Family of Nimrod casualty to sue MoD
Relatives of one of 14 servicemen killed when an RAF Nimrod aircraft exploded
in Afghanistan intend to take legal action against the Ministry of Defence.
Graham and Trish Knight, whose son Ben, 25, died in September 2006, said
that they had entered talks with lawyers. A coroner ruled this year that the
Nimrod fleet was not airworthy.
Farmland prices jump
The average cost of farmland has risen above £5,000 an acre after a 38 per
cent jump in prices in the past year, the estate agency group Knight Frank
said. Prices rose by 10 per cent in the three months to the end of June
alone, as lifestyle buyers, investors and farmers bid for the “extremely
limited” supply on the market.
Hospital IT failure
Patients with suspected cancer have had urgent appointments postponed because
of the failure of a new system of electronic medical records at three big
hospitals. A number of problems have resulted from its introduction at Barts
and The London NHS Trust.
EuroMillions numbers
The winning numbers in last night’s EuroMillions draw — which had a jackpot of
£46 million — were 5, 20, 26, 44, 50. The Lucky Star numbers were 05 and 07.
Thieves target Blears again
Thieves broke into the official car of Hazel Blears, the Cabinet Minister,
only weeks after a computer containing sensitive files was stolen from her
office. There was no official paperwork in the car when it was broken into
outside a Communities and Local Government office in Salford, Manchester, a
spokesman for Ms Blears said. A mobile phone belonging to her driver and a
satellite navigation system were taken.
BBC settles in asbestos case
The BBC has agreed to pay £55,000 to the daughter of a man who died of
asbestos-related cancer after 30 years in its scenery department. It settled
with Julie Leach, 44, of Kingsbury, North London, just before a High Court
hearing.
Girl crushed by neighbour’s car
A girl of two was crushed to death under the wheels of a neighbour’s car as it
was being reversed out of a driveway. Sienna O’Hara broke away from her
mother outside their home in Denton, Greater Manchester.
Five injured by miniature train
Five people were taken to hospital after a miniature train derailed at a teddy
bears’ picnic. Three children and two adults were injured in the accident in
Basildon, Essex. Fortunately, the diesel-powered train has a top speed of
6mph.
Officer admits credit card expenses scam
A senior anti-terrorist police officer has admitted fiddling his expenses.
Sergeant Richard de Cadenet, 38, who investigated the 7/7 bombings, was one
of three officers arrested for “irregular usage” of the Met Police’s
corporate credit cards. At a hearing at Southwark Crown Court yesterday he
pleaded guilty to “misfeasance in public office”. David Levy, for the
prosecution, said the money involved was £81,000 but he was willing to
review the amount, which is disputed by the defence. Since the investigation
into £4.7million worth of missing expenses was launched last year, the Met
has cancelled 1,400 of its 3,533 corporate credit cards. Sentence was
adjourned.
Cockle disaster
The deaths of hundreds of millions of cockles are to be investigated by the
Environment Agency. The loss of 6,000 tonnes of the molluscs in the Burry
Inlet near Llanelli, West Wales, could threaten the region’s lucrative
cockle industry. Theories to be investigated include water quality, lack of
food, parasites and increases in temperature.
Paedophile jailed
An internet paedophile found with the worst hoard of child porn ever seen by
police has been jailed indefinitely. Arthur Morley, 64, a convicted child
rapist, was caught with images including the abuse of babies less than four
weeks old. Morley, of Greenford, Middlesex, pleaded guilty at Southwark
Crown Court to 50 pornography charges.
Wind breaks turbine
Fears on the safety of wind farms were raised after a 30ft propeller turbine
snapped because the wind was too strong. Engineers were analysing the
problem later at a research unit of the University of Sheffield. Martin
Oldfield, 46, who lives 600 yards from the turbines in Catcliffe, said: “It
raises questions about how safe these things are.”
Unexpected lead
Mountain rescuers searching for three walkers who went missing while
attempting the Three Peaks Challenge on Scafell Pike in the Lake District
found a mongrel called Gemma who had not been seen for two weeks. Wasdale
rescue team contacted the dog’s delighted owners in Leicester. The missing
walkers were also found uninjured.
Gun crime 'worse than official figures say'
Gun crime in England and Wales is more extensive than official figures claim,
a report says, because people are afraid to report incidents to police for
fear of being labelled a “grass” (Richard Ford writes).
Statistics also understate the amount of gun crime because the main Home
Office figures do not include all offences where a firearm was present, but
only those in which it was used.
Crimes recorded by police involving a firearm rose by a third in the eight
years to 2006-07, to reach 18,489. The number causing serious or fatal
injury more than doubled, said the report by the Centre for Crime and
Justice Studies.
Neglect mother jailed
A mother who left her two-year-old son at home alone home so that she could
spend a weekend with her boyfriend was jailed at Lincoln Crown Court.
Kelly Tollerton, 23, was convicted on charges of child neglect this month
after a jury was told she abandoned the child for three days at home in
Lincoln in November 2006. She was sentenced to 18 months and was told that
she should expect to serve at least nine months. Her son, now aged four, is
“doing quite well” in foster care.
Plane wreck spotted
Rescuers located an Indonesian aircraft that went missing on Thursday with a
Briton and 17 others on board. I Gusti Made Oka, deputy chief of the
Indonesian air force, said that the wrecked military plane had been located
in the dense jungle around Salak Mountain, 60 miles from the capital,
Jakarta. He said that it was too dark for rescuers to get close and added:
“We will not be able to say anything about the condition of the passengers
or crew until our rescue teams reach the scene.”
Terror suspect on run
A man on bail for terror charges was on the run last night after disappearing
during a visit to a mosque. The 23-year-old, due to face trial later this
year, is accused of plotting to cause explosions and to commit murder.
Channel 4 News said that he had left a suicide note, which was found by his
family, who raised the alarm.
