Category Archives: Crime

German suspect in Madeleine McCann case linked to two more child disappearances

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Father of six-year-old who vanished in Portugal in 1996 hopes to finally learn what happened to his son

The father of a six-year-old German boy who disappeared on holiday in Portugal nearly 24 years ago says the recent dramatic developments in the Madeleine McCann case have given him hope he will finally learn what happened to his son.

Andreas Hasee said a German investigator called him on Friday to confirm they were reopening the case of his missing son, René, following the identification of the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of three-year old Madeleine.

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‘We want to move on’: Praia da Luz reacts to news in Madeleine McCann case

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Recent developments stir painful memories for residents of small Portuguese coastal town

The sunny street that leads to the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz is quiet, its silence interrupted only by the chirping of birds carried on a warm breeze.

A pair of blue curtains is drawn across the window of the ground-floor apartment, the old balcony door has been replaced by an iron one and the hedge outside is perfectly trimmed.

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‘There’s a romanticism about nighthawking, but it’s theft’: when metal detectorists go rogue

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Anyone who digs up valuable treasure is supposed to report the find, not hang on to it or sell it to the highest bidder. But even under lockdown, crime continues

If you had seen them, you might have thought they were ramblers or dog walkers – locals snatching some fresh air as the nation hunkered indoors during lockdown. Only their equipment would have given them away: metal detectors, a shovel and a spade, that they humped uncomfortably up a vertiginous path.

They turned off the main road and drove a quarter of a mile down a single track dark with trees, past the occasional house and fields of rolling countryside. It was probably early morning when the car pulled up at a wooden fence, on which were carved the words “GRAY HILL, COMPTON”. From here, it is a stiff, scrambling climb up Gray Hill, towards a cluster of ancient standing stones that loom out of scrubland like broken teeth. Here, if the weather is clear, you can look out towards the Severn estuary.

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RAC hits out at ‘truly shocking’ lockdown speeding offences

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Data reveals police recorded seven incidents of motorists in UK driving over 130mph

Two-thirds of Britain’s police forces caught people driving in excess of 100mph during the first three weeks of the coronavirus lockdown, new data has shown. 

The extreme speeds were not confined to motorways, as drivers also took the drop in traffic as an invitation to break the law on urban roads, thus endangering lives, police said.

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Lullingstone Castle: man dies after rocks were thrown, say police

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Serious crime investigation after death of man, reportedly in his 70s, near tourist spot in Kent

A man has died after reports of a disturbance and rocks being thrown in the grounds of a castle in Kent, police have said.

Kent police said officers were called to the grounds of Lullingstone Castle in Eynsford at 5.21pm on Thursday. The force added: “It was reported that rocks were being thrown.

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UK and EU clash over crime-fighting database in Brexit talks

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UK set to lose access to Schengen Information System that police across continent use to stop criminals

EU officials have accused the British government of threatening to weaken security cooperation with the bloc unless the UK gets an equivalent to a major crime-fighting database.

The UK is set to lose access to the Schengen Information System (SIS II), a massive EU database, where police across the continent share millions of pieces of information on criminal suspects, at the end of the year.

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Met police officer investigated after man shot with Taser stun gun is left paralysed

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Outcry after man, 23, fell from wall after stun gun was fired in Haringey, north London

A police officer has been placed under criminal investigation after a man was shot with a Taser weapon and left paralysed from the waist down, the Guardian has learned.

The man, 23, was shot by an officer using a stun gun as he jumped over a wall and fell as officers tried to detain him in Haringey, north London.

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Dele Alli injured during ‘horrible’ knifepoint robbery at his home

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  • Tottenham midfielder hit in face by jewellery raiders
  • ‘Thank you for all the messages … we’re all okay now’

Dele Alli has been injured during a robbery at his home in north London. The Tottenham midfielder was held at knifepoint and punched after burglars broke in during the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Related: Jan Vertonghen's family robbed at knifepoint while Spurs were in Leipzig

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US signals Sacoolas decision final as Labour calls for inquiry

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Suspect in death of Harry Dunn who fled UK will not be extradited, says state department

The US Department of State has said the decision to refuse an extradition request for Harry Dunn’s alleged killer was final, after an Interpol red notice was issued for her arrest.

But the UK’s Labour party has signalled that they will be pressing for some form of parliamentary inquiry into the government’s “clear and repeated failings”.

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EU wants UK to share more data before it grants access to crime-fighting system

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European committee says Britain should share same amount of fingerprint data as member states

The UK should be denied access to an EU crime-fighting system until it agrees to share more fingerprint data with member states, a European parliamentary committee has said.

The vote, in the European parliament’s justice and home affairs committee on Thursday, is not binding on EU decision-makers, but could prove influential as the UK seeks to negotiate a permanent deal on the exchange of fingerprint, DNA and other data as part of a long-term security relationship with the EU.

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Foreign Office obstructed search for truth, say Harry Dunn lawyers

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Legal team for family of dead 19-year-old to seek answers in meeting with Raab aides

The Foreign Office has obstructed a search for truth into the death of 19-year-old motorcyclist Harry Dunn, lawyers for his family have claimed prior to a potentially tense meeting with aides to Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary.

Dunn died in August when his motorcycle collided with a car driven by Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence officer stationed at a US spy base at RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire. Sacoolas immediately admitted to the police she had caused the accident by driving on the wrong side of the road.

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Supply teacher jailed for sexually assaulting six girls at primary school

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Jonathan Philip Clayton found guilty of 13 sexual assaults at North Yorkshire school in 2019

A supply teacher has been jailed for eight and a half years for sexually assaulting six girls at a primary school in North Yorkshire, two years after similar allegations were dropped.

Jonathan Philip Clayton was convicted of 13 counts of sexually touching girls aged between seven and 11 over a period of six weeks last year.

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Priti Patel says ‘sorry if people feel there have been failings’ over PPE

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Home secretary also launches campaign to tackle domestic abuse during lockdown

The home secretary has said she is sorry if people feel there has been a failure to supply sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) to NHS staff, as it was revealed that 19 UK health workers had died after contracting coronavirus.

Speaking at the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing, Priti Patel was asked twice if she would apologise about the lack of PPE being provided to frontline workers. “I’m sorry if people feel that there have been failings,” she said. “I will be very, very clear about that.”

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Four men jailed in first year since upskirting law was introduced

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Work is still needed to raise awareness about the problem, campaigners say

Four men have been jailed in the year since the upskirting law was introduced in England and Wales, figures show.

Campaigners said the legislation offered a route to justice for victims, but said more work was needed to raise awareness about the seriousness of the issue.

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Coronavirus crisis leads to steep drop in recorded crime

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Offences including burglary and violence fall by as much as 20% in some areas

The coronavirus crisis has led to a drop in recorded crime, by as much as 20% in some areas.

Offences such as burglary and violence were down last week compared with the previous seven days, after Boris Johnson made his first request for people to stay home on the Monday.

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UK police chiefs: coronavirus could bring out worst in humanity

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Warning after crimes including theft of oxygen canisters and puncturing of ambulance tyres

Police chiefs have warned the coronavirus pandemic could “bring out the worst in humanity” after a spate of opportunistic crimes hindered efforts to control the crisis.

The theft of oxygen canisters from a hospital, the puncturing of ambulance tyres and the raiding of food banks by thieves were among the “worrying isolated incidents” in recent days raised by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

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Salmond’s acquittal could make him the SNP’s biggest challenge

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Nicola Sturgeon’s party is now in the sights of its vindicated and emboldened ex-leader

When Nicola Sturgeon addressed a private gathering of Scottish National party politicians at Edinburgh Napier University towards the end of August 2018 and little more than a week after the original sexual harassment allegations against her predecessor Alex Salmond were made public, she spoke frankly: “How we deal with this and how we are seen to respond to this will say a lot about who we are as a party and also about the country we are today and want to build for the future.”

Speaking outside the high court in Edinburgh on Monday afternoon following his acquittal on 13 charges of sexual assault, Alex Salmond suggested that the verdicts would ultimately say something very different about the SNP. He referred to “certain evidence I would like to have seen led in this trial”, which would now “see the light of day”. Sources close to the former first minister were already briefing his belief that Nicola Sturgeon herself played a role.

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Crown court trials on hold while judges seek ways to protect juries

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Pause follows uncertainty over how trials would work given physical distancing needs

Crown court trials across England and Wales were suspended or collapsed on Monday as judges attempted to find safer ways for juries and lawyers to conduct hearings.

There have been suggestions, including from the Ministry of Justice, that courts move to handling urgent work only during the coronavirus crisis, but no one has defined what types of cases that might involve.

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Three men arrested in Essex after haul of loo roll found in van

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Vehicle pulled over by police also contained a stash of stolen handwash and other items

Three men have been arrested after police found a van full of stolen toilet roll and handwash.

Officers were alerted by a report of suspicious activity in the Essex town of Hatfield Peverel at 10.20pm on Friday. It was alleged that a van was driven through a barrier at a building site in Bury Lane.

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‘Police have failed us’: vulnerable pair allege inaction from force

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Disabled mother and son claim Somerset and Avon police have not helped to stop the abuse and violence they are suffering

A UK police force is facing fresh questions over its approach to vulnerable individuals after it emerged a disabled mother and son have endured years of abuse and violence, near to where a disabled refugee was murdered in 2013.

Ruth and Zac Jones, from Bristol, say they have had a brick thrown through their window and four vehicles set on fire, among a series of targeted attacks similar to those that preceded the death of Bijan Ebrahimi in 2013.

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