Author: James Carter

DNA evidence discovered inside a stolen getaway vehicle proved crucial in securing a life sentence for a gunman who carried out a drive-by shooting in West London. Nathan Tokosi, 25, of Grove Street, Lewisham, will serve a minimum of 24 years behind bars after being convicted of attempting to murder a 27-year-old man during the attack in Notting Hill. Police officers were called to Clydesdale Road at approximately 02:00hrs on Monday, 20 November 2023, following reports of a shooting. Witnesses described a vehicle pulling alongside another car before a passenger opened fire with a handgun. The severely injured victim was…

Four major Western nations have agreed to urgently convene a meeting of the International Coalition against ISIS following fresh concerns over security at detention facilities in North East Syria. The United Kingdom, United States, France and Germany issued a joint statement on Sunday after senior officials met to discuss the volatile situation in the region. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, French Foreign Minister Jean Noël Barrot, German Deputy Foreign Minister Serap Güler, and US Special Envoy Tom Barrack participated in the discussions. The statement emphasised the critical need to prevent any security vacuum developing around ISIS detention centres, with the…

A judge imposed a reporting restriction preventing the jury and public from learning that a man accused of raping a teenager was an asylum seeker, ruling that disclosure risked prejudicing the administration of justice. Judge Nirmal Shant KC made the order in September last year ahead of the trial of Sheraz Malik, 28, who was subsequently convicted of two counts of rape at Birmingham Crown Court. The restriction meant that Malik’s immigration status could not be reported until after the case concluded. It can now be revealed that he is a Pakistani national who had previously resided in Italy, Germany…

Around 70 firefighters battled for two hours to bring a devastating house fire under control in south London after flames tore through a property in the early hours of this morning. A child was rushed to hospital along with a man and woman after all three were rescued from the burning two-storey end-of-terrace home on Halesowen Road in Morden. The trio were found suffering from smoke inhalation and received treatment at the scene before being transported to hospital by ambulance. London Fire Brigade said crews used a 32-metre turntable ladder as a water tower to tackle the flames from above…

The Home Secretary will gain new powers to directly intervene in underperforming police forces and remove chief constables who fail to meet standards under sweeping reforms announced today. Shabana Mahmood unveiled a white paper titled ‘From local to national: a new model for policing’, which the Government describes as the largest overhaul of policing since forces were professionalised two centuries ago. Under the proposals, ministers will be able to send specialist teams into struggling forces to improve performance if crime solving rates or response times fall short. New laws will also hand the Home Secretary statutory powers to force the…

A criminal defence solicitor who paid two 13-year-old girls hundreds of pounds for explicit images before sexually abusing them on around 20 occasions has been sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison. Suleman Baig, 40, from Grimsby, exploited his relationship with the young victims after first encountering them through a childhood friend whose daughter he was close to. Leeds Crown Court heard how Baig offered the girls increasing sums of money, up to £100 for a single photograph, to send him nude images via Snapchat. He hid cash in the family home for them to find, including stuffed…

A fictional schoolgirl created for a UK Government-funded game designed to steer young people away from far-right extremism has been subverted and transformed into a viral racist meme spreading across social media. The character, known as Amelia, was originally developed for Pathways: Navigating the Internet and Extremism, a multiple-choice video game aimed at 13 to 18-year-olds in Yorkshire. The initiative was funded by the Home Office and created by political literacy company Shout Out UK. However, the purple-haired “goth girl” carrying a miniature union flag has now been co-opted by far-right accounts and is proliferating rapidly on platforms including X…

A jury has convicted an asylum seeker of raping an 18-year-old woman described as “drunk and obviously vulnerable” in a Nottinghamshire park. Sheraz Malik, 28, was found guilty of two counts of rape following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. He was acquitted on a third charge. The jury of five men and seven women reached unanimous guilty verdicts after deliberating for approximately three hours. It can now be reported that Malik is an asylum seeker born in Pakistan who had previously lived in Italy, Germany and France before arriving in the United Kingdom. A reporting restriction imposed at Nottingham…

A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to murdering a university graduate described by her family as “a bright young star” whose ambition to become a clinical psychologist was cut short. Adedapo Adegbola admitted killing Steph Irons, 23, during a brief hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday. Members of Miss Irons’ family were present to hear the plea. Judge Nirmal Shant KC told Adegbola he faced a mandatory life sentence and that sentencing next month would determine the minimum term he must serve. Miss Irons was stabbed at her home in Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, on the evening of Tuesday 21 October…

President Donald Trump has dispatched Border Czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of immigration operations following the fatal shooting of an American citizen by federal agents and subsequent unrest in the city. The move comes amid reports that Mr Trump has privately expressed frustration with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s handling of the situation, particularly around public perception of the shooting. Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump announced: “I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair,…