In May 1991, a six-year-old girl was mauled in Bradford. Her name was Rukhsana Khan. The dog was a pit bull terrier. The injuries were terrible, and they were real. Within weeks, Parliament had a new law. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 passed at speed. It named breeds. It ordered destruction. It was meant to settle a fear that had gripped the country through that summer. Three decades on, it is taught to law students as a specimen. Not of ...
On 29 July 2024, Axel Rudakubana carried out a fatal knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class in Southport. Three young girls were murdered, and many other children and adults suffered grave physical and psychological harm. The event shocked the country not only because of its brutality, but because it involved a young perpetrator whose history, as later examined by the Inquiry, contained repeated signs of serious and escalating risk. The Southport Inquiry was established because the ...
The Quantitative Landscape of Patient Homicide in the United Kingdom Over the past decade, homicides by individuals in contact with mental health services have posed a persistent challenge for the NHS and the criminal justice system. Data from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety (NCISH) and various independent investigations show a troubling pattern. Patient homicides represent a minority – 11% – of total homicides in the UK. However, they constitute a significant group of incidents where timely service ...
This article summarises a very long and important study. The opinions presented are not that of the author of this post nor this website. The findings and opinions are paraphrased from the study itself. Inquiry methodology and epistemic constraints The study Judgments of predictability, preventability and causation of mental health homicides in England 2010–2023 [Aug 2025] analyses 162 independent homicide inquiries commissioned by NHS England between 2010 and 2023 following offences committed by individuals receiving mental health care. The authors ...
The 2024 Southport stabbings refers to a heinous attack carried out Axel Rudakubana. He committed three murders and ten attempted murders. This article is constructed largely from information in the public domain and is being updated at intervals, as new information comes to light. Note again our ‘Fat Disclaimer‘. Rudakubana was 17 years old at the time he committed the offences. Axel Rudakubana was convicted of multiple charges related to the 2024 Southport stabbings. He pleaded guilty to: He was ...
John Barrett, a 41-year-old man with a history of schizophrenia and violence, was conditionally discharged from a medium secure forensic psychiatric unit in October 2003 following his conviction for a knife attack in 2002. Despite concerns about his compliance with medication and his capacity to recognise signs of relapse, the clinical team supported his discharge, subject to conditions including regular contact with mental health professionals and compliance with medication. In October 2003 John Barrett was conditionally discharged by a mental ...
The case of Daniel Harrison, who was convicted of manslaughter by diminished responsibility after killing his father, Dr Nicholas Kim Harrison, highlights significant failings in mental health care management. The Coroner gave a narrative verdict on 16/04/2024. The homicide had happened in March 2022. [References and sources at the end] Daniel Harrison, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, experienced a deterioration in his condition. He was lost follow-up care from Swansea Bay University Health Board in 2018 after he was removed from a ...
I feel a sense of despair as I observe many younger doctors rushing headlong into UK psychiatry, and I wonder, “Do they know what they’re in for?” But then I have to remind myself that for a sizeable proportion, this is driven by forced choices based on economic survival. Recruitment About 10 years ago I was persona non-grata in a debate about the RCPsych’s revamped at the time, recruitment drive. I lost – as is usually the case because the ...
This article is an exploration of two legal defences to unlawful homicide. The materials here are for educational purposes and subject to our disclaimer. The word ‘insanity’ is obviously related to ‘insane’. In the UK people are not ‘certified as insane’, contrary to popular social media belief – driven by movies. If you wish to learn more this will be a substantial read and study. I will go into legal history, the law and how it connects to cases in ...
Lucy Letby, 33, was convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six new-borns at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016. Why is this ‘story’ important for psychiatry? It shows how systems are slow to recognise and respond, slow to heed expert insights from within organisations, and how dysfunctional organisational behaviours contribute to harm and death. In my comparison of Surgical v Psychiatric Malpractice I showed how psychiatric malpractice is more difficult to recognise ...
