Nearly three years on, debate over what was known before the Hamas attack continues to fuel demands for answers and accountability. Share Nearly three years after the 7 October attacks, one question continues to haunt public debate: could the tragedy have been prevented? As more testimony, intelligence reports, media investigations and political statements emerge, scrutiny remains fixed on whether Israeli authorities possessed warnings that pointed to an impending Hamas operation and, if so, whether those warnings were adequately acted upon. At the centre of the discussion is the Nova music festival, held near the Gaza border, where hundreds of civilians found themselves caught in one of the deadliest attacks in Israel's history. The debate has been fuelled by reports that Israeli intelligence had received indications of Hamas planning a major assault prior to 7 October. Critics argue that the sophistication of the attack, combined with the hea...
Home Office Sacks Mother Who Contacted Journalist in Desperate Search for Son Missing in Russian War
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Valerie Stobbart says she was dismissed while trying to find her son, a British electrician who vanished after being forced into Russia’s military.
A mother’s desperate search for her missing son has taken another devastating turn after she was dismissed from her Home Office job for contacting a journalist. Valerie Stobbart, 57, turned to The Telegraph after official approaches reportedly failed to establish what had happened to her son, Nathan Stobbart, a British electrician from Newcastle who disappeared while serving with Russian forces in Ukraine. She was reportedly dismissed for gross misconduct on 18 August after failing to inform the department’s press office that she had spoken to the newspaper.
Nathan Stobbart stands beside his wife on their wedding day, unaware of the turmoil ahead. Now, with a newborn in her arms and her husband missing in the war, she faces the unbearable weight of hope, fear and silence.
Nathan moved to Russia in 2024 to marry his girlfriend, with whom he has a child. According to his mother’s account, Russian authorities later threatened him with deportation unless he signed a one-year military contract. He joined the Russian army in April 2025 and is believed to have been deployed with the 33rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment near Pokrovsk—an area that has witnessed some of the war’s fiercest fighting. Nothing has been heard from him since 12 December 2025, and his fate remains unknown.
Valerie says she alerted the Foreign Office, contacted the Russian and Ukrainian embassies and sought assistance from the Red Cross. She also repeatedly emailed the then foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, but said she received no reply. After seeing The Telegraph’s reporting from a Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camp, she contacted the newspaper in the hope that Nathan might have appeared in footage or been identified among captured soldiers. Searches through Ukraine’s “I Want to Find” database and inquiries with Ukrainian units reportedly produced no trace of him.
A mother’s unwavering love endures as Valerie Stobbart continues her desperate search for her missing son, refusing to give up hope despite losing her Home Office job while trying to find answers.
The Home Office’s media policy requires staff to refer contact with journalists to its press office, but Valerie insists that she was discussing a deeply personal tragedy—not her official duties—and never criticised her employer. Rules governing civil servants exist for important reasons, particularly where security and sensitive information are concerned; yet this case raises a profoundly human question about whether compassion and individual circumstances were given sufficient weight. Behind the policies, politics and arguments surrounding this war is a mother who still does not know whether her son is alive—and who has now lost her livelihood while refusing to abandon the search for answers.
