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This Is Why

What’s life in witness protection like?

This Is Why

Sky News

News, Daily News, News Commentary

4.0552 Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2023

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Police praised her bravery, and they described the evidence she gave to a court as "powerful and emotional".

This woman helped them convict the drug dealer who shot 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel dead in her own home in Liverpool.

But her courage comes at a huge cost. It’s reported that she’s had numerous death threats against her.

She’s been granted anonymity and faces a decision on entering witness protection for years to come.
On this Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood discusses how witness protection works with our crime correspondent Martin Brunt and Simon McKay, a barrister who has advised government on witness protection.

Plus, she hears from Reece, who spent several years on a witness protection programme during his childhood.


Annie Joyce – senior podcast producer
Alex Edden – interviews producer
Paul Stanworth - editor

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:05.0

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0:14.0

That's why Worker Info Exchange has launched the dynamic pay claim to seek compensation for drivers who have lost income.

0:21.5

If you've driven for Uber at any time since 2020, it's time to stand together.

0:26.8

Find out more at dynamic pay.org.

0:30.0

Right, who's all in for Cancer Research UK's Race for Life?

0:33.6

Sunday leaguers, dog lovers, bait clubbers, bangor dances, baby ravers, potters.

0:40.1

Whether you walk it, jog it or run it, go all in against cancer, all in to help fund life-saving research.

0:46.9

Join our London events throughout the summer.

0:49.5

Sign up now from just £14.99.

0:52.7

Visit racefor-life.org. Prices vary by event distance and participant age.

1:02.3

What is it like to live in witness protection? Well, that's the life now facing the key witness

1:08.5

who helped police convict the Merseyside drug dealer who shot and

1:12.5

killed nine-year-old Olivia Pratt Corbell in her own home. The defendant went to the home of the woman

1:18.0

who was brave enough to come to court to give evidence against him. Thomas Cashman had been having

1:24.0

an on-off affair with this woman and after he'd shot Olivia, he turned up at her house.

1:29.4

The defendant invented a defence designed to humiliate and undermine her.

1:34.3

It did not work.

1:35.8

But her courage comes at a huge cost.

1:41.4

This woman now faces a lifetime of anonymity and living in the shadows.

1:46.3

There are thousands more like her in the UK, but it's a secretive world we know little about.

...

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