Author: Darren Smith

Gatwick Airport’s train terminus was closed on Friday afternoon following a joint police operation after passengers reported a man carrying two firearms on a service from Brighton to the London airport. British Transport Police and Sussex Police descended on the scene, with officers swarming the terminal station as the train carrying the armed man approached. The man was detained when the service pulled into the airport station at 1.25pm. The station closure caused disruption to airport passengers and staff attempting to access Gatwick via rail services. The joint response from two police forces reflected the serious nature of the firearms…

American employers added just 181,000 jobs throughout 2025 compared to more than 1.4 million the previous year, raising concerns about economic sustainability despite GDP expansion driven by wealthy consumers and artificial intelligence investment. The sharp hiring slowdown accompanied credit card balances expanding to $1.15 trillion in the fourth quarter, $39 billion more than the previous year, according to credit rating agency TransUnion. The combination of stagnant employment and rising consumer debt suggests lower and middle-income families are borrowing to maintain spending levels. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, warned the jobs situation “just can’t hold,” stating: “If that continues,…

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has filed an appeal at the General Court of the European Union challenging a £105 million penalty imposed under the Digital Services Act, marking the first judicial challenge to a DSA fine since the legislation came into force in 2022. The case, formally titled X vs the European Commission, represents an unprecedented legal challenge that could set important precedents for enforcement, penalty calculations and fundamental rights protections under the 2022 regulation. The fine was handed down on 5 December 2025, with Musk bearing personal liability for the sum. X has enlisted Alliance Defending Freedom…

A three-year-old boy who died in hospital more than two weeks after being admitted with serious injuries has been named as Isiayah Henry from Woolwich, with two people now facing murder charges in connection with his death. Isiayah was admitted to hospital on Saturday 3 January, prompting medical staff to raise concerns with police about the nature of his injuries. Officers launched a safeguarding and criminal investigation following initial enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the child’s admission. Despite medical staff’s best efforts to treat him, Isiayah died on Monday 19 January. The Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command continued enquiries following…

A rapist who lured a woman to a Paddington hotel with false promises of work is feared to have targeted dozens more victims after police discovered he booked rooms at the same location on more than 100 occasions over eight months. Gurwinder Singh, 37, has been convicted of rape, attempted rape, assault by penetration, two counts of sexual assault and one count of common assault following his attack on a woman he deceived with an employment offer on 21 June last year. Metropolitan Police analysis of Singh’s phones revealed WhatsApp conversations with many other women he pretended to help find…

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…