Live updates
'Mansion' mum says she would "love to work"
A jobless mother of 11 in Gloucestershire who made headlines after it emerged she was getting a newly built 'mansion' provided by a council said she "would love to go out and work".
Heather Frost, 36, who has not worked for years, said she had intended to set up her own business but fell ill with cancer two years ago.
The grandmother-of-two, who first fell pregnant at 14, said she "understood" why other people who go out to work might be angry that her large family is supported by the taxpayer.
– Heather FrostI'd love to go out and work.
I took a business plan two years ago, I think it was, to try and open my own shop and do my own business but I fell ill. I'd love to come off benefits and support my children myself but there is help out there to help families.
Advertisement
Interview with Tewkesbury Council on benefit 'mansion'
Verna Green, Director of Communities at Tewkesbury Borough Council, talks to our reporter Ken Goodwin. The council has been criticised for building a six-bedroom house for Heather Frost, an unemployed mother of eleven who claims her current housing is unsuitable.
Woman at centre of council 'mansion' row goes into hiding
A woman who has been offered a six bedroom house for her 11 children went into hiding today following a media storm, after it was revealed that Tewkesbury Council is building a new home for her family.
Heather Frost from Innsworth near Gloucester is quoted in the Sun newspaper saying she would demand an even bigger home if she doesn't like the one being built for her. But friends said today she never asked for a six bedroomed house; it was offered because her current accommodation is temporary.
Heather and her family currently live in two semi-detached houses knocked together to form one large house. Verna Green, Director of Communities for Tewkesbury Borough Council says that the new house, which is being built as part of a social housing development, represents good value.
Anger over council's decision to build 'mansion' for mother of 11
Campaigners have criticised a decision by Tewkesbury Borough Council to provide a mother of 11 with a purpose-built six-bedroom "mansion" near Gloucester. Unemployed Heather Frost, 36, currently lives in two houses knocked together in Churchdown but says she needs a more suitable home.
To solve her housing problem, the council sold a plot of land a housing association. It will build 13 houses on the land, one of which will have six bedrooms and be allocated to Ms Frost. Her current home will be re-allocated to two families.
The TaxPayers' Alliance, criticised the decision.
– Robert Oxley, TaxPayers' AllianceIt's scandalous that so much time and taxpayers' money is being spent on one custom-built mansion," he said. "Many people can't afford to buy their own home, but have to opt for what their budget allows.
"Benefits are there to help those who need support, not subsidise a lifestyle that most people paying for them could not afford themselves.
Derek Davies, lead member for built environment at Tewkesbury Borough Council, said:
– Derek Davies, Tewkesbury Borough CouncilWe have a duty to provide appropriate accommodation to people who are at risk of homelessness. Ms Frost's family has been living in temporary accommodation, consisting of two houses, for a very long time because there have been no other suitable properties available. This is an excellent example of the council working in partnership with registered providers, using public land to develop more affordable housing in line with Government policy.
Campaign group slams £500k legal aid bill for convicted travellers
The TaxPayers' Alliance has criticised the £500,000 legal aid given to the Connors family from Cheltenham, millionaire travellers convicted for forcing vulnerable men from the MIdlands into slave labour.
The Chief Executive of the campaign group says legal aid should not be made available for the wealthy.
– Matthew Sinclair, TaxPayers' Alliance"Handing wealthy criminals huge sums of taxpayers' money is yet another example of why our legal aid system is in dire need of reform," he said.
"Legal aid is important in ensuring access to justice but it must also be sustainable to taxpayers.
"It's incredible that this gang were able to claim so much in the first place, but now that they have been found guilty, taxpayers have every right to expect their money to be reclaimed at the very least."
Advertisement
Full report when Connors family were sentenced in December
The Connors family were sentenced in December to a total of nearly 19 years in prison.
They lured vulnerable men off the streets in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Gloucestershire before forcing them into hard labour.
See Rebecca Broxton's report on the day the family were sentenced.
Legal Services Commission could claim back travellers' £500k legal aid
It's emerged a millionaire travelling family who were convicted for forcing vulnerable men to work for hardly any money in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Gloucestershire, received legal aid totalling nearly £500,000.
The Connors family were found guilty last December after a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
The Legal Services Commission paid out the money. It could claim it back if the Connors are proved to have assets of more than £30,000.
A Legal Services Commission spokesman said:
– Legal Services Commission"We manage costs carefully and legal aid rates are considerably less than those paid to lawyers in privately funded cases.
"Trials can cost a lot of money if they last many weeks, are very complex and have thousands of pages of evidence.
"The law says that anyone facing a Crown Court trial for a serious criminal offence can apply for legal aid to ensure they have a lawyer, but funding is subject to a means test which could require them to pay towards their defence."
Millionaire travellers convicted for slavery claimed £500k in legal aid
A family of millionaire travellers who forced vulnerable men to work for a pittance received nearly £500,000 in legal aid it's emerged.
The Connors family enjoyed top-of-the-range cars and expensive holidays - while the workers lived in squalor on caravan sites in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Cheltenham, getting little or no pay.
William Connors, 52, wife Mary, 48, their sons, John, 29, and James, 20, and son-in-law Miles Connors, 24, were jailed in December last year after being convicted of conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
The family bought two caravan sites in Gloucestershire 10 years ago but despite their wealth were able to claim legal aid.
The Legal Services Commission paid a total of $461,363.68 for lawyers to defend the family throughout their trial.
The figures were obtained under a Freedom of Information request.
Gloucestershire grandmother faces execution in Bali
A grandmother from Gloucestershire sentenced to death by firing squad for smuggling cocaine into Bali has lost her High Court battle.
Two judges in London refused to declare unlawful the Government's refusal to pay for "an adequate lawyer" to represent the 56 year old from Cheltenham.
Today's top stories
