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'Otley Run attack shows misogynistic violence is growing'

by Leo March 16, 2025
written by Leo

Before two women were shot with a crossbow in Headingley two weeks ago, Owen Lawrence – the suspected attacker – posted a hate-filled online "manifesto" on Facebook.

He detailed plans for "The Otley Run Massacre" and listed "students, nightclub goers", "neurotypicals" and "police" among his targets.

The post described the planned violence as "terrorism, revenge and misogynistic rage".

In the two weeks since the attack, residents, police, politicians and experts have been discussing how future incidents of this nature can be avoided.

Earlier this week, mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin called for tougher laws around crossbows, and Leeds Central and Headingley MP Alex Sobel said he supported more security around the Otley Run pub crawl.

But what about the ideology behind Lawrence's manifesto?

'It could have happened anywhere'

Dr Anna Kruglova, a lecturer in terrorism studies from the University of Salford, says we need to be concerned about a rise in "misogynistic violence".

"We should be mindful of this phenomenon being again on the rise," she says.

"It is a random attack in the sense that it can happen anywhere. You have disenfranchised, upset and hateful people. So unfortunately it could have happened in any corner of the UK or elsewhere.

"But it's hard to estimate the level of threat. It's not an organised phenomenon. It's a lone-wolf attack. It's not something that is inspired by a particular organisation."

Dr Kruglova studies the "manosphere", a term used to describe online communities that promote anti-feminism, misogyny and hateful ideas about women, trans and non-binary people.

She says: "The manosphere is not an organised movement. That's kind of a loose group of people who are hating women and some of them, not all of them, will be willing to take this further and become violent.

"There's been a growing body of research and interest from all kinds of communities, practitioners and governments looking into this.

"So it does seem like gender-based violence, misogynistic violence is growing, or has become more and more concerning in the last few years."

Dr Anna Kruglova
Dr Anna Kruglova studies terrorism at the University of Salford

Psychologist Leona Deakin started her career with West Yorkshire Police. She says it is easy to think these ideas are "silly" until they become violent reality.

"If we're not in a community, or close to a community and their beliefs, then it's easy to think it's a small group of people being a bit silly until something like this happens. Then that makes us all take a closer look," she says.

"There is a community out there for men who feel they are isolated or rejected by society and more immediately by women and girls."

Some of these men call themselves "incels", which stands for "involuntarily celibate".

Ms Deakin explains why this ideology can be attractive.

"There is a theory in that community that 80% of women are only attracted to about 20% of men, and those men are highly attractive and usually very wealthy.

"So if you're a young man who sees himself as not so attractive, and doesn't have much money or the capacity to earn much money, then you start to feel quite aggrieved.

"And social media is like an echo chamber, so you find one person who agrees with your sense of isolation and frustration, and then you find a dozen of them and then hundreds of them and that has a huge validation impact on the human brain.

"We start to think we must be right because everyone I'm talking to online agrees with me, so this must be correct."

Leona Deakin
Psychologist Leona Deakin says social media can be like an echo chamber

A government report by the Commission for Countering Extremism, "Predicting harm among incels (involuntary celibates)", concluded that men who fell into these groups were in need of mental health support more than counter terrorism interventions.

The report studied 561 men and concluded that there was likely to be tens of thousands of incels across the globe.

It found these men made up a "relatively small proportion" of the number of cases referred to the anti-terrorist government organisation Prevent (77 in total, or 1.2% of all referrals).

Dr Kruglova says incels are not violent generally but suffer from mental health issues and very low self-esteem.

"It's more of a psychological and personal problem," she says.

"A lot of these people don't need to be referred to Prevent [government anti-terrorism organisation] or be interviewed by police forces, they need someone to share their concerns and pain and problems and be listened to and probably be shown the situation is not as dire as they see it.

"But then unfortunately there is also someone who is willing to take it further and use violence as a way to address their issues."

Are our young boys 'robust'?

Ms Deakin says the solution, therefore, is not about security but society.

"We need better role models of what a good man looks like," she says.

"So, a kind, compassionate, emotional man, to counter these ideas that men have to be attractive, strong, in control, wealthy, all of those stereotypical ideals.

"The family and schools are key places because young, teenage boys, 15/16 is where we need to start the process of avoiding falling down this rabbit hole.

"Role modelling from dads, uncles, big brothers talking about their emotions. Talking about what makes a good relationship, that it is about partnership and love and respect.

"But we need to make sure young boys are robust in the face of disappointment.

"Do your boys understand how to bounce back from disappointment? Do they understand resilience? Do they feel a deep sense of self-worth, do they feel loved for who they are?"

West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds

March 16, 2025 0 comments
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Industry

Devon and Cornwall councils in no overall control

by Ian March 14, 2025
written by Ian

Two South West councils slipping into 'no overall control' doesn't sound like the most arresting election headline.

But that apparently modest development masks 24 hours of enormous upheaval and political drama.

When the vote counters stated their work on Friday morning both Cornwall Council and Devon County Council were Conservative-controlled.

By the evening the party had just seven councillors left on either side of the Tamar – down from 47 in Cornwall and 39 in Devon.

A party which had started out with no elected councillors at all in the region ended up the largest group on Cornwall Council and the second largest in Devon.

Reform shot from zero to 18 in Devon and to 28 in Cornwall.

The Tories' traditional rivals in the rural Westcountry, the Liberal Democrats, also made gains – adding 13 seats in Cornwall and 18 in Devon.

Labour lost one of their previous five seats in Cornwall but saw all seven of their Devon seats wiped out – with four of them going to Reform.

Conservative and Labour losses

Exactly where the Lib Dems and Reform made gains is almost as interesting as their total number of seats.

The former will be very pleased to see a very similar footprint to their parliamentary wins last July – in seats like St Ives, North Cornwall, South Devon and Honiton and Sidmouth.

For Labour and the Conservatives the opposite is often the case.

Cornish seats Labour won for the first time last July – Camborne and Redruth, St Austell and Newquay and South East Cornwall – proved happy hunting grounds for Reform.

And even the great Labour citadel of Exeter – home to a Labour MP through thick and thin since 1997 – has seen all seven of its county councillors turfed out.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, will view with dismay the carpet of light blue – Reform blue – now covering the constituency of Torridge and Tavistock.

It's not saying much but, as of last July, Torridge and Tavistock was the Tories' safest remaining seat in the two counties.

LIVE: Follow the latest election updates

POSTCODE LOOKUP: Check the results in your area

SIMPLE GUIDE: When will we know the rest of the results?

FULL COVERAGE: Catch up on all our election stories

Local elections 2025 in maps and charts

March 14, 2025 0 comments
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Tech

Key milestone in historic town hall refurbishment

by Aria March 13, 2025
written by Aria

The refurbishment of a Grade II listed town hall has reached a key milestone.

Construction hoarding around Trowbridge Town Hall is set to be removed on 28 April, having been in place since August 2023.

The hall was built in 1887 and is being restored to continue its use as a community and arts venue, with improved facilities. The work is part of a £16m project with the money awarded to Wiltshire Council from the government's Future High Streets Fund.

"While the building won't be open to the public until the summer, it's great to see this wonderful Grade II listed building coming back to life," said Parvis Khansari, Wiltshire Council corporate director.

March 13, 2025 0 comments
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Economy

Manslaughter arrest after death of teenage boy

by Audrey March 12, 2025
written by Audrey

An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the death of a teenage boy.

Officers were called to Blackmore Park Road in Malvern over concerns for the welfare of a boy, West Mercia Police said.

Despite treatment by emergency crews, the boy died at the scene on 17 April.

The man remains on bail as inquiries continue.

March 12, 2025 0 comments
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Industry

Museum's bid to convert tram for wheelchair users

by Gabriella March 11, 2025
written by Gabriella

A vintage tram museum is looking to raise £150,000 so it can convert one of its vehicles in order for wheelchair users to ride in it.

Crich Tramway Village, in Derbyshire, said most of its historic trams dated back to an age before wheelchair use was common.

Bosses said the attraction already had a small "access tram", but they wanted a larger vehicle with a greater capacity.

They have identified a tram, built in Blackpool in the 1980s, for the job and hope to retire its predecessor.

Attraction bosses said they hoped wheelchair users would be able to drive the adapted tram

The attraction's fundraising manager Roger Shelley said: "The challenge we've got is that we have a wonderful collection of vintage electric trams, but they were built in an age when it was expected that people, all people, would be able to climb up very, very steep steps on to the tram car.

"That's simply just not the case with our visitors here today.

"This will make a real difference to the memorable experience of so many of our visitors – young and old."

Mr Shelley said the tram required a lot of work, including the reinstatement of its electric system and the installation of a heavy duty lift to get wheelchairs aboard.

He added: "We are exploring the possibility of making it possible for somebody who is a wheelchair user to actually be able to drive this tram as well.

"Now, if we manage to achieve that – that would, I think, be a first in this country."

March 11, 2025 0 comments
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Industry

Anger flares at Just Stop Oil 'last day of action'

by Riley March 10, 2025
written by Riley

A van appears to have been driven slowly into Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters as hundreds marched through London for their "last day of action".

A mass of people wearing JSO's orange vests rallied in Westminster on Saturday after the group claimed a victory on new oil and gas licences and said "we're hanging up the hi vis".

The group has drawn attention, criticism and jail terms for protests ranging from throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers and spray-painting Charles Darwin's grave, to climbing on M25 gantries.

During the march, a man in a white minivan appeared to edge it forwards until it was pressed against protesters. Police appeared to successfully call for the crowd to move away.

The minivan was also carrying a child and at least one other passenger.

PA Media
Hundreds of people rallied in Westminster on Saturday afternoon for Just Stop Oil's "last day of action"

People standing front of the vehicle, some holding a JSO banner, were seen holding their hands up, with one shouting to the police "officer, I'm being pushed back".

The driver exited the vehicle and could be heard remonstrating with the protesters about the road being blocked.

Police reminded the man the disruption was temporary and people had a right to protest.

Other similar incidents of drivers apparently becoming frustrated with people in the road were also caught on camera.

In its March statement announcing the end of direct action, the group said: "Just Stop Oil's initial demand to end new oil and gas is now government policy, making us one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history.

"We've kept over 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the ground and the courts have ruled new oil and gas licences unlawful."

EPA
The Labour government has said it will not issue licences for new oil and gas exploration

The Labour government has said it will not issue licences for new oil and gas exploration, while a series of recent court cases have halted fossil fuel projects including oil drilling in Surrey, a coal mine in Cumbria and the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea over climate pollution.

Labour has distanced itself from Just Stop Oil, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer criticising its actions and saying protesters must face the full force of the law.

The Metropolitan Police have been approached for comment.

March 10, 2025 0 comments
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Market

Guernsey headteachers adapt to AI use in education

by Violet March 7, 2025
written by Violet

A Guernsey headteacher has changed the school curriculum to include Artificial Intelligence (AI) because of its potential impact on the futures of students.

Daniele Harford-Fox said The Ladies College used a custom-made AI agent to help Year 7 students set themselves targets.

She said staff also used an internal version of Microsoft Copilot with added restrictions to ensure safe learning.

"There are fundamental questions about whether [the education system] is going to still be relevant to this industrial revolution," she said.

Ms Harford-Fox feels education must change to prepare students for the future

Ms Harford-Fox said recent AI models, such as Chat GPT-4, were capable of writing work better than most A-level students and Guernsey teachers were concerned about verifying their work.

She said: "If AI can write a better essay than most students, the real question is why are we spending seven years of a student's life teaching them how to write essays?"

The States does not have a specific policy which covers AI use in schools, but its online safety guidance refers users to Guernsey's data protection laws.

'Transferable skills'

As data protection rules are laws, and not States' guidelines, independent schools are also expected to follow them.

However, States-maintained schools are also required to follow UK AI rules from examination boards.

Kieran James, headteacher at Les Varendes, said each exam board had different rules about appropriate AI use.

As schools may use different exam boards for different subjects, this could be challenging, as the definition of acceptable AI use could alter depending on which class a student was taking, he said.

Kieran James feels education has always been about "transferable skills" so AI is not a threat

He said education gave students "transferable skills" and felt that AI was "not threatening the current system".

Mr James compared using AI to using a calculator, saying parents were originally concerned about the use of those devices, but in reality using the tool correctly still required learning.

"It's the same with AI… it's a tool and it can be used really effectively as long as it's used appropriately, and not, for example, to pass off AI's work as a student's own."

Mr James added that if used responsibly, AI had the power to support students outside the classroom when teachers were not available.

He explained students could use AI as a "personal tutor" to practise questions and mark exams.

Ed Gregson feels the development of AI could threaten his future in teaching

Ed Gregson, a media teacher at Les Varandes, said he used AI to support his marking workload.

He said using AI for administrative and more repetitive tasks freed up time, and allowed him to focus on tasks that required more attention and creativity.

However, the development of AI also made him concerned about his future role in teaching.

"I'm terrified to say that I think it marks better than I do. Humans are tired… you kind of know that your personal bias is entering in to your marking," he added.

Dave Costen believes current AI is not able to compete with human teachers

Dave Costen, digital lead for Elizabeth College, said AI was not yet able to substitute for teaching.

Mr Costen said one difference was AI gave "too much [information] to students straight away" whereas teachers "develop the learning [of students] gradually".

Students generally have a poor understanding of AI, he said.

Despite this, some Elizabeth College students had experimented with the technology, he said.

One student explained to the BBC that AI was not good at adjusting the difficulty of example questions.

Another student said some of their peers over-relied on AI, and used it to complete work for them, which was not helping them learn.

AI was also better at some subjects than others, a third explained. It was very strong at coding, but in subjects that required reasoning it "really struggled".

Parent Gazz Barbe says he does not allow his children to use AI technology for schoolwork

Parent Gazz Barbe said he uses parental controls to restrict his daughter's phone use, and added that he did not allow the use of AI technology.

"I worry that if I give my daughter unrestricted access to this technology, she will use it to complete homework assignments.

"And if she does this in a subject that she really struggles with, she could easily become over-reliant on the technology," he said.

"The positive potential is absolutely massive… so long as it's used as a tool to assist teachers instead of doing the teaching," he added.

March 7, 2025 0 comments
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Market

Disabilities charity closes due to rising costs

by Adam March 7, 2025
written by Adam

A community project serving adults with learning difficulties has closed after 30 years, citing rising costs.

The Bridge Project Sudbury has been placed into liquidation.

The charity was founded in 1995 by Sudbury resident Anesta Newson who was made an MBE in 2012.

It said it was "incredibly proud" of its achievements, adding many of its services would be picked up by other local providers.

In a statement the trustees of the project said: "Like many charities across the UK, we have faced increasing financial challenges in recent years.

"Rising costs – including higher wages, National Insurance contributions, and the overall impact of inflation – have made it impossible to continue operating.

"Despite exploring every possible option, we have reached a point where we can no longer sustain our services."

The closure would see Sudbury Arts Centre, based at St Peter's, continue as a community interest company, supported by the Churches Conservation Trust.

Create – Paint Your Own Pottery in Borehamgate would close "with a similar offering soon to open to the public run by a respected local provider who shares our values and community ethos," the charity said.

Fresh lunch deliveries would be provided by Aspect Living.

It added: "Our focus in recent months has been on protecting the people we support and ensuring services continue where possible.

"We're grateful to the organisations who stepped in to take these forward, and to every member of staff who went above and beyond."

March 7, 2025 0 comments
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