The report, compiled by the information watchdog, shows how personal information from private and public bodies is being used to commit more serious crimes.

In one case, a pensioner died after a policeman passed on his address to a man who later went to his house and threw a brick through his window after a parking dispute in a supermarket. The 79-year-old from Derby later died from the shock of the attack.

In another case, an Essex police officer was found to have unlawfully searched ( Read more... )
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Plans to demolish an Edwardian home in Old Bath Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and replace it with six townhouses were agreed by Cheltenham Borough Council this week.

Kevin and Susan O'Gorman, the owners, joked that they might give the development the name Pogue Muhone Court, claiming the name refers to their family village in Ireland. The Irish folk band The Pogues were founded in 1982 as Pogue Mahone, an anglicisation of the Gaelic pog mo thoin, meaning "kiss my arse".

Caroline ( Read more... )
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Solicitors questioned by the National Audit Office (NAO) say they believe that the reason half of all suspects do not use their free services is a direct result of the action ? or inaction ? of the police. This is partly confirmed by further research in the NAO report which finds that solicitors "can experience barriers to accessing their clients" at the police station. Between April and October last year 29 per cent of calls from legal advisers working for the Legal Services Commission went unanswered. ( Read more... )
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Gary McKinnon and his family were told yesterday that Alan Johnson is to allow the extradition to go ahead after refusing to block it on medical grounds.

Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, is accused by the US authorities of breaking into military and Nasa computers. He has admitted hacking but maintains he was looking only for evidence of UFOs.

He was told in a letter from the Home Secretary that the extradition would now "proceed forthwith" after finding ( Read more... )
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Pensioners over 80 will get an extra £100 on their current fuel allowance, raising it to £400. But the charity argued it was not enough to meet the 15 per cent rise in prices by the fuel companies, who escaped a windfall profits tax. The increases are also a "one-off" that will not be repeated next year, unless the Chancellor finds more money.

Mervyn Kohler, spokesman for Help the Aged, said it was "a badge of shame" that Alistair Darling had not taken more decisive action to combat the ( Read more... )
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The independent Treasure Valuation Committee reached the figure after meeting at the museum yesterday.

The money will be split equally between the finder Terry Herbert and the landowner Fred Johnson, the museum said.

The two men and the two museums which hope to acquire the hoard, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent, have all approved the valuation, a spokesman added.

Professor Norman Palmer, ( Read more... )
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The man, 31, climbed into a waste bin to sleep out of the cold and rain, but the bin was later loaded into a waste collection vehicle which automatically compacts waste through its mechanical crusher.

His body was only discovered when the lorry emptied its load at a tipping site in Ardwick, Manchester, at about 11.30am on Wednesday

A Home Office post-mortem examination concluded he died as a result of asphyxiation as he was crushed amongst the refuse. ( Read more... )
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But the number of new arrivals rose, with more than half-a-million people coming in, official statistics showed.

Arrivals from Eastern Europe were down by nearly a quarter in the year to March as job prospects were hit by the recession.

More recent figures suggested immigrants from the eight countries which joined the EU in 2004 registering for work fell even more dramatically this year. In the year to September the total was down 41% to 106,000. ( Read more... )
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More than 125 firefighters were tackling the blaze in Peckham, south east London, which spread rapidly in the early hours.

One resident spoke of flames shooting 20ft high from the three and four storey blocks as residents, including mothers with babies, sheltered on the street.

One casualty was treated at hospital for smoke inhalation, with their condition not reported to be life threatening.

A total of 25 fire pumps were at the scene, along with police ( Read more... )
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For two months Jane Kariuki was tortured and abused in a Nairobi prison just because her husband was a prominent member of the human rights movement.

When she was finally released, she found her house had been burnt down and her husband and youngest daughter had disappeared.

Fearing further persecution, Mrs Kariuki, 49, an executive with a Kenyan conservation charity, took her two surviving children to London where she sought sanctuary. For the past 10 years the Kariuki family has ( Read more... )
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The Supreme Court threw out the OFT's test case against unauthorised overdraft fees but also pointed out a successful challenge might be possible under a different part of the law.

When yesterday's ruling was handed down by the Supreme Court, it appeared to be a devastating blow to the long-running campaign for refunds of penalty fees, which have mired some customers in debt.

Five law lords, led by Lord Phillips, unanimously dismissed the OFT's case that fees were additional to a main ( Read more... )
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Yesterday, at RAF Scampton ? the very spot from where the legendary Dambusters took off in 1943 ? Flight Lieutenant Moore, 32, took her place as the first woman in the famous Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team ? the Red Arrows.

"I knew I wanted to join the RAF but didn't know what I would do. When they said they would allow girls [to fly jets] it was almost as if the solution was on a golden platter in front of me," she said.

Flight Lieutenant Moore, or Red 3 (her ( Read more... )
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Universal Cycles, an Essex-based firm owned by Sports Direct, supplied Tesco with six Muddy Fox Suspension Bikes, and billed it for £984. Tesco's finance team duly paid up, in August ? but put a zero where there was meant to be a full stop, and paid £984,000, or £164,000 per bike.

The argument began when Tesco spotted the mistake and asked for the money back within 15 days. According to papers filed at the High Court, Universal repaid about £863,000, but held on to £121,412. It is thought ( Read more... )
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Today, two Yeoman Warders at the Tower were dismissed following an investigation into allegations of harassment of the first female Beefeater, 44-year-old Moira Cameron.

Last month, Tower authorities launched an internal inquiry after receiving complaints that Miss Cameron ? who in 2007 was named as the first woman to fill the post since it was created about 500 years ago ? had been subjected to a bullying campaign by some of her male colleagues.

During the ( Read more... )
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The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said there was a "potentially extremely dangerous situation" at Hammersmith station in West London.

Transport for London (TfL) accused the union of scaremongering and insisted there was no risk to passengers or staff.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said staff had been told that potential traces of anthrax and asbestos had been found during refurbishment of a bar at the station, which serves the District, ( Read more... )
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Gale force winds have prevented the five men sailing back to the mainland from the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland.

David Steel, head warden of the Farne Islands, and his team were counting, tagging and marking seal pups when the bad weather struck.

The 32-year-old said: "Three members of the team were last on the mainland on November 6. I came over on November 11 with another member of the group.

"We have been stuck ever ( Read more... )
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The Rail Maritime and Transport union had raised safety concerns and called for the station at Hammersmith in west London to be closed while investigations continued.

Transport for London said: "Having sent some very old horse hair building materials from Hammersmith station off for testing, we have this morning been advised that no traces of anthrax have been found.

"This procedure is standard industry practice and is a requirement of building ( Read more... )
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The documentary, And Did Those Feet, explores the story behind the legend which survives in the hymn, for which William Blake wrote the words.

The legend claims Jesus visited several places in the West Country, such as the Roseland peninsula and Glastonbury, with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathaea.

In the film, Scottish researcher Dr Gordon Strachan said it is plausible Jesus may have visited Britain to further his learning.

Ted Harrison, ( Read more... )
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As large volumes of water flow across the main N18 road at Kiltartan, where a wall collapsed, houses in the area are at risk of being flooded.

Galway County Council warned motorists not to travel unless essential.

Councillor Bridie Willers, who has been evacuated from her home in Ardrahan, said everyone was struggling.

"The build up of water over the last three to four days is incredible" she said.

"The turloughs are ( Read more... )
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The drama unfolded as the Barfleur ferry arrived in Poole, Dorset, from the French port of Cherbourg at around midnight.

A man was found washed ashore by Sandbanks' chain ferry staff just yards from so-called millionaire's row and Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp's mansion.

Anne-Marie Clark, of the RNLI, said: "He didn't speak English, he was indicating he was with three other people so the lifeboats were launched."

A massive ( Read more... )
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