Greater Manchester Police has confirmed that a man who lunged at five people with a knife when running through Manchester Arndale in October 2019 has been given a hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
In a statement released by the force yesterday, GMP explained that 43-year-old Raphael Chevelleau – who lived in Blackley, Manchester – was arrested by officers responding to reports of multiple people being stabbed at the shopping centre on the morning of Friday 11 October 2019.
Chevelleau had initially been held under the Terrorism Act following the incident, but was deemed by medical specialists to be initially unfit for interview and has been in a secure hospital under Mental Health Act ever since.
Detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing North West found no ideological motive for the attacks, but were however authorised to charge Chevelleau for three counts of wounding with intent and two counts of attempted wounding, with extensive CCTV enquiries eventually forming a sequence of Chevelleau’s movements that morning.
Giving further insights into his movements, GMP revealed he began at a local store in Blackley where he purchased a knife for £1.50, before putting in his coat pocket and heading towards the nearest bus stop.
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After exiting the bus at Shudehill, Chevelleau went across to the Arndale where he walked through the shopping centre to the toilets to dispose of the packaging for the knife and return to the mall, before proceeding to go on a 90-second rampage where he first attacked a man in his 50s and subsequently inflicted injuries on four women aged between 19 and 49.
Thankfully, GMP said none of the injuries were life-threatening, but the man has since had his use of his right-hand severely affected, and all the victims had to be offered support for any psychological harm caused as a result of the attacks.
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After pleading guilty at an earlier hearing, Chevelleau was eventually sentenced yesterday to a hospital order at Manchester Crown Court for three offences of wounding with intent, and two offences of attempted wounding.
The court heard that Chevelleau – who was a regular cannabis user – suffers from a schizophrenic illness, which has been resistant to treatment.
He was admitted to hospital in 2006 for a psychiatric illness, while his mother said he was diagnosed in prison with schizophrenia when he was 21, and a consultant forensic psychiatrist had previously told the court he thought it was “highly unlikely” Chevelleau would have committed the offences if he had not been suffering from schizophrenia.
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He said there was “a wealth of evidence” that – unknown to medical practitioners and family members – his mental state deteriorated ahead of the stabbings.
Raphael Chevelleau was arrested by officers responding to reports of multiple people being stabbed at Manchester Arndale / Credit: Greater Manchester Police
Despite being arrested under counter-terrorism legislation due to the nature of the incident and comments made during his arrest, CTPNW investigators said they did not find evidence of an ideological motive.
Detectives said they spoke to over 160 witnesses to compile enough evidence to compel Chevelleau to plead guilty to all five stabbings and be sentenced to a hospital order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act subject to restrictions under section 41 of the Mental Health Act.
“This was a shocking and unprovoked attack and the Crown Prosecution Services thoughts remain with the victims and those directly affected by the actions of Mr Chevelleau,” said Nick Price – Head of the CPS Counter-Terrorism Division – following the sentencing.
“I am pleased that Mr Chevelleau has taken responsibility for his actions through his guilty pleas and that as such the victims and other witnesses who have provided statements are not required to give evidence in court.
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“The sentence imposed by the court today reflects the seriousness of Mr Chevelleau’s actions and the level of danger he poses to the public.”
Featured Image – Greater Manchester Police
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Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour
Daisy Jackson
Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.
The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.
Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.
For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.
They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.
You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.
And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.
THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.
“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.
“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.
“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.
“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.
“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.
“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.
“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.
“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”
Featured image: Simon Emmett
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Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.
The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.
That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.
Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.
For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.
Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group
Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.
And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.
Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.
According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.
As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.
The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:
Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.
“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.
“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”
Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.