| Josie Russell on first art show Josie Russell, who was seriously injured in a brutal hammer attack which killed her mother and sister, has started exhibiting as an artist. bbc.co.uk |
Relations between public and police are 'in danger of breaking down', Kit Malthouse says Relations between the public and police are "in danger of breaking down", according to the head of UK's biggest police authority. telegraph.co.uk |
MPs to grill borders chief and security firm over Jimmy Mubenga death Home affairs select committee to scrutinise use of restraint in deportations after man's fatal collapse on plane out of UKMPs are to question the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and a private security firm about the death of a man who collapsed while being deported from Britain last week.Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, told the Guardian Lin Homer, the UKBA chief executive, had agreed to answer questions on Jimmy Mubenga's death and the wider issue of the use of restraint during immigration deportations.The private security company G4S, three of whose escort officers have been arrested over the deportation, has also agreed to answer MPs' questions.Vaz said he had also written to the British Airports Authority asking if it had any more evidence, particularly closed-circuit television footage.The UKBA chief will take part in a home affairs select committee evidence session on wider immigration issues, already scheduled for a fortnight's time.The Metropolitan police said on Monday it had interviewed "by appointment" at a west London police station the three G4S officers, and they had been released on police bail until a date in December. The Met's homicide and murder unit is investigating the death, which the police say is unexplained at this stage.Mubenga, 46, died after losing consciousness on BA flight 77 on Tuesday last week. Four passengers have since told the Guardian they saw the three escort officers heavily restraining Mubenga, who consistently complained about his breathing.According to the witnesses, Mubenga was handcuffed and sitting between two guards at the rear of the aircraft. They kept him restrained in his seat as he began shouting and seeking to resist deportation.The passengers, who were sitting nearby, reported Mubenga shouting "I can't breathe" before finally passing out.Police and paramedics were called when Mubenga lost consciousness, and the aircraft, which had been due to take off, returned to the terminal.Vaz wrote to the home secretary, Theresa May, about the case over the weekend, saying: "If, as eyewitness reports suggest, Mr Mubenga was complaining of breathing difficulties, questions must be asked as to why help was not called for sooner. When removing people from the UK, human rights must be fully respected at all times."Contact paul.lewis@guardian.co.ukJimmy MubengaImmigration and asylumKeith VazAlan Travisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Police examine taser arrest video Police say an incident where a man appears to be tasered and hit by officers is being referred to their professional standards department. bbc.co.uk |
Andy Carroll fined £1,000 after pleading guilty to assault • Newcastle striker admits assaulting man in nightclub• Player also ordered to pay £2,500 in compensationThe Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll was ordered to pay £5,000 in fines, compensation and legal costs today for throwing a glass at a man in a nightclub row.But a crown court judge accepted the 21-year-old's defence that he had intended only to shower the "abusive" man with beer and the glass had slipped from his hand because it was wet.Carroll, who is 6ft 3ins (1.90 metres), admitted assaulting amateur footballer Michael Cook at the Blu Bambu club in central Newcastle last December, after downing up to nine pints of lager and beer. Judge Esmond Faulks was told that the attack followed a row between Cook and a woman who was with Carroll in the packed VIP section of the club.Peter Gair, for the prosecution, told the court in Newcastle that Cook had squeezed through a crowd of drinkers at about 1am and accidentally spilled some of the woman's drink. After she swore at him and poured the rest of it over his shirt, he retaliated by throwing his drink in her face.Carroll, Newcastle's top scorer in the Championship last season with 19 goals, then threw the glass, hitting Cook in the face and leaving a deep cut above his eye.The player, who was raised in Gateshead and described in court as "a local boy who loves Newcastle", was originally charged with assault causing actual bodily harm, but the charge was reduced after police inquiries.Gair said: "What happened was not a deliberate or reckless act but as a consequence of his throwing the drink. His hand was wet, his glass left his hand and it struck Mr Cook above his right eye."Carroll's QC, Stuart Driver, said in mitigation: "The fact that the defendant has a famous profession gives him no advantage in this courtroom at all. In life it gives him opportunities and luxury but it also brings with it unwanted attention, and that is something he is going to have to learn to live with."Both men have had trouble since the attack and the resulting publicity. Cook told Northumbria police that he had been forced to stop playing Sunday League football because of hassle from other players and supporters.Gair told the judge: "He has suffered abuse in the street, mostly from Newcastle United fans, which never escalated into violence but he felt apprehensive about his safety and that of his friends."Last week Carroll's personalised new Range Rover was set on fire and destroyed outside the home of the Newcastle captain, Kevin Nolan, in the town of Ponteland, north-west of Newcastle. The player was living with Nolan and his family as a condition of bail.Carroll was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £2,500 compensation to Cook and £1,494 costs.Faulks told the player, whose goal at the weekend gave Newcastle a 2-1 victory over West Ham in the Premier League: "The prosecution accept you did not intend to injure Mr Cook but that what happened to him was effectively an accident. In those unusual circumstances I can proceed to deal with you today by means of financial penalties."Carroll, who was cautioned for causing actual bodily harm after slapping a woman and bruising her face outside a nightclub in 2008, spoke only to answer his name and to admit the charge.He left the hearing without comment but a spokesman for Newcastle United said: "Andy just wants to say he is happy that this matter has now concluded and he can concentrate on his football for Newcastle United."Newcastle UnitedCrimeMartin Wainwrightguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |