Thomas Cashman is a killer and a coward.
The murderer of Olivia Pratt-Korbel did not have the guts – or the decency – to attend his sentencing in court.
He could brandish a gun in the street but he was too pathetic to look her family in the eye. He did not have the courage to hear of the grief they will carry for the rest of their lives.
No killer should be permitted to show such disrespect to those whose lives he has ruined.
He should not have had the right to decide whether or not to appear in court.
Yet a legal loophole allowed him to remain cowering in his cell.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is reviewing the law. What is taking this Conservative Government so long to act?
Offenders who kill, rape or commit acts of terrorism should be compelled to be in court and face the consequences of their crimes.
Victims deserve to see justice done. They deserve justice to be on their side.
Class divide
If the Government valued education it would make sure schools are properly funded and teachers are fairly paid.
That is why members of the National Education Union have emphatically rejected the below-inflation pay rise offered by ministers.
A wage increase funded by robbing funds from elsewhere in the education budget is a betrayal of parents and pupils.
That is not the only reason teachers in England have voted to reject the 4.3% pay offer.
In Scotland teachers have accepted a backdated 7% offer from the Government and in Wales they have agreed on a pay offer of 8%.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan needs to explain why teachers in England are worth less than those in other parts of Britain.
Stars on rise
In a double first Christina Koch will be the first women and Victor Glover the first Black man to take part in a lunar mission.
They won’t land on the moon but if it is a success it is worth watching this space.
