The Times - UK (2022-01-26)

the times | Wednesday January 26 2022 13

News

A marketing executive has been
awarded £1.7 million for damages and
loss of earnings from injuries sustained
in a motorway crash despite social me-
dia posts that showed her skiing and on
a 10km Bear Grylls obstacle run.
Natasha Palmer, 34, suffered a brain
injury after a drink-driver crashed into
the back of her car on the M25 in 2014.
The collision left her with severe mi-
graines, poor memory and concentra-
tion, anxiety and sensitivity to light,
which meant she was unable to con-
tinue in her job. She also suffered dizzi-
ness that she described to a doctor as
making her “walk like she was drunk”.
Insurers representing the other
driver, Seferif Mantas, accused her of
“fundamental dishonesty” and exag-
gerating her problems after she tried to
sue him for damages.
They claimed that Instagram posts of
Palmer on a trip to India and a skiing

A teenage boy was flown to hospital
yesterday after he was stabbed repeat-
edly at school by a fellow pupil.
The 15-year-old was attacked at
Walney School in Barrow-in-Furness,
Cumbria, yesterday before his alleged
attacker, 16, fled the scene.
Police and paramedics rushed to the
school, which has 582 pupils aged
between 11 and 16, and the victim was
airlifted to Alder Hey Hospital in Liver-

Drink-drive victim wins £1.7m for

injuries despite Instagram posts

Katie Gibbons holiday, at music events and taking part
in sporting challenges proved that she
had lied about the effects of the crash
and her case was worth just £5,407.
However, Judge Anthony Metzer
QC, said that the “glossy” lifestyle she
had presented on Instagram did not

represent a complete picture of her life.

“She described her social media posts

as a snapshot of what you want people

to see, the positive and exciting side of

your life, not the day-to-day difficulties.

It appears to be uncontentious

evidence that people, including the

claimant, would tend to post positive

and upbeat messages and images,” the

judge said.

In addition to brain damage Palmer

also suffered damage to her neck, chest,

back and ribs, and was left with

disjointed memory after the accident.

Her car, which had been an 18th

birthday gift, was damaged beyond

repair.

The court heard that Palmer, who

formerly worked in media and market-

ing for the Ministry of Sound nightclub

and the Hippodrome Casino, would

have progressed to become a chief

marketing officer on a £75,000-a-year

salary had it not been for the accident.

Mantas was later convicted of drink-

driving. Lawyers for Liverpool Victoria

Insurance Company Ltd accepted

Mantas’s liability but disputed the

effect of Palmer’s injuries. She had

claimed damages of more than £2 mil-

lion for injuries that she said wrecked

her career.

Charles Woodhouse, the insurer’s

barrister, claimed her posts showed

Palmer had taken part “in much more

significant physical exercise than she

admits in her witness statements or to

any of the medical experts.

“Ms Palmer’s social media posts also

show her attending musical and other

events with large numbers of people

and noise,” he added, noting that she

had also gone travelling to India four

months after her crash and taken a

skiing holiday in the Rockies in

February 2016.

The judge acknowledged that some

of the images were far removed from

the “restricted lifestyle” she described

in her witness statements but did not

find her to be “dishonest”.

He concluded: “I found the claimant

to be an honest, helpful, impressive and

dignified witness in her own case... I

consider that the substantial number of

symptoms the claimant now has arose

from the outset of the accident and

were caused or substantially contribut-

ed by it.”

Pupil arrested after teenager stabbed at school

pool for treatment. A suspect was ar-

rested half an hour later two miles away

at the train station and was being ques-

tioned last night on suspicion of griev-

ous bodily harm.

Cumbria police said that the victim’s

injuries were “serious” but were unable

to provide more information about his

condition.

The school said that it believed there

was no risk to other pupils but that

support was being offered to students.

In a letter to parents, John Richard-

son, the school’s head teacher, said that

the school was working with police. He

added: “The whole school community

is in shock at these events and all of our

thoughts and prayers are with the vic-

tim and his family.

“The school day is now continuing

while police officers remain on site as

part of their ongoing investigation,

which we are of course supporting.

Support for students affected by the in-

cident is available in school and we will

provide further updates when we can.”

A spokesman for Cumbria police

confirmed that officers were called to

reports of a stabbing at the school and

that they had arrested a 16-year-old

boy. He added that police were at the

school and “there is no perceived wider

threat”.

The school is listed as requiring

improvement by Ofsted. When it was

last inspected in November 2018, it was

found that “despite improvements, the

quality of teaching was not consistently

good.”

Neil Johnston

Killed boy’s

mother had

occult books

David Brown

The mother of the murdered six-year-

old Rikki Neave had books on the

occult and unsolved crimes, the trial of

his alleged killer, a witness in the origi-

nal case, was told yesterday.

Ruth Neave was also writing a story

about “the perfect murder” when her

son disappeared in 1994, the Old Bailey

was told. His naked body was found

posed in a star shape. Neave, now 53,

was acquitted of her son’s murder in

1995 but admitted child cruelty in rela-

tion to him and two of his sisters.

Martin Reed, a friend, told the court

that Neave had magazines and books

on witchcraft, magic and the occult at

her home on the Welland estate in

Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. “I

knew she had an interest in murder and

unsolved crimes because of the books

... and the stuff she discussed,” he said.
Deborah Lawson, a social worker, re-
called that 11 days before Rikki’s death
Neave had told her about a “murder
story which she had been typing” and
gave her a part-written manuscript.
Lawson told the court she had not had
time to read what Neave described as a
“horror story” before giving it to police.
James Watson, a witness in the case
who was 13 at the time, is now on trial
after his DNA was identified on Rikki’s
trousers, which were among clothes
dumped in a bin. At the time Watson
had a “grotesque interest” in child
murder and was the last person seen
with Rikki alive, the court was told. The
prosecution said that he had been ruled
out as a suspect because of a “funda-
mental error” in the first investigation.
Watson, now 40, of no fixed address,
denies murder. The trial continues.

Natasha Palmer’s

social media

account showed

her skiing, running

and on holiday

I

t’s hard to make

heads turn on a

fashion front row,

but yesterday in

Paris, Chanel pulled

off just that feat. It was

not that the opening

look of its couture show

— a black tweed jacket

decorated with sequins

— was that remarkable.

The LBJ — or little

black jacket — has been

was inevitably less

dramatic, yet the riffs on

Chanel tweediness were

some of the most

covetable Virginie Viard

had pulled off since her

appointment as artistic

director in 2019.

Neat waisted jackets

stacked on relaxed-fit

trousers, some slashed

at the side to flash a

sliver of flesh, others

rendered in contrasting

black marabou or white

cutwork. Skirt suits

retooled so the jupe, as

well as the jacket, could

be worn open over a slip

dress. This was an

unusual instance of a

catwalk styling conceit

looking like something

that might actually work

in the real world.

Geometric patterns

animated daywear and

eveningwear alike. A

tiered white chiffon

gown embroidered with

camellias by the house

of Lesage — one of

several traditional craft

maisons bought by

Chanel — was twinned

with another black

jacket, shrunken this

time. “These references

also belong to Coco

Chanel,” said Viard

before the show. “It’s

like a conversation

that crosses time.”

Anna Murphy on Thierry

Mugler’s legacy, Times

Chanel gallops into

Paris with horseplay

and riffs on tweed

Charlotte Casiraghi, Grace

Kelly’s granddaughter, and

Cousco take to the catwalk

at Chanel’s couture show.

Below, the rapper Pharrell

Williams came to watch

DAVID FISHER/SHUTTERSTOCK

as much a part of the

brand’s success story as

the LBD that Coco

Chanel first advocated

to her wealthy clients in

the 1920s. (Prior to that

black was for mourning

and maids.)

But the horse the

jacket was accessorised

with — yes, a real-life

horse — was something

different. The usual

seen-it-all ennui of the

fashion pack switched to

oh-my-goodness with

the appearance on the

sand-covered catwalk of

Anna Murphy

fashion director

Chanel ambassador

Charlotte Casiraghi,

the eldest daughter

Princess Caroline of

Monaco and the

granddaughter of

Grace Kelly, on

Cousco, an eight-

year-old bay.

As the pair walked

before the gobsmacked

audience, the vast

arches of the pop-up

Grand Palais Ephemère

seemed smaller, before

a dramatic gear switch

made their exit feel like

more of a gallop. Bravo!

And breathe...

The collection itself