Author: Darren Smith

Four men have been sentenced to a combined 22 years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh after carrying out a meticulously organised VAT fraud worth nearly £9 million, the proceeds of which were lavished on gold bullion, diamonds, fast cars and property investments abroad. Leslie Thompson, 63, of Bathgate, West Lothian, was identified as the ringleader of the operation and handed the heaviest sentence of seven years. Graeme Cullen, 54, of Giffnock, Renfrewshire, received six years, Graham Newall, 49, of Edinburgh, was jailed for five and a half years, and Martin Lang, 68, of Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, who pleaded…

Two Israeli soldiers have been jailed for 30 days and stripped of their combat roles following the destruction of a statue of Jesus Christ in a Christian village in southern Lebanon, with the Israeli military now confirming that a further six soldiers were present at the scene and failed to intervene or report the incident. The punishment follows the emergence over the weekend of a photograph showing one of the soldiers apparently wielding a sledgehammer against the religious icon in the village of Debel. One soldier carried out the destruction while a second was penalised for photographing the act rather…

A twelve-year-old boy is to stand trial on charges of sexual assault, wounding and intentional strangulation following an incident in which a woman was discovered seriously injured at a Birmingham address, a court has heard. The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court today having been charged last month. He faces allegations of wounding and sexual assault in connection with an incident at a woman’s home on 18 March this year, as well as a separate charge of intentional strangulation said to relate to a second incident in which a woman was confronted in…

Eight people have been arrested by counter terrorism officers investigating a series of arson attacks and alleged conspiracies targeting the Jewish community in London, with seven of the arrests carried out within the past 48 hours as part of an active proactive investigation. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the seven arrests relate to an alleged conspiracy to commit arson, with officers stating they believe the intended targets are connected to the Jewish community, though the precise nature of the planned attacks has not yet been established. The first arrests came on Sunday evening, when three men aged 24, 25 and…

Frank Chester, recognised by the Royal British Legion as Britain’s oldest surviving Second World War veteran, has died at a nursing home in Worcestershire at the age of 109, just nine days after marking his birthday. Chester, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his wartime service in the Royal Navy, was born in Ludlow, Shropshire, and worked for HM Customs and Excise before the war changed the course of his life. He trained as a Royal Naval Officer and rose to the rank of First Lieutenant on HMS Honeysuckle, serving in some of the most dangerous waters of…

A Nile crocodile caused pandemonium at an award-winning riverside lodge in Zimbabwe after wandering into the building, hauling itself onto a kitchen counter and eventually settling on a lounge sofa as horrified guests scrambled for cover. The incident unfolded on Friday at A’Zambezi River Lodge, with shaky video footage capturing the moment the twelve-foot reptile strolled through the lobby and made its way toward the staff area. Diners fled in all directions as the animal launched its front legs onto a kitchen counter and pulled its body up onto the surface, its tail swaying against the floor as its hind…

FBI Director Kash Patel has launched a $250 million lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine, accusing it of publishing a “malicious and defamatory” article built on fabricated allegations designed to force him from office. Patel, 46, filed the lawsuit on Monday against the publication and staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick, targeting a piece published on 17 April under the headline The FBI Director Is MIA. The article alleged that Patel had “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences,” claiming his alcohol consumption had made him unreachable during critical moments — including, according to anonymous sources cited in the piece,…

A supermarket manager who spent his entire working life at Morrisons says he and his family are struggling to get by four months after being dismissed for physically intervening when a shoplifter became aggressive and began spitting at him. Sean Egan, 46, had worked for the supermarket chain since the age of 17 — almost three decades of unbroken service — before being dismissed following a disciplinary hearing that found he had breached the company’s deter-and-not-detain policy. The incident occurred last December at the Morrisons branch in Aldridge, near Walsall in the West Midlands, when a prolific shoplifter attempted to…

Spain’s administrative infrastructure is buckling under the weight of a mass migrant regularisation programme, with registry offices across the country overwhelmed by surging demand just days after the socialist government approved legal status for up to 500,000 undocumented migrants. Applications opened on Thursday following a cabinet meeting earlier in the week at which Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government formally endorsed the initiative. Within hours, queues had formed outside more than 400 locations nationwide, with migrants waiting as long as five hours in some cities to have their documents officially processed. The situation in Seville has been described as a “collapse”…

Karren Brady has ended her 16-year association with West Ham United, leaving her role as vice-chair at a turbulent moment for the club as supporters continue to voice their discontent with the board’s leadership. Brady, 57, confirmed her departure in a statement in which she reflected warmly on her time at the club, singling out the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League triumph as the defining highlight of her tenure. “Lifting the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy — a moment that will stay with me forever,” she said, adding that she remained grateful for “the relationships, challenges and opportunities” that had…