Author: Darren Smith

Religious hate crime in England and Wales reached all-time record levels in 2025, prompting the government to announce £73.4 million in protective security funding for places of worship across Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh and other faith communities for 2026-2027. The 2025 hate crime statistics show Jewish people were proportionately more affected by religious hate crimes, whilst 45 percent of all religious hate crime targeted Muslims. Statistics published by the Community Security Trust last week reveal antisemitic incidents in 2025 were at their second-highest levels since the CST began keeping records. Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated: “We are ensuring record funding…

A Bolton Council employee who systematically stole nearly £900,000 from vulnerable benefits claimants over eight years has been jailed for four years and eight months after spending tens of thousands on payments to women and targeting accounts of deceased service users. Richard Shaw, 46, exploited his position in the council’s financial protection team by transferring clients’ money to nine accounts he had set up in his own name between 2015 and 2023. The fraud emerged in February 2023 when colleagues noticed accounts Shaw managed were unusually low, running out of funds with irregular transactions. CPS specialist prosecutor Stephanie Pendered stated:…

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a Transport for London advert showing a black teenager verbally harassing a young woman on a bus after ruling it perpetuated harmful racial stereotypes, despite the campaign being based on true stories of harassment on the network. The ASA concluded the social media clip reinforced negative associations between black males and threatening behaviour, stating: “Although we understood that TfL had intended to present a range of diversity and scenarios across their campaign, we considered the ad, when seen in isolation, had the effect of perpetuating a negative racial stereotype about black men as perpetrators…

A sex predator who exposed himself to a mother with her children whilst repeatedly stating “I want to rape with a white girl” has been jailed for 10 months after attacking multiple women near West Midlands Police headquarters,according to Birmingham Live Quinton Brown, 52, of Harlech Close, Bartley Green, stumbled around Colmore Row in central Birmingham with his trousers and underwear around his ankles on Saturday 17 February, prompting terrified onlookers to flee into a nearby restaurant. The incident involving the mother and her two children occurred near Lloyd House police headquarters shortly before 8pm. Prosecutor Simon Hunka told Birmingham Crown…

A burglar who stole thousands of pounds worth of jewellery was apprehended hours after his crime when police noticed he was still wearing the same clothing from the raid alongside the stolen watches on his wrist. Kieron Millin, 43, was identified by local officers following the early morning burglary at a store in Market Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield on 12 February. Police observed the distinctive watches adorning his wrist matched items taken during the break-in, with his clothing identical to that captured on CCTV footage. When officers searched Millin, they discovered multiple items of jewellery concealed in his pockets. The 43-year-old initially…

A 15-year-old rape victim’s decision to tell her school about her attacker triggered a same-day arrest that exposed a prolific predator operating under multiple aliases who had been simultaneously grooming and sexually exploiting children across social media. Gurpreet Randhawa, 21, of Wellington Road, Wolverhampton, was jailed for 18 years at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday 12 February after pleading guilty to four counts of rape, two counts of taking indecent images of a child, two counts of sharing indecent images and engaging in sexual communication with a child between July 2024 and September 2025. When the victim informed her school…

Spain’s socialist government faces mounting criticism after official analysis revealed its migrant regularisation scheme could benefit up to 1.3 million illegal residents, more than doubling Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s original estimate of 500,000 beneficiaries. The National Centre for Immigration and Borders produced a 29-page report estimating between 750,000 and one million illegal migrants currently in Spain would apply for legal status under the programme. A further 250,000 to 350,000 asylum seekers could additionally seek residency permits, pushing the total far beyond initial government projections. The scheme, announced in January, offers foreign nationals who can prove they have no criminal record…

A transgender father who posted a chilling online warning about going “berserk” the night before a mass shooting killed two people and left three critically injured after opening fire on family members from the stands at a high school ice hockey tournament in Rhode Island. Robert Dorgan, 56, targeted members of his own family during the attack at a school match in Pawtucket on Monday, with police identifying him as the sole suspect after he was found dead at the scene. Four family members were shot, including a young girl, alongside a family friend before the attack ended. Police Chief…

Basketball legend LeBron James sparked fierce online controversy after expressing a desire to visit Israel and saying he had “heard great things” about the country when asked about Israeli NBA player Deni Avdija ahead of Sunday’s All-Star Game in California. The comments divided social media users, with left-wing commentator and former MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan among the most prominent critics. Hasan, who has frequently condemned Israel over the conflict with Palestine, quoted James’s remarks on X and wrote: “What a disgrace LeBron is.” American academic and author Marc Lamont Hill also responded critically, posting: “LeBron James just said he’s ‘heard…

An employment appeal tribunal has ruled that a Leeds mental health charity unlawfully discriminated against a Christian social worker when it rescinded his job offer after discovering his publicly expressed views on marriage and sexuality, overturning a previous tribunal decision that had sided with the employer. Felix Ngole, 47, had a conditional job offer withdrawn by Touchstone, a mental health and wellbeing charity and NHS provider based in Leeds, after the organisation discovered past statements in which he expressed a traditional view of marriage and sexuality. The appeal tribunal concluded Monday that the original judgment amounted to discrimination against his…