Latest news with #Gloucestershire
BBC News
13 hours ago
- BBC News
The Stroud Hotel holds Berni Inn night to mark 1970s heyday
An historic hotel is celebrating its delayed reopening by holding a "Berni Inn night" on Friday - an event named after the famous steakhouse chain - to mark its 1970s Stroud, formally known as The Imperial Hotel, in its namesake town in Gloucestershire, only reopened earlier this year after redevelopment was delayed when the building was awarded Grade II listed status, by Queen Elizabeth II in protection added £1million to the renovation costs and delayed the reopening by several months. Laurence Saffer, one of the hotel's partners, said that the costs were worth it to properly preserve the "iconic" building. "In lockdown, we came across this building and we found out the Beatles had visited here when they were performing, and Her Majesty the Queen visited us in 1950."It was a great honour (to receive listed status), and it's something that we really do cherish," he added."It put us back about six months and at considerable cost, but we're really proud of what we've done - something that's got a heartbeat."There's a lot of life in this area and we thought that creating something which is warm and people want to go to would be a great idea." Local resident Kate Yates said she was excited to attend the 1970s throwback event having had her wedding reception at the venue in 1978."It was new, it was exciting. There weren't really many other places to eat," she said."I think we had orange juice to start. Then we had steak, and black forest gateau."I can't wait to try it again. We have done it at home to show them to my children what we used to have."My daughter has come in with me this evening to experience it too."
BBC News
13 hours ago
- BBC News
Paedophile jailed for child sexual assault in church
A convicted paedophile who sexually assaulted a child in a church has been Hanbury, of Calvert Court in Coventry, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual assault, which included a number of incidents of inappropriate touching of children under the age of 13, some of which happened in a church in a Gloucester Crown Court hearing, the two victims described being "terrified to leave the house" and "violated" by his of their family members shouted "rot in hell" as Hanbury was led to the cells, after being sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Hanbury, 62, has 15 previous convictions and was jailed for four years in 2012 for sexually assaulting two children under the age of offences for which he was sentenced earlier took place in a church, house and car, the court a statement read by the prosecution, one of the victims said she felt "scared of older men" after the sexual assaults and became "confrontational with men" close to her. 'Callous and selfish' Another victim, who spoke in court, said: "I have developed major issues to this day and struggle to trust anyone, especially men.""I get scared walking around anywhere that people would stare at me and think the same things as he did," she Rupert Lowe said Hanbury developed a "serious alcohol problem" after being released from prison, and continued to sexually abuse children for his own "sexual gratification" with "no regard for the serious psychological damage" being done."These are the most disgraceful offences. Callous, selfish and with no regard to the effect on your victims," he Lowe sentenced Hanbury to seven years and eight months in prison and said he would serve up to half of that time in jail.
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Gloucestershire Airport to be sold for more than £25m
Gloucestershire Airport will be sold for more than it's £25m guide price, councillors have of Gloucester City Council (GCC) gave the final go-ahead to the unnamed preferred bidder at a meeting on Thursday evening, pending due diligence by GCC and Cheltenham Borough Council, the 350-acre airport in Staverton was put on the market with a guide price of £25m in October 2024, and in the meeting it was revealed that the selected bidder had offered above that leader, Jeremy Hilton, said he was "confident" that the new owners would make a success of the site, adding: "We've done everything we possibly can." Several weeks of checks will now be undertaken, with the sale expected to be completed by identity of the buyer is expected to be revealed next week, according to the Local Democracy Reporting at both authorities and the airport itself have stressed the site is being sold as a going some councillors and campaigners have raised fears about the viability of the business and the potential for the land to be sold for housing in the future. Airport 'needs investment' Hilton said a "robust" covenant would be put in place to prevent the land from being developed on, and this would likely last for 50 said Gloucestershire Airport was more likely to survive as a result of the sale compared to if the councils continued to run it."We know the airport is running at a loss and has been for a number of years," he added."They have not paid the councils a dividend for as long as I can remember. They need substantial investment."Two Community Independent councillors argued the land should be sold to build up to 12,500 Andrew Bell said: "We need houses… this is our perfect chance."However, members voted to go ahead with the sale by 25 votes to two.
The Independent
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Keir Starmer used to stand up for the kinds of protesters he now labels terrorists
Two days before the missiles started raining down on Baghdad in March 2003, Josh Richards packed a mixture of petrol and washing-up liquid into his rucksack and headed off to RAF Fairford base in Gloucestershire. His plan was to set fire to the wheels of a B-52 USAF bomber to prevent it from joining in the imminent shock and awe. He was caught before he could act, but he was not the only person with the idea of mounting a last-ditch attempt to hinder a war which many considered illegal. A few days earlier, Margaret Jones and Paul Milling had cut their way into the same airbase and damaged a number of fuel tankers and bomb trailers. Another two men in their thirties, Phil Pritchard and Toby Olditch, armed themselves with paint, nuts and bolts, with the intention of damaging the bombers' engines. Today, this group of five would be labelled terrorists. See the government's reaction last week when pro-Palestinian activists broke into RAF Brize Norton and – just like their earlier counterparts at Fairford – damaged two military planes with red paint. "A disgraceful act of vandalism," said the prime minister, Keir Starmer. Within days, home secretary Yvette Cooper was on her feet in the House of Commons announcing that the group involved, Palestine Action, would be added to the list of organisations proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. If you dare donate so much as a fiver to it in future, you will be committing a crime. Twenty-odd years ago, we lived in a kinder, gentler age. Society was not so harsh in their judgements about the group which became known as the Fairford Five. The protestors lawyered up and their briefs decided on an original defence, arguing that their actions were justified, morally and legally, because they were aimed at preventing a greater evil – ie. the war in Iraq and its probable consequences. They were, in short, willing to commit crimes in order to prevent greater crimes. Among the barristers who came up with this intriguing defence was a rising star of the human rights bar, Keir Starmer QC. He argued the case on behalf of Josh Richards, first at the Court of Appeal in June 2004 and then again before the House of Lords in March 2006. The presiding judge, Lord Bingham, went out of his way to praise the "erudition" involved. The appeal did not totally succeed, but in his judgment Lord Hoffmann articulated a humane view of how, in the UK, he believed we have traditionally regarded such acts of protest. "Civil disobedience on conscientious grounds has a long and honourable history in this country," he wrote (at paragraph 89). "People who break the law to affirm their belief in the injustice of a law or government action are sometimes vindicated by history. The suffragettes are an example which comes immediately to mind. It is the mark of a civilised community that it can accommodate protests and demonstrations of this kind." Hoffman outlined the "conventions" he thought should govern such acts of civil disobedience in his "civilised community". The law-breakers had to behave with a sense of proportion and avoid excessive damage. The law-enforcers, on the other hand, should "behave with restraint [and] … take the conscientious motives of the protesters into account". I imagine Mr Starmer QC read those words with some pleasure at the time: they have been quoted many times in courts over the years by his learned friends in defending clients acting on conscientious grounds. But now, at the behest of his government, such people are to be defined as terrorists. Forget trying to understand their conscientious motives. Lock them up and ban them. What happened? Let's try some hypotheses. The first possible explanation is that Starmer in 2004 was just operating on the "cab rank" principle. He didn't actually believe all that stuff he argued in the posh courts: he was just making the best case he could. But one former Doughty Street Chambers colleague told me Starmer "totally" believed in the right to protest. Some argue he is simply a massive hypocrite. He couldn't care less that there's a yawning gulf between what he then argued and what he now advocates. Or maybe he has just changed his mind? Perhaps he had some sympathy with the Fairford cause (Iraq) and less for the Brize Norton protests (Palestine)? Perhaps he still holds the same views he expressed 20 years ago, but has been advised it would be politically unwise to voice them. Reform is storming ahead in the polls and is demanding tough action. Now's not the time to out yourself as a bleeding-heart liberal. So you can show your toughness by outlawing the very sort of people you once defended. And, while you're about it, tell Glastonbury to drop another "terrorist" – in this case, the Irish language rap group Kneecap. Or maybe he believes in nothing? That, after all, is what a significant slew of even his own backbenchers are coming to assume. Twenty years ago, the public took a more forgiving view of protestors. Juries initially failed to agree on a verdict on charges against four of the Fairford defendants. Olditch and Pritchard were subsequently cleared of all charges after two trials. Josh Richards was also tried twice after admitting he wanted to set fire to a B-52 bomber. Twice, he walked free. Only Margaret Jones and Paul Milling were found guilty – at the second attempt – and were treated relatively leniently. Milling was given a conditional discharge and a £250 fine. Dr Jones was given a five-month curfew order. So perhaps this explains what's going on in Starmer's mind. He, of all people, knows that juries are quite likely to side with conscientious protestors on an issue like Gaza. So it is cleaner simply to outlaw protest groups from the start. For someone who believes in the rule of law, it's a clever way of getting round the rule of law. "Yes, they should stand trial. Yes, they've committed criminal damage," Baroness Helena Kennedy, a fellow civil rights lawyer told me. "But to label them terrorists seems extraordinary to me. It's going down the old Trump road, and I don't like it at all. There's a sense in which you have a US government which has no respect for the rule of law and there's now a kind of poison seeping into our own legal aquifer." As I write, another four protestors have been arrested by counter-terror police at Brize Norton. You can't help wondering whether the concept of terrorism itself is being somewhat watered down by the Starmer government. And you can't help wonder at the philosophical somersaults taking place in Starmer's mind as he stands everything he argued for 20 years ago on its head.
BBC News
16 hours ago
- BBC News
Additional Gloucestershire Police patrols to tackle night crime
Extra patrols will take place in a city centre over the weekend, a police force has Police will supply additional officers in Gloucester city centre as part of Operation Comet, which aims to help keep people safe on a night out while also identifying offenders who target the night-time operation, which has been running monthly since earlier this year, has previously resulted in multiple arrests for drug offences and drink driving. Insp Ash Gardner, from Gloucester Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "Since starting Operation Comet, we have already seen the huge impact it is having on deterring criminals from coming to our city." He added: "Gloucester is rightly recognised as a safe place for people to enjoy a night out."We want to ensure that this continues and will aim to stop anyone who comes to the city looking to commit crime."While on patrol, the officers will be looking to prevent youth crime, anti-social behaviour, violence against women and girls and the sale of force will work alongside Night Angels, Street Pastors, Night Safe officers, street medics and licensed premises.
