Author: Darren Smith

A Glasgow-based social media personality faces imprisonment following her conviction for attempting to import cannabis valued at up to £151,000 through Edinburgh Airport last month. Ellie Crampsie, 23, who operates beauty enterprise Brows by Ellie, entered a guilty plea at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday to charges of being concerned in the supply of class B drugs after Border Force officers intercepted her luggage on 16 April. The influencer had arrived on an Air France service from Thailand via Paris when officials stopped her for inspection, discovering 17 vacuum-sealed packages containing 17.7kg of cannabis concealed within her bags. Prosecutor Emma…

A Hertfordshire teenager who attempted to smuggle a blank-firing handgun into Britain whilst operating a cannabis production operation and maintaining three converted antique firearms has been imprisoned for more than six years. Henri Nikolli, 19, from Welwyn Garden City, received a sentence of six years and three months at St Albans Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty in January to multiple firearms, ammunition and drug offences. The Organised Crime Partnership—a joint unit operated by the National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police—arrested Nikolli outside a Potters Bar family residence on 10 April last year following an investigation triggered by US…

The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed millions of motorists will receive compensation for mis-sold car finance deals, with the average payout exceeding initial estimates despite fewer agreements qualifying for redress than originally anticipated. Approximately 12.1 million motor finance arrangements will be eligible for compensation under the finalised scheme, with payments commencing this year, the watchdog announced on Sunday. The figure represents a reduction from the 14 million agreements initially expected to qualify. The FCA disclosed that individual payouts will average £829 per agreement—surpassing its preliminary estimate of approximately £700—with firms expected to distribute around £7.5 billion in total redress, down…

A decades-old television interview has emerged showing Donald Trump advocating for American ground forces to invade Iran and seize its petroleum infrastructure nearly 40 years before launching his current military campaign against Tehran. The 1987 footage, filmed when the now-president was 41 years old, captures him urging Washington to “go in and grab one of their big oil installations” whilst discussing Iranian aggression during the Reagan administration. “Why couldn’t we go in and take over some of their oil which is along the sea?” Mr Trump asked the interviewer. “Let them have Iran – you take their oil, that’s what…

A French social media personality has been imprisoned for exploiting widespread public anxiety over needle attacks by filming pranks in which he jabbed strangers with capped syringes before posting their distress online for millions of viewers. The Paris court sentenced Ilan M., who built a following as Amine Mojito on TikTok, to one year’s imprisonment with six months suspended after prosecutors argued his content amplified a climate of fear gripping the nation. The 27-year-old had produced videos showing him approaching unsuspecting members of the public and jabbing them with what appeared to be functioning syringes, despite the needles being capped…

European nations are racing to establish migrant deportation facilities across Africa within months, adopting an approach Britain controversially abandoned two years ago when Labour scrapped the Rwanda asylum scheme. Germany is spearheading efforts alongside the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Greece to create “return hubs” in African countries willing to host asylum seekers who cannot be repatriated to their home nations, following landmark legislation passed by the European Parliament last week. Uganda, Mauritania and Benin have emerged as potential host states for the facilities, according to reports, with officials targeting agreements before the year’s conclusion. The initiative follows approval of the…

A woman who was sexually assaulted at a Travelodge after staff gave her attacker a key to her room has dismissed the hotel chain’s apology as inadequate, accusing executives of moving too slowly on security reforms and making her feel “dismissed.” The survivor, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, criticised Travelodge’s chief executive Jo Boydell for what she described as reactive rather than proactive measures following the December 2022 attack at the chain’s Maidenhead branch in Berkshire. “They’re only doing things as and when they need to rather than actually thinking, ‘Actually no, this is wrong,'” the woman told…

President Donald Trump has delivered an ultimatum to Iran threatening the destruction of the nation’s electrical grid, oil production facilities and water supply infrastructure unless Tehran immediately reopens the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. The American leader claimed on his Truth Social platform that Washington is engaged in “serious discussions” with what he characterised as a “more reasonable regime” to resolve the crisis, whilst warning of devastating consequences should negotiations collapse. “Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not…

A Surrey town centre has been placed under emergency lockdown after a member of the public delivered what authorities believe to be an unexploded Second World War mortar shell to a council building’s reception desk. Surrey Police established a security cordon in Epsom following the discovery at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council offices, with residents living within 100 metres of the site ordered to evacuate their properties as a precautionary measure. Council staff were immediately cleared from the building after the suspected wartime ordnance was left at the front desk by a visitor, triggering an emergency response protocol. The incident…

British Transport Police have issued CCTV images of a man they wish to question following sexual assaults on two women at an East London Underground station during morning rush hour. Investigators are seeking witnesses to the attacks at Wanstead station, which occurred at approximately 6.30am on 11 February, with particular emphasis on tracing a woman believed to have observed the incidents. According to police, the suspect initially directed sexual remarks towards a woman before physically assaulting her at the busy commuter hub. He subsequently sexually assaulted a second woman at the same location. British Transport Police stated: “Officers would like…