Tributes paid to a motorcyclist who died in Bedfordshire crash
She added: "My Daniel was a beloved husband and father to his beautiful girls, son, brother, son-in-law and uncle."He'll be deeply missed by everyone that knew him, no words can express the hole he has left in our lives."Police were continuing to appeal for any dashcam footage or witnesses to the incident involving the motorcycle and a blue VW Polo.Det Sgt Craig Wheeler from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: "Our thoughts are with Daniel's loved ones at this time. "I would like to appeal to anyone that may have seen either the blue VW Polo or the motorcycle, prior to the collision, to get in touch."
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BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Security at fire-ravaged Raven Hotel in Droitwich to be stepped up
Security will be tightened at the site of a Grade II listed hotel after it was gutted by blaze, believed by police to have been deliberately started, tore through the black and white timbered Raven Hotel in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, on Sunday, causing parts of the centuries-old building to District Council said that the owner, Live Urban Two, would bring in enhanced security at the site, including a dog and Worcester Fire Service formally handed control of the site to the owner and the developer, Inroka Limited, on Friday. The authority said it would monitor the additional security services were called to the blaze at the hotel at about 16:45 BST on 10 August and residents gathered in tears behind cordons as they watched the building, some of which dated back to the 15th Century, girls, 13 and 14, were arrested on suspicion of arson and were later released on bail. The Raven shut as a hotel more than a decade ago and has planning permission for new homes and a gin bar - but concerns have previously been raised over its condition, vandalism and trespassing at the district council has been pushing the owners to get on with their authority has also worked with the site's developer for the past six months on urgent works to protect the site, following a court order secured in 2024. 'We will keep pressure on owners' Structural engineers confirmed that parts of the listed building could be saved.A council spokesperson said work would now focus on agreeing the priorities for safety at the site, measures to prop parts of the building up and make sure that planning conditions were met, before significant work took issues at the back of the building were being addressed and the spokesperson said the authority would monitor the effect of the fire, working with partners to support businesses affected by the added that the UK Health Security Agency told them that asbestos was present in the hotel but its assessment of the fire and resulting air quality did not identify any significant public health concerns."I want to reassure residents that we are doing everything we can, alongside our partners, to safeguard what remains of this important landmark, ensure the safety of the site, and support the process of rebuilding," said councillor Richard Morris, leader of the council."We will continue to keep pressure on the owners to fulfil their responsibilities and deliver on their obligations." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Moment brazen shoplifters in Lidl get stopped by hero employee before abandoning a mountain of stolen goods
Footage has captured the unbelievable moment a pair of brazen shoplifters were stopped in Lidl by a hero employee before abandoning a mountain of stolen goods. Two women were caught on camera as they emptied their pockets of stolen goods after being barred from exiting the budget supermarket. In the background of the clip, a passer-by asks the brave employee if the store is 'calling the police on them' to which the man nods his head in confirmation. Meanwhile the shoplifters, dressed in black leggings, matching white t-shirts and gilets, are filmed abandoning a mountain of stolen goods. Their haul appears to include: sanitary pads, dishwasher tablets and 12 bottles of Lynx deodorant. The astonishing clip has been viewed more than 2.5million times on Instagram and TikTok with the caption reading: 'How do people actually do this?' Taking to the comments to express their disgust, one person commented: 'It's all going right back on the shelves after being down their pants! Yikes!' A second user added: 'They don't even have any shame.' @orson0910 £365 for all of that #stealin #ho #fyp ♬ original sound - orson It comes as a police chief warned that some shoplifters 'feel they can rob shops with impunity'. Katy Bourne, the national lead for shoplifting at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said more robust police interventions and 'meaningful criminal justice measures' are needed to prevent reoffending. Shoplifting hit a record high in 2024, with the number of offences surpassing 500,000 for the first time, up 20 per cent from 2023. 'What on earth has happened to our high streets and our city centres?' Ms Bourne, the police and crime commissioner for Sussex, asked. 'Why do some people feel they can rob shops with impunity and abuse and assault staff without any fear of retribution?' She argued that there must be rehabilitation for some offenders as well as 'significant alternatives to our overcrowded prisons. Ms Bourne also announced Sussex will see 'the first electronic tagging scheme for persistent shoplifters'. The force will work with the courts on how to issue the tags and with industries to see how they can be monitored. Writing in The Telegraph on Saturday, the policing chief also criticised the 'purist application of data protection law' advising shopkeepers not to share images of suspected offenders. She said she is pleased that forces including Sussex Police will roll out live facial recognition cameras in specially-adapted police vans. It was reported that officers spoke to a shopkeeper in Wrexham after he posted a sign referring to 'scumbag shoplifters'. North Wales Police said it did not appear he had committed any offence. Ms Bourne said it appeared to be an example of 'warranted officers of the law policing the potential for hurt feelings'. She asked: 'How have we got to the point where police forces are more worried about upsetting career criminals than catching them?' Jon Cummins, Assistant Chief Constable from Avon and Somerset Police, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that wider societal issues including poverty, the cost-of-living crisis and addiction are contributing to the shoplifting spike. He said on Saturday: 'If they see somebody shoplifting, my advice to them is they must call us... not to intervene. We clearly want to be attending and will be attending reports'. Ms Bourne also cautioned against members of the public attempting to apprehend shoplifters. They may be armed and people 'run the risk' of committing assault, unlawful restraint or wrongful arrest. Earlier this week, supermarket chain Iceland said it would offer customers a £1 reward if they spot shoplifters in the act. The retailer's boss, Richard Walker, said any shoppers who point out offenders to members of staff will receive a payment to their membership card. It comes as the Government agreed that shoplifting should be called 'shop theft' to avoid downplaying its seriousness. In a letter to ministers, peers warned the 'outdated' word was 'trivialising the severity of the offence' and called for it to be phased out in legislation and guidance. The Government responded to commit to using 'shop theft' where appropriate, the Daily Telegraph reported. And the national police unit for organisations acquisitive crime, Opal, also said it would encourage the use of the term in its general communications. The letter from peers sent in November said: 'The use of the outdated term 'shoplifting' serves to trivialise the serious, organised nature of an increasing element of shop theft which is having a devastating effect on the retail sector. We recommend its use should be phased out.' In response, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: 'The Government will use the expression 'shop theft" where appropriate.' Shoplifting rates have almost doubled in two decades, with three thefts a minute recorded across England and Wales in the year to March. There were 530,643 reported to the police in this time, up 20 per cent on the previous year's 444,022. The problem is becoming increasingly rife in chemists, with an estimated increase of 88 per cent in the theft of drugs and medical supplies in the past 12 months. Sir Keir Starmer has made tackling shoplifting one of his top priorities since taking office, and pledged to spend an extra £200m on neighbourhood policing, as well as making assaulting a shop worker a more serious offence. The Prime Minister came under criticism this week, however, for failing to refer to shoplifters as 'scumbags.'
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Spy in the Bag mystery: Expert claims he was asked to 'cover up' MI6 spook's death and reveals SIX glaring red flags that show he was murdered
It is exactly 15 years since MI6 spy Gareth Williams tragically died at the age of just 31. On August 16 2010, in one of the most mysterious and bewildering deaths ever on British soil, police said he impossibly folded himself inside a red North Face holdall in his bath. His Pimlico bathroom was spotless and officers found no evidence of Gareth's fingerprints on the padlock of the bag or even the rim of the bath that the bag was found in. Detectives found no signs of struggle and no bruises or marks on his body. The heating was on full blast - despite being the height of summer - the bathroom door was shut, the shower screen closed and the lights were switched off. The Welsh prodigy, considered a puzzle-solving genius, had been scooped up by GCHQ having completed his GCSEs in primary school, A-levels at 13 and his maths degree at 17. But the solution to the puzzle surrounding his own death, remains unsolved. MI6 had failed to notice that one of its analysts was missing from work and his spymasters only investigated his absence on August 23 after a call from his panicked sister. Gareth was then found serenely inside the bag, his hands neatly folded on his chest in an almost religious pose. The zip had been padlocked on the outside but the key to the lock was lying beneath his right buttock. Just eight days earlier he was seen happy and healthy on CCTV, buying cakes from Harrods and steaks from Waitrose. 24 hours later he was dead in his home Alderney Street in Pimlico - half a mile from MI6's headquarters on Vauxhall Bridge. Twice police have closed criminal investigations into his death, even though his inquest concluded he had been 'killed unlawfully', probably before he was put neatly in his bag. Detectives instead claimed they believe he was alone when he died and it was probably a tragic accident related to sex. Cash, unworn women's designer clothing and a wig were found in the flat along with his, and a mystery man's semen. Gareth's parents have long asked for privacy as they continue to grieve their beloved son. The case has been branded a whitewash and Peter Faulding, a world-leading confined space rescue and forensic search specialist, who tried 300 times to get in the same sized bag and concluded: 'Even Harry Houdini himself wouldn't have managed it'. Peter recreated the scenario as he helped the Met investigate the so-called Spy in the Bag case in 2010 but while detectives closed the criminal case, he is convinced that Gareth was murdered and there was a 'cover-up' by police and the secret services. What are the theories around the death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams? He zipped himself in the bag and accidentally locked it and suffocated. The Russian mafia assassinated him in a bid to stop him investigating money-laundering networks. He was killed by MI6 or American agents after stumbling on sensitive data, or because he threatened to make secret intelligence public. Mr Williams was killed by a lover during a bizarre sex game. It has been claimed he had close links with London's drag and bondage scenes. The spy locked himself in the bag and no one else was involved. He was poisoned. Agents killed Mr Williams then got into his flat through a skylight to destroy evidence. Mr Faulding has today claimed to the Daily Mail, for the first time, that he was asked by police to change his statement - but he refused. 'Gareth Williams should have been commended for his work with the security services not tarnished as a cross dresser. They just wanted to bury this case and leave Gareth's name being tarred', Mr Faulding told the Mail on the 15th anniversary of his death. 'My belief is that the bag was placed in the bath with Gareth dead already. No one in their right mind believes he was on his own. It is a physical impossibility. 'I had paramedics on standby and a knife on a string hanging around my neck to cut myself out. I could zip myself in but could not do up the padlock. Another yoga expert tried'. After trying hundreds of times to climb in, zip up the bag and lock it from the inside without leaving fingerprints on any surfaces, Mr Faulding concluded with certainty that Gareth could not get into the North Face bag alone. He was then invited to meet with senior investigating officers from the Metropolitan Police at the Wyboston Lakes National Crime and Operations Faculty. He said that a senior investigating officer told him in a meeting: 'You have probably seen that a 15-year-old girl has successfully climbed into a bag and zipped herself in. I would like you to rewrite your statement to acknowledge it can be done. 'I stood up and said "I am not playing your games", walked back to my helicopter parked on their fields and flew home'. He said: 'I have never spoken about this. But after the Nicola Bulley case, I realised things get covered up'. Mr Faulding is convinced that the lack of 'trace evidence' - such as DNA and finger prints as well as footprints - means Gareth was murdered. 'He was naked. The lights were out, the door closed, the heating was on full, the shower screen closed. Just back from a bike ride, he would have had to walk into the bathroom in the dark and closed the shower screen', Mr Faulding said. 'That alone would leave his marks all over the floor, light switch, footprints and fingerprints on the glass shower screen. 'Then he would have to climb into the bag close the zipper and the padlock from the inside, leaving more marks on it'. Mr Faulding, who was the same height and build as Gareth, tried to get himself in the same kind of bag hundreds of times. A leading yoga expert also did it - but also failed. He later gave evidence at the inquest and is absolutely clear that it is not credible to believe Gareth did it alone. The coroner found she was 'satisfied that on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully'. Mr Faulding said: 'The coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox asked me what I thought happened. I said with respect I am not here as a detective. She said: "You have a very impressive CV and I would like your honest opinion. 'I told her that I believe Gareth was murdered. I turned towards his family in court. They looked at me and mouthed "thank you" with gratitude and validation'. A forensic review by Scotland Yard found that 'no new DNA' was found, therefore it was more likely that Williams was alone when he died The Welsh maths prodigy after completing his GCSEs at 10, A-Levels at 13 and then getting a first-class degree from Bangor University at just 17. He was discovered by Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) while doing a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Manchester, and brought on board as a codebreaker. He worked at the headquarters there in Gloucestershire, before his secondment to MI6 in London to work as technical support on a highly sensitive operation. Williams was last seen alive buying cakes in Harrods and peppered grilled steaks in Waitrose. That same evening he had also planned to meet a colleague. The next day he had been expected to chair a MI6 meeting having just returned from a hacking conference in Las Vegas. Despite this, MI6 only investigated his absence more than a week later, on August 23, after a call from his sister. At the time theories surrounding his death ran wild, from sex games gone wrong to a targeted assassination by a hostile state. Peter Faulding ruled out MI6 involvement, telling the Mail today: 'If the service got rid of Gareth it wouldn't be in a bag in the bath for the world to see'. Coroner Fiona Wilcox concluded in 2012 that the plethora of unanswered questions, a lack of a struggle and the Houdini-standards contortionism needed to get inside the bag and lock it alone, without leaving any prints, all pointed to a 'third-party involvement', calling Gareth's death 'criminally mediated' and 'unlawful'. But in 2013, after a three-year investigation by Scotland Yard, its detectives concluded the opposite and said there was no evidence of anyone else in the flat and that Gareth probably died alone as a result of somehow accidentally locking himself inside the bag. The case was reopened in 2021 to allow for a new forensic investigation using more modern technology on items of 'significant' interest such as a towel. But despite a bewildering lack of answers about what happened in the so-called 'Spy in the Bag' case, the Met again closed its investigation last year after it found 'no evidence' that disproves their main theory that he was alone. There were no new findings of DNA, nor that a third party was present at the time of Williams' death, Scotland Yard said. Bewildering questions on how and why it happened, many armchair detectives have theorised that the 31-year-old, an expert on mobile phones, may have been murdered by a foreign state or even Russian Mafia because of his work investigating money-laundering networks. He was not believed to be in a relationship at the time of his death, however during the investigation six boxes of unworn women's designer clothing worth £20,000 and a orange wig were found in the apartment. Mr Williams's family have long suggested foul play, with two police sources claiming some of Williams' work was focused on Russia - and one confirming reports he had helped the US's National Security Agency trace international money-laundering routes used by organised crime groups including Moscow-based mafia cells. But police confirmed that there is no criminal inquiry, no suspects and no new evidence. MI6 colleagues said he was a 'quiet bloke' who 'got on with his work'. 'When he had a drink with work colleagues, he had an orange juice and left.' Retired Met Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said in 2021 that he believes Mr Williams was involved in sexual activity before his death. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Campbell said the death was different from the hits on Russian defectors Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, and Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018. 'What would have been achieved by killing a junior analyst?' Campbell asked. 'He was a phone analyst, an expert in terms of mobile phones and the transference of data. What would the Russians or any other state have achieved by killing him?'
