Bomb squad called to Barwell over item inside crashed car
The force would not confirm what the item was later identified as.A spokesperson said: "While the vehicle was being recovered, a suspicious item was found in the rear of the car."In the interest of public and police safety, a cordon was put in place and contact was made with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, who attended."The item was examined and confirmed not to be suspicious and not of concern and the road was reopened shortly after."A search for the two people who left the area was carried out with assistance from the National Police Air Service but they were not found, and investigations were ongoing, police said.
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BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
Sunderland and Middlesbrough reflect on riots a year on
A year ago, riots - fuelled by misinformation and anti-immigration hate - broke out following the murders of three girls in Southport. One area affected was the north-east of England, where police have since recorded a significant rise in racial and religious hate crimes. With CCTV cameras and heavy-weight steel doors, the Masjid E Anwaar E Madinah mosque in Sunderland has changed a lot in the past 12 months."It should not feel like a prison," says Zaf Iqbal, the treasurer of the mosque, which also has bars across its he knows first hand why the extra security is was one of four men locked inside the building when violent mobs tried to attack last summer."It was traumatic," he says. "You don't expect to be attacked in your home city because of the colour of your skin." The riot erupted in August 2024 after three young girls were murdered at a dance class in was falsely claimed on social media that the killer had arrived in the UK on a dinghy in 2023. Others posted that he was a Muslim, and a fake name also a result, Southport Mosque was attacked in a night of extreme violence, before Islamic communities elsewhere were targeted."Why anybody was rioting in other towns away from Southport, it baffles me," says Mr Iqbal. A year on, "the tension in the community" has left some living in constant fear of a repeat of the disorder, he says."Sunderland's my home city. If I can't feel safe in my home city, where am I meant to feel safe?" he asks, visibly upset, before breaking down in tears."I was born and raised in this city, I work in this city, I work in the community in this city, and yet at times it doesn't feel like home, which is sad."With the political landscape at the minute, I think things are going to get worse."In recent weeks, a series of protests have taken place outside a hotel being used to house asylum seekers in Epping, Essex. It follows a man living there being charged with sexual assault, which he have separately charged 12 people so far in connection with disorder linked to the protests there. Hate crimes rise Freedom of Information data obtained by the BBC showed there were 2,757 race and religious hate crimes recorded by police forces in the North East between 1 August 2024 and 31 January 2025 - the six months following the Southport shows reports in the region rose by 34% compared to the same six-month period the previous year. The national increase between the same two time periods was less than 1%.The region's police forces also recorded 361 racial or religiously aggravated assaults in the six months following the Southport attacks, a 22% increase when comparing the same time period in the previous figures cover some of the region's disorder, which may reflect some of the increase. The recorded rise could be down to an increase in such hate crimes taking place, however a proportion could also be caused by more people reporting events can also "peak reports", according to Peter Hopkins, a professor in social geography at Newcastle University, who researches Islamophobia."We see whenever there is a terrorist incident or a major political event there is often a rise," he said, adding: "If there's any TV coverage of a terrorist, it doesn't matter what their religion is, we will see a reported rise in crimes against Muslims."Government data had previously showed the conflict between Israel and Gaza had also contributed to a rise in religious hate crimes. 'We live in a cycle of fear' Violence also broke out in Hartlepool, Darlington and Middlesbrough over several days, with an estimated 1,000 people taking part in an anti-immigration protest in Middlesbrough shared on social media showed some of the crowd smashing windows of homes and cars being set alight.A man was also seen on mobile phone footage blocking traffic and asking drivers "Are you white? Are you English?". He was jailed in November."Over the last five to 10 years racism has palpably grown" in Middlesbrough and the surrounding area, according to Amjid Khazir, the founder of anti-hate organisation Media Cultured."I have personally been racially abused," he Police, which covers Middlesbrough, saw the biggest increase of recorded race hate crimes in England and Wales in the six months following the Southport killings, with 918 incidents. That was up from 545 compared to the same period the previous year - a jump of 68%.Supt Emily Harrison, the force's lead on hate crime, said there had been "a clear spike" at the time of the disorder but the number of reports had then returned to levels consistent with the months said there was "no real trend towards an increase in racially motivated offences and crimes since last summer's events".The higher number of reports received compared to other local forces could be attributed to factors including effective community engagement and the "diverse" routes available for reporting hate crimes, she added. 'Be careful where you go' When a car drove into fans at a football parade celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title win in May, people were quick to speculate about the incident on social happened after the Southport attack, false rumours which started on social media claimed the man allegedly responsible was a left Middlesbrough's Islamic community "fearing" a backlash, Mr Khazir says. "Something happens hundreds of miles away and you're fearing for your family here in Middlesbrough," Mr Khazir says."You are on the phone to your family saying, 'Have you seen the news? Be careful where you go'."You're reiterating to them that this might be a time to stay at home."In an unprecedented move on the evening of the parade incident, Merseyside Police confirmed the person arrested was a white, British year, the force had been criticised for not releasing details earlier about Axel Rudakubana, the man later convicted of the three murders in Southport, when posts on social media were falsely suggesting he was an asylum seeker and potentially an Islamist extremist. The clarification this time about the man detained in Liverpool was welcomed by the Islamic community, who were anxious of "reprisals."Following last summer's disorder, Mr Khazir warns racism is "a trend that's not abating". "The riots brought to bear the challenges we face about social cohesion."He also blames certain politicians and figures for sharing "rage-bait" on social media."People are fearful to walk in certain parts of their own towns," he says."People are scared to go out when they see a news report about a potential extremist incident on the TV."You're in this cycle of constant fear." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
Met Police promises to tackle West End crime hotspots
The Metropolitan Police says it is doubling the number of officers tackling crime in the West End, while also doubling its use of live facial recognition comes as the force restructures its teams, preparing to lose 1,700 officers and staff. The Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said some people may "raise eyebrows" over the "tough choices" made due to budget pressures, "but that's all because we're focused on what matters most to Londoners." Up to 80 more officers are joining the West End team to focus on crimes such as violence against women and girls, shoplifting and phone robbery, while the dedicated Royal Parks and schools officers will be cut. 'Need to get cleverer' 90 officers are joining neighbourhood teams that cover six hotspots for robbery and theft: Brixton, Kingston, Ealing, Finsbury Park, Southwark and Spitalfields. The commissioner warned in April that the force was facing a £260m budget shortfall, but the Met said an additional £32m from City Hall and the Home Office meant it had been able to reduce the impact of some of the cuts. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics found that knife enabled crime recorded by the Met rose by 9% (16,297 offences) in the year ending March 2025 compared to the previous year. Shoplifting rose by 54% and theft from the person by 28%, although violence with injury fell by 18% and homicide by 9%. "We've had big reductions in violence; you're less likely to be injured in violence in London than any of the UK cities," said Sir Mark."We've made massive progress, we want to do more, but we need to get cleverer, because we're a smaller organisation." Kemal from Surrey contacted the BBC after his phone was stolen during a visit to London in October. He said he'd been taking a photo of Big Ben, when his phone was snatched by someone on an e-bike. "I called the police straight away from my wife's phone and they created a crime number for me, and then closed the case straight away."I don't think the police did enough to solve the issue."He said he now visits London less frequently, and that his friends who live abroad also have a negative perception of the capital from clips they have seen of phone thefts on social media."When they want to visit London, the first thing they ask me is about the security issues." "You can see why anybody in that moment feels shaken up," said the commissioner, when I asked him about Kemal's experience. "That's why we're focusing so hard on mobile phone robberies." He said they were solving increasing number of phone robberies, including sometimes using "contentious tactics", pursuing and knocking suspects off bikes.50 extra officers are being moved to the Flying Squad under restructuring plans, which Sir Mark said would help deal with serious organised criminals targeting Met also announced live facial recognition technology would now be used up to 10 times a week across five days, up from the current four times a week across two days. It's also set to be used at Notting Hill Carnival for the first time in August. The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, said he recognised that Londoners wanted to see more "bobbies on the beat" and acknowledged he was concerned about "reputational damage" to the West End from blamed falling officer numbers on years of austerity under the previous Conservative government."Thanks to record funding from City Hall, the West End will see a 50% increase in the number of police officers on the beat and an additional 90 police officers working in new or enhanced town centre teams in hotspot areas." Last month, retailers warned that flagship high streets like Oxford Street were at risk without urgent national action on crime. Ros Morgan, chief executive of the Heart of London Business Alliance, welcomed the extra officers on the beat but said there had been "some frustration" over how long it has taken. She said they had introduced private security teams in response to concerns, and that the partnership between them and the police was working well. "With the additional police coming through, that partnership's only going to get better and our businesses will be really happy that this has finally happened, because we've been calling for it for quite some time."
BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
Kent sees 588% rise in shops having illegal goods seized
Kent County Council (KCC) has seen a rise of more than 588% in the number of shops having illegal goods seized in the past two years, BBC's England Data Unit has 2024-25, KCC reported illegal goods being seized from 117 shops, compared to 77 in 2023-24 and 17 in 2022-23."This increase is not a reflection of a worsening problem alone, but also of a deliberate and strategic intensification of enforcement activity across the county," said a council Home Office has been contacted for a response. KCC added that its trading standards team seized almost two million illegal cigarettes, 605.5kg (95st 5lb) of hand-rolling tobacco and 25,476 illicit vapes in 2024-25."These seizures were concentrated in areas such as Canterbury, Thanet, and Ashford, and included sophisticated concealment methods such as hidden compartments behind showers," it of Information request responses from 169 councils across Britain showed 3,624 shops in Britain had illegal cigarettes, tobacco or vaping products seized from them in the 2024-25 financial year - down slightly from 3,664 in BBC investigation also found many shops seized from were convenience stores, mini marts and vape Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, said he supported enforcement action against businesses knowingly selling illegal products. He added: "At the moment, too many shady businesses are taking the risk on selling illicit goods because the financial reward outweighs any possible repercussions."
