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Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Museum manager, 66, stole precious artefacts over almost two decades and sold them for more than £50,000, court hears
A museum manager stole precious artefacts for over almost two decades before selling them for more than £50,000, a court has heard. Stephen Harris, 66, former operations manager at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse in Norfolk, has been accused of stealing several items from the collections by Norfolk Museums Service. The alleged thefts, said to have been revealed following an on-going investigation that took place over several years, are believed to have included prestigious items such as two saucers, ceramics, glass and coins. At Norwich Magistrates' Court, Mr Harris was accused of selling off the precious items at auctions by pretending that they were his own, Eastern Daily Press has reported. While the 'full value' of the alleged thefts are yet to be calculated, Nicole Lamb, prosecuting said that they were believed to be '£52,000 or possibly more'. She revealed that Mr Harris allegedly used his access while working as an employee in order to take the collection items being kept in storage. Some of the items Mr Harris is said to have stolen raised an estimated £15,000 when sold at Bonhams, a prestigious privately-owned international auction house that specialises in items such as fine art, jewelry and antiques. Ms Lamb added that given the significant 'abuse of trust' by Mr Harris, his suspected crimes were too serious to be heard by the magistrates. But Rob New, for the defence, said that Mr Harris 'emphatically denies these allegations'. Mr Harris, from Mattishall, Norfolk, pleaded not guilty to theft by employee between 2005 and 2022 and the concealing, disguising and transferring of money raised from selling stolen antiques. He also denied four counts of fraud by false representation over the dishonest selling of items at Bonhams, Keys auctioneers at Aylsham, alongside Lockdales at Martlesham, near Ipswich. Mr Harris was given unconditional bail ahead of a further hearing at Norwich crown court on August 26. Norfolk Museum Service, which preside over 10 museums across the county such as Norwich Castle Museum, declined to provide any additional details regarding their investigation. A spokesperson told The Telegraph: 'Due to the ongoing legal process, we are not in a position to provide further comment at this time.' Norfolk Museums Service, Gresenhall Farm and Workhouse, Bonhams, Keys auctioneers and Lockdales have all been approached for comment. In the summer of 2023, a British Museum worker was sacked after being accused of stealing priceless treasures that included jewellery, gems and precious metals spanning more than three millennia of history over a number of years. Peter John Higgs was dismissed after items were found to be 'missing, stolen or damaged'. It was later claimed that he was named to bosses more than three years prior - after items such as jewellery from the venerated Townley Collection of Graeco-Roman artefacts allegedly went up for sale on eBay - but kept his job. In March last year, the British Museum launched legal action against Mr Higgs, claiming he stole 1,800 gems and treasures and sold them on eBay over a decade. The world-renowned museum asked the High Court to order eBay and Paypal records be disclosed from Dr Peter Higgs' account, claiming they will contain evidence of the items being sold. It told the court Dr Higgs was selling items for over 10 years to 45 buyers from around the globe using 'false names' and 'manipulating records', the BBC reported. The museum's lawyers claim that the allegedly stolen items came from unregistered collections held in storage. The curator - who denies all the claims against him - is also accused of altering records. Mr Higgs' family have maintained his innocence, with his son Greg previously telling The Times: 'He's not done anything. He's not happy about it at all' But an audit last year found that 80 per cent of the items from the collection were missing from the same storeroom. Daniel Burgess and Warren Fitt Legal on behalf of the museum told the court that a 1993 audit showed 1,449 unregistered items in the storeroom, but another one in 2023 found there were 1,161 missing. Dr Higgs worked in the Greek and Rome department from 1999 until 2023 and was promoted to the 'very senior and prestigious' position of acting keeper in 2021. The curator - who denies all the claims against him - is also accused of altering records. But Mr Higgs' family have maintained his innocence, with his son Greg previously telling The Times: 'He's not done anything. He's not happy about it at all. He's lost his job and his reputation and I don't think it was fair. 'It couldn't have been [him]. I don't think there is even anything missing as far as I'm aware.'
The Guardian
7 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Far-right extremists using games platforms to radicalise teenagers, report warns
Far-right extremists are using livestream gaming platforms to target and radicalise teenage players, a report has warned. The new research, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, reveals how a range of extremist groups and individuals use platforms that allow users to chat and livestream while playing video games to recruit and radicalise vulnerable users, mainly young males. UK crime and counter-terror agencies have urged parents to be especially alert to online offenders targeting youngsters during the summer holidays. In an unprecedented move, last week Counter Terrorism Policing, MI5 and the National Crime Agency issued a joint warning to parents and carers that online offenders 'will exploit the school holidays to engage in criminal acts with young people when they know less support is readily available'. Dr William Allchorn, a senior research fellow at Anglia Ruskin University's international policing and public protection research institute, who carried out the study with his colleague Dr Elisa Orofino, said 'gaming-adjacent' platforms were being used as 'digital playgrounds' for extremist activity. Allchorn found teenage players were being deliberately 'funnelled' by extremists from mainstream social media platforms to these sites, where 'the nature and quantity of the content makes these platforms very hard to police'. The most common ideology being pushed by extremist users was far right, with content celebrating extreme violence and school shootings also shared. On Tuesday, Felix Winter, who threatened to carry out a mass shooting at his Edinburgh school, was jailed for six years after the court heard the 18-year-old had been 'radicalised' online, spending more than 1,000 hours in contact with a pro-Nazi Discord group. Allchorn said: 'There has definitely been a more coordinated effort by far-right groups like Patriotic Alternative to recruit young people through gaming events that first emerged during lockdown. But since then a lot of extremist groups have been deplatformed by mainstream spaces, so individuals will now lurk on public groups or channels on Facebook or Discord, for example, and use this as a way of identifying someone who might be sympathetic to reach out to.' He added that, while some younger users turn to extreme content for its shock value among their peers, this can make them vulnerable to being targeted. Extremists have been forced to become more sophisticated as the majority of platforms have banned them, Allchorn said. 'Speaking to local community safety teams, they told us that approaches are now about trying to create a rapport rather than making a direct ideological sell.' The study also spoke to moderators, who described their frustration at inconsistent enforcement policies on their platforms and the burden of deciding whether content or users should be reported to law enforcement agencies. While in-game chat is unmoderated, moderators said they were still overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of harmful content, including the use of hidden symbols to circumvent banned words that would be picked up by automated moderation tools, for example, a string of symbols stitched together to represent a swastika. Allchorn highlighted the need for critical digital literacy for parents as well as law enforcement so they could better understand how these platforms and subcultures operate. Last October Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, revealed that '13% of all those being investigated by MI5 for involvement in UK terrorism are under 18', a threefold increase in three years. AI tools are being used to assist with moderation, but they struggle to interpret memes or when language is ambiguous or sarcastic.
The Sun
7 minutes ago
- The Sun
Hammer gang raid Harry Redknapp's £5m mansion and steal wife Sandra's jewellery as cops probe theory on how they got in
MASKED robbers smashed their way into Harry Redknapp's mansion with hammers and stole wife Sandra's jewellery. The ex-Prem boss and Sandra were out when the gang broke down the front door of their £5million Dorset home. 4 4 A source said: 'It was clearly organised. 'The raiders must have known the house was empty." The gang may have checked the layout on a property website ad, it was feared. And the raiders helped themselves to jewellery belonging to the ex-Premier League manager's wife Sandra and other luxury items, it is understood. Former Spurs, West Ham and Portsmouth boss Harry and Sandra, both 78, were away from the £5million house when the crooks broke in last Friday night. The pile is for sale and one theory is the gang noted details on the Rightmove listing for the property near Dorset beach resort Sandbanks — where property is among the most expensive in the world per square foot. In May this year, burglars attempted to break into the — also understood to be on sale and advertised on Rightmove. A source said: 'The criminals would only have to keep watch on the property and break in once the coast was clear, knowing the full layout of the house in advance.' The masked gang used heavy hammers to break down the front door of cockney Harry's home. The mob were caught on CCTV rifling through the detached gated property in the mega-rich area. A source said: 'The raiders were all masked up. Legend Harry Redknapp's wife of 57 years has been taken into hospital, it was claimed last night 'They used lump hammers and a sledgehammer to smash the front door open. 'They were caught on CCTV cameras breaking in and trying to ransack the property looking for valuables. 'It was clearly organised and they must have known the house was empty at the time.' One family friend said 2018 I'm a Celeb winner Harry — who we have revealed is set to sign for the All Stars version this autumn — had attended a function that night, while Sandra was in London. A spokesman for Harry told The Sun: 'Harry doesn't want to make a fuss. 'There was no one in the house at the time and we don't want to comment on what was taken. 'It's a matter for the police.' Officers last night confirmed they were still hunting the thieves who broke into the property close to Branksome Dene Beach in Poole. It is on sale while the couple's new waterside villa at Sandbanks is completed. They moved into their current home in 2021, after a lack of privacy while living in a modern mansion with large windows overlooking Sandbanks beach. In 2020, they starred in ITV reality show Harry Redknapp's Sandbanks Summer. 4 4
