Author: Darren Smith

A 19th-century synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège has been damaged in a suspected explosion in the early hours of Monday morning, with the city’s mayor describing it as a “violent act of antisemitism” as counter-terrorism police launched an investigation. The blast, which occurred at around 4am, caused significant material damage to the synagogue — a building dating back to 1899 that serves as a museum documenting the history of the city’s Jewish community. Windows in buildings across the road were also blown out by the force of the explosion. No injuries have been reported. Authorities have established a…

Samantha Bryan, the biological daughter of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, has said she felt “relieved” and “over the moon” upon learning of her father’s death, declaring he deserves no funeral, no grave and that his ashes should be “flushed down the toilet.” Huntley, 52, died on Saturday after his life support machine was switched off with the agreement of his mother, Lynda Richards, who had been at his bedside. He never regained consciousness following a brutal assault at HMP Frankland in County Durham on 26 February, in which he was allegedly bludgeoned with a three-foot metal bar in a prison…

Britain is facing a potential energy crisis after its natural gas reserves fell to just 1.5 days’ worth of supply, leaving the country more exposed than almost any other nation in Europe as the Middle East conflict disrupts global energy markets. New data published by National Gas shows the UK’s gas stores have collapsed from 18,000 GWh last year to just 6,700 GWh — equivalent to roughly a day and a half of national demand. A similar quantity is held as liquefied natural gas. By contrast, European nations have maintained several weeks’ worth of reserves, leaving Britain in a significantly…

Ian Huntley, convicted of one of the most notorious child murders in British criminal history, has died at the age of 52 after succumbing to injuries sustained during an assault by a fellow prisoner at HMP Frankland in County Durham on 26 February. Huntley had been on life support in hospital following the attack, in which he suffered severe head trauma after being struck with a makeshift weapon by another inmate in a prison workshop. He had never regained consciousness after the assault. Triple killer Anthony Russell, 43, is understood to be suspected of carrying out the attack. Huntley had…

Ian Huntley, the man convicted of murdering Soham schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, is on life support and considered unlikely to survive after being attacked with a spiked metal pole at a Category A prison in County Durham last week. The 52-year-old, who is serving a minimum 40-year sentence for the murders of the ten-year-olds, has not regained consciousness since the assault at HMP Frankland last Thursday. According to The Sun, doctors initially placed his chances of survival at just five per cent. Brain stem tests have since returned poor results, and medical staff are now reported…

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran as part of a long-running counter-terrorism investigation focused on the surveillance of Jewish community sites and individuals in London, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed. The arrests were carried out in the early hours of Friday morning by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London, who swooped on addresses in Barnet, Watford and Harrow as part of a pre-planned operation beginning shortly after 1am. A further six men were arrested at the same Harrow location on suspicion of assisting an offender, bringing the total number detained to ten. All ten remain…

A 17-year-old boy who meticulously planned a mass knife attack modelled on the Southport murders — including conducting reconnaissance in the town and purchasing a green hoodie similar to the one worn by killer Axel Rudakubana — has been handed a three-year youth rehabilitation order after pleading guilty to terror offences. Liverpool Crown Court heard the teenager, who was 16 at the time, had idolised Rudakubana to a disturbing degree, referring to himself as an “Axelcel” and writing notes describing the triple killer as “the black version of me” and “the one person I look up to.” He downloaded the…

A sexual health doctor who used his clinical position to assault patients and covertly film them during medical appointments has been sentenced to six years in prison, after prosecutors established his offending formed part of a sustained pattern of abuse rather than isolated incidents. Dr Timothy Girling, 55, of West Molesey in Surrey, carried out intimate examinations at a medical centre in Bournemouth during which he exploited the trust of patients attending routine appointments. In one case, he conducted a sexual health examination that went significantly beyond what was clinically necessary, touching a patient’s genitals without consent while the victim…

Failed asylum seeker families living in taxpayer-funded accommodation will be offered payments of up to £40,000 to leave the United Kingdom voluntarily, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced, with those who refuse facing forced removal. The scheme, unveiled by Mahmood in a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank on Thursday, offers up to £10,000 per person, capped at four members per family. Families will have seven days to accept the offer before the government moves to remove them compulsorily. The Home Office estimates that if the trial — expected to target around 150 families — proves…

Lewis Hamilton has called for African nations to reclaim control of their land and natural resources from Western countries including Britain, France, Spain and Portugal, while also vowing to remain in Formula 1 until a grand prix is held on the African continent. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion said he had been “fighting in the background” for six or seven years to bring a race to Africa. “I don’t want to leave the sport without having a grand prix there, without getting to race there,” he said. “I’m chasing them — when…