In Flight episode one on Channel 4 review: this airplane thriller never quite takes off
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Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Illegal migrants brought to UK in ‘dangerous' £350 dinghies sold online by backstreet factories in China
The National Crime Agency said the dinghies were becoming 'ever more dangerous and un-seaworthy, increasing the risk to life' BORDER FARCE Illegal migrants brought to UK in 'dangerous' £350 dinghies sold online by backstreet factories in China Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BACKSTREET factories in China sell £350 dinghies online to people smugglers bringing illegal migrants to Britain, a Sun probe found. Workshops 5,000 miles away churn out flimsy vessels to order for unscrupulous gangs in northern France — offering discounts for bulk purchases. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Backstreet factories in China sell £350 dinghies online to people smugglers bringing illegal migrants to Britain, a Sun probe found Credit: Alibaba The National Crime Agency said the dinghies were becoming 'ever more dangerous and un-seaworthy, increasing the risk to life'. Our probe found that the factories, all in Shandong and Zhejiang provinces, advertise through Chinese e-commerce site and state their main export market is western Europe. They say the boats, typically 8m-long, can carry more than 30. In reality, double that cram on them. Read More on immigration HERE WE GROW UK's immigration hotspots revealed... how does YOUR hometown fare? Last week, a 10m-long boat brought 106 into British waters. At least 469 fully-loaded dinghies have crossed to the UK so far this year, carrying 27,881, the majority young men. This week a shipment of 20 small boats destined to ferry migrants across the Channel to the UK was seized in Bulgaria. Another 25 were confiscated at the same location in July thanks to intelligence gathered by British law enforcement passed on to the Bulgarian National Customs Agency. It comes after the Foreign Office sanctioned Chinese firm Weihai Yamar Outdoors Product Co for advertising online inflatable boats for the specific purpose of people smuggling. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'The Labour government claimed it would smash the gangs but can't even stop the Chinese-made boats being sold in France. Small boat crossings under Labour are on brink of hitting 50,000 - one illegal migrant every 11 mins since the election 'This is a weak government which has lost control of our borders. They aren't prepared to take the tough action needed to end this madness so the situation will get worse.' Alibaba said: 'Search terms or product listings such as 'refugee boat' or 'immigrant boat' are in violation of our listings policies and won't return positive search results.' It said the inflatables advertised were 'designed, certified, and intended for lawful purposes'.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Coventry mum's warning after son targeted in sextortion scam
A woman has called on fellow parents to be on the alert after her teenage son was targeted by a sextortion scam. Jo - not her real name - said her son thought his "life was over" after he was targeted by criminals in 2023, aged 15. An online profile threatened to spread fake explicit images to his friends and family if he did not immediately send them money. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said cases like Jo's were becoming increasingly common, particularly among boys aged between 15 and 17. Jo, from Coventry, said she first knew of the scam when her son "came down the stairs screaming" that a social media account had created fake images of him. "He threw the phone at me and just said make it stop," she said."He just said my life is over - they want me to pay money mum."They seem to know a little bit about him and the next thing you know his face had been imposed on some explicit images and they were blackmailing him with it." Jo said the images had been sent to her son within 20 minutes of him accepting their follow request on social media. "It was instant," she said. "The phone was constantly going with message after message - they were bombarding him." Jo contacted West Midlands Police, which investigated the incident, but detectives said they could not trace where the messages were coming from, despite suspecting it was from Nigeria. She relived the experience when she watched the Channel 4 documentary Hunting My Sextortion Scammer, in which Jordan Stephens, from band Rizzle Kicks, tracked down and attempted to confront those behind a similar scam. "The documentary brought back so many memories of those messages on his phone," she said. "It makes you realize how fragile it could have been, the situation could have been very different to how ours ended." 'Have the talk' Jo is calling on parents to have tough conversations with their children about online safety. The NCA has also issued a warning after an increase in reports of sextortion in the UK, with data showing in the first five months of 2024, police forces across the UK received 117 reports of sextortion a month from under commissioned by the law enforcement agency found that 74% of boys questioned did not fully understand what sextortion was and only 12% admitted they may be at risk. "I think our story is a warning to parents to have this talk with your children," Jo said. "When you put a phone in your child's hand it's scary and I just think those safety conversations are important."Alex Murray, NCA Director of threat leadership, said sextortion was an "unimaginably cruel" crime."A lot of victims feel responsible for the situation they find themselves in," he said. "But we need them to know this is absolutely not the case - you are not to blame and help and support is available." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Review, In Flight - buckle up for a thrilling ride
**** BETWEEN Idris Elba in Hijack, paranoia-driven Red Eye and now this new thriller from Channel 4, it is all kicking off in the skies. It is enough to make you glad the schools are going back and the holiday season in Scotland is over. No, not really, but let's go with that anyway. Created and written by Mike Walden (Marcella) and Adam Randall (Slow Horses), the six-part In Flight has a smashing pedigree and is just the kind of muscular thriller that will power you through the week - familiar but not predictable, twisty but not impenetrable. Plus, it has the good fortune to have Katherine Kelly in the lead role. The actor formerly known as Becky the barmaid from Coronation Street, among many other roles, plays Jo Conran, senior cabin crew and mother to Sonny, 19. Sonny has gone off to Sofia for a holiday and to try living with his dad for a while. But a fight in a bar leads to Sonny being charged with murder and it is mum who gets the call from the distraught teenager begging to come home. Jo goes into can-do mode, throwing herself into her son's defence and promising to get him out of Bulgaria. But with costs spiralling, money and hope are running out fast. Read More: With perfect timing, along comes a stranger with an offer that feels impossible to refuse. Unless Jo brings three kilos of heroin into the country from Istanbul, her son won't make it out of jail alive. 'It's one of your usual routes, so you won't be suspected and you won't be stopped,' she is told. It is a simple enough set-up and one Jo manages to pull off, albeit shaking with nerves as she goes through security. But with Sonny's appeal coming up it's not a case of one and done. She's now the gang's prize asset - 'People look at you and they don't see a drug mule' - and the next job is Bangkok. In Flight is a hostage drama and drug thriller rolled into one, which would be chewy enough, but Walden and Randall squeeze more out of the story. For all that Jo seems terrified, she is also coolly transactional with her 'handler', looking for any little thing that will give her an edge over him. Kelly is terrific as the mum on the edge of a breakdown. Ditto Harry Cadby as her terrified son, pathetically grateful now that he is not being beaten up every day, but not knowing why. The last time most of us saw Kelly, she was part of the UK-wide acting ensemble in Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Closer to home, she was also in The Field of Blood, the 2011-13 adaptation of Denise Mina's novel. Fun fact: the tale of a cub reporter, Paddy Meehan (Jayd Johnson) was filmed in The Herald's old offices in Albion Street. Alas, none of us was plucked out of the subbing pool for stardom.
