A coroner has directed a local council to hand over thousands of records connected to the inquest into the killing of 10-year-old Sara Sharif.

Sara was discovered dead at her family’s home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023, after enduring what a judge later described as among the most horrific offending he had ever seen.

The schoolgirl had suffered more than 100 injuries after being restrained by her father, 43-year-old Urfan Sharif, who placed a plastic bag over her head and fixed it in place with parcel tape.

She was also attacked with a cricket bat, a metal pole and a rolling pin, strangled so violently that her neck was broken, burned with an iron and subjected to bite injuries.

The day after Sara’s murder, Sharif fled to his native Pakistan with his wife and accomplice, 32-year-old Beinash Batool, before calling 999 to admit the killing, apparently believing he had escaped justice.

But he was captured and extradited to face trial at the Old Bailey, where he and Batool were jailed for life with minimum terms of 40 years and 33 years, respectively, in December 2024, after the murderous pair were found guilty of Sara’s murder.

Now, Senior Coroner Richard Travers has ordered Surrey County Council to disclose 24,606 documents relating to Sara’s siblings at a pre-inquest review into her death. 

Leading up to her murder, Sara lived with several siblings, as well as her father, stepmother and uncle.

Earlier this year, it emerged Sara’s five siblings – who now live in Pakistan – would remain with their grandfather in the city of Jhelum, where they have resided since October 2023. 

Their future whereabouts, and who would ultimately hold custody of them, were at the centre of a court battle in Pakistan between the UK council and the family. 

The children were made wards of court in England after their sister’s death, with Surrey County Council since pushing for their return to the UK. 

On Thursday, Mr Travers said he wants ‘all of the pages’ pertaining to Sara’s siblings to be disclosed to him.

But Alethea Redfern, representing the authority, argued against the full disclosure of the documents and said many are ‘irrelevant’ to the inquest.

Ms Redfern said there must be a review of the paperwork by the council, adding some of the documents relate to matters that have ‘no connection’ to the circumstances of Sara’s death.

She said disclosure of all the documents, which are in an electronic format, will go beyond what is ‘necessary’.

However, Mr Travers said he doesn’t understand what the council’s ‘issue’ is with him obtaining the pages.

He said: ‘This is going to be an order of the court. It is not up to Surrey County Council to decide what’s to be disclosed and what’s not to be disclosed.’

Mr Travers requested all pages be released to him by the afternoon of October 2. 

If they are not, he said he will require the attendance of the authority’s chief executive at the coroner’s court.

The inquest into Sara’s death was to begin in April 2027, however, Mr Travers said he will adjourn the proceedings to a later date, in October.

The coroner said he is not prepared to ‘rush’ proceedings and added inquests are ‘important hearings’ that must be done ‘properly’.

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During Thursday’s proceedings, three individuals due to give evidence at Sara’s inquest applied for anonymity to prevent their identities from being reported by the press.

The coroner also heard submissions and said he will make a decision at an unknown later date.

Concerns were raised regarding Sara’s care within a week of her birth in 2013, with her parents known to social services as early as 2010. 

In the run-up to her murder on August 8, 2023, a previous safeguarding report found neighbours heard bloodcurdling screams but failed to report it as they ‘feared being branded as being racist, especially on social media’.

An occupational therapist sent to the home two years before Sara was killed noted the schoolgirl, then aged eight, was the only person in the house wearing a hijab but failed to question it, ‘although she has reflected that she may have been reticent to talk about it for fear of causing offence’.

It was later revealed the head covering was hiding bruises inflicted on Sara by her father and stepmother.

A review said it was ‘concerning that race was a bar to reporting possible child abuse’, noting ‘white fragility – or a defensiveness’ is ‘triggered when white individuals encounter racial stress’ causing them to focus on their ‘own feelings of victimisation’ rather than those being harmed.

The Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership also found there were at least four missed opportunities to save ‘a beautiful little girl with a lovely smile and a loud laugh,’ concluding ‘different actions could and should have been taken and the system failed to keep her safe.’

England’s Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, said Sara was ‘killed by those who should have loved her, but let down by every service.’

Even before his daughter’s death, Urfan Sharif was known for violence after being accused of attacking two children and three women, including Sara’s mother Olga Domin.

But he was never charged with any offence.

After arriving in the UK on a student visa, the taxi driver held one woman at knifepoint, choked another with a belt and imprisoned one girlfriend for five days while he sent her passport off for a marriage application in a bid to secure residency in the UK.

Yet Sharif managed to dodge blame and a child protection plan was closed in 2011 ‘without any evidence that father had addressed his abusive behaviour’.

Social services were called repeatedly after Sharif was accused of biting, hitting and slapping children but no further action was taken after he blamed Ms Domin.

Sara was taken into foster care in 2014 at the age of two, but despite the local authority believing she should be adopted, only a 12-month supervision order was put in place ‘without adequate safeguards’.

Meanwhile, her father spent his time drinking and gambling, eventually leaving Ms Domin to fly to Jhelum where he secretly married his cousin in an Islamic ceremony before he returned to embark on a third marriage with Batool.

In 2016 Sharif was ordered to go on a domestic violence perpetrator programme where he ‘admitted to extensive and wide-ranging domestic abuse’.

But he only attended eight of the 26 sessions and experts said there was ‘not enough evidence’ he had changed his behaviour.

Despite the report making ‘quite shocking reading’, its significance ‘became lost within the system’ when a social worker failed to complete an analysis and it was not added to Sara’s safeguarding report.

A family court later decided to award Sharif custody in 2019 based on a flawed report by an inexperienced social worker which had critical ‘gaps’ in information about Sharif as they were under ‘pressure to file the report on time’.

Sara’s Polish mother was made out to be ‘the problem’ and her ‘voice became lost’ because there was no interpreter to explain what was happening, leaving her ‘marginalised’ and ‘cut off’ from decisions about Sara’s fate.

Consequently, a report found ‘red flags’ regarding Sara’s care were missed as there was an ‘assumption that because the court had decided that Sara could live with him there was no need to be unduly concerned.’

In December 2024, a jury found Sharif and Batool guilty of murdering Sara following a ten-week trial where they heard she was subjected to a ‘campaign of abuse’. 

At the Central Criminal Court, both Sharif and Batool were sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve minimum terms of 40 years and 33 years in prison, respectively. 

Lady Joan Branson’s death may have been avoided had she been prescribed a widely used blood-thinning drug to reduce the risk of clots, an inquest has concluded.

The 80-year-old wife of Sir Richard Branson died on 24 November 2025 after going into cardiac arrest, triggered by a sudden blockage in her lung.

That blockage is understood to have stemmed from deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT — a potentially fatal blood clot that most commonly forms in a vein in the leg.

Lady Branson had been taken to hospital after a fall at a private Caribbean retreat left her with fractures to her pelvis and hip.

However, despite a longstanding history of blood clots and being considered “at very high risk of developing DVT”, she was not given anticoagulant medication while in hospital.

Nor was she given compression stocking in the first 48 hours of her admission, oversights which coroners say could have cost her her life. 

The body uses blood clots to prevent excessive blood loss, but these clots can become dangerous if they keep blood from circulating properly. 

DVT affects some 60,000 people in the UK every year and can be dangerous as blood clots can travel to the lungs, cutting off oxygen and blood supply – known as a pulmonary embolism. 

As many as one in four deaths are related to blood clots, making DVT a leading cause of preventable hospital deaths and disability. 

However, it’s estimated that up to a third of cases go undiagnosed because the symptoms are often mistaken for other problems, or non-existent. 

Blood clots often form when blood flow slows, often during periods of prolonged immobility. 

Risk increases sharply with age and with certain medical conditions including cancer. 

Being obese, smoking, taking hormone replacement therapy or the combined contraceptive pill are all known to increase the risk of DVT.

High blood sugar levels and cholesterol, that come with uncontrolled diabetes, can also damage the lining of blood vessels and encourage clotting. 

Women are also significantly more likely to develop the life-threatening condition during pregnancy, and for six weeks after giving birth.  

Long distance travel can also increase the risk, particularly when journeys exceed four to six hours, whether by air, car, train or ferry. 

But sometimes DVT can happen for no obvious reasons. 

The NHS lists four red-flag warning signs, including throbbing pain in one leg – usually in the calf or thigh, swelling, red or darkened skin around the painful area and swollen veins. 

These symptoms can also occur in the arm, if this is where the blood clot appears.

Rarely, people may experience just lower abdominal pain. 

Anyone who thinks they have DVT is advised to book an urgent GP appointment or seek help from NHS 111.

If symptoms occur alongside shortness of breath and chest pain this is a medical emergency, requiring immediate treatment at A&E. 

While there is no one-stop way to prevent DVT, lifestyle changes can significantly reduce the risk. 

The NHS recommends maintaining a healthy weight, keeping active and trying to stand up every hour, drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration and not smoking. 

Those who regularly travel for four hours or more should wear loose clothing, compression socks and avoid sitting for long periods of time where possible, to help minimise the risk. 

The NHS also states that healthcare teams should check if patients are at a high risk of DVT.

If doctors find this to be the case, patients may be given treatment to prevent it, such as blood-thinning medicines like rivaroxaban. 

Blood-thinning medications typically need to be taken for at least three months, to reduce the risk of another blood clot occurring. These medicines are usually taken as tablets. 

In an email sent to the court, the couple’s daughter, Dr Holly Branson highlighted her mother’s history of blood clots, dating back over a decade and said she would not have refused anticoagulants had they been offered. 

When asked why the drugs weren’t prescribed, the lead doctor on her case, Dr Basir Kunduzi said he decided to delay prescribing anticoagulants until Lady Branson had undergone a CT, to ensure there was no internal bleeding the drugs could have worsened. 

But the inquest heard the decision not to administer the anticoagulants to Lady Branson would haunt him for the rest of his life, as he expressed his condolences to the family. 

On Instagram, Sir Richard described his wife as the ‘most wonderful mum and grandmum’, signing off: ‘She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world. Love you forever Joan x.’ 

Seven men have been taken into custody after four people were stabbed during alarming scenes on a busy south London high street, where witnesses reported seeing a group armed with machetes running through the area.

One man is understood to be in a life-threatening condition, while three others were taken to hospital following the incident, which reportedly began with a fight inside a KFC on Bromley High Street shortly after 2.15pm.

Bromley High Street has been shut in both directions between Ringers Road and Ethelbert Road as officers maintain a police cordon around the scene.

The Metropolitan Police said the seven arrested men remain in custody and added that, at this stage, there is not believed to be any wider danger to the public.

Emergency services including an air ambulance, London Fire Brigade crews and Met Police officers were sent to Bromley town centre following the stabbing incident.

A manager of Merkur Slots gambling shop said she witnessed the fight ‘spill out’ onto the high street. 

She said that she felt ‘very worried’ and locked herself, as well as three customers, inside the building as they waited for the incident to de-escalate. 

Meanwhile, Vinnie Guadagnino, who lives on the high street, said he saw a huge police response to the incident with several cars and at least ten officers on foot. 

He told the BBC: ‘Police cars kept coming, then within the next half hour there were multiple fire engines and people gathering.

‘Then there was a drone overhead and helicopters and an air ambulance – so a massive emergency service response.’

Bromley is one of the largest boroughs in the capital city and is known for its sprawling green spaces and is generally considered a middle-class area. 

It is also ranked among the top 10 safest boroughs in the capital city with 67 per 1,000 people, CrimeRate reported. 

Earlier this year, data also revealed it was the most expensive area in southeast London to buy a property. 

Statistics from Zoopla showed the average salary required to buy a home in Bromley was £92,000.

The average property price of a property in the area sits at £518,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.

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Meanwhile, as of June 2026, the average value of a detached property in Bromley sits at £1,074,000

A Met Police spokesperson: ‘At around 14:15hrs on Thursday, September 10, officers were called to reports of an altercation on Bromley High Street.

‘Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance and found four men with stab wounds. 

‘Three of them were taken to hospital where they are receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. One is in critical condition.

‘Seven men were arrested and they all remain in custody.

‘Police enquiries continue and there is not believed to be any wider threat to the public.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 2.19pm today to reports of a stabbing on Bromley High Street, Bromley. 

‘We sent ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, an incident response officer and an advanced paramedic.

‘We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance. We treated four patients at the scene and took them all to hospital’.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact the police force by calling 101 and quoting 4008/10SEP. 

Alternatively, those who want to report anonymously can do so by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on  0800 555 111.

The Daily Mail has approached KFC for comment. 

Savannah Guthrie made an uncommon on-air reference to her missing mother during Thursday’s episode of the Today show, notably speaking about her in the past tense.

Guthrie, 54, brought up the personal connection while sharing her enthusiasm for the Today team’s forthcoming trip to Ireland.

The NBC anchor pointed to her mother Nancy’s Irish heritage, telling her colleagues that her family ties trace back to the Emerald Isle, while also revealing that she has never visited the country herself.

‘My mother was Irish,’ Guthrie told the Today team. ‘Her grandmother – they’re from Galway.’

Guthrie had last spoken about her mother on air in July, after NBC News reported details from a note the family received in February the month before.

The ransom letter claimed the 84-year-old died of heart failure shortly after being taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on February 1. 

Guthrie previously said on-air that she believed the correspondence, unlike others, was authentic.

‘I love you guys and I love this place,’ she said at the time, before turning to the camera.

‘This is unusual and unprecedented to say the least… I want to just take the opportunity to ask people, to really to beg people to come forward.

‘Somebody knows something, and this is a news story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live, every day.’ 

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She asserted the family was ‘in agony’ and ‘cannot be at peace.’

In late July, Guthrie posted a video to social media that the Today team immediately broadcasted.

In it, she urged an unspecified party to ‘make the right choice’ and ‘help us bring this situation to an end.’ NBC correspondent Erin McLaughlin framed it as Guthrie ‘speaking directly to the person responsible for kidnapping her mom, Nancy.’ 

‘The world can be a cruel and unforgiving place… So I’m asking you, begging you, to do the right thing now. Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her,’ Guthrie said in the clip.

‘I truly believe it is never too late to do the right thing. Help us bring this situation to an end.’

‘For all of us, no matter where we’ve been and what we have done, I believe there is always a way home. Please make the right choice,’ she said.

It was the seventh public appeal from the star in six months, since the search began.

More than a month later, there are no new leads and no suspects named. 

Guthrie will broadcast from County Kerry with costars Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Carson Daly, Dylan Dreyer, Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones on Friday, October 16, NBC said.

The last time the Today show travelled internationally was in 2024 to Paris for the Summer Olympics.