Category Archives: Crime

Jailing shoplifters will not address root causes, says senior Tory

Posted on by

Sir Bob Neill criticises government plan for failing to consider mental health and addiction problems of many offenders

Ministers cannot “warehouse” addicts and people with mental health problems who commit crimes such as shoplifting, a senior Conservative MP has said in response to a plan to give shoplifters mandatory sentences.

Sir Bob Neill, the chair of the Commons justice select committee, said the new policy would “pump low-level offenders” into almost-full jails at huge public expense and do nothing to change the “chaotic lives” of offenders.

Continue reading...

Shoplifters who commit repeat offences to face prison

Posted on by

Government also plans to make greater use of facial recognition technology as part of crime crackdown bill

Shoplifters, burglars and violent criminals who commit repeat offences will be handed mandatory prison sentences under plans being drawn up by ministers.

The government plans to force judges to impose jail terms when sentencing repeat offenders for shoplifting, burglary, theft and common assault, using new legislation to be included in the crime and justice bill.

Continue reading...

Twiglet the burgled dachshund back with owner after successful dog-hunt

Posted on by

Essex police continue to appeal for witnesses after release of video leads member of public to rescue pet

Twiglet, the miniature dachshund who was stolen by a masked man during a burglary, is safe and well and has been reunited with her owner, police have said.

Officers in Essex launched a dog-hunt, releasing a video of the theft and appealing for information after an intruder took the 16-month-old dachshund from her home in Catmere End, Saffron Walden, at about 3pm on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Twins hit charity cyclist with truck then hid body in carcass pit, Glasgow court told

Posted on by

Disappearance of Tony Parsons in 2017 finally resolved after Alexander McKellar took girlfriend to burial site

Twin brothers who left a cyclist to die on a remote Highland roadside after hitting him with their pickup truck and hiding his body in a pit used for animal carcasses have finally been brought to justice after one confessed to his new girlfriend.

The disappearance of the “much-loved” grandfather and passionate fisher Tony Parsons in the middle of a 100-mile charity fundraiser in September 2017 left his close family “heartbroken” and the authorities baffled. He had vanished seemingly “into thin air”, according to the police who searched for him.

Continue reading...

MPs launch inquiry into prosecution of Norton Motorcycles pension fraud

Posted on by

Regulators to be asked about how £10m scam was investigated, as Guardian Today in Focus podcast raises fresh questions about case

Financial regulators are to be summoned to parliament to explain how they prosecuted the case of a multimillion-pound pensions fraud whose victims have yet to receive compensation and which has not led to anyone serving prison time.

Sir Stephen Timms MP, chair of the work and pensions committee, said he was launching an inquiry into how watchdogs and prosecutors handled the case, in which £10m of pension savings disappeared after being invested in the heritage brand Norton Motorcycles.

Continue reading...

Has Britain become a country of shoplifters? – podcast

Posted on by

Shopkeepers complain the number of thefts from stores is soaring. Is the cost of living crisis to blame or organised gangs?

It could be laundry tablets, lipstick or even baby milk. According to shopkeepers in the UK the number of thefts is rising. The British Retail Consortium said there were 8m instances of theft from shops last year, which cost businesses nearly £1bn. The Office for National Statistics reports a 22% rise.

For shop assistants and managers it is a daily struggle, which can be costly and infuriating – but what’s behind it? The Guardian’s North of England editor, Helen Pidd, spoke to shopkeepers on one Manchester street to see how they were coping, and spent the day in a magistrates court to find out what happens when a shoplifter is caught. She explains how organised crime may be a factor behind the rise.

Continue reading...

UK police accused by MPs of ‘cosying up’ to ‘pimping websites’

Posted on by

Home affairs select committee members criticise policy of working with businesses such as Vivastreet

Senior police officers have “cosied up” to “pimping websites” that allegedly allow trafficked women to be “raped multiple times a day”, MPs have said.

Dame Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs select committee, said it was “disgraceful” that police forces and the National Crime Agency (NCA) were engaging with businesses such as Vivastreet.

Continue reading...

Man and woman arrested over ‘suspicious’ death of girl, 2, in Suffolk

Posted on by

Investigations ongoing after body of toddler found in Ipswich on Friday morning

A man and a woman have been arrested over the “suspicious” death of a two-year-old girl. Police said they found the body of the toddler at a property in Sidegate Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk, on Friday morning.

Investigations at the property are ongoing and officers said the death was being treated as suspicious.

Continue reading...

Fifteen-year-old boy and man, 23, killed in north London stabbing

Posted on by

Another man aged 28 has stab wound not thought to be life-threatening after incident in Archway

A 15-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man have been stabbed to death in north London.

The teenager died at the scene in Elthorne Road, Archway, after the stabbing at 11.30pm on Thursday, while the man was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A 28-year-old man was found with a stab wound that was not life-threatening.

Continue reading...

Man guilty of murdering police custody sergeant in south London

Posted on by

Jury finds Louis De Zoysa shot Matt Ratana in Croydon with revolver he probably hid under armpit

A man has been found guilty of murdering a police custody sergeant with a gun he had smuggled into a cell.

A jury at Northampton crown court convicted Louis De Zoysa, 25, of murdering Sgt Matt Ratana, 54, with a gunshot to the chest at a custody block in Croydon, south London, in September 2020.

Continue reading...

Murder inquiry launched into death of two-year-old girl in road crash

Posted on by

Oria Henry was passenger in car driven by Ashley Henry, 35, when it collided with a lorry in Anwick, Lincolnshire

A murder inquiry has been launched into the death of a two-year-old girl who died along with a driver in a road crash.

Ashley Henry, 35, and passenger Oria Henry, from Leicester, were both pronounced dead at the scene in Anwick, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, on Sunday.

Continue reading...

What’s behind the rise in dog attacks? – podcast

Posted on by

Seven people have been killed by dogs in the UK so far this year. Simon Usborne reports on the worrying increase in attacks

Deaths and serious injuries sustained in dog attacks are rising rapidly in the UK. So far this year seven people have been killed in such incidents. For years the average was stable, at about three deaths a year, but something has changed recently. During the Covid pandemic, dog ownership rose sharply as people took on pets as companions. But that’s only part of the story.

The reporter Simon Usborne tells Nosheen Iqbal the increase in demand for dogs allowed unscrupulous dealers to enter the market and sell to unsuitable owners. There are also new breeds to contend with: the American bully, a type of bulldog, has become notorious for a seemingly disproportionate involvement in serious incidents. There are calls for the breed to be banned.

Continue reading...

Moon the baby donkey missing for weeks is returned to Hampshire owners

Posted on by

The 12-week-old foal is back with its mother at Miller’s Ark Animals while police continue their investigation

A countryside abduction has come to a tail-wagging end after a baby donkey that was stolen from a farm has been reunited with her mother and her “ecstatic” owners after a police investigation.

On 15 May, the 12-week-old donkey, named Moon, was taken from Miller’s Ark Animals in Hook, Hampshire some time before 5pm. Missing for more than two weeks, Moon was recovered and returned to the farm on Wednesday evening.

Continue reading...

Juror jailed for causing rape trial to collapse by researching defendant online

Posted on by

Jason Carr, who had worked for the police, looked up details of the man on trial despite judge telling jurors it was illegal to do so

An “unashamed and unrepentant” juror who spent two decades in the police has been jailed for six months after causing a rape trial to collapse by researching the defendant online.

Jason Carr thought he “knew better than the lawyers” and used his phone to search for details about the man on trial believing there were gaps in the evidence, a judge at Liverpool crown court said.

Continue reading...

Man jailed for life for murdering schoolgirl Nikki Allan in 1992

Posted on by

David Boyd must serve at least 29 years for killing seven-year-old he stabbed 37 times

A child killer who brutally murdered a “bright and sparky” seven-year-old girl and managed to escape justice for more than 30 years has been sentenced to life in prison.

A judge on Tuesday ruled that David Boyd must serve a minimum term of 29 years for the murder of Nikki Allan.

Continue reading...

Fraudster jailed for running multimillion-pound website iSpoof

Posted on by

Tejay Fletcher’s site offered tools allowing criminals to make phone calls that appeared to be from trusted companies

The mastermind behind an online fraud shop used to con victims out of more than £100m has been jailed for more than 13 years.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, bought a £230,000 Lamborghini, two Range Rovers worth £110,000 and an £11,000 Rolex after making about £2m from the iSpoof.cc website. He was the founder and leading administrator of the site, which was brought down last year in the UK’s biggest fraud sting.

Continue reading...

Khayri Mclean’s mother calls for end to knife violence after boys sentenced to life

Posted on by

Charlie Mclean says she has lost a child and parents of teenage murderers have lost two sons

A mother has called for an end to teenage knife violence after two boys who murdered her 15-year-old son on his way home from school were given life sentences.

Khayri Mclean was murdered as he walked with friends in Huddersfield at 2.50pm on 21 September last year. Cousins Jakele Pusey, 15, and Jovani Harriott, 17, had changed into black clothes and black balaclavas and were hiding, waiting to ambush him.

Continue reading...

Sussex police ‘committed to solving’ Vishal Mehrotra murder case

Posted on by

Father had criticised force for failing to reinvestigate killing of 8-year-old son who disappeared in 1981

Sussex police are to re-examine the case of a murdered schoolboy who disappeared on his way home more than 40 years ago.

Vishal Mehrotra, eight, vanished from west London in July 1981 and part of his remains were found in Rogate, West Sussex, seven months later. No one has been convicted for his murder.

Continue reading...

UK ‘was urged to investigate’ Nigerian politician before organ trafficking plot

Posted on by

Exclusive: Former US intelligence analyst says he warned authorities about activities of Ike Ekweremadu

A former US intelligence analyst warned the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the activities of a senior Nigerian politician before he trafficked a man to London in an attempt to harvest his kidney, the Guardian can reveal.

On Friday, Ike Ekweremadu was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for being the driving force in a plot to harvest a kidney for his sick daughter in the first organ trafficking conviction under the Modern Slavery Act.

Continue reading...

Nigerian politician jailed for nine years in UK over organ trafficking plot

Posted on by

Judge says Ike Ekweremadu was ‘driving force’ in scheme to take kidney for his sick daughter from man brought to London

A senior Nigerian politician has been sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison in the UK for being the “driving force” in a plot to harvest a kidney for his sick daughter from a young man he had trafficked to London.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, a former deputy president of the Nigerian senate, his wife, Beatrice, 56, and Dr Obinna Obeta, 51, were found guilty by an Old Bailey jury in March in the first organ trafficking conviction under the Modern Slavery Act.

Continue reading...