Scarborough Seafront Killer Jailed For Life

A teenager who murdered a former friend by stabbing him 12 times in the back has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years.

Macauley Jenkinson was 16 when he launched a ferocious attack on Michael "Angel" Graham, 19, on the Scarborough seafront in April.

Jenkinson, now 17, of Main Street, Seamer, had bought the flick knife earlier that day and laughed on hearing his victim had died.

After a two-week trial he was convicted at Teesside Crown Court by a majority of 11-1 of murder, and wounding with intent another teenager.

Mr Graham and his killer fell out after he taunted Jenkinson for dating a 14-year-old girl when the defendant was a year older.

There was name-calling and abusive texts, described by the Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, as "adolescent posturing".

Then Jenkinson bought the knife, gathered a gang of supporters and went looking for Mr Graham.

It was when his victim was fighting another teenager on the seafront that Jenkinson struck, stabbing him hard in the back a dozen times.

"As the coward you are, you waited until his back was turned to you and he was defenceless," the judge told Jenkinson.

"On hearing of his death you were laughing, you were joking, you were calm."

A boy, who cannot be identified and who went to help Mr Graham, was also stabbed in the leg.

The judge lifted reporting restrictions on the media identifying the defendant because of the public interest in the case.

Detective Chief Inspector Maria Taylor, of North Yorkshire Police's Major Crime Unit, said: "The sentence handed down ... reflects the seriousness and brutality of Jenkinson's actions.

"I hope that Michael's family can now feel some sense of justice and can try and begin to rebuild their lives."

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dartford Crossing Closed By 'Security Incident'

Thousands of drivers have been stranded for hours on the M25 after a major security alert closed the Dartford crossing.

A suspicious item was found on the Kent side of the crossing, closing the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) bridge and both tunnel bores for around seven hours.

An army bomb disposal team sent to the scene later confirmed the item posed no threat, although a male pedestrian arrested after he was spotted "behaving unusually" remains in police custody.

The Dartford crossing was closed for several hours, causing long delays

Meanwhile, police say no items were found on a coach stopped in Aycliffe, close to the Port of Dover.

The vehicle was pulled over on the A20 around two hours after the alert in Dartford, which caused more than nine miles of queues for drivers travelling between Kent and Essex.

The closures also caused gridlock on other routes, with long delays reported on the A2 in east London and the A13 in Essex.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: "We would like to thank motorists for their patience and support during what must have been a very frustrating wait."

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Legal Action Over Red Caps' Iraq Mob Death

By David Bowden, Defence Correspondent

The families of four Royal Military Policemen who were killed by a mob in Iraq 10 years ago are taking fresh legal action to force a public inquiry into their deaths.

Six Red Caps were killed when a 400-strong mob descended on a police station in Majar al Kabir.

The families of four of the men will bring a human rights act claim and a criminal complaint over allegations that some individuals involved acted contrary to military law.

Simon McKay, the lawyer acting for relatives, said they would not be seeking any damages or compensation.

The action follows a landmark ruling at the Supreme Court in June, which decided the Human Rights Act extended to the battlefield and commanders had a duty of care to troops even in war.

Corporals Russell Aston, 30, Simon Miller, 21, Lance Corporal Benjamin McGowan Hyde, 23, and Lance Corporal Tom Keys, 20, were killed alongside two other Royal Military Police.

The six men were ambushed outside a police station in Majar al Kabir

Inquests into their deaths heard that the soldiers stood no chance against the mob, having been issued with too little ammunition and poor communication equipment.

Mr McKay said: "The families have been seeking answers to questions for 10 years and they still haven't had them adequately answered.

"The High Court proceedings we will be issuing will be for the purpose of getting to the truth of what happened on June 24, 2003 and the reasons why."

The families are also to write to the chairman of the ongoing Al Sweady Inquiry into alleged abuse of Iraqi detainees by British soldiers, asking to be represented at the inquiry.

They believe some of the evidence being heard at the inquiry, particularly from Iraqi witnesses, may provide answers to what happened to their sons.

The other two Royal Military Police officers killed were Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, from Chessington, Surrey, and Corporal Paul Long, 24, of South Shields, Tyne and Wear.

An MoD spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with the families of those killed in this terrible incident.

"However, the circumstances have been investigated extensively and reported on and no practical purpose would be served by holding a public inquiry."

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ex-BBC Boss Thompson: Patten 'Misled' MPs

Former BBC director general Mark Thompson has accused BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten of misleading Parliament over pay-offs to outgoing bosses at the corporation.

He claims Lord Patten and BBC Trustee Anthony Fry told "specific untruths and inaccuracies" in evidence to MPs investigating the controversial golden goodbye deals.

Mr Thompson is due to appear before the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday.

And in a written submission to the MPs ahead of the hearing he insisted that Lord Patten had been "fully briefed" about the details of severance packages to former deputy director general Mark Byford and former marketing chief Sharon Baylay.

The Guardian reported that Mr Thompson's written evidence to the committee said: "The picture painted for the PAC by the BBC Trust witnesses on 10 July 2013 was - in addition to specific untruths and inaccuracies - fundamentally misleading about the extent of Trust knowledge and involvement.

"The insinuation that they were kept in the dark by me or anyone else is false and is not supported by the evidence."

In evidence in July Mr Fry told the PAC that members of the Trust were not always included in decision-making.

He also said there was "some disconnect" in what Mr Thompson had written in a letter to the Trust about Mr Byford's pay-off, in which he had apparently declared it was within contractual arrangements, when the National Audit Office (NAO) had found it was not.

Mr Byford departed with a total payout of £949,000 and Ms Baylay's settlement was worth £394,638.

Mr Thompson reportedly claimed that Lord Patten knew in 2011 that both had received settlements of more than they were contractually entitled to and their formal notice of departure was delayed.

"In fact, Lord Patten was himself fully briefed, in writing as well as orally, about the Mark Byford and Sharon Baylay settlements soon after his arrival as chairman in 2011," Mr Thompson said.

He concludes that the evidence given to the NAO and PAC was "inadequate, and in some important instances, very misleading testimony".

A BBC Trust spokesman said: "This is a bizarre document. We reject the suggestion that Lord Patten and Anthony Fry misled the PAC.

"We completely disagree with Mark Thompson's analysis, much of which is unsubstantiated, in particular the suggestion that Lord Patten was given a full and formal briefing on the exact terms of Mark Byford's departure, which in any event took place before the current Chairman's arrival at the Trust."

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Bristol: Football Violence At Derby Match

Mounted police cleared fans from the pitch after violence broke out at a football derby match in Bristol.

Officers moved in when Bristol City fans ran out of the stands at Ashton Gate to celebrate their team's 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers in the first round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

A dozen people were arrested and three officers were given medical treatment for minor injuries, Avon and Somerset Police said.

As well as trouble after the final whistle there were also disturbances in the stands, and police in riot gear and stewards were needed to keep rival fans apart.

Police are scouring footage of the trouble

It was the first time in seven years the bitter rivals had faced each other, and police said the build-up to the game had been peaceful with both sets of fans well-behaved and in good humour.

But as fans began to enter the stadium, trouble broke out in and around the ground.

Police said that known hooligans attached to both clubs were identified in the clashes, and there might be more arrests.

Chief Superintendent Caroline Peters, match commander, said: "The majority of fans were well behaved and enjoyed the match.

Mounted police cleared fans from the pitch in minutes

"However there was a small minority who came with the sole intention of trying to spoil the enjoyment for the majority.

"We warned before the match that we would not tolerate any form of anti social behaviour or violence.

"We will now aim to bring the offenders to justice using CCTV coverage and other intelligence and information gathered tonight to bring the offenders to justice."

City manager Sean O'Driscoll said afterwards: "It was great up until the final whistle. The scenes at the end are disgraceful."

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Police Chief: 60% Of Crimes Not Investigated

The head of Britain's second largest police force has admitted that 60% of all crimes reported in his area are not investigated.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy said his officers are only able to follow up about 40% of offences.

He said his force targets persistent offenders who commit the most crimes.

His admission comes against a backdrop of huge cuts to police spending, which will see force budgets slashed by 20% in real terms by 2015.

Sir Peter, who is vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said: "In the same way that the health service concentrates on the most serious illnesses and the treatments likely to have most effect, the police have to concentrate on the most serious crimes and those where there are lines of investigation likely to produce evidence of the offender.

"In practice, this translates into about 40% of crime being actively pursued at any time.

"We look at all crimes to identify patterns of offending and to build the picture of where we need to target police patrols. In many crimes there are no witnesses, no CCTV and no forensic opportunities."

Sir Peter Fahy says officers are only able to follow up about 40% of crimes

Blackley and Broughton Labour MP Graham Stringer criticised his comments and said taxpayers expect officers to investigate criminal behaviour.

"That sounds like bureaucratic gobbledegook. De-prioritising the majority of crime is bound to lead to a loss of confidence in the police force," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"I think those victims (whose crimes aren't investigated) have every right to be angry. They have an expectation, having paid their council tax, that they have a better service from the police force."

Javed Khan, chief executive of independent charity Victim Support, said: "It is clearly for the police to decide how best to catch criminals, and prioritise their resources in line with this.

"However, for victims and the public to have confidence in the police, they need to know that, when they make a report, it will be taken seriously and adequately assessed.

"Likewise, any decisions to pursue or otherwise must be properly explained to them."

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Daniel Pelka: Funeral Held For Starved Boy

The funeral of Daniel Pelka, the four-year-old who died after an horrific campaign of abuse, has taken place in Poland.

Daniel was beaten, starved and poisoned by his mother and her partner, who hid the abuse by claiming he had an eating disorder.

The funeral was held in the city of Lodz, where Daniel's father Eryk Pelka lives.

His body was carried in a white coffin and framed photographs of the little boy were held up during the service.

London-based funeral director Artur Galla - who has no connection with the Pelka family - reportedly helped arrange and pay for Daniel's repatriation after his family struggled with costs.

His body had been kept in a UK mortuary since his murder in Coventry last year.

Magdelena Luczak and Mariusz Krezolek were jailed for at least 30 years

Daniel's mother Magdelena Luczak and her partner, Mariusz Krezolek, were jailed last month for a minimum of 30 years.

The four-year-old was left in his room to die for around 33 hours after he suffered a head injury in March last year.

During the trial, medical experts said Daniel's emaciation was "unprecedented" in Britain and likened him to a concentration camp victim.

He weighed just over a stone-and-a-half when he died.

The court heard he was forced to scavenge for food at school - from other children's lunch boxes, from the playground or from rubbish bins.

His death prompted a serious case review by Coventry's Safeguarding Children Board.

The review will examine why police and social services failed to get involved after staff at Daniel's school - Coventry Little Heath Primary School - noticed bruising on his neck and what appeared to be two black eyes.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Customs Checks 'Overlooked' During Olympics

Pressure to cut border queues during the London 2012 Olympics led to customs officers overlooking checks on drugs and gun smuggling, the public spending watchdog has warned.

A new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said staff shortages and the need to juggle passport checks with keeping queues down led to shortcuts in key duties such as checking for illegal goods.

Nearly 100% of passengers at the border received full passport checks in 2012-13, the NAO said, while more than 99% of European arrivals cleared controls within the 25 minute target time.

But this success came at the expense of dealing with forgery detections, and seizures of cigarettes and counterfeit goods - which all came in below targets.

Yvette Cooper described the report as "shocking"

Margaret Hodge MP, chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, said: "The Border Force did well to reduce queuing times both during and after the Olympics, but it is deeply worrying that this came at the expense of its other responsibilities, particularly customs.

"The Border Force must be able to check both goods and passengers at the same time - border security cannot be an either or choice."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "This report is shocking and shows the chaotic and cavalier approach David Cameron and Theresa May have taken to border security and illegal immigration.

"The NAO found drops in checks for illegal migrants and criminal activity because of the Home Secretary's irresponsible decision to cut 500 Border Force staff prior to the Olympics."

Staff shortages mean key checks are not being carried out by officials

Immigration Minister Mark Harper said the Home Office had inherited an organisation with "significant challenges".

"We have recruited more Border Force staff, established command centres to deploy those staff more flexibly and effectively and are reforming working practices," he said.

A fifth of Border Force's 7,600 employees are employed under terms that restrict working hours to fixed periods during the week, stopping it from deploying its workforce flexibly.

At Heathrow in spring 2013, less than half the workforce was contractually obliged to work before 5am without being paid extra, despite a significant number of long-distance flights arriving at that time, the NAO said.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Corrie Star Bill Roache Pleads Not Guilty

Coronation Street star William Roache has pleaded not guilty to committing historic sexual offences against five girls.

The 81-year-old actor formally denied the charges in a hearing at Preston Crown Court.

The veteran soap star was arrested at his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in May and charged with two counts of raping a 15-year-old girl in East Lancashire in 1967.

He was later additionally charged with five indecent assaults involving four girls aged between 11 or 12 and 16, allegedly committed in the Manchester area between 1965 and 1968.

Roache entered the dock and confirmed his name to the clerk.

The indictment containing the seven counts was then read out to him and on each allegation he responded with a firm, clear answer of "not guilty".

Roache's trial will begin at Preston Crown Court on January 14 and is scheduled to last four weeks.

He remains on bail with various conditions including residence, no direct unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 and not to approach named witnesses.

When he was initially charged, Roache said he was "astounded and deeply horrified" by the accusations and vowed to "strenuously deny" the allegations.

The world's longest-serving soap actor, he has played Ken Barlow in the ITV1 soap since its launch but will not be appearing in the programme until legal proceedings are concluded.

Roache made no comment to the media as he left the building following the 30-minute hearing in front of the Recorder of Preston, Judge Anthony Russell QC.

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dementia Patients Feel 'Trapped' In Their Homes

More than 180,000 dementia sufferers in the UK feel "trapped in their own homes", according to research from the Alzheimer's Society.

It said 35% of people with dementia only leave their homes once a week, and one in 10 get out just once a month.

The charity's new report, based on a poll of 510 people with dementia, says many sufferers are not able to take part in activities they enjoyed before they developed the condition.

Almost one in 10 (9%) said they had stopped doing all the things they used to do, and 28% said they had to give up leaving their homes altogether.

The Alzheimer's Society called on communities across the country to be more "dementia friendly" to help patients remain independent and get out more.

Improving stigma around the condition, having accessible transport and businesses that are "respectful and responsive", are all factors that could improve quality of life for sufferers, a charity spokeswoman said.

Alzheimer's Society chief executive Jeremy Hughes said: "It's shocking and saddening that so many people with dementia feel trapped and cut off from everyday local life.

The Alzheimer's Society says communities need to be more dementia friendly

"It's encouraging to see some communities have started on their journey of change but it needs to be a priority for everyone to act now."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "The dementia timebomb is one of the most pressing challenges this country faces in the years ahead.

"We have made real progress in starting to tackle this challenge, with over £50m going towards dementia friendly health and care environments, and the first ever G8 Dementia Research Summit to be held in December this year.

"But this report makes clear that we need to go further and faster to change attitudes and build awareness in our communities.

"This government is backing communities to give people with dementia all the help and support they need to live well with this illness."

An estimated 800,000 people suffer from dementia in the UK. Experts say this figure will soar to 1.7 million by 2051.

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

23 Held As Football Fans Clash With Police

Police have arrested 23 people after violence broke out between rival football fans in Staffordshire.

Officers were pelted with bottles and missiles following a highly-charged local derby match between Port Vale and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

They said two adults were treated for dog bites after police dog units were used to quell the trouble.

Staffordshire Police said they were "confronted by a significant group of home fans" involved in "violent disorder" who had gone out of their way to target police lines.

The force is now scouring CCTV from the day's League One fixture, which away side Wolves won 3 - 1, in a bid to trace offenders.

Port Vale said it would fully back any police action against any of its fans involved.

After the final whistle, the trouble spilled over into nearby Burslem town centre in Stoke-on-Trent, where missiles were thrown at officers and a marked police car was smashed up.

There were reports innocent bystanders were also caught up in the melee.

Nine people were detained before kick-off while another four were arrested during the match for setting off flares and going onto the pitch.

Police said they were "disappointed" a "significant number" of fans had decided to cause trouble at the fixture despite lengthy preparation between club officials and officers aimed at preventing problems.

The force added fans from both sides had been involved but praised a group of Wolves fans who "co-operated with police by waiting in the away coach park while police worked to clear the area".

Chief Inspector Dave Bird, of Staffordshire Police, said: "We are disappointed by the actions of this significant number of so-called fans who attended today's fixture intent on becoming involved in disorder.

"All those arrested will be questioned about their actions and CCTV evidence from today will be examined by officers.

"The behaviour of this significant minority doesn't represent the club or our city.

"We will now continue to work with Port Vale to reduce the opportunity for future disorder."

Bill Lodey, Port Vale club secretary, said: "The club are bitterly disappointed regarding the violence that has been reported in Burslem town centre.

"We will fully support any actions taken by the police in apprehending those responsible and they can expect severe penalties."

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

New Stalking Laws Lead To Just 33 Convictions

Only a "fraction" of stalkers have been convicted since it was made a criminal offence, according to new figures.

Figures obtained under a freedom of information request showed that between November 2012, when stalking became a crime, and the end of June this year, 320 people were arrested across 30 police forces.

Of those 189 were charged - so far six of those have been jailed and 27 given community disposals.

According to the British Crime Survey, there are around 120,000 predominantly vulnerable female victims of stalking each year.

The national stalking advocacy service, Paladin, estimates that one in five officers have been trained in the new law.

It is now calling for police and prosecutors to have better training in dealing with the crime.

Paladin co-director Harry Fletcher said: "The latest figures on stalking arrests and charging are disappointing but not surprising.

"The number convicted so far is 10% of those arrested and a fraction of all women stalked. They illustrate the need for comprehensive training of all criminal justice professionals. Victims must have confidence in the justice system if they are to come forward."

Stalking became a crime in England and Wales in November 2012, with two specific new offences introduced.

The first is dealt with by magistrates only, and applies where a person is accused of targeting someone in a course of conduct that amounts to stalking, and involves a maximum jail term of six months.

The second, more serious offence, can be heard either by magistrates or in a crown court, and applies where someone is accused of causing a person fear of violence or serious alarm or distress. This can mean a jail term of up to five years.

A Home Office spokesman said it works with police and prosecutors to ensure the new law is properly enforced, although it is up to chief constables to make sure their officers are trained.

He said: "Stalking is an appalling crime which destroys lives and the Government is sending a clear message that those responsible should be brought to justice.

"We are working with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure the new stalking offences are being used appropriately. Our new laws will help stop people living in fear and prevent escalation to more serious violence."

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More