Latest news with #Leyton
BBC News
04-08-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'I liked the sound of Chelsea, so I picked them'
We know the relationship between a football fan and their club is a special one so, as we gear up for the new season, we asked you to share why you fell in love with Chelsea and some of your favourite moments supporting them. Sam: Wolves v Chelsea 1977. Chelsea were banned from away games towards the end of the season with no tickets for the game available to Chelsea fans. Me and my mate heard there were touts selling tickets in the Chelsea area so a day before the game we decided to try our luck to find if we could somehow get hold of some tickets. We bunked off school and made our way to Chelsea from Leyton in the remote hope of finding someone with match tickets. As luck would have it, we found a tout and got four tickets. As we were leaving, we were approached by a man claiming to be from the club and said they were looking for two ballboys for the Chelsea v QPR reserve game urgently and from thinking we were busted, we were taken to the dressing rooms to get tracksuited up. Relieved and excited at the same time, we kept the tracksuits as well. We drove to Wolverhampton with Wolves needing a point to go up as champions and us needing a point to go up as well to Division One. The game ended with a 1-1 scoreline so both teams got what they wanted - but my abiding memory of that day was seeing 10,000+ banned Chelsea fans in one massive stand in the ground. I'm sure that day the saying you can't ban a Chelsea fan was born. Send your pictures and stories here
BBC News
18-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Stoke goalkeeper Simkin joins Orient on loan
Leyton Orient have signed goalkeeper Tommy Simkin on a season-long loan from Championship club Stoke 20, spent last season on loan at Walsall, making 47 appearances in all competitions, including the League Two play-off final defeat by AFC was also part of England's victorious under-21 European Championships joined Stoke as a youngster, Simkin has also had loan spells with Fylde, Forest Green Rovers and Solihull Moors."I'm buzzing to be here at this club," Simkin said. "Leyton Orient have got a great record of developing young players in every position and I'm excited to get started."I'm going to give it everything I have got whilst I'm here and I have got that fire in my belly to be successful."Losing at Wembley last season (with Walsall) was a terrible feeling and that has just motivated me even more to be successful in the rest of my career."
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The British youths and gangsters being groomed by Russian mercenaries to turn saboteurs - but could face a gruesome end should they change their mind
Scrambling out of a crammed Kia Picanto, two hooded men slink through the darkness towards a warehouse with one goal in mind: to burn it to the ground. After dousing the front of industrial unit with petrol, one of the thugs lobs a lit rag on the building's fuel-soaked door. As the pair of firebombers sprint off into the gloom, a sudden flash of flame is caught in grainy CCTV camera footage as a roaring blaze starts to engulf the property. The inferno that ripped through units 1 and 2 of the Cromwell Industrial Estate in Leyton, east London, caused £1million of damage - and wrote off £100,000 of aid destined for war-torn Ukraine. However, the culprits weren't just arsonists. They were instead a deluded gaggle of Britons recruited as guns for hire by Russia's ruthless Wagner mercenary group. Wagner is infamous for its heavy involvement in the invasion of Ukraine as well as carrying out military campaigns on behalf of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin in Mali, the Middle East and South America. The paramilitary cult's ranks allegedly include convicted murderers, rapists and gangsters - as well as ex-military personnel. They have a fearsome reputation for carrying out sickening atrocities in warzones, from rape to murder. Last month the group was accused of kidnapping and torturing hundreds of civilians in Mali, which allegedly includes some refugees staying at former UN bases and camps shared with the country's army. And the collective of bloodthirsty goons are equally as merciless to their own - executing 'traitors' in some of the most twisted ways possible. One man had his head caved in with a sledgehammer after being caught trying to switch sides in Ukraine. 'A dog receives a dog's death,' Wagner's old warlord commander-in-chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, drawled when asked about the execution. Prigozhin, a former close ally of Vladimir Putin, was killed less than a year later when his plane crashed after leading a failed revolt against Putin. It's suspected the Kremlin ordered his execution. Now the group's tendrils appear to be spreading into the UK, as part of a drive to lure British youths into betraying their country for cash and notoriety. Increasingly, Wagner is turning to social media messaging apps such as Telegram to seek out hapless gangsters across Europe to join its ranks - and carrying out proxy missions, thought to be under the orders of military chiefs in the Kremlin or from Putin's elite spy brigade, the GRU. Professor Bart Schuurman at the University of Leiden, has chillingly claimed Russian operations, including sabotage, influence, vandalism and assassination attempts, have crept up, from 11 in 2022 to 23 in 2023 and 64 in 2024. On Tuesday, Nii Kojo Mensah, Jakeem Rose and Ugnius Asmena, were the latest to be found to have been recruited by Wagner. They were convicted of committing aggravated arson on the warehouse. They had been roped into sabotaging the property - which contained vital satellite kit from billionaire tech guru Elon Musk's Starlink communications firm destined for Ukraine - by 'ringleader' Dylan Earl. Earl, a bungling part-time drug dealer was recruited into the ruthless cartel of mercenaries after approaching the group over Telegram. The 20-year-old, who boasted of being 'the best spy you have ever seen', was enthralled by the prospect of giving up his life living at home with his parents. From his bedroom in the tiny village of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, the Putin fan who could barely speak 30 words of Russian, managed to assemble a motley crew of Britons to torch the London warehouse causing £1million of damage, destroying generators and vital Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. The young builder and cocaine dealer was given the codename of 'SAS' and billed as Wagner's 'dagger in Europe' after Earl told the terror group of his grand plans to do 'something big' for the Kremlin, boasting he could build a 'link' between the Wagner Group, IRA and notorious Kinahan crime cartel. But the hapless arsonists Earl hired, who ranged from criminals to a cleaner, did such a bad job on March 20 last year that the Russians refused to pay them, saying the arson attack was not up to Wagner's 'standards'. His henchmen, Mensah, 23, Rose, 23, and Asmena, 20, failed to properly capture a full video of the burning warehouse after fleeing in a Kia Picanto which had to be 'bump started' with a set of pliers to turn the ignition key. They were forced to return to the scene just to livestream it for the Russians, which resulted in the gang being captured on CCTV and Rose also dropped a knife with his DNA on it before fire crews arrived to bring the blaze under control. But in a chilling illustration of Russia's appetite for inflicting chaos in the UK, despite the attack not matching Earl's lofty promises, Wagner operatives were prepared to send him on an even bigger mission to kidnap billionaire Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin. When police swooped last April, Earl was preparing to firebomb his Mayfair restaurant and wine shop worth £30million. Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command said the astonishing case showed how Russia was prepared to buy criminal proxies to carry out their dirty work in the UK. Earl was the first person to be convicted under the new National Security Act last year after police uncovered messages revealing how the drug dealer, who kept a Russian flag in his room, contacted a Telegram channel known as a mouthpiece for Wagner. His second in command, Jake Reeves, also pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. And on Tuesday, Mensah, Rose, and Asmena were all convicted by a jury for their part in the firebombing. All five men now face prison. During the court case, jurors heard how Earl had a passion to get involved with the rag-tag group of Russian mercenaries - notorious for their brutal tactics overseas. 'I [have] been wanting to come Russia. I need a fresh start bro,' Earl said. 'Do I need to be able to speak Russian though because that's not the best? Literally know 30 words, if that.' A Wagner automated chatbot called 'Privet' - or 'hello' in Russian - responded: 'Hello friend. How are you? We would like you to help us in Europe. What can you do in Europe, what actions? We need those who are our kindred spirit.' Gang members Jakeem Barrington Rose, 23 (left) and Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, were also part of the group. They were convicted on Tuesday Earl was instructed to watch a Cold War drama about KGB spies as a 'manual', using The Americans TV series about KGB agents undercover in the US as an aid to help him organise 'partisan cells' in the UK. Earl, whose online name was John Wick's nickname, Baba Yaga, from the hit movies starring Keanu Reeves, bragged: 'If you need connections with IRA, I can sort it. 'You want criminal connections with murderers, kidnappers, soldiers, drug dealers, fraudsters, car thieves- I can sort it all.' He promised, 'I know I can be the best spy you have ever seen', saying he had 'hundreds of people who respect me and do everything I ask of them'. Excitedly, he told the Russians: 'I can bring you great power and connections…I can get integrated with political connections and criminal figures of the highest level in Europe and South America…I am offering you everything: ways to make tens of millions of pounds, doing any country, all fires etc, spy operations in my country against individuals, business, government… I can provide you with hundreds of soldiers and access to big criminal organisations. Everything you want.' Earl pleaded guilty to preparing conduct for acts which endangered life on behalf of a foreign power before the four-week trial at London's Old Bailey began. During the court hearing, jurors heard how Earl had used the nickname 'Baba Yaga' on Telegram - a reference to the nickname for John Wick - a fictional hitman used by Russian and American gangs portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Keanu Reeves. Earl had started to follow a group on the encrypted messaging app, Telegram, called 'Grey Zone' - a pro-Russian account used by Wagner to recruit new henchmen. It has some 500,000 members and regularly shares Kremlin propaganda and job opportunities for wannabe mercenaries. The app, popular across Russian-speaking countries and former Soviet Union states, has been critical to Wagner's efforts to launch a shadow war of sabotage across the continent. It's been linked to helping organise attacks across Europe. During three days in July 2024, packages - all sent from Lithuania - were detonated in Birmingham, Leipzig in eastern Germany and Warsaw, Poland. Polish authorities say members behind the plot were reportedly head-hunted by a GRU handler, Colonel Denis Smolyanino, through a Russian-language Telegram account used by Ukrainian refugees Officials from Poland's security service have linked a plot to firebomb a warehouse in Wroclaw, in July, as well as the arson attack on Warsaw's 44 shopping centre in May, which obliterated more than 1,400 small businesses. A probe by Polish officials tabled the blame squarely at the feet of 'Russian special services' who they accused of 'ordering' the mayhem after recruiting people on Telegram. Throughout 2023 and 2024, at least eight adverts were shared on Grey Zone, calling for volunteers to join cells across Europe to fight in the battle against countries supporting Ukraine's fight against Russian invaders, reported The Times. According to the paper, the most recent advert posted in June of last year, said the Wagner group was looking to ramp up its operations across Africa and provided four numbers for hopeful recruits to call. Hailing the position as the 'best job in the world', the advert said it would give people the 'right to defend Russia's interests abroad' while also giving them the chance to 'get a healthy tan'. It was something that enticed Earl. After being put in touch with a handler, he was later given orders to carry out an in-depth reconnaissance on the warehouses which the group claimed was being used to aid 'Ukrainian terrorists'. The warehouses were owned by British-Ukrainian businessman Mikhail Boikov and were used to store aid for Kyiv - as well as Starlink equipment, which could be used to help frontline troops to communicate with each other through Elon Musk's network of space satellites. Earl went about hiring his team of covert saboteurs, with the promise of £1,000 once they carried out their mission. But they were hardly soldiers. Jake Reeves, 23, from Croydon, was working as a Gatwick aircraft cleaner and volunteering for criminal jobs on a Telegram group after failing his GCSEs and becoming obsessed with the gangster lifestyle portrayed on the game Grand Theft Auto. Reeves brought in his former college friends, Rose, who already had criminal convictions and Mensah. Asmena, a Lithuanian living with his drug-addicted mother in a squat in Roehampton, South London also volunteered. On Tuesday Rose, Mensah and Asmena were convicted of aggravated arson after an Old Bailey trial. Reeves pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to the same offence and agreeing to accept money from a foreign intelligence service. All five men now face the prospect of being jailed when they are sentenced at a later date. Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command slammed the group for joining a Wagner plot. He aid 'the ringleaders - Earl and Reeves - willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state'. 'Those involved showed little or no regard for the potential impact of their actions on the UK's wider security. Seemingly motivated by the promise of money, they were prepared to commit criminal acts on behalf of Russia.' he added. The Government insists the National Security Act 2023 is making the UK an even harder target for 'hostile states' like Russia to target. It includes a new set of offences, measures and investigatory powers, which are used to clampdown. In April, Security Minister Dan Jarvis announced Russia would be placed on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, meaning anyone working for the Russian state in the UK will need to declare what they are doing or risk committing an offence under the National Security Act 2023. Speaking after the sentencing of Earl's group of mercenaries, Mr Jarvis added: 'Another proxy group acting for Russia has been brought to justice, thanks to the work of our criminal justice system. 'National security is the foundation of our Plan for Change, and these convictions should serve as a clear warning to those seeking to undermine our national security or the safety of the UK.
Sky News
08-07-2025
- Sky News
Three men found guilty of arson attack for Russian mercenaries on Ukraine-linked warehouse in London
Three men have been found guilty of an arson attack on a London warehouse linked to Ukraine on behalf of the terrorist Wagner Group. Around £1m of damage was caused by the blaze at an industrial unit in Leyton, east London, that was supplying StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine, a court heard. The StarLinks are often used by the Ukrainian military in its fight against Russia following the full-scale invasion by President Vladimir Putin's forces which started in February 2022. Nii Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, were convicted of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life following an Old Bailey trial. Paul English, 61, was cleared of the same charge. The attack at the Cromwell industrial estate on 20 March last year was orchestrated by 20-year-old Dylan Earl - who was recruited by the Wagner Group - and Jake Reeves, 23, the trial previously heard. The group of Russian mercenaries effectively acts as a private army for the state. Reeves, of Croydon, pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. Earl, of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and preparatory conduct under the National Security Act 2023. It was alleged they recruited a group of men to carry out the attack as part of a series of planned missions for the terrorist group. The court was previously told the pair had gone on to plot more arson attacks on a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair and the kidnap of their multi-millionaire owner Evgeny Chichvarkin, who was a Russian dissident. Warehouse arson attack was livestreamed The Metropolitan Police said an analysis of Earl's Telegram messages showed the first person he recruited for the warehouse arson plot was Reeves, who then recruited his friend Mensah to carry out the attack. In turn, Mensah recruited his friend Rose. Asmena was also recruited to take part. Mensah, Rose and Asmena met up on the evening of 20 March 2024 and travelled in a red Kia Picanto to the scene of the arson. Officers found evidence that Mensah filmed the warehouse being set alight and livestreamed it on FaceTime to Earl and Reeves. The video was recovered by police. A knife found at the scene was linked to Rose through DNA analysis. The case is the first concerning allegations under the UK's new counter-espionage laws. Prosecutor Duncan Penny said Earl was "knowingly acting at the behest of the Wagner Group", banned as a terrorist organisation, and "knew he was acting against Ukrainian, and for Russian interests". It was 'only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured' Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "This case is a clear example of an organisation linked to the Russian state using 'proxies' - in this case British men - to carry out very serious criminal activity in this country on their behalf." He said that the ringleaders Earl and Reeves "willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state". And he added that it was "only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured or worse". The Crown Prosecution Service called the convictions a "significant moment" and they "send a very clear message that this type of offending will not be tolerated on UK soil". The Russian embassy in London has rejected any part in the warehouse fire, saying the British government repeatedly blames Russia for anything "bad" that happens in the UK. Ashton Evans, 20, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot but cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson. Dmirjus Paulauskas, 23, was cleared of two similar offences relating to both terrorist plots after the jury deliberated for nearly 22 hours. The convicted defendants will be sentenced at the Old Bailey at a later date.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- The Guardian
CCTV shows Wagner Group arson attack on London warehouse
CCTV footage released by the Metropolitan police shows arsonists setting fire to a warehouse in Leyton, east London, in March 2024. The attack on the building, which held supplies destined for Ukraine, was ordered by the Wagner Group, a Russian terrorist organisation. Five men have been convicted for their involvement
