Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Thursday 25 September  2025 by Jill Powell

Paul Flowers, former Co-Operative Bank Chairman, Labour councillor in Rochdale and Bradford, and Methodist minister stole from his friend Margaret Jarvis whilst she battled Alzheimer’s.  On her death he continued to steal from her estate, abusing his position as executor of her will.

Over several years Paul Flowers, 75, wrote himself cheques, withdrew cash and stole the pension of his victim.

Today, the Crown Prosecution Service secured a Confiscation Order for £184,862.

Prosecutors also secured a Compensation Order in the sum of £184,862, which means Flowers’ victims will receive all the money from the Confiscation Order.

Flowers pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud in July 2024 at Manchester Crown Court and was jailed for three years. 

He could face two-and-a-half years being added to that prison sentence if he does not pay the full amount ordered today within three months.

Margaret Jarvis had known Flowers for decades. In 1995, before her illness had progressed, she gave Flowers power of attorney over her financial affairs. She also made him executor of her will. Flowers redirected her pension payments to a bank account he controlled and, after she died, failed to inform her pension provider so he could continue to steal from her estate. Margaret Jarvis bequeathed gifts to several charities as well as £10,000 to both of her two nieces. Neither the charities nor one of her nieces received the funds due to them from the estate.

Flowers used his victim’s money to fund his lifestyle, withdrawing cash to pay for extravagant holidays, events, alcohol, and home improvements.
 
Charles Clayton, Specialist Prosecutor, CPS Proceeds of Crime Division said:

“Paul Flowers abused the trust his friend placed in him, preying on her vulnerability. He stole a large amount of money from her, depriving charities and her niece of gifts that were bequeathed to them. We are pleased to have secured a Compensation Order that will right that wrong.   

“Flowers took advantage of Margaret Jarvis’ illness; he knew she wouldn’t realise he was stealing and even continued to steal from her after her death.

“Today CPS Proceeds of Crime Division ensured that Flowers cannot continue to benefit from his ill-gotten gains and his victim’s final wishes for her estate will finally be fulfilled.

“In the last five years, over £478 million has been recovered from CPS obtained Confiscation Orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £95 million of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation

Source: Department for Health and Social Care published on this website Tuesday 23 September 2025

Jess’s Rule is named in memory of Jessica Brady, who died of cancer in December 2020 at the age of 27, and will help avoid tragic, preventable deaths as GPs are supported to catch potentially deadly illnesses sooner. 

In the five months leading up to her death, Jessica had more than twenty appointments with her GP practice but eventually had to seek private healthcare. She was later diagnosed with stage 4 adenocarcinoma. With such an advanced disease there was no available treatment. She was admitted into hospital where she died three weeks later.

The new initiative will ask GPs to think again if, after three appointments, they have been unable to offer a substantiated diagnosis, or the patient’s symptoms have escalated.

While many GP practices already use similar approaches in complex cases, Jess’s Rule will make this standard practice across the country, aiming to reduce health inequalities and ensuring everyone – no matter their age or background – receives the same high standard of care.

Designed in collaboration with the Chair of Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and NHS England, Jess’s Rule will help to catch serious conditions earlier and support GPs with guidelines that bolster their clinical judgment, while encouraging them to reflect, review and rethink if they are uncertain about a patients’ condition.

Jess’s mum Andrea Brady said:

“Jess lived for just three short weeks following her terminal cancer diagnosis. Despite her shock and devastation, she showed unfailing courage, positivity, dignity, and love. Jess was determined that people should understand how desperately she had tried to advocate for herself and seek a resolution for her declining health.

“In the bleak weeks following the loss of Jess, I realised it was my duty to continue what she had started. It has taken nearly five years to bring about Jess’s Rule. I would like to dedicate this initiative to all the young people who have been diagnosed too late.

“It has only been made possible because of the people who have listened — politicians, medics, and the nearly half a million who supported the campaign.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

“Jessica Brady’s death was a preventable and unnecessary tragedy. I want to thank her courageous family, who have campaigned tirelessly through unimaginable grief to ensure Jessica’s legacy helps to save the lives of others.  

“Patient safety must be the bedrock of the NHS, and Jess’ Rule will make sure every patient receives the thorough, compassionate, and safe care that they deserve, while supporting our hard-working GPs to catch potentially deadly illnesses.

“I don’t want any family to endure the pain Jessica’s family have been through. This government will learn from such tragedies and is taking decisive action to improve patient safety.”

Jess’s Rule could support GPs to ensure continuity of care for patients with persistent health concerns. This could involve arranging face-to-face consultations if previous appointments were remote, conducting thorough physical examinations, or ordering additional diagnostic tests.

It also encourages GPs to review patient records comprehensively, seek second opinions from colleagues, and consider specialist referrals when appropriate.

Research shows that younger patients and those from ethnic minority backgrounds often face delays in diagnosis of serious conditions, as their symptoms may not match typical presentation patterns seen in older or white patients.

A report from the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation found that half of 16 to 24-year-olds required three or more interactions with a healthcare professional from a GP practice before being diagnosed with cancer, compared to one in five across the whole population. 

Jess’s Rule emphasises the need to remain alert to symptoms that might suggest serious conditions, regardless of a patient’s age or ethnicity, thereby reducing health inequalities.

Jessica Brady’s legacy will ensure that patient voice is at the heart of healthcare – a key commitment in the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.

This initiative, targeting primary care, builds on the recent rollout of Martha’s Rule to every acute hospital in England, which empowers patients, families, and carers to request urgent clinical reviews if they are concerned about deteriorating conditions not being adequately addressed.

Jess’s Rule is just one of the ways the government is supporting GPs to provide worldclass healthcare for patients as part of the Plan for Change.

This includes recruiting over 2,000 extra GPs in a year, providing vital cash for over 1,000 GP surgeries to create additional space to see more patients, and securing a record funding boost for practices – over £1 billion in 2025-26. Public satisfaction with GP services is finally on the rise, with 73.6% of patients describing their GP experience as “good” according to recent ONS statistics, up 6.2% since July 2024.

By catching illnesses at earlier stages, Jess’s Rule will help reduce hospital backlogs, improve outcomes for patients, and save lives.

Source: Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published on this website Wednesday 24 September 2025

Dr Alison Cave, Chief Safety Officer at the MHRA, said:

Patient safety is our top priority. There is no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.   

Paracetamol remains the recommended pain relief option for pregnant women when used as directed. Pregnant women should continue to follow existing NHS guidance and speak to their healthcare professional if they have questions about any medication during pregnancy. Untreated pain and fever can pose risks to the unborn baby, so it is important to manage these symptoms with the recommended treatment. 

Our advice on medicines in pregnancy is based on rigorous assessment of the best available scientific evidence.  Any new evidence that could affect our recommendations would be carefully evaluated by our independent scientific experts. 

We continuously monitor the safety of all medicines, including those used during pregnancy, through robust monitoring and surveillance. We encourage anyone to report any suspected side effects to us via the Yellow Card scheme.

Source: Law Commission published on this website Friday 19 September 2025 by Jill Powell

Disabled children across England will benefit from clearer legal rights and more consistent support under comprehensive reforms published by the Law Commission.

The recommendations are the culmination of a two-year review and follow extensive consultation on proposals to modernise the fragmented legal framework governing social care for disabled children. Currently, families and local authorities navigate a complex web of overlapping laws from the 1970s and 1980s that create confusion and inconsistent provision across the country. The new proposals would ensure the law in this area is fairer, simpler and up to date. 

The Law Commission recommends keeping disabled children within existing Children Act protections while introducing a discrete set of rights and entitlements for disabled children into that Act. This new, unified framework should be accompanied by dedicated and comprehensive guidance setting out the rights and responsibilities of disabled children, families and local authorities. This guidance should include material which helps local authorities to ensure that there is a more appropriate balance struck between identifying and meeting the needs of disabled children and their families in a non-stigmatising way, and safeguarding them from harm and abuse. 

The unified legal framework would establish national eligibility criteria, ending the current postcode lottery where a disabled child in one part of the country will have their needs met but a child in another part of the country with identical needs will not. As a first step toward this national system, the Law Commission recommends that the Government carry out further work – involving disabled children, families and local authorities – to decide what the eligibility criteria should be and ensure that they are financially sustainable. 

Other key reforms include giving disabled children express rights to request social care assessments and ensuring they receive independent advocacy when needed, to make sure that their voices are heard. The proposals would also strengthen transition planning to adulthood and improve cooperation between health, education and social care services.  

The recommendations aim to balance meeting disability-related needs whilst maintaining essential safeguarding protections.  

“Disabled children’s social care law” is the body of legal rules covering:  

• whether a disabled child can get help from social services to meet their needs;  
• what help they can get; and   
• how they get it.   

The reforms are likely to affect over half a million disabled children in England. Implementation would require government approval and new legislation to be introduced in Parliament. 

The full report and recommendations are now with government for consideration. 

The full report and a summary are available here.