Thieves drive off in stolen digger and roller in Gloucestershire
Thieves are thought to have driven off in a digger, excavator, roller and other vehicles after they were stolen from premises in Gloucestershire, police have said.The six high value vehicles were stolen over the course of two nights.The offenders were believed to have forced entry to the premises on the A38 Bristol Road in Cambridge, near Berkeley, Gloucestershire, at about 22:00 BST on Saturday and again at 21:45 BST on Sunday, officers said.While there, they stole £250,000 worth of machinery, including a Machine Kobtoa excavator, digger and roller, which they drove off with in convoy.
Gloucestershire Police urged witnesses to come forward, or anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage.Information can be shared with police via an online form, or anonymously by contacting Crimestoppers.
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The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Highgate cemetery families confront bosses in row over new building
Dozens of grave owners confronted Highgate cemetery's bosses and their architects this week in a growing row over a maintenance and toilet block in a part of the graveyard where almost 200 people were recently buried. The cemetery called Tuesday's private meeting in an attempt to placate objectors by setting out adjustments to a new building that is part of an £18m redevelopment of the graveyard. But the meeting descended into heckles, chants, a walkout, legal threats, demands for compensation and accusations that cemetery was putting the needs of tourists above mourners. A recording of the meeting, heard by the Guardian, revealed unanimous and often furious opposition to what grave owners have called 'the bunker'. The controversial block is due to be located on the mound, an area of the cemetery of about 170 recent graves including those of the sociologist Prof Stuart Hall, the artist Gustav Metzger, and the critic Tom Lubbock. Among those objecting were the actor Bertie Carvel, whose mother, Pat, was buried on the mound in 2019. He told the meeting it was 'crazy' to locate the 'brutalist' building in part of the cemetery 'most frequented by active mourners'. Pleading with the cemetery's managers, he said: 'I'm sure it is not deliberately insensitive but given the strength of feeling please, please, please will you stop. Go away and rethink.' His fellow actor Pam Miles demanded that the cemetery pay for the cost of exhuming the remains of her actor husband, Tim Pigott-Smith, if the scheme goes ahead. 'It leaves us no option but to exhume. In the circumstances it would be fair to expect you to repay us for these expensive graves.' Staff from Hopkins Architects, who designed the scheme, were repeatedly heckled and shouted down as they argued the building could not be placed in any other part of the 14.5-hectare (36-acre) graveyard. A lawyer, who afterwards asked not to be named, said he and others were planning to sue the cemetery for breach of contract. The man, who owns a double plot where his partner his buried, told the meeting: 'What we bought was a site with open views and you are changing that. You need to think about whether there are potential legal ramifications from people like me if you carry on with this.' Separately, a letter to the cemetery's trustees signed by more than 30 grave owners, claimed the charity had breached consumer rights of those who had recently bought plots by failing to inform them of the plan to redevelop the cemetery. It also threatened to report the trust to the Charity Commission over consultation failures and reputational damage to the cemetery. And it warned they were prepared to allege mismanagement to the National Heritage Lottery Fund, at a time when the cemetery is seeking £18m of funding for the redevelopment. At the meeting architects defended the building. One denied it was brutalist, saying: 'That's just not correct. There's more poetry to it than that.' One of the objectors shouted: 'Bollocks.' Undeterred, the architects outlined proposed changes to the block including removing an accessible toilet and reducing the height and width of the building. At this point Natalie Chambers, whose parents are both buried on the mound, left the meeting in protest. As she left she said: 'I'm appalled. You don't listen to us one bit. My father was in the Warsaw ghetto. And you are so disgusting I don't even want to come to the cemetery any more.' There followed a chant from the room of: 'We don't want the building.' A screenwriter, Anna Seifert-Speck, whose husband was buried on the mound in 2019, said: 'We are asking you to reconsider bulldozing over our complaints. Lowering the thing a little bit isn't going to work, it's not want we want.' Another grave owner said: 'It's a graveyard for us. It's not a tourist site.' A barrister said the mound area was the 'worst possible' location for the building. 'There is a concentration of nothing but contemporary graves there. That's why you have so many people in this room. My young daughter lies there. 'You must see that the notion of having toilets right next to the graves of loved ones causes pain and anguish. The solution is simple: don't build on the mound.' Speaking after the meeting, Carvel said: 'Mourning in a cemetery ranks higher than visiting a place of historic interest. The force of those arguments must have rung loud to anyone with an ounce of humanity. But we are also dealing with a corporate decision-making process and I remain somewhere between anxious and cynical about the extent to which that organisation will look itself in the mirror and admit it was wrong.' The architects and trustees agreed to reflect on the feedback and report back to the grave owners in the coming weeks. Elizabeth Fuller, the chair of the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, acknowledged failures in the way recent grave owners had been consulted about the plans and pledged 'better communication in the future'. At the start of the meeting she said: 'As required by the planning process, and by [the] reality [of the site], we have had to balance the benefits and harms of all constituent elements. We will commit to amending our plans wherever possible.'
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Rape victims can challenge dropped cases after sexsomnia fiasco
Victims of rape and serious sexual assaults will get the right to challenge prosecutors' decisions to drop their cases. Labour is to pilot a scheme in which rape victims can secure an independent review if prosecutors are planning to abandon their case because they believe there is insufficient evidence. Under the current system, criminal cases can be stopped at any point if a prosecutor decides there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. Under changes announced on Thursday, victims of rape or serious sexual abuse will be offered the right for a different independent prosecutor to review the evidence before any final decisions are made. If that prosecutor determines there is enough evidence, the case will continue. The move follows a campaign by Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, 32, after her rape case was dropped amid claims that she could have had an episode of 'sexsomnia'. An 'important first step' Ms McCrossen-Nethercott received £35,000 in compensation and an apology from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for its decision to drop the case before the evidence had been tested in court. She contacted police in 2017 because she thought she had been raped while asleep. She said she had woken up half-naked, finding her necklace broken on the floor. But charges were dropped by the CPS days before a trial was scheduled to begin after lawyers for the alleged perpetrator claimed Ms McCrossen-Nethercott had sexsomnia – a medically recognised, but rare, sleep disorder that causes a person to engage in sexual acts while asleep. She welcomed the pilot scheme to be run in the West Midlands as an 'important first step'. 'It can't undo the harm already done to victims like me, but it's real, tangible progress, and I hope it marks the beginning of a fairer system, one where victims' voices are not just heard, but acted on,' said Ms McCrossen-Nethercott. Victims already have the right to challenge a decision not to charge suspects once it has been taken, but the pilot scheme will extend that right to before prosecutors decide to drop a case. 'Make Britain's streets safer' Lucy Rigby, Labour MP and Solicitor General, wrote in an article for The Telegraph: 'The existing scheme is already an important tool in delivering justice, but this new commitment from the CPS will extend that right, so that victims are further empowered to question decisions made in their cases, resulting in fewer cases falling through the cracks and more offenders brought to justice. 'Beginning on Friday, the pilot will become operational in the West Midlands. If it is a success, we will look to extend this across the country to support all victims of rape and serious sexual assaults. 'We know there is much to do to fix the justice system. But this is a vital step towards building the system that victims deserve and ultimately make Britain's streets safer.' Just one in 40 (2.6 per cent) rape offences resulted in a charge in the year ending March 2024, up from 2.1 per cent in the previous year, but a fraction of the 12 per cent charge rate in 2014. Labour has committed to halving violence against women and girls and will publish its strategy on how to achieve that this summer. The plan has inherited a series of initiatives by the last government and police, including an overhaul to focus investigations on perpetrators rather than testing the credibility of victims. Police chiefs have pledged to apply the same investigative and disruptive tactics to rapists as they do to organised crime bosses, where they are pursued by police even if victims withdraw their complaints. We can't leave victims to go on suffering Our broken criminal justice system is in dire need of repair, which is why our pilot scheme aims to empower victims of rape and sexual assault to question decisions made in their cases, writes Lucy Rigby KC MP. Too often, victims of violence against women and girls are let down by our criminal justice system, compounding what is already a traumatic experience. I have strong views on the reasons why. Chief among them: 14 years of governments whose approach was nothing short of negligent. This resulted in too few bobbies on the beat, overflowing prisons and a record backlog in our courts, leaving victims of very serious crimes waiting years to see perpetrators in court. In short, a broken criminal justice system in desperate need of repair. The impact on victims and public trust in the justice system was significant. A creaking criminal justice system undermines one of the basic principles fundamental to our democracy: the rule of law. That is to say the law applies to everyone equally and all must have access to justice. This happened despite the work of thousands of dedicated public servants to protect us all. I've met many of them – including the prosecutors from across the country that dedicate their careers to sifting through evidence, often in harrowing crimes, to build a case and pursue justice on behalf of victims. Empowering rape victims This Government has begun the difficult task of fixing our criminal justice system as part of the Plan for Change, in which we pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. To achieve this, we are putting domestic abuse specialists into 999 control rooms, introducing new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, doing more to effectively tackle spiking, stalking and coercive behaviour. That means better support in place for victims and giving them the confidence that specialists are helping them. These changes will also see more police on our streets, locking up abusers, but importantly – getting quicker justice and support for those suffering at the hands of perpetrators of these horrific crimes. As Solicitor General, I've heard heart-wrenching accounts of women's experience of the criminal justice system – sometimes lasting years – which have seriously impacted their mental health, wellbeing and relationships. We cannot let this go on, which is why we are ensuring that adult victims of rape and serious sexual offences will have access to a dedicated victim liaison officer, as well as pre-trial meetings, so that they feel more prepared for court. The right to question But we have to do more. In particular, it is vital that our criminal justice system further empowers victims to best navigate it. It was Prime Minister Keir Starmer who, as the director of public prosecutions, launched the Victims' Right to Review Scheme in 2013, to give victims and bereaved families the right to challenge decisions not to charge suspects or drop cases. Leading victims' rights voices, like Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, the Centre for Women's Justice, Dame Vera Baird and Claire Waxman OBE, the Victims' Commissioner, have recognised the success of this scheme and that is why we are extending it to better support more victims. A new pilot launched this week will give survivors of rape and serious sexual assault the right to have their case reviewed before CPS makes any final decisions. Currently, criminal cases can be stopped at any point if a prosecutor decides there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. For the first time, survivors of rape or serious sexual abuse will be offered the right to request a review by a different prosecutor before their case is dropped. Where a review finds that the initial decision was wrong, the case against the accused will continue. A system victims deserve The existing scheme is already an important tool in delivering justice, but this new commitment from the CPS will extend that right, so that victims are further empowered to question decisions made in their cases, resulting in fewer cases falling through the cracks and more offenders brought to justice. Beginning on Friday, the pilot will become operational in the West Midlands. If it is a success, we will look to extend this across the country to support all victims of rape and serious sexual assaults. We know there is much to do to fix the justice system. But this is a vital step towards building the system that victims deserve and ultimately make Britain's streets safer.
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Jury hears evidence of dead alleged rape victim in Lewes trial
A 999 call from a woman who a man allegedly posing as an "unofficial Uber" driver attempted to rape has been played in Head, of Pevensey in East Sussex, is alleged to have had latex gloves, condoms, Viagra tablets and a balaclava in his silver Mercedes when he was arrested in November 68-year-old is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a 25-year-old woman after picking her up in Brighton city centre. The woman died in December denies the charges, stating that he offered the woman a lift home but did not touch her, jurors at Lewes Crown Court were told. 'I'm really confused' The court heard that in a 999 call made by the woman, she told the operator: "A man put me to sleep. I don't know what he did. I woke up. He had gloves on. I need some help. This man is clearly doing this to people."I'm confused, I'm really confused."He was pulling my trousers down and then I kicked him and he's driven off."He had a mask on and he had plastic gloves on his hands. He said he was an Uber, he said he was going to drive me home. I didn't order one and I was reluctant."The woman remembered part of a number plate and Mr Head was arrested minutes later after a police pursuit through Hove, the court was to the prosecution, in a police interview, the woman said Mr Head told her he was finishing his shift and would drive her home."I tried to sit in the front and he said I couldn't. I closed the window and fell asleep. I was fading in and out of consciousness and becoming aware I had been in the car for a really long time," she said."He kept stopping the car and was groping me. He got into the back and he had these rubber gloves. I was so out of it, I thought maybe this guy is going to chop me into pieces."Mr Head is also accused of assaulting 19-year-old woman he picked up near Hove Park, which he trial continues.
