Newspaper headlines: Sara Sharif's dad 'attacked' and social care 'shake-up'
Health Secretary Wes Streeting writes in the Guardian that the new commission on adult social care in England will "finally grasp the nettle". He says it will set the country on the path to building a service which "meets the urgent need of our generation".
The Daily Mirror it is "imperative" that the commission succeeds. But the Times points out that the "long-promised" review has been "pushed back again" and won't offer its final proposals until 2028. The paper highlights concerns by care home providers that the government is in danger of producing "yet another report that gathers dust while the sector crumbles".
In its leader column, the Sun calls on the head of the commission, Baroness Casey, to "get on with it" - claiming that "voters are sick of Whitehall lethargy" and want results.
The Daily Mail has analysed official figures which it says show that salaries for NHS managers in England have soared by more than a £1bn.
The paper says the "spiralling bill" reached £2.8bn last year, while "hospitals and ambulances routinely fail to meet performance targets".
But the NHS Confederation tells the paper the health service is not "over-managed", but rather "under-managed" compared with its foreign counterparts.
"Labour blocks grooming gang probe" is the headline in the Daily Telegraph, which leads with the news that the government declined to hold an inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. Ministers say the local council should lead a review instead.
But the Daily Express warns that "anything less than a fully empowered independent inquiry will fail the survivors and leave more women and girls at risk".
Economists tell the Financial Times it is "almost inevitable" that the government will have to raise taxes again before the next election - fearing that growth this year will be weaker than official forecasts suggest.
They expect it to fall short of the 2% rebound predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility. One expert tells the paper the chancellor will face a "dawning realisation" that, without increasing income tax or VAT, she "can't make the damn sums work".
The Sun leads with its report that Urfan Sharif - who murdered his 10-year-old daughter Sara - has been attacked at Belmarsh Prison.
A source tells the paper that Sharif was "sliced up badly in his cell" by two inmates using the lid of a tuna can and was "lucky to survive" the attack.
Analysis by the Telegraph reveals that, in the past three years, police have failed to solve a single burglary or theft in 30% of neighbourhoods in England and Wales.
It says that in one part of Westminster - an area with one of the highest crime rates -just four of the nearly 2,000 burglaries or thefts were solved.
A Home Office spokesman tells the paper that victims are being let down, saying that "too often people fear that no one will come when crimes are committed, and nothing will be done".
And the Daily Mirror features an appeal for World War Two veterans to sign up to lead events marking the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day.
The Royal British Legion says it may be the last chance to honour them in person. The paper's headline is: "Your country needs you".
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Police investigate after 'Sara Sharif killer attacked in prison'
Police are investigating after the father of Sara Sharif was reportedly assaulted in prison weeks after being jailed for the 10-year-old's murder.
Urfan Sharif is said to have been attacked at Belmarsh Prison on New Year's Day by two other inmates in a cell, the Sun newspaper reported.
Sharif reportedly suffered cuts to his neck and face, and it is understood he received medical treatment inside the prison.
Sharif, 43, and Sara's stepmother were sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted at the Old Bailey last month of killing Sara at their home in Woking, Surrey.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at HMP Belmarsh on 1 January.
"It would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate."
Belmarsh is a Category A jail in south-east London housing some of the UK's most dangerous prisoners.
According to the Sun, Sharif was assaulted with a makeshift weapon.
A Met Police spokesperson said: "Police are investigating an allegation that a prisoner was assaulted at HMP Belmarsh on 1 January.
"The victim, a 43-year-old man, suffered non-life threatening injuries."
Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during a "campaign of torture" that lasted two years before her body was found at the family home in August 2023.
Urfan Sharif was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison for murder, while his wife Beinash Batool, 30, received a minimum of 33 years.
Sara's uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment for causing or allowing her death.
The three fled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara's five siblings, the day before her body was found, prompting an international manhunt.
They hid out there for four weeks before returning to the UK, where they were arrested.
Father and stepmother sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a 10-year-old girl in England
The father and stepmother of a severely abused 10-year-old girl found dead in her home in England were sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for murder.
Urfan Sharif, 42, and Beinash Batool, 30, were convicted of the murder of Sara Sharif last week in what prosecutors called a “campaign of abuse.”
The girl’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was found guilty of causing or allowing the girl’s death. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
After the girl died, the three fled to Pakistan, where Urfan Sharif phoned UK police to say he “legally punished her, and she died,” prosecutors said. He said he “beat her up too much,” but didn’t intend to kill her.
Police in London then went to the family’s home and discovered Sara’s body under a blanket in a bunk bed on Aug. 10, 2023.
The three returned to Britain more than a month after they fled and were arrested on suspicion of murder.
The trial in the Central Criminal Court exposed horrific details of abuse that included more than 70 fresh injuries and many older ones, including bruising, burns, fractures and bite marks and raised questions about failures by social services and authorities to intervene and protect her.
“Sara’s death was the culmination of years of neglect, frequent assaults and what can only be described as the torture of this small child,” Justice John Cavanagh said. “The degree of cruelty is almost inconceivable … None of you have shown a shred of true remorse.”
Politicians and other officials have called for a review of what went wrong and urged reforms to prevent a repeat of such cases.
“Her death is a heartbreaking reminder of the profound weaknesses in our child protection system that, as a country, we have failed time and time again to correct,” Rachel de Souza, children’s commissioner for England, said in a statement after the trial. “We have been here before – and each time we have said ‘never again.’”
Following the trial, family court records were released showing that Urfan Sharif and his former wife, Olga Sharif, had been on the social services’ radar three years before Sara Sharif was born.
The father and stepmother got custody of Sara and her older brother after reports that their mother abused them.
Despite accusations that Urfan Sharif was physically abusing his children, the accusations were never tested in court.
Surrey County Council, which raised repeated concerns that Sara was likely to be physically and emotionally abused by her parents, plans to review the circumstances of her death. Child services had investigated after her school reported Sara was bruised but the agency took no further action.
Her father later took her out of school to prevent authorities from discovering the abuse, the judge said. She was not schooled at home.
Olga Sharif called her daughter’s killers cowards, sadists and executioners, in a statement read by a prosecutor.
“I can’t understand how someone can be such a sadist to a child,” she said. “She is now an angel who looks down on us from heaven, she is no longer experiencing violence.”
During the trial, Sharif initially blamed Batool for Sara’s death but later told jurors he took “full responsibility.” He admitted throttling her with his hands and battering her with a cricket bat and other objects.
The prosecution said the violence became so normalized that no one reacted when she appeared with bruises at a family barbecue.
Her parents made her wear a hijab – not for religious reasons but to “cover up the bruises that were all over Sara’s body,” Cavanagh said.
Sara was described as feisty and dreamed of being a fairytale princess. Her spirit came across in a video taken two days before her death showing her dancing at home, despite multiple broken bones and iron burns on her bottom.
“Despite everything, she smiled at the camera,” the judge noted.
Sara Sharif's father, stepmother sentenced to life in prison for "campaign of abuse" that killed 10-year-old
London — The father and stepmother of a severely abused 10-year-old girl found dead in her home in England were sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for murder. Urfan Sharif, 42, and Beinash Batool, 30, were convicted of murder last week in Sara Sharif's death in what prosecutors called a "campaign of abuse."
Sara's uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was found guilty of causing or allowing the girl's death. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
After Sara died, the three fled to Pakistan, where Urfan Sharif phoned U.K. police to say he had "legally punished her, and she died," prosecutors said. He said he "beat her up too much" but didn't intend to kill her.
Police in London then went to the family's home and discovered Sara's body under a blanket in a bunk bed on Aug. 10, 2023.
The three later returned to Britain more than a month after they fled and were arrested on suspicion of murder.
The trial in the Central Criminal Court exposed horrific details of abuse that included more than 70 fresh injuries and many older ones, including bruising, burns, fractures and bite marks and has raised questions about failures by social services and authorities to intervene and protect her.
"Sara's death was the culmination of years of neglect, frequent assaults and what can only be described as torture," Justice John Cavanagh said. "The degree of cruelty is almost inconceivable... None of you have shown a shred of true remorse."
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called last week for stronger safeguards for home-schooled children like Sara, and said there were "questions that need to be answered" after her murder. Sara died months after her father pulled her out of state school to be taught at home, following a teacher reporting bruising on the little girl to social services.
British child protective services did look into the report, but took no action.
Starmer said the case was "about making sure that (there are) protecting safeguards for children, particularly those being home-schooled."
Dad and Stepmom Who Fled Country After 10-Year-Old Daughter's Abuse Death Convicted of Murder
Content warning: The following article contains disturbing descriptions of violence.
The father and stepmother of a 10-year-old girl who died last summer in the United Kingdom after being repeatedly abused were convicted of her murder, authorities said.
Urfan Sharif, 42, the father of Sara Sharif, was found guilty of murder alongside his wife, Beinash Batool, 30, after a 10-week trial at the Central Criminal Court in London, according to a press release shared by the Crown Prosecution Service on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
Urfan’s brother, Faisal Malik, 29, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child in connection with the case.
Sara was found dead at the family’s home in Woking, U.K., a town southwest of London, on Aug. 10, 2023, with multiple injuries including broken bones, burns, bruising and a traumatic head injury, authorities said.
"Many of the injuries that Sara suffered had been inflicted using implements, including a cricket bat, a vacuum, and a metal pole,” Surrey Police said in a statement.
“There was also evidence that Sara had been restrained and her head covered with homemade hoods made from parcel tape and plastic bags while some of the injuries were inflicted,” police added.
Medical examiners determined Sara died from “complications from multiple injuries and neglect” but could not give a “definitive cause of death,” according to prosecutors.
The grim discovery was made after Urfan called police that day and told them he had “legally punished” Sara and she had died, per the release. He then claimed he had beaten her but did not intend to kill her.
At the scene, police also found a note written by Urfan, saying he had killed her and had “lost it,” prosecutors said. However, police said he refused to say where he was and gave no indication that the family had flown to Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, the night before Sara’s body was found.
Investigators said Batool had booked the one-way tickets for herself, Urfan and Malik, as well as Sara's five siblings on Aug. 8, 2023, the day that Sara is believed to have died.
The trio returned to the U.K. on Sept. 13, 2023, and were detained upon arrival from Pakistan.
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According to police, Urfan initially blamed Batool for Sara’s death, but changed his testimony during the trial, claiming “full responsibility” in a bid to protect his wife and brother. While he admitted to beating Sara, he said he was not responsible for the bites or burn injuries to his daughter, per police.
“In a small house with such a big family, it would have been immediately obvious to all the adults what was happening to Sara,” Libby Clark from the Crown Prosecution Service said in the release.
“Yet none of them took any action to stop it or report it. They all played their part in the violence that led to her tragic death,” she added.
Sara’s mother, Olga Sharif, remembered her daughter as someone whose "smile could brighten up the darkest room.”
“Everyone who knew Sara will know her unique character, her beautiful smile and loud laugh," Olga said in the police statement.
Urfan, Batool and Malik are all scheduled to be sentenced at the Central Criminal Court in London on Dec. 17.
