Crime

Police records of Priti Patel’s contact with senior officers over an Extinction Rebellion protest were lost because of an “IT glitch”, a court has heard.Defence lawyers representing protesters charged over the blockade of a Rupert Murdoch-owned printing works in September argue they cannot have a fair trial because the extent of alleged political interference is unknown.St Albans Magistrates’ Court heard that the home secretary was alerted to the protest in Broxbourne “by contacts in the media”.It was told that she called Hertfordshire Police chief constable Charlie Hall several times during the protest, and sent a text message to the operation’s gold commander, Matt Nicholls, the following afternoon.In a statement read to a hearing on Friday, Mr Hall said he was woken up by the first call from the home secretary at 11.40pm on 4 September.He said he did not make any note of the conversation or record it, and then had further contact with Ms Patel in the “hours of darkness” updating her on the protest.Mr Hall said: “My phone has updated itself since that time and removed any messages or all records from this period.”Mr Nicholls, who was the police gold commander for the protest operation, said in a statement read to the court that he had received a text from Ms Patel during the afternoon on 5 September.He said it was a supportive message thanking police for their work, adding: “These texts to my work phone have been deleted … a number of work phones were erroneously reset to factory settings after an IT glitch.”Barrister Raj Chada said the defence would be asking how phone records belonging to two senior officers and relating to “the very issue at the heart of this case” came to be deleted.“We say in light of that the defendants cannot receive a fair trial,” he added. “It is only when the extent of the political interference is determined that this court can scrutinise the effect.”Later in the hearing, District Judge Sally Fudge said she had seen screenshots of text messages between some police officers and the home secretary but did not make clear where the records were from.She ruled that the messages did not have to be disclosed to the defence and were not “reasonably capable of undermining the prosecution case”.The judge said the messages included exchanges between Mr Patel and Mr Hall at around 4.30am, 8.20am and 11.20am on 5 September, and on the morning of 6 September. More

Britain’s top police chief has told an audience of women that she “sometimes has a bad ‘un’” in her ranks, on the same day PC Wayne Couzens admitted to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard.In a speech to the Women’s Institute (WI), Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan police commissioner, speaking about violence against women and girls, said that “recent events” had heightened “people’s concerns, women’s concerns about violence.”“We recognise we must be – and we are – intolerant of violence against women and girls,” she said. “I have 44,000 police officers and staff working in the Met. Sadly some are abused at home for example.“And sadly on occasion I have a bad’un. We are intolerant and we set ourselves high standards in how we work to identify, prevent and tackle any such behaviours.”PC Couzens appeared at the Old Bailey earlier on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard, who went missing in March while walking home in Clapham, south London.The court heard Couzens accepted responsibility for the killing of Ms Everard but was not asked to enter a plea to a charge of murder.Referencing the disappearance and death of the 33-year-old marketing executive directly, she said it sent “shockwaves through my communities and through my workforce.”She added: “The Met was angry and shocked – everybody. What happened them was a catalyst for wider societal concern about the safety of women and girls. Police officers are also members of our communities and the public and we feel that acutely.“Those events have brought into sharp focus that women and girls do not feel as safe as we want them to. Full stop.” More

Four men have been arrested by officers investigating a video which appeared to show antisemitic abuse being shouted from a car in London on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said.Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer denounced the incident in which threats were apparently shouted from a convoy of vehicles driving through a Jewish community in the capital.Footage showed a group of cars adorned with Palestinian flags driving down Finchley Road on Sunday, with several individuals standing up through the sunroofs and waving flags as one man shouted: “F*** their mothers. Rape their daughters. We have to send a message.”A Scotland Yard statement said: “Officers investigating a video which appeared to show antisemitic abuse being shouted from a car in north London have made four arrests.“Police received reports of people shouting antisemitic abuse from a car travelling within a convoy of vehicles through the St John’s Wood area on the afternoon of Sunday, May 16.“Enquiries were carried out and officers traced a car to the A40 in Hillingdon. The police helicopter was deployed and officers stopped the car at approximately 18.30hrs.“Four men were arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences. They were taken into custody at a west London police station.”The cars drove through the St John’s Wood area – a community which houses four significant synagogues, including the oldest congregation within Liberal Judaism, and is described by The Jewish Chronicle as occupying “a special place in British and Jewish life”.In response, the prime minister said: “There is no place for antisemitism in our society. Ahead of Shavuot, I stand with Britain’s Jews who should not have to endure the type of shameful racism we have seen today.”Labour leader Sir Keir said “there must be consequences” for those involved in the “utterly disgusting” incident, adding: “Antisemitism, misogyny and hate have no place on our streets or in our society.”As Israeli-Palestinian violence continued to intensify this weekend, with medics reporting at least 42 Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Sunday, pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets to oppose the violence and show solidarity in several cities, including London, Glasgow and Manchester.Organisers of the march in the capital on Saturday said some 100,000 people were in attendance, as huge crowds gathered outside the Israeli embassy calling on the British government to take “immediate action” to deescalate the situation. Addressing the crowds, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suggested the demonstrations gave “succour, comfort and support” to those suffering in the conflict, while the Palestinian-UK ambassador Husam Zumlot said: “This time is different. This time we will not be denied any more. We are united. We have had enough of oppression. Today we are saying enough, enough with the complicity.”Scotland Yard said nine police officers were injured while dispersing crowds on Saturday when demonstrators threw projectiles at them during what the force called “small pockets of disorder”.The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, condemned “some of the language used on marches this weekend and in posts on social media” as “intimidating, criminal and racist”.Referring to the video of the convoy, which was later spotted near Brent Cross and Golder’s Green, Mr Jenrick said: “This, on the streets of London, is deeply disturbing. Vile, criminal hatred like this must not be tolerated.“Whatever your view of the conflict in Israel and Gaza, there is no justification for inciting anti-Jewish or anti-Muslim hatred. The incidents of antisemitism we have seen in recent days have been shameful,” he said, adding: “We must not tolerate this vile, shameful hate in our country. These actions must stop.”Cabinet minister Michael Gove also pointed to footage showing men at London’s protests shouting a phrase relating to a seventh century massacre of Jewish people, now widely interpreted as a battle cry: “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.”Sharing the footage, labelled by Mr Gove as “deeply concerning”, Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: “Can’t stop thinking about this. Happening on our streets. It has to be condemned at the highest level. This is not a call for peace. It is incitement against Jews.”Additional reporting by PA More

A 56-year-old man has been sentenced for spitting at former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a “barrage of abuse” during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.Gerald Dore assaulted Mr Corbyn on 20 May last year at the corner of Seven Sisters Road, north London, while the MP was cycling with his wife Laura Alvarez.“He began shouting and swearing aggressively towards both parties before ultimately taking a step towards Mr Corbyn and spitting,” Mr Barrowcliffe said.In a statement read by the prosecutor, Mr Corbyn said he was “alarmed and distressed by the aggressive behaviour” and was particularly concerned by the man spitting in his face.Representing himself, Dore said the incident was not motivated by the Islington North MP’s politics as he claimed that he did not know him.“I didn’t dislike him, he was just in my way and I was trying to get home,” he told the court.“All I was trying to do was cross the road and he was in the way. I might have sprayed him.”Dore previously admitted one count of assault by beating against Mr Corbyn and a second charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of unlawful violence.He added that he had chronic pain and mental health issues, and the court was told he had a lower culpability.“To spit at someone is gross in any circumstance but to do so at a time when the infections were running very high was very serious indeed,” district judge Adrian Turner said, although he accepted that the assault was a chance encounter.The judge gave Dore an 18 month community order, which will include 80 hours of unpaid work, and ordered him to pay £250 in compensation, including £150 to Mr Corbyn and £100 to his wife.Additional reporting by PA More

Police have dropped their investigation into a Conservative MP and ex-minister who was arrested after a woman accused him of rape.The Metropolitan Police had said they received allegations on July 31 of sexual offences and assault relating to four separate incidents at addresses in London, including in Westminster, between July last year and January this year.A man was arrested on August 1 on suspicion of rape and was taken into custody at an east London police station before later being released on bail, the force added.
But a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “Following a thorough investigation, and based on all evidence made available to officers, the decision was taken that the case did not meet the evidential test and no further action will be taken.
“The complainant has been made aware of the decision.”
The man, who the Sunday Times reported has been carrying out parliamentary duties from home since his arrest, has been told of the police decision.
The alleged victim told the paper she intends to appeal against the decision under the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme.
Following the man’s arrest, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said on August 2 that he did not know the name of the MP.
Mr Jenrick added that Parliament “needs to be” a safe environment for young women to work in.
He told Times Radio: “There has clearly been some very difficult allegations and cases in recent years.
“We need to make sure, like any other workplace, it is one that’s fit for everybody, where everybody feels safe and comfortable working, and when allegations are raised they are treated with the seriousness they deserve.”
Asked whether he personally wanted to see the Tory whip removed from the MP under police investigation, Mr Jenrick said: “We need to take allegations of this nature very seriously and I’m confident that the party is, and will do.”
Numerous reports in the Sunday papers on August 2 said the allegations were raised with Tory Chief Whip Mark Spencer, and the complainant also spoke to him, but no action was taken.
The PA news agency understands that Mr Spencer advised her to make a formal complaint to authorities who would be able to investigate the claims.
A spokesman for Mr Spencer said: “The Chief Whip takes all allegations of harassment and abuse extremely seriously and has strongly encouraged anybody who has approached him to contact the appropriate authorities, including Parliament’s independent complaints and grievance scheme, which can formally carry out independent and confidential investigations.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “We take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously. As this matter is now in the hands of the police it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
The investigation came days after former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke was convicted at Southwark Crown Court in a separate case of sexually assaulting two women, one of whom was a parliamentary worker. More

A “violent, racist attack” in which a man entered a law firm in London armed with a knife was inspired by a speech given by Priti Patel, lawyers have claimed. On 7 September, a 28-year-old man entered the office of a law firm whose identity has been withheld, armed with a knife. He was subsequently charged with assault, racially aggravated public disorder, possession of, and making threats with, a bladed article in a public place and making threats to kill.Days earlier, the home secretary had complained about “activist lawyers” who were working to delay the removal of failed asylum seekers.She wrote on 3 September: “Today we removed people who came here via small boat. “They had previously claimed asylum elsewhere and had no legal right to be in the UK. Watch more“Removals continue to be frustrated by activist lawyers, but I will not let up until this route is unviable.”Her comments were criticised at the time as having undermined the legal system.Amanda Pinto QC, chair of the Bar Council, said lawyers should not be political targets simply for carrying out their work.“Irresponsible, misleading communications from the Government, around the job that lawyers do in the public interest, are extremely damaging to our society,” she said.“Legal professionals who apply the law and follow Parliament’s express intention, are not ‘activists’.“We strongly condemn the use of divisive and deceptive language that undermines the rule of law and those working to uphold it.”Now, in a letter seen by The Observer, the law firm targeted in the knife attack has said “responsibility and accountability…lies squarely at the feet of Priti Patel”.Watch moreThe company, which has not been named for security reasons, has appealed to the Law Society to raise the issue with the government to “ensure that public attacks on the legal profession are prevented from this point forth”.According to the Sunday paper, the letter said: “It must be ensured that no further lives are endangered as a result of her untruthful and deliberately inflammatory rhetoric. Put simply, this must stop now, before innocent lives are taken and other irreparable damage is done to those who work in this field.“This must involve all previous statements made by Priti Patel being publicly retracted, and an apology or acknowledgment that such action to date has been inappropriate. Urgent reassurance is required from the government that this will not be repeated. The position as it stands is untenable, dangerous, and cannot be allowed to persist.”The Independent contacted the Home Office for comment. More