Rigby Killer Adebolajo Appeal Bid Rejected

Lee Rigby's Family Says Justice Has Been Served

Updated: 9:58pm UK, Wednesday 26 February 2014

The family of Lee Rigby are "satisfied" with the sentences handed to his killers and believe they received the "right prison term".

Michael Adebolajo, 29, was given a whole-life term, and Michael Adebowale, 22, was jailed for at least 45 years for hacking the soldier to death in Woolwich last year.

In a statement read by a family liaison officer outside the Old Bailey after the sentencing, the family said: "We feel that no other sentence would have been acceptable and we would like to thank the judge and the courts for handing down what we believe to be the right prison terms.

"We would also like to thank everyone who has supported us in the last nine months.

"It has brought us a lot of comfort and we feel satisfied that justice has been served for Lee. We now ask to continue to grieve in private."

Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who heads Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, said the sentences reflected the "true horror of their actions in taking this young man's life in such a barbaric way".

Meanwhile, Sue Hemming of the Crown Prosecution Service said the murderers had "revelled in one of the most appalling terrorist murders" she had ever seen.

She said: "Not only was the attack brutal and calculated, it was also designed to advance extremist views. As a soldier, Fusilier Lee Rigby was targeted in a clear act of revenge, deliberately carried out in full view of members of the public for maximum impact."

As sentencing began, the two murderers shouted at the judge in protest at his remarks. 

They then fought with guards in the dock before they were pinned down and taken to the cells. Sentencing resumed without them.

The soldier's family were visibly distressed and sobbed at the developments and one relative needed medical treatment.

There were also dramatic scenes outside the Old Bailey as members of the public shouted at prison vans leaving the building.

Far right protesters had gathered outside the court calling for the killers to face the death penalty.

The British-born extremists ran Fusilier Rigby down in a car before hacking him to death in the street in front of horrified onlookers near Woolwich Barracks in southeast London in May last year.

They both claimed that they were "soldiers of Allah" and were motivated by the plight of Muslims abroad to carry out the killing, and have shown no remorse.

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UK Bankers Face Toughest Bonus Rules

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Staff at British banks could be made to hand back bonuses seven years after the money has been awarded to them under a regime that will introduce the world's toughest rules on clawing back remuneration.

Sky News has learnt that the Bank of England (BoE)'s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has decided to enforce a draconian proposal outlined in March.

In a policy statement to be published on Wednesday, it will confirm that banks will have to amend the employment contracts of senior staff in order to implement the new rules, which will come into force on January 1 next year.

Coming in the wake of a series of market manipulation and mis-selling scandals which have triggered tens of billions of pounds in fines and compensation to consumers, the tougher framework is likely to be welcomed in Westminster but spark opposition from bank executives who argue that the City's international competitiveness will be undermined.

In its consultation paper published earlier this year, the regulator proposed that clawback should operate for a six-year period after bonuses have vested.

The PRA is to enforce the bonus policy on bankers

That period is still expected to apply to awards made prior to the beginning of next year, in line with the statute of limitations for employment contracts, Sky News understands.

However, insiders said the PRA had also been examining whether bonus awards made after January 1 next year could be reclaimed for up to seven years.

The Bank of England declined to comment on Tuesday on whether it would opt to pursue clawback for post-2014 bonuses over the longer, seven-year period.

Either way, the final details will represent tougher rules for bankers employed by UK lenders than those working for German, Swiss or American competitors.

The toughened regime follows last year's report by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, led by the Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie.

Under the BoE's plans, banks will be obliged to reclaim money already paid to employees even where they have not been directly culpable of misconduct.

Lenders will instead be required to demonstrate that they have done so where "there is reasonable evidence of employee misbehaviour or material error - the firm or the relevant business unit suffers a material downturn in its financial performance - or the firm or the relevant business unit suffers a material failure of risk management".

The rules will apply to the overseas employees of UK-based banks, which the likes of HSBC and Standard Chartered will argue will put them at a major disadvantage in their key Asian operations.

Major lenders already operate lengthy bonus deferrals meaning that share awards do not vest until the end of a three or five-year period, during which time part, or all, of the awards can be cancelled under a mechanism called malus.

Under its March proposals, the new clawback rules would have kicked in at the end of these deferral periods, making a total ranging from nine years to more than a decade before bankers would be able to spend bonus awards safe in the knowledge that they would not have to repay them.

However, some bankers believe the BoE will say that the deferral and clawback periods will be allowed to overlap, meaning that the overall period would be seven years.

The British Bankers' Association argued in its response to the consultation that the PRA's plans were fraught with legal difficulties and that the 'clawback clock' could start ticking at the time bonuses were awarded rather than the point of vesting.

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PM: 'We Will Find You And Send You Home'

David Cameron has put illegal immigrants on notice telling them: "When we find you - and we will find you - we will make sure you are sent back to the country you came from."

Announcing a number of new measures to tackle problems of immigration, Mr Cameron said he wanted to send a clear message that those in the UK illegally would not be able to work or have a home.

He was speaking after attending a raid on illegal immigrants in Slough and said: "We want an immigration system that puts Britain first."

It came after he unveiled a new policy that would mean EU migrants would be able to claim benefits for only three months - half the current time - unless they had serious job prospects.

David Cameron says Britain is 'not a soft touch' for EU migrants

In another pledge to safeguard jobs for British people he said he would limit to 500,000 the number of UK jobs being advertised across the EU through a jobseekers' website - down from 1.1 million jobs currently on offer.

There will also be curbs on "bogus colleges" which offer studying visas for cash.

Outlining his plans in The Daily Telegraph, David Cameron wrote: "Taken together, this is about building a different kind of Britain - a country that is not a soft touch, but a place to play your part; a nation where those who work hard can get on."

The number of Europeans currently claiming benefits is unclear. However, Government estimates from 2013 suggest only 6.7% of non-UK nationals (397,000) claimed benefits, of which 62,000 were Europeans and 58,000 from EU accession countries.

In contrast 16.4% of UK nationals claim benefits.

All job centre posts are advertised across Europe

Sky News' Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones said: "Welfare and immigration are two touchstone issues for the General Election. The idea of benefits tourism, whether real or not, is where the two collide. 

"All the evidence is the Tories have been outflanked by UKIP on this territory, but in the General Election the main objective is to steal a march on Labour. That's what these announcements are all about."

The benefits plan builds on changes laid out in January to make EU migrants wait three months after arriving in Britain before claiming out-of-work benefits.

Mr Cameron has previously been warned restricting benefits conflicts with the EU agreement on freedom of movement.

Yvette Cooper says the Government has 'failed' on immigration

Currently more than a million British posts are advertised on European Commission jobs website called Eures, which is partly funded by the UK taxpayer.

Britain's job centres automatically upload available posts to the site. However, Mr Cameron has pledged this will now be limited to 500,000 roles and will only be included if an employer requests it is shared across the EU.

A number of employers, particularly in manufacturing and agriculture, have routinely complained they are unable to find British recruits and have to fill the posts with workers from across Europe.

It is unclear how many EU residents actually find jobs through the website.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "We need less talk from the Prime Minister on immigration and more action.

"It's almost a year-and-a-half since Labour called for benefit restrictions on new migrants. In that time we've had reannouncement after reannouncement from the Tories but little in the way of firm action."

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'Dirty Diesel' Drivers Face New Tax In Cities

Drivers of diesel vehicles face having to pay more in taxes and levies as cities around the UK strive to cut air pollution.

In London, plans to introduce a £10 charge for the most polluting diesel cars are being considered by Mayor Boris Johnson.

These could come into force by 2020.

The Mayor's plans for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) are still subject to full consultation, but it is expected it will require diesel cars to be Euro 6 standard - no more than five years old.

Older petrol-driven vehicles beyond Euro 4 - more than 14 years old - will also be hit by the ULEZ charge.

The final figure for the ULEZ levy is expected to be a similar amount to the congestion charge.

The hike in motoring costs would be on top of the congestion charge, pushing up the cost to at least £20 to drive into the capital's ultra-low emission zone.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that unless action is taken, London, Birmingham and Leeds would face dangerous levels of pollution from vehicle exhausts by 2030.

London's congestion charge was credited with reducing traffic volumes

Diesel exhaust emissions are responsible for about a quarter of the 29,000 premature deaths caused by air pollution, according to experts from King's College London.

The number of diesel cars in Britain has grown to 11 million, nearly a four-fold increase since 2000, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

This was largely due to motorists switching to diesel because of greater fuel economy and lower road taxes.

But diesel engines also produce toxins including nitrogen dioxide and particulates, which irritates the lung lining and can cause respiratory disease.

The Labour Party has reportedly planned a countrywide network of low emission zones that would push older diesel cars out of city centres.

Oxford has already introduced a low emission zone for buses and could expand this for other vehicles.

London Mayor environment adviser Mathew Pencharz told The Times: "We want to see an unwinding of incentives that have driven people to diesel.

"Euro engine standards on emissions have not delivered the savings expected, meaning we now have a legacy of a generation of dirty diesels."

All of these initiatives are being driven by the need to meet tighter European regulations on clean air and avoid the threat of heavy fines for breaching them.

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Royal Marsden Hospital Worker Jailed For Scam

A hospital worker has been jailed over her pivotal role in a fraud that saw more than £640,000 meant for cancer drugs being blown on designer goods and mortgage payments.

Stacey Tipler, 32, abused her position of trust in the accounts department at the Royal Marsden NHS Trust to alter payment details that led to the money being funnelled from the world-leading London cancer clinic.

At one point a drugs firm threatened to stop supplying the hospital with medication after failing to receive payment because of the fraud, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Horan (L) was jailed for 21 months and Woollery (R) was sentenced to 10

The sophisticated scam saw Tipler substitute account numbers of pharmaceutical firms who were due payment with the details of men recruited by her partner and the ringleader of the plot Scott Chaplin.

Those receiving the cash kept some for themselves, using it to make mortgage payments or go on shopping sprees at luxury designers Gucci and Louis Vuitton. One spent £200 at the London Parachute School.

But most of the cash was passed back to Chaplin.

The couple maintained a "cash reserve" to meet their bills and mortgage payments.

They are also understood to have spent several thousand pounds on a deposit for a venue in Surrey for their planned wedding, although this never took place.

A drugs firm threatened to stop supplying the hospital because of the scam

Some of the money was recovered but the hospital remains £310,000 out of pocket.

Thomas Quinlan was sent to prison for eight months for his part in fraud

Chaplin was jailed for five-and-a-half-years, while Tipler was sentenced to four years.

Passing sentence Judge Anthony Leonard QC said Chaplin was the "main instigator" but Tipler was "invaluable" to the scam, which he said could had been "catastrophic" for patients.

He told her: "The skill which you showed in trying to ensure the fraud would go undiscovered was very great and very dishonest. It was a very clever but dishonest fraud."

Tipler, a mother-of-two from Carshalton, in the south London borough of Sutton, who worked at the trust for 10 years, was found guilty after a trial of conspiracy to defraud.

Chaplin, 33, also from Carshalton, was convicted of the same charge and a count of conspiracy to money launder.

Money of varying amounts was passed to the accounts of Adrian Horan, 43, Clinton Woollery, 35, Thomas Quinlan, 26, Russell Baker, 32, and William Flynn, 37.

Horan, of Sutton, Surrey, was jailed for 21 months, Flynn, of Wallington, Surrey, for a year, Woollery, of Sutton, for 10 months and Quinlan, of Banstead, Surrey, for eight months.

Baker and another defendant Roy Harriott, 31, of Sutton, were given suspended sentences of nine weeks and 12 weeks respectively.

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Fracking: More Protection For National Parks

Fracking will be allowed in national parks and areas of outstanding beauty only in "exceptional circumstances", ministers say, as new bidding for shale exploration licences opens.

The policy is part of new guidance published by Government which is aiming to offer up vast swathes of Britain for fracking.

The Government has committed to going "all out for shale", claiming development of the gas and oil resource is needed to improve energy security, and boost jobs and the economy.

But opponents say the high-pressure injection of water risks polluting water supplies, damaging the environment and causing minor earthquakes, and argue further fossil fuels should not be extracted due to climate change.

Areas licensed for oil/gas exploration. Pic: Google

Business and energy minister Matthew Hancock said: "The new guidance will protect Britain's great National Parks and outstanding landscapes, building on the existing rules that ensure operational best practices are implemented and robustly enforced.

"Ultimately, done right, speeding up shale will mean more jobs and opportunities for people and help ensure long-term economic and energy security for our country."

Where an application in National Parks is refused and the developer launches an appeal, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles will consider whether to make the final decision himself to ensure the policy is being properly applied.

But Greenpeace campaigner Louise Hutchins warned: "Eric Pickles' supposed veto power over drilling in National Parks will do nothing to quell the disquiet of fracking opponents across Britain.

"Ministers waited until the parliamentary recess to make their move, no doubt aware of the political headache this will cause to MPs whose constituencies will be affected."

Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Tony Bosworth said: "Today the risk of fracking has spread. This threat to the environment and public health could now affect millions more people.

"Those who thought that fracking would only happen in other places will now worry about it happening on their doorstep."

The shale exploration licences which can be applied for from now provide the first step to start drilling, but do not give an absolute agreement to drill.

Planning permission, permits from the Environment Agency and agreement from the Health and Safety Executive will be required for further drilling.

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Full UK Battle Group To Join Poland Exercise

A "full battle group" of 1,350 personnel is to be sent to Poland for a Nato exercise to reassure Eastern European allies in the face of Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon confirmed the deployment and said more than 350 armoured and other vehicles would take part.

Exercise Black Eagle will be held in October and is part of a series of Nato exercises designed to support allies in Eastern Europe and the Baltics.

Next month, light infantry troops from 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment will also join Exercise Sabre Junction, a US-led exercise - again taking place in Poland - and involving 16 countries.

Four Eurofighter Typhoons from the RAF are helping police Baltic airspace

Four RAF Eurofighter Typhoon jets have been at Nato's Baltic Air Policing mission, based at Lithuania's Siauliai Air Base, since Russia annexed the Crimean region of Ukraine earlier this year.

Normally the mission involves just four aircraft, but since the crisis in Ukraine it has been boosted to 12, including four Lockheed Martin F-16 jets from Denmark and four MiG-29 planes from Poland.

Mr Fallon announced details of the latest exercise during a visit to the Polish capital Warsaw with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

Michael Fallon was recently appointed as Defence Secretary

He said: "It is right that Nato members and partners demonstrate our commitment to the collective security of our allies in Eastern Europe, so I am pleased to confirm our participation in these exercises.

"In particular, the commitment of a battle group to Exercise Black Eagle shows our sustained and substantial support to Nato's eastern border."

A Nato summit in Wales in September is also being held to discuss ways to respond to future threats and reassurance measures.

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'Rivers Of Hail' As Freak Storm Sweeps Coast

A freak summer storm has brought chaos to the south coast of England with lightning, floods and hailstones and a power cut on the railway lines.

Forecasters said a "deeply unstable airmass" had brought with it the risk of heavy, thundery showers across East Anglia, the South East and London throughout the day. The Met Office said nearly half a month's worth of rain fell in an hour in some areas.

The scene in Brighton after hail and torrential rain swept in

London Fire Brigade rescued two women from a car which in flood water in South Ruislip, northwest London.

Firefighters also rescued five people from three neighbouring houses which were flooded in Thaxted, Essex. One family remained on the first floor of their home while crews pumped water from the property after flood water affected the electrics.

Lighting strikes Hove, Sussex, taken from the bedroom of Jon Hughes

Commuters in West Sussex braved torrential rain and hailstones as they struggled to work, though the main Brighton to London line was unaffected.

People in Brighton, Hove and Worthing who posted pictures on social media websites described seeing cars submerged and people taking shelter in the town hall.  

Commuters were left stranded after the south-coast line was closed

Network Rail said electrical supply problems had been caused by a lightning strike, near Hove, during the morning, causing delays of up to 30 minutes to trains between Worthing and Hove/Brighton.

South West Trains said Woking-bound trains would not be calling at Esher, Hersham or Walton-on-Thames because of flooding.

A spokesman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue told Sky News they received some 300 calls from the public.

A street in Worthing which became impassable

Richard Fowler said: "The control room started receiving calls at six o'clock this morning. We have had 300 calls so far in the south coast area from Brighton and Hove.

"The power to the track has had to be isolated because the tracks are flooded, and we have sent one of our high pumps over to assist with that.

"People are phoning and saying they have flooded basements which are affecting electrics. We did not expect this kind of extreme weather this morning. There are large hailstones on the ground. It is almost like winter."

Worthing Station was closed after flood water poured into the underpass

Hove resident Adam Batchelor emailed a picture to Sky News of the road outside his home in Hove. "The basement flats flooded and people evacuated to the town hall," he said. "Thankfully I stayed away last night!" he said.

Laurence Hill wrote on Twitter: "Used to be roads. Now rivers of hail. Never seen anything like it."

Hailstones that fell across Sussex

The Environment Agency issued a flood warning - meaning flooding is expected - for the Kidbrooke stream at Forest Row, East Sussex.

It said: "Heavy showers will bring a chance of some localised surface water flooding issues across parts of Sussex and Kent this afternoon.

Hail and slush gave some streets the appearance of being hit by snow

"Further heavy showers are expected from around dawn tomorrow across much of southeast England which may result in some surface water flooding, especially in urbanised areas."

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Killer Joyrider Lindo Jailed Again After Chase

A man who ran over and killed an eight-year-old boy in 2006 is back behind bars after racing through a residential area in a police chase.

Ashley Lindo reached up to 60mph as he drove along paths, blew out two tyres and pulled a handbrake turn.

The 24-year-old was jailed for 18 months at Teeside Crown Court after admitting dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

The court heard how Lindo pretended to stop for police in Middlesbrough but then sped off when an officer got out to speak to him.

The pursuit took place at 6.30pm on April 12 this year.

Prosecutor Sue Jacobs said he drove the Skoda Octavia up kerbs and between bollards and on a footpath behind a school.

When police blocked his path he mounted a kerb and blew out two tyres.

He was finally forced to ditch the car after they went completely flat, about a mile after the chase began. He ran off but was arrested soon after.

Lindo served half of a three-year sentence in a young offenders' institution after he knocked down Daniel Conroy Curtin in a stolen Rover Metro in May 2006.

The prosecution in the latest case said: "It is clearly aggravated by his previous convictions, the time of day and the locations, as it involved residential streets in central Middlesbrough."

The court also heard that Lindo had 11 convictions for 22 offences, including another dangerous driving offence three years after he killed the little boy.

Lindo's defence lawyer, Gary Wood, said his client had "panicked" and added that his outlook on life had changed "dramatically" since becoming a father six weeks ago.

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Families Of British MH17 Victims To Meet PM

Families of British MH17 crash victims are to meet David Cameron in Downing Street, according to Sky sources.

Ten of the 298 people aboard the doomed Malaysia Airlines plane which was shot down over eastern Ukraine were UK citizens.

The PM is expected to meet relatives at Number 10 on Tuesday.

A Ukraine security official claims data from the airliner's black boxes revealed it suffered "massive explosive decompression" after being struck by shrapnel from a missile.

Western countries blame rebels for shooting down the airliner, mistaking it for a Ukrainian plane, but the separatists deny any involvement.

The UN has said the attack on the passenger aircraft may amount to a war crime.

Meanwhile, world aviation chiefs are due to meet to discuss the risk to passenger planes flying over war zones following the shooting down of MH17.

The event will be held at the Montreal headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

The ICAO said: "This meeting will discuss the appropriate actions to be pursued in order to more effectively mitigate potential risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones."

At the weekend, Malaysia Airlines commercial director Hugh Dunleavy said: "For too long, airlines have been shouldering the responsibility for making decisions about what constitutes a safe flight path, over areas in political turmoil around the world.

"We are not intelligence agencies but airlines, charged with carrying passengers in comfort between destinations.

"Against the backdrop of increasingly volatile political situations around the world, such as Ukraine and Gaza, we as an industry must act now to create a system of approval that guarantees safe air passage for all commercial airlines."

Mr Dunleavy added: "This tragedy has taught us that, despite following the guidelines and advice set out by the governing bodies, the skies above certain territories are simply not safe."

The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) , which is in overall charge of the investigation into the MH17 crash, said its probe would include "an investigation into the decision-making process regarding flight paths and the risk assessment that was conducted when choosing to fly over eastern Ukraine".

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