Crime

Once, when I was a teenager, I was in a Spar in Ballymena when a man walked in and announced he would burn the shop to the ground if it didn’t close immediately. My sister and I did not hesitate. Like everyone else, we believed him – and fled. We had been intending to dash in to the store for just a few minutes to stock up on essentials, amid fears of a long few days ahead of us as rioting broke out across Northern Ireland in the 1990s over Drumcree. So it’s terrifying to watch violence unfold in my hometown again, as we have over recent nights. Violence has erupted in Ballymena More

Whitehall is currently cordoned off while police investigate an abandoned vehicle near Downing Street.The street is closed in both directions between Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square.The Metropolitan Police said in a statement on X, formally Twitter: “A cordon is in place at the southern end of Whitehall as a precautionary measure while officers investigate an abandoned vehicle in the vicinity of Downing Street.”It is understood civil servants working inside government buildings on the road are unable to leave the building, and no one is being allowed to enter.( More

A rape victim has been forced to live just minutes from her attacker – despite assurances from the government that a plan would be put in place before his release to prevent them coming into contact. Christopher Lawson, who was jailed for 16 years in 2017 for the rape and indecent assault of a girl from the age of eight, was released on parole last week after serving half his sentence. As part of the terms of his release, he has been made the subject of an exclusion zone, which prohibits him from going to a particular place or area.Kate Osborne wrote to prisons minister James Timpson to request an ‘urgent review’ of the exclusion zone More

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, after two fires at houses linked to Sir Keir Starmer.Emergency services were called to fires at the doors of two homes linked to the prime minister in north London within 24 hours of one another.Police are investigating whether the fires were linked, and counter-terrorism officers are leading the inquiry because the properties have connections to a high-profile public figure.The suspect was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday and remains in custody, the Metropolitan Police said.The incidents have been widely condemned by politicians across the divide, with shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick saying it is “important that the prime minister and anyone in public life has their family, their homes, protected”.Here’s everything we know about the fires so far:What happened?Emergency services were called to blazes at the doors of two homes in north London within 24 hours of each other.In the early hours of Sunday, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to Sir Keir.One person was assisted to safety via an internal staircase by crews wearing breathing apparatus, LFB said.Police were then alerted by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to reports of a fire at another residential address in Kentish Town at 1.35am on Monday.A police cordon and officers, as well as investigators from LFB, could be seen outside a Kentish Town property, where the prime minister used to live.Sir Keir is understood to own the home still, but now lives at the PM’s official residence in Downing Street. Damage was caused to the property’s entrance, but nobody was hurt.Scotland Yard is also looking into a vehicle fire on 8 May as part of the probe. The car fire broke out in the early hours on the same street as the Kentish Town property.Who has been arrested?A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.The Metropolitan Police said the suspect was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday, and he remains in custody.A police spokesperson said: “As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire.”Enquiries are ongoing to establish what caused it. All three fires are being treated as suspicious at this time, and enquiries remain ongoing.”What has the reaction been?Speaking to Sky News, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said it is “important that the prime minister and anyone in public life has their family, their homes, protected”.“We have robust disagreements in politics but I want to ensure anyone who chooses to go in to public life feels that they’ll be properly protected and that we have civility in our debate”, he added.“It is absolutely wrong, disgraceful, for any individual to take the kind of action that we saw against the prime minister’s home.”Home secretary Yvette Cooper said she had been briefed about the incidents.She told BBC Breakfast: “You are right that the police are investigating these incidents, and they have my full support in doing so.“I have been briefed about these incidents but you will understand, as home secretary I obviously cannot comment in any detail on the investigations that are ongoing.”The prime minister’s official spokesperson added: “I can only say that the prime minister thanks the emergency services for their work and it is subject to a live investigation. So I can’t comment any further.” More

A former Tory MP and aide to Rishi Sunak is among 15 people charged with offences relating to bets placed on the timing of the 2024 general election, the Gambling Commission has announced.The scandal over the alleged placing of bets on the timing of the election prior to Mr Sunak’s surprise decision to call the national ballot early engulfed the Conservative Party’s campaign last summer.While the Metropolitan Police dropped its own investigation last August, saying the bar for misconduct in public office had not been met, the Gambling Commission announced on Monday that it had brought charges against 15 individuals.Among those were Mr Sunak’s former parliamentary private secretary Craig Williams, the former Conservative MP for Montgomeryshire, who was charged with cheating under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, which is a criminal offence.Russell George, the Tory Senedd member for Montgomeryshire, was also charged, along with the Conservative Party’s chief data officer, Nick Mason and the party’s chief marketing officer, Simon Chatfield.Laura Saunders, who was the Tory candidate for Bristol North West at the election and her husband Tony Lee – the Conservative Party’s campaign chief – were also both charged.Rishi Sunak’s election campaign was beset by allegations over the betting scandal More

An activist known as Stop Brexit Man, who is on trial for playing amplifiers outside parliament, told police their map illustrating where he could not use them was incorrect, a court has heard.Steve Bray, 55, allegedly flouted a police ban by playing anti-Conservative and anti-Brexit edits of The Muppet Show and Darth Vader’s theme tunes through the speakers on 20 March last year.Police approached Mr Bray on the traffic island at around 11.20am, minutes before then-PM Rishi Sunak arrived ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions, City of London Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday.They handed him a map and a notice that warned he is prohibited from playing the speakers in the controlled area under a by-law, the court heard.The music resumed intermittently, and shortly after 12.33pm officers seized the speakers, the court was told.Mr Bray, who is self-represented, is charged with failing without reasonable excuse to comply with a direction given under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 “re prohibited activities in Parliament Square”.He appeared to become emotional while cross-examining one of the officers who had attended shortly before Mr Sunak arrived, and said: “There is relevance to us for timing.”“Those couple of minutes, they mean a lot to us”, he told PC Euan Varney.Bray arrives at City of London Magistrates Court More

Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been cleared in a police investigation into the SNP’s finances.Ms Sturgeon and former party treasurer Colin Beattie were both arrested in 2023 but released pending further investigation in the probe – named Operation Branchform by Police Scotland.Both are no longer under investigation, police said.The news comes after Ms Sturgeon’s estranged husband and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell appeared in court charged with embezzlement.In a statement, Police Scotland said: “Following direction from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, criminal inquiries into two people arrested as part of the investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party have now concluded.Ms Sturgeon’s estranged husband has appeared in court charged with embezzlement More

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsFormer Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson and his son are among 12 people charged as part of a major probe into council corruption. The 67-year-old, who was first arrested in December 2020 and suspended from the Labour Party, has been charged with bribery, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, Merseyside Police said on Friday.Derek Hatton, 77, who was deputy leader of Liverpool City Council in the 1980s, has also been charged with bribery and one count of counsel or procure misconduct in a public office. Derek Hatton also faces charges More