LONDON (AP) — A 26-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to the murder of a mother and two of her daughters at their family home just north of London last year, in an attack that involved a crossbow and a knife.
Prosecutors said Kyle Clifford killed his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt and her 28-year-old sister Hannah Hunt with a crossbow before stabbing their mother, Carol Hunt, 61, to death on July 9.
Appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court, Clifford admitted to three counts of murder, one of false imprisonment and two counts of possession of offensive weapons — the crossbow and a 10-inch knife. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping Louise Hunt.
The three women, who are the family of well-known BBC radio racing commentator John Hunt, were found with serious injuries at their home in the quiet residential neighborhood of Bushey, northeast of the capital. Police and ambulance crews tried to save the three women, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police launched a manhunt for the suspect before he was found injured in a cemetery in Enfield, north London. Clifford, who served in the military from 2019 for around three years, had shot himself in the chest with the crossbow.
Following the attacks, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was urgently considering whether tougher crossbow laws were needed but no proposals have yet been put forward.
People in Britain do not need a license to own a crossbow, but it is illegal to carry one in public without a reasonable excuse.
The weapon has been used in several high-profile crimes in recent years.
In December 2021 a would-be assailant carrying a loaded crossbow broke into Windsor Castle seeking to kill Queen Elizabeth II. Jaswant Singh Chail pleaded guilty to a treason charge and was sentenced last year to nine years in prison.
In this Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook, Kyle Clifford, who has pleaded guilty to the murder of a mother and two of her daughters at their family home just north of London last year, appears via videolink at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, England, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told global leaders to “keep the pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin to back a ceasefire in Ukraine.
In his opening remarks Saturday to a virtual gathering of what he has termed the “coalition of the willing,” Starmer said Putin will “sooner or later” have to “come to the table.”
Unlike the first summit on March 2, the meeting of what Starmer has termed the “coalition of the willing” is being conducted virtually. The call is expected to delve into how countries can help Ukraine militarily and financially as well as gauging support for any future possible peacekeeping mission.
“If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious, and enduring peace," Starmer told leaders, in remarks released by his office ahead of the meeting. “If they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.”
Like last time, there will be no representative from the United States, which has shifted its approach on the war since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. The change of approach relative to that taken by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, became particularly notable after Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28 in the Oval Office.
Saturday's meeting takes place in the wake of a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, which Zelenskyy has backed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that he supported a truce in principle but has set out a host of details that need to be clarified before agreeing to a ceasefire. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has voiced “cautious optimism” about the possibility of Putin, who met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, on Thursday, backing a ceasefire.
Starmer appears to be less optimistic, and is telling leaders that concrete commitments are required now as Putin plays “pointless games” with Trump’s peace plan.
“Putin is trying to delay, saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place. But the world needs to see action, not a study, or empty words and pointless conditions,” Starmer said. “The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.”
Starmer has taken the lead, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, in assembling the “coalition of the willing” in part to persuade Trump to maintain support for Kyiv. One outcome has already been a growing acceptance from European countries in particular that they need to do more secure their own security, including by increasing their defense spending.
Macron said he had spoken Friday with both Zelenskyy and Starmer about progress at the U.S.-Ukraine talks earlier this week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which led to Trump resuming military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Saturday's meeting, he said, will "continue to work on reinforcing the support for Ukraine and toward a solid and lasting peace.”
Ukraine, under severe military pressure on parts of the front line three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, has already endorsed the truce proposal. Russia’s army has gained battlefield momentum, and analysts say Putin likely will be reluctant to rush into a ceasefire while he feels he has an advantage.
“My message to the Kremlin could not be clearer: stop the barbaric attacks on Ukraine, once and for all, and agree to a ceasefire now,” Starmer said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, , shakes hands with Colonel-General Ruslan Khomchak, First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, as French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, right, and Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces Thierry Burkhard, left, look on during a meeting on the conflict in Ukraine at the Musee de la Marine as part of the Paris Defense and Strategy Forum in Paris, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, Russian soldiers ride atop of self-propelled gun at an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, a Russian soldier rises a red flag atop of a house at an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer gestures during a Q&A session after delivering a speech on plans to reform the civil service, during a visit to Reckitt Benckiser Health Care UK Ltd in Kingston upon Hull, England, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer departs 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament in London, England, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
