LIVERPOOL won their first Champions League match in the post-Jurgen Klopp era in dominant fashion.
The Reds defeated AC Milan 3-1 at the San Siro with new boss Arne Slot at the helm just three days after his first defeat as manager of the Reds at the hands of Nottingham Forest.
However, Slot’s players rallied up to shake that unexpected Forest loss with a strong display in Milan despite Christian Pulisic’s early opener.
Ex-Chelsea star Pulisic broke the deadlock after just three minutes following some careless Liverpool defending that left immense space down the right for the winger to exploit and beat Alisson.
However, the visitors equalised 20 minutes later with Ibrahima Konate and turned the game around four minutes before half-time with Virgil van Dijk’s header, which brought back memories of last season’s Carabao Cup winner from Kostas Tsimikas’ corner-kick.
Dominik Szoboszlai sealed the win on 67 minutes and earned Liverpool their first three points in the league phase.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
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PERVERT Huw Edwards is just one of a growing number of online paedophiles spared jail, a Sun probe reveals.
His case came amid dozens walking free despite sharing more than a million child abuse images in total.
Only 20 per cent of such cases result in prison, say experts.
Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch wants a review of guidelines.
Britain’s “two-tier” justice system was laid bare by the probe which identified 27 prosecutions in the past nine months where judges allowed those trading in sick photos and videos to walk free.
Over the same time, scores of cases — including those of a failed bike thief and woman who nicked Creme Eggs — saw defendants locked up for more than 17 years.
Fury erupted as former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards left court on Monday with a six-month jail term suspended for two years for viewing depraved online material.
Experts warned yesterday that less than 20 per cent of paedos convicted of accessing child abuse images get custodial sentences.
Yet NSPCC data shows police logged more than 33,000 offences where child abuse images were collected and distributed last year — up by 25 per cent in a year
Our probe found an ex-mayor, an actor, a secondary school teacher, an academic and a sex offender who later set up a paedophile ring, who all got a slap on the wrist.
On the day Edwards left court in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes, homeless Michael King, 44, was starting an eight-month term for stealing five vacuum cleaners in Ely, Cambs.
Stephen McDonagh, 37, of Kidlington, Oxon, was starting a one-month stretch for stealing a bike in Welwyn, Herts.
Yet ex-university researcher Ralph Harrington, 58, avoided prison despite downloading 362,500 child abuse images after “a relapse”.
His hoard, amassed over eight years, included nearly 3,000 images rated Category A, the worst kind.
He even had a previous conviction for making indecent images.
At his sentencing, Harrington, of York, was given a year’s jail, suspended for two years, and placed on the sex offenders register.
Days later, cake thief Joseph Clarke, of Sittingbourne, Kent, was jailed four months for stealing £64.80 of country slices and cherry bakewells from a Co-op.
In July, Joshua Pope, 26, who taught kids as young as 11 in Plymouth, got a suspended jail term despite downloading 786 of images and videos of child sexual abuse.
Like Edwards he blamed his depravity on isolation during Covid.
Actor Daniel Frogson, 21, who appeared in BBC’s His Dark Materials, was caught with 845 indecent images and got an eight-month jail term, suspended for two years.
Earlier this month, jobless Thomas Dyke, 24, of Pontypool, avoided jail too — despite having sex abuse images of a two-year-old.
Our investigation also examined the case of Matthew Mather-Franks, 39, who in 2016 was spared jail for possessing indecent images.
Defendants were released with suspended jail sentences, handed rehabilitation orders and placed on the sex offenders register.
By 2022 he was the ringleader of a group live-streaming sexual abuse of children and infants who appeared drugged or intoxicated.
A search of his devices found a further 1,487 images of child abuse.
Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch told our Never Mind the Ballots show: “There’s something very wrong. It feels like there is a two-tier system where some people, or some crimes, are looked at differently from much more minor ones, and we don’t want that.
“It shouldn’t matter whether you have money or you work for the BBC or you’ve been on TV, you should be punished for having committed something as serious as that. It is extremely serious.”
Ms Badenoch called for an urgent overhaul of sentencing rules.
Ex-Met Det Chief Insp Mick Neville added: “The public are quite rightfully questioning why Huw Edwards only receives a suspended sentence when others are sent to jail for much less serious matters.”
The National Crime Agency estimated 830,000 adults in the UK pose some degree of sexual menace to youngsters.
Lisa McKrindle, from the Centre for Expertise on Child Abuse, said half a million children are abused each year for the gratification of online paedos.
She said: “There would have been hearings like this up and down the country. We need to get to grips with the frequency of these events and the scale.
“Overall in 2022/23 there were 105,000 offences recorded by police. Really big increase of 14 per cent in that year of image offences. 40,000 image-based abuses.
“We estimate that at least 500,000 are abused each year.”
Edwards’ lawyer Philip Evans described the offences as “repugnant” as he apologised on his client’s behalf to the court and his family.
The public are quite rightfully questioning why Huw Edwards only receives a suspended sentence when others are sent to jail for much less serious matters
Ex-Met Det Chief Insp Mick Neville
But Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command Centre, said he knew “there wasn’t a hope” of Edwards going to prison.
He told Times Radio: “Less than 20 per cent of individuals convicted of this type of offence actually receive a custodial sentence.”
And he said allowing offenders to walk free meant there was no active deterrent. Retired Met Chief Supt Simon Ovens said online paedophile offences like those committed by Edwards, “are often treated as a victimless crime”.
But he stressed: “Behind every one of those real images there is a child victim who has been abused in the most appalling manner.”
Rani Govender, at the NSPCC, said: “Online child sexual abuse is at record levels and offenders like Edwards who fuel this crime should be in no doubt about its severity and the impact it has on victims.
“Companies must act by putting in technology that can identify and disrupt child abuse images being shared on their messaging services.”
THE HUW Edwards scandal has rightly provoked revulsion and anger at the leniency of sentences given to offenders viewing sexual images of children.
It has also given rise to suspicion of a two-tier justice system with offences which cause children to suffer harrowing abuse being taken less seriously than some petty crimes.
This is an issue which has been hiding in plain sight for many years and which is only now attracting attention after disgraced former BBC presenter Edwards walked free from court.
Better late than never.
Currently there are more offenders accessing illegal images of children than ever with the sheer volume meaning only a small percentage of them will ever be brought before courts.
The NSPCC estimates up to 500,000 men have viewed child sexual abuse images in the UK – yes, really.
Analysis of police data by the charity suggests 33,000 men – and it is a male issue – arrested last year had illegal images of children – a 25% rise on the previous 12 months.
And it’s a growing problem with emerging artificial intelligence technology creating new ways of creating illegal images.
Organised criminal networks are also continuing to exploit the dark web to cater for the massive online paedophile market and make money from evil.
The scale of the problem means the National Crime Agency and police forces often have to cherry pick targets of importance – primarily those with access to children.
Like Edwards, many of those who are caught will have been trawled by cops through the domino effect of one offender’s digital devices leading to another.
Police undercover units are also tracking paedophiles online and arrested 1,700 men last year.
Laudable though those efforts may be, it only represents a drop in the ocean in terms of tackling the overall problem.
It is therefore imperative that when offenders like Edwards are brought to justice that a message of deterrence is sent out to others like him.
Only by jailing offenders will the message get through that such conduct is unacceptable in a civilised society.
If that means finding new prison spaces – perhaps by locking up offenders in disused Army barracks or ships offshore until the Government’s seven new jails are built – then so be it. The money will have been well spent.
The consequences of failing to do so will be the continued erosion of public faith in a criminal justice system which can treat the theft of cakes more seriously than the suffering of children.
By Mike Sullivan, Crime Editor
THE sex therapist who argued Huw Edwards should not be jailed was blasted by a judge in another paedophile case who told her: “You got it wrong last time.”
Dr Victoria Appleyard has blamed paedo crimes on childhood trauma and argued offenders are not attracted to kids — which she used for Edwards.
But the “psycho-sexual therapist” — who blamed paedophile footballer Adam Johnson’s crimes on the birth of his first child — has got it wrong before, we can reveal.
In 2013 she persuaded a court not to jail David Moore, claiming he was not attracted to children — despite him downloading more than 2,000 abuse images.
When he was back at Reading crown court in 2018 Dr Appleyard again said he should stay free.
Judge Simon Oliver blasted: “Literally, you’ve been there and done it.
“You got it wrong last time, didn’t you?”
Dr Appleyard admitted her last attempt “didn’t work” before Moore got 12 months in jail.
Former Kingston council chief Derek Osbourne sought treatment from Dr Appleyard after a two-year sentence for making child abuse images.
He too kept offending and got a suspended jail sentence at the same South West London court in 2016 after admitting looking at porn online.
THE HUW Edwards scandal has rightly provoked revulsion and anger at the leniency of sentences given to offenders viewing sexual images of children.
It has also given rise to suspicion of a two-tier justice system with offences which cause children to suffer harrowing abuse being taken less seriously than some petty crimes.
This is an issue which has been hiding in plain sight for many years and which is only now attracting attention after disgraced former BBC presenter Edwards walked free from court.
Better late than never.
Currently there are more offenders accessing illegal images of children than ever with the sheer volume meaning only a small percentage of them will ever be brought before courts.
The NSPCC estimates up to 500,000 men have viewed child sexual abuse images in the UK – yes, really.
Analysis of police data by the charity suggests 33,000 men – and it is a male issue – arrested last year had illegal images of children – a 25% rise on the previous 12 months.
And it’s a growing problem with emerging artificial intelligence technology creating new ways of creating illegal images.
Organised criminal networks are also continuing to exploit the dark web to cater for the massive online paedophile market and make money from evil.
The scale of the problem means the National Crime Agency and police forces often have to cherry pick targets of importance – primarily those with access to children.
Like Edwards, many of those who are caught will have been trawled by cops through the domino effect of one offender’s digital devices leading to another.
Police undercover units are also tracking paedophiles online and arrested 1,700 men last year.
Laudable though those efforts may be, it only represents a drop in the ocean in terms of tackling the overall problem.
It is therefore imperative that when offenders like Edwards are brought to justice that a message of deterrence is sent out to others like him.
Only by jailing offenders will the message get through that such conduct is unacceptable in a civilised society.
If that means finding new prison spaces – perhaps by locking up offenders in disused Army barracks or ships offshore until the Government’s seven new jails are built – then so be it. The money will have been well spent.
The consequences of failing to do so will be the continued erosion of public faith in a criminal justice system which can treat the theft of cakes more seriously than the suffering of children.
By Mike Sullivan, Crime Editor
THE shameful saga of Huw Edwards marks the perfect watershed moment for the Government to bring in mandatory jail terms for paedophiles.
To recap: the disgraced BBC News frontman admitted in July to having viewed 41 images and videos involving child abuse of kids as young as SEVEN.
This included seven Category A files — the worst classification — mostly featuring children aged 13 to 15.
In one instance, he referred to the images he was receiving as “amazing”.
Any ordinary, right-minded person would have recoiled in shock and disgust and taken the images straight to the police.
Because let’s not forget what the perpetuation of these images represents — a horrifying market for abuse that will only lead to more sexual violence against children in order to supply the twisted demands of men like Huw.
Indeed, the supremely arrogant Huw has been proven to be a voracious and rapturous consumer of this appalling abuse.
He not only continued messaging the man, agreeing to receive more horrific images, but was so pleased with the arrangement that he showered him with cash gifts.
As much as Edwards has feigned remorse, make no mistake: this wasn’t an isolated lapse in judgment — these are the man’s true colours.
A Sun online documentary has revealed how Edwards, in a separate incident, sent a string of controlling and abusive messages to a teenager who he received sexual images from in exchange for tens of thousands of pounds.
As a parent, it is hard to think of crimes more evil than those Edwards has been complicit in
And to add insult to injury, the disgraced presenter has not returned a penny of the £200,000 of licence-fee payers’ money he earned after his arrest, despite the corporation demanding it back.
With all this in mind, the fact that Edwards is now free to go home without having to spend even a minute in a jail cell is unconscionable.
As a parent, it is hard to think of crimes more evil than those Edwards has been complicit in.
It’s been just a matter of weeks since Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised that “those who break the law will feel the full force of the law”, a statement that has proven itself to be, beyond reasonable doubt, total hogwash.
And the sad reality is that Edwards’ meagre punishment is not an anomaly.
Yes — the abysmal handling of sex offenders and paedophiles by our courts IS baked into the system
Eight in ten people convicted of possessing indecent images of children avoid prison, according to the National Crime Agency.
All this while the number of child abuse image offences continues to rise.
Lawyers have already taken to the airwaves to tell the public that people’s outrage about Edwards’ conviction is misguided.
“His sentence is perfectly in line with sentencing guidelines,” they said. “The fact he got a third off his sentence for pleading guilty, and further mitigation for poor mental health is simply our justice system working as it was intended.”
Sadly, they’re right. Yes — the abysmal handling of sex offenders and paedophiles by our courts IS baked into the system.
While victims have to jump through hoops to even secure a conviction, sex offenders are handed the gift of endless loopholes to reduce their sentences or skip jail altogether.
That’s why we MUST bring in mandatory custodial sentences for paedophiles.
Over the past few years, we’ve banged up people for far lesser crimes.
In fact, the bitter irony is that, in my lifetime, more than 2,000 people have gone to jail for not paying fines after being convicted of not having a BBC TV licence.
But, God forbid, we put a convicted child sex offender WORKING at the BBC behind bars!
That’s why the Government has to bring in new legislation to toughen sentences for child sex offenders.
Enough is enough. No more suspended sentences, no more slaps on the wrist.
The Government could, today, announce that it will pass a raft of laws to make sure child abuse victims get the justice they are owed.
They have done it before for equally just causes.
Indeed, in the past few years alone politicians have brought forward a number of changes to sentencing when it has suited them.
Yet, paedophiles are given a free pass.
It’s high time those who represent us put their money where their mouth is on the ‘tough-on-crime’ rhetoric and gave the very worst in society their just deserts
In 2015, Parliament passed laws to give people twice convicted of carrying a knife mandatory jail time.
In 2020, it passed laws to introduce mandatory life sentences for killing an emergency worker on duty.
In 2022, it passed laws introducing a mandatory minimum sentence for drink-drivers who kill people.
Parliament even summoned the willpower to raise the maximum sentence for animal cruelty a whopping tenfold, from six months to 60 months in prison.
It’s high time those who represent us put their money where their mouth is on the “tough-on-crime” rhetoric and gave the very worst in society their just deserts.
Failing to do so will not only be a monumental moral failing, it will send a signal that Britain is open for business for paedophiles like Huw Edwards.
THE HUW Edwards scandal has rightly provoked revulsion and anger at the leniency of sentences given to offenders viewing sexual images of children.
It has also given rise to suspicion of a two-tier justice system with offences which cause children to suffer harrowing abuse being taken less seriously than some petty crimes.
This is an issue which has been hiding in plain sight for many years and which is only now attracting attention after disgraced former BBC presenter Edwards walked free from court.
Better late than never.
Currently there are more offenders accessing illegal images of children than ever with the sheer volume meaning only a small percentage of them will ever be brought before courts.
The NSPCC estimates up to 500,000 men have viewed child sexual abuse images in the UK – yes, really.
Analysis of police data by the charity suggests 33,000 men – and it is a male issue – arrested last year had illegal images of children – a 25% rise on the previous 12 months.
And it’s a growing problem with emerging artificial intelligence technology creating new ways of creating illegal images.
Organised criminal networks are also continuing to exploit the dark web to cater for the massive online paedophile market and make money from evil.
The scale of the problem means the National Crime Agency and police forces often have to cherry pick targets of importance – primarily those with access to children.
Like Edwards, many of those who are caught will have been trawled by cops through the domino effect of one offender’s digital devices leading to another.
Police undercover units are also tracking paedophiles online and arrested 1,700 men last year.
Laudable though those efforts may be, it only represents a drop in the ocean in terms of tackling the overall problem.
It is therefore imperative that when offenders like Edwards are brought to justice that a message of deterrence is sent out to others like him.
Only by jailing offenders will the message get through that such conduct is unacceptable in a civilised society.
If that means finding new prison spaces – perhaps by locking up offenders in disused Army barracks or ships offshore until the Government’s seven new jails are built – then so be it. The money will have been well spent.
The consequences of failing to do so will be the continued erosion of public faith in a criminal justice system which can treat the theft of cakes more seriously than the suffering of children.
By Mike Sullivan, Crime Editor
SINGER and TV star Tulisa Contostavlos is set to launch her showbiz comeback on I’m a Celebrity.
It has been ten years since her last major role, when she was a judge on The X Factor.
Tulisa then spent years away from the limelight before reuniting with grime band N-Dubz for a sell-out tour last year.
Now jungle bosses are thrilled she’s in talks to join the hit reality series, hosted by Ant and Dec.
And the move could see Tulisa, 36, revive her career as a household name.
A source said yesterday: “Tulisa has been on ITV’s hit list for a while but until now she’s never wanted to consider it.
“This year is a decade since she left The X Factor so she felt the time was right to return to the TV spotlight — the amazing reception to the N-Dubz reunion tour really helped build her confidence.
“Crucially for ITV, the breadth of her career means that she will appeal to I’m a Celebrity’s wide audience.
“As well as everyone knowing her from The X Factor, her original music fanbase has boomed thanks for the N-Dubz reunion tour.
“TV bosses are particularly excited by the new wealth of fans in the crucial 16 to 24 age range who have discovered Tulisa and the band through TikTok and everyone hopes the deal is signed soon.”
Tulisa first found fame with N-Dubz in 2008.
Joined by her cousin Dappy and his pal Fazer, the group sold more than 1.3million albums and had 13 UK Top 40 singles.
They split in 2011 and embarked on solo projects.
But Tulisa was singled out by media mogul Simon Cowell and she replaced Cheryl Cole as a judge for the eighth series of talent show The X Factor.
She appeared on the judging panel alongside Gary Barlow, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger.
During two series on the show she backed Little Mix, Ella Henderson and Lucy Spraggan.
Away from the spotlight, Tulisa revealed in 2020 she suffered Bell’s palsy, which causes facial paralysis.
This year is a decade since she left The X Factor so she felt the time was right to return to the TV spotlight
A source
She previously dismissed the idea of appearing on a reality music show but was keen on a cookery show.
In 2019 Tulisa said: “I steer clear of them because it’s hard to keep being a credible musician when you start delving into that.
“Although there are loads that make me go ‘that would be so much fun’, and Masterchef is definitely one! Because I’m such a huge cook in my spare time.”
An jungle show spokesman insisted: “Any names suggested for I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here are speculation.”
TULISA is one of the few stars of British showbiz who gets by with just one name – that’s how much of a cultural icon she is.
Whether you are of the older generation who watched her on The X Factor, followed her documentaries or have streamed her music with N-Dubz, everybody knows who Tulisa is.
And that’s why she’ll be a brilliant I’m A Celebrity campmate.
The Sun has revealed tonight how Tulisa is in talks to join the jungle.
I’ve covered the show from Australia twice and I’ve seen firsthand how the conditions can get to celebrities and cracks rapidly begin to show.
There have been some who have floundered during their entry interviews, before they have even crossed that famous bridge into Ant and Dec’s camp.
But that won’t happen to Tulisa.
She’s tenacious, a smart cookie and as we saw when she came up against Gary Barlow on The X Factor, not afraid to stand her ground.
I’d love to have seen her take on Matt Hancock – but I hear ITV has some other corkers up their sleeves for this series.
