Rescue mission under way at Immingham to free 30ft minke calf stranded in one of UK’s biggest docks Fire crews are digging a trench in mudflats to try to rescue a young whale which has become stranded in one of Britain’s biggest docks. Hopes that high tide would raise the 30ft (9.1 metre) minke calf enough to ease its 15 tonnes off the estuary bed have been revised with the water level not expected to rise enough. A watch is also being kept on the whale’s mother, which is circling the area off Immingham docks where the pair became separated at around 4am. Emergency services think the calf may have been startled by ship movement in the busy seaway and became disoriented. Police and firefighters have been joined by vets from the RSPCA and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Unit. A tweet from the RSPCA warns of previous failures at refloating the creatures: “Being realistic, they often do not survive.” Mike Puplett, of Humber coastguard, said 50 people were involved in the rescue attempt, which began at 8am when a passing ship raised the alarm. Low tide hampered initial approaches and the water level sank to cover only about a tenth of the whale. Puplett added: “At the moment, we believe the whale’s still alive. There’s signs of life, there’s still movement with it. We’ve got a lot of people down there and standing by to provide safety cover because it’s a dangerous area for people.” The main fear is that the calf will be crushed by its own weight, which is normally supported by water. Minkes prefer the open sea but are occasionally drawn close to land where they become vulnerable to unfamiliar tidal movements. Animals Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk
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Bomb-threat man who took 12-year-old daughter into Sydney law office is taken into custody A man who marched into a Sydney law office with his daughter and said he had a bomb in his backpack has been taken into custody after a 12-hour standoff with police . The man’s 12-year-old daughter was released and reunited with her family, New South Wales police said. She was distressed but otherwise unharmed, police said. Police did not immediately say whether explosives had been found in the man’s backpack. “Towards the latter part of the time we’ve been here, those negotiations have started to break down and then deteriorate to a stage where police have taken action to break into the premises and take a 52-year-old man into custody,” Police Assistant Commissioner Denis Clifford said. “He’s currently assisting police with their ongoing inquiries.” Police have not released the man’s name. Television footage had earlier shown the man looking from a second-floor window shirtless and wearing the same kind of wig as worn in Australian courts by judges and lawyers. At one point he spat on the wig. He had also swung a bottle like a hammer to smash a plate-sized hole in the office window and yelled through the hole. He threw the bottle, then a telephone handset, which was left dangling by its cord. Betty Hor said she was working at the reception desk when the man approached on Tuesday morning. She said he asked to see someone she had never heard of. The man went upstairs briefly then returned to the reception desk and repeated his request. She repeated that she had never heard of the man. She said he then threw a book on the desk and told her to call the unknown man and the state attorney general’s department and said: “Tell them I’ve got a bomb in my backpack.” Hor called the police as the man walked upstairs to a lawyer’s office with the girl, who called him dad. The standoff came a month after an extortionist broke into a Sydney home and fastened a fake bomb around the neck of a millionaire’s teenage daughter . She spent 10 hours with the device strapped to her before police determined it was harmless and freed her. A man has been arrested in the US in connection with the incident and is awaiting extradition. Australia guardian.co.uk
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Two accused of plotting to ‘assault and murder’ Celtic manager and two others in sectarian campaign Two men are to stand trial accused of plotting to “assault and murder” the Celtic manager Neil Lennon and other prominent people in a sectarian parcel-bombing campaign. Trevor Muirhead, 43, and Neil McKenzie, 42, are alleged to have sent the suspect devices to Lennon, the Celtic lawyer and QC Paul McBride, Trish Godman, the former deputy presiding officer of the Scottish parliament earlier this year, and an Irish republican group in Glasgow. The prosecution alleges that the improvised explosive devices (IED) used a potentially lethal combination of nails, an explosive substance or petrol and that both men embarked on a sectarian conspiracy. The devices could have caused “severe injury and death”. The pair are accused of buying the ingredients for the bombs – nails, envelopes, plastic travel bottles, digital watches and other items – at shops near their homes in Stevenson, Ayrshire, including a branch of B&Q. They are also accused of acquiring cream peroxide containing triacetone triperoxide (TATP), after inducing another man to buy it. The two men also face an alternative charge contrary to the Explosive Substances Act of “unlawfully and maliciously conspiring” to endanger life or cause serious injury. All the charges are said to have been aggravated by religious prejudice. In several other charges, they are accused of sending an item to Lennon in early March at Celtic’s home ground with the intention of inducing him to believe that it would “explode or ignite”. The men are further accused of threatening to plant an IED outside a police station in May knowing the bomb allegations were being investigated, of trying to destroy evidence and possessing the peroxide chemical with the intent to endanger life. Both men pleaded not guilty. Their trial is due to start in November. Crime Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
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Liberal Democrats in House of Lords are likely to let legislation be passed after accepting safeguards Plans to bring in elected police commissioners are likely to go ahead with peers expected to announce a compromise on Tuesday lunchtime, the Guardian has learned. Lib Dem peers had been delaying the policy in the House of Lords but have now accepted safeguards added to the legislation and government sources expect the bill to be passed, paving the way for a radical overhaul of policing authorities. Concerns about the cost of the policy will however grow as the compromise will see the first elections delayed until the autumn of 2012 rather than May as had been planned. This is intended to allay fears that any setbacks in their implementation could affect the successful staging of next summer’s Olympic games. Labour had suggested that the policy was too costly at a time of police cuts, gleaning government estimates that the staging of elections would cost around £100m. Those concerns are likely to increase with the decision to hold the elections during a period when none are currently planned, which may increase the cost. However, the policy’s main obstacle had been objections by Lib Dems in the House of Lords. Lib Dem peers had been concerned that the election of a single individual to the role of police commissioner would distort the job of policing because that person would have to chase popularity in order to win and later secure re-election. They feared this would mean individuals would focus on seeking headlines and play to the most voluble parts of the electorate. In May Lib Dem peers defeated the legislation but because of a commitment in the coalition agreement, party managers have been under pressure from the Conservatives to manage this concern in the Lords. Now the compromise will see the first elections of police commissioners delayed from being held on the same day as next May’s local election and held instead in the autumn. Lib Dems feel they have also improved the legislation by ensuring that local authorities will have a part to play in the police commissioner’s role. Conservatives cherish the election policy and in the aftermath of the riots, David Cameron and the home secretary, Theresa May, increased the frequency and ardour with which they referred to the introduction of elected individuals. They suggested that elected figures would have reacted with more alacrity to public concerns over the riots when in the first hours of rioting the police appeared to stand back. Tories also believe the issue to be one of trust for the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, who was obliged to deliver his peers into supporting the policy as part of the coalition agreement. Liberal Democrats Police House of Lords Conservatives Labour David Cameron Theresa May Nick Clegg Metropolitan police Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
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Judges have revealed the six novels left in contention for this year’s prize. Find out what they’re about – and what our reviewers thought of them
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High winds and heavy rainfall predicted across the UK Flood warnings were in place and some travellers faced difficult journeys as heavy rain and strong winds whipped across parts of the UK on Tuesday. Winds of up to 50mph were predicted on the south and south-east coasts of England and up to 50mm or rain was expected to fall within 24 hours in some areas of the north-east of the country and north Wales. The wet and windy weather is expected to continue throughout the week as a series of low pressure systems move through. Flood warnings (meaning flooding is expected) were in place on the River Conder in Lancashire and in parts of the Dyfi Valley in north Wales. The Environment Agency also put in place 20 flood alerts (flooding is possible) mainly in the north-east of England and north Wales. Some ferry services were delayed or suspended because of the poor weather across the south of England. Flights in the far south-west of England were also disrupted. Speed restrictions were imposed on the old Severn Bridge because of the high winds and drivers were being warned of difficult conditions along the M4 through south Wales. Fallen trees also caused delays in Monmouthshire and Swansea. Dan Williams, a spokesman for the Met Office, said the south-east of England was likely to bear the brunt of the strongest winds while the Lake District and Snowdonia were due to be the soggiest places. “It is likely to stay windy throughout the week with fast moving low pressure systems moving through,” he added. Sixteen sailors were rescued from a vintage ship on Monday evening after its mast snapped in the strong winds. The 120-year-old ketch, a training ship, was off the coast off Portland Bill, Dorset, when it was caught up in 40mph gusts. Its wooden 9m (30ft) tall mast broke in half and the sail and rigging fell into the sea. The crew, all young adults, were unable to retrieve the stricken mast in the poor conditions and called coastguards for help. They were towed to shore by the Weymouth RNLI lifeboat and none of the crew members were injured. Southend pier in Essex – the longest pleasure pier in the world – will be closed on Tuesday to allow engineers to assess damage from a contractor’s barge tethered to the pier. A statement on Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s website said the barge was forced into the pier by high winds and a heavy swell. A council spokeswoman said the vessel had been moored alongside the pier to carry out scheduled maintenance work. “The pier is not about to fall down, or anything like that, but it has caused some damage,” she said. Weather Flooding Wales Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
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Tribunal jails ex-head of army for 27 years over military support to Bosnian and Croatian Serbs in massacres like Srebrenica A war crimes tribunal has sentenced the former chief of the Yugoslav army to 27 years imprisonment for providing crucial military aid to Bosnian Serb forces responsible for the Srebrenica massacre and deadly four-year campaign of shelling and sniping in Sarajevo. UN judges convicted General Momcilo Perisic on charges of providing troops, ammunition and logistical support to rebel Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia. Tuesday’s verdict underscored the Yugoslav army’s far-reaching support for Bosnian Serb forces and rebel Serb forces in Croatia responsible for the worst atrocities of the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s. However, the judges acquitted Perisic on charges that he was directly responsible for crimes as a superior officer to leaders of the Bosnian Serb forces. Serbia Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia guardian.co.uk
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Ex-Labour MP who claimed for dry rot treatment on home more than 100 miles from her constituency to appear before magistrates facing 21 charges The former Labour MP who claimed for dry rot treatment on a home more than 100 miles from her constituency will be charged with fiddling her expenses by more than £60,000, prosecutors said today. Margaret Moran, one of the last politicians investigated over the scandal, will appear before magistrates facing 21 charges relating to her parliamentary claims. Moran, former MP for Luton South, will appear before City of Westminster magistrates’ court on 19 September, the Crown Prosecution Service said. More details soon . . . MPs’ expenses House of Commons Margaret Moran guardian.co.uk
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Racing driver found at fault for flying recklessly and causing crash in which he and three others died, by judicial inquiry The former world rally champion Colin McRae has been held totally to blame for a helicopter crash that killed himself, another man and two children, including his son, after a judicial investigation. Sheriff Nikola Stewart said the racing driver was guilty of “imprudently” and “unnecessarily” taking the helicopter on a dangerous low-level flight into a heavily-wooded valley in 2007 to thrill his passengers, despite having no pilot’s licence for the aircraft. The crash in Mouse valley near Larkhall, Lanarkshire, killed McRae, his five-year-old son John “Johnny” McRae, a six-year-old family friend and neighbour, Ben Porcelli, and another friend, Graeme Arthur Duncan, aged 36, leaving wreckage scattered across the hillside. Ben Porcelli’s distraught parents, Mark and Karen Porcelli, said at the time that McRae had never asked permission to take their son on the flight. Police investigators at the crash site said the impact was so severe, it was difficult to tell that a helicopter was involved. In a lengthy and damning ruling following a fatal accident inquiry into the crash, Stewart found that McRae, 39, was guilty of a series of dangerous, reckless and unjustified manoeuvres during the flight, including flying at very low level and failing to follow basic rules of airmanship. She confirmed the driver, who became world famous for endorsing the hit computer racing games Colin McRae Rally and Dirt, did not have the correct flying licence or authorisation for operating that type of helicopter, and was flying illegally. She recorded how the flight had been partially filmed by Duncan, which showed that McRae had flown as low as 275 ft , apparently to buzz some farm buildings, and then banked the helicopter sharply in a series of aerial stunts. “He undertook significant manoeuvring at low level and the helicopter seems to have encountered significant g-loading as a result, to the evident enjoyment of his passengers,” the sheriff recorded, in a judgment issued on Tuesday. “The episodes of extremely low-level flying and the excessive manoeuvre parameters, particularly the descent into the valley by Larkhall, all as captured on the video recording, are indicative of an aircraft being flown imprudently, without due regard to the principles of good airmanship, and in such a way that normal safety margins would be reduced. “The deaths and the accident resulting in the deaths might have been avoided had Mr McRae not flown his helicopter into the Mouse valley. Such a precaution would have been entirely reasonable. There was no necessity to enter the Mouse valley. There were no operational or logistical reasons to enter the Mouse valley. “Mr McRae chose to fly the helicopter into the valley. For a private pilot such as Mr McRae, lacking the necessary training, experience or requirement to do so, embarking upon such demanding, low-level flying in such difficult terrain, was imprudent, unreasonable and contrary to the principles of good airmanship.” The families of McRae and Ben Porcelli have not yet responded to the findings. Scotland Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
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Fourteen alleged loyalist paramilitaries face charges including murder, after two UVF members turn state’s witness Loyalist demonstrators have gathered outside Belfast’s Laganside courts as the first major terrorist “supergrass” trial in Northern Ireland begins. The relatives of 14 men accused of murder, blackmail, intimidation and a range of other charges have arrived with placards to protest against the use of two informers in the case. The testimony of two brothers, Robert and David Stewart – self-confessed members of the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force – will form the crown’s main case against the accused. The families of the accused are being led by Progressive Unionist party spokesman, Ken Wilkinson, who has accused the authorities of selectively targeting loyalists for past crimes while ignoring those committed by republicans during the Troubles. It is the first “supergrass” trial in 26 years and a huge security operation is under way to prevent trouble in the courts district for a trial that will run for at least three months. The last “supergrass” system put dozens of IRA, Irish National Liberation Army and loyalist paramiltaries behind bars from 1982 to 1985 when a high court judge questioned the reliability of one of the self-confessed terrorist turned witnesses. Nine alleged UVF men, including former leading member Mark Haddock, are charged with the murder of UDA leader Tommy English in October 2000. They and another five alleged UVF men also face a range of other charges. English was shot dead in front of his wife at their home in Newtownabbey on the outskirts of north Belfast during a feud between the UDA and the UVF. The 14 defendants will be represented by 24 barristers and eight firms of solicitors and the trial is expected to last for 11 weeks. The police investigation that led to the arrests was triggered by a damning report from the former Northern Ireland police ombudsman Nuala O’Loan, in 2007. She said a UVF gang based in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast had been involved in up to 15 murders and that Special Branch had allowed its informers within the UVF to act with impunity as state agents. Northern Ireland UK security and terrorism Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
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