness said the man handed himself in after some of his demands, which included being provided with a bottle of Fanta Twist and 20 cigarettes, were met.
SO nice to be back in the office. While I’ve missed being there plenty of times over the last five months & have always really loved the newsroom environment, I don’t think I really appreciated how much you miss out on by working remotely until I was back enjoying it again.
A twisted South Yorkshire man who filmed himself raping a toddler and subsequently sent the video to ‘like-minded individuals’ he met on the dark web has been handed a life sentence.
The sun sets over Sheffield after one of the busiest news days in a while. Great to be working alongside dedicated journalists
@LutheBlue
@DanielleAndrew8
@GeorgeTorr_
&
@1MollyWilliams
who have all put in the hours & produced some excellent pieces on the Tier 3 restrictions 📰
Apologies for the lack of updates, there have been some significant pieces of evidence heard this morning. Here's my lunchtime update on proceedings, and I'm heading back to court now to hear evidence from the other three campaigners...
Earlier on this morning, Prince Abdullah was asked what his net worth was when he bought a 50 per cent share in
#SUFC
I couldn’t quite make out his response in court, but his team have just confirmed it was ‘in the region of $200million’.
#twitterblades
“It’s amazing to see all the animals, including our polar bears, at Yorkshire Wildlife Park enjoying the snow while the rest of the nation is wrapping up warm."
A 77-year-old man has been brought before Sheffield’s top judge, after he admitted to illegally filming from the public gallery, as one of the Rotherham rioters was being sentenced yesterday afternoon.
And a reporting restriction has just been lifted which means that I can now report that Machin is Barrass’ half brother, and is also the father of all six of her children.
Thanks Dan! Yes, I’ll be reporting live from the Blades case at the High Court for the next couple of days. Prince Abdullah is expected to begin his evidence today
#twitterblades
#sufc
Sorry, forgot this earlier but anyone who wants to follow the Blades trial tomorrow should give my colleague and top Sheffield Star court reporter
@SarahMarshallJP
a follow. She’ll be there for the next two days and I’ll be back there on Friday
#sufc
#twitterblades
Hi Gerard, the decades-old laws regulating such things mean the press are able to report on trials & hearings that are heard in open court. What they’re not allowed to do is breach reporting restrictions placed on a case to ensure a fair trial & that justice can be done.
Just arrived at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court, where Owls fan, Dale Houghton, is set to be sentenced for a public order offence, after he taunted rival Sunderland fans by holding a picture of young cancer victim, Bradley Lowery, aloft during a Championship clash at Hillsborough.
Delighted to be covering the Inspirational Women of Sheffield Awards for the
@SheffieldStar
tonight. The city is full of incredible, inspiring and impressive women, and some of them are set to be honoured tonight
#womenofsheffield
Good luck to all of the Sheffield shops, gyms, hairdressers, cafés, pubs and bars reopening today! The city is behind you. Beautiful day for it, too 🌞🛍🏋️♀️🏋️♀️💇♀️💇♂️💈🍲🍻🍷🍸
The 11 defendants have been charged with offences including rape, trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.