Places of worship to have £1.6m for hate protection
THE Home Office is to provide £1.6 million to 49 places of worship in England and Wales to fund security measures to protect against hate-crime attacks, it was announced on Sunday. This year, 27 mosques, 13 churches, five gurdwaras, and four Hindu temples have received funding under the Places of Worship Protective Security scheme — the largest amount in a single year since it was set up in 2016. The Government has earmarked £3.2 million for 2020-21. The Jewish community receives separate funding — the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant – administered by the Community Security Trust.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe under house arrest until April
THE British Iranian mother, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran since 2016 is one of thousands of prisoners who have been released temporarily by the Iranian authorities this week owing to the coronavirus outbreak, her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, says. On Tuesday, about 85,000 prisoners who had tested negative for the virus had posted bail. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe will be required to wear an ankle tag and remain within 300 metres of her parents’ home in Tehran. She much return to prison on 4 April. Mr Ratcliffe told the BBC: “The issue now is to make it permanent. It is hard to relax just yet.”
Woman’s body found outside Norwich Cathedral
THE death of a woman in her thirties whose body was found outside Norwich Cathedral on Sunday night is not being treated as suspicious, police have said. In a statement on Tuesday, Norwich Constabulary said that the woman was found unresponsive within the grounds. She was treated by paramedics, but pronounced dead at the scene. “A Home Office post-mortem examination on Monday established the cause of death as inconclusive but it is not being treated as suspicious. A file will be prepared for the coroner and formal identification will take place in due course.” A statement from the Dean and Chapter on Wednesday said: “Tragically a young woman was found unresponsive in the cathedral grounds on Monday morning. The Dean and Chapter were very sorry to hear of her death and have been holding her and her family and friends in our prayers.”
Former NSM convicted of child abuse dies
CHRISTOPHER HOWARTH, who was jailed for ten years in 2015 after being found guilty of sexually abusing two boys while he was serving as a priest in Chichester diocese, (News, 9 October 2015), has died in hospital. He was 72. He had befriended the boys, now in their twenties, when he was a non-stipendiary minister of Holy Trinity, Uckfield, before assaulting them at his home between 2004 and 2012. His death is to be investigated by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman.