Hidden London: Latimer House
Why did the prisoners talk? Because Kendrick did not rough them up, but appealed to their egos. The Germans were subject to phony interrogations before making it to the house; the British made sure to appear inept. With their defences down, Kendrick laid on the star treatment. The house had its own invented aristocrat, Lord Aberfeldy, who cosied up to the generals, taking them for walks around the grounds, stopping at mic'd-up bushes. Puffed up by the idea a lord had been sent to look after them, Hitler's top men became careless.
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Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Huge holiday hotspot sees big drop in UK tourists after locals 'demonise' them
Benidorm is one of the biggest winners in Spain of the drop in British holidaymakers choosing Magaluf following the party resort "clean-up", local bar and nightclub chiefs say A Spanish holiday resort once beloved by Brits is seeing its popularity falter amid efforts to tidy up its image. According to Miguel Perez-Marsa, head of the ABONE nightclub association on Majorca, young Brits are shunning Magaluf. The area used to be overrun by UK tourists during the summer but now attracts a more diverse European crowd. Miguel argued that Brits feel "demonized." French and Italian visitors, who tend to drink less and spend less on nights out, are filling the void left by British revellers. At the same time, British youths, once the mainstay of Magaluf's raucous Punta Ballena strip, have been "steam-rollered" and are now heading to Benidorm and other "more-welcoming" resorts, Miguel said. While more British families are visiting Magaluf, they're choosing all-inclusive deals, which means they're spending less money outside their hotels, Miguel told Diario de Mallorca. The reputation of Magaluf took a hit following the release of a scandalous sex video in June 2014, involving a British tourist in a bar, which resulted in a year-long closure of the establishment and a concerted effort by local authorities to clean up the resort's image. Magaluf's infamous party strip has been under the spotlight since Majorca's leading politician at the time, Jose Ramon Bauza, slammed Punta Ballena as "500 metres of shame". This came after an 18-year-old girl was tricked into performing sex acts for a supposed free holiday, only to receive a cocktail named 'Holiday'. Fines reaching up to £50,000 were introduced for tourists caught balcony jumping, and alcohol service with meals at all-inclusive hotels in areas like Magaluf was restricted under a regional government decree targeting 'drunken tourism', introduced five years ago. Last year saw even stricter measures, including £1,300 penalties for street drinking and mandatory night-time shutdowns of alcohol-selling shops in parts of Magaluf. In May 2024 the Mirror's Hollie Bone visited Magaluf and was shocked by the levels of debauchery on display, despite these efforts. "In just one night our reporter was offered cocaine five times and witnessed a stag party buying a huge can of nitrous oxide, known as hippy crack, before using it openly in a bar. And previous visitors have urged those going this year to be careful as thuggish bouncers, incidents of spiking and theft still plague the party town," she wrote. "During our week in Magaluf we witnessed several blatant breaches of the new laws. We saw members of the stag party buy two one litre bottles of vodka and gin after making an after-hours deal with a takeaway owner at 3am. The same group also bought the nitrous oxide and inhaled balloons of the gas in front of nonchalant bar workers. "Revellers are still enticed into bars by the offers of a free shot with their first drink. For some young Britons a summer season here is still as attractive and exciting as it was eight years ago. One barman from Tottenham, North London, told us he came here in 2016 and has never looked back." During a visit in May last year, Britain's then-Ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, called on visitors in the Majorcan hotspot to "show responsibility" and remember they are "guests" in Spain. British holidaymakers form the majority of Benidorm's international visitors. Recent statistics revealed that over two-thirds of the Costa Blanca resort's tourists in May were from overseas, with an encouraging average hotel occupancy rate of 84.7% for the month. This Sunday an anti-mass tourism demonstrators are gearing up for another rally in the Majorcan capital, Palma. The event is orchestrated by activist group Menys Turisme, Mes Vida, with a coalition of 60 organisations confirming their participation. Activists from other cities such as Barcelona and San Sebastian are set to join in a series of synchronised protests. A spokesperson for Menys Turisme, Mes Vida declared last week: "We will demonstrate for the right to a decent life and to demand the brakes are put on the touristification of this island."
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I'm the famous Peru Two drug mule – this is my warning to Brit tourists… and how gangs know EXACTLY who to target
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PERU Two drug mule Michaella McCollum has warned Brit tourists about how trafficking gangs lure young girls into their criminal operations. The infamous drug trafficker served three years behind bars in 2013 alongside Melissa Reid after they were handpicked to smuggle £1.5million worth cocaine into Peru. 8 Peru Two drug mule Michaella McCollum has warned Brit tourists about how trafficking gangs lure young girls into their criminal operations Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 8 Brit Bella May Culley was arrested in Tbilisi airport, Georgia, with a suitcase packed with drugs Credit: Facebook 8 Charlotte May Lee, 21, former TUI flight attendant from Coulsdon, was allegedly recruited to smuggle drugs into Sri Lanka Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Since being freed from a hellhole jail in Lima, McCollum transformed her life and is now a mum and public speaker. Part of her work includes exposing how foreign drug operations try and recruit British mules. The 31-year-old appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning to speak on the increasing danger of Brits being preyed upon abroad. It comes after a spate of young women being arrested on trafficking charges including Bella May Culley, 18, and Charlotte May Lee, 21. McCollum told Susanna Reid that people are often picked by drug chiefs specifically due to how vulnerable they appear. She explained: "That's what they do these organisations, they have people that are pickers and their job is to pick people to become mules. "They'll target vulnerabilities which might be age because at 19 or 20 you're incredibly naive, you're easy to manipulate. "Then women as well as obviously women tend to be groomed and coerced in situations a lot more. "Then whether you have a drug addiction as that could also be a vulnerability." McCollum was aged 19 at the time of her first being recruited with her Peru Two partner Reid being only 20. Charlotte May Lee fears being locked away for 20yrs over £1.2m Sri Lanka drugs bust – & is 'aware' of Bella Culley case She has also been open about her drug habits around the time of her arrest as she believes this contributed to her recruitment. Bella Culley - the teen arrested in Georgia last month - was seen smoking in videos shared to her social media in the weeks before she was stopped at the border and detained. Michaella also revealed that the drug kingpins ordering young women to become traffickers are masters at manipulation. She says that when she was first coerced into taking a suitcase of cocaine across the border her bosses convinced her that everything would be okay. Michaella was made to feel like a "little girl" when she questioned the dangers of smuggling, she said. Her concerns were always met with simple solutions, she added. She recalled once asking about how they would get the drugs through the airport before being told the airport staff is in cahoots with the operations being carried out and allow them. By the time she realised the answers were a lie, Michaelle said she was already in handcuffs. 8 Michaella McCollum entering the Sarita Colonia jail with a police escort in October, 2013 Credit: EPA 8 McCollum told Susanna Reid that people are often picked by drug chiefs specifically due to how vulnerable they appear Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 8 Michaella McCollum is now a mum-of-two and author Credit: Instagram/@Michaella_McCollum She continued: "You have to understand that the level of manipulation that goes on behind it as it's not just overnight, it can be weeks of manipulation. "They ended up making me believe that this was totally fine. I was being dramatic, I was being naive to question it. "So I was so scared to say no and men know they can manipulate women to do things and I was so scared to just say no." Both Peru Two mules became friends when holidaying in Ibiza in August 2013 and were soon coerced into cocaine trafficking. But in October, they were arrested as they stepped off a lane in Lima, Peru. McCollum and Reid were convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to six years and eight months in a dismal Ancon 2 prison. At the time, the pair's horror trip led them to becoming household names as they both admitted to being used by the gangs. In recent weeks, a string of British women have faced similar worrying experiences after being recruited by foreign gangs. A couple claiming to be tourists from Thailand were busted with more than 33kg of cannabis in their suitcases at a Spanish airport in May. Why Brit backpackers are prime targets, Thai cop reveals By Patrick Harrington, Foreign News Reporter Police Lieutenant Colonel Arun Musikim, Deputy Inspector of the Surat Thani province police force, said: 'Cases involving British nationals smuggling cannabis have been around for a while. 'There is a lot of cannabis grown on Thailand's islands in the south because the climate is suitable and it is legal. A lot of gangs are attracted to this. 'There are now various smuggling methods that we have seen. Some carry it themselves, some hire backpackers, and some send it via mail. 'This year, there have been many cases we have intercepted. Most involve British and Malaysian nationals. 'It's easy for British citizens to travel as they can enter Thailand and return to the UK without needing a visa. 'Most of the smugglers are people hired to carry the cannabis, similar to how tourists might smuggle tax-free goods. 'They're usually unemployed individuals from the UK. The gangs offer them flights, pocket money and hotel stays, just to come and travel and take a bag back home with them. 'These people often have poor social standing at home and are looking for ways to earn quick money. They find them through friends or on social media. 'Many will go to festivals or parties while they are here, just like they are having a normal trip abroad. 'They are told that it is easy and they will not be caught. Then the amount the organisers can sell the cannabis for in the UK is much higher than it costs in Thailand. 'Police suspect that there are multiple employers and groups receiving the drugs on the other end. The cannabis then enters the UK market. 'We are being vigilant to ensure there are no routes out of the country.' A British OnlyFans model was also caught allegedly smuggling nearly £200,000 worth of Thai cannabis into Spain. But the two largest and most concerning cases covered Bella and Charlotte. Bella sparked a massive international search operation in early May after she was reported missing while holidaying in Thailand. However, it was later revealed that the teen, from Billingham, County Durham, had been arrested 4,000 miles away on drug offences in Georgia. She was allegedly carrying 30 pounds (14kg) of cannabis into the ex-Soviet nation. Around the same time, 21-year-old Charlotte Lee May, from Coulsdon, south London, was also arrested in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo after police discovered 46 kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase. The former flight attendant is now facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted. 8 Bella pictured in court in Tbilisi after she was detained at a Georgian airport Credit: East2West
Spectator
4 hours ago
- Spectator
Police blow £17 million on 300 diversity staff
Good news for British bobbies: you are about to get a real-terms pay rise. Yes, that is right: Yvette Cooper has reportedly wrung the change out of Rachel Reeves, amid some eleventh-hour pay negotiations ahead of Wednesday's spending review. But while few would begrudge those working hard some extra cash, Mr S is not alone in wondering whether the boys in blue really are spending all their sums effectively. For some coppers, it seems, are less interested in being police constables and more rather concerned with political correctness. A spate of stories have appeared in the papers recently, in which overzealous officers pitch up at mild-mannered citizens' homes. Examples include Telegraph writer Allison Pearson, visited by Essex Police on Remembrance Day, and journalist Maxie Allen who was arrested over 'malicious communications' in a school WhatsApp chat. So Mr S has done some digging into the cost of how much equality and diversity posts are costing police forces across the UK.
