Jihadis Felt A 'Moral Duty' To Fight In Syria

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 05 Desember 2014 | 20.49

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By Adele Robinson, Midlands Correspondent

Ex-Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg has told Sky News that two Birmingham men jailed for terrorism offences told him they felt a "moral duty" to go to Syria for "benign reasons".

Mr Begg spent time with Yusuf Zubair Sarwar and Mohammed Nahin Ahmed, both 22, in Belmarsh prison earlier this year before his release without charge in October.

He describes them behind bars as being "very young" and "quite bewildered by their situation, especially Yusuf."

Sarwar and Ahmed pleaded guilty in July to one count each of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorism acts contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act.

The pair spent eight months in Syria last year after contacting Islamist extremists from the UK.

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Gallery: Terror Pair Left Trail On Computer

Two British men who travelled to Syria to fight alongside rebels have pleaded guilty to terrorism offences. All photos from West Midlands Police.

Mohammed Nahin Ahmed and Yusuf Zubair Sarwar spent eight months in Syria last year after contacting Islamist extremists from the UK. This email was sent to Ahmed by a Danish extremist.

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Nahin and Sarwar leaving the Heathrow Premier Inn for the airport terminal.

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Mr Begg , who is now Outreach Director for advocacy group CAGE, said that the young men "might have felt it was a bit of an adventure" and "never thought for one moment that what they were doing was a crime against the United Kingdom".

When Sarwar and Ahmed, childhood friends from Handsworth in Birmingham, returned to the UK in January they were arrested and put in Belmarsh prison.

Mr Begg said: "That would put them alongside, or in the same category as, people who have killed police officers, or gangland murderers, and it's that level that they were at."

"The reason why they went to Syria, like most of the young kids, was a time when they saw the Assad regime carrying out brutal policies of using chemical weapons, and using bombs against the civilian population.

"So they thought it was a moral duty, an Islamic duty, to go and help. They came back, crucially, because of the infighting because of the rise of IS, because they didn't want to be involved."

Mr Begg said he believes that the British government stance towards Syria returnees is too "black and white":

"These people could have been an asset ... they could have spoken to other people and said that 'we returned because of the infighting, we saw what was happening with IS, we didn't want a part of it.

"'Whatever the utopian dream people have of what's happening over there, here's the reality.' That voice has now been totally closed down."

Mr Begg also believes, from his conversations with the young men, that neither were radicalised in Syria but "what may radicalise them is going to be the experience of what Britain did to them when they came back".

He also criticised government anti-extremism programmes such as Channel and particularly Prevent which he describes as "counter productive and alienating".

"It makes the assumption that you're a threat when you're not," he said.

"These are the things I think that are patronising to the community and also begin from the premise that if you're a Muslim that must have been what caused your radicalisation in the first place."

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Written By Unknown on Kamis, 04 Desember 2014 | 20.49

Twenty-five criminal convictions linked to undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood are being re-examined, the CPS has said.

It follows the collapse of the case against pop singer and former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos.

The CPS says it will now contact defendants or their representatives in 25 past cases in which Mr Mahmood has been involved. They will hand over disclosure packs with materials which may undermine those convictions.

A CPS spokesperson said: "We are providing this information to defence representatives to allow them to consider whether there is any basis for their client's case to be referred to the Court of Appeal or to the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC)."

Mr Mahmood, also known as "The Fake Sheikh" because of an identity he assumed during several of his investigations, was suspended from The Sun On Sunday after the Contostavlos trial collapsed.

More follows...

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Osborne Defends Plans Amid Fears Over Cuts

George Osborne has defended his economic plans amid claims that he is set to plunge Britain into a period of austerity not seen since the 1930s.

The Chancellor grabbed headlines with the historic stamp duty reforms he announced, but cuts of £60bn to non-protected areas like police, local government and justice will be required in the coming years if he is to meet his targets, the government spending watchdog said.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said public spending would have to fall to 35.2% of GDP by 2019/20 if Mr Osborne is to eliminate the deficit by the end of the next parliament.

OBR chairman Robert Chote said a "very tight further squeeze" on public services would be needed - including the loss of a further one million public sector jobs - driving down public spending to an 80-year low.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said the plans laid out in the Autumn Statement will require "spending cuts on a colossal scale" after next year's general election.

Mr Osborne told Sky News his plan to clear the deficit by 2020 was "balanced".

He said: "We're taking a number of years because I think that's the right pace. The path we're on has given Britain not just the fastest growing economy in the world, but it means...you've got real world evidence that we've got the right long-term plan."

He justified the "giveaways" in his Autumn Statement, saying the country "can't afford not to" invest in areas like roads and flood defences.

He said: "It's precisely because we didn't invest in those things in the last decade that our country was not equipped for the modern economy.

"We've got to make sure our deficit is coming down but we shouldn't do that at the expense of the big long-term investments that secure jobs for generations to come."

The Chancellor was scathing about his Liberal Democrat coalition partners after Business Secretary Vince Cable said his plan to bring public spending down to 35% of GDP as "wholly unrealistic".

He said: "In private they sign up to these decisions but then in public they slag them off. But that's for them to explain to you."

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said Mr Osborne was being forced to accelerate spending cuts because he had failed to balance the budget.

He told Sky News: "He said he'd make people better off and that hasn't worked. People's wages are still falling compared to prices.

"And it's that cost of living crisis which means for the next few years the revenues aren't coming in and he's got a huge problem and he's saying he can somehow solve this with bigger spending cuts than before."

He said the Chancellor's promise of tax cuts worth £7bn in the next parliament were an "unfunded fantasy".

But he said Labour would keep the stamp duty reforms and abolition of air passenger duty for children, while making savings by measures including reversing top rate tax cuts and taking winter fuel allowance away from rich pensioners.

The stamp duty changes that could cut £4,500 off the cost of an average home have come into force - a move welcomed by thousands of buyers.

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Gallery: Stamp Duty: How Much Will You Save?

Homes bought for under £125,000, such as these terraced houses, are unchanged by the new rules and buyers still do not have to pay any Stamp Duty

Someone choosing a typical three-bedroom semi-detached costing £185,000 would pay £1,200 instead of £1,850 under the old rules - a £650 saving

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Gorge Search For Baby After Woman's Body Found

Police have been searching the steep sides of a gorge in Bristol in the hunt for a newborn baby whose mother left hospital with the infant on Tuesday evening.

Officers had been looking for missing Charlotte Bevan for almost 24 hours before a body was found in the Avon Gorge below the suburb of Clifton late on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old had walked out of Bristol Maternity Hospital wearing no coat and hospital slippers.

Police have said the family of Ms Bevan have been told that a body was found.

Official identification is expected to take place today.

Sky's Siobhan Robbins, who is in Clifton, said officers have been abseiling down the sides of the gorge and searching the undergrowth with sticks all morning.

They are attempting to locate Zarnee Teanna, who would now be six days old.

Police have also been using sniffer dogs, horses and a helicopter in the search.

Robbins added: "There is no evidence found as to where those two went.

"If the sad news is confirmed that the body that was found is that of Charlotte Bevan, then no one knows the situation surrounding her baby and so it's of paramount importance that police try and find out where that infant is."

Ms Bevan was filmed on CCTV walking out of the hospital between 8.30pm and 9pm on Tuesday carrying the baby, which was wrapped only in blankets.

A police spokesman said: "The police helicopter remains in the area to assist the continuing searches by police officers on the ground."

The baby's father Pascal Malbrouck told a news conference on Wednesday that he was very concerned about Ms Bevan as she had suffered from mental health problems.

Robbins said another line of enquiry is focusing on the possibility that Ms Bevan may have stopped taking medication for the mental illness because she was breastfeeding.

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 08457 90 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org

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MP Mark Pritchard Arrested On Suspicion Of Rape

Conservative MP Mark Pritchard has been arrested following an allegation of rape.

Mr Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin in Shropshire, was arrested and questioned by police on Tuesday following the claim.

He voluntarily attended a police station in London and was given bail.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: "We can confirm that a 48-year-old man voluntarily attended a north London police station on Tuesday, 2 December where he was arrested, following an allegation of rape in central London.

"He has been bailed to a date in early January 2015 pending further enquiries."

A letter from the Metropolitan Police to Speaker John Bercow said: "I write to inform you that on December 2 Mark Pritchard MP was arrested at 6.14pm at Holborn Police Station in London by Metropolitan Police Service officers.

"Mr Pritchard was questioned by police and released on police bail later the same evening at 10.16pm."

A spokesman for the Conservative Party said: "This is a police matter. It would be inappropriate to comment while an investigation is taking place."

Mr Pritchard has been MP for The Wrekin since 2005.

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Paedophile Care Home Boss Jailed For Life

Written By Unknown on Senin, 01 Desember 2014 | 20.48

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Former care home boss John Allen has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 11 years.

For decades Allen, 73, ran children's homes in and around Wrexham, North Wales, and routinely subjected youngsters to sexual and violent abuse.

Last week, he was convicted by a jury at Mold Crown Court of committing historical sexual offences against 18 boys and one girl, aged between seven and 15, at his residential care properties between 1968 and 1991.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Openshaw said: "There have no doubt been more prolific offenders but seldom can there be so many grave offences committed on so many victims over a long period of time, causing so much anguish and misery."

The judge said that at its height, 120 boys were sent into his care at Bryn Alyn by 14 different local authorities. The court also heard that later some girls were given accommodation.

Mr Justice Openshaw said most of those who were abused came from "dysfunctional, chaotic" backgrounds and needed care and protection.

Instead, they were abused by a "powerful man" whom one victim described "as like a god".

Many of Allen's victims who had given evidence during the trial returned to the court to see him sentenced.

In an exclusive interview last week, two of the men who were repeatedly abused in care told Sky News: "It is very significant for us all because it is a time to move on.

"I have already decided to move on, the words come easy but the actual actions will take some time," one of the men said.

The pair revealed other victims have recently come forward. "I know people who have disclosed to me recently from Bryn Alyn who will never get the platform we had," one of the men said.

"We weren't just there for ourselves the platform was for others who are sadly no longer with us because they have took their own lives, or because they just couldn't muster the physical strength to go through the process."

Allen, of Needham Market, Suffolk, was given a discretionary life sentence for seven serious sexual assaults.

He was given concurrent terms of 10 years for 23 indecent assaults and two years for an act of gross indecency with a child. Allen was cleared of two other serious sexual assaults.

The jury were unable to reach verdicts on three counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child, all of which were allowed to lie on file.

It is the second time Allen has been convicted and sentenced at Mold Crown Court, following a previous trial over "very similar" sexual offences in 1995.

Allen has also been accused of being involved in trafficking children between the homes and paedophile rings.

The National Crime Agency's Operation Pallial, which is leading the latest investigation into the North Wales care home scandal, has not found evidence of people trafficking.

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Cancer Doctor Jailed For Child Sex Attacks

A children's doctor who sexually abused 18 boys in his care has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Dr Myles Bradbury carried out examinations on children "purely for his own sexual gratification" and with no medical justification, Cambridge Crown Court heard.

The cancer specialist admitted 25 offences in September involving 18 boys aged 10 to 16 whom he had treated while working as a paediatric haematologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital in the city.

The abuse included seven counts of sexual assault and 12 of engaging in sexual activity with a child.

Sentencing him, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth said: "For a doctor to attack children in this way is one of the worst forms of sexual abuse imaginable."

"These boys were all vulnerable and gravely ill. In all my years on the bench, I have never come across such a grotesque betrayal of your Hippocratic oath."

The judge said Bradbury's sentence would be reduced because of his early guilty pleas, although "some might observe" that the weight of evidence meant he had little option but to admit the offences.

Victims' lawyer Renu Daly said the families were "relieved" that Bradbury had been given a lengthy jail term as it meant he would be unable to harm more children.

His victims included children with haemophilia, leukaemia and other serious illnesses, some of whom have since died.

Bradbury, a married 41-year-old father-of-one from Herringswell, Suffolk, would abuse the boys on occasions when "the parent was a curtain away".

He would also secretly film them using a camera pen, and more than 16,000 images were found on a disc at his home.

Bradbury was described as "a man of great charm and persuasiveness" whom everybody trusted.

When one victim raised concerns with his mother, she said: "He's a doctor, it must be necessary."

Prosecutor John Farmer said Bradbury had a "longstanding, unlawful, sexual interest in boys" and abused them "for his own personal gratification".

The Crown Prosecution Service in the East of England said it was "one of the worst" cases of a breach of trust it had ever prosecuted.

Bradbury's barrister, Angela Rafferty, said in mitigation that his guilty pleas had spared his victims the ordeal of having to give evidence.

Bradbury accepts that what he did was "repugnant", Ms Rafferty told the court.

The offences were carried out over four-and-a-half years from 2008.

Bradbury's crimes came to light in November 2013 after an 11-year-old told his grandmother about what had happened during a visit and how he had been told to keep it a secret.

Bradbury was suspended by Addenbrooke's before being arrested the following month.

Dr Keith McNeil, chief executive of the Cambridge University Hospitals Trust, said: "Our thoughts today are with our patients and families who were victims of Bradbury's shocking and cynical abuse.

"Today's sentencing of Bradbury cannot undo the damage he caused but he is finally behind bars and is no longer a risk to vulnerable children.

"The lengthy sentence shows Bradbury's abhorrent betrayal and manipulation of his position as a doctor has been fully recognised."

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Star Wars Stormtrooper Hits Out At Racists

British actor John Boyega, who plays a stormtrooper in the new Star Wars film, has hit back at racist comments made after the release of the first trailer.

The teaser for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens has been viewed over 40 million times since it was posted online on Friday and caused huge excitement among fans of the sci-fi franchise.

Boyega, 22, appears in the video in the first few seconds, wearing the stormtrooper's famous white outfit but without his helmet.

But some on the web questioned director JJ Abrams' decision to cast a black actor as one of the elite soldiers.

In a post on Instagram, Boyega addressed the criticism, writing: "To whom it may concern ... Get used to it :)"

He also thanked people for their support and expressed his excitement at being part of the hugely anticipated film.

"Thank you for all the love and support!," he wrote.

"The fan mail and fan art has added to my joy! Isn't it crazy that Star Wars is actually happening?

"I'm in the movie but as a star wars fan I am very excited! A year is a long time but it will be worth the wait."

Boyega was supported by Twitter users who said the racism was inappropriate.

@Marc_IRL tweeted: "Anyone complaining about a black stormtropper should remember the first ones were of Maori descent. Also don't be racist."

The trailer begins with a voiceover saying: "There has been an awakening - have you felt it?" before Boyega's character appears in a vast empty desert.

It also includes Imperial TIE fighters attacking the Millennium Falcon, which was flown by Harrison Ford (Han Solo) in the original movies.

There are also several X-wing fighters flying just above water and a shadowy hooded figure carrying a sword-style light sabre in a snowy forest, with the voiceover saying: "The dark side ... and the light."

This is a reference to the good and evil sides of The Force.

It concludes with the traditional Star Wars theme composed by John Williams.

Star Wars Episode VII will be released in December 2015.

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England's Road Network To Get Â£15bn Investment

More than 80 new road schemes have been unveiled as part of a £15bn Government drive on English motorway and trunk routes in the next five years.

The schemes include a tunnel at the notorious bottleneck on the A303 at Stonehenge - welcomed as a "truly momentous decision" by English Heritage.

Some £1.5bn will be spent on extra lanes on some motorways.

Improvements to M25 junctions, the A27 in Sussex, approaches to Liverpool and the A1 in the North East are also part of the Road Investment Strategy, which was revealed ahead of the Autumn Statement on Wednesday.

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Gallery: Road Map: Project Locations

Some 84 new road projects have been revealed. Blue arrows indicate motorways, yellow show A-roads. Pic: Department of Transport

A map showing some of the main routes that will be improved

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Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the schemes were "the biggest, boldest and most far-reaching roads programme for decades".

The projects include:

:: South West - £2bn dual carriageway for entire A303 and A358, including a tunnel at Stonehenge.

:: North East - £290m dual carriageway on A1 to Ellingham.

:: North West and Yorkshire - M62 from Manchester to Leeds will have lanes increased, and increased capacity on trans-Pennine routes between Manchester and Sheffield.

:: North West - links to Port of Liverpool improved.

:: South East - £350m improvement to A27 to tackle congestion at Arundel, Worthing and Lewes.

:: East - £300m to put in dual carriageway sections on A47 and improved connections to A1 and A11.

:: London and South East - A third of junctions on M25 to be improved.

:: Midlands - Improvements to M42 east of Birmingham, and improved connections to Birmingham airport, National Exhibition Centre, Enterprise Zone and High Speed 2 interchange station.

There will also be £100m of funding to improve cycling provision at 200 key locations, and a £300m environmental fund to combat carbon emission and reduce noise pollution.

Mr McLoughlin said: "Better roads allow us to travel freely, creating jobs and opportunities, benefiting hardworking families across the country."

Labour dismissed the plan as a "re-announcement".

"The Government has 'announced' plans for road investment at least three times since 2013 and no additional money has been announced," said shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher.

"Ministers will be judged not on what they promise to deliver in the next Parliament, but on what they have actually delivered in this one - and the truth is barely a shovel has been used in anger on our nation's highways over the last four-and-a-half years."

There has also been an accusation that two-thirds of the improvements will come in Tory or Lib Dem areas.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg denied the locations had been selected for "short-term political reasons" and pointed to plans across Labour strongholds in the Pennines.

He told Sky News: "You don't make decisions like this based on a political map, you make these decisions based on the economic map and the geographic layout of our county to make sure that all parts of our country are properly linked.

"Many of these projects have been spoken about for years."

Motoring groups welcomed the proposals.

AA president Edmund King said: "We can no longer ignore the inadequate resources going into the mainstay of the UK transport system - our roads - which carry 86% of passenger journeys and more than 90% of freight.

"At long last the Government has recognised that we need a long-term coherent plan for our roads."

While welcoming the road plans, the RAC said the number of road users would leap from 36 million to 43 million over the next 20 years if current trends persist.

Its director, Professor Stephen Glaister, said the country faced "massive challenges in unclogging our urban areas".

:: Watch Sky News for the Chancellor's Autumn Statement live on Wednesday, 3 December, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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Ferguson Shooting Cop Resigns From Police

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 30 November 2014 | 20.48

Ferguson Shooting Cop Resigns From Police

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The white officer who shot dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has resigned from the police force.

Four months after the confrontation that fuelled violent protests in the St Louis suburb and across the US, Darren Wilson quit the Ferguson Police Department.

Mr Wilson has been on administrative leave since the shooting on 9 August.

His resignation was announced on Saturday by one of his attorneys, Neil Bruntrager, who said it takes effect immediately.

According to the St Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, Mr Wilson sent a resignation letter to the Ferguson force which read: "It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me.

"I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow.

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Gallery: Ferguson Protests Lead To Arrests Across US

Protests have been held across the US after a white officer was not charged for shooting unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

Some of the most violent rallies were in San Francisco. Here a police officer on a motorcycle confronts protesters

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A demonstrator barracks police in San Francisco

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Demonstrators use a metal barricade to break a window in San Francisco

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Protesters face off with police in front of the Westfield Mall in San Francisco

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"It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal."

A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the case before deciding not to issue any charges against the 28-year-old last week.

He had told jurors that he feared for his life when 18-year-old Mr Brown hit him and grabbed for his gun.

The US Justice Department is still conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting and a separate probe of police department practices.

The shooting ignited a national debate about race and police power.

Mr Wilson spent months in hiding after the shooting, which he claimed was in self-defence.

He broke his silence after the grand jury decision, saying he could not have done anything differently in the encounter with Mr Brown.

Mr Wilson told ABC News he has a clean conscience because "I know I did my job right".

Mr Brown's shooting was the first time he fired his gun on the job, he said.

Asked whether the encounter would have unfolded the same way if Mr Brown had been white, Mr Wilson said "yes".

Mr Wilson began his career in nearby Jennings before moving to the Ferguson job a few years ago.

He had no previous complaints against him and a good career record, according to Police Chief Thomas Jackson, who described Mr Wilson as "an excellent police officer".

A few months before the shooting, Mr Wilson had received a commendation for detaining a suspect in a drugs case.

Meanwhile, police detained 16 people after fresh protests hit Ferguson on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and arrests were made across the country during similar rallies.

Police said only one of those arrested was from the St Louis area. Nine were from New York, three from Chicago, two from California and one from Iowa.

All were held on misdemeanour peace disturbance charges, except for one who was detained on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

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