Exclusive: CCRC will test serial killer as part of inquiry into whether Michael Stone was wrongly convicted of 1996 murders
The serial killer Levi Bellfield will have his DNA taken in an attempt to establish if he murdered Lin and Megan Russell in 1996.
Michael Stone has protested his innocence since his conviction in 1998 for the killing of Lin, 45, and her daughter, six-year-old Megan, as well as a vicious attack on Megan’s sister Josie, nine, who survived.
Continue reading...Reform UK leader claims he is victim of ‘hit job’ as parliamentary standards commissioner investigates £5m donation
On the subject of Andy Burnham, the Financial Times is running a story today saying the access talks his team is holding with senior civil servants, intended to help Whitehall departments get ready to implement the new PM’s policy agenda, are being hindered by the fact that Burnham has not decided who will do the top cabinet jobs.
In the story, Lucy Fisher, George Parker and Anna Gross say:
Talks have not yet formally started with the Treasury and Burnham’s refusal to nominate a chancellor has complicated transition planning.
One Labour figure complained Burnham’s operation was “skeletal”, adding: “Access talks require a shadow cabinet. Burnham needs to nominate key people in advance or he cannot have meaningful talks” ….
Yes. And look – I’m not going to go into what we discussed privately, but everything I’ve seen from Andy publicly suggests that he knows that welfare reform is absolutely necessary … [because] it’s fundamentally about the life chances of a whole generation of young people.
And if we think the best option and best opportunity that we can gift as a country to a generation of young people is a life on benefits – are we serious?
My sense is that the appetite, both within the parliamentary Labour party and the new administration, will be absolutely up for doing this.
One of those is how we support young people. I will not defend an education system that is overly focused on the university route and does not lay out paths to technical qualifications for our young people. Too many young people get to year 10 at school, and they can’t see where school is taking them, because the system isn’t focusing on those young people.
And then, at 16, I believe we need the guarantee of a work placement for 16 to 18-year-olds, apprenticeships for every 16 to 18-year-old who wants one, and what I’ve done in Great Manchester is something that might be looked at more broadly, free bus travel for 16 to 18-year-olds, so that they can access those opportunities.
Continue reading...Judge says evidence indicates attack on Pouria Zeraati outside home was carried out on behalf of Tehran regime
Two Romanians who took part in a “targeted” knife attack on a television journalist in London “on behalf of the Iranian state” have been jailed.
Pouria Zeraati, who worked for the Persian-language channel Iran International, which is critical of the Tehran regime, was left bleeding in the street after being stabbed three times outside his home in Wimbledon.
Continue reading...Exclusive: National Crime Agency and safety watchdog issue guidance amid rise in explicit material online
Parents should not put photos of their children on public display online, according to landmark guidance issued to tackle the rise of AI-generated sexual abuse material.
The recommendation has come from the National Crime Agency and the Internet Watch Foundation, which fear that most people are unaware of the dangers posed by paedophiles and criminal networks.
They suggest that parents and guardians make their social media accounts private or share pictures of their children through a “close friends” group. The NCA and the IWF stressed they were not telling parents how to behave online, but said they should be aware of the problem and how to tackle it.
NCA says offenders arrange to sexually assault and film victims via online networks with crimes often taking place in trusting relationships
Criminal investigators in the UK say they have uncovered a “truly international network” of organised drug-facilitated sexual assault in which victims are sedated before being raped and sexually assaulted.
The National Crime Agency [NCA] has said online networks, “many as yet unidentified by law enforcement”, were allowing offenders to arrange to rape and abuse victims or arrange for sexual assaults to be filmed.
Continue reading...YouGov survey of six countries shows respondents think crime is increasing – though most trust their national police
Western Europeans believe crime is rising in their country, according to a survey, despite long-term overall crime rates falling across the region since the mid-1990s.
The YouGov poll of Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain found most countries trusted their national police, led by Denmark where 74% of respondents said they had a lot or a fair amount of confidence in police nationally.
Continue reading...Solicitor general asks for Vickrum Digwa’s 21-year minimum jail term to be reviewed under ‘unduly lenient sentence’ scheme
The court of appeal will be asked to increase the 21-year minimum sentence on Vickrum Digwa for murdering Henry Nowak, government law officers have decided.
The solicitor general, Ellie Reeves, made the announcement on Monday that she was referring the case to the court of appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
Continue reading...Frederic Priestley, 34, falsely advertised property he did not own for rent on Facebook, obtaining payments and deposits
A man has been jailed after defrauding more than 30 people out of more than £77,000 in a rental scam, police said.
Frederic Priestley, 34, from Southwark, London, falsely advertised a property for rent on Facebook between April and September last year.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: With violent crime declining but hate crime increasing, a look at what we can all do to make our shared spaces safer
Good morning. Who is safe on Britain’s streets? Two acts of gross violence – the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton and the stabbing of Stephen Ogilvie in Belfast – have been ruthlessly exploited by the far-right and now the spaces we all share are contested.
It is an entirely human response to feel unsafe when we watch a clip of an assailant wielding a knife over his victim, or police officers handcuffing a distressed, dying young man. Much as it is when we see ethnic minority families fleeing burning homes in Belfast, or a menacing crowd in Glasgow setting about black people as they pass.
Middle East | The US launched new strikes against targets in Iran for the second consecutive day after Donald Trump promised to “hit them hard again” as a two-month-old ceasefire appears close to collapse.
UK politics | Keir Starmer’s closest aides are “war-gaming” how to win a leadership contest ahead of Andy Burnham’s much-anticipated return to Westminster if he wins the Makerfield byelection, the Guardian understands.
Belfast | Elon Musk’s X will face no action to remove a mass of posts inciting violence in Northern Ireland for at least two months, despite widespread condemnation of the platform and its billionaire owner.
Environment | Temperatures in the Antarctic climbed above 15C this month, shattering the previous winter heat record for the usually frozen region and raising concerns about the speed of climate breakdown.
UK news | One of the government’s key contractors has launched an investigation into allegations of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate speech among staff working in immigration removal centres, the Guardian has learned.
Continue reading...Emma Barnett killed her one-year-old after a court ruling he be taken away from her
A mother who poisoned her one-year-old son with a lethal cocktail of prescription medications added to milk in a baby bottle has been jailed for life for his murder.
Emma Barnett, 36, killed her son Oakley before he could be taken into care after a family court hearing ordered that he be removed from her.
Continue reading...Pouria Zeraati of Iran International TV was stabbed three times outside his London home in attempt to ‘silence’ him
Two men have been found guilty of involvement in a targeted knife attack on an Iranian journalist in London said to have been carried out on behalf of the regime in Tehran.
Pouria Zeraati, a British journalist of Iranian origin, was working for Iran International, a Farsi-language dissident broadcaster, when he was stabbed in the leg outside his west London home in 2024.
Continue reading...Demonstration follows family’s plea for death not to be used to create division
Hundreds of people gathered outside a Southampton police station to protest against the murder of Henry Nowak and dozens clashed with police close to the home of his killer, Vickrum Digwa.
The far-right activist Tommy Robinson was among speakers who addressed the crowd outside Southampton central police station at the “Justice for Henry Nowak” protest.
Continue reading...Home secretary says officer wrongly linked to case had to relocate after footage emerged of victim being handcuffed while dying
BBC Scotland has more details of the Peter Murrell hearing this morning on its live blog. And, on its live blog, Sky News has pictures of some of the items purchased by Murrell with stolen SNP funds.
Andy Burnham will not call an early election if he becomes prime minister after the Makerfield byelection, a spokesperson for the Greater Manchester mayor has said.
Continue reading...Home secretary’s condenmation of ‘misinformation and inflammatory commentary’ comes after death threats to police
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has warned of a “dangerous undercurrent” in the wake of the murder of Henry Nowak, who was falsely accused of racism by a Sikh man who had fatally stabbed him with a ceremonial dagger.
Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced on Monday to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years for the December 2025 murder of 18-year-old Nowak.
Continue reading...Dominic Grieve says people are ‘perfectly entitled’ to ask Richard Hermer for review of teenagers’ sentences
Appeal judges would be unlikely to criticise the attorney general, Richard Hermer, if he asked them to review “unusual” non-custodial sentences handed to three teenage boys convicted of raping two girls, one of his predecessors has suggested.
Dominic Grieve, who also served as home secretary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the goal of rehabilitating offenders – particularly younger ones – needed to be balanced with providing deterrence.
Continue reading...Paperwork supplied by Andrew Crowley, 46, found to be made using printing methods 25 years too modern
A fraudster who tried to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby’s was foiled when his bogus accompanying paperwork was found to be written with printing methods that were 25 years too modern, a court has heard.
Andrew Crowley, 46, asked the auctioneers to value three Cycladic figures and one Anatolian stargazer statuette that he had inherited from his grandfather, Southwark crown court in London was told on Friday.
Continue reading...Chi Leung Wai and Chung Biu Yuen convicted over surveillance of dissidents in ‘shadow policing’ operation
A UK Border Force officer and Hong Kong trade official based in London have been found guilty of spying for China and surveilling dissidents through a “shadow policing” operation.
Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 38, and Chung Biu Yuen, 65, also known as Bill, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of assisting a foreign intelligence service, making them the first people in British history to be convicted of spying for China.
Continue reading...Staff are handing over sandwiches from behind a theft-proof counter as the high street fights back
Greggs has axed self-service display cabinets in bakery stores that have been most severely hit by shoplifters.
The move is the latest aimed at combating a problem plaguing the high street. Last year official figures revealed annual shoplifting offences in England and Wales had passed half a million offences for the first time, and since then many retailers have reported high levels of crime in their shops.
Continue reading...Four accused of rape and one of aiding and abetting rape in connection with incident in Gravesend
Three boys and two men have been charged over the rape of a teenage girl in Kent, police said.
Kent police received reports on Tuesday that a girl had been raped at a private property in Gravesend between 25 March and 19 April.
Continue reading...Criminals paid on behalf of Iran are believed to be behind attacks against Jewish targets, say detectives
Detectives are investigating whether the series of arson attacks in London were planned for weeks with suspects carrying out reconnaissance on the Jewish targets to be firebombed.
The series of attacks against synagogues and other Jewish targets, as well as one premises linked to Iranian dissidents, are believed to be carried out by criminals paid on behalf of Iran, police said.
Continue reading...