Category Archives: Crime

Man who killed his wife in ‘act of love’ calls for assisted dying law

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Graham Mansfield, sentenced this week for killing terminally ill Dyanne, says if he had to do the ‘horrible act’ again, he would

A man who cut his terminally ill wife’s throat in an “act of love” said he would do the same again to give her peace, as he called for a change in the law to allow assisted dying.

Graham Mansfield, 73, was cleared of murder by a jury this week. They found the retired baggage handler guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter after hearing how he and his wife, Dyanne, 71, agreed to die together after the pain of her terminal cancer became too much to bear.

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Logan Mwangi’s mother and stepfather jailed for murder of five-year-old

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Angharad Williamson, John Cole and a teenager murdered boy after he suffered months of violent abuse

A mother and stepfather have been jailed for life after being found guilty of the murder of five-year-old Logan Mwangi, who died after months of violent abuse and imprisonment in the “dungeon” of his small, dark bedroom.

Logan’s mother, Angharad Williamson, was told she will serve at least 28 years before being considered for parole, while her partner, John Cole, will spend a minimum of 29 years in prison. A 14-year-old youth who was also convicted of Logan’s murder was told he will be detained for at least 15 years.

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BBC journalist tells court how he was chased by mob of anti-vaxxers

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Nick Watt said he was ‘very scared’ and ‘shaken’ after pursuit by protesters at anti-lockdown rally in London

A BBC journalist said he felt “very scared” and “shaken” as he was chased by a mob of anti-vaxxers in London last year.

Anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown protesters, who had been attending at rally in central London, called Nick Watt a “traitor” and shouted in his face, Westminster magistrates court heard on Wednesday.

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James Watson sentenced to life for 1994 murder of Rikki Neave

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Watson, 41, evaded detection for over 20 years, changing his account as evidence against him piled up

A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 15 years for the murder of the schoolboy Rikki Neave, who was found strangled in woods near Peterborough almost 28 years ago.

James Watson, of no fixed abode, was convicted in April at the Old Bailey in London of the 1994 murder after a DNA breakthrough in 2016 revealed that, as a 13-year-old, he had been in physical contact with the six-year-old boy on the day of his disappearance.

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Thousands of victims of violent and sexual crime stuck in England and Wales court backlog

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Sevenfold rise in those waiting at least a year for cases to be heard as lawyers quit over cuts in legal aid

More than 5,800 victims of violent crime and sexual offences are stuck in one of the worst-ever backlogs in the crown courts, enduring delays of at least a year before their cases are heard, the Observer can reveal.

The number of cases facing these delays once a defendant has been charged has increased more than sevenfold in two years, according to an analysis of crown court figures in England and Wales.

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Man, 44, arrested after 15-year-old boy stabbed to death in Manchester

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Man arrested in Kent after teenager was killed and his mother injured on Thursday night

A 44-year-old man has been arrested in Kent on suspicion of murder after a teenage boy was stabbed to death and his mother was injured at a Manchester home, Greater Manchester police said.

Police said the man, from Manchester, is believed to be known to the victims. Officers were called by colleagues from North West ambulance service at about 9.30pm on Thursday after the domestic incident in Miles Platting.

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Former head of ‘British FBI’ fears impact of Whitehall cuts on fight against crime

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Former National Crime Agency chief worries civil service reductions could have devastating effect

The former head of Britain’s equivalent of the FBI has said she fears ministers’ plans to cut civil servant posts could have a “devastating” impact on tackling serious and organised crime.

Speaking to Policing TV, Dame Lynne Owens, the former director general of the National Crime Agency (NCA), said she was keeping a “keen eye” on discussions about proposals to axe 90,000 jobs and how they may affect the agency she led for five years.

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‘Monster’ neighbour jailed for at least 37 years for Gloucestershire murder

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Can Arslan stabbed Matthew Boorman to death on lawn and seriously injured two others

A “monster” who murdered one neighbour and seriously wounded two others in a “spree of planned violence” after they took legal action to try to curtail his 12-year campaign of extreme harassment has been jailed for at least 37 years.

Can Arslan, 52, stabbed Matthew Boorman on Boorman’s front lawn in the village of Walton Cardiff, Gloucestershire, on 5 October last year. Boorman’s wife, Sarah, sustained a knife wound to her thigh as she tried to help, while another neighbour, Peter Marsden, was stabbed eight times but managed to fend off Arslan.

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Met police did not consult us on children’s data project, say youth violence experts

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Force claimed it approached groups before launch of Project Alpha which scours social media sites

Youth violence experts have said they had no involvement with a police scheme that collects children’s personal data, despite the Met claiming to have consulted them.

Project Alpha, involving more than 30 staff and launched in 2019 with Home Office funding, scours social media sites looking at drill music videos and other content. It has prompted concerns about racial profiling and potential privacy violations.

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‘Ponzi-style’ conman jailed for failing to repay victims of £72m fraud

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London magistrates sentence Michael Strubel to more than six years for failing to pay compensation

A fraudster who conned people out of more than £70m in a “Ponzi-style scheme” claiming he was supplying services to the London 2012 Olympic village and large hotels has been given more than six years in jail for failing to hand back more than £1.4m of illicit profits.

City of London magistrates court committed Michael Strubel to prison for six years and seven months for failing to pay his confiscation order.

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Sasha Johnson: £20,000 reward offered to break ‘wall of silence’ over shooting

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Black rights campaigner was shot in head at close range in May 2021 and now requires constant medical care

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for information about who shot a prominent black rights campaigner as a charity tries to smash a “wall of silence” that has frustrated investigators for the past year.

Crimestoppers will pay the money to anyone who anonymously shares information leading to the conviction of those responsible for Sasha Johnson’s shooting.

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Security warnings at UK nuclear facilities hit 12-year high as inspections fall

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Exclusive: Fears over regulator’s ability to cope with planned expansion in nuclear energy

The number of formal reports documenting security issues at the UK’s civil nuclear facilities has hit its highest level in at least 12 years amid a decline in inspections, the Guardian can reveal.

Experts said the news raised concerns about the regulator’s capacity to cope with planned expansion in the sector.

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Covid support schemes left ‘open goal’ to fraudsters, says watchdog

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Public Accounts Committee report says business department efforts to identify fraud came after trails had ‘long ago gone cold’

The business department’s handling of Covid support schemes left an “open goal” to fraudsters and embezzlers that has added “billions to taxpayer woes”, parliament’s spending watchdog has found.

In its review of the annual report of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it recognised that the government offered crucial support to businesses at the height of the pandemic.

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Neo-Nazi group National Action’s founder faces jail after guilty verdict

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Alex Davies, described in court as the ‘biggest Nazi of the lot’, found to have remained in the group after it was banned

The founder of a violent neo-Nazi group created to inspire a race war in the UK is facing jail after being found guilty of continuing to be a member of the organisation after it was banned.

Alex Davies, 27, who was described in court as the “biggest Nazi of the lot”, formed the group National Action (NA) when he was a teenager and acted as its main recruiter.

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Piers Corbyn fined over ‘murder’ claim at Covid vaccine clinic

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Anti-vaxxer convicted of causing nuisance or disturbance at Guy’s hospital in London in January

Piers Corbyn has been fined £250 after accusing NHS staff at a London Covid-19 vaccination clinic of murdering people.

The brother of the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had arrived with a group of anti-vaxxers at Guy’s hospital in central London on 18 January with a “cease and desist” letter that they claimed was to prevent NHS staff from administering the Covid-19 vaccine.

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Firebombs and death threats: councillors need more protection, say UK bodies

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Dozens of seats going uncontested as candidates step down due to ‘truly toxic’ environment

More must be done to protect councillors from abuse, according to local government bodies, as those on the frontline of local democracy describe a “truly toxic” political environment where online aggression spills over into real-life behaviour.

Candidates for council elections on Thursday across the UK have shared their experiences of escalating hostility as the chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), councillorJames Jamieson, warned that “an increasing number … are being subjected to abuse, threats and intimidation both online and in-person, undermining the principles of free speech, democratic engagement and debate”.

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Recorded sex crimes reach record high in England and Wales

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Victims’ commissioner calls goal of returning prosecution levels to pre-2017 levels ‘a pipe dream’

Sex crimes logged by police in England and Wales have reached a record high amid warnings from the victims’ commissioner that the government’s aim to boost prosecutions to levels last seen five years ago is “a pipe dream”.

Police-recorded sexual offences increased to their highest level over a 12-month period, with 183,587 in the year to December 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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