The Art Of The Hustle...

Sturridge and his partner Jamilla Ferreira rented an £18,500-per-month Cheshire mansion from Alan O'Neill and his wife Katie in October 2018, during the footballer's six-year stint at Liverpool.

But, less than two months after they moved in, Sturridge and Ms Ferreira discovered a profile called 'n*****' when they accessed the O'Neills' Netflix app on their Apple TV account.

It belonged to the O'Niell's young son. A fan of rap music, apparently. And O'Neil apologised for any offence (though you'd think a footballer would be able to afford his own Netflix account). 

That should have been the end of it. 

Reader, it wasn't, of course...

Sturridge and Ms Ferreira sent Mr and Mrs O'Neill a letter on December 10, stating that their older children were in the wrong if they had ignored the existence of the account.

The letter, reported in The Times, read: 'Your son can play act this word, but at the end of the day he goes back to his privileged "white skin" existence.'

Because being able to rent a mansion isn't in any way 'privileged'... 

Correspondence between the families became heated when the O'Neills pursued Sturridge in the county court for £67,000 of unpaid rent.

Sturridge paid the rent in July 2019 but then filed a different claim for damages 'in respect of the defendants' discrimination against them and/or harrassment on the grounds of their race'.

Well, of course! But turns out he's a better footballer than he is a gambler: 

Just days before the discovery of the account in November, Sturridge had been charged with allegedly breaching FA betting rules. He was slapped with a £75,000 fine and was banned for six weeks - but four of the weeks were suspended.

And now a judge has dismissed their £100,000 claim for damages and discrimination. Oh dear, how sad, never mind.

Leeches...

An old term for doctors. Perhaps we should use it for another profession instead? 

Three victims of trafficking and modern slavery who were subcontracted to sort rubbish for the national waste and recycling firm Biffa Waste Services are to launch legal proceedings to sue the firm for damages.

Did Biffa kidnap these unfortunates and put them to work, then? Well, no. Of course not. 

The claimants, who spoke no English, were trafficked from Poland to the UK in 2014 and 2015 and were placed in work with Biffa, sorting rubbish on a conveyor belt, via an employment agency. Although they were paid for their work by the company, their wages were transferred into bank accounts that the organised crime group had opened in their names, and which they were unable to access. Solicitors acting for the two men and one woman said they received about £5 a week in cash for their work.

How, exactly, were the company responsible here, then, rather than the gang? What slimy, opportunistic little worms think they are, or is it just that they have deep pockets and the lawyers involved know that a Briffa employee won't be tasked with putting a bomb under their Mercedes should they win? 

A pre-action letter sent to Biffa by Leigh Day solicitors (Ed: Oh. Them. Of course...) on behalf of the three victims states that the company has a responsibility to prevent forced labour within its workforce. Parallel proceedings will be launched against Smart Solutions, the employment agency which placed the workers in jobs in Biffa recycling plants.

Both look as though they aren't just going to roll over for this, thankfully: 

A spokesperson for Biffa said: “Biffa takes a zero tolerance approach to modern slavery. We cooperated fully with West Midlands police at the time of this investigation in 2016. We regularly review our practices and protocols to ensure we continually follow best practice … All allegations against Biffa are denied and will be defended in any court proceedings.”

Smart Solutions said it had been working with West Midlands police since 2015 to assist investigations. “Since we were first made aware that our workforce had been infiltrated, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that we are continuously developing in our approach to hidden labour exploitation. We work to educate our clients, supply chains and external businesses so, as a collective, we can try and put an end to Modern Day slavery,” a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the usual suspects are nestling at the teat, settling in for a big feed. Because no matter who wins this one, they always get their meal.