Two Mexicans face a possible 30 years in prison for a “terror tweet,” marking what could be the biggest penalty ever for a Twitter message. A math tutor and radio commentator have been charged with terrorism and sabotage after they tweeted a fake story about gunmen attacking a school. Panicked…
Continue reading …
The Little Britain star, who has already conquered the Channel, is aiming to swim the river’s 140-mile length for Sport Relief David Walliams has set off on his most gruelling task yet – swimming the length of the Thames . The Little Britain star, who raised £1m when he swam the Channel in 2006 , is aiming to swim 140 miles from Gloucestershire to London over eight days to raise money for Sport Relief . “I must be a masochist,” Walliams said at the riverbank at Lechlade, where hundreds of wellwishers saw him take his first plunge into the freezing water. “I wanted to do something else and I’d just turned 40 and I thought I haven’t got much time left because my body is falling apart. “I thought I’d better get on and do something because one day it’s going to be too late.” Thinking of the children who would be helped by the charity provided his inspiration, he added. He cited a 12-year-old Kenyan boy called Philip who attended a centre which provided him with food, shelter, healthcare and an education, and who wanted to be a pilot. “He’s living in the most desperate circumstances yet he still has great aspirations. I think about him and not wanting to let him down.” Other thoughts would also help to keep him going. “I think about happy things. I think about what I’m going to eat when I get out,” he said. It is unlikely to be the most pleasant of swims in a river that, as TS Eliot pointed out, “sweats/Oil and tar” . If Walliams successfully avoids the busy river traffic and tourist vessels he will still have to face the perils lurking in the muddy waters, including – among other delights – E coli , salmonella and hepatitis. Not to mention the 39m cubic metres of raw sewage that finds its way into the Thames every year. Walliams – who has also swum the Strait of Gibraltar, and cycled from John O’Groats to Land’s End last year – pointed out that this swim would be 120 miles longer than the Channel crossing. “That’s the scary thing,” he said. “It’s all right to be full of bravado today but this is day one of what will probably be eight days of swimming. “So that’s what really scares me – the mental challenge of days five, six and seven.” The river water will be bitingly cold, which can cause cramp and involuntary breathing spasms known as a “gasp reflexes”. Walliams – who is expected to burn 4,400 calories a day swimming 17.5 miles – will also have to battle against the notoriously turbulent Thames, known for its unpredictable currents, dangerous undertows and unidentified floating objects. Despite all those hazards, Walliams said his greatest fear was meeting the river’s territorial birdlife. “When I got here last night there were about 30 swans and I have been attacked by swans in training, so I am actually quite nervous about them,” he said. “When you’re in the water and they’re coming towards you, fluffing their wings and hissing, it’s quite scary.” He hoped that people would come out along the length of the river to show their support. An online GPS tracker, linked to the #Thamesswim Twitter hashtag, will show where he is. “The nice thing about this, as opposed to the Channel, is that people can come out and see you,” he said. Walliams – whose swim will be filmed for a documentary to be broadcast before the Sport Relief weekend in March next year – would not be drawn on what challenges the future may hold. “The day after I swam the Channel, people said: ‘What are you doing next? Do you want to go up Everest?’” he said. But once he has conquered the Thames, he will be tempted to “hang up my trunks”, he said. “There’s swimming the Atlantic but that’s too hard. I looked into it and it’s 3,000 miles and will take about six months – by which time people will have completely forgotten about you.” David Walliams Charities Swimming Rivers Fitness Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Sun, Times and former News of the World publisher decides not to redevelop site that was scene of bitter 1986 union dispute Rupert Murdoch’s News International, publisher of the Sun and the Times, is to sell Wapping, the headquarters of its UK operations for 25 years. The move was announced in an email to all News International staff at lunchtime on Monday. “Today, we announced that we are putting our 15-acre Wapping site up for sale,” the internal announcement said. It added: “Taking into account the current property market and economic climate, we have decided to sell rather than redevelop the site and will remain in the TMS [Thomas More Square] buildings for the foreseeable future.” News International said in a statement: “News International today announces it is putting its Wapping site up for sale. The decision to sell the 15-acre site follows a review of News International’s London property portfolio. “The majority of News International’s Wapping-based editorial and commercial staff have now relocated into Thomas More Square with the remainder to be relocated by the end of 2011. Thomas More Square provides the company with excellent facilities and flexibility. As a result, and in light of current market conditions, News International has decided not to proceed with remodelling the Wapping site.” Most of the office space up for sale has been empty for months, it is understood. Staff from all News International titles moved to Thomas More Square in September last year. The 15-acre site, for which Murdoch paid about £300,000 an acre in 1985, is now expected to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Speculation that News International could move its newspapers to Osterley, the west London home of BSkyB, fell quiet after News Corp abandoned its bid to take full control of the satellite broadcaster in July. News International began a shift away from its east London headquarters in 2005, when it announced that its printing would move to regional bases in Broxbourne, in Hertfordshire, Liverpool and Glasgow. The move marks a significant change of direction. In November 2008, News Corporation shelved plans to move its international businesses – including Dow Jones, Harper Collins, 20th Century Fox and MySpace – to Wapping because of the economic downturn. Only three months before that, News International abandoned plans to sell its east London site and instead turn it into a “campus for UK businesses” by 2012. James Murdoch, News Corp’s deputy chief operating officer, described Wapping at the time as “not only important as a physical site, but also it is a symbol of how bold individuals, working together, can advance the world of media and thereby contribute to life in Britain”. The site, known as “Fortress Wapping” after the fierce trade union dispute that blighted News International’s move from Fleet Street in 1986, was home to the editorial staff behind the Sun, the Times and Sunday Times for 25 years. The News of the World was also based at Wapping until its closure in June as a result of the phone-hacking scandal. •
Continue reading …
Tape records anger of fugitive who went on to kill after girlfriend told him their relationship was over A tape recording of the conversation between Raoul Moat and his girlfriend that prompted his murderous rampage following his release from prison was played to an inquest jury on Monday. In the recording, Moat reacted angrily when Samantha Stobbart told him their relationship was over. Within days of his release from Durham prison, Moat shot and injured 22-year-old Stobbart, the mother of his child, and killed her new boyfriend, 29-year-old Chris Brown. Moat asked Stobbart: “What’s wrong?” “It’s over”, she replies. “Over what?” he asks her. “I’ve had enough” she says. “Of what?” Moat says. “Everything” she replies. Moat says: “We had one argument the other day. Let’s not get all silly about it.” He complains that “everybody is getting on my case” and that he is getting “picked on”. The conversation ends with the phone being slammed down. In a second call, Moat tells Stobbart: “You are the only person I have ever cared about. I can’t have you out of my life. I’m going to go crazy, man.” She tells him she has met a new man who is “a lot younger than you”. Superintendent Jim Napier, of Northumbria police, said: “It is clear from the evidence that Moat’s break-up with Samantha Stobbart was the catalyst for his murderous acts.” Moat, 37, died following a six-hour stand-off with police marksmen in July 2010 after a rampage during which he shot and blinded PC David Rathband, an unarmed officer, as he sat in his police car. Moat shot himself in the head after the stand-off at Rothbury, Northumberland, during which police twice fired XREP Tasers that had not been approved by the Home Office. The 11 members of the jury sworn in at Newcastle crown court will decide whether the Taser rounds contributed to the former nightclub doorman’s death. Moat had been serving an 18-week prison sentence for assault when the call was made in June 2010. Police retrieved three recorded calls from the prison during their investigation. The coroner, David Mitford, told jurors that an inquest was needed because “Mr Moat met his death when he was effectively detained”. He added: “It will not have escaped your attention that there were some weapons called Tasers used on the night in question. Those Tasers were supplied to Northumbria Police by a firm called Pro-Tec Limited.” He asked the jurors to try to do “the impossible” and forget what they had already heard about the Moat case. “There have been lots of theories and conclusions drawn, some of which may have been accurate, some of which may not,” he said. The inquest will focus on the events in Rothbury on 9 and 10 July, he added. There will be questions about the weapons used, how police managed the incident, how officers dealt with the deceased and how he acted, the jury was told. But it will first hear why so many officers were involved in the “manhunt”, the coroner said. Barristers for the Moat family, the chief constable of Northumbria, West Yorkshire police and Pro-Tec were in court, Mitford said. Moat’s brother, Angus, and his uncle and biological father were also in court. The inquest is expected to last four weeks. Raoul Moat Crime Police Tasers Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Rebecca Leighton was freed from prison after charges against her over deaths at Stepping Hill hospital were dropped The nurse who was released after six weeks on remand accused of contaminating saline at a Cheshire hospital, leading to the deaths of three patients, has indicated that she wants to return to work. Rebecca Leighton was released from Styal prison on Friday after all the charges against her were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service . The 27-year-old was arrested in July after unexplained deaths at Stepping Hill hospital, in Stockport, and was charged in connection with contaminating bags of saline with insulin and criminal damage with intent to endanger life. She has always denied any wrongdoing. Leighton said she had been in a “living hell” after she being locked up for something she had not done. The investigation centred on bags of saline solution that were sabotaged with insulin and initially focused on five deaths, but police later said the deaths of two of those patients – Vera Pearson, 84, and George Keep, also 84, both from Cheadle – were no longer part of their inquiry. They are still examining the suspicious deaths of Tracey Arden, 44, 71-year-old Arnold Lancaster and Alfred Weaver, 83, who all died at Stepping Hill. Greater Manchester police were called after an experienced nurse noticed a sudden and inexplicable drop in patients’ blood sugar levels on two interconnected wards. Leighton remains suspended from practising after an interim order by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and has vowed to clear her name. Her solicitor, Carl Richmond, said his client, from the Heaviley area of Stockport, was prepared to do whatever it took to prove her innocence. He said: “She wants the opportunity to have her suspension lifted and then she will make the decision what to do next. “She has worked as a nurse for a long time, so that’s obviously in her thoughts, but she’s still a bit raw. She wants to clear her name professionally, and that’s her priority at the moment.” Asked whether Leighton would return to work at Stepping Hill, Richmond said: “I don’t know if she would or wouldn’t. It might be too difficult. “The finger of suspicion was firmly pointed at her, and you don’t recover from that quickly. She needs to clear her head and decide what’s best for her in the long term.” Richmond said he believed his client had been made a scapegoat by police, who are investigating the deaths of seven patients – and potentially 40 in total – connected with sabotaged saline drips. He said: “They jumped the gun and tried to build the case against her from there, rather than the usual method of bailing her pending further inquiries.” Greater Manchester police’s assistant chief constable, Terry Sweeney, said the force would leave no stone unturned in the search for the person responsible for the contamination. He said the investigation was complex and officers needed to speak to 700 people – patients, staff and visitors. Crime Nursing Health Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Younis al-Mauritani detained in western city of Quetta with two other members of terror group Younis al-Mauritani, a senior al-Qaida commander believed by some experts to be the organisation’s “foreign minister”, has been captured by Pakistani security forces working with the CIA, the Pakistani army said on Monday. Mauritani – who was detained in the western city of Quetta with two other al-Qaida members – played a central role in the group’s plots against the west, the army said. He is the most high profile al-Qaida figure to have been arrested in Pakistan for several years, and his detention marks another blow to the group following the deaths of Osama bin Laden in a US raid on 2 May and the second in command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, in a CIA missile strike last month. The discovery that Bin Laden had been living in Pakistan for several years caused acute embarrassment to the country’s authorities, which have been under intense pressure to prove they are committed to the fight against al-Qaida. In the years immediately following the 9/11 attacks, a series of leading al-Qaida figures were captured in Pakistan, but there have been fewer high-profile arrests in recent years. “Mauritani was tasked personally by Osama bin Laden to focus on hitting targets of economical importance in United States of America, Europe and Australia,” a statement from the Pakistani military said. “He was planning to target United States economic interests including gas and oil pipelines, power generating dams and strike ships and oil tankers through explosive-laden speed boats in international waters.” According to the statement, Mauritani was arrested with the help of US intelligence agencies, showing that anti-terror co-operation between the countries is continuing despite the deep tensions between Islamabad and Washington following the death of Bin Laden. He had reportedly been planning a major attack in Europe, which triggered a terror alert in Germany late last year. The detention also confirmed that many of al-Qaida’s leaders remain in hiding in Pakistan. al-Qaida Pakistan Global terrorism Saeed Shah guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
PM says Gibson inquiry will examine extent of intelligence-sharing by British secret services with the Gaddafi regime David Cameron has asked the Gibson inquiry into alleged UK complicity in torture to be widened to examine the extent of intelligence-sharing by British secret services with the Libyan Gaddafi regime, including rendition and torture. He will set out details of how the Gibson inquiry will look into the allegations in a Commons statement updating MPs on the fall of the Gaddafi regime. Jack Straw, who was foreign secretary in the previous Labour government, said he welcomed the development but said he had never endorsed any secret programme of rendition or torture by the intelligence services. Straw said the inquiry could look into allegations that the security services may have been involved in operations without his knowledge or permission. The prime minister’s spokesman responded to the uncovering of a tranche of documents in Tripoli showing the intimate links between British intelligence and Libya by saying the Gibson inquiry was well placed to look at the allegations. He said current British ministers have not seen the documents, and it was not entirely clear what they signified. He added the terms of reference of the Gibson inquiry would not need to be changed to include the new Libyan allegations. The Gibson inquiry has been stalled by the refusal of some lawyers to co-operate with it and by the need for some civil cases to be completed first. This opens the possibility that the Gibson inquiry will look into Libyan allegations first since they are not subject to UK civil court cases. The papers were found in the offices of Moussa Koussa, Libyan’s head of intelligence services, who defected to Tunisia and then to Britain in late March. Downing Street said Moussa Koussa had not been given immunity from prosecution, but stressed he had been free to leave the UK. The documents show the UK provided intelligence to Libyan authorities in 2004 on Abdul Hakim Belhaj, who is now a commander with Libyan rebel forces. Britain was interested in gleaning intelligence on Belhaj because of his membership of the proscribed Islamist group the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which had links with a-Qaida. He was delivered to the Libyan authorities by the US after being captured in Bangkok. He is now head of the military council in Tripoli, showing the extent of possible Islamist influence in the new regime, and the unpredictable nature of relations between the regime and the UK. Belhaj has claimed he was tortured by the CIA in Bangkok. Straw pointed out that the intelligence and security committee, a select committee set up by the prime minister to oversee the accountability of the security services, examined allegations of British complicity in torture in 2007, and found no evidence. Straw said he did not know if the new allegations were credible, but said “these allegations must be examined in very great detail. It is very important that they should be These allegations are a very great source of concern to anyone, including myself. “The position of successive British governments was very clear and that was they we were opposed to unlawful rendition and any use of torture. Not only did we not agree with it, nor were we complicit in it and we did not turn a blind eye to it,” Straw added. He pointed out that the intelligence and security committee had itself pointed out that Straw had rejected some MI6 planned operations, showing the concern he had shown on the issue. “I did not just tick submissions,” he said. He added Britain’s desire to weaken al-Qaida “would never ever have justified our connivance or complicity in the use of torture, and it did not”. Straw raised the possibility of senior intelligence figures keeping operations from him by saying “no foreign secretary can know all the details of what its intelligence agencies are doing at any one time, and that is why it is important these allegations are examined by Sir Peter Gibson’s inquiry”. He defended the principle of the general co-operation between the British government and Libya on the basis that it led to Libya abandoning weapons of mass destruction voluntarily in 2003, describing this as “a major step to a more peaceful Middle East”. Libya Middle East Africa Torture Human rights Muammar Gaddafi Moussa Koussa David Cameron Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Tickets for the opening of the 9/11 Memorial in New York City sold out nearly instantly, and are heavily booked already for much of the month. The Pentagon Memorial , on the other hand, is nearly always open—if you’re willing to make the long hike through an underpass beneath a…
Continue reading …
The Guardian and the London School of Economics will work together on the first empirical study into the rioting and looting The causes and consequences of the English riots last month, the most serious bout of civil unrest in a generation, will be examined in a study by the Guardian and the London School of Economics. Researchers will interview hundreds of people who were involved, in the first empirical study into the widespread rioting and looting. As well as surveys of those who took part in the disorder, the research will include interviews with residents, police and the judiciary, and an advanced analysis of more than 2.5m riot-related Twitter messages. The study – Reading the Riots – is supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Open Society Foundations . The project, announced on the eve of the one-month anniversary of the outbreak of trouble in Tottenham , north London, will seek to better understand why riots then spread to other parts of the capital and cities across England. Four consecutive nights of looting and arson in August left five people dead and more than 2,000 suspects arrested. Police anticipate that investigations to identify perpetrators of the disorder will last several years. Reading the Riots is modelled on an acclaimed survey conducted in the aftermath of the Detroit riots in 1967 . The findings of that study, the result of a groundbreaking collaboration between the Detroit Free Press newspaper and Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, challenged prevailing assumptions about the cause of the unrest. Prof Phil Meyer, who co-ordinated the Detroit study more than four decades ago, will advise the research into the English riots. The LSE’s involvement will be led by Prof Tim Newburn, head of the university’s social policy department, which has the highest possible research rating in the UK. Newburn, a former president of the British Society of Criminology and an advisor to the Metropolitan police and Home Office, said: “There is an urgent need for some rigorous social research which will look, without prejudice, at the causes and the consequences of the recent riots. “Crucially, it is vital that we speak with those involved in the disturbances and those affected by them to try to understand any lessons for public policy.” Previous incidents of serious civil disorder in England, such as the Oldham riots in 2001 and the Brixton riots in 1981, led to government-commissioned inquiries and reviews. Lord Scarman’s public inquiry into the Brixton disturbances, which were followed by further rioting in Toxteth, Liverpool, in the same year, proved a watershed moment for social policy, warning that urgent action was required to tackle racial disadvantage and distrust in the police. The government has resisted calls for a public inquiry into the August riots, which flared in most of London’s boroughs and spread to parts of Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool and Gloucester. There have been no attempts to systematically speak to those involved in the riots. A victims panel announced by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, will take evidence from residents in areas where there was rioting and report preliminary findings in November. The four-person panel will be chaired by Darra Singh, chief executive of JobCentre Plus. Reading the Riots will bring together a team of leading academics and experts and combine quantitative and qualitattive research methods. At the heart of the project are two unique databases compiled by the Guardian over the last month. The first is a database of more than 1,100 defendants who have appeared in court charged with riot-related offences. The list, compiled with the assistance of the Ministry of Justice, consists of more than 70% of those who have appeared in magistrate and crown courts. Many will be given the opportunity to take part in the research study in the coming weeks. The second database contains 2.5m riot-related tweets . Executives at Twitter’s headquarters in California authorised the collation of tweets, pooled from hashtags relating to the riots and their aftermath, so they could form part of the study. A spokeman for the company said: “Twitter provided publicly available information that is accessible to researchers and others via its API.” Julia Unwin, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “The JRF believes that solid evidence has to be the driver for good policy. So, as policymakers develop responses to the riots, the need for solid evidence on the causes of the riots is crucial. Currently none exists. “The qualitatitve and quantitative data the Guardian has in its unique possession is invaluable. The rigorous analysis the LSE will carry out on this evidence will be vital to understanding why the riots occurred. It is for this reason why JRF is involved in this partnership: we want policy responses to be based on evidence, not on conjecture.” Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian News and Media editor-in-chief, said: “The Guardian continues to make great strides in the field of data journalism, and the volume of information and statistics we have gathered since the riots erupted this time last month is vast. As a newspaper we can draw objective conclusions from this data, but working with LSE will enable us to slot these facts into the wider social picture and present a more comprehensive look at what caused these events to unfold.” UK riots Crime London Communities UK criminal justice London School of Economics and Political Science Research The Guardian Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Riot jail sentences in crown courts up to three times longer than average
September 5, 2011 No Comment
Typical sentence for theft or handling stolen goods in riots is 13.6 months, compared with 4.1 months for same offence last year Rioters sentenced in crown courts have received jail terms that are much more severe than usual, replicating the punitive response by magistrates, the Guardian can reveal. An exclusive analysis of crown court cases against those convicted of involvement in last month’s riots shows some sentences are nearly three times the average jail terms handed down for the same offences. The data, part of a Guardian database covering more than 70% of the defendants processed through English courts for offences linked to the disorder, indicates that crown court judges have been even more willing to treat involvement in the riots as an aggravating factor than their counterparts in magistrates courts. The database of 1,100 riot-related defendants will form part of a landmark study announced on Monday into the causes and consequences of the riots . The Guardian and the London School of Economics have launched Reading the Riots , for which researchers will interview hundreds of people involved in the disturbances in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Gloucester. The first empirical study into the widespread rioting and looting is supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Open Society Foundations . As well as surveys of those who took part in the disorder, the research will include interviews with residents, police and the judiciary, and an advanced analysis of more than 2.5m riot-related Twitter messages. The project is based on a groundbreaking survey conducted in the aftermath of the Detroit riots in 1967 by the Detroit Free Press newspaper and Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The professor who led the Detroit study, Phil Meyer, is advising the research into the disturbances in England. LSE’s involvement will be led by Professor Tim Newburn, head of the university’s social policy department. A month after the disturbances began in Tottenham, north London, the Guardian can also reveal: • More than 90% of the cases being sentenced at crown court are resulting in jail terms, compared with an average rate for custodial sentences of 46%. Data previously released by the Ministry of Justice revealed that 44.6% of rioters sentenced at magistrate courts were sent to prison, almost four times the typical custody rate of 12.3%. • A YouGov poll has found Britons have become more fearful since the rioting took place. The survey, which was commissioned by Nottingham University and compares attitudes before and after the riots, found people felt that their safety and wider society were under threat. Those polled were also more likely to express prejudiced views against minority groups, although they did not blame them for the disorder. • An investigation into the Tottenham riots , which sparked copycat rioting across England, has found local police were alerted to rising tensions long before a protest over the killing of Mark Duggan by police descended into a riot. An email warning from a senior community adviser to police was sent to the borough commander 24 hours before the protest took place. She went on holiday the following day. The average crown court sentence for individuals engaging in theft or handling stolen goods so far is 13.6 months, about three times the average 4.1-month sentence handed down in 2010 – equivalent to a sentence 231% longer than the 2010 average. Magistrates courts have been delivering sentences about 25% longer than average, according to the Guardian data. The difference reflects the greater sentencing powers of crown courts, and potentially also the severity of riot-related cases transferred to the higher courts. The most severe sentences relating to the riots were handed to Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan and Jordan Blackshaw , both from Chester, who received four years for inciting riots in their home towns of Warrington and Northwich on Facebook. None of the messages posted by either individual led to a riot. Blackshaw is appealing against his sentence. The next most severe penalty was handed to 18-year-old Amed Pelle, given a 33-month prison term, also for posting Facebook messages. This was equal to the sentence passed on Dwaine Spence, who led a gang of 30 to 40 youths on a rampage through Wolverhampton town centre and hurled a 3ft plank of wood at a police car. Other cases contained in the crown court data include Anderson Fernandes, 22, sentenced to 16 months for stealing ice cream, and 19-year-old Fabrice Bembo-Leta, who turned himself in to police after identifying himself from a published photo, and who was sentenced to 32 months in prison for burglary. The shortest prison sentence issued so far to a riot-related offender in crown courts went to Steven Frear, 20, who received six weeks for possession of an offensive weapon. The average sentence for the cases so far is 14.7 months. Many of the most serious cases, including charges of murder and attempted murder, are unlikely to be heard in court for several months. Only two of the 72 completed crown court cases to date resulted in non-custodial sentences. UK riots Crime UK criminal justice Sentencing Paul Lewis James Ball Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …