The police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have made a public appeal for witnesses after the fatal shooting of a man outside Milton Keynes Central station.
The IOPC have opened the investigation into the incident after a man was shot in an area outside the station around 1pm on Tuesday (01/04) last week.
As part of their appeal, the IOPC identified the man as David Joyce, 38, who lived in Milton Keynes.
His next of kin has been informed and he was formally identified at a post-mortem examination this morning (3 April). The provisional cause of death is a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. Joyce had been given first aid at the scene but died at the scene.
In a report of the day, the IOPC revealed they were advised that Thames Valley Police officers were dispatched after the report of a man with a firearm, which later turned out to be a man with a knife in his hand.
Their statement read, “We were advised by the force that firearms officers were sent to the station shortly before 1pm following a 999 call reporting that there was a man with a gun at the scene.
“We have viewed police officers’ body worn video footage and a substantial amount of CCTV footage and established that at around 1.04pm the man was just outside the railway station main entrance with a knife in his hand, and ran towards the officers.
“Shortly afterwards the man was shot at close range. We have established that a single shot was fired by one officer.”
As part of their investigation into the incident, the IOPC have said they have talked to officers who were present on the day. The watchdog have added they are also seeking to speak to members of the public who were also at the station when the incident happened and to recover CCTV from adjacent buildings.
The IOPC said, “We attended the police post incident procedures on Tuesday, where the officers involved provided their initial accounts of the incident. All officers who attended the scene are currently being treated as witnesses.
“We will be taking statements from members of the public who were at the station at the time and are looking to secure further CCTV from nearby public buildings.”
IOPC director Derrick Campbell said, “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of this man and all of those affected by this tragic incident.
“Given a man has died after being shot by police, our role is to independently investigate all of the circumstances surrounding this incident including the actions and decisions taken by the police.
“We appreciate that this incident outside a busy train station will understandably cause concern. We know the community will want answers quickly and our investigators are working hard to establish the facts as we piece together what happened and how.
“We have obtained details of some members of the public who witnessed the incident who we will be contacting, however we know there were many people near the station around the time of the shooting and we want to hear from anyone who may have seen the incident or has footage of it.
“We have contacted the man’s family and will meet with them soon to explain our role. We will keep them regularly updated throughout our investigation.
“Witnesses to the incident can contact us on 0300 303 5727 or by email at [email protected]”
Milton Keynes City Council announced plans to launch a new Children’s Social Care recruitment drive with a £6,000 ‘Golden Hello’ to reward qualified social workers who join its expanding teams.
Qualified social workers are an essential part of the City Council’s Children’s Services team, which last year was commended by Ofsted as Good with some Outstanding areas. MK City Council aims to build on that success, attracting experienced social workers by offering them a Golden Hello and a very positive working environment.
Qualified social workers earn minimum starting salary of £35,235 (pro rata) at the City Council and most roles also receive an annual £4,000 Retention Payment (for staying with the council) plus a relocation allowance of up to £8,000 and access to benefits including a car leasing scheme.
Social workers and senior practitioners work together to ensure children and young people receive the right support at the right time, helping families where children have additional needs, making care plans, and ensuring vulnerable young people are protected. Specialist local teams include a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub where social workers and blue light partners share expertise and resources.
Councillor Joe Hearnshaw, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said, “In a city where half of our residents are under 35, our children’s social workers make a huge impact and we really value their contribution. As our city continues to grow, we’ll continue to invest in our dedicated teams. We welcome applications from social workers in all disciplines including Adult Social Care and Mental Health Services. If you want a truly rewarding career and have a passion to help young people, we want to hear from you.”
Anybody interested can browse available roles and find out more about the Golden Hello, as well as training and career opportunities, and thoughts from current team members, by browsing https://www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk/cs-care
MK Dons continued their miserable run after a 3-0 home defeat to fellow lower mid-table outfit Barrow.
A goal in each half by Aaron Pressley and a late third by Tyler Smith made for a painful afternoon for the hosts, continuing a run that has seen MK Dons pick up fewer points than anyone else in League Two in 2025.
Defeat means that MK Dons drop a place to 19th position in the League Two table, with the side from Stadium MK now 10 points above the relegation zone with 5 games to go.
After conceding seven goals in defeats by Fleetwood and Notts County, MK Dons continued their drift towards the end of the season with a home clash against fellow midtable side Barrow. Victory would’ve seen them rise above Barrow in the table and go one step closer to ending any lingering worries about going down.
Seeking a boost after those two bruising results, MK Dons came mighty close to an early breakthrough. After Barrow only half-cleared a corner, Dan Crowley put in a great cross for an unmarked Jack Sanders, whose header was tipped over by Barrow keeper Wyll Stanway.
An even start on a sunny if breezy day in Milton Keynes saw both sides have their moments early on, with Connor Lemonheigh-Evans seeing a shot saved by Stanway before Barrow’s Isaac Fletcher saw a decent free-kick strike the side-netting.
With 16 minutes on the clock, it was Barrow that found the game’s opening goal. After winning the ball in the middle, Barrow worked the ball down their right-hand flank and Connor Mahoney’s cross met Pressley, who buried a header into the back of the net for the opening goal.
MK Dons initially responded brightly to the shock, with Scott Hogan and Laurence Maguire missing the target with efforts in the box.
Barrow could’ve extended their advantage, however, as Kyle Cameron was picked out by a Barrow corner only to side-foot his attempt just wide.
Stanway was then on hand to keep out Hogan and then timed his intervention just right to prevent Alex Gilbey from rounding him after the Dons’ captain had been played through by a fast break.
The Barrow keeper also made a good stop to keep out Tommi O’Reilly, before Lemonheigh-Evans briefly thought he’d equalised after touching the ball home at the back post from Hogan’s header across goal only for an offside flag to interrupt the celebrations.
Having had plenty of first half opportunities for an equaliser, MK Dons initially began the second period with some attacking pace without creating many chances.
But a second Barrow goal would instead come just before the hour. From an MK Dons corner, a swift Barrow break saw Fletcher release Pressley in a central position with no defenders around him. The striker duly charged to the box and beat Trueman, allowing a striker who’d scored just one goal all season before the match to score his second goal of the afternoon.
MK Dons did have some attempts to get back into things, with Hogan missing the target with two efforts before Stanway was able to put off Gilbey and prevent his effort from creeping over the line.
Home sub Danilo Orsi would see a strike saved by Stanway, before Barrow’s Ben Jackson had a chance to make it three only to miss the target.
That was then the end of the day for match referee Jamie O’Connor, who pulled up injured while trying to keep up with Jackson’s run, leading to a near five minute stoppage while he was replaced by fourth official Paul Lister-Flynn.
In the third of the nine added minutes, Barrow sealed their success with a third. Two of their subs combined on a counter as Ben Whitfield teed up fellow arrival Smith, who tapped home to grab Barrow their third and condemn MK Dons to another defeat after a miserable week.
MK Dons: Trueman – Offord, Sanders, Maguire – O’Reilly (Leko 78), Thompson-Sommers (Orsi 68), Crowley, Tomlinson (Nemane 68) – Lemonheigh-Evans, Hogan, Gilbey
Subs not used: MacGillivray, Kelly, Tripp, Waller
Booked: Offord, O’Reilly, Leko
Barrow: Stanway – Foley (Barnes 69), Canavan, Cameron – Jackson, Mahoney (Smith 69), Campbel (Kouyate 90), Gotts, Newby – Fletcher (Whitfield 69) – Pressley (Acquah 69)
Subs not used: Farman
Goal: Pressley (16, 57), Smith (90+3)
Red Bull took their first win of the 2025 F1 season as Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
Having narrowly outqualified the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to take pole position in qualifying, Verstappen was able to keep the duo at arms length.
Verstappen’s victory was his fourth Japanese Grand Prix win in a row, making him the first driver to ever win four F1 races at Suzuka in a row, with the Dutchman taking his first win since winning in Qatar in the final stages of last season.
It was a trickier debut race in Red Bull for Yuki Tsunoda, as the Japanese driver finished his home race in 12th position in his first race after replacing Liam Lawson as Verstappen’s team-mate in the two week break since F1’s last race in China.
After surprisingly McLaren pair Norris and Piastri to qualify on pole for the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen was able to keep the McLaren’s at arms length in the opening stages of the race.
Both Verstappen and Norris pitted on the same lap, with Norris going onto the grass to try to pass Verstappen in the exit of the pit lane after the McLaren had a faster stop. The case was reviewed by the stewards, who opted to give no penalty.
As the race continued, the two McLarens hassled and harried Verstappen, with both getting within two seconds of the Red Bull. But neither one could manage to get close enough on Verstappen to try and make a challenge to win the race, allowing Verstappen to hold on and win.
After three races and one sprint of the 2025 season, Verstappen sits second in the Driver’s Championship as he pursues a fifth straight title. The Dutchman has 61 points, one behind early leader Norris in the McLaren and 12 ahead of Piastri.
Tsunoda was unable to add to the 3 points he picked up in his time at Racing Bulls. After disappointment in qualifying saw him start the race from 14th position, he had been able to make an early move to get past Lawson in the Racing Bulls.
Although Tsunoda was able to get ahead of former team-mate Pierre Gasly, he was unable to make the move on Alonso or Ollie Bearman to pick up a point on debut.
In the Constructor’s Championship in the early phase of the campaign, Red Bull are third, with the team on 61 points. They are 16 points above fourth place Ferrari, 14 points behind second place Mercedes and 50 behind early leaders McLaren.
Verstappen will be chasing back-to-back wins when F1 returns next weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Northampton Town pulled off a huge result as they beat Nene Valley Derby rivals Peterborough United 4-0.
The Cobblers took a 3-0 lead over the ten man Posh at half-time, as a brace by Sam Hoskins either side of a red card for the host’s Tayo Edun followed by a Dara Costelloe strike gave Kevin Nolan’s side control.
Tom Eaves added further gloss to the scoreline with a goal late in the second half as Northampton made it a home and away league double over Peterborough this season.
Success at the Weston Homes Stadium saw Northampton rise to 18th place in the League One table. They are seven points clear of the relegation zone after Burton Albion were defeated.
After midweek results had seen Burton Albion reduce the Cobblers’ margin on the dropzone to four points, Northampton arrived hoping for a win to ease their relegation anxieties. They were aided before things even started when Burton were beaten by promotion chasers Wrexham in an early kick-off.
Northampton began brightly as Eyoma had a header deflected wide before Cameron McGeehan had a shot cleared off the line.
Peterborough’s first chance of note had seen James Donnelly denied by Lee Burge.
A busy start ultimately saw Northampton strike first after 15 minutes of the contest. McGeehan’s pass released Hoskins, who curled a fine strike into the top corner.
An even game was then tilted when Peterborough were reduced to ten men. Defender Eyun raised his hands towards McGeehan and was rewarded with a straight red card.
Shortly after, Northampton made it 2-0. A foul on Costelloe was penalised by the referee with a penalty, which Hoskins duly converted to give the Cobblers an extended advantage.
It then soon became 3-0 when McGeehan picked off an attempted clearance before feeding Costelloe, who fired his strike beyond Jed Steer.
Ricky-Jade Jones was denied by Burge just after the break, but Northampton came mighty close to a fourth goal after when Steer denied McGeehan and Costelloe’s follow-up was blocked on the line by Jadel Katongo.
Eaves had come close when denied by Steer, but the Northampton substitute would make it 4-0 when he headed in from Mitch Pinnock’s free-kick, capping off a fine day for the Cobblers.
Northampton will seek to grab a further victory next time out when they welcome Reading to Sixfields.
