Politicians seek meeting with Travelodge CEO after Maidenhead sexual assault case
More than 20 MPs have demanded an urgent meeting with the CEO of Travelodge after a woman was sexually assaulted by a man who had been given her room number and a key card by hotel staff.The MPs said the case of Kyran Smith, 29, who was jailed for seven-and-a-half years last month, raised “deeply concerning” questions.He attacked the woman after a party in December 2022.Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell was asked to meet MPs and peers to discuss the case, including the chain’s security processes and procedures that led to it offering the victim an “insulting” £30 refund after the incident.Smith was jailed in February after being found guilty of sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
He had managed to get the victim’s room number and a keycard from reception staff at the Maidenhead branch of Travelodge.Smith had lied to staff, telling them that he was the victim’s boyfriend.In a letter to Boydell, the MPs said they were concerned that reception staff at the branch had given Smith a key card to her room.The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed staff told her that Smith, who was known to her, had passed their security checks by providing her name.Travelodge later offered the woman, now in her 30s, a £30 refund.
It has apologised for how it was handled the offer, which it said was inappropriate under the circumstances,The hotel chain added it was reviewing its room security processes,The letter, which is signed by the former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, said MPs and peers wanted to discuss how Travelodge made the refund decision, what internal review has taken place after the assault, and how it had strengthened security procedures,It says: “The details that have emerged regarding how access to the victim’s room was granted raise serious questions about guest safety, hotel security procedures and the adequacy of the response from Travelodge,”The letter from the Labour MPs Matt Bishop and Jen Craft adds that the incident “raises deeply concerning questions about whether current policies provide sufficient safeguards for guests, particularly women travelling alone”.
It has been backed by 26 MPs, all of whom are from Labour apart from the Democratic Unionist party’s Jim Shannon, who represents Strangford in Northern Ireland.The Labour peer Jane Ramsey is also a signatory.It adds: “Hotels have a fundamental duty of care to the people who stay in them.Guests must be able to trust that when they check into a room – particularly when travelling alone – their privacy and safety must be protected.”A Travelodge spokesperson said Boydell would be replying to MPs on Saturday.
A spokesperson said: “We want to apologise to the victim for the way this incident has been handled.“Travelodge adopts industry standard security procedures which were followed at the time of the incident in 2022.“We will carry out a full review of our room security policies to learn from this incident and further strengthen our procedures.”
Starmer speaks with Trump after president criticises lack of UK support for Iran strikes
Keir Starmer sought to repair fractured relations with Donald Trump over the war with Iran on Sunday, as a Labour backlash gathered pace over Tony Blair’s assertion the UK should have supported the US’s initial airstrikes on Iran.The prime minister spoke to the US president on Sunday afternoon after a barrage of criticism from Trump, who told his UK ally on Saturday that his help was not needed, even as the US continued to use UK bases for strikes against Iran.After a breakdown in relations between Trump and Starmer, which led the US president to declare on social media that “We don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won”, the two world leaders spoke on Sunday to discuss their nations’ military cooperation.A Downing Street spokesperson said the leaders “began by discussing the latest situation in the Middle East and the military cooperation between the UK and US through the use of RAF bases in support of the collective self-defence of partners in the region”.The call came after warnings that Starmer’s initial refusal to allow the US military aircraft to use British airbases had “ruined” the special relationship between the two countries
Labour accuses Badenoch of scoring ‘cheap political points’ over Iran strikes
Labour has accused Kemi Badenoch of scoring “cheap political points” after the Conservative party leader said Keir Starmer was “too scared” to join strikes on Iran.Al Carns, the defence minister, said “serious politics” was required in response to Badenoch’s speech at the party’s spring conference where she criticised the prime minister’s stance on the US-Israel strikes on Iran a week ago.Initially, Starmer did not allow the US to use UK RAF bases for the attack, and did not take part in initial military action against Iran, but then said the RAF would take part in defensive operations. A strike by an Iranian drone hit an aircraft hangar at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.Badenoch told the Conservative’s spring conference in Harrogate, North Yorkshire: “At a time when Britain needs strong and decisive leadership, we have a prime minister who is too afraid of making the wrong decision, too afraid to make any decision at all
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Jean Perraton obituary
My mother, Jean Perraton, who has died aged 88, was a town planner, environmental campaigner, author and promoter of outdoor swimming.As a member and later chair of the Cam Valley Forum, Jean was instrumental in the campaign to gain designated bathing water status on the river at Sheep’s Green in Cambridge, which succeeded in 2024. Projects also included the eradication of floating pennywort in the upper Cam.Jean served as president of the River and Lake Swimming Association (2008-13), and published two books, Swimming Against the Stream (2005) and One Musician’s War (2011), based on her father’s wartime letters.Born in Eastbourne, East Sussex, Jean was the elder daughter of Maud (nee Bartley), a teacher, and George Warner, a salesman and gifted violinist
Keir Starmer accused of ‘mimicking Trump’ with Middle East crisis TikTok post
Keir Starmer has been accused of trying to mimic Donald Trump’s social media output after posting a TikTok video about the crisis in the Middle East overlaid with the prime minister’s voice and the Dire Straits song Money for Nothing.The video opens with footage showing Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters flying over his head before cutting to British military jets in action and a drone being destroyed, as Starmer’s voice states the position he has taken on the conflict.“Our number one priority is protecting our people,” says Starmer, overlaid with the sound of electric guitars played by Dire Straits.Starmer refused to join the US and Israeli strikes on Iran but has since authorised “defensive” action.Al Pinkerton, a Liberal Democrat MP, said the choice of song when the military was “crying out” for the government’s defence spending plan seemed “particularly cloth-eared”
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