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Senior Lib Dem Quits Over New Fundraising Row

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 21 Maret 2015 | 18.54

The Liberal Democrats have called in a standards watchdog following allegations that a donation "bought" access to Nick Clegg.

The party has referred the matter to the Electoral Commission after it allegedly accepted the gift from the 'stepfather' of a Daily Telegraph journalist posing as a businessman.

It is claimed that Lib Dem peer Lord Strasburger was secretly filmed discussing how to keep the donation secret by sidestepping disclosure rules.

Nick Clegg has also reportedly been filmed by Channel 4's Dispatches programme meeting the undercover reporter.

It comes as the party's former chief fundraiser Ibrahim Taguri stands accused of bypassing party funding laws and has stepped down as an election candidate while the claims are looked into.

A Lib Dem spokesman said: "It is common practice for senior party figures from all parties to meet with potential and current donors.

"Dispatches has raised important questions about one particular donation, which the party is taking seriously.

"The Party had no reason to believe that the donation was made by anyone other than the person who signed the cheque.

"When we were alerted to the claim that this donation may, without our knowledge, have been made on someone else's behalf, we referred this matter to the Electoral Commission, and requested their advice on whether the donation should be handed to the Commission or returned to the donor.

"We shall comply fully with their investigation and any recommendations they may make as a result.

"The party has also introduced an additional level of scrutiny to donations to the federal party, over and above legal requirements. This will apply with immediate effect."

Lord Strasburger has resigned the Lib Dem whip in the House of Lords while an investigation takes place and he has accused Channel 4 of "entrapment".

He said: "In the last few months I have been very active in the House of Lords fighting to protect the freedom of the press, but I never had in mind the sort of cynical and contrived entrapment-style journalism to which I have been personally subjected by Channel 4.

"I am a retired businessman, I am not a career politician... In a purely voluntary capacity, I have been helping the party with fundraising. I have gained no personal benefit in doing so.

"Whatever Channel 4 may say in their Dispatches programme, I do not think I have committed any offence. 

"Having said that, I believe that we should all be accountable for what we do, so I have invited the Electoral Commission to carry out an investigation into my actions."


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Labour Received £600k From Hedge Fund Donor

Ed Miliband is facing embarrassment after it emerged one of the Labour Party's largest donors is a hedge fund manager.

It has been disclosed that a "mystery" donor who has given the party nearly £600,000 is Martin Taylor, who describes himself as "a born and bred Londoner, who also happens to be a hedge fund manager".

The revelation will be particularly awkward for Mr Miliband, who routinely criticises the Conservatives over their reliance on funding from hedge fund mangers and businessmen.

Last month during a heated exchange in the Commons Mr Miliband dubbed the Tories "the party of Mayfair hedge funds and Monaco tax avoiders".

Electoral Commission records show Mr Taylor has made eight donations, totaling £591,000, to Labour since 2012, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

His identity had been unclear because parties need only to provide a name for donors of amounts above £7,500 and not further details.

This makes it difficult for the public to fully identify those people on the donors' register who have a common name.

In a statement on Friday, Mr Taylor, of Nevsky Capital, insisted there was "no mystery" about his donations and said his family had always been Labour, including his father, who was a councillor in Lewisham.

He said: "This Martin Taylor is me. I am a born and bred Londoner, who also happens to be a hedge fund manager. And I am proud to support the Labour Party.

"This may seem a bit odd to many people. It is commonly believed that everyone in the financial sector supports the Conservative Party, in a quest to pay ever lower levels of tax ...

"I believe very strongly that everyone should contribute to society and those who are lucky enough to earn a lot more should contribute more than others.

"This principle has become particularly important since the global financial crisis in 2008 threw Western economies into recession, reduced living standards and sparked a wave of cutbacks on government spending: cutbacks that have hit those with the least hardest."

He added that he also supported Labour's controversial mansion tax policy, which has recently drawn fire from the pop stars Cheryl Fernandez Versini and Myleene Klass.

A Labour Party spokesman said: "We are grateful to people from all walks of life who support the Labour Party and our better plan.

"Unlike David Cameron and the Conservatives who increasingly rely on the money of an exclusive group of donors - the same people who they have rewarded with tax breaks - Ed Miliband will enter Downing Street owing nothing to anybody."


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Girls 'Keen On Syria' Barred From Leaving UK

Five teenage girls who are said to have shown an interest in going to Syria have been barred by a High Court judge from travelling abroad.

The two 15-year-olds and three 16-year-olds were made wards of court by Mr Justice Hayden.

The judge's decision prevents them from leaving the jurisdiction of England and Wales.

He made the ruling at a hearing in London after Tower Hamlets local authority raised concerns.

The judge, who said the girls could not be identified, also made orders removing their passports and those of a number of adults involved in their care.

Mr Justice Hayden said he made the order involving the adults because of evidence that, in at least one other case, young girls had travelled on passports belonging to members of their family.

More importantly, there was evidence suggesting the family members in the case had not been full and frank with social services, and that the girls had been moving to a more radicalised position.

He said: "It seems to me that that must have been known to the parents and they deliberately did not share it with the authorities who were keen to protect these vulnerable young girls."

The judge, who made a similar order in relation to a 16-year-old boy earlier this week, admitted it was a "draconian" step, as was the removal of a passport.

He said: "But the risk contemplated here is as grave as it can be for it is common knowledge that so many have lost their lives in Syria and so many have gone knowing that would be likely."

The girls and adults concerned, who were not in court, can challenge the emergency ruling at a future date if they wish.

Three girls who attended Bethnal Green Academy in east London disappeared last month and are believed to have travelled to Syria to join Islamic State militants.

Shamima Begum, Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, took flights to Istanbul in February.

The schoolgirls are thought to be staying at a house in the IS stronghold of al Raqqa, Sky sources have said.

Their disappearance led to criticism from Turkey's deputy prime minister, who said officials had not been given enough warning about them going missing.

Three young British men suspected of planning to join IS militants in Syria were arrested in Turkey earlier this week.

CCTV video of the teenagers was taken at an airport in Istanbul just before they were stopped allegedly heading to the Syria border.

The trio, two aged 17 and one aged 19, were arrested and flown back to the UK but have since been released on bail.

Security services estimate 600 Britons have gone to Syria or Iraq to join militant groups, including Mohammed Emwazi, also known as "Jihadi John", who has appeared in several IS beheading videos.


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'Supertides' Draw Crowds In Western Europe

Higher-than-usual tides are expected across the southern coast of England and the north of France due to a rare alignment of the sun and moon that happens only every 18 years.

The most spectacular scenes are expected at the picturesque French island of Mont Saint-Michel.

Perched on a rocky island topped with a Gothic Benedictine abbey, the Unesco World Heritage Site is exposed to some of Europe's strongest tides.

But the high tide due on Saturday evening is expected to be exceptional because of Friday's solar eclipse, with predictions that the water could reach as high as 14.15 metres.

On Friday police struggled to control a crowd of around 10,000 people drawn to what experts had described as "the highest tide of the century".

They were mainly disappointed because, despite a big enough surge of water to leave the only access road impassable, the waves fell a few inches short of expectations.

Officials at France's Navy Oceanic and Hydrological Service urged caution, warning that the high tide around 8pm GMT, "will come in faster than a running man" and would pose a danger to people venturing out too far.

In nearby Saint-Malo, crowds gathered by the beach to see waves lap at the town's stone walls.

Similar high waters are expected in parts of the UK's southern coast, where the Environment Agency moved to reassure people that the risk of flood remained "very low for the next few days".

A spokesman said: "High tides this weekend may lead to spray on promenades in some exposed coastal locations.

"We always monitor the flood risk situation closely, working alongside partners, including the Met Office and local authorities, and issue alerts and warnings if required."

The extreme spring tides were welcomed by surfers, however, as more than 100 headed to surf the River Severn's tidal bore.

Sky News Midlands correspondent Adele Robinson, in Minsterworth, Gloucestershire, said the bore is one of the largest in the world and waves reached 6ft 2in.

It is the second of three tidal bores expected this year, making 2015 a year of unusually-high tidal surges.

"It's essentially the incoming tide, which is pushing against the current of the river in the opposite direction, which creates waves that can travel a considerable distance."

The moon's gravitational pull and the rare alignment between the sun and the moon also have an effect on the rare high tide, she said.

One of those surfing the bore was Gary Wells, who managed to stay on his board for "about a minute-and-a-half", adding that it was "a bit trickier than you think."


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Sun Journalists Cleared Over Public Payments

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 20 Maret 2015 | 18.54

Four journalists from The Sun have been found not guilty of paying public officials for stories.

Among the senior journalists who were on trial at the Old Bailey were chief reporter John Kay, 71, and royal editor Duncan Larcome 39.

More follows...


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Clarkson Tells Live Audience He's Been Sacked

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson appeared to be back on provocative form as he declared on stage that the BBC had sacked him.

Speaking at a fundraising event in London on Thursday night, Clarkson joked with the audience as he said: "I don't know when I did my last-ever lap of the Top Gear test track before the f***ing b******s sacked me."

Amid laughter and applause the presenter apparently repeated the claim which was caught on camera.

The BBC has not commented but said on Thursday afternoon that director general Tony Hall is to be given a dossier on the matter next week and will subsequently make a decision.

Earlier, a BBC executive suggested Clarkson's co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond had been offered the chance to finish this season's Top Gear shows but had refused to do so.

They "didn't want to do it without Jeremy", the executive was reported as saying.

Clarkson was suspended from the show earlier this month after allegedly punching a producer over a row about the lack of a hot meal at a hotel following a day's filming.

Both Clarkson and producer Oisin Tymon have now given their evidence to an inquiry set up to investigate the matter.

The show makes millions of pounds for the BBC and, while some at the corporation are believed to want the presenter off Top Gear, he has a strong fan base, with almost a million people signing a petition for his reinstatement.

Meanwhile, Clarkson's co-hosts May and Hammond have been tweeting about what they have been doing on their enforced days off.

May on Thursday revealed his empathy with the unemployed as he wrote: "Seriously, if you really are unemployed, good luck to you. It's not funny in reality."

Richard Hammond tweeted a picture of his dog and said: "Not trying to be cryptic, just enjoying a gorgeous morning. Off."


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UKIP MEP To Face Expenses Fraud Inquiry

Nigel Farage has said he is "deeply shocked" over bogus expense claim allegations which have led to the suspension of a UKIP MEP and General Election candidate.

The party leader said a full disciplinary hearing would be held on Monday into the claims a member of Janice Atkinson's staff had attempted to defraud EU expenses.

Meanwhile, Kent police have confirmed they have received a report of fraud and are reviewing the allegation.

Ms Atkinson was due to stand at the General Election in the Folkestone and Hythe seat - one of UKIP's top election targets.

But she has now been stripped of the party whip and removed as a candidate while a UKIP panel investigates the allegations.

Mr Farage said he had spoken to Ms Atkinson late on Thursday night but "did not get a clear answer".

He was speaking after The Sun newspaper claimed it had filmed a member of Ms Atkinson's staff "apparently plotting to make a substantial bogus expenses claim" in relation to a UKIP party in Margate.

The newspaper said the person told the manager of the restaurant: "The idea is we overcharge them slightly because that's the way of repatriating (the money)."

Mr Farage said the disciplinary hearing would establish whether Ms Atkinson had been aware her staff member's alleged behaviour.

Speaking on his LBC radio phone-in show, Mr Farage said: "I was deeply shocked when I saw it (the film footage).

"It was one of the most incredibly stupid and dishonest things I have ever seen in my life.

"This was a member of staff. Exactly what the relationship between that member of staff asking for a false bill and Janice Atkinson is, I don't know.

"On the evidence of what that member of staff did, it doesn't look very good."

He added: "I am not going to prejudge this.

"But certainly as far as the member of staff is concerned, they have asked a commercial enterprise to do something that as I understand it is against the law."

Mr Farage went on: "I actually wasn't angry, I was just shocked.

"I just couldn't believe we could find ourselves potentially in this position."

The Sun said it had handed the footage to Kent Police and the European Parliament.

In a statement announcing the MEP's suspension, a UKIP spokesman said: "The party is incredibly disappointed with Ms Atkinson, who appears to have exercised extremely poor judgment in acting in a way that the party has never, and would never condone.

"The party has acted swiftly and immediately. We always maintain a zero-tolerance attitude towards acts of this nature."

Ms Atkinson caused controversy last year after being caught on camera referring to a Thai constituent as a "ting tong from somewhere".

The 52-year-old - elected to the European Parliament last year - said she was "incredibly sorry" and had not intended any malice.


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Teen Gets 22 Years For Plot To Behead Soldier

A teenager has been jailed for 22 years for hatching a plot to behead a British soldier inspired by the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.

Brusthom Ziamani, 19, was jailed at the Old Bailey.

More follows...


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Missing Claudia: CCTV Screening Near Her Home

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 19 Maret 2015 | 18.54

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The six-year investigation into what happened to missing York cook Claudia Lawrence has taken a new direction with police hinting they could be close to making more arrests.

In a carefully choreographed event close to her home in the Heworth area of the city, detectives invited locals to the screening of previously unreleased CCTV pictures and issued a warning that those with information should speak up.

North Yorkshire Police initially thought Claudia, 35, had no boyfriend when she went missing in March 2009, but discovered she apparently hid relationships from her family and friends.

Despite a massive police operation, no evidence of Claudia has ever been found and no-one was arrested until the investigation was re-launched with a new team of detectives in 2013.

Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn has said he believes some people are lying to him.

"If I reach the point where we believe people continue to obstruct this investigation or assist or cover up for the person or persons responsible, they will be arrested," he said in a statement.

A man who was arrested last year on suspicion of murdering Claudia has since been released without charge while another man remains on police bail on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

The CCTV footage, displayed on a large screen for six hours, shows someone walking along the lane that leads to the back of Claudia Lawrence's home a short while before her last known contact with anyone.

The same person returns with what appears to be a bag over their shoulder and pauses to let someone else pass by before continuing.

Detectives hope someone can identify the two people and were filming those who turned up to view the video.

Claudia's father Peter Lawrence held a news conference on the sixth anniversary of the day she was last seen and gave his support to the police operation.

"It just really hurts so much and it galls me that someone out there knows what has happened to Claudia and has not said anything," he said.

"All we can hope is that we find out what happened to Claudia. If she was murdered as the police believe then I want to be able to bury her."

Det Supt Malyn said further arrests could follow "in the coming weeks and months".


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Claudia Lawrence Mystery Has Dark Undercurrents

The question of what happened to York University cook Claudia Lawrence is simultaneously a family tragedy, a thorn in the side of North Yorkshire Police, and one of the country's most intriguing unsolved crimes.

Claudia, 35 and apparently single, is assumed to have been murdered after failing to turn up to work in March 2009, leaving no obvious clues about what had happened to her.

In the six years she has been missing there have been just two arrests and no charges.

It is little wonder that people are asking if the police have run out of ideas.

So is the recent renewed police activity around her former home, and the claim that more arrests could be imminent, just an attempt to silence the critics, or are the police on to something?

And why are there so many undercurrents to the mystery, with some people still unwilling to talk to journalists, and others issuing warnings or threats?

To find the answers you have to look at the history of the investigation and at the police team trying to move it forward.

There were undoubtedly mistakes made in the spring of 2009. For months after Claudia vanished the entire publicity effort of Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway's investigation showed her with the wrong colour hair, while detectives allowed the misleading narrative that Claudia was an unassuming young woman to run away with them and never really recovered from the belated attempt to correct it.

The truth - that her relationships involved what Mr Galloway eventually described as "complexity and mystery" - was not made public until three months after she disappeared, many weeks after they had built up what one described to me as a "rogues' gallery" of some of the men she had been involved with.

With a continued insistence from Claudia's family and friends, from whom it seems she hid much of her private life, that the police were wrong, and with many locals knowing differently all along, it set the tone for mistrust and conflict.

To be fair the police did not know what they were walking into: Claudia apparently lived a significant part of her life in secret and her parents had endured such a bitter divorce that to this day they have never made a joint appeal over their daughter's disappearance.

Meanwhile, journalists were finding the story hard to tell. For a privately-educated daughter of a country solicitor Claudia had some unusual acquaintances and this remains the only missing person case where I've been warned off or threatened - not once, but twice.

Journalists and the police alike have found it hard to break the silence surrounding some of her relationships.

Fast forward five years and following the retirement of Ray Galloway a new police team has relaunched the investigation.

Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, the senior investigating officer, has described the investigation as engrossing and quickly said he had "spotted things" to work on. 

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Mason, the force's head of crime, knows the Police and Crime Commissioner wants a result.

Neither give the impression of police officers who would spin lines for publicity or conduct stunts to make themselves look busy.

So far they've arrested two men, with one released without charge and the other still on bail on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

They have re-examined Claudia's house, carried out a much-publicised fingertip search outside and re-interviewed key individuals and in doing so they have created a buzz which might yet solve the crime.

Det Supt Malyn is now talking about new leads, continuing obstruction, cover-ups and lies by some people and the possibility of more arrests soon.

But he's a realist too: "Ultimately we may not be able to prove what happened to Claudia, or be able to find her," he admitted this week.

There is a feeling among Claudia's family and the reporters who have covered this case from the start that if North Yorkshire Police fail to solve this crime it will not be for the want of trying.


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Where Do We Come From? Britain's DNA Map

By Thomas Moore, Science and Health Correspondent

The most detailed-ever map of Britain's genetic ancestry has revealed the influence of European migration over thousands of years.

High resolution DNA analysis identified 17 genetic clusters around the UK, each with a unique lineage to settlers from France, Germany or Scandinavia.

It found the Caucasian population of central and southern England is relatively homogeneous and can trace around 20% of its genetic heritage to the Anglo Saxon people who arrived in the country around 450AD, after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

But the study also shows that people who would consider themselves to have Celtic origin are in fact several distinct genetic groups - in many cases more similar to the English than they are to each other.

Researchers at the University of Oxford took DNA samples from more than 2,000 people who lived within 50 miles of their grandparents' place of birth. This meant the scientists were, in effect, able to look at the genetic make-up of different regions before the mass migrations of the 20th century.

They also took DNA samples from 6,000 people from around Europe to identify the origins of migrant groups.

Lead researcher Professor Peter Donnelly told Sky News: "One of the nice things about our study is that it reminds us that everyone in Britain is an immigrant.

"There was no-one in Britain 10-11,000 years ago. It is only a question of when people arrived."

According to results published in the science journal Nature:

:: Much of 'white British' DNA can be traced to people who colonised the island soon after the end of the Ice Age.

:: From the south coast to Yorkshire there is a distinct genetic pattern of the Angles - people who came from the southern Danish peninsula - and the Saxons, who came from North West Germany.

:: The populations of Cornwall and Devon are genetically distinct from each other, with a remarkable alignment with the county boundary.

:: There are other genetically distinct clusters on the English-Welsh borders, Pembrokeshire, North Wales, Cumbria, West Yorkshire, Northern Ireland and West Scotland and North East Scotland

:: Orkney is the only place in the UK with a significant genetic heritage from the Vikings, with 25% of the DNA originating from the Norse.

Dr Michael Dunn, Head of Genetics and Molecular Sciences at the Wellcome Trust, which funded the study, said: "These researchers have been able to use modern genetic techniques to provide answers to the centuries' old question: 'Where do we come from?'.

"Beyond the fascinating insights into our history, this information could prove very useful from a health perspective, as building a picture of population genetics at this scale may in future help us to design better genetic studies to investigate disease."


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Exclusive: Ex-Cop 'Ashamed' Of Smith Cover-Up

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

A former detective has told Sky News he is "ashamed to be a retired officer" after a systematic cover-up to protect the late MP Cyril Smith from child abuse allegations.

The officer, who did not want to be identified, joined Greater Manchester Police in the early 1970s and served for over 20 years working on many high-profile investigations.

He spoke exclusively to Sky News and said he and his colleagues were amazed at how they were closed down when they had the evidence to prosecute Smith, who died in 2010.

He said: "To have all that taken away in the blink of an eye, put into a box … it is similar to watching the X-Files when you see a box being taken into a big warehouse and it is never to be seen or heard of again. That was how it felt."

He revealed his team were ordered never to speak about the investigation again.

"It was a senior police officer. In those circumstances when you are confronted by a very senior police officer, unless you are working with them, you don't remember the names, you remember the rank. It is the rank that is giving the order."

He cannot say who the man was but he suspects he was from the Metropolitan Police. "We only had our suspicions, the suspicions led back down to London," he said.

"I have to say that I am getting to be ashamed to say I am a retired police officer," he added.

The ex-detective believes there could be hundreds of retired officers who are aware of what happened but still would not have the confidence to speak out.

He said: "People coming forward will feel frightened and nervous, but once the story has been revealed they will feel an awful lot better.

"The more officers that come forward the better because the powers that be just wouldn't be able to cope with it."

He believes the IPCC-led investigation into allegations of police misconduct will face many barriers but urged officers to speak out and do what is "morally right".

His comments were echoed by Greater Manchester Police (GMP). 

In a statement, Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: "I want to make an appeal for anyone who has information about the way the authorities including Greater Manchester Police dealt with reports of child abuse to come forward.

"I also appeal to victims who suffered abuse in care homes and other institutions who made complaints then or have suffered in silence and not reported what they went through to consider contacting the police or indeed one of the children's or survivors charities."

He said the GMP had allocated "considerable resources" to the investigation, adding "we are committed to investigate all the allegations as best we can".

"... We have already interviewed a large number of people and still have numerous enquiries to undertake.  We are speaking to everyone no matter what status they have held or still hold to get to the truth.

"Greater Manchester Police has no interest in covering up any of these issues," he said.

On Wednesday Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs people would not be prosecuted for speaking out about child abuse cover-ups.

"I don't want to see anyone prosecuted for uncovering wrongdoing in this way," he said.

Greater Manchester Police has urged anyone with information to call the incident room on 0161 856 0310, the Police and Crime Commissioner's office or the Independent Police Complaints Commission.


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Three Judges Fired For Watching Porn At Work

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 17 Maret 2015 | 18.54

Three judges have been fired for allegedly viewing pornography at work - a fourth would also have been sacked but resigned first.

A spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office confirmed that District Judge Timothy Bowles, Immigration Judge Warren Grant and Deputy District Judge and Recorder Peter Bullock have been removed from judicial office.

Their sacking follows an investigation into an allegation that they viewed pornographic material on judicial IT equipment in their offices.

The spokesman added that the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice were "satisfied that the material did not include images of children or any other illegal content".

Nevertheless, the body had "concluded that this was an inexcusable misuse of their judicial IT accounts and wholly unacceptable conduct for a judicial office holder".

A fourth judge, Recorder Andrew Maw, was also found to have viewed similar inappropriate material via his judicial IT account, the JCIO said, but resigned before the disciplinary process concluded.

The judges were not linked in any way.


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Revealed: Britain's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives

Revealed: Britain's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

A killer, a rapist and a suspected child abuser are on a new list of most wanted British fugitives being hunted in Spain.

Police are appealing to thousands of expats and holidaymakers to help track them down and get them extradited to the UK.

The list includes several drug traffickers who are thought to be carrying on their life of crime on the Costas.

Hank Cole, head of international operations at the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: "They are hiding from the UK and Spanish authorities whilst in most cases still committing criminal offences.

"Some of them continue to be a danger to the public.

1/10

  1. Gallery: Britain's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

    Mohammed Jahangir Alam, 32: Wanted by Gloucestershire Police for rape and sexual assault. Alam, who is from Bangladesh, arrived in the UK on a temporary visa in October 2007

Paul Buchanan, 29: Wanted by West Mercia Police on suspicion of attempted rape. Originally from New York

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Carlo Dawson, 52: Wanted by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of indecent assault and making indecent photographs of a child

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Paul Monk, 54: Wanted by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply cannabis. Monk, from Romford, Essex, was allegedly involved in the handover of 1kg of cocaine in London

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Anthony Dennis, 47: Wanted by the National Crime Agency on suspicion of conspiracy to commit drug trafficking offences outside the UK and conspiracy to import class A drugs. Believed to be the lead member of an organised crime group

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Revealed: Britain's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

A killer, a rapist and a suspected child abuser are on a new list of most wanted British fugitives being hunted in Spain.

Police are appealing to thousands of expats and holidaymakers to help track them down and get them extradited to the UK.

The list includes several drug traffickers who are thought to be carrying on their life of crime on the Costas.

Hank Cole, head of international operations at the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: "They are hiding from the UK and Spanish authorities whilst in most cases still committing criminal offences.

"Some of them continue to be a danger to the public.

1/10

  1. Gallery: Britain's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

    Mohammed Jahangir Alam, 32: Wanted by Gloucestershire Police for rape and sexual assault. Alam, who is from Bangladesh, arrived in the UK on a temporary visa in October 2007

Paul Buchanan, 29: Wanted by West Mercia Police on suspicion of attempted rape. Originally from New York

]]>

Carlo Dawson, 52: Wanted by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of indecent assault and making indecent photographs of a child

]]>

Paul Monk, 54: Wanted by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply cannabis. Monk, from Romford, Essex, was allegedly involved in the handover of 1kg of cocaine in London

]]>

Anthony Dennis, 47: Wanted by the National Crime Agency on suspicion of conspiracy to commit drug trafficking offences outside the UK and conspiracy to import class A drugs. Believed to be the lead member of an organised crime group

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Player Targeted By Alleged Racist Abuse

Reading are through to the FA Cup semi-finals, but their celebrations were marred by an allegation of racist abuse towards winger Garath McCleary.

McCleary appeared to make a complaint to the assistant referee after collecting the ball for a corner in front of the travelling Bradford fans.

TV footage showed a fan shouting and making a gesture towards the Jamaica international, who scored Reading's second goal at the Madejski Stadium.

Reading confirmed in a short statement the matter had been passed to police.

"An incident was reported to the match officials just before half-time, who in turn told Reading staff.

"A man was then arrested and ejected during the half-time interval," the Royals said.

McCleary, 27, had provided the assist for Hal Robson-Kanu's opener before scoring a deflected second as Reading sealed a 3-0 win to set up a semi-final against holders Arsenal on Monday.

Reading boss Steve Clarke said after the game he was aware McCleary was "upset by something", but had no further information at that time.

It was the Reading fans who had initially been under the spotlight having invaded the pitch at the full-time whistle with a number of lit flares, preventing any on-field celebrations for the players.


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Cyril Smith Kept From Court 'To Save Others'

A former police detective who investigated peadophilia allegations against Cyril Smith has said that if the MP had been taken to court, he would have exposed other high-profile offenders.

Mr Smith died in 2010 but Jack Tasker said the investigation into his alleged child abuse at Cambridge House care home was stalled because "other people were rather worried that if Cyril Smith went before a court, he would open his mouth".

Retired Det Sgt Jack Tasker, who served with Lancashire Police, carried out the third investigation in 1969, following two by the former Rochdale Borough force.

He told Sky News that senior officers repeatedly prevented him from properly investigating the case and that, if the former Rochdale MP ahd been prosecuted, the case could have led to the fall of the government at the time.

He said: "I think he was guilty and I think he should have faced trial.

"I think circumstances will prove I was probably right, we were probably right."

He said that he had interviewed the boys and had believed what they had told him, adding: "They were interviewed separately and all had similar stories".

"You can tell a good witness, you can tell a shaky witness - it's part of your job to do so.

"I think Cyril would have been a shaky defendant."

He said that he was stopped from investigating further after a visit to his office by people he assumed to be from Special Branch, who demanded his notes and other records from the investigation and told him to go no further with his enquiries.

He said: "We were under the impression then that they'd take the investigation over and were going to continue it. But I never heard any more about it."

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Police Time Tied Up With Mental Health Issues

Written By Unknown on Senin, 16 Maret 2015 | 18.54

By Ashish Joshi, Sky News Correspondent

A senior police officer has told Sky News his officers spend 20% of their time dealing with mental health issues even though they are not trained or equipped to do so.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Netherton from Devon and Cornwall Police said tensions were rising between police forces and mental health care providers, possibly as a result of shrinking budgets.

"Certainly over the last few years that tension has been growing. We are all in austerity. We understand that," he said.

"The problem is that the Government funded the health service to provide the establishments for these people to go to. The challenge for the health service is that they've got to provide the staff to look after the patients and they are simply having to make some very tough choices.

"The view of the police service is we understand that but it's never right that these patients are coming into police premises and we're having to look after them.

"We haven't got the skills, we haven't got the facilities. And to be frankly honest a custody block is never somewhere you should put someone who is suicidal."

ACC Netherton took to social media last year after his officers were forced to arrest and detain a mentally-ill schoolgirl.

The 16-year-old, with a history of serious self-harm, was taken into police custody and had to stay in a police cell for three days because a secure hospital bed could not be found anywhere in the country.

The police officer's tweets described the situation as "unacceptable" and added "this can't be right".

The scandal forced high level government intervention and focused attention on the use or misuse of police detentions under section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

"When I was a young police officer it was all about catching car thieves and criminals. Now my officers are spending about 20% of their time dealing with the after effects of mental health issues or dealing with people suffering from mental health episodes."

The mother of the schoolgirl told Sky News she had nothing but respect for ACC Netherton and said his tweets had helped her daughter's case but she hoped the vulnerable teenager has not been damaged by the detention.

"She would have been very scared. She would have had to obviously hear whatever was going on in the other cells, the drunks coming in on a Friday night. I know she was asleep a lot of the time because of the medication so I'm hoping she wasn't damaged too much by it."

The misery for the sick girl and her family is continuing. She is currently being held at a hospital in Norwich but her family lives on the other side of the country in Devon. The long journey takes time, money and effort - it explains why the girl's mother has only been able to see her daughter twice since Christmas.

The mother said: "She needs us and when we are with her it's amazing because all the staff tell us how well my daughter is doing and why she needs to be near her family, but it's crazy because she's so far away and I'm having to fight for my child to get what she needs to get better."

At least one police force in the country is achieving results with reducing the number of people it detains under the Mental Health Act.

West Midlands Police began trialling a triage service last year. An unmarked ambulance with a police officer, a psychiatric nurse and a paramedic are dispatched to emergencies. The hope is people suffering from mental health issues can be identified and referred for treatment. 

Chief Inspector Sean Russell, who leads the initiative, told Sky News the force is significantly reducing the number of police detentions.

"We've seen a 51% reduction in the number of people detained. That's over 300 people in Birmingham and Solihull in the last 12 months. So that's really significant. We've also stopped nearly 700 people being admitted to A&E because of the way our process works with the paramedic now."

But the success of the West Midlands project is not being replicated everywhere, meaning police forces, against their will, are still having to criminalise society's most vulnerable. 

In a statement Home Secretary Theresa May said: "I have always been clear that people experiencing a mental health crisis should receive care and support rather than being held in a police cell.

"The police are not medics. They are not mental health nurses. They are not social workers. How the police and other agencies respond to vulnerable people goes right to the heart of the British model of policing by consent.

"Our reforms in this area are bearing fruit and reflect the important steps this Government has taken to vastly improve the police's response to people experiencing mental health problems."


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Solar Eclipse 'Will Be Memorable' - But Beware

A near-total solar eclipse will occur in the skies above Britain this week, prompting warnings about the dangers of watching the spectacle without taking precautions.

The eclipse will begin around 8.30am on Friday and last for two hours as the moon moves in front of the Sun.

The proportion of the Sun covered by the moon will increase the further north you are.

In London, 84% of the Sun will be covered, while in Edinburgh the proportion is 93%.

The last solar eclipse of such significance took place in August 1999, when a total eclipse occurred.

Tour operators have organised trips based around the event, which will briefly allow the Sun's outer atmosphere to be seen.

Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy (SPA), who will be travelling on the P&O cruise ship Oriana to witness the eclipse, said the event will be "memorable".

"We won't experience totality in the UK, but it will still be a memorable event," he said.

"Depending on where you are, up to 90% of the Sun will be covered over."

Organised events are being held in London's Regent's Park and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

In the lead up to the event, experts have offered advice on safety and warned of the perils of Sun-watching.

1/10

  1. Gallery: 3 Nov, 2013: Rare Hybrid Eclipse Of The Sun

    A bird flies across the sun in Sidon, Lebanon.

People in equatorial Africa got the best view of the hybrid eclipse, with totality lasting up to a minute.

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Huge Fire Tears Through Recycling Centre

A huge fire has torn through a recycling plant in Salford, creating a plume of black smoke visible for miles around.

Footage shows 40 firefighters battling the blaze, which caused traffic to come to a standstill on the M60.

Manchester Fire Service wrote on Twitter: "The heat from the #cliftonfire is so intense it melted the letters on this fire engine."

The blaze has engulfed the plant in Clifton and "involves a large quantity of recycled plastics", according to the fire service.

Wayne Shields, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service area manager, told the Manchester Evening News firefighters were confronted by a "molten river of plastic" as they tackled the blaze.

Eight fire engines are fighting the blaze and people have been told to keep their windows shut due to the plume of smoke.

No one has been injured.

A spokeswoman from the fire service said they had surrounded the blaze and were spraying jets on adjacent buildings to try and prevent it from spreading.


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Met Investigated Over Child Sex Cover-Up Claims

Scotland Yard is to be investigated for alleged corruption over claims it covered up child abuse because police and MPs were involved.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission will carry out the investigation into the actions of the Metropolitan Police.

There are 14 referrals which detail alleged corruption dating back to the 1970s and stretching into the 2000s.

Sarah Green, deputy chair of the IPCC, said: "These allegations are of historic, high level corruption of the most serious nature. We will oversee the investigations and ensure that they meet the terms of reference that we will set.

"Allegations of this nature are of grave concern and I would like to reassure people of our absolute commitment to ensuring that the investigations are thorough and robust."

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "Just when you thought this couldn't go any deeper, it does."

Brunt added: "For some time the police themselves have been looking at corruption but because of the severity of the allegations they have passed it on to the IPCC."

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Farage Outlines Election Pact Offer To Tories

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 15 Maret 2015 | 18.54

Nigel Farage has outlined the demands he would make in exchange for propping up a Conservative government after the election.

The UKIP leader has issued the four-point ultimatum in an extract from his memoirs published in the Sunday Telegraph, declaring that an EU referendum would have to be held this year.

Mr Farage says he would ban EU citizens from voting in it unless they also held a British passport, even though this would see his German wife Kirsten unable to take part and could also lead to a legal challenge.

However, the UKIP parliamentary candidate for South Thanet says that his party will not enter a formal coalition with the Tories and he is not interested in a "ministerial car".

Mr Farage says his deal "would be very precise and simple".

He says: "I would look to do a deal where we would back key votes for them - such as the Budget - but in return for very specific criteria on an EU referendum.

"I want a full and fair referendum to be held in 2015 to allow Britons to vote on being in or out of the European Union. There would be no wiggle room for 're-negotiation' somewhere down the line'."

He added that, as a referendum would take "only a few weeks" to launch and organise, it should be held in 2015 and EU citizens should not be allowed to have a say.

"It is my strong belief that the four million EU citizens living in the UK without British passports should not be allowed to do so (vote) - and, yes, that includes my German wife.

"They are eligible to vote in European elections, but they should not have the right to decide on Britain's future in the EU. It may be that that would require us to do battle with the European Court of Justice - but so be it."

Mr Farage also said that there should be spending limits on campaigning and an ombudsman should monitor media coverage.

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised the British people a vote on whether to leave Brussels by the end of 2017 if he remains in No 10 after the General Election.


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Budget: Osborne To Extend Pension Freedoms

Chancellor George Osborne is expected to extend pension freedoms to some five million people who have already purchased an annuity.

The change - due to be announced in Wednesday's Budget - will remove limits on buying and selling existing annuities.

The reform lets people cash in their annuity without incurring heavy tax penalties.

It also allows pensioners the same access to their retirement funds as the Chancellor announced last year for people who have yet to take their pensions.

Under those changes, from 6 April people can cash in their pension savings when they retire, rather than purchase an annuity.

With just weeks to go before the General Election, the announcement is expected to be popular with elderly voters.

The Chancellor is also reportedly considering cutting inheritance tax in a move which could allow millions to pass on their homes to their children tax free.

The Sunday Express reports that Mr Osborne is considering raising the death tax threshold from £325,000 to £1m, or abolishing the tax for a main family home.

The reform will either be announced in the Budget or as part of the Conservative manifesto, according to the newspaper.

Mr Osborne is expected to say on Wednesday that his Budget will deliver "a truly national recovery".

The Chancellor will outline measures to invest in industries around Britain, not just in London and the South East.

The measures are expected to include increased support for regional technology clusters and investment in the chemical sector in the North East.

Writing in The Sun On Sunday, Mr Osborne said: "We mustn't go back to the bad old days of just relying on the City of London for growth.

"New analysis shows that if all parts of England outside London and the South East grew at the national average then the UK economy as a whole could be an extra £90bn bigger by 2030.

"And it can be done. Between 2010 and 2013 Yorkshire and the Humber alone created more jobs than the whole of France, and in the South West over the last year someone has got a new job every 10 minutes."


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End Of Life Care Should Be Free, Say MPs

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

End of life care should be made available free of charge, MPs have concluded.

A report by the Health Select Committee found that acute and community care for people reaching the end of their lives varies around the UK and has called for long-term sustainable funding for hospices.

Report author Dr Sarah Wollaston MP said: "There are unacceptable levels of variation in the care that people receive and this needs to be addressed so that high quality end of life care is available to everyone regardless of their age, medical condition or where they live.

"We must make sure that specialist palliative care expertise is accessible within hospitals and community settings as well as within our hospices."

In patient Vera Clark, 87, is currently being treated for lung and heart problems at the highly rated Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted, Herts.

Her son Brian, who visits her every day, told Sky News: "We do feel lucky that she is where she is, it makes such a difference knowing she is in the right place."

Hospice director Dr Ros Taylor, who is also national director of Hospice UK, explained that some patients still get lost within the NHS system.

"There isn't the confidence of nurses and young doctors in hospital to have those conversations to recognise that somebody might be towards the end of their life, so the planning doesn't happen and people die waiting to leave hospital," she said.


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Friend Or Pho? Clarkson's Apology Revealed

Jeremy Clarkson is filling his days getting into a different kind of stew - as a friend revealed he phoned BBC bosses to apologise for his notorious "fracas" to avoid a formal bureaucratic inquiry.

The presenter, who has joked about his ham-fisted, "Keith Floydish" foray into Vietnamese food, called Danny Cohen, director of television at the corporation, even though Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon had not made a complaint.

It is understood Clarkson, 54, hoped this would draw a line under the matter - "not least for the sake of the hundreds of people standing by to carry on with the rest of the show," according to his friend AA Gill.

"It was Jeremy who handed himself in. He ... explained he had lost his rag after a difficult and tiring day," the food critic wrote in The Sunday Times.

Gill praised his "mate" as a hard-working broadcaster who had earned the BBC "hundreds of millions" and slammed Mr Cohen's investigation into the row as "preposterous and ponderous".

He said: "Jeremy reported the incident. It was over the absence of hot food at the end of a long and frustrating day with the prospect of another early start in the morning.

"The producer, Oisin Tymon, had not made a complaint. Jeremy called Danny Cohen, the director of BBC television, directly and explained he had lost his rag.

"Cohen had a choice: to do the right thing or the bureaucratic thing, but at the BBC no good intention goes unquestioned."

He added: "People work long hours with a great deal of stress, and small things - almost invariably food - are tetchy trip-wires.

"Whatever did happen, in mitigation to Jeremy, nobody works harder or under more stress than he."

Mr Cohen suspended Clarkson and cancelled the next three episodes of the BBC2 programme after reportedly hearing that Clarkson threw a punch at Mr Tymon.

He also announced an inquiry into the incident, due to begin on Monday.

It will be led by Ken MacQuarrie, the head of BBC Scotland, who carried out the investigation into Newsnight's false expose of Lord McAlpine.

Writing in The Sunday Times, Clarkson described himself as a "not very interesting fat man" and joked about retirement while he awaits the disciplinary hearing.

"We read often about active and busy people who die the day after they retire because they simply can't cope with the concept of relaxation," he said.

"So as I seem to have a bit of time on my hands at the moment, I thought it would be a good idea to take up some kind of hobby.

"I began by watching daytime television, and soon felt myself starting to slip away. So I turned over to the news and it was all about a not very interesting fat man who had been suspended from his not very important job.

"But watching the fat man made me hungry and that's when the penny dropped: I'd take up cooking."

He added: "I decided to get ambitious and cook the most delicious thing I've eaten in  my life: a pho ... a Vietnamese noodle soup that contains about 128 ingredients."

However, after tucking into wine while waiting for the beef broth to cook and adding chillies "that sat on the Scoville scale just above lava" he went to bed "hungry, drunk and with an ulcerated, gangrenous mouth".

Following his comments on Saturday that the time may have come for him to leave Top Gear, was he hinting at a possible new career as a restaurant critic?

"My new hobby is called 'going out to restaurants and letting people who know what they're doing cook my food," he wrote at the end of his column.

The BBC investigation will try to establish what happened on the night of 4 March at the Simonstone Hall hotel in Hawes, North Yorkshire, after Clarkson was told the chef had stopped serving hot food.

It will also take into account Clarkson's other controversies of the past two years, and could take weeks until his fate is decided.

The delay already appears to have irked fellow Top Gear presenter James May, who tweeted on Saturday: "So; it's been a week, and still no answer. How exactly do you pronounce 'fracas'?"

Nearly one million people have signed a petition calling for Clarkson to be reinstated, but not everyone at the BBC wants him back.

The BBC's in-house magazine, Ariel, published a letter from a receptionist at BBC Oxford that reflects the mood of some staff.

Pat Noel argued "there are only so many warnings the BBC can give one person. There is a lot of great talent in the BBC; let's not make one man a god."

Last month, the BBC approved its new bullying and harassment grievance policy, agreed with unions, and some are seeing allegations that Clarkson threw a punch at a producer as a test case.

Luke Crawley, assistant general secretary of the broadcast and workers' union Bectu, told The Observer: "If it turns out that the allegations are true, then the BBC must take a very firm line.

"Otherwise it seems to be open season for star presenters taking a pop at staff. This is a pretty serious test case."


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