former MP Margaret Moran, who is to face 21 charges in relation to claims she made for parliamentary expenses.

File photo of former MP Margaret Moran, who is to face 21 charges in relation to claims she made for parliamentary expenses. Photograph: Michael Stephens/PA

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.

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police have released images of 28 suspects they want to question about serious street disorder that “wreaked havoc” across Northern Ireland

The police have released images of 28 suspects they want to question about serious street disorder that “wreaked havoc” across Northern Ireland.

Detectives from a specialist public order inquiry team are hoping the public will help them identify the men in these images as part of their investigations into rioting in east Belfast and Ballyclare during June and July.

Three people were shot during three nights of sustained sectarian violence at an interface on the Lower Newtownards Road in Belfast in June.

In Ballyclare six officers sustained whiplash when a hijacked bus rammed a police vehicle during riots that erupted after Union and paramilitary flags were removed from lampposts in July.

Assistant Chief Constable Alistair Finlay said the response from the public appeals to date had been “positive”.

A second tranche of photographs will be released on Thursday showing suspects police want to speak to in connection with rioting in north and west Belfast during July.

Last month all of Northern Ireland’s main news organisations wrote to the PSNI Chief Constable to protest at having to hand over riot footage of trouble in east Belfast.

The letter highlighted to Matt Baggott the “genuine fear that terrorists and rioters will target the media whom they perceive to be evidence gatherers for the State” if the PSNI continues to demand the disclosure of material gathered for news purposes.

The PSNI has declined to comment on the source of these latest images.

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Grilling for phone hack witnesses

 

Four former News International executives will face a fresh round of questioning from MPs over the phone-hacking scandal. The Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee will quiz the News of the World's former editor Colin Myler and ex-legal manager Tom Crone after the pair publicly challenged evidence given by James Murdoch over his knowledge of the illegal practice. News International's former director of legal affairs Jonathan Chapman and Daniel Cloke, former group HR director, will also appear before the committee as the probe into the scandal is resumed following the summer recess. Mr Myler and Mr Crone have been summoned before MPs for the second time after publicly disputing claims made by Mr Murdoch earlier in the Parliamentary inquiry. The News International chairman told the committee he was not made aware of an email in 2008 indicating that the practice of illegally intercepting voicemails was not confined to a single "rogue" reporter. But the two former Sunday tabloid executives insist that they told him about the message in June of that year. The panel of MPs could now recall Mr Murdoch "depending on their evidence under questioning". Committee chairman John Whittingdale said the latest round of questioning was an attempt to uncover the truth in the "continuing difference in the accounts of James Murdoch and Tom Crone and Colin Myler about whether or not James Murdoch was aware of the so-called 'for Neville' email". The 2005 email contained transcripts of hacked phone messages and was headed "for Neville", in an apparent reference to the News of the World's then-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck. Its existence came to light in April 2008 when Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor brought a damages claim against the paper over the interception of his voicemail.

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Teenager remanded over Malaysian student riot mugging

 

17-year-old has appeared in court charged with breaking the jaw of a Malaysian student and robbing him of his bicycle during the London riots. The teenager appeared at Thames Magistrates Court accused of causing grievous bodily harm of Ashraf Rossli in Barking, east London on 8 August. He was also accused of robbing the 20-year-old of a white bicycle. No plea was entered for the charges but Hannah Stephenson, defending, said he denied all the alleged offences. The teenager was also charged with violent disorder at a Tesco store in Barking and theft from the store on the same day. The 17-year-old appeared alongside his 15-year-old brother at a hearing. The brothers denied charges of violent disorder in Ilford and theft from a jewellers shop in Ilford, east London, on 8 August. The older brother was remanded in custody, with the younger brother given conditional bail. The conditions include observing a curfew with a tag. The brothers are due to reappear at Thames Magistrates Court on 12 September. They cannot be named for legal reasons.

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David Cameron to announce court verdicts will be televised

 

Judges' sentencing of offenders is to be televised under plans to be unveiled by the prime minister shortly, the Guardian has learned. David Cameron is expected to make his announcement in a long-awaited crime speech, expediting the agenda even though a Ministry of Justice consultation with the judiciary into the matter has not yet begun. It is not yet known how many courts will be televised. As part of his push for transparency in public services, Cameron will give the go-ahead to the televising of judicial verdicts but it is thought this will critically not include the process of the trial leading up to the verdict, protecting witnesses from exposure to publicity. The shift towards the televising of court proceedings has always been hampered by the spectre of OJ Simpson's trial in the US which degenerated into prime-time entertainment. Television companies have been pressing for greater access to the highlights of court cases and a consultation on the shift was undertaken by the previous Labour government but was eventually discarded. Now the present government has revived the plans, believing a judicial pronouncement should become more of a moment of public reckoning. Officials believe transparency would aid public understanding of the court process and the idea has gained momentum in the aftermath of the riots. Number 10 has decided to strengthen its law and order agenda in the wake of the riots, but televising verdicts is something Cameron has been minded to do for some time. The decision to go ahead comes at the end of a consultation with judges on the issue. In May, the Ministry of Justice revealed that officials would be canvassing the opinion of judges on the matter. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "We are considering proposals put forward by broadcasters to allow limited recording and transmission from courts in specific circumstances. "However, before any firm proposals are developed, the lord chancellor will wish to consult on the principle of broadcasting from court with the senior judiciary." There is a fair wind for the proposal with the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, suggesting in May when the consultation was announced that he would lend the move his support. He called for greater openness and transparency in the justice system. Then Starmer told a Society of Editors meeting: "In principle I would support a proposal that judgments, judges' closing remarks and judicial sentencing in criminal cases could be televised. "There may be a case for going further, although I would obviously not want to promote anything that adversely affected the ability of victims or witnesses to give their best evidence to the court. "Therefore there would need to be appropriate safeguards, particularly in cases involving vulnerable individuals, and any requests to televise any part of the court process should be subject to the judge's individual discretion." When the country's most senior court – the supreme court in Westminster – was opened in September 2009 it was fitted with cameras. As things stand it is the only court where footage is routinely available for broadcasters on request and has been televised live. It allows visitors to watch appeals and judgments on televisions around the building without sitting in the courtrooms, but it is seen to be a different case since supreme court hearings do not involve witnesses being cross-examined or juries. Cameras have been allowed in some Scottish courts under tight restrictions since 1992. The appeal of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi against his conviction for the Lockerbie bombing was televised in 2002. Writing in the Guardian in December, the head of Sky News, John Ryley, suggested the trials of six MPs who were accused of misusing their parliamentary expenses were prime examples of public interest trials that would have benefited from being televised. Labour launched a limited trial in the court of appeal in 2004.

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Anger over police who made no arrests in whole year

 

2,000 police officers in a Yorkshire force made no arrests last year because they were kept in supporting roles that could be fulfilled by civilians, wasting millions, a think-tank claims today. Too many officers are working in control rooms and forensic suites when those roles could be carried out by cheaper civilian staff, saving police for frontline duties, the Policy Exchange said. Nationally one in 20 police officers is doing work that could be done by civilians, wasting almost £150m a year, it argues. This, it said, contributes to a situation where more than 14,500 officers in the UK made no arrests at all last year, including almost half of all officers in the Derbyshire force and more than 2,000 in West Yorkshire. While this includes some officers not in a position to make an arrest, such as those in management or on restricted duties, the think tank adds: “It does suggest that there remain too many officers not in frontline roles where their warranted powers are being exercised.” Claims of inefficiency have been denied by the region’s forces, however, and come as South Yorkshire Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes prepares for a meeting on Wednesday to press home to MPs how cuts are piling pressure on his officers. Mr Hughes has warned that crime will rise because of cuts to police and council services. Constabularies face a 20 per cent funding cut over the next four years, which is expected to result in the loss of 16,000 officer posts. The Government has insisted savings can be made without affecting front-line duties. The head of crime and justice at the think-tank, Blair Gibbs, said: “Too many sworn officers are hidden away in back offices. Some forces like Surrey and Suffolk became more efficient by hiring cheaper civilian staff but many did not. “As a result taxpayers have spent at least £500m since 2006 in extra employment costs for over 7,000 police officers who have a uniform, but who aren’t policing.” The Cost of the Cops analysis of official data and Freedom of Information responses from forces claims that civilian staff could be used instead of officers in areas such as forensics, control rooms, operational support and business support, saving more than £20,000 per head. But, as of March last year, the level of civilianisation in forces ranged widely from just 34 per cent in the West Midlands to 55 per cent in Surrey, with an average of 43 per cent. Between March 2010 and March 2011, only two forces, West Mercia and Humberside, were said to have “notably increased” their level of civilianisation while 33 forces reduced their proportion of civilian employees. The report calls for improved visibility, suggesting officers should wear their uniform on their way to work, more patrols, and a re-evaluation of staffing by police chiefs including measures to tackle sickness and absence. West Yorkshire deputy chief constable David Crompton dismissed the conclusions as “nonsense” and added: “We know some forces have given information based on operational staff only, whereas we have used the whole workforce. “About 1,200 of those officers are in supervisory ranks – managing and overseeing investigations rather than arresting on the streets. “A force the size of West Yorkshire has a huge specialist capability to deal with things like underwater search, child protection and covert operations which aren’t currently involved in day-to-day arrests. “Trying to compare West Yorkshire with another force that used a different starting point is like comparing apples with oranges.” Mr Crompton added the data used was already out of date: “It is common knowledge throughout the public sector that budgetary pressures have driven huge changes in the last 18 months, and to suggest that data from the period April 2009 to March 2010 accurately reflects the position in late 2011 is misleading.” He added: “In our opinion, there is more mischief-making than mature debate about this report.

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Drug couriers killed in Chiang Rai

 

Two drug traffickers were killed and 22,200 methamphetamine pills seized late on Sunday night in a clash with a combined force of police and para-military rangers of the Pha Muang Force in Thoeng district of Chiang Rai province, police said. Pol Maj-Gen Songtham Alapach, the Chiang Rai police chief, said the combined police-ranger force laid in wait near Rom Pho Thong village in tambon Tap Tao of Thoeng district between kilometre markers 56-57 on the road to Phu Chi Fa mountain near the Thai-Lao border after learning that a drug gang would transport speed pills across the border from Laos. Late in the night, the combined force spotted five men carrying backpacks and AK47 rifles walking down from the mountain and ordered them to stop for a search. The smugglers opened fire and a 10 minute gunfight followed. After the clash, the police and rangers examined the area and found the bodies of two men who were killed in the fight.  One of them was identified as Laopho sae Wang, 50, a villager of Rom Pho Thong village, and the other was an unidentified Hmong from neighbouring Laos. The three other smugglers fled back across the border. A backpack containing 22,200 methamphetamine pills and a 9mm pistol were also found at the scene.

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Gaylords charged with gun, drug and gang crimes

 

Police and federal agents swept through several suburban homes Tuesday, arresting members of the "Almighty Gaylords" street gang following an 18-month undercover investigation into allegations of drug dealing, gun trafficking and violent intimidation. Nine alleged members of the gang were charged with federal gun crimes, including selling an AK-47 assault rifle, and six others were charged with state drug and gang crimes, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Topics Juvenile Delinquency Crimes Gang Activity See more topics » Beginning in 2009, an informant inside the gang recorded conversations with gang members and bought guns and set up drug deals under the surveillance of investigators, led by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, authorities said. Once violent players in Chicago's decades-long neighborhood battles over integration, not much has been heard from the Gaylords since the 1970s. But the investigation, which involved ATF, Cook County sheriff's police and the Addison Police Department, lifts the curtain on the remnants of a gang that followed the white-flight path to the suburbs over the years. A secretive, somewhat ragtag network, the Gaylords in the western suburbs are often described as the "Gray Lords," a handful of middle-age men nostalgic over their youth spent brawling with Hispanics in the city's ethnic neighborhoods. "The Gaylords never were an especially organized gang, and gang life meant mainly drugs, alcohol, racism and fighting," said gang expert John Hagedorn, who teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Having interviewed gang members over the years, he said they were "more of a model for racist, white youth than for an organized criminal entity." Investigators say the case shows a more serious threat. Other members were charged in a 2010 shooting, which the investigation revealed may have been related to internal gang strife. And the informant told investigators that gang members claimed the Gaylords carried out the 2009 murder of a North Side bar owner. Charged Tuesday were the alleged leader of the Addison faction of the gang, James Grace, 40, as well as Edward Rand, 46, and Daniel Springhorn, who allegedly supplied the gang with guns he purchased at Wisconsin gun shows. Springhorn, 56, known as "Stone Greaser," lives in Sharon, Wis., and Rand lives in far north-suburban Antioch. Other members arrested Tuesday live in Lombard, Villa Park and Elmhurst. The federal defendants are charged only with gun trafficking crimes, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Three alleged members, including Grace's brother, Wayne Grace, were charged with felony drug crimes in DuPage County, according to the DuPage County state's attorney's office. Another three individuals were charged with associating with gang members, a misdemeanor. The case took shape when a longtime member who wanted out of the gang became a police informant. While many of the gang members, like James Grace, are unemployed ex-cons, some have strong ties to law enforcement. Alleged gang members identified by the investigation include a Cook County sheriff's deputy, an Elmwood Park auxiliary police officer, a Michigan corrections officer and the son of a former suburban police chief, according to law enforcement sources. None of the law enforcement officers associated with the gang have been charged in the case. Much of the gang's gun supply came from Wisconsin. At Springhorn's rural home, agents discovered a cache of guns that included assault rifles. Investigators found that Springhorn and Rand, who is prohibited from possessing firearms because he is a convicted felon, regularly bought weapons at gun shows in Wisconsin

 

 

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coastal war between Norteños and Sureños

 

on Aug. 14, when a group of teenage Norteño gang members pulled out a gun and shot two rival Sureños on a quiet residential street in broad daylight. Fear prompted Luis' mother, Teresa Mendez, to bring him and his sister Noela to a community meeting Tuesday night, which was organized by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office in the wake of the shooting. "I want to know how to prevent situations like this," said Mendez, who believes there are gang members on her son's youth soccer team. Luis has told her he knows kids in his class who have already become Norteños and Sureños like their older brothers or cousins. But she didn't know her son had been offered drugs until a reporter asked him about it. It was at the Pillar Ridge mobile home community, a known gang hotspot, Luis said. "They were, like, 15 or 16," he said. "They told me they had some extra if I wanted it." More than 300 Coastsiders packed into a meeting room Tuesday for a series of Advertisement presentations that amounted to a master class on gang warfare. Locals were shocked to learn that Half Moon Bay is immersed in an all-out coastal battle between Norteños and Sureños, who have been threatening each other for months with coded graffiti in plain sight. One recent tagger painted the number "187," a reference to the California Penal Code section on murder. Retaliation is now a major concern and the Sheriff's Office has beefed up patrols. "It's a war that's going to be going on for some time, but it's a war that's worth fighting," Sheriff Greg Munks said. Officers have arrested four suspects: 21-year-old Christian Serrano DeLeon, who police believe is the gunman; Mason Paul Wessel, 19; Marco Antonio Barajas, 18; and a 17-year-old resident of Moss Beach. But even arresting every gang member in town won't make the problem disappear, officials acknowledge. They need the community's help to address the deeper crisis that's taken root when young people grow up together, go to the same schools, and end up joining rival gangs. Older gang members reach out to younger kids in middle school and offer them acceptance and a seductive feeling of power and belonging in the most vulnerable period in their young lives, according to sheriff's Deputy Mike Smyser. "They don't have much money. You can take a kid into town and buy him a cheeseburger, and you've got a friend," Smyser said. Meanwhile, their parents (mostly first-generation farmworkers) are often too distracted catch the warning signs before it's too late. They work long hours and don't notice changes in their children, Mendez said. "Latinos, we have to work a lot, but we don't really pay attention to the kids. We leave them around too much," she said. Smyser has spent 10 years tracking gang activity and juvenile crime as a school resource officer on the San Mateo County coast. He said the shooting was a major wake-up call. "I've seen fights with fists and fights with sticks. But I've never seen fights with guns," he said. Smyser has counted about 50 Norteños and 40 Sureños on the coast, two rival Mexican-American gangs that originated in the California prison system. They go by local names like Media Luna Norteños, Coastside Locos, and neighborhood-specific gangs like Moonridge Outlaws. Those numbers are modest as compared with gang sets in East Palo Alto or Redwood City, according to the Sheriff's Office, which estimates 2,000 confirmed gang members in San Mateo County affiliated with more than 50 gangs. In a small town like Half Moon Bay, it's not a mystery who's in a gang or where they congregate, said Smyser. A quick search on YouTube for one local gang turns up a video filled with youthful Norteños flashing gang signs, drinking beer and showing off their Half Moon Bay gang tattoos. By the time they reach high school, kids are already sporting gang colors: red for Norteños, blue for Sureños. Drug dealers wear purple. Half Moon Bay High School counselor Kira Gangsei said she's worked with many gang members to turn their lives around -- but it's not easy. "They don't care about school as much. Getting involved with drugs, selling drugs -- once that happens, it's harder to get them back on track," she said. The high school uses a number of classes, workshops and nonprofit programs to teach students about the dangers of gang life, drinking and unhealthy relationships. Many are led by former gang members. Now it's the community's turn. The shooting has already prompted neighborhoods to come together and form Community Watch groups, and locals have volunteered to paint over graffiti and mentor youth with the Sheriff's Activities League. "I'm not going anywhere. If it has to be me standing my ground, then yes, I'll embrace it," said Brett Bowers, a father of two who lives in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred.

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County Antrim man arrested over Ibiza drugs haul

 

One man believed to be from Northern Ireland and two from the Irish Republic were among 13 people arrested as part of a major drugs haul in Ibiza. A total of 4,000g of cocaine was seized along with 3,600 ecstasy pills and 5,000g of crystal meth after eight properties were searched. Also recovered were 69,000 euros, along with some cannabis and anabolic steroids. It is understood the man from Northern Ireland is 30 and from County Antrim. The latest drugs haul is part of a wider operation by the Guardia Civil which has seen 73 people arrested and 30 properties searched. 'Large demand' The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said the majority of the pills which have been seized are known as Pink Rock Star and are similar to those believed to have poisoned eight people in Ibiza in July. It said those detained are "members of one of the most active gangs on Ibiza which is the main supplier of cocaine and other designer drugs". A Soca spokesman said enquiries were carried out on the basis of intelligence obtained by the Guardia Civil after other gangs involved in drug trafficking on the island were dismantled. It said the "majority of these gangs were British and took advantage of the influx of young people during the summer". It added that enquiries found that the gang, which is now dismantled, only travelled to Ibiza in summer to "meet the large demand for drugs on the island during this period". Nine of the other men arrested were British nationals. One of the men was a Polish national.

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Four drug dealers and a money launderer have been jailed for a total of 16 years and three months.

 

Four drug dealers and a money launderer have been jailed for a total of 16 years and three months. The men were arrested and put before the courts as part of Operation Parrot, a large-scale investigation carried out by Lancashire Constabulary's Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU.) Appearing before Liverpool Crown Court, Mikki Wills, 22, of Belvedere Gardens, Stockport, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was jailed for four years. Jamie Halsall, 28, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession with intent to supply heroin and was jailed for six years. Darren Simmonite, 49, of Sackville Road, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and was jailed for three years. Terrence Harrison, 54, of Sandstone Road, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and was jailed for two years and three months. David Place, 41, of Tulketh Road, Ashton, pleaded guilty to money laundering and was jailed for one year. DI Simon Brooksbank, of SOCU, said: "This was a large scale organised crime gang who were based in Preston but who were also operating throughout Lancashire, Manchester and areas of Yorkshire. "They were a sophisticated group who attempted to frustrate police investigations with their advanced use of telephony systems, while laundering their money in a bid to hide the profits. This ultimately proved unsuccessful and they are now behind bars. "I am pleased with these sentences, which will go towards restricting the supply of drugs onto the streets of Preston." Operation Parrot was aimed at smashing a drugs ring which had been operating across Preston, with a supply chain that reached out into Stockport, Sheffield and West Yorkshire. The covert policing operation was carried out between 2009 - 2010, culminating in a series of raids being executed in November which resulted in the arrest of seven people. During the course of the investigation, officers seized significant amounts of cannabis, cocaine and heroin, with a total street value of over £350,000, along with substantial amounts of cash.

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Bail for leader of Hells Angels' Ventura chapter

 

longtime leader of the Hells Angels' Ventura County chapter charged in connection with the firebombing of two tattoo parlors has been granted bail. The Ventura County Star ( http://bit.ly/pPC00U) says a judge Friday ordered 64-year-old George Christie Jr. detained at home with an electronic monitoring bracelet. It was unclear early Saturday whether Christie had posted the $200,000 bail. Christie was arrested three weeks ago after being named in a six-count indictment that charges him and four others with conspiracy, extortion and arson. The indictment alleges that Christie, who owns a tattoo shop in Ventura, ordered Hells Angels members to threaten his competitors in an attempt to shut down their businesses. He has pleaded not guilty.

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Bogus pensions adviser jailed over £1.9m transfer fraud

 

bogus financial adviser who fraudulently manipulated his “clients’” pension funds to avoid paying tax of over £1.9m has been jailed at Hull Crown Court for three years. Colin Pearson (pictured), who previously worked for the Food Standards Agency and held a McDonalds franchise, claimed to be a financial adviser and persuaded his "clients" to release over ₤3.4m from their pension funds. Pearson completed UK pension transfer forms on behalf of his clients to falsely claim funds were going abroad to avoid paying tax due on the pension withdrawals, said HMRC. His fraudulent actions netted him commission payments of over £377,000. He provided fake documentation to register two overseas pension schemes before submitting the fake documents to ensure the funds were released without suspicion or delay to bank accounts he controlled. On occasions he even made telephone calls to the UK pension companies posing as the policy holder. On one call he disguised his voice with a Cypriot accent giving the impression he was calling from overseas. To add further legitimacy to the scam, he used articles from the internet to create a PowerPoint presentation to sell the scheme to unsuspecting UK clients, HMRC added. He then took a cut of the funds before passing the balance onto the pensioners. In total, Pearson persuaded over thirty UK pension holders to make unauthorised transfers of £3.4m to avoid paying tax of £1.9m. The value of the funds released was estimated as £3,440,143, of which £2,997,018 was returned to "clients". He also released his own pensions, valued at £74,619.08. In total approximately £377,608 was taken as commission. He used the proceeds of his scam to maintain a lavish lifestyle, driving expensive cars and owning luxury homes both in the UK and Cyprus. Bob Gaiger from HM Revenue & Customs said: "Whilst Pearson was living a life most people could only dream of, he left the individuals he conned out of pocket and without the pension funds they expected. "HMRC will not tolerate this type of blatant fraud and will investigate and prosecute those found to be involved in stealing from the public purse. If you have any information about tax fraud please contact our 24 hour hotline on 0800 50 5000". On sentencing Pearson, His Honour Judge Richardson QC, said: "You are branded a criminal, your life is utterly destroyed, and you are totally dishonest in your deceitful actions."

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SFO probes banks over asset-backed security sales

 

The Serious Fraud Office is conducting an examination into banks and their offering of asset backed securities, as part of a ‘scoping exercise’ to see if products have been misrepresented to UK clients. The watchdog said it is consulting with relevant ‘people in the city’ as part of its broad-sweeping investigation into any potentially fraudulent sales of asset backed securities. A spokesperson for the SFO said: ‘We are conducting a scoping exercise into UK banks about all asset backed securities.’ Although the watchdog said this examination has been going on for ‘some time’, it would not clarify whether it was targeting any particular types of asset backed securities. After 2008, asset backed products such as collateralised debt obligations and mortgage backed securities came under fire for arguably sparking the financial crisis. As part of the exercise, the SFO is making inquiries into Goldman Sachs, including the ‘Timberwolf’ deal, a mortgage security underwritten by the bank in 2007, which has been scrutinised by lawyers in the US, according to the Financial Times. Earlier in the year, the SFO said it was looking into exchange-traded funds, as a 'potential threat' to market stability and as a form of asset-backed security which could follow the path of CDOs.

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Dutch police leads the convoy as members of the Dutch divisions of motorcycle clubs Hells Angels and Satudarah gather to demonstrate in Amsterdam

Dutch police leads the convoy as members of the Dutch divisions of motorcycle clubs Hells Angels and Satudarah gather to demonstrate in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 04 September 2011.

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Source: EPA/BGNES

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Taiwan busts massive drug smuggling ring

 

TAIWAN police say they've busted a drug smuggling ring responsible for transporting $66.06 million worth of narcotics to Australia, New Zealand and Japan. A total of nine suspects have been arrested, including the suspected leader of the ring, 40-year-old Fan Chu-lin, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said on Monday. "This is definitely one of the largest smuggling rings to be uncovered in many years," bureau official Yang Ming-chang said. Over a 10-year period, the group allegedly smuggled hundreds of kilograms of ecstasy and amphetamines from Hong Kong and China to Japan, New Zealand and Australia. It also smuggled large amounts of marijuana from Thailand and Holland into Taiwan. According to preliminary estimates, the drugs smuggled by the group over the 10-year period totalled at least $65.5 million, Yang said. If convicted, Fan could face a minimum 20 years in jail under Taiwanese law.

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Book Review: The Brotherhoods: Inside The Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs by Arthur Veno

 

Believe it or not, those mean, bad-ass outlaw motorcyclists that scare the piss out of middle America are referred to as “bikies” in Australia. I think if you went up to a member of the Hell's Angels in the U.S. and called him a "bikie" you would get your ass whipped pronto. But that is about the only difference between the biker gang member down under from any of his brothers around the world. Professor Arthur Veno has been studying the outlaw bikie phenomenon since 1981, and has been granted remarkable access by the Aussie clubs over the years. His new book The Brotherhoods: Inside The Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs is the result of his research, and provides a fascinating insight into their world. The obvious comparison would be to Hunter S. Thompson’s 1966 Hell’s Angels: A Strange And Terrible Saga. But they are two fundamentally different books. Where Thompson got inside the club out and rode with the Angels, Veno takes a different approach. Although it is obvious that he has gotten to know some members well enough to be trusted with certain things, he is always an outsider. The Brotherhoods certainly does not shy away from the subjects that make the outlaw bike culture so dangerously intriguing. With chapters such as “Bombs And Bastardry,” “On The Nose: Clubs And Drugs,” and “Chicks And Ol’ Ladies,” there are plenty of examples of outrageous behavior. The book has a definite voyeur appeal. While most of us do not wish to live the life, it is fascinating to view from a distance. The look of The Brotherhoods is particularly appealing, for it is filled with pictures. It is so beautifully put together, with a faux leather cover, and tons of photos as to make a great coffee-table book. The tea and crumpets crowd would probably salivate over it too. Ever since The Wild One film, and the emergence of the Hell's Angels, the outlaw bike culture has seemed to be a strictly American affair. The Brotherhoods shows us that the lifestyle has permeated every corner of the globe. It is a captivating study with some amazing photographs, and definitely worth a look.

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Rebels bikers spend night at motor camp

 

Members of the Australian outlaw biker gang the Rebels rode into Taranaki at the weekend. Police say up to 12 bikers, believed to be patched members of the Rebels, arrived in Stratford on Friday, stayed overnight at a motor camp and left the next morning. Members of the public contacted the Taranaki Daily News, believing the police had stopped the gang on New Plymouth's Coronation Ave about 1pm. But that was a different group of bikers of mainly locals, police said. The force was on alert after three Taranaki-based patched Rebels members were arrested last week in a police drug operation. Detective Sergeant Charlie Kawana, of New Plymouth CIB, said police were aware of the group that arrived in Stratford.

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NSW businesses warned of travelling conmen

 

Residents and businesses in NSW are being urged to be on the lookout for travelling conmen and itinerant domestic gangs. A nationwide crackdown aims to have scammers who visit Australia seasonally removed from the country and barred from re-entering, as well as local gangs that travel around conning people. NSW Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts on Monday warned of conmen specialising in scams such as bitumen laying, roof painting and back-of-truck dealings on electronics. "We want to catch these crooks, hold them accountable for their crimes and keep the market fair and free of rip-offs," he said in a statement. "What we are dealing with is organised, criminal activity that creates market distortions as legitimate businesses face unfair competition." The conmen structure their operations so consumers are often unable to get remedies in courts, consumer tribunals or through dispute resolution. They are the focus of a new nationwide strategy finalised at the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs in Canberra earlier this year. "All Australian consumer protection jurisdictions are working together under the new Australian Consumer Law with concerted, nationally coordinated operations using new prosecution powers and remedies," Mr Roberts said.

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Gangs Squad investigates shootings

 

Gang-squad detectives are investigating the drive-by shooting of a family home in Blacktown four weeks ago. Investigators refused to comment on the case but have said all lines of inquiry are open. That includes whether the drive-by shooting was related to other shootings at homes linked to gang-members around western Sydney in the past few weeks. Police believe the shooting at Indigo Way at Blacktown on the night of August 9 was a case of mistaken identity. The Department of Housing property was formerly occupied by a family linked to the gang Notorious but had a family of six Afghan refugees living in it at the time of the shooting. No one was harmed despite three bullets penetrating the interior walls of house.

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Gangs Store Away Guns Ready For Further Disorder, Stash Of Weapons For Riots

 

Sky News can reveal how rioting gang members have stored away firearms ready for further disorder after the unrest in England last month. Our exclusive investigation allowed Metropolitan Police detectives to seize a stash of five guns. The weapons were bundled up in a bin store in Brockley, southeast London. Sky sources said they were concealed by gangs in anticipation of further clashes with officers. The information came to us from an anonymous individual who felt they could not deal directly with the police. :: Join Tom Parmenter for a Webchat at 12pm But the person did have genuine concerns about what might happen if the gangs were given another opportunity to use the weapons. Once we were told of the existence of this haul, we alerted detectives at the Metropolitan Police. Their priority, and our own, was to recover the firearms as quickly as possible in case they were either moved or even used in a shooting. SHELDON THOMAS, DIRECTOR OF TARGET AGAINST GANGS The location of the stash was revealed in a text sent to Sky on September 2. We do not know who sent it. It read: "Guns in yellow and orange jd bag at st peters court wickham road brockley london se4, open the bin area at entrance, on left hand side, this is a black metal door, you will find in bin the guns within the bag, describe, the bin area has st peters court written above in big writing on sign, remember left hand side bin, st peters court are a small block of flats." Within moments of the text messages arriving, we got back in touch with the Met Police detectives, who had a team of officers on standby to conduct the search. Communication with the police can take many forms and on this occasion Sky News happened to be the facilitator for the information to reach us. Detective Chief Inspector Theresa Breen, Met Police Within an hour and a half, more than 30 officers were swarming around the flats in Brockley. They had soon dragged the bin from behind the black door specified in the message. Moments later an officer found the orange and yellow bag. Forensics officers were then brought in to record the find. Armed police officers were the next to arrive. They had the experience and expertise to examine the guns and make them safe. Police discovered the guns in a bin The guns were wrapped in three plastic bags. The green inner bag contained five weapons which were carefully removed. Among them were two flare guns, two old pistols and one revolver. Detective Chief Inspector Theresa Breen told Sky News: "This is a hugely successful operation not just for the Metropolitan Police but for the community at large. "A member of the community has felt confident enough to use Sky News to come to us with information that there were weapons somewhere within this area. "I think that shows the community still has confidence in the police."

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Arson Fire Kills 52 in a Casino in Mexico

Armed men burst into a casino in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey on Thursday and set a fire that killed at least 52 people and injured several others, the authorities said.


The attack, shortly after 3 p.m. at the Casino Royale, was the worst massacre, according to tallies by Mexican news organizations, since a crackdown on drug gangs by the authorities and infighting among the gangs exploded more than five years ago.

Monterrey, once a peaceful business and industrial hub in Nuevo Leon State, has been hit hard by the violence as at least two major criminal organizations battle for control. Bodies are regularly found hanging from overpasses, several people have been killed in bars and the American consulate there has moved the younger children of its workers from the city.

Casinos, growing in number across the country, have also emerged lately as targets of extortion, violence and money laundering.

President Felipe Calderón, who began a major offensive against organized crime in 2006, lamented on his Twitter account “this perverse act of terror and barbarity” and said it showed the need to persevere in the fight against crime.

Nuevo Leon’s governor, Rodrigo Medina, said in a telephone interview broadcast on television by Milenio that it appears six men arrived at the casino in two vehicles, spread a flammable liquid and lighted it. El Norte, a local newspaper, quoted witnesses as saying that at least a dozen men entered and ordered everyone to get out, setting off a stampede for the few exits that was accompanied by explosions, smoke and flames.

Many victims appeared to be women and the elderly, who often bet there.

Mr. Medina said no motive had been determined, and he would not comment on reports that the casino may have refused to pay protection money to a gang.

 

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Rioters push inmate total to record high

The prison population reached a record high today as officials said they were developing contingency plans to manage the unprecedented situation caused by hundreds of people being jailed over the riots.

Tough sentencing of those involved in the violence and looting by the courts saw the number of people behind bars in England and Wales rise by more than 100 a day over the past week.


But as some of the first appeals were heard, one woman who was jailed for five months after admitting that she accepted a pair of looted shorts from her housemate walked free from prison.

Mother-of-two Ursula Nevin, 24, who was sent down by a district judge at Manchester Magistrates' Court last week after she pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, had her sentence reduced on appeal.

The Recorder of Manchester, Judge Andrew Gilbart QC, said the original decision was "wrong in principle" as he ordered that she should instead perform 75 hours of unpaid work for the community.

Nevin was in bed at the time of the widespread disorder in Manchester city centre where her lodger, Gemma Corbett, helped herself to clothing and footwear from the Vans store and then took them back to the house they shared in Stretford, Greater Manchester.

The Prison Service insisted it had enough space to cope with anyone jailed over the disorder, adding that it was developing its contingency plans to manage the "unprecedented situation".

This could involve bringing on new accommodation early, using extra places in the public and private estate, or reopening mothballed accommodation.

But there are currently no plans to halt the closure of Latchmere House prison in Richmond, Surrey, or Brockhill prison in Redditch, Worcestershire, which are set to shut next month.

And plans which would trigger police cells being used to accommodate prisoners have not yet been activated.

Immigration Minister Damian Green also said the Government wanted to deport any foreigners convicted over the riots, adding that it also had the power to cancel their visas.

The total number of prisoners in England and Wales hit 86,654 today, 723 more than last week's record high of 85,931 and less than 1,500 short of the usable operational capacity of 88,093, the Ministry of Justice figures showed.

A tough approach by the courts has seen two-thirds of those charged remanded in custody, compared with just one in 10 of those charged with serious offences last year.

Eoin McLennan-Murray, president of the Prison Governors' Association, said: "What is worrying is if the landscape of sentencing has changed.

"If the courts continue to be heavy-handed with other offences and use custody more readily than they have done previously then that would be problematic longer term."

Campaigners and lawyers have criticised the tougher sentences handed to those involved in rioting and looting last week as disproportionate and have urged the courts not to be swayed by "angry Britain".

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith also warned that Britain cannot simply arrest its way out of the problems which caused the riots that rocked the country.

The country must instead "address why young people join gangs, try to prevent them getting involved in the first place and help those who want to exit gang life", he said.

His comments, in an article in The Guardian newspaper, came as the Government appeared split over its response to the riots, with some Liberal Democrats criticising Tory support for lengthy sentences and suggestions that rioters should be deprived of benefits and evicted from their homes.

Geoff Dobson, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, said the rapid increase in prison numbers meant parts of some jails were becoming "human warehouses" which will provide "a fast track to a criminal career" for first-time offenders.

Shadow prisons minister Helen Goodman said the Government has a "responsibility to ensure that the sentences handed down are being served safely".

The record came as an analysis showed that convicted rioters were being handed prison sentences which are on average 25% longer than normal.

Some 70% of defendants in 1,000 riot-related cases have been remanded in custody to await Crown Court trial, and 56 of 80 defendants already sentenced by magistrates have been handed immediate prison sentences.

Half of those jailed were charged with handling stolen goods or theft, receiving an average of 5.1 months, the study by The Guardian found. This is 25% longer than an average custodial sentence of 4.1 months for such crimes during 2010.

The outcry over sentencing began after Jordan Blackshaw, 20, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, were jailed for each setting up Facebook pages which encouraged people to riot. Even though no disorder occurred they were given four years each. Blackshaw plans to appeal against his punishment handed out by a judge at Chester Crown Court.

The Court of Appeal has not received any appeals so far about sentences handed out by the Crown Courts, a spokeswoman for the Judicial Office said.

"Anyone who wishes to appeal has 28 days from the passing of the sentence within which to do it. As and when appeals are received, the court is in a position to hear them promptly," she said.

Yesterday, Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions in England and Wales, warned that judges must remain dispassionate and called on the Sentencing Council to issue new guidelines for the courts as soon as possible.

 

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Ursula Nevin slept through riots in Manchester but was jailed after accepting a pair of shorts looted by a friend

A woman who spent a week in prison separated from her two young children after she handled a pair of shorts looted from Manchester city centre during the riots by her lodger has been freed on appeal. Ursula Nevin, 24, of Stretford, Greater Manchester, slept through the riots, but was jailed for five months after admitting handling stolen goods looted by her lodger.

The day after the riot Nevin had tried on and decided to keep a pair of shorts her housemate Gemma Corbett, 24, looted from the Vans store in the Northern Quarter of the city.

Judge Andrew Gilbart QC sitting at Manchester crown court said the sentence had been "wrong in principle" because she had not been at the scene of the disturbances. A Facebook campaign had been set up to free her. The hearing was thought to be one of the first appeals to be heard on a sentence given at a magistrates' court involving the disturbances across England last week.

Nevin – who has two children aged one and five – was ordered to do 75 hours unpaid work instead. The judge said she must have felt she had been "trapped in a circle of hell".

Opening the case, Michael Morley said Nevin – who has no previous convictions – had the "misfortune" to have Gemma Corbett as a lodger.

The following day, police were tipped off that Corbett had been boasting about the haul and arrested her at the call centre where she worked in Sale. Corbett confessed to burglary and Nevin later admitted handling a pair of shorts taken in the raid.

Last week, she was jailed at Manchester magistrates court by a district judge, who told her she was supposed to be a role model for her children. But the sentence was criticised by civil rights campaigners who expressed general unease about the severity of some of the sentences being handed out.

Richard Vardon, representing Nevin at the appeal hearing, said the doting mother had been put in a terrible position by her housemate – and had been devastated to find herself separated from her children and in jail.

"She is absolutely disgusted by those who wreaked havoc on this city. She is both ashamed and humiliated by appearing before a crown court", he said.

"Hers has been a very public shame and a very public humiliation indeed. She was offered a pair of shorts which she quite foolishly and dishonestly decided to keep for herself. She's paid an extremely high price for her limited criminality."

Judge Gilbart said: "Ursula Nevin did not go into Manchester city centre – we regard it as wrong in principle that she was made the subject of a custodial sentence." Outside court, her supporters said: "She's happy, she does wants to get back to her kids and her family.

The judge, who is the recorder of Manchester, said he had indicated in previous sentencing remarks on looters that a distinction could be made for people receiving stolen goods who had not been physically present during the disorder throughout Manchester city centre and Salford shopping precinct last Tuesday.

He told her to leave the court and go and look after her children, as her relatives wept in the public gallery. Following her sentence last week, Greater Manchester Police were forced to apologise after someone gleefully tweeted the news of her five-month jail sentence.

Paul Mendelle QC, a former chair of the Criminal Bar Association, welcomed the Manchester court's decision to reduce Nevin's sentence to a non-custodial punishment. "Seventy-five hours of community work is still fairly stiff," he said. "She would normally have received a fine.

"It proves what a number of people have been saying that as time lends a certain amount of distance, the courts begin to see that some below have been over-reacting."

Successive appeal court judgments have established that those actually participating in widespread public disorder would normally expect a prison term, he added. "As recently as 2010, there was a court of appeal authority that said if you take part in this sort of behaviour [widespread public disorder] you must expect a prison term – even if you plead guilty.

"But even well educated young people don't pay a great deal of attention to sentencing authorities when they are making a nuisance of themselves. Charlie Gilmour [the Cambridge student who swung from the Cenotaph during student protests] received 16 months."

Senior lawyers have also expressed concern about the high proportion of suspects who have been remanded in custody following the riots, pointing out that bail conditions should not be used as a means of punishment or deterrence.

The Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, said justice "must be administered effectively and fairly and with calm heads". "We must avoid unnecessary cost to the public purse that could arise from dealing with wrongful convictions or sentences that go on to be challenged," a spokesman said. The Citizens' Advice Bureau had also expressed misgivings earlier this week about excessively harsh sentences.

In another case, a man in Manchester was jailed for 16 months after stealing a doughnut during the riots. Thomas Downey, 48, was released from HMP Manchester on 9 August shortly before getting caught up in the riots. He attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting before downing a bottle of sherry and stumbling into a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop and stealing doughnuts. He admitted burglary and breach of an Asbo by entering part of the city centre from which he is prohibited.

Two young men who attempted to organise disturbances in their home towns on Facebook pages were this week jailed for four years each. Jordan Blackshaw, 20 and Perry Sutcliffe, 22, were jailed at Chester crown court after they organised events to which no one but the police turned up.

 

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Police officer arrested over leaks

A police officer has been arrested in relation to leaks during the Scotland Yard phone-hacking investigation.

The 51-year-old detective constable was arrested at work on Thursday and has been released on bail until 29 September. He has also been suspended.

A 35-year-old has also been arrested by appointment as part of the hacking investigation, Operation Weeting.

The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers said the officer's arrest was "hugely disappointing".

She said: "I made it very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security. It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to.

"The MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) takes the unauthorised disclosure of information extremely seriously and has acted swiftly in making these arrests."

 

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Police shaken over Jersey stabbing murders

Three of the six people murdered on the Channel Island of Jersey on Sunday were children according to police.
Two women and a man were also discovered dead after police had been called to a disturbance at a flat in the island's capital St Helier at around 3pm.
“When you're dealing with multiple deaths of men and women and in particularly young children, you'd be inhuman not to be shaken yourself. So yeah, it has shaken the force,” said Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull, leading the inquiry for States of Jersey Police.
A 30 year-old man is in police custody at the Jersey Hospital on the island recovering from surgery.

 

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When rioters went on the rampage over the past week, the chain that suffered some of the worst damage was JD Sports.

Peter Cowgill, chairman of the successful clothing retailer, said as many as 30 of its stores were targeted and the clean-up and replacing lost stock will cost in excess of £10m. He said he was "depressed" by how quickly things had spiralled out of control. "Ultimately you have to have faith in the law and this resolving itself," he told Retail Week.

The riots affected a broad range of businesses, from Debenhams to Boots, Carphone Warehouse and Argos, which said 18 stores had been looted. A report this week said at least 10% of retail and leisure businesses had been either directly or indirectly hit by the riots.

But JD Sports became the enduring image of the devastation. Robin Knight, a retail expert at restructuring firm Zolfo Cooper, said it was targeted because it is seen to "embody youth culture".

He said: "It has clearly positioned itself as a purveyor of very aspirational product amongst the UK's youth. Currys and Comet got raided because they sell high-value products but JD was very clearly in their minds as [the place] where they'd get the stuff they aspired to. JD has almost been a victim of its own success. It has worked hard to appeal to the youth market and when the country tipped into lawlessness, it still appealed to that market."

Branding experts are warning that the riots are a wake-up call for the fashion brands that JD Sports stocks. They have cultivated a "gangster chic" image and found themselves targeted by looters across the country. Mark Borkowski, a PR and branding expert, said that image was now coming back to haunt them.

"The riots are an absolute disaster for a number of brands. From the day the Daily Mail and the Guardian used that picture of the hoodie equipped completely in Adidas it has become a massive crisis.

"It has been a wake-up call for many brands which have spent millions developing 'gangster chic' and 'dangerwear' images." A rioter dressed head-to-toe in Adidas was pictured on the front pages of most of the country's national newspapers on Tuesday. One of the youngest offenders appeared at court this week in a full Adidas tracksuit. The brand, which is one of the major sponsors of the 2012 Olympics, took the step of condemning its customers for taking part in the riots. "Adidas condemns any antisocial or illegal activity," the company said. "Our brand has a proud sporting heritage and such behaviour goes against everything we stand for."

Borkowski said brands have been aligning themselves with gang and criminal culture for decades but ramped up their association with less clean-cut figures in recent years.

Adidas will next week launch an advertising campaign featuring rapper, gang member and convicted criminal Snoop Dogg. The Adidas Originals advert also stars fellow US rapper Big Sean, who was charged with sexual assault last week.

Earlier this week Levi's withdrew an advertising campaign that featured a young man squaring up to a line of riot police after a public outcry that it glorified riots. The 60-second film ended with the words "Go Forth".

Mark Ritson, a columnist for Marketing Week magazine, said brands which have been featured on newspaper front pages and TV news, have gone into "lockdown" to consider how to respond to the crisis. He said Adidas and Nike, which began as sportswear brands but have branched out into so-called streetwear and urbanwear, could lose hundreds of millions of pounds if their middle-class customers turn their backs on the brands.

"Adidas and Nike have got a very, very strong crisis management team and will have called in PR experts and marketeers to advise them on how best to respond," Ritson said.

Smaller brands that have had negative associations in the media include Criminal, Gio Goi, Fred Perry, Dr Martens, Burberry and Ben Sherman.

Borkowski said that while big sporting brands such as Adidas and Nike will be "terrified" about the risk of a public backlash against their association with the riots and looting, other niche brands and advertisers could be "excited" about the possibility of exploiting the riots to promote themselves.

"There will be creative [advertisers] who are showing a flicker of excitement about this," he said. "Yob culture is cool, brands know this and exploit it.

"The riots on the streets have triggered unprecedented middle-class opprobrium, but in a sense this adds to the uncomfortable coolness of the brands."

Ritson agrees that the most-stolen brands will receive "extra street cred" from their association with the riots and looting.

"Some brands may acquire extra street cred because they were part of it [the unrest]," he said. "It's remarkable, but for brands that are targeted at the young, pissing off a lot of older people will actual increase the brands' appeal to the young."

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Speculations circle as to why the London riots have become so big, but the answer is quite obvious.

I'm huddled in the front room with some shell-shocked friends, watching my city burn. The BBC is interchanging footage of blazing cars and running street battles in Hackney, of police horses lining up in Lewisham, of roiling infernos that were once shops and houses in Croydon and in Peckham. Last night, Enfield, Walthamstow, Brixton and Wood Green were looted; there have been hundreds of arrests and dozens of serious injuries, and it will be a miracle if nobody dies tonight.

This is the third consecutive night of rioting in London, and the disorder has now spread to Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Birmingham. Politicians and police officers who only hours ago were making stony-faced statements about criminality are now simply begging the young people of Britain's inner cities to go home.

Britain is a tinderbox, and on Friday, somebody lit a match. How the hell did this happen? And what are we going to do now?

Obvious denouncement

In the scramble to comprehend the riots, every single commentator has opened with a ritual condemnation of the violence, as if it were in any doubt that arson, muggings and lootings are ugly occurrences. That much should be obvious to anyone who is watching Croydon burn down on the BBC right now. David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, called the disorder "mindless, mindless". Nick Clegg denounced it as "needless, opportunistic theft and violence". Speaking from his Tuscan holiday villa, Prime Minister David Cameron - who has finally decided to return home to take charge - declared simply that the social unrest searing through the poorest boroughs in the country was "utterly unacceptable".

The violence on the streets is being dismissed as "pure criminality", as the work of a "violent minority", as "opportunism". This is madly insufficient. It is no way to talk about viral civil unrest. Angry young people with nothing to do and little to lose are turning on their own communities, and they cannot be stopped, and they know it. Tonight, in one of the greatest cities in the world, society is ripping itself apart. 

Violence is rarely mindless. The politics of a burning building, a smashed-in shop or a young man shot by police may be obscured even to those who lit the rags or fired the gun, but the politics are there. Unquestionably there is far, far more to these riots than the death of Mark Duggan, whose shooting sparked off the unrest on Saturday when two police cars were set alight after a five-hour vigil at Tottenham police station.

A peaceful protest over the death of a man at police hands, in a community where locals have been given every reason to mistrust the forces of law and order, is one sort of political statement. Raiding shops for technology and trainers that cost ten times as much as the benefits you're no longer entitled to is another. A co-ordinated, viral wave of civil unrest across the poorest boroughs of Britain, with young people coming from across the capital and the country to battle the police, is another.

Speculation

Months of conjecture will follow these riots. Already, the internet is teeming with racist vitriol and wild speculation. The truth is that very few people know why this is happening. They don't know, because they were not watching these communities. Nobody has been watching Tottenham since the television cameras drifted away after the Broadwater Farm riots of 1985.

Most of the people who will be writing, speaking and pontificating about the disorder this weekend have absolutely no idea what it is like to grow up in a community where there are no jobs, no space to live or move, and the police are on the streets stopping-and-searching you as you come home from school. The people who do will be waking up this week in the sure and certain knowledge that after decades of being ignored and marginalised and harassed by the police, after months of not seeing any conceivable hope of a better future confiscated, they are finally on the news.

In one NBC report, a young man in Tottenham was asked if rioting really achieved anything:

"Yes," said the young man. "You wouldn't be talking to me now if we didn't riot, would you?

Two months ago we marched to Scotland Yard, more than 2,000 of us, all blacks, and it was peaceful and calm and you know what? Not a word in the press. Last night, a bit of rioting and looting and look around you."

Eavesdropping from among the onlookers, I looked around. A dozen TV crews and newspaper reporters interviewing the young men everywhere.

There are communities all over the country that nobody paid attention to unless there had recently been a riot or a murdered child. Well, they're paying attention now.

Tonight in London, social order and the rule of law have broken down entirely. The city has been brought to a standstill; it is not safe to go out onto the streets, and where I am in Holloway, the violence is coming closer. As I write, the looting and arson attacks have spread to at least fifty different areas across the UK, including dozens in London, and communities are now turning on each other, with the Guardian reporting on rival gangs forming battle lines. It has become clear to the disenfranchised young people of Britain, who feel that they have no stake in society and nothing to lose, that they can do what they like tonight, and the police are utterly unable to stop them. That is what riots are all about.

Power

Riots are about power, and they are about catharsis. They are not about poor parenting, or youth services being cut, or any of the other snap explanations that media pundits have been trotting out. Structural inequalities, as a friend of mine remarked today, are not solved by a few pool tables.

People riot because it makes them feel powerful, even if only for a night. People riot because they have spent their whole lives being told that they are good for nothing, and they realise that together they can do anything - literally, anything at all. People to whom respect has never been shown riot because they feel they have little reason to show respect themselves, and it spreads like fire on a warm summer night. And now people have lost their homes, and the country is tearing itself apart.

No one expected this. The so-called leaders who have taken three solid days to return from their foreign holidays to a country in flames did not anticipate this. The people running Britain had absolutely no clue how desperate things had become. They thought that after thirty years of soaring inequality, in the middle of a recession, they could take away the last little things that gave people hope, the benefits, the jobs, the possibility of higher education, the support structures, and nothing would happen. They were wrong. And now my city is burning, and it will continue to burn until we stop the blanket condemnations and blind conjecture and try to understand just what has brought viral civil unrest to Britain. Let me give you a hint: it ain't Twitter.

I'm stuck in the house, now, with rioting going on just down the road in Chalk Farm. Ealing and Clapham and Dalston are being trashed. Journalists are being mugged and beaten in the streets, and the riot cops are in retreat where they have appeared at all. Police stations are being set alight all over the country.

This morning, as the smoke begins to clear, those of us who can sleep will wake up to a country in chaos. We will wake up to fear, and to racism, and to condemnation on left and right, none of which will stop this happening again, as the prospect of a second stock market crash teeters terrifyingly at the bottom of the news reports. Now is the time when we make our choices. Now is the time when we decide whether to descend into hate, or to put prejudice aside and work together. Now is the time when we decide what sort of country it is that we want to live in. Follow the #riotcleanup hashtag on Twitter. And take care of one another.

 

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Top cops furious as David Cameron and Theresa May try to claim glory

BRITAIN'S top cops yesterday issued a stinging rebuke to David Cameron for claiming he quelled the riots.
Furious officers - from the head of Scotland Yard to rank and file street cops - lined up to attack the Prime Minister and Home Secretary Theresa May for saying they had ordered the crackdown on the rioters.
There was also anger that Cameron used his Commons statement to accuse the police of being too timid to take action against the thugs and looters.
Acting Metropolitan Chief Tim Godwin pointed out that Cameron and May were still on holiday at the start of the riots.
He said: "I think after any event like this, people will always make comments who weren't there."
Sir Hugh Orde, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, also rounded on ministers and claimed Cameron and May were trying to take the glory for decisions made by senior officers.
Sir Hugh said the politicians had made no difference to the police operation to end the mayhem on Britain's streets.
He said: "The fact politicians chose to come back is an irrelevance in terms of the tactics that were by then developing."
He added: "The more robust policing tactics you saw were not a function of political interference - they were a function of the numbers being available to allow chief constables to change their tactics."
Sir Hugh also said May had "no power" to cancel police leave.
The damaging rift comes as officers are still trying to keep a lid on the riots after English cities were rocked by four nights of violence, looting and disorder.
May said on Thursday she had ordered the "robust approach" and cancelled all leave.
But acting commissioner Godwin played down the role the Home Secretary had played.
He said: "What I can say is that with the unprecedented scenes that we found in London, I have got some of the best commanders in the world ... that showed great restraint and great courage.
"As a result of that we were able to nip this in the bud after a few days.
"I think the issue around the numbers, the issue around the tactics - they are police decisions made by my police commanders and myself."
The police have already clashed with the ministers over plans to cut 16,000 frontline officers over the next four years.
Sir Hugh said fewer officers would make it more difficult to maintain public safety.
He added: "We need to have some very honest conversations with Government about what we stop doing if we are to maintain front line service delivery at current levels."
Police Federation vice chairman Simon Reed said the suggestion police changed their approach after ministers stepped in was "a cheap shot".
He said: "I know Sir Hugh and you call tell when he's upset.
"He is upset, and quite rightly so. I think it is a slight on the rank and file because some of the tone of the words used were that they were 'too timid', implicating they weren't brave enough.
"Rank and file officers will be very upset about those comments, because this was unprecedented levels of violence.
"To say it publicly is denigrating not just chief officers, it's denigrating the brave officers who were working those nights.
"Police officers up and down the country will be very slighted by what this Government has now said."
Reed also lashed out at the cuts, saying the police would struggle to contain future riots if their numbers are reduced.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles fuelled the row by insisting Cameron had led the operation to restore order.
Pickles, who sits on the emergency Cobra committee with Sir Hugh and Godwin, said: "I never had any doubt who was in charge of that meeting and that was the Prime Minister."
But London Mayor Boris Johnson sided with the police.
In clear contrast with Cameron, he said the Metropolitan Police had done a "fantastic job" in protecting the capital.
Johnson also defended the way the police had handled the riots.
He said: "Anybody can have 20/20 hindsight about decisions that could have been taken on Saturday night.
"But let's look at what's happening with the huge amount of arrests that have taken place. People who did this stuff are not getting away with it thanks to the efforts of the Met police force."
Nick Clegg also distanced himself from Cameron and May by saying politicians should not be "armchair generals".
Shadow policing minister Labour's Vernon Coaker said: "It is disgraceful of the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister to try to take the credit for taking tough action when it was the police that determined the right approach.
"The government should not be playing politics with public safety at any time but it is unbelievable that this is happening now.
"Instead of the Prime Minister and Home Secretary spinning the police they should be supporting them.
"We and the public think it is incredible that this government is hell bent even now in cutting over 16,000 police officers when they are needed more than ever."
Labour leader Ed Milliband yesterday stepped up pressure for a public inquiry into the riots.
Cameron has so far rejected calls for a full investigation saying a probe by MPs would be enough.
But Miliband said if the Government refused to hold a "national conversation" about the cause of the disturbances, Labour would organise one.
He said: "We cannot allow situation to develop whereby there is a focus for a few days on these issues and then we go back to business as usual.
"It is our duty as politicians, my duty as Leader of the Opposition, to make that happen."
The Labour leader blamed the riots on a "me first" culture. But he accepted that New Labour must take some responsibility for what happened.
He said: "I think we did good things for the country.
"But I've also said that I think we did better at rebuilding the fabric of our country than the ethic of our country.
"I think that's true and no Government should escape, no Government should evade its share of that responsibility, but nor can you just blame the current Government."

 

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Wandsworth council moves to evict mother of charged boy

Conservative-run Wandsworth council in south London has started eviction proceedings against a woman whose son appeared in court charged in connection with the riots in Clapham Junction.

It is the first local authority to issue an eviction notice on a tenant in the wake of the riots although Westminster, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Nottingham and Salford councils have all said they will consider evicting those found to have taken part in the unrest.

The mother and son cannot be named for legal reasons and a judge will take the final decision about their proposed eviction. David Cameron gave his backing to the move. "I think for too long we have taken too soft an attitude to people who loot and pillage their own community. If you do that you should lose your right to housing at a subsidised rate," he said.

He dismissed the idea that the move might be counterproductive and create deeper poverty for those affected. "Obviously that will mean they will have to be housed somewhere else and they will have to find housing in the private sector and that will be tougher for them. But they should have thought about that before they started burgling," he said. "In some cases, it may help break up the criminal networks in some housing estates if some of these people are thrown out of their houses and I think quite right, too."

Wandsworth council's leader, Ravi Govindia, said that, in signing a tenancy agreement, tenants had agreed not to take part in activities that could jeopardise their housing. The council felt it had the power to terminate the agreement against the tenant, despite the fact that she was not involved in the riots and her son has only been charged, not been convicted.

"The mother can challenge the notice-seeking process," he said. "The tenancy agreement does not just apply to the mother but the entire household."

He said she would be deemed to have made herself deliberately homeless. "Then our obligation would be at an end. She signed the contract in which she and her household would agree the terms of the contract."

Govindia said he hoped the move would dissuade others from taking part in civil unrest. "People in society do know what lines they should not cross, and if you ignore the fact they have crossed the line it only encourages people to cross the line regularly," he said.

Stephen Howlett, chief executive of the Peabody Trust, one of London's largest housing associations, which runs the Pembury estate – next to some of the worst violence in Hackney, north London, on Monday – said he thought courts were likely to find eviction of tenants caught up in the riots disproportionate. "We want the strongest action to be taken against those involved, but our preference is for the criminal justice system to be the focus."

He added that the measures risked simply moving the problem to another area, or pushing tenants further into poverty. "These people have to live somewhere, so if they are evicted you risk just exporting the problem."

He had talked to a mother on the Pembury estate who was was "terrified that she and her younger child would be made homeless as a result of her 17-year-old who she could not keep under control". He added: "This is not simple. We have to be very careful."

 

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