Panel said it was not satisfied releasing former singer, jailed for sexually abusing girls, was safe for public
Paul Gadd, known as the former pop star Gary Glitter, has lost a bid to be freed from prison where he is serving a sentence for sexually abusing girls.
Gadd, 79, was automatically released from prison in February 2023, halfway through a 16-year sentence – but was recalled just six weeks later for allegedly viewing downloaded images of children.
Continue reading...Scarlett Jenkinson’s relatives thank Esther Ghey for ‘incredible selflessness and empathy towards our family’
The family of Scarlett Jenkinson, who was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years for the murder of Brianna Ghey, have said they are “truly sorry” for the teenage killer’s “brutal” actions and paid tribute to Brianna’s mother.
Jenkinson, described by the judge as the “driving force” behind the murder, was sentenced on Friday for what the Crown Prosecution Service said was “one of the most disturbing cases” its lawyers had ever dealt with. Her accomplice, Eddie Ratcliffe, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Continue reading...‘Shameful’ backlogs in cases are causing severe mental health problems, says victims commissioner
Victims of crime are dying waiting for justice as they face delays of up to six years for their cases to be dealt with in court, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has said.
As a new law to enshrine victims’ rights is scrutinised in the House of Lords, Baroness Helen Newlove warned that the wider justice system was “on its knees”, with “shameful” backlogs leaving victims suffering acute mental health problems.
Continue reading...Scarlett Jenkinson said killing was ‘exciting’ while Eddie Ratcliffe wanted help to woo a girl he fancied, court hears
One question hung over the trial of the two teenagers convicted of killing Brianna Ghey: why? At the sentencing on Friday, Brianna’s family finally received some answers.
The hearing began with some startling new information: though she had pleaded not guilty at trial, Scarlett Jenkinson had now admitted to stabbing Brianna repeatedly – more times than she could remember. It was “a lot”, she said.
Continue reading...Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, killed trans schoolgirl after developing ‘warped’ obsession with torture
Two teenagers who murdered Brianna Ghey have been named for the first time before sentencing.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16 and described by police as “really intelligent kids”, can now be named as the killers after a judge lifted reporting restrictions.
Continue reading...An official report a year before three people were stabbed to death in the city raised concerns about the force’s management practices
Nottinghamshire police was ordered to review its management of offenders a year before a wanted man with paranoid schizophrenia stabbed three people to death.
A report by the official policing inspectorate in April 2022 said the force should “immediately review” their approach to managing low-risk offenders to ensure risk was “effectively monitored and managed”.
Continue reading...Decorator Matthew Turner stole three watches worth more than £30,000 from Hugh Grosvenor’s bedroom
A decorator who stole three watches worth more than £30,000 from the Duke of Westminster’s home has been told he “escaped prison by the skin of your teeth”.
Matthew Turner, 24, was given a 20-month sentence, suspended for two years, at Chester crown court after admitting the burglary of three watches from Hugh Grosvenor’s bedroom while he was doing renovation work at Eaton Hall in August 2022.
Continue reading...Former Scotland first minister used expletives in private messages about former UK PM’s handling of pandemic
At the Covid inquiry hearing in Edinburgh Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon’s former chief of staff, was asked about her wanting a row with the UK government. (See 11.35am.)
Asked if she was looking for a spat, Lloyd replied:
I was looking for a spat with a purpose.
It had been shown in the past that they would sometimes change their mind if they felt that pressure and I wanted them to change their mind.
Sturgeon said his address was “fucking excruciating” and that the UK communications were “awful”. Sturgeon also told Lloyd: “His utter incompetence in every sense is now offending me on behalf of politicians everywhere.”
Lloyd said she was “offended” on behalf of special advisers everywhere. Sturgeon replied: “He is a fucking clown.”
Continue reading...Calocane detained in high-security hospital after pleading guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility
The mother of a Nottingham stabbing victim said “true justice has not been served” after the killer was sentenced to indefinite detention in a high-security hospital.
Emma Webber, the mother of 19-year-old Barnaby Webber who was killed alongside fellow student Grace O’Malley-Kumar in the violent attacks that left three people dead last year, also said the assistant chief constable of Nottinghamshire police had “blood on his hands” over the force’s failure to arrest the killer in the months before the killings.
Continue reading...Fifteen months after two men were shot in Bratislava, evidence suggests the killer may have been helped by an unidentified US-based extremist
The October evening was warm and sunny. At about 7pm, two young men stepped out of the Tepláreň bar on Zámocká Street in the centre of Bratislava, to sit on a concrete bench and drink lemonade. Matúš, 23, had just arrived in the Slovakian capital to study Chinese. His 26-year-old friend worked in a local clothes shop and enjoyed anime, K-pop and dance.
Standing in an alcove a few metres away was Juraj Krajčík. The 19-year-old had been loitering for about half an hour, witnesses later said. Shortly after the two patrons of the Tepláreň sat down, Krajčík stepped forward, raised a .45-calibre handgun and fired several shots at them. Then he turned and ran, gun in hand.
Continue reading...Britain faces ‘dangerous climate’ as online propaganda and referrals to Prevent surge, says policing leader
The conflict in the Middle East has led to a surge in Islamist activity, with online terrorist propaganda rocketing and new individuals feared to have been radicalised, the head of counter-terrorism policing has said.
Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Matt Jukes, who is head of the UK Counter Terrorism Policing network, said the events had led to a “dangerous climate” with indications of a rising threat, after Hamas’s atrocity against Israel on 7 October last year led to a sustained Israeli assault on Gaza with heavy civilian casualties still continuing.
Continue reading...Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin’s convictions linked to British Transport Police officer Derek Ridgewell posthumously quashed
Two men who were jailed based on evidence from a racist and corrupt police officer have had their convictions posthumously overturned by the court of appeal.
Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin are the 10th and 11th people to have convictions relating to the British Transport Police (BTP) officer DS Derek Ridgewell quashed. Their appeals after a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) were uncontested on Thursday.
Continue reading...UK’s national library apologises to researchers, saying full recovery could take until end of the year
The British Library is restoring online its main catalogue, containing 36m records of printed and rare books, maps, journals and music scores, 11 weeks after a catastrophic cyber-attack.
However, access is limited to a “read-only” format, and full restoration of services provided by the UK’s national library could take until the end of the year.
Continue reading...Actor and musician also calls for more funding for youth services as part of campaign to end youth knife violence
Idris Elba has called for more urgent action on youth knife violence – including the immediate banning of machetes and “zombie” knives, and more funding for youth services – saying the time for excuses and delays is over.
Speaking to the Guardian on Monday, the star of Luther and The Wire said society was capable of coming together to solve the problem, adding that experts in youth services and bereaved families needed to be able to sit in the same room as politicians and the police, among others, to achieve that.
Continue reading...Victim of software scandal says TV drama has reignited issue as 50 new operators contact lawyers
A former post office operator who led a campaign to fight against wrongful convictions brought by the Post Office has called for compensation for the victims to be sped up after the broadcast of an ITV drama about the scandal.
The Metropolitan police confirmed on Friday the Post Office was under criminal investigation over “potential fraud offences” committed during the Horizon scandal.
Continue reading...Jack Grealish has spoken of his devastation and the “traumatic experience” of burglars targeting his home. Raiders struck at the England and Manchester City midfielder’s Cheshire mansion during his club’s Premier League match at Everton on Wednesday.
Members of Grealish’s family and his fiancee, Sasha Atwood, were reportedly watching the televised match at the property when they heard a disturbance. An alarm was raised and an emergency response was launched with a helicopter, police dogs and a number of officers sent to the property near Knutsford, but no suspects were detected.
Continue reading...Police launch murder investigation after stabbing on Abbey estate near St John’s Wood on Friday evening
A 29-year-old man has been stabbed to death in north-west London, police said.
Officers were called by the London ambulance service to the scene at the Abbey estate near St John’s Wood just after 7.30pm on Friday.
Continue reading...All five children remain in Pakistan, despite efforts of Surrey council to secure their return
The older brother and half-siblings of the 10-year-old schoolgirl Sara Sharif, who was found dead at the home of her father and stepmother in August, have been made wards of court in this country.
Despite efforts by Surrey county council to secure their return to the UK, all five children, aged one to 13, remain in Pakistan where they were taken by their father, Urfan Sharif, and the mother of the younger four siblings, Beinash Batool, the day before Sara’s body was discovered by police on 10 August.
Continue reading...Murder-obsessed 16-year-olds convicted of killing girl who was stabbed 28 times in Warrington park
Two 16-year-olds have been found guilty of the “senseless” murder of Brianna Ghey, a “witty, funny and fearless” transgender girl who was stabbed 28 times in a Warrington park this year.
The murder-obsessed teenagers, known as Girl X and Boy Y to protect their identities, were found guilty unanimously by a jury at Manchester crown court on Wednesday after it deliberated for four hours and 40 minutes.
Continue reading...Home Office plans wording ‘update’ but campaigners call for new offence to help address low conviction rate
The Home Office has announced plans to “modernise” spiking laws in a move it claims will help bring perpetrators to justice. But experts said the changes will not make any difference without simultaneous investment in police training and other measures to improve the handling of cases on the ground.
Under plans unveiled this weekend, the government will amend the criminal justice bill to make clear that spiking is illegal. It is also drawing up new guidance to provide an “unequivocal” definition of the crime.
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