Murder Inquiry Launched As Man Hit By Lorry

A murder investigation has been launched after a man was hit by a lorry in Barking, east London.

Scene of the incident in east London

Police believe the incident, which took place on River Road at 10.30am on Monday, could be linked to a commercial robbery, which took place in the area shortly beforehand.

A 43-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say they know the identity of the victim

The investigation is being led by officers from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command.

Next of kin have been informed

Police say they know the identity of the victim and his relatives have been informed.

Anyone who was in the area at the time or who has information about this incident is asked to call the Incident Room on 020 8345 1570 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Sex Slaves' Saved In Birmingham Brothel Raids

Five women believed to be sex-trafficking victims have been rescued by police during raids on nine suspected brothels in Birmingham.

Police, who arrested two women and three men on suspicion of managing a brothel, said they were determined to put a stop to "modern day slavery" in the region.

Three of the buildings raided by some of the 40 officers involved in the operation were found to be empty, but evidence at the scene suggested they had also been used as brothels.

Officers from West Midlands Police seized mobile phones, cash, laptops and paraphernalia relating to prostitution.

Police break down the door at one of the houses

A video posted on YouTube by the police force shows officers bashing down a front door and storming one of the properties.

Detective Inspector Darren Haynes said in the video: "We've seized laptops, satnavs, mobile phones, there's clear evidence of large amounts of cash, receipts, the whole picture of this premises would lead me to believe that it is being used as an illegal brothel and perhaps the girls inside are being human trafficked.

"The victims are lost, treated really badly and abused on a daily basis."

The raids were part of Operation Sentinel, a crackdown on sex trafficking and exploitation in the region and were launched following intelligence gathered from local residents.

Officers seized a range of items as evidence

As part of the operation the force is conducting a comprehensive review of the policies and procedures it uses to tackle human trafficking.

Detective Superintendent Tim Bacon said: "It's hard to believe that modern day slavery is happening in the West Midlands, but sadly it's on the increase and we're determined to put a stop to it.

"Tonight's action, first and foremost, is about protecting people who more often than not don't even realise that they are victims.

"But we're also sending out a strong message to the traffickers that they're not going to get away with using our area as a place to commit this appalling abuse."

The raids took place in the areas of Bordesley Green, Hay Mills, Acocks Green, Sheldon, Alum Rock and Moseley.

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Terror Arrests: Four Men Detained In London

Four men are in police custody after being arrested in London as part of a pre-planned anti-terror operation.

Counter-terrorism police detained the men at 7.10pm on Sunday during raids on several premises across the capital.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police said the men were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Two of the men were detained in Mansell Street, east London. A third man was arrested at a premises in Westbourne Grove, west London.

The fourth man was detained in Peckham Street, southeast London.

Officers conducted a search of six addresses as part of the pre-planned operation.

The men have been taken to a police station in south London.

Police said public safety remained their overriding concern.

A man who witnessed the arrest on Westbourne Grove - a street lined with restaurants and shops in Notting Hill - said he saw two police vans and a police car at the scene.

He said: "There was quite a lot of police. There was quite a scene as I approached."

The area was now clear, the man added.

Sky's defence correspondent Alistair Bunkall described the operation as "significant".

"Sometimes these arrests are made as a pre-emptive measure very early on in any planning for a terrorism operation, and sometimes they are made because the feeling is a terrorist attack may be imminent, but we haven't been given those sort of details yet," he said.

"But S015 officers, from Counter Terrorism Command, and armed Met Police officers were involved, so it certainly was a big operation by the Met."

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two Men Face Jail For 55 Child Sex Offences

Two men have been convicted of committing a series of sex crimes against children throughout the country over a number of years and will be sentenced in December.

Anthony Marsh and Lee Davis appeared in court last month where they pleaded guilty to a total of 55 offences at a plea and case management hearing.

A further 14 offences were denied and later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

It means the men will be sentenced for the crimes they have committed on December 2.

Anthony Marsh, 53, from Hatfield, Doncaster, who also used the names Tony Taylor and Tony Smith, pleaded guilty to 34 offences including possessing and distributing indecent images of children, and sexual activity with a child.

Lee Davis, 39, from Conisbrough, Doncaster, who also used the name James Parkin, had pleaded guilty to 20 offences including rape, sexual activity with a child, and taking indecent photographs of a child.

Both men were also jointly charged with conspiracy to commit sexual activity with children, and both admitted this offence at the earlier court hearing in September.

The offences to which they pleaded guilty date back to 2005 and involved teenage boys from South Yorkshire, Humberside, the north east, north west and the midlands, aged between 13 and 17.

Detective Inspector Delphine Waring, who led the investigation codenamed Operation Klan on behalf of South Yorkshire Police, said: "Marsh and Davis committed many appalling crimes against young, vulnerable boys over many years.

"They searched various websites trawling for impressionable, young, vulnerable boys and having engaged in conversation then made arrangements to meet them.

"I very much hope this case serves as a warning to anyone who believes they can abuse young children for their own sexual gratification.

"The young boys who were the victims of their crimes will continue to receive the support of specialist agencies in order that they can come to terms with what happened to them and to build successful and happy lives."

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Baby Kidney Donor Is Britain's Youngest

A five-week-old baby is a lifesaver after becoming Britain's youngest ever organ donor.

The infant's tiny kidneys were donated to 22-year-old Samira Kauser and transplanted during a seven-hour operation at St James's University Hospital in Leeds.

The organs were just 4cm long but will grow to up to three-quarters the size of a normal adult's.

Together with the liver, heart and lungs, a baby's kidneys are fully functioning after 37 weeks in the womb.

Ms Kauser, from Halifax, who was spending nine hours a night on dialysis after a genetic condition caused her kidneys to fail, told The Sunday Times she plans to get married next year.

"When I found out (the donor) was a child who had died, I felt so sad," she said.

"I thought about the parents and how much they wanted to donate and I knew I had to have the operation, even though I was scared."

The operation took place at Leeds' St James's University Hospital

She added: "Words cannot express the gratitude I feel to the parents of this baby.

"They have lost so much - much more than I can ever comprehend.

"Their only solace is that someone else has been able to carry on with their life. It's a massive gift."

The Sunday Times said the transplant had reignited the debate about whether organs from so-called "beating heart" babies, who are being kept alive on ventilators but are certified as brain dead, should be made available to patients on the donor waiting list.

It said a decision on the issue is expected within the next six months.

Transplant surgeon Niaz Ahmad, who led the team that carried out the transplant, told the newspaper: "There is such an acute shortage of organs that we're now prepared to do this.

"This case, I hope, shows that it can work."

Around 19.7 million people are on the NHS organ donor register.

More than 7,200 people are waiting for a transplant - 6,000 of whom need a new kidney.

Some 2,820 kidney transplants were carried out last year.

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Madeleine McCann Timeline Of Events 'Wrong'

British detectives working on the Madeleine McCann investigation have revealed that key details in the timeline of her disappearance were wrong.

The revised details will be documented in a new Crimewatch appeal on the case to be broadcast on Monday.

Speaking ahead of the BBC programme, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "The timeline we have now established has given new significance to sightings and movements of people in and around Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

"Our work to date has significantly changed the timeline and the accepted version of events that has been in the public domain to date.

"It has allowed us to work with Crimewatch to build the most detailed reconstruction as yet, and highlight very specific appeal points.

"I hope that when the public see our investigative strands drawn together within the overall context of that appeal, it will bring in new information that moves our investigation forward."

The timeline of Madeleine's disappearance has 'significantly changed'

The full reconstruction of the events six years ago when Madeleine went missing starts with a scene of Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry playing tennis.

Madeleine, dressed in pink shorts, T-shirt and hat, then runs across the court, holding a batch of tennis balls.

In another clip, the McCanns are asked how often they think of their daughter, who went missing when she was three years old on May 3, 2007 from a holiday apartment as her parents dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.

Mr McCann says: "When it's a special occasion, when you should be your happiest and Madeleine's not there, that's when it really hits home. Obviously, Madeleine's birthday goes without saying."

Mrs McCann adds: "It's when you have big family occasions really. That's it isn't it? 'Family occasion' and you haven't got your complete family."

During the programme, DCI Redwood discusses how the police have approached the inquiry.

Gerry and Kate McCann tell Crimewatch their anguish is undiminished

He says: "Primarily what we sought to do from the beginning is try and draw everything back to zero if you like. Try and take everything back to the beginning and re-analyse and reassess everything, accepting nothing.

"The careful and critical analysis of the timeline has been absolutely key.

"Primarily, we're focused on the area between 8.30pm and 10pm. We know at 8.30pm that was the time Mr and Mrs McCann went down to the tapas area for their dinner and we know that around at 10pm that was when Mrs McCann found that Madeleine was missing."

A number of e-fits are also to be shown in the appeal in a bid to "identify the men and eliminate innocent sightings".

Scotland Yard detectives, who have interviewed 442 people as part of their review-turned-investigation, hope to track down as many people present in the Portuguese town at the time.

Since launching its own investigation, 41 people of interest have been identified by the Met Police, including 15 UK nationals.

Madeleine seen on the day before she went missing in May 2007

Detectives have issued 31 international letters of request to mostly European countries in relation to some of the persons of interest as well as accessing phone records.

A large but "manageable" list of phone numbers identified as being in Praia da Luz - though not necessarily used to make phone calls - has been drawn up by detectives with a "significant" number unattributed to any named person.

British detectives launched a fresh investigation in July this year - two years into a review of the case.

The Met Police now has a team of six Portuguese detectives based in Faro who are carrying out inquiries on its behalf.

The Portuguese investigation is officially closed but authorities there are backing the Scotland Yard inquiry and officers from both countries are working together in pursuing new leads.

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brain Implant 'Could Stop Parkinson's Growth'

By Rhiannon Mills, Sky News Correspondent

A hi-tech brain implant could transform the lives of people living with Parkinson's disease.

Scientists in Bristol have developed a system of tubes and catheters that allows them to pump protein therapy deep into patients' brains.

It is hoped the technique will encourage cells damaged by the disease to grow again.

The protein, known as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), is injected once a month through a port just behind the ear and pushed through the tubes and catheters by an external pump.

Doctors at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, have trialled the system on six patients and are now looking for another 36 to continue the research.

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research and innovation at Parkinson's UK, said: "For years, the potential of GDNF as a treatment for Parkinson's has remained one of the great unanswered research questions.

Protein passed through the implant could encourage the regrowth of cells

"This new study will take us one step closer to finally answering this question once and for all.

"We believe GDNF could have the potential to unlock a new approach for treating Parkinson's that may be able to slow down and ultimately stop the progression of the condition all together.

"Currently there are very few treatments available for people with Parkinson's and none capable of stopping the condition from advancing."

Parkinson's, which affects more than 127,000 people in the UK, develops when a lack of a chemical called dopamine causes nerve cells within the brain to die.

This in turn causes symptoms such as stiffness, slowness of movement and tremors.

Previous research studies have suggested GDNF has the potential to encourage these cells to grow again - in effect stopping the progression of Parkinson's.

Scientists hope the technique will encourage cells regrowth

Tom Phipps, from Bristol, who was diagnosed with the condition eight years ago at the age of 50, was the first patient in the world to be fitted with the port system.

"I have a hope it will make a difference, if not by halting the progress of my condition then at least (allowing me to) lead a much more active life for a little bit longer," he said.

"If it doesn't affect me, it may affect, and positively affect, someone else at a later stage."

Professor Steven Gill, from Frenchay Hospital, told Sky News the equipment could be used to treat a variety of conditions.

"If this technology proves to be safe and reliable ... it has huge applications across neurological diseases, not only for treating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's but also brain tumours and other conditions," he said.

The £2m project is funded by Parkinson's UK with support from The Cure Parkinson's Trust.

A foundation set up by actor Michael J Fox, who has the condition, also made a large donation.

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hammond Hits Back Over £2bn MoD Underspend

By Vincent McAviney, Sky News Political Producer

The Defence Secretary has hit back at criticism of a £2bn underspend by the Government department he oversees, saying the money will be spent on future kit for soldiers.

Philip Hammond reacted angrily to claims he had been "overzealous" in pursuit of an austerity drive that will see thousands of soldiers lose their jobs.

They were made in a Daily Telegraph article which suggested the underspend at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was partly down to cuts in military personnel and equipment.

Mr Hammond said: "These retired 'senior military figures' (quoted by the newspaper) are presumably the same people who presided over an out of control defence budget that led to the previous Government sending troops into battle without the proper equipment needed to protect them.

Mr Hammond is overseeing a major cost-cutting exercise at the MoD

"They clearly have no idea how the defence budget now works.

"Instead of having to delay and cancel programmes as in the past, we now budget prudently and then roll forward any underspend to future years, allowing us to place new equipment orders."

Mr Hammond's comments came as a Sky News investigation revealed Government departments have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on calls to directory inquiries numbers since the last election.

The MoD alone made 158,640 calls to 118 lines between May 1, 2010, and August 31, 2013 - the equivalent of 186 calls per day - at a cost of £271,000.

A spokesman said the number of calls made from fixed phone lines had fallen by more than three-quarters in the last four years.

However, the expenditure is equivalent to the annual salaries of 15 squaddies or nine junior officers, or around 270 sets of Osprey body armour.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) made 97,265 calls between May 2010 and August 2013 at a cost of £72,387.

This was despite the department barring staff from calling 118 numbers in March 2011 and Secretary of State Iain Duncan Smith pledging to cut costs to help fund police and the forces.

The MoD says it has cut the number of directory inquiry calls it makes

Robert Oxley, campaign director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, added: "It's astonishing that so much taxpayers' money has been wasted needlessly dialling these services, especially in the internet age.

"Sadly, a blase attitude over who is picking up the phone bill is all too common in some corners of the civil service."

It is the second time in as many months the MoD's spending on phone calls has been brought into question, and comes at a time when the military is undergoing a massive cost-reduction programme which includes thousands of redundancies.

In August, the department revealed it had run up a £40,000 bill on calls to the speaking clock.

The MoD has said this was partly down to a "technical error" in one of its systems which meant the number was being dialled automatically.

Thousands of soldiers are losing their jobs as the MoD cuts costs

However, Sky News now understands that between May 1, 2010, and August 31, 2013, 99,887 calls were in fact made by departmental staff to the speaking clock at a cost of £39,845.

The faulty automated system placed an additional 28,663 calls to the number but the £12,355 cost of these calls is being repaid by the company which installed it.

A spokesman for the MoD said: "Calls to directory inquiries from the majority of the 260,000 MoD fixed phone lines are banned but some staff working in isolated locations, who do not have access to a military phone network or the internet, are able to call directory enquiries to obtain contact details."

A spokesman for the DWP added: "118 numbers are banned, except where they are used by jobseekers or their advisers when looking for work.

"The costs of these calls have been cut by more than two-thirds since 2010, as more of the 1.4 million claimants we support move online for their job searches."

Freedom of Information Act requests were submitted to all government departments, although some departments including the Home Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs refused to provide the information.

Several other departments said they had barred 118 calls, instructing staff to use internet search engines to obtain contact details.

Labour shadow minister Jon Ashworth told Sky News: "This is yet another example of the Government's failure to tackle waste.

"David Cameron and his ministers need to act now to stop allowing thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money being squandered on these costly calls."

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

7/7 Widow 'Linked To Kenyan Mall Attack Group'

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, In Kenya

Sky News has obtained a Kenyan intelligence report which for the first time shows the reach of the Shabaab terror network - which carried out the Nairobi shopping mall attack - and the extent of British involvement within the group.

It suggests that Samantha Lewthwaite - the British woman known as the "White Widow" because she was married to one of the 7/7 London bombers - is an important figure in the terror outfit, plotting multiple bomb attacks across Kenya.

Sky has also been given access to a personal diary of hers which gives a fascinating insight into her mind, where she talks about her ambitions for her children and her love for her husband.

The report says Lewthwaite is a 'logistician' in a six-person terror cell

The intelligence report, which is 35 pages long, gives a detailed breakdown of how the terror network is operating throughout Africa with recruits and terror cells working in a huge range of countries including Somalia, Uganda, Burundi, Zambia, Tanzania, Mali and South Africa as well as further afield in Yemen and Pakistan.

But what seems clear is that the group's stronghold and focus is in Kenya with major operational bases in the capital Nairobi and Mombasa.

The report is highly damaging for the Kenyan authorities as it also shows there were clear warnings up to eight months ago that a "Mumbai-style attack" was being planned in Nairobi on the Westgate shopping mall.

She is implicated in the Nairobi shopping centre attack in September

It goes on to to identify 29-year-old Samantha Lewthwaite as a "logistician" within a six-person terror cell which the Kenyans believe was co-ordinated by Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, whose alias is Ikrima.

Ikrima is a Kenyan who the authorities believe has been elevated to Al Shabaab management.

He was the target of the US Navy Seal's mission last weekend which set out to "capture or kill" him from the Somalian port town of Barawe.

Londoner Jermaine Grant is also believed to be part of the same group

The mission was aborted when the Seals encountered tougher resistance than expected when they landed.

The other members of the terror cell Ikrima was co-ordinating include Fahmi Jamal Salim, who is apparently the cell leader and who the intelligence agencies believe is now married to Samantha Lewthwaite.

Other members are said to be Jermaine Grant, who is currently on trial in Mombasa on terror charges which he denies.

Lewthwaite's husaband Germaine Lindsay (L) on a dry run for the 7/7 attacks

The report details how the group was plotting multiple attacks targeting the Kenyan parliament buildings, UN offices in Nairobi, restaurants and a string of assassinations focusing on senior politicians within Kenya.

Kenyan intelligence believes Samantha Lewthwaite was living in an exclusive villa in the Shanzu area of Mombasa when the attacks were being planned.

Extracts from Lewthwaite's diary recovered by police

A police raid on a nearby apartment rented by Jermaine Grant - which led to his arrest - then prompted a subsequent raid on the upmarket villa where Lewthwaite was living with her children.

But the mother of four was not there. The police say they found a stash of ammunition there as well as a laptop and excerpts of a diary or journal which Lewthwaite had begun writing.

The journal appears to be the start of a book which Lewthwaite was working on entitled "I want to be a Mujahid" (Islamic military fighter).

It outlines questions she was going to pose to interviewees as well as gives an insight into her love for her husband and reveals a little about how she is bringing up her children.

Interpol recently issued a 'Red Notice' for Lewthwaite's arrest

She writes with pride about how two of her children want to emulate their father - Jermaine Lindsay, who was one of the London 7/7 bombers in the tube and bus attacks in 2005 which killed more than 50 people.

She recounts how her husband had asked her children what they wanted to be when they got older. Samantha writes: "Both had many answers but both agreed to one of wanting to be a mujahid". She goes on to express her commitment and desire to be a good Muslim and how blessed she believes she is to have been married to a shaheed (martyr) in reference to her suicide-bomber partner.

We managed to persuade one of Kenya's most controversial religious scholars to sit down with us and talk about his views - which have led to him being accused by the UN of recruiting Shabaab fighters and raising funds for the outfit.

Sheikh Abubakar Shariff, who is also known as Makaburi, told us the accusations against him were all "b******t". He accused the Kenyan Government of waging a religious war and allowing the persecution of Muslims who he believes are all being targeted and labelled as terrorists in the wake of the Westgate Mall attack.

"Because of the failings of our Government and our military and police in stopping the attack, we, as Muslims, are all being targeted now," he told me.

Makaburi who is also accused by the Kenyan authorities of inciting violence and of encouraging young men to take up jihad (or Holy war) in Somalia -  denied he was a member of al-Shabaab but said: "I am a Muslim. I speak truthfully. I might have association with al-Shabaab without me knowing they are from Al-shabaab.

"I cannot say no, I don't know al-shebaab. maybe one of my friends is a member of al-shebaab without me knowing. But do I have, what you call it, ties with al-Shabaab? No, I don't."

He went onto to say under his interpretation of the Koran, the Westgate attack was justified because of all the wrongs being meted out to Muslims by the West, the Kenyan Defence Force (who are fighting al-shebaab in Somalia), Ethiopians and other military in "Somalia, Guantannamo Bay, Iraq and all over the world every day".

There is little chance the woman being hunted by Interpol is still in Mombasa, but what the intelligence report indicates is it is now a major hub as well as gateway to terrorism for those bent on violence.

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Driving Test Age Could Rise To 18

Young drivers could have to wait until they are 18 before they are allowed to take their driving test under proposals being considered by the Government.

The move is aimed at cutting the number of people killed and injured in accidents on Britain's roads.

Figures show more than a fifth of deaths in 2011 involved drivers aged 17 to 24, and around 10% of novice drivers are caught committing an offence within their probationary period.

The Government-commissioned report by the Transport Research Laboratory suggests learner drivers will still be granted provisional licences at the age of 17.

But they will have to complete a 12-month "learner stage" that would require drivers to clock up at least 100 hours of daytime and 20 hours of night-time supervised practice.

For the first year, newly qualified drivers would be hit by a curfew running between 10pm and 5am unless they were carrying a passenger aged over 30, as well as a ban on carrying anyone younger than that age if they were under it themselves.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "Young drivers drive around 5% of all the miles driven in Britain, but are involved in about 20% of the crashes where someone is killed or seriously injured.

One of the proposals would see the driving age raised from 17 to 18

"We are committed to improving safety for young drivers and reducing their insurance costs - that is why we are publishing a Green Paper later in the year setting out our proposals.

"This will include a discussion about how people learn to drive."

Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Our own research shows that putting certain restrictions on young drivers allows them to rapidly build up live-saving experience in the safest possible way.

"Putting a firm number on casualty reduction is hard because of the pick-and-mix approach to graduate licensing.

"But the evidence suggests that a full package of measures could reduce fatalities by anything up to 60%.

"We should all have an interest in preserving young drivers' lives rather than exposing them to undue risk at the stage of their driving careers where they are most vulnerable.

"This is about ensuring their long-term safety and mobility, not curtailing it."

AA president Edmund King said although many of the proposals in the report had "merit", he questioned some of the recommendations.

"Road safety on the national curriculum is something we have long campaigned for and I am pleased to see it being recommended here," he said.

"However, at the extreme end this report could be seen as just recommending taking novice drivers off the road by regulation and restriction rather than helping them develop the right attitudes and skills to provide them with the mobility they need.

"Rather than compensating the proposed significant new restrictions through earlier access to the roads under supervision the authors propose delaying and extending the driving development process to the point where even some 30-year-olds will be restricted in whom they can carry as passengers.

"This academic report has raised a number of options for debate and careful consideration.

"The question is how many of its recommendations will be acceptable to the Government and public at large."

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More