Discarded cigarette butts spark Alderney litter warning
This is because loose or open bags can be dangerous and are not allowed under island waste rules, it said.
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The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kinahan crime boss ordered to pay back £1m or face more jail time
A UK boss of the Kinahan organised crime group has been ordered to pay back more than £1 million or face more jail time, prosecutors have said. Irish national Thomas Kavanagh, 57, of Mile Oak in Tamworth, Staffordshire, will have three months to pay the sum or face another 12 years in prison, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Friday. Prosecutors estimate the Kinahan organised criminal group, of which Kavanagh was the head, smuggled drugs from Europe with a street value of around £30 million by hiding the products inside machinery. Kavanagh was sentenced in March 2022 to 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to drugs and money laundering offences. A judge sitting at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday estimated that Kavanagh and his associate Gary Vickery, 42, of Boundary Road in Solihull, West Midlands, gained £12,235,047 and £10,966,619 respectively from their criminal lifestyle, the CPS said. The judge ordered Kavanagh to pay £1,123,096 based on his current assets, which include 'his 50% share of his fortified family mansion in Tamworth, money from the sale of various other properties in the UK and a villa in Spain, and approximately £150,000 of high-end bags, clothes and accessories which were discovered when Kavanagh's house was searched following his initial arrest in 2019', a spokesperson for the NCA added. Vickery was ordered to pay a sum of £109,312 within three months, or face another two years in prison, prosecutors said. At previous court hearings, orders were made to forfeit an Audemars Piguet watch worth £75,000, as well as just over 100,000 euros that was seized from a hotel room when Vickery was arrested, the NCA added. Kay Mellor, head of Operations HQ at the NCA, said: 'Thomas Kavanagh was the head of the UK's arm of the Kinahan organised crime group, responsible for the importation and distribution of drugs and firearms, making millions of pounds in the process. 'He and his gang believed they were untouchable, but that proved to be their downfall. 'Kavanagh and Vickery will be behind bars for many years to come and now have to pay back more than £1 million to the state.' Adrian Foster, chief Crown prosecutor, said: 'Thomas Kavanagh and Gary Vickery are dangerous criminals in the organised gang world, importing millions of pounds worth of dangerous drugs on an industrial scale to the UK. 'This successful £1 million Confiscation Order demonstrates the prosecution team's commitment to work across borders to strip organised criminals of their illegal gains. 'We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly and will return them back to court to serve an additional sentence of imprisonment if they fail to pay their orders.' In October 2024, Kavanagh was sentenced to another six years in jail after he and associates plotted to lead NCA officers to a buried stash of 11 weapons in a bid to secure himself a lighter prison sentence for his multimillion-pound drug enterprise. Running the conspiracy from prison, Kavanagh enlisted the help of his brother-in-law, 44-year-old Liam Byrne, and associate Shaun Kent, 38, in the plan to deceive the NCA. Byrne – who fled to Majorca after the events – was jailed for five years while Kent was handed a six-year prison sentence for their roles in the plot.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Palestine Action ban ‘disturbing misuse' of UK law, UN human rights chief says
Britain's proscription of Palestine Action is a 'disturbing misuse' of counter-terror laws, the United Nations human rights chief has said. Volker Turk has urged the UK to lift the ban, which he described as 'disproportionate and unnecessary' in an intervention on Friday. The Government moved to designate Palestine Action a terrorist organisation after the group claimed responsibility for vandalising two planes at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. The ban means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. A legal bid to challenge the proscription at the High Court by the group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, is ongoing. Mr Turk, a lawyer who serves as the UN's high commissioner for human rights, urged the UK Government to 'rescind its decision.' 'The decision appears disproportionate and unnecessary,' he said. 'It limits the rights of many people involved with and supportive of Palestine Action who have not themselves engaged in any underlying criminal activity but rather exercised their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.' He added that the Government should 'rescind its decision to proscribe Palestine Action and halt investigations and further proceedings against protesters who have been arrested on the basis of this proscription'. 'I also call on the UK Government to review and revise its counter-terrorism legislation, including its definition of terrorist acts, to bring it fully in line with international human rights norms and standards,' the high commissioner said. Mr Turk also criticised UK domestic law, which he said defines terrorist acts 'broadly' to include serious damage to property. 'According to international standards, terrorist acts should be confined to criminal acts intended to cause death or serious injury or to the taking of hostages, for purpose of intimidating a population or to compel a government to take a certain action or not,' he said. The Government has been contacted for comment.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Boy said ‘I want my mum' after being fatally wounded in machete attack on bus
A 14-year-old schoolboy called 'I want my mum' after he was mortally wounded on a bus by two smiling youths with machetes, a court has heard. Aspiring rapper Kelyan Bokassa was repeatedly stabbed as he travelled on a route 472 bus in Woolwich, south-east London, on January 7. Two youths, aged 16, appeared at the Old Bailey to be sentenced on Friday after they pleaded guilty to Kelyan's murder and having a knife. Opening the facts of the case, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said Kelyan had boarded the 472 bus just after 2pm to attend an appointment at the Youth Justice Centre in Woolwich. CCTV footage showed Kelyan went to sit on the back seat on the top deck, with a knife in the waistband of his trousers. Ms Heer said the teenager looked around and out of the windows before taking his seat 'giving every impression that he was concerned for his safety'. The defendants, who cannot be named, boarded the bus 20 minutes later each armed with identical machetes hidden in their clothes. The pair walked towards Kelyan 'with purpose' and withdrew their blades before immediately stabbing him without uttering a word to their victim. Ms Heer said: 'Since Kelyan Bokassa was seated on the back seat, he was cornered, unable to escape as the defendants repeatedly thrust their knives towards him, smiling as they did so.' The attack lasted around 14 seconds, with the youths thrusting the machetes towards Kelyan 27 times. Ms Heer went on: 'Kelyan Bokassa had no time to reach for his own knife, which remained in his trousers, and instead tried in vain to protect himself with his school bag. 'There were several other passengers on the top deck who fled in panic when they realised what was happening. They describe hearing intense screaming from the back of the bus and the victim shouting, 'Help. Help. I've been stabbed'. 'They describe both defendants making quick, forceful movements towards Kelyan Bokassa as he tried to defend himself.' The bus driver activated his emergency alarm just before 2.27pm and the defendants fled when the vehicle stopped at Woolwich Ferry. Kelyan stumbled down the aisle to the stairs, where another passenger went to help him. The boy was heard to say: 'Take me to my mum's. I want my mum,' before his legs buckled, bleeding heavily from a wound to the leg. Members of the public flagged down a passing police car and officers found Kelyan had collapsed and his body was limp. Despite attempts to save him, Kelyan died at the scene at 3.23pm. One of the machetes was thrown into the River Thames, but was later recovered by police. The defendants were quickly identified from CCTV on the bus and arrested. In a victim impact statement, Kelyan's mother Marie Bokassa said: 'At least my son is at peace, and those two kids are going to have a really tough time. 'I ask myself what has happened to those two boys that has resulted in that terrible act of violence, and I cannot imagine how can they be so angry. 'What they did was horrific and I do not know what has led them to do this, and maybe I will never.' She told the court her son had loved food, cooking and football, and brought her flowers on her birthday. Speaking through tears and wearing black, she said: 'He would put music on and we'd dance together in the living room. 'He loved Mr Bean, which we watched together, and he would laugh. I miss his laugh, miss his voice. 'I will never see his children or be a grandmother and he will never have his own family.' Ms Bokassa added that she had spent her son's 15th birthday at his graveside. During the sentencing hearing, members of the public sobbed loudly and hid their faces as footage of the attack on Kelyan was shown in court. The defendants gave no visible reaction in the dock.
