Rioters Fuelling Prison Tensions, Says Inspector

The influx of rioters into jails has led to violent clashes between inmates as gangs attempt to recruit new members behind bars, the Chief Inspector of Prisons said yesterday.











British police officers charge rioters, during riots in Hackney, east London, Monday Aug. 8, 2011.

Nick Hardwick said the surge of young troublemakers into custody had fuelled tensions in jails and left more young offenders on suicide watch.

He said the increase threatened to undo recent improvements in prison conditions and protested over the Government's failure to embark on its promised "rehabilitation revolution".

Mr Hardwick said the stream of new arrivals had caused "stresses and strains" in the prison system which had spilled over into violence.

A gymnasium at Feltham Young Offenders Institution in west London had been "trashed" and offenders climbed on to the roof, while inmates at Brixton prison refused to return to their cells and threw objects at staff.

He said some of the gang rivalries in the outside world had been transferred to prisons, with some groups recruiting new members.

"There have been some quite serious incidents of groups fighting, fights between individuals and gangs reconfiguring," he said. "Some young people who previously did not have gang affiliation have joined for self-protection. New gangs have also been established."

After being locked up, members of rival "postcode gangs" from London had buried their differences to form city-wide groupings when they were moved to other parts of the country, he said.

The prison population in England and Wales stands at a record high of more than 86,800 – a rise of 900 since before the wave of riots in London and other major cities.

Nearly 200 looters have already been jailed and hundreds more have been remanded in custody awaiting trial.

Mr Hardwick also disclosed that a "significant number" of rioters jailed for the first time, as well as inmates moved to new prisons, were considered to be at risk of suicide and self-harm.

Producing his first annual report since succeeding Dame Anne Owers as Chief Inspector, he said many would have to sit out their sentences without any constructive activity or attempt to correct their behaviour.

They would, he said, have "too much access to drugs and negative peer pressure and too little access to work."

Rescued 'Slave' Criticises Police Raid At Bedfordshire Caravan Site

Man helped from Travellers' site brands Leighton Buzzard arrests 'rubbish' as nine men refuse to help investigation












Police guard the Greenacre caravan site in Leighton Buzzard.

The police investigation into a suspected slave camp at a Travellers' site in Bedfordshire has been challenged after nine of the 24 alleged slaves refused to help police with their inquiries.

One of the nine accused the police of heavy-handed tactics and described the five arrests as "complete rubbish".

Police insist that the four-month undercover operation has broken up an "organised crime group", and were questioning 15 alleged victims, who were being treated for malnutrition and other medical problems.

Police continue to question four men and are looking for two further suspects. One heavily pregnant woman, who is expected to give birth imminently, has been released on bail. No charges have yet been brought.

DCI Sean O'Neil, from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crimes unit, said: "Those people who we continue to help are appreciative of the support that is on offer, but it will take some time to work through with them what has happened."

He said he was confident the operation, called Operation Netwing, had broken up a criminal network.

Police have arrested suspects on slavery and servitude offences under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act.

"The new legislation has allowed the investigation more scope and takes into account emotional rather than physical harm," O'Neil said. "I am confident that while the investigation is in its early stages this is a family-run 'business' and is an organised crime group that has been broken up by the Netwing operation."

At the well-established Greenacre caravan park in Leighton Buzzard, which has 16 mobile homes, one of the men taken by police, who did not want to be named, said he had been living in a caravan on a Traveller plot for several years, working as a paver and was being paid £50 a day.

"I think it's all a load of rubbish and they just hate Travellers," said the man, who is in his 50s. "Plenty of men who were here wanted to be here and they were getting paid. The police coming in heavy-handed like this is just wrong."

More than 200 police officers raided the site in the early hours of Sunday, aided by a helicopter and dog patrols. Armed officers were also present.

Four men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of slavery offences, while 24 men were taken to a medical centre.

Police said the men had been kept as virtual slaves in appalling conditions, forced to work long hours doing physically demanding jobs without pay.

However, the man told the Guardian he had worked for 15 years with one Traveller family who had provided him with work and accommodation when he had nowhere else to go. After refusing to answer police questions he made his way back to the site.

He said: "The police told me I couldn't come back but I told them it was my home and if I wanted to go back I would go back."

Speaking at the door of her mobile home, one woman – who said she was the wife of one of the arrested men but did not want to be named – said the police claims were "ridiculous".

She added: "The men who were taken were getting paid £30 a day, they had somewhere to live, this is all a load of nonsense."

Police claimed the suspects lured vulnerable men from dole queues and homeless shelters to work at the site. But the woman said they came voluntarily because they knew Travellers would give work to men down on their luck.

"Isn't it better that they have a roof over their head?" she said. "What are they going to do now – when the police have finished with them they will be homeless. It's up to them how they kept their homes, but they could come and go whenever they pleased."

She accused the police of harbouring prejudices against Travellers. "It's complete lies and they are trying to make Travellers look bad. There are two sides to this story," she said.

A police spokeswoman said the 24 men taken from the site were being offered help: "We are giving help to all of the men, but if they do not want it then obviously we are not forcing them to take it."

Paul Donohoe, spokesman for Anti-Slavery International said that, although he could not comment on the details of this particular case, it was not unusual for victims of slavery to resist help from the authorities.

"We do often see the Stockholm syndrome coming into effect – it is not unusual for people who have been 'rescued' to psychologically identify with their enslavers."

Police said on Monday that of the 24 men taken from the site, nine had left the medical reception centre and had chosen not to support the police investigation.

The remaining 15 continue to be assessed for welfare and health needs, and would be interviewed by detectives. Police said it would take a number of days to establish exactly what had happened to them on the site.

Of the men helping police, eight are British, three Polish, one Latvian and one Lithuanian, with two men of unconfirmed nationality.

The youngest person to be found on site was 17. Police said he has rejoined his family.

Profile: Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe

Bernard Hogan-Howe, the newly-appointed Metropolitan Police Commissioner, fits the bill for the "single-minded crime fighter" sought by the home secretary.



Theresa May had made the call after his predecessor Sir Paul Stephenson, and his assistant John Yates, quit amid criticism of the Met's role in the phone-hacking scandal.

And the former Merseyside Police chief was well-placed to take on the job of the UK's top police officer, having been called on to act as the Met's deputy commissioner in the wake of the resignations.

During five years on Merseyside to 2009, Mr Hogan-Howe developed a high profile via regular web chats and broadcasts, appearances on local radio phone-ins and horseback rides through the city centre.

And he earned admirers for his tough approach to anti-social behaviour and stance on gun crime in the wake of the fatal shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones.

Born in Sheffield, the football enthusiast's rise through the ranks began with South Yorkshire Police in 1979.

'Tough stance'

He worked as a traffic officer, detective and district commander, gaining an MA in law from Oxford University and a diploma in applied criminology from Cambridge University along the way.

In 1997 he moved to Merseyside police and four years later joined the Met as an assistant commissioner, before returning to Liverpool in 2004.

During that time, crime dropped by a third, and the force claims anti-social behaviour rates were cut in half through a zero-tolerance approach.

Bernard Hogan-Howe's career

1979: South Yorkshire Police

1997: Assistant Chief Constable, Merseyside

2001: Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police

2004: Chief Constable of Merseyside

2009: HM Inspectorate of Constabulary

He hit the headlines in 2006 for sprinting after a suspected drink-driver after spotting him from his chauffeur-driven car.

Mr Hogan-Howe was the man in charge in 2007, when 11-year-old Rhys Jones was shot dead as he walked home from football practice.

The killing horrified the nation and there were grumblings from some in the media when there was no immediate arrest.

But Mr Hogan-Howe got his man in December 2008 when Sean Mercer, 18, was jailed for life and several members of his gang were also locked up.

'Clear philosophy'

That year, he accused some judges of being lenient on gun crime by overlooking mandatory five-year sentences for possession of a firearm.

He also called for those shielding gun criminals from police to be evicted from homes.

Mr Hogan-Howe set up the specialist Matrix team to tackle gun crime - the first of its kind outside London.









The home secretary and London mayor were "of one mind" in appointing Mr Hogan-Howe.

The unit's former head, Det Supt Geoff Sloane, said: "When he came he had a clear philosophy. It was to tackle organised crime, gang-related crime but also to make sure victims were properly supported, which was backed up by strong neighbourhood policing."

Before leaving Merseyside, he applied to succeed Sir Hugh Orde as chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

However, he withdrew from the application process to take up a role with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies.

He was called back to the Met in July to support Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin - later a rival for the top job - in bringing stability to the force after Sir Paul Stephenson's resignation.

The home secretary and London Mayor Boris Johnson said they were "of one mind" in their decision to appoint Mr Hogan-Howe.

Mrs May cited his "excellent track-record" in reducing crime had proven the deciding factor.

Soldier Jailed After Rape Victim Left Samples Of DNA In Her Attacker's Car

Teenager left her hair and saliva in Jonathan Haynes' vehicle leading to indefinite sentence for the 'clever, cunning predator'.












Jonathan Haynes, 30, a lance ­corporal with the Royal Logistics Corps, has been jailed indefinitely for raping three teenagers.

A brave and quick thinking teenage rape victim helped police trap a serial sex attacker by spitting in his car and leaving a strand of hair hidden in the vehicle.

The girl yanked out strands of her hair and pushed them down the seat of soldier Jonathan Haynes' car. She also spat in the vehicle to make sure traces of her DNA could be found.

Haynes was jailed indefinitely for raping three teenagers and trying to abduct two schoolgirls.

He raped two of the teenagers after seizing them from the streets of a market town in Wiltshire and bundling them into his car. Haynes, a lance corporal with the Royal Logistic Corps, attacked the third teenager after breaking into a university halls of residence.

Haynes tried to grab the two 14-year-old schoolgirls from a country lane.

Following the sentencing, police said they believed Haynes, 30, could be responsible for more attacks and appealed for any other potential victims to come forward.

Haynes was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection and ordered to serve at least 11 years' imprisonment but warned he may never be released. Judge Neil Ford QC, the Recorder of Bristol, called him a "clever and cunning predator".

A jury at Bristol crown court was told that Haynes, who was based at a barracks near Chippenham, Wiltshire, planned his attacks meticulously.

The first kidnap and rape happened in September 2009 in Chippenham as the 16-year-old victim made her way home from a night out.

Just 13 days later he raped an 18-year-old student after forcing entry to her halls of residence in Pontypridd, south Wales.

The following February, he attempted to snatch the two schoolgirls late at night from a country lane near Chippenham.

Weeks later Haynes kidnapped an 18-year-old girl off the streets of Chippenham and repeatedly raped her. She had the presence of mind to yank out strands of her own hair and leave them in the car and spit in the seat – something she had seen on television crime shows.

Speaking outside court when Haynes was convicted last month, she said: "I thought there's going to be an investigation and I wanted to help.

"When I was in the car I pulled out some of my own hair and I made sure I spat on the seat, so if it was ever found there was proof I had been in the car.

"It still surprises me now, it sounds silly, but I have always been a fan of CSI programmes. I've watched so many of them, I know what to do and how things work."

She said it was terrible to see Haynes in court lying about his offences. "It was horrible and as I stood there I was thinking how someone could make up such detailed lies.

"I'm just disgusted by him. For a human being to have any thoughts like that, to do something to someone ... it's horrible.

"I am so relieved that it is over. It has felt like a very long time that this has gone on for. A huge weight has been lifted."

Following the hearing the victim of the first attack, who asked to be known by the pseudonym of Abbi, said she felt guilty that she had not been able to help the police prevent further assaults.

She said: "I just want girls, not just young girls but girls of all ages, to be aware of the sort of people that are out there.

"I thought I was safe, only seconds away from my house. I learnt the hard way, I wouldn't want anyone else to.

"It's harder to trust men, just because of one sick individual, which is sad.

"I felt really bad when I'd heard someone else had been attacked, I blamed myself for not being able to give more information to help catch him.

"But anyone that goes to the police is doing their bit. It is hard but it's worth it in the end."

Forensic analysis of Haynes' laptop seized from his room at the barracks showed he carried out hundreds of searches on the internet for information relating to the attacks. He would even search for the names of his victims on social networking sites such as Facebook and Friends Reunited.

Haynes, from Northampton, was found guilty of rape, kidnap and attempted kidnap. He was also charged with child pornography offences but the crown decided not to proceed with the prosecution.Speaking after the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Bob Hamlin, of Wiltshire police, said there could be many more victims and his team were now examining other unsolved cases in the area.

He said: "We are investigating more cases that are unsolved but it is hard to put a figure on just how many more offences this dangerous man could have committed.

"He is one of the most evil men I've dealt with in 32 years of work. The horror the victims suffered can never be forgotten."

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed Haynes is no longer a serving soldier.

May To Hold Summit On Gang Culture

Theresa May, home secretary, is to host an international summit on how the country should deal with gangs, as part of the government’s response to last month’s riots.












Ms May, who appeared in front of MPs at the home affairs select committee on Thursday, conceded that only about a quarter of those involved in the violence in August are now thought to have had gang affiliations – fewer than thought. However, she said it was still vital to bring the problem under control.

“We are looking as widely as possible at what has worked [elsewhere] to make sure that what has worked is put in process,” Ms May said.

The home secretary reiterated that the government will also be canvassing the views of organisers of successful gang projects in the UK, such as the Strathclyde police scheme in Glasgow and another council-funded initiative in Waltham Forest, north London.

The prime minister has already announced that Bill Bratton, former chief of both New York and Los Angeles police departments, will be flying to the UK to give advice at the event in October.

However David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham – the borough in which the rioting started after the fatal police shooting of local resident Mark Duggan – suggested the focus should be on reassuring communities that the police would be able to restrain criminals more effectively in the future.

“We must never, ever allow criminals and gang members to run the streets,” he told the committee in an impassioned outburst. “The advances in community policing were important, but it needed to go further.”

Mr Lammy said he had concerns about Operation Trident, the Metropolitan Police’s campaign to reduce gun crime in the black community, which organised the operation when Mr Duggan was shot.

“When police come in from outside the borough, things can go wrong,” Mr Lammy said.

The MP added that he had seen evidence that riot perpetrators had been inciting violence on BlackBerry Messenger days before the disorder in Tottenham began. “I am deeply worried that the police seemed unaware of these networks,” Mr Lammy told the committee.

Separately, in a speech at the children’s charity Barnardo’s, Sadiq Khan, shadow justice secretary, castigated Ken Clarke, justice secretary, for making “simplistic assertions” when he called rioters a “feral underclass”.

“This kind of language absolves people from responsibility for their actions, implying that somehow they had no self-control or no choice,” Mr Khan said.

“Instead we will be looking at how we can make young people responsible citizens who understand the consequences of their actions and have the opportunities and the means to stay away from crime.”

UK Riots: Acting Met Chief Rejects 'Feral Underclass' Analysis

Tim Godwin challenges Kenneth Clarke's description of people involved in last month's riots.












Tim Godwin has challenged the justice secretary’s description of those blamed for England’s riots as a 'feral underclass'.

Britain's most senior police officer has challenged the justice secretary's description of those blamed for England's riots as a "feral underclass".

Tim Godwin, the acting commissioner for the Metropolitan police, said he would not have used Kenneth Clarke's term as he outlined his vision for the future of policing in the wake of the violence to the London assembly.

Writing in the Guardian on Monday, Clarke said the civil unrest over the summer had revealed an urgent need for penal reform to stop reoffending among "a feral underclass, cut off from the mainstream in everything but its materialism".

His comments came as figures revealed that almost 75% of those aged over 18 who were charged with offences committed during the riots had previous convictions.

Godwin – one of four candidates aspiring to be the Met's next commissioner – queried Clarke's choice of description when asked by Brian Coleman, a Conservative member of the London assembly, what he wanted politicians to do as a result of the riots.

He said: "The one thing that has struck me about the comments made by the justice secretary recently in the Guardian article was that he used a term – that I particularly would not use myself – about 'feral underclass'.

"The use of the term 'feral' in terms of youth and inner-city was first used, as I recall, in my service here in about 2000 following the death of Damilola Taylor.

"I think the fact that term is still being used in terms of young people in our inner city … is a great challenge to us as a city."

He added: "It's a term I would not personally use, but I think we do need to understand the level of fear of crime that actually encourages them to join gangs."

Godwin said the revelation that the vast majority of people involved in the summer riots had previous convictions had been a "wake-up call" for the criminal justice system.

He added that there has "got to be a big debate in London in terms of how we empower local communities" and called for "a wholesale change" in the way people first entering the criminal justice system are dealt with.

This should include developing a "cohesive plan", such as increasing local justice, which would see people coming forward from communities to sit as local JPs.

Godwin said: "Robust enforcement is key, but at the same time we need people to volunteer and come forward and work to make those communities better and to reduce the fear of crime – specifically among young people in inner cities."

He also told the assembly that police had not anticipated the scale of trouble that hit the capital across 22 boroughs last month, but said his force would do everything in its power to avoid a repeat of the disorder.

"In terms of the future, we will make sure that we over-egg the pudding in terms of numbers," he added.

Godwin told City Hall on Wednesday that morale at the Met was as strong as it ever had been. He also said next year's operation at the Olympics "will be better as a result of the experience we have had".

His comments came a day after he gave evidence to the home affairs select committee on the riots.

The panel of MPs heard that the rioting will cost the taxpayer more than £133m in policing and compensation for businesses hit by the violence.

Shafilea Ahmed's Parents Charged With Her Murder

The parents of Cheshire schoolgirl Shafilea Ahmed, the suspected victim of a so-called honour killing, have been charged with her murder.














A coroner ruled that Shafilea Ahmed was unlawfully killed.

The 17-year-old was last seen in Warrington in September 2003.

Her decomposed remains were found on the banks of the River Kent in Cumbria in February 2004.

Iftikhar Ahmed, 51, and Farzana Ahmed, 48, of Liverpool Road in Great Sankey, Warrington, have always denied any involvement in their daughter's death.

The couple appeared at Halton Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, and were remanded in custody.

They are now due to appear before Manchester Crown Court on Friday.

Mr and Mrs Ahmed were initially arrested on suspicion of kidnapping their daughter in December 2003. In June 2004 they were released without charge when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) ruled there was insufficient evidence against them.

They were arrested on suspicion of her murder in 2010 and released on police bail.

The CPS authorised Cheshire police to charge the couple on Wednesday.



The CPS authorised Cheshire police to charge Shafilea's parents.

Two post-mortem examinations failed to determine how Ms Ahmed died but a verdict of unlawful killing was recorded at her inquest in 2008.

The inquest heard she was a bright and intelligent young woman who wanted to go to university and become a lawyer.

Pathologists said she was most likely strangled or suffocated and South Cumbria coroner Ian Smith said he believed she was probably murdered.

The teenager went missing on 11 September 2003 and was reported missing by a teacher a week later.

Her body was discovered by workmen and she was identified by her jewellery and dental records.

Metropolitan Police To Use Sick Leave Officers For Office Roles

Britain’s biggest police force plans to fill back-office roles with injured officers to boost the number of officers available for frontline duty in the wake of the riots, it was revealed today.












Boris Johnson arrives at the Home Affairs Select Committee to answer questions about the recent riots in London.

The plan, announced by London Mayor Boris Johnson, comes after the Metropolitan Police was severely criticised for not having enough officers on the streets to cope with the disorder sweeping London last month.

Outnumbered by rioters, the police was forced to allow looters to steal from shops in what became one of the largest scenes of social disobedience ever witnessed in Britain.

Giving evidence to MPs about the riots in London, the acting Scotland Yard commissioner Tim Godwin admitted: “We ran out of police officers” and added: "The thin blue line is quite thin on occassions."

Mr Johnson told the home affairs select committee that he had drawn up plans to try an increase the number of frontline officers available to the Metropolitan Police.

“One of the things we are doing is looking at getting officers who are on long term sick leave to come in and do some of these functions that are currently being done by warranted officers in order to allow the warranted officers out there on the street,” he said.

“Out of these events good must come.”

The riots in London began on Saturday 6 August and continued until the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Police increased the numbers of officers on the streets of the capital from 6,000 to 16,000 on the Tuesday evening to prevent a fourth night of rioting.

Mr Godwin, who is bidding to become the new Metropolitan Police commissioner following Sir Paul Stephenson’s departure, said he wished he had increased the number of officers sooner.

He said: “You would want the benefit of hindsight as foresight. Had I had that then I wish I had lots more police officers on duty on Sunday into Monday.”

It was also announced that of the 1,630 people charged during the riots, 83 per cent have had prior contact with the police while 77 per cent had criminal records.

The justice secretary Kenneth Clarke said that the figures highlighted a “broken penal system”.

Mr Godwin said that the statistics were “a wake up call for the criminal justice system”.

He added: “The amount of people that have previous convictions does pose questions for us and I think that we at the Met, working with the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office, have got to learn from that.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said reoffending rates were "ludicrous" but that none of those involved was "beyond help".He said: “What has so much gone missing inside the criminal justice system is that the reoffending rates in the UK are ludicrous and what we end up doing is arresting and re-arresting and re-re-arresting the same people for different crimes.

"Rehabilitation...is a critical component to changing the communities we are talking about."

Mr Johnson said that the justice system must also plan for the huge numbers of extra prisoners it will receive in the wake of the riots. He added: “You cannot simply abandon them there [in prison].”

Mr Johnson also revealed that the Metropolitan Police would submit a bill for £74million to the Government for the cost of policing the riots.

It was also estimate that the cost on other parts of the country came to £50 million, meaning the total nationwide cost is £124million.

Lynne Owens, the Scotland Yard assistant commissioner in charge of policing the riots, also revealed that the forces still has more than 20,000 hours of CCTV footage to view, suggesting many more arrests, on top of the 2,343 the force has already made, are likely.

Met Police Considering More Riot Training

The Met Police is considering doubling the number of officers trained to deal with riots, its acting head has said.









Mayor Boris Johnson backed decisions by Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin.

Tim Godwin said the number of police given specialist "level 2" public order training could rise to 6,000.

And he admitted the force made mistakes in the aftermath of the police shooting in Tottenham of a man whose death sparked last month's disturbances.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson defended police handling of the riots, saying the "crisis" caught everyone unawares.

Both men appeared before MPs on Tuesday to discuss the riots which spread across London.

Mr Godwin said with hindsight more officers would have been deployed on the streets after the shooting of Mark Duggan by police in Tottenham.

"The number of sites of disorder was something we hadn't experienced in the city before - and that did take us by surprise," he said.

He said with the benefit of hindsight he "wished he had had lots more police officers on duty on the Sunday and then into the Monday."

Mr Godwin defended the force's actions saying that decisions on tactics and numbers were taken on the basis of the best evidence available.

He said he wished he had more officers available by the third day of incidents - but nobody had foreseen "22 boroughs of serious disorder" driven by "copycat" criminality.

Regarding riot training, he said: "Looking ahead at what might come in the future, I think we're going to need to increase it."

He said that 43 of the force's officers had received commendations for their "extreme bravery" and 282 had been injured.

But Mr Godwin also rejected suggestions that his commanders had used the wrong tactics or were lacking specific tools, such as water cannon or baton rounds, also known as rubber bullets.



"We had a full range of tactics," he told MPs. "It was purely numbers [of officers] that was the inhibitor."

"Baton rounds were available but I think we would have been having a different conversation [if they had been used and people had been injured].

"I take pride in the fact that we filled up prison places instead of hospital beds, and I think that's the British way."

Mr Johnson declined to agree with the prime minister that police had got their tactics wrong.

The mayor said lessons could be learned with the benefit of hindsight - but disorder had been contained.

The mayor and the Met's acting chief echoed Justice Secretary Ken Clarke's views that the riots were the legacy of a broken penal system.

Mr Godwin told the committee: "I think this is a wake-up call for the criminal justice system.

"We have in London been seeking to speed up justice, make it more relevant, make it more relevant to communities, and that's something that we need to do.

"The amount of people who have previous convictions does pose questions for us."

UNIFORMED POLICE ON STREETS DURING LONDON RIOTS

* SAT 6 AUG: 3,000
* SUN 7 AUG: 3,000 (then upped to 4,200)
* MON 8 AUG: 6,000
* TUES 9 AUG: 16,000 (total on duty 24,300)
* Source: Met Police

Giving evidence to the Commons Home Affairs committee, Mr Johnson said that the Metropolitan Police and the city's authorities had been completely surprised by the scale of the disorder in August that spread from one incident in Tottenham to other boroughs.

"I think with 20/20 hindsight people may feel that it would have been wiser to upscale the police presence.

"But if you look overall at what the police did on [the first] night and on successive nights and what they are doing now … the riots were contained and there were remarkably few casualties"

During the emergency recall of Parliament last month, Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs that there had been far too few police on the streets and they had used the wrong tactics.

Asked by the committee if he agreed with the prime minister, Mr Johnson said: "It's self-evidence that there was a difficulty, a crisis, on the Sunday and Monday that caught everyone unawares."

Mr Johnson compared the scenes in London to those in Paris six years ago. He said that the police had to rely on emergency powers to restore order in the French capital - whereas the British approach had ended the disorder within a week.

The Metropolitan Police has told the committee in a letter that policing the disorder cost £74m and they now have 500 officers working on investigations.

The force also said that its commanders took the decisions to increase the number of officers deployed over the course of the disorder and later informed the home secretary and prime minister. The decision to increase numbers had been taken before police chiefs met ministers in an emergency Whitehall meeting.

Gangs

The MPs were hearing from the Mayor and police chiefs as new figures emerged about people who took part in the rioting and looting.

The Metropolitan Police says that the proportion of rioters with links to gangs has dropped from almost a third to 19%, almost certainly because detectives had arrested known suspects before targeting others filmed on CCTV.

Figures indicate that eight out of 10 offenders were known to the police and 75% of them had a criminal record.

In an article published in the Guardian on Tuesday morning, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke blamed the "broken penal system" for the riots.

He said the Ministry of Justice's latest statistics showed that the hardcore of those involved had previous convictions and the criminal justice system had failed to stop them reoffending.

Moat's Brother Tells Of Plea

The brother of gunman Raoul Moat appealed to police to be allowed to talk to him in the hours before he shot himself in Rothbury in Northumberland.















Moat went on the run in July 2010 after shooting and seriously injuring his former partner Sam Stobbart, murdering her boyfriend Chris Brown, and blinding PC David Rathband.

Angus Moat told the inquest into his brother's death that he telephoned the police because he thought he might be able to "talk Raoul down".

He told the court in Newcastle: "I was completely appalled by his actions. But I didn't want him to die."

The 41-year-old tax inspector said he had not spoken to his brother for at least seven years and described their family as "very fragmented".

"Raoul thought everybody in his own family would be against him and I wanted to show him that was not the case," he told the jury.

"I thought if I could speak to him it could change the way he was feeling and the way he would act."

Police officers assessing potential helpers, or third party intermediaries, had told him by phone that his presence could put the police negotiators at risk.

Mr Moat acknowledged the police had a better idea than he did of "all the emotional triggers" affecting his brother's behaviour.

Much of the evidence on the second day of the inquest focused on who should have been involved in the negotiations to try to prevent Moat from shooting himself or others.

Saline Deaths: Freed Nurse 'Was A Scapegoat'

A nurse who spent more than six weeks in custody after being accused of tampering with saline drips at a Stockport hospital was made a "scapegoat", according to her lawyer.











The hospital says heightened security measures will remain in place.

On Friday, police announced they were releasing Rebecca Leighton and dropping all charges in connection with deaths on two wards at Stepping Hill Hospital.

Her solicitor Carl Richmond said he felt police had "jumped the gun" in arresting Miss Leighton.

He said: "I got the feeling there had to be a scapegoat because there was absolute chaos at the hospital and it could not function because of all the speculation.

"I was imploring the police to bail her while they continued their inquiries but the decision was made to charge," Mr Richmond said.

Miss Leighton was first arrested on suspicion of murder and then formally accused of causing criminal damage with intent to endanger life.











Rebecca Leighton could sue for as much as £1m, according to newspaper reports.

The alarm was raised when a higher than normal number of patients were reported to have "unexplained" low blood sugar levels amid fears saline solution had been contaminated with insulin.

After reports in some newspapers that Miss Leighton could sue police for as much as £1m, Mr Richmond told Sky News such speculation was "premature".

He said the 27-year-old nurse would probably meet with her legal team later this week in order to discuss the options available, but had not yet decided whether legal action was appropriate.











Miss Leighton will not immediately be able to return to work.

Mr Richmond said, with her family's support, Miss Leighton was "bearing up reasonably well" after what had been a very stressful period in custody.

The nurse has said she felt she was "living in hell" since her arrest.

She will not be able to return to work as an interim order suspending her from the Nursing and Midwifery Council's register remains in place.

Meanwhile, police have vowed to leave "no stone unturned" in their investigation into the deaths of seven patients.

They have said they are planning to interview at least another 500 witnesses - including staff, patients and visitors.

It is thought more than 700 people could have had access to the area where the bags of saline were being kept.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said tight security measures remain in place and would continue for the foreseeable future.

Murdered Teenager Rebecca Aylward’s Mother Called For Return Of Death Penalty

The mother of a murdered teenager called for the return of capital punishment after her daughter’s killer was sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in prison.














Murderer Joshua Davies was branded “devious, calculating and controlling” by a judge who said he would serve a decade and a half before being considered for parole.

Davies lured his ex-girlfriend Rebecca Aylward, 15, into woods at Aberkenfig, near Bridgend, and smashed her skull with a rock last October.

He left her face-down in the rain wearing the new clothes she had just bought.

After his sentencing at Swansea Crown Court yesterday, Rebecca’s mother, Sonia Oatley, said: “It was her dream to become a barrister, a dream cruelly erased by calculated killer Joshua Davies – a young man she trusted and loved.

“Rebecca was destined for greatness. Joshua Davies robbed us of watching our precious and perfect little girl flourish into a successful young woman.

“We will never forgive him for tearing our world apart so brutally and I would welcome the return of capital punishment for the likes of Joshua Davies, who forfeited his human rights when he chose to take my daughter’s life.”

During his trial, the court heard how Davies had been bet a full cooked breakfast by friends if he carried out his threat to murder popular Becca, from Maesteg.

A jury found him guilty by a 10-2 majority in July after deliberating for four days.

Yesterday, Judge Justice Lloyd Jones labelled Davies “devious, calculating and controlling”, adding: “You showed no remorse.”

He told the 16-year-old, who was impassive as the sentence was handed down: “Her death will leave a permanent shadow over her family.

“The effects of what you have done are devastating.”

Speaking outside court, Ms Oatley said she was satisfied with the 14-year minimum sentence.

“I would have liked it to be longer but that is a minimum sentence and if he ever wants to be free he’ll have to show some sort of remorse,” she said.

“In my opinion, he will never admit to what he’s done.”

But she said she would never understand why none of Davies’ friends alerted anyone to his repeated threats to kill her.

“I find it hard to believe that nobody came to me and said that he was making those threats,” she said.

“I can’t believe someone didn’t mention it to anybody.

“You can’t help but think that it could have been prevented. Maybe we could have stopped her going that day.”

But the judge told the court nobody could have expected the defendant to carry out his claims.

Ms Oatley added: “The truth is, I’m still looking for answers. I just wish he would explain to me why he did it and what exactly happened.”

Taking into account the time Davies has already spent in custody, he will have to serve a minimum of 13 years and 53 days before he is considered for parole.

Brian Paddick Picked By Liberal Democrats For London Mayoral Race

2012 race will be rematch between Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and former Met deputy assistant commissioner.












Brian Paddick is once again the Liberal Democrat candidate for mayor of London, pitted against Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone.

London's mayoral election next year will be a rematch between Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and Brian Paddick, after the former Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner was selected as the Liberal Democrats' candidate for the second time.

Paddick, who came third in the 2008 mayoral election when Johnson ousted Livingstone after two terms, was declared the winner after a four-horse race in which the former MP Lembit Opik was eliminated in the first round.

Opik lost the safe Lib Dem seat of Montgomeryshire in the 2010 general election. On Friday, in an election run on the single transferrable vote, he secured just 252 votes, coming fourth behind London councillor Brian Haley, with 316.

Paddick narrowly won on second preference votes (1,567), with Mike Tuffrey, a member of the London assembly, close behind on 1,476. About 6,000 London party members were eligible to vote.

Paddick, who had said he was undecided about standing when he put in his nomination papers in June, has pledged to fight for a "fair deal" for Londoners, to protect local community policing and to hold down bus fares.

He thanked Liberal Democrat members "who placed their trust and confidence in me to be their candidate for mayor of London – I won't let you down".

Opik, who had previously claimed that "forces within the party" were trying to prevent him standing, conceded defeat before the final result was announced. He told the Evening Standard: "I stood because I felt the Lib Dems desperately need to reach out beyond their traditional voters. Boris and Ken are celebrity politicians. I fear the party doesn't grasp the implication of this." He was not quitting. "I'll be back," he said.

Some in the party are resigned to next year's election being a Johnson-Livingstone rematch, and see the mayoral election as a way of boosting the party's profile for the London assembly elections taking place at the same time. Currently it holds just three seats out of 25.

Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister, said Paddick provided Londoners with a "real, credible alternative" to Johnson and Livingstone.

"Brian's experience is exactly what London needs right now. Whether dealing with the aftermath of the riots or phone hacking and corruption in the Metropolitan police, Brian has shown in recent weeks that he has the authority and leadership London needs."The phone hacking scandal that rocked News International, the Metropolitan police and the political establishment is likely to surface in the 2012 contest. Paddick, whose phone was hacked by the now defunct News of the World, is among a group of public figures who have sought permission for a judicial review of the Met's handling of the phone hacking scandal.

Johnson, the incumbent mayor who declared his intention to seek a second term a year ago, came under fire over the summer for having dismissed reports that News of the World's use of phone hacking was more widespread than first thought as "codswallop" – a claim that turned out to be wide of the mark.

Livingstone, who was the first to declare his intention to stand again, was mayor when the original police investigation was conducted in 2006.

Paddick, who retired from the police in 2007 after 30 years of service, told the Evening Standard on Friday that reformed gang members should go into school to warn children of the dangers of getting involved in violent crime, after the recent riots in the capital raised fears about violent young people.

Faster Justice Does Not Have To Be Worse

The very public dispute between Eoin McLennan-Murray, of the Prison Governors' Association, and John Thornhill, of the Magistrates' Association, betrays the sectional interests of both sides.









John Thornhill of the Magistrates Association denied the judiciary were politically pressured.

Mr Thornhill maintains that magistrates' courts have done a stellar job in the wake of the riots and suggests lessons for the future. Mr McLennan-Murray, whose members have to cope with the consequences of the courts' decisions, says magistrates have indulged in a sentencing "feeding frenzy", pandering to popular emotion.

As a newspaper, we share Mr McLennan-Murray's qualms about the speed with which justice is being dispensed and the rate of imprisonment. We also ask whether custodial sentences are the best way of punishing rioters and, indeed, whether magistrates are on top form at, say, 2am. Justice Ministry figures show that almost 70 per cent of those brought to courts since the riots have been given jail sentences or remanded in custody; the figure for 2010 was 10 per cent. This is a big difference, even if some harsher sentences are already being reversed on appeal.

But Mr Thornhill has a point that should not be ignored, just because other questions are raised. In three weeks, magistrates have heard several thousand cases, by dint of working longer hours and requiring greater efficiency from all concerned. Yes, there have been problems – missing papers, poorly briefed lawyers and absent probation officers – but these, regrettably, are not unusual.

Against that, there have also been benefits in accelerating the process: events were still fresh in everyone's memory and the link between offence and court, often blurred by delay, was clear. Here, Mr Thornhill is right. Extraordinary circumstances have shown how the ordinary could be radically improved.

Six Arrested After Three Girls, All 15, 'Gang Raped' In Ipswich Flat

Police investigating the gang rape of three 15-year-old girls have arrested three teenagers and three men, officers said tonight.

The girls were subjected to the brutal attack in a town centre flat in Ipswich, Suffolk, in the early hours of yesterday.

Officers were called to the property shortly after 3am, when a friend of one of the victims raised the alarm.












Attack: The gang rape occurred in a flat in Ipswich town centre.

A police spokeswoman has now confirmed that six people, including three teenagers, have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Detectives have not elaborated on details of the brutal attack, or how the men were able to enter the flat.

A police spokesman said the victims did not know their attackers and the men had not been invited into the flat.

'Suffolk Police are at present dealing with a number of allegations of rape at a property in Ipswich,' the spokesman said.

'Officers were called at just after 3am this morning, Friday 26 August by a friend of one of the victims and a scene is currently in place at the property.

'Three female victims, all aged 15 years old, are being spoken to and given assistance by specially trained officers this morning.

'A police pod has been set up for concerned residents to talk to officers.'

The three girls have been interviewed by specially-trained officers but did not need hospital treatment, the spokesman added.

Earlier today, a 19-year-old man from Ipswich was arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of cannabis while another 19-year-old and a 17-year-old were also arrested on suspicion of rape.

They were interviewed at the Ipswich Police Investigation Centre before being bailed this evening and ordered to return on October 13 pending further inquiries.

And this evening police confirmed that three more arrests have now been made.

A spokesman for Suffolk Constabulary said: 'Police investigating after receiving allegations that three teenage girls were raped have made three further arrests.

'Three men, one aged 25 and two aged 20 have been taken into custody where they will be interviewed by detectives.'

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Luckett said: 'This is a very serious offence and officers from the Major Investigation Team are working closely with colleagues to find out exactly what happened and who was involved.

'The victims are currently receiving support from police and partner agencies through the Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

'This appears to be an isolated incident and we would like to reassure members of the public that these types of offences are extremely unusual, both in Suffolk and nationally.'

Forensic teams were at the flat today.

Anyone with information should contact Ipswich CID on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.