Author: Henry

A group that erects Union and St George’s flags in towns and cities across England has claimed its members were physically attacked during an operation in Oxford, as local residents and politicians condemned the demonstration as unwelcome and disruptive. The incident took place at around 5pm on 24 March on Abingdon Road in the Grandpont area of the city, during rush hour. Members of the Raise the Colours group used a cherry-picker van marked as a highways maintenance vehicle to attach flags to lampposts on both sides of the busy road, causing traffic obstruction in the process. Ryan Bridge, one…

A London-based people smuggling ring that used motorway service stations to move migrants hidden in the back of lorries has been dismantled after three of its members were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday. Toni Liko, 42, of Wembley, and Klement Gjika, 44, of Islington, each received sentences of five years and eight months. A third member, Stelian Bodnariu, 37, of Edgware, was jailed for three years and four months. All three were convicted of conspiracy to facilitate a breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national, following a seven-week trial that concluded in February. The network, which…

A man in his 60s has been questioned by Metropolitan Police officers investigating whether individuals helped facilitate or conceal the sexual offending of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, bringing the total number of people interviewed under caution to four. The man was questioned on suspicion of aiding and abetting rape and sexual assault, as well as human trafficking for sexual exploitation. His interview follows that of three women — aged in their 40s, 50s and 60s — who were questioned on suspicion of the same offences earlier this month. The Met confirmed no arrests have been made and that…

Motorists face significantly higher costs at the pumps this Easter after petrol prices climbed above 150p per litre for the first time since May 2024, with diesel forecast to reach a fresh milestone within days. Figures from RAC Fuel Watch put the average price of unleaded at 150.11p per litre, representing a rise of more than 17p in under four weeks. Diesel has climbed further still, averaging 177.68p — a jump of 35.3p, or nearly 25 per cent, since the end of February. The RAC’s head of policy, Simon Williams, described the 150p threshold as an “unwelcome” development and cautioned…

An Afghan asylum seeker who arrived in the United Kingdom on a small boat just four months before attacking a 12-year-old girl has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape, sexual assault and child abduction. Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was convicted by a jury at Warwick Crown Court of rape, two counts of sexual assault, child abduction and taking an indecent video of his victim during the attack, which took place near a residential street in Nuneaton last summer. Passing sentence, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the victim had suffered significant and lasting harm as a result of Mulakhil’s…

Britain’s competition regulator has opened formal investigations into five companies over concerns that online customer reviews may have been manipulated, marking one of the first significant uses of enforcement powers that came into effect earlier this year. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it is examining Just Eat, Autotrader, funeral services provider Dignity, reviews platform Feefo, and pasta delivery company Pasta Evangelists. The watchdog stressed it had “not reached any conclusions about whether consumer law has been broken.” The investigations centre on how each business obtains, moderates and displays customer reviews — a practice the CMA says shapes billions…

Metropolitan Police officers have instructed the Cabinet Office to withhold a number of documents connected to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the United States, as a criminal investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office continues. Among the files being kept from publication is a vetting exchange in which Morgan McSweeney — Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff — put three questions to Lord Mandelson concerning his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Those questions are understood to have related to Lord Mandelson’s continued contact with Epstein following the financier’s first conviction for soliciting…

A suspended NHS surgeon is facing criminal prosecution over social media activity that previously led to her removal from medical practice, as the Government simultaneously pushes ahead with reforms that could see more healthcare workers lose their licences over similar conduct. Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, 31, a British Palestinian trainee trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, has been charged by the Metropolitan Police with multiple counts of inviting support for Hamas. The charge follows a Medical Practitioners Tribunal last November which suspended her for fifteen months after finding she had shared posts expressing support for what it described as violent action and terrorist…

A federal court hearing in New York for former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro ended without a trial date on Wednesday, with much of the ninety-minute session consumed by a dispute over who is permitted to pay his legal bills — a question that could shape the entire course of the case. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, both dressed in khaki prison uniforms and listening through headphones to simultaneous translation, sat quietly throughout proceedings before Judge Alvin Hellerstein at the Southern District of New York. The couple face charges of narco-terrorism, which they are seeking to have dismissed. At the…

A Los Angeles jury has ruled that Meta and Google deliberately engineered their platforms to be addictive, finding both companies liable for the mental health harm suffered by a young woman who began using Instagram at the age of nine and YouTube at six. The plaintiff, identified only as Kaley and now aged 20, was awarded three million dollars — a verdict her legal team described as sending an unmistakable message that no company stands above accountability when children are involved. Snap and TikTok, which were originally named as defendants, reached undisclosed settlements with Kaley before the case went to…