Source: UK Internet Safety Centre (UKISC) published on this website Thursday 18 September 2025 by Jill Powell
The Revenge Porn Helpline has collaborated with the National Crime Agency (NCA) to publish guidance for professionals working in higher education settings on financially motivated sexual extortion (FMSE), a type of online blackmail often  referred to as ‘sextortion’.

The guidance includes a poster, for display across higher education settings, helping students to know how to respond and report FMSE, should they be targeted.

What is financially motivated sexual extortion?

Financially motivated sexual extortion is a form of online blackmail where an offender threatens to share nude or semi-nude images and/or videos of a person unless they pay them money or meet another financial demand (for example purchasing a pre-paid gift card). Offenders are often operating outside the UK, and can target anyone regardless of age, gender, or background.

Why is this important for further education settings?

Cases of financially motivated sexual extortion have risen sharply in recent years. In 2024 research by the Revenge Porn Helpline identified 64% of victims were between the ages of 18 and 34. Whilst offenders can target anyone, young adults starting at university or other further education settings may have increased factors of vulnerability that offenders seek to exploit; such as access to student loans or bursaries and increased isolation or loneliness.

Encouraging victims to seek help

Fear and shame are often barriers that prevent victims of financially motivated sexual extortion from seeking help or reporting. This vital guidance gives knowledge and tools to further education professionals on the threat, enabling them to better reassure victims that they are not alone or at fault and that there is help available.

Download the further education guidance and poster here.

Further advice

If you are under 18 , you can access advice and guidance about financially motivated sexual extortion through the UK Safer Internet Centre.
If you are over 18, you can find confidential support and practical help through the Revenge Porn Helpline.

Read more about Sextortion

Source: Department for Health and Social Care published on this website Tuesday 16 September 2025 by Jill Powell

The 14 hospital trusts to be looked at as part of a rapid, independent, national investigation into maternity and neonatal services have been named today. 

Baroness Amos’ investigation will put families at the heart of the work and affected families were asked to provide input to the draft terms of reference of the investigation. 

The Terms of Reference have been developed to focus on understanding the experiences of affected women and families, identifying lessons learned and driving the improvements needed to ensure high quality and safe maternity and neonatal care across England.    

The investigation was announced in June 2025 by Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting after the government inherited systemic problems in maternity and neonatal care dating back over 15 years.

It comes alongside a package of immediate actions to improve care, including greater intervention by the Secretary of State and NHS Chief Executive to hold failing trusts to account - a key step in delivering the government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future through the Plan for Change.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:   

Bereaved families have shown extraordinary courage in coming forward to help inform this rapid national investigation alongside Baroness Amos. 

What they have experienced is devastating, and their strength will help protect other families from enduring what they have been through.  

I know that NHS maternity and neonatal workers want the best for these mothers and babies, and that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but I cannot turn a blind eye to failures in the system.  

Every single preventable tragedy is one too many. Harmed and bereaved families will be right at the heart of this investigation to ensure no-one has to suffer like this again.

The investigation will urgently look at a range of services across the entire maternity system, following independent reviews across multiple trusts that have revealed a pattern of similar failings: women’s voices ignored, safety concerns overlooked, and poor leadership creating toxic cultures. 

The Health and Social Care Secretary and Baroness Amos have agreed the terms of reference of the independent investigation, which will include understanding the lived experiences of families, reviewing the quality and safety of services, identifying the drivers and impact of inequalities and identifying barriers to making improvements. 

Following its conclusion, she will deliver one clear set of national recommendation to achieve consistently high-quality, safe maternity and neonatal care, with interim recommendations delivered in December 2025. 

Baroness Valerie Amos said:  

It is vital that the voices of mothers and families are at the heart of this investigation from the very beginning. 

Their experiences – including those of fathers and non-birthing partners – will guide our work and shape the national recommendations we will publish. We will pay particular attention to the inequalities faced by Black and Asian women and by families from marginalised groups, whose voices have too often been overlooked. 

Our aims are to ensure the lived experiences of affected families are fully heard, to conduct and publish 14 local investigations of maternity and neonatal services, and to develop recommendations informed by these that will drive improvements across maternity and neonatal services nationwide.

The 14 trusts announced today have been chosen for investigation based on a range of factors. These include data and metrics, such as the CQC maternity patient survey and MBRRACE-UK perinatal mortality rates, as well as criteria to determine a diverse mix of trusts:

• Variation in case mix 
• Trust type 
• Geographic coverage 
• Provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, including consideration of social, economic and racial inequalities 
• Family feedback 
• Three trusts – Shrewsbury and Telford, East Kent Hospitals and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay – have been chosen where previous investigations have taken place and learnings from these will be incorporated in this new investigation.

The 14 NHS trusts are:

• Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust
• East Kent Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust
• Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust
• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
• The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
• The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust
• University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
• University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
• University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
• Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust / Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for England said: 

This independent investigation is a crucial step in driving meaningful change in maternity and neonatal care, and the diverse range of trusts selected – including where previous investigations have taken place to incorporate learnings– will provide valuable insight to help teams across the country improve care for women, babies and families.

I want to reassure women and families that staff are continuing to work hard to provide the best possible care and want to do everything they can to support them – we would encourage them talk to their midwives and maternity teams if they have any concerns.

The investigation will run alongside a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce – set up and chaired by the Health and Social Care Secretary and made up of a panel of esteemed experts and families - to keep up momentum and deliver change. 

This will address several issues facing maternity care in England – including the devastating inequalities facing women from Black, Asian and deprived backgrounds face, and wider concerns over a lack of compassionate care and safety. 

On 14th August, Baroness Valerie Amos was appointed the Chair of the maternity and neonatal investigation: Baroness Amos to spearhead maternity and neonatal Investigation - GOV.UK

Source: Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency published on this website Wednesday 17 September 2025 by Jill Powell

The importance of medicine safety and how to report side effects of medicines via the Yellow Card scheme is now part of the statutory guidance for schools in England.

On World Patient Safety Day (17 September), the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is proud to announce a major milestone in its mission to protect public health: for the first time, the importance of medicine safety and how to report side effects of medicines via the Yellow Card scheme is now part of the RSHE statutory guidance for schools in England. 

Working in close partnership with the Department for Education (DfE), the MHRA has successfully embedded this life-saving knowledge into the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance – reaching children and young people in classrooms across the country. 

This bold step puts patient safety into the hands of the next generation, giving them the tools to recognise and report side effects from medicines. 

Putting safety at the heart of education 

The curriculum changes are reflected in the statutory guidance , which now links directly to the Yellow Card scheme and a dedicated child-friendly guide tested with over 3,500 children and young people.

The content covers: 

• What a side effect is 
• Why it’s important to report problems with medicines  
• How to submit a Yellow Card report 
• Who the MHRA are and how they help keep the public safe 

World Patient Safety Day emphasises the need for stronger measures to protect children from preventable harm. The inclusion of this important information on the curriculum reflects this call by making young people active participants in the safety of the healthcare system. 

The inclusion in education ensures that even the youngest members of society know how to: 

• Take charge of their own health 
• Speak up when something doesn’t feel right 
• Play a direct role in improving the safety of medicines and medical devices for all 

Accessible, empowering, actionable 

• Young people are guided to seek support from a parent, carer, teacher, or healthcare professional if they’re worried about a possible side effect, and they are shown how to report it through the Yellow Card website: https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk  
• The guide for children and young people explains reporting in simple, clear terms and is now an official part of the resources supporting Health Education in England. 

About the Yellow Card scheme 

• The Yellow Card scheme is the UK’s system for reporting suspected side effects to medicines, medical devices, and other healthcare products. Managed by the MHRA, the scheme plays a crucial role in monitoring product safety and taking action to minimise risks. 
• Now, for the first time, children and young people are actively encouraged in this system – not just as potential patients, but as active participants in ensuring safer healthcare for all. 

Source: Kent Police published on this website Monday 15 September 2025 by Jill Powell

Lengthy prison sentences have been given to three sexual predators who repeatedly raped a 12-year-old girl after she was lured into a car in Dover.

Kevin Horvath and Ivan Turtak approached their victim in a supermarket car park on Sunday 11 August 2024 before driving her to various locations and subjecting her to horrific abuse for several days along with a third offender, Ernest Gunar.

All were convicted of multiple child sex offences including rape following a trial earlier this year and were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday 12 September 2025.

Horvath, 26, of King Street, Dover, and Turtak, 38, of George Street, were both jailed for 17 years whilst Gunar, 27, of Sidney Street, Folkestone, was sentenced to 19 years.

All three men, who are Slovakian nationals, will also serve an additional three years on licence under the terms of extended sentences.

It was revealed during the offenders’ trial that the girl was plied with drugs and alcohol whilst being repeatedly sexually abused, having first been taken to Turtak’s flat in Dover before then being driven to a caravan owned by Gunar in Folkestone.

She was told she would be killed if she raised the alarm or tried to escape but was eventually able to leave the caravan whilst the men were asleep on Tuesday 13 August and later opened up to Kent Police officers about the ordeal she had been put through.

House-to-house enquiries were immediately carried out, which led to the discovery of CCTV footage that showed the victim getting into a silver Skoda Fabia in the supermarket car park. The registration number of the vehicle was visible and traced to Horvath as the registered owner, who was arrested along with Turtak in the early hours of Thursday 15 August.

Gunar was then identified as the third offender and arrested three days later at Glasgow Airport in a failed attempt to escape justice.

All three were forensically linked to the offences whilst there was also an indecent image of the victim on Turtak’s mobile phone, which was taken inside his flat.

Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Smith of Kent Police said:

“Nobody should have to suffer sexual abuse like the victim in this case did and I would like to commend her for the strength and courage she displayed throughout the investigation and court process.

“Kevin Horvath, Ivan Turtak and Ernest Gunar are clearly three very dangerous offenders who thought nothing about picking a child up off the street and effectively keeping her prisoner in order to fulfil their own depraved sexual needs. They will now be behind bars where they belong for a significant period of time, which I hope is of some comfort to the victim and her family as they attempt to rebuild their lives.

“Incidents of this nature are fortunately very rare in Kent and I am extremely proud of every officer and member of staff who worked so hard to identify the offenders and ultimately bring them to justice, so they can cause no further harm to innocent members of the public.”