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Constance Marten and Mark Gordon jailed for 14 years each after killing their newborn daughter
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon have been jailed for a total of 28 years after they were convicted of killing their baby.

Marten, 38, who is from a wealthy family, and her partner Gordon, 51, were each handed sentences of 14 years at the Old Bailey on Monday.

As it happened: Judge condemns 'shameful conduct' of couple

They went on the run with their newborn daughter, Victoria, to get away from social services after their four other children were taken into care.

Victoria's body was found with rubbish inside a Lidl shopping bag in the corner of an allotment in Brighton on 1 March 2023.

The pair had been the subject of a nationwide manhunt for 54 days.

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Why did Constance Marten and Mark Gordon go on the run?

How the runaway couple killed their baby

'No genuine expression of remorse'

Judge Mark Lucraft told the pair during sentencing that "neither of you gave much or any thought to the care or welfare of your baby".

"Your focus was on yourselves," he said, before adding: "There has been no genuine expression of remorse from either of you.

"Whilst there have been expressions of sorrow about the death throughout, you've adopted the stance of seeking to blame everyone else other than yourselves for what happened."

Sky's home affairs reporter Henry Vaughan reported that neither showed much emotion during sentencing, and that after they stood up, Gordon stared at Marten as she left the dock.

They were both convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence following a second trial at the Old Bailey.

They had previously been found guilty of perverting the course of justice, concealing the birth of a child, and child cruelty after an Old Bailey trial lasting almost five months.

A second trial was ordered after the first jury failed to reach a verdict on the manslaughter charges.

Marten is now seeking permission to appeal against her conviction for manslaughter. A previous application to appeal against her conviction for cruelty to a child was rejected in February this year.

Both trials were hampered by disruption and delays, taking up more than 33 weeks of court time, which - at an estimated cost of £30,000 per defendant a day - could have cost in the region of £10m.

A search for Marten and Gordon was launched after a placenta was found in the couple's burnt-out car on a motorway in Bolton in January 2023.

Marten said they went on the run so their fifth child would not be removed from them after her other children were "stolen by the state".

The couple spent vast sums of cash from her family trust fund on taxi journeys as they travelled from Bolton, to Liverpool, to Harwich in Essex, to London and then to Newhaven on the south coast.

Baby's clothing inadequate, judge says

Prosecutors said the baby was inadequately clothed in a babygrow and that Marten had got wet as she carried the infant underneath her coat, alleging Victoria died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping.

Judge Lucraft said that while Marten and Gordon claimed they wanted dignity for Victoria's body, their "conduct showed the opposite".

He also said the baby had died by 12 January 2023, and that the couple then concealed her and perverted the course of justice before her "decomposed body" was found.

"When you were arrested," the court heard, "neither of you was willing to give any assistance to the police about the whereabouts of your daughter's body.

"Your silence at that stage of events is highly significant."

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Gordon previously convicted

During the second trial, the court partly heard of Gordon's criminal history: In 1989, at 14 years old, he held a woman against her will in Florida for more than four hours and raped her while armed with a knife and hedge clippers.

He entered another property and carried out another offence involving aggravated battery within a month.

Gordon - who moved to the US with his mother at 12 years old - was sentenced to 40 years in prison and was released after 22 years.

He was also convicted of assaulting two female police officers at a maternity unit in Wales in 2017, where Marten gave birth to their first child under a fake identity.

The court did not hear that Gordon was also suspected of an incident of domestic violence in 2019, which left Marten with a shattered spleen.

During legal argument, it emerged that Gordon refused to allow paramedics into their London flat to treat her after she fell out of a window when she was 14 weeks pregnant.

It was alleged that Marten spent eight days in hospital, then attempted to discharge herself with Gordon's support.

After that incident, a family court decided their other children should be taken into care.

'No child should have had its life cut short'

Met Police Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, who led the investigation, said the couple's "selfish actions" resulted in the death of Victoria, "who would have recently had her second birthday and should have had the rest of her life ahead of her".

She added: "We know today's sentencing won't bring Victoria back, but I am pleased our investigation has resulted in the couple who caused her death finally being brought to justice."

The Crown Prosecution Service's Jaswant Narwal, chief Crown prosecutor, added that Marten and Gordon "used different antics to frustrate and delay court proceedings, doing everything in their power to try and delay facing responsibility for their actions".

"No child should have had its life cut short in this preventable way," she said.

"I hope today's sentences provide a sense of justice and comfort to all those affected by this tragic case."


Top Starmer aide quits amid row over messages sent about Diane Abbott
A top Downing Street aide has resigned after sending sexually explicit messages about independent MP Diane Abbott, Sky News understands.

Paul Ovenden, who was the director of strategy at Number 10, is understood to have left the role on Monday after a number of instant messages from 2017 became public.

Sky News understands he did so to avoid becoming a "distraction" for Sir Keir Starmer, just days after he was forced to sack the UK's ambassador to the US - Peter Mandelson - over his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Politics Hub - latest updates

The messages, exchanged between Mr Ovenden and a female colleague, contained the graphic retelling of a conversation he reportedly overheard about Ms Abbott while at a party.

The former aide has alleged these were not his original words, but said he "deeply regrets" sharing them.

He said: "I really, deeply regret my sharing this story, and the hurt and embarrassment its publication will cause.

"Accordingly, I have brought forward my resignation to today as I do not want to be a distraction from the government's work."

It is understood Mr Ovenden announced to colleagues before the summer recess he was leaving his role, and had planned to leave "quietly and quickly" sometime this month.

However, in the wake of the publication of these messages, Mr Ovenden "brought forward" his resignation to today.

The messages, exchanged with a female colleague and seen by Sky News, described a game of "shag, marry, kill" the aide overheard while at a party in May 2017.

This involved explicit descriptions about suspended Labour MP Ms Abbott.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: "These messages are appalling and unacceptable.

"As the first black woman to be elected to parliament, Diane Abbott is a trailblazer who has faced horrendous abuse throughout her political career.

"These kinds of comments have no place in our politics."

Sky News has contacted Ms Abbott for comment.

The latest Number 10 resignation comes as Sir Keir admitted he never would have appointed Lord Mandelson to the post of UK ambassador to the US if he had known what he knows now about the extent of his association with Epstein.

Speaking publicly for the first time since he sacked Mandelson last Thursday, the prime minister explained that a "due diligence process" was conducted before he was appointed to the post in February.

"I knew of his association with Epstein," Sir Keir said.

"But had I known then what I know now, I'd have never appointed him."

Just days before Lord Mandelson was sacked, Angela Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary after admitting she did not pay enough tax on her second home.

She also quit as deputy leader of the Labour Party, an elected post.

Sir Keir's second-in-command admitted to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that she should have paid the higher rate of stamp duty on a home she bought in Hove, East Sussex, as it was her second property.


British fighter jets to fly air defence missions over Poland after Russia's drone incursion
Royal Air Force jets will fly air defence missions over Poland as part of a NATO mission, the government has announced.

The move comes after Russian drones last week entered Polish airspace in Vladimir Putin's most significant violation of NATO airspace yet.

The Typhoons - from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire - will join allied forces from Denmark, France and Germany to reinforce NATO's defence along its eastern side, the Ministry of Defence said.

They will be supported by a Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft from RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire.

Sir Keir Starmer said: "Russia's reckless behaviour is a direct threat to European security and a violation of international law, which is why the UK will support NATO's efforts to bolster its eastern flank through Eastern Sentry.

"These aircraft are not just a show of strength, they are vital in deterring aggression, securing NATO airspace, and protecting our national security and that of our allies.

"We will continue to stand firm in our support for Ukraine and ramp up the pressure on Putin until there is a just and lasting peace."

Russia's incursion into Polish airspace was followed by a violation of Romanian skies just days later.

The Kremlin has said its drones went into Poland because they were jammed, but European leaders believe the breaches were a deliberate provocation.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the incident brought his country "the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two".

Defence Secretary John Healey said: "The message to Moscow is clear. Putin tested NATO, NATO responded with unity, and the UK will play our full part.

"When we are threatened, we respond together."

The Foreign Office has also summoned the Russian ambassador in London, Andrei Kelin, over what it called the "utterly unacceptable" violations.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced the Eastern Sentry operation on Friday, and said it would involve the deployment of equipment on the border with Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to deter potential Russian aggression.

It underlines long-held concerns about the potential expansion of Russia's three-year war in Ukraine.

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Six RAF Typhoons were based in Poland between April and July as part of NATO's enhanced air policing mission.

During that deployment, the jets - operating alongside Swedish aircraft - amassed almost 500 flying hours.


Starmer: I would never have appointed Mandelson if I knew then what I know now
Sir Keir Starmer has said he would have "never appointed" Peter Mandelson as US ambassador if he knew then what he knows now.

It is the first time Sir Keir has spoken publicly since he sacked Lord Mandelson on Thursday night, when the pressure to get rid of him became too much after more emails between the Labour peer and Epstein were released.

They revealed Lord Mandelson, a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, sent messages of support to the convicted paedophile financier even as he faced jail for sex offences in 2008.

Politics latest: PM speaks for first time since Mandelson sacking

The prime minister said Lord Mandelson went through a proper due diligence process before his appointment.

But, he added: "Had I known then what I know now, I'd have never appointed him."

An urgent debate was today granted by the Speaker to discuss the appointment and removal of Lord Mandelson, set for Tuesday.

Sir Keir said he knew before Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday afternoon that Lord Mandelson had not yet answered questions from government officials, but was unaware of the contents of the messages that led to his sacking.

He said Lord Mandelson did not provide answers until "very late" on Wednesday, which was when he decided he had to be "removed".

In a later interview with Channel 4 News, Sir Keir was asked whether he was angry with Lord Mandelson

"I'm angry to have been put in that position," he said.

Deputy PM David Lammy, foreign secretary until a recent cabinet reshuffle, said "of course" Lord Mandelson went through the proper security and vetting process.

But he added: "The truth is all the issues were weighed and in that time it was known that Peter Mandelson had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, but the scale and extent of that was only known last Wednesday evening when the prime minister surveyed those emails, and by Thursday morning Peter Mandelson was sacked.

"The prime minister, of course, took the right decision to do that."

Sir Keir is facing further pressure over his leadership abilities due to his handling of Lord Mandelson's sacking.

The Times reported Downing Street and the Foreign Office were aware of the emails on Tuesday, the day before Sir Keir gave his backing to the ambassador to the US at PMQs - but the PM today said he did not know the content of the messages.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir of "lying to the whole country" about what he knew of Lord Mandelson's involvement with Epstein.

Labour MPs have also joined in, both in private and publicly, as they question what Sir Keir knew and when.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle telling Sky News that appointing Lord Mandelson to the job was judged to be "worth the risk" at the time has not gone down well with Labour backbenchers.

The timing of Lord Mandelson's sacking, just before Labour MPs and supporters gather for their party conference and after Angela Rayner's resignation, comes at a particularly bad moment for Sir Keir.


Duchess of Kent's coffin taken to Westminster Cathedral ahead of funeral
The Duchess of Kent's coffin has been taken to Westminster Cathedral ahead of her funeral on Tuesday.

In keeping with Catholic tradition, the coffin was transported from Kensington Palace into the cathedral on Monday for a series of private funeral rites attended by the duchess's immediate family, including the Duke of Kent's siblings, Prince Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

Among the planned rites due to be undertaken by Bishop James Curry, auxiliary bishop of Westminster and titular bishop of Ramsbury, are a Vigil for the Deceased, a Rite of Reception - which usually involves the coffin being sprinkled with holy water - and evening prayers known as Vespers.

The coffin was taken in the royal hearse to the place of worship, the largest Roman Catholic church in England and Wales.

It was carried inside by members of the Royal Dragoon Guards, whose regiment the duchess served as deputy colonel-in-chief since its inception in 1992.

The coffin was draped with the royal standard, which had a white ermine border signifying she was the spouse of a prince, and there was a large floral display on top of the standard.

Members of her immediate family, including her widower, the Duke of Kent and their daughter Lady Helen Taylor, watched from the cathedral steps as the soldiers slowly carried the coffin.

It will rest overnight in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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The King and Queen will join other senior royals for Tuesday's requiem mass, the first Catholic funeral service held for a member of the Royal Family in modern British history.

Katharine, the wife of the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, the Duke of Kent, died peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, on the evening of 4 September, aged 92.

She was the first member of the Royal Family to convert to the Roman Catholic faith for more than 300 years when she did so in 1994.

A devout follower, it was her wish to have her funeral at Westminster Cathedral.

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Hers will be the first royal funeral at the cathedral, in Victoria, central London, since its construction in 1903.

The King, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will not be the first UK monarch to have attended a Catholic funeral, as Queen Elizabeth II attended the Catholic state funeral of King Baudouin of the Belgians, at St Michael's Cathedral in Brussels, in August 1993.

Charles, when Prince of Wales, went to Pope John Paul II's funeral, representing his mother, the late Queen, in 2005, while his son William attended Pope Francis's funeral mass earlier this year.


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