
Elias Almallah's appeal over Kyron Lee murder 'without merit'
Mr Lee was sent flying over a car's roof when he was hit by the vehicle in Earls Lane, Slough. His attackers fatally stabbed him with machetes.The Court of Appeal was told the case against Almallah should have been dismissed at Reading Crown Court last year.Judges were told evidence that placed Almallah at the scene of the crime was weak.But the judges, Lord Justice Warby, Mr Justice Goose and Judge Patrick Field KC, found it was "extremely strong". They dismissed his appeal on 28 March.Last year, Mr Lee's mother, Donna Lesner, paid tribute to an "amazing young man" with a "beautiful caring and selfless nature"."Kyron was more than my son, he was my rock, my biggest supporter and he made me proud to be his mother," she added.
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Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Peru Two drug mule Michaella McCollum insists she's changed ahead of Celeb SAS challenge
EXCLUSIVE: Michaella McCollum is trying to move on from her Peru Two past and make her kids proud on TV this weekend If there is one women who might be equipped to take on the toughness of an SAS challenge, it is Michaella McCollum. It's been more than a decade since drug mule Michaella made headlines as one half of the so-called Peru Two. On 6 August 2013, Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid were arrested at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru. Their luggage contained £1.5m worth of cocaine. Michaella had been convinced to attempt to smuggle the drugs from Peru to Spain by a man she met in Ibiza. But it was a decision that would see her go on to spend three years behind bars in one of South America's toughest prisons before being granted early release. Her interview comes after Channel 4 breaks silence after Gogglebox couple suddenly dumped from show. Looking back, Michaela admits that having messed up when she went to jail for drug smuggling left her so terrified of making another mistake she became so cautious and stuck in her ways. Signing up to Channel 4 's SAS was her way of giving her a push to take back control of her life. 'I feel like in my younger days, I made lots of mistakes, so then I was really cautious of doing things, because I didn't want to mess up again. I didn't want to mess up, I didn't want to make any more mistakes. "But we can't live life like that, because we're always going to make mistakes, we're always going to make bad choices, obviously not as bad a choice as I made previously, but it's okay to make a mistake. 'I had got to the point where I was just refusing to do a lot of things because I was scared. What if I mess it up? What if I take this job and it doesn't work out? What if I move to this place and it doesn't work out? I was just a little bit afraid of making those decisions. I felt stuck. So I guess that was the main thing for me, to try and learn to overcome that. 'I was at the point in my life where I was just stuck in my comfort zone, and I thought this is a good way to break those barriers and do the things that scare me, and maybe that will help me in the future with decisions and just different things in life.' Now 32, she is stepping back into the spotlight in the new series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, alongside the likes of Rebecca Loos and Conor Benn. The celebs take part in the most gruelling phase of Special Forces selection, directed through by an elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers including Chief Instructor Billy Billingham. First she had to learn to swim before heading onto the show, then face a grilling from the SAS team and even fight her co-stars and take on a range of other challenges. Michaela knows she will always be known as one half of the Peru Two but Michaela hopes being on the Channel 4 series will show people a different side to her. She told the Mirror: 'It's so easy to sit at home and judge somebody when somebody's whole life is tearing apart. So I feel like it was important, I guess, when I got there, to show that I'm not just that girl who went to prison. "I'm a mother, I'm a human, I make mistakes. This is what we are and this is what we're here to do. So I hope it does change the public's opinion, but if it doesn't, it doesn't. 'I did that show for me, I wanted to improve myself and push myself. There's gonna be people that will always have their opinion. There'll be people that will always judge me for that(smuggling). But I'm not just that. "I hope it kind of, softens the image so people get to see me in a different light.' And having spent three years in the notorious Ancon 2 jail Michaella endured horrendous living conditions, physical violence, and while battling the legal system and learning to survive in an environment that was as hostile as it was brutal. Following her release in 2015, Michaella sought to rebuild her life in Northern Ireland, earning a degree in International Business Management from Ulster University in 2023. She also found a new passion for fitness, using it as a tool to reclaim control over her life. She regularly delivers motivational talks about personal transformation, overcoming adversity, and the dangers of coercion. Her experiences, both in prison and in navigating the challenges that followed, have made her a sought-after speaker for law enforcement and community groups. Away from the show She's a single mum to two twin boys and Michaela says they are going to be shocked when they see what she did on the course. She can't wait for them to see her in action and realise that behind the glam exterior is a tough cookie. She said: 'I spoke to my kids about the show, and they didn't want me to do the show, because they were like, 'You're going to die.' 'I'm like, 'I'm not going to die' And like, 'No, because this is really bad, and you're going to break your nails.' I'm like, 'It's fine. I can break my nails. It's okay'. 'But I think I had these conversations with them, obviously they're only seven, but I had these conversations with them after. So I think when it does air, to show them that, because obviously they don't see that side of me, to show that I am capable of doing that, and that it's okay. "They'll think it's super cool to jump off a speedboat onto a helicopter. They're going to see that mum is an action hero! I'm a single mum, so it's just me in my household. They always say mum doesn't do boy stuff but I hope when they see this and what I did I'll be like, "Yeah, you see me? I can do what boys do too.' Asked if she has learned anything from the experience, on top of all the other experiences she had had in life, she added: 'I mean, they're incredibly strong, resilient people. You don't normally meet people that are faced with the challenges and the things that they have to do. "And I guess when you listen to them and you talk to them, you realise that the things that you worry about in your everyday life really don't freaking matter. The things we're stressing about every day, they don't matter when you have people like them in the Army or SAS. What they have to go through when they are in times of war, you don't really understand that.'


Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
Supreme Court blocks car finance payouts for millions
Millions of drivers were hoping for a payout over secret car finance charges ⚖️ Sign up to the weekly Cost Of Living newsletter. Saving tips, deals and money hacks. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Supreme Court rules lenders not liable for 'hidden' car finance commission payments Decision overturns Court of Appeal ruling that had backed drivers' right to compensation Around 2m cars a year are bought on finance, many with now-banned commission deals FCA to decide within six weeks if it will set up a central compensation scheme Tens of thousands of complaints remain on hold until the watchdog makes its move A landmark ruling made today (August 1) has determined whether millions of motorists are entitled to compensation over 'hidden' commissions on car finance deals. The case centres on hire-purchase agreements signed before 2021, where car dealers acting as credit brokers received commission from lenders — without fully informing the customer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In October 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled that these undisclosed payments were unlawful and that affected drivers should be compensated. The case was brought by three motorists who were unaware dealers were being paid by lenders for arranging their finance. Two lenders, FirstRand Bank and Close Brothers, challenged that ruling in the Supreme Court, calling it an 'egregious error'. New and secondhand cars for sale on a dealership forecourt in Ellesmere Port in 2023 (Photo:) | Getty Images The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also weighed in, arguing the earlier judgment 'goes too far'. But the three motorists had fought to uphold the original ruling. The Supreme Court's decision will have major implications for car finance customers across the UK. But what exactly did it rule, and is there compensation coming down the road for millions of drivers? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad What is car finance? Around two million cars are bought on finance every year — but many drivers may have unknowingly paid too much in interest due to now-banned commission deals between lenders and dealerships. These so-called discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) gave sales staff a financial incentive to hike up your interest rate, leaving you with a higher monthly bill. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned these deals in 2021, but it's now deciding whether affected drivers should be compensated. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the meantime, tens of thousands of complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman or through the courts were paused while the watchdog reviewed the issue. What has the Supreme Court ruled? Millions of motorists will miss out on potential compensation after the Supreme Court ruled that lenders are not liable for hidden commission payments made to car dealers as part of finance agreements. The UK's highest court overturned a previous ruling by the Court of Appeal, which had found that 'secret' commission deals — made before 2021 without the customer's fully informed consent — were unlawful. The Supreme Court sided with the lenders. Delivering the decision, Lord Reed said the appeals were allowed, ending hopes of a wider compensation scheme for millions of car finance customers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Is there compensation coming? As of now, compensation is not guaranteed, but it's still possible, depending on what the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) decides next. Though the Supreme Court's ruling on sided with the lenders, meaning they are not automatically liable for hidden commission payments - a blow to many compensation hopes - the FCA is still investigating whether drivers were treated unfairly. The FCA has said it will announce within six weeks of the ruling whether it plans to pursue a central compensation scheme. If it does go ahead, it will consult on the details for another six weeks — including who qualifies, how compensation would be calculated, and what years it would cover. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Are you struggling to make ends meet as costs continue to rise? You can now send your stories to us online via YourWorld at It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.


The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Miscarriage of justice watchdog investigates cases of 175 people handed abolished indefinite jail terms
The country's miscarriage of justice watchdog is investigating at least 175 cases which saw offenders, including children and young people, handed abolished indefinite jail terms. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has announced it has launched a major project to review applications from prisoners languishing on Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) jail terms. The open-ended sentences, which were scrapped in 2012 and have been described as 'psychological torture' by the UN, have left thousands trapped in jail for up to 22 times longer than their original tariff. This includes many who were children at the time of their offence and handed a type of IPP sentence for under-18s called a Detention for Public Protection (DPP) jail term. Now scores of cases are set to be reviewed by the watchdog after a string of IPP and DPP sentences were overturned by the Court of Appeal. Eight of 12 cases referred to the appeal judges for review have resulted in the sentences being quashed, reduced or substituted. This includes father-of-three Leighton Williams, who was wrongly handed an IPP sentence with a 30-month tariff for a drunken fight aged 19. He served almost 16 years under the sentence – mostly in custody – before it was quashed and replaced with a five-year determinate sentence in the Court of Appeal last year. If he had served half of that time in custody, he would have been out of prison by the time he was 22. Three appeal judges finally set him free on 9 May last year, aged 36, after finding the original sentencing judge had wrongly counted a previous offence, committed when he was 17, against him. After he was released, he told The Independent the jail term had robbed him of 16 years, adding: 'I have missed out on growing up with my friends. Going out. Getting a trade, being able to work. Just living a normal life. 'I deserved to go to jail – I understand that. There is no doubt about that. But for the length of time – I don't think you can justify that.' In a similar ruling in October, Darren Hilling's IPP sentence was quashed and substituted because the sentencing judge had failed to attach the necessary importance to his age and maturity when he committed his crime aged 21. Other victims of the scandal, whose tragic cases have been highlighted by The Independent, include: Leroy Douglas, who has served almost 20 years for robbing a mobile phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself alight in his cell and has served 13 years for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleman, 41, who is still inside 19 years after he was jailed for a laptop robbery. At total of 2,486 IPP prisoners were still languishing in overcrowded prisons without a release date at end of June. Almost 700 of them have served at least ten years longer than their original tariff. At least 94 IPP prisoners have taken their own lives in prison as they lose hope of getting out, according to campaigners. The CCRC project will see the body – tasked with independently reviewing alleged miscarriages of justice – consider up to eight current applications from people serving IPP and DPP sentences, before systematically re-reviewing a backlog of 175 historic applications to see if they should be referred to the Court of Appeal in light of the recent judgments. 'This starts with young people principally because that's where the chink of light is from the Court of Appeal,' CCRC chair Dame Vera Baird told The Independent. Reviews will start with those who were handed indefinite jail terms as children, before looking at those aged 18 to 25, followed by those over 25. This is because sentencing judges may have considered previous convictions as children when they handed out the jail terms to adults. However there is no timeline for the wide-ranging review and Dame Vera warned the CCRC has been allocated no additional resources for the project. The news has been welcomed by campaigners, including the Howard League for Penal Reform, which this summer called for a special CCRC process for IPP prisoners in a major report on the jail term. Other recommendations put forward in the report, including seeing all remaining prisoners given a release date to work towards at their next Parole Review, are being considered by the government. Their director of campaigns Andrew Neilson said he was thrilled to see the CCRC take this 'hugely positive' step, adding: 'Justice is long overdue to the thousands of people serving IPP sentences in prisons and in the community, and we hope that this will be one of many similar policies that will finally end the suffering of this abolished sentence for good.'