Lawrence Family To Ask May For Public Inquiry

Stephen Lawrence's family are meeting the Home Secretary to ask for a new public inquiry into claims that police secretly hunted for information to smear their campaign.

Michael Mansfield QC, who represents the family of the murdered student, said they also want the inquiry to investigate all cases of undercover activity carried out by the Metropolitan Police's former Special Demonstration Squad throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

It follows claims by one of the squad's former undercover officers, Peter Francis, that he was told to "dig up dirt" on the Lawrence family, Stephen's friend Duwayne Brooks, who witnessed the murder, and campaigners shortly after Stephen's death in 1993.

Mother Doreen Lawrence

Allegations have also been made that officers secretly bugged meetings they held with Mr Brooks and his lawyers.

Earlier this week, Mrs May said Mr Francis' claims would instead be investigated in two ongoing inquiries - one into the undercover operations of the Special Demonstration Squad and another into alleged police corruption in the original Lawrence inquiry.

After the announcement, Mr Lawrence said he had "no confidence" that these would get to the bottom of the issue.

Mrs May said she would be "ruthless" in purging the Metropolitan Police of any misconduct and made clear that prosecutions could follow the inquiries.

Father Neville Lawrence

Scotland Yard said it was investigating reports that officers secretly bugged meetings with Mr Brooks.

"An investigation into the circumstances of what took place has now been started by the DPS (Directorate of Professional Standards), " it said.

"This investigation will seek to establish exactly what was authorised and what happened to any material which may have been gathered, in the context of the legal framework of that time."

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Mum Yvonne Walsh And Baby Killed: Man In Court

A 28-year-old man has appeared before a district judge charged with murdering a woman and her seven-month-old baby.

Wesley John Williams was charged last night with the murders of 25-year-old Yvonne Walsh and her son Harrison at a house in Birmingham.

Williams, of Chells Grove, Billesley, Birmingham, spoke only to give his name, address and date of birth during a two-minute hearing at Birmingham Magistrates' Court.

Both victims, who died as a result of pressure to the neck, were found at their home in Chells Grove on June 2.

Williams, wearing a grey T-shirt, nodded during the hearing to confirm that he understood the charges against him, and was remanded in custody to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

Today's hearing before District Judge Jan Jellema was told that Williams is alleged to have murdered Ms Walsh and her son between May 31 and June 2.

In a statement issued last night, Hayley Firman, head of the West Midlands CPS Public Protection Unit, said: "I have advised officers from West Midlands Police that there is sufficient evidence and that it is in the public interest to charge Wesley Williams with the murders of Yvonne Walsh and her seven-month-old son, Harrison Walsh.

"The decision was taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

"Wesley Williams now stands charged with a criminal offence and has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that nothing should be reported which could prejudice this trial."

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Dumfries Female Workers Win At Supreme Court

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

A group of female classroom assistants and nursery workers have won an important stage in their fight for equal pay.

The decision by the Supreme Court in their favour could have far-reaching implications around the UK.

The 251 employees of Dumfries and Galloway Council had argued that they were entitled to pay that was equal to the money received by men working at a similar level.

They wanted equality with men in positions such as leisure attendants, groundsmen and road workers.

The male employees have been earning 30% bonuses to which the women have not been entitled.

The arrangement has hinged on the fact that the men work in a separate establishment within the council infrastructure.

After an eight-year fight through the courts, with mixed results, the female employees have received the backing of the UK Supreme Court to take their claim back to an employment tribunal.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of UNISON, the union representing the women, told Sky News: "I am delighted that the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of our women members.

"It is a shame, though, that they have had to go through this process and endure a seven year wait just to get equal pay.

Unison's Dave Prentis hailed the Supreme Court's decision

"Dumfries and Galloway Council should take immediate steps to correct their pay and I urge other councils to follow suit."

The union has more than 2,000 other similar cases lined up and waiting for a final resolution.

It says it now expects a full victory which, in Scotland alone, could cost council employers well over £500m in wages and pension entitlements backdated to when the claim was launched in 2005.

Elaine North, a class support teacher who was one of the appellants, told Sky News: "This has been a very long fight but we knew all along that we should be able to compare our work with the men.

"We have won what is rightfully ours."

Dumfries and Galloway Council said in a statement: "The Supreme Court judgment is the most recent stage of the legal process.

"The appellants, including classroom assistants and nursery nurses, now have won the right to have their jobs compared to those of male manual workers, such as road workers and groundsmen.

"This judgment has implications for many local authorities and other public bodies."

It said the council would "now consider its position in response to the Supreme Court judgment".

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Woman With Pushchair Attacked At Rail Station

Police have released CCTV images of a man after a woman with a pushchair was attacked as she left a train station, leaving her son with a fractured collarbone.

The woman's two-year-old son was injured as she was dragged to the ground during the assault at Highams Park station, north east London.

Officers from British Transport Police (BTP) and the Metropolitan Police attended the station after the woman was attacked at around 3.30pm on Sunday.

Detective Constable Gerry Hughes said: "The victim, who had her two-year-old son in a pushchair, was approached by a man at Walthamstow Central station.

The woman's two-year-old son suffered a fractured collarbone in the assault

"They both boarded the 2.47pm Liverpool Street to Chingford service as the train arrived at Walthamstow Central around 3.03pm.

"During the journey, the man began to racially abuse the victim.

"When the train arrived at Highams Park station, the victim left the train with her pushchair."

He said the man then attacked the victim, who is also black, pulled her hair and dragged her to the ground along with the pushchair. The man then left the scene.

DC Hughes added: "The victim was left understandably shocked but uninjured.

"This was an unspeakable attack on a mother and son, and we are determined to find the man responsible."

:: Anyone with information should contact BTP on 0800 40 50 40 using reference B9/LNA of 24/06/13 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Redditch Mosque: Swastikas Daubed On Walls

Racist graffiti - including swastikas - has been painted on a mosque in Redditch after intruders forced their way into the site.

The damage at the mosque in Jinnah Road was caused between 2am and 4.30am on Wednesday and was discovered by a targeted police patrol.

The graffiti had been sprayed on to walls and at least half a dozen windows using paint taken from builders' cabins on the site.

Intruders had forced their way onto the site through a gate and then broke into the main building of the mosque.

The site in Jinnah Road, Redditch, was broken into on Wednesday morning

Superintendent Kevin Purcell, North Worcestershire police commander, said: "For as long as I can remember the relationship between the Muslim community in Redditch, the police and the wider community would best be described as excellent.

"Due to incidents happening nationally, targeted patrols have been put in place and these will now be further increased as we will not tolerate mindless attacks of this nature.

"I will be arranging meetings with the chairs of the mosques, local civic leaders and the Independent Advisory Group to reassure them of our commitment and determination to do everything possible to prevent and further such incidents and track down those responsible for this attack."

The graffiti comes just days after detectives in Walsall launched a major hate crime investigation when a small home-made bomb exploded near a mosque.

National Front symbols were also painted on windows

Around 150 people were evacuated from their homes in the Caldmore area of Walsall on Saturday night while bomb disposal experts made the device safe.

West Midlands Police said a loud bang heard by residents late on Friday "appeared to be consistent" with the device exploding. No one was injured and it caused minimal damage.

Last week two men were charged in relation to an alleged arson attack at a mosque in Gloucester, and an Islamic cultural centre in Grimsby was hit by petrol bombs last month.

Mosques in Braintree, Essex, and Gillingham, Kent, have also been targeted.

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Spending Review: The Key Points

The main announcements from Chancellor George Osborne in his spending review for 2015/16 as outlined to MPs in the Commons:

WELFARE:

:: Reforms to include the 'welfare cap' set in Budget statement annually from April 2015 for four years, though state pension not included.

:: Jobseekers face new requirements to get benefits. Non-English speaking claimants must learn the language or risk cuts to payments.

:: New upfront work search system will require claimants to provide a CV, register for online job search and start looking for work before getting benefits. 

:: Lone parents of three and four-year-olds to be required to attend job centres regularly and prepare for work.

:: Payment of winter fuel payments for people living abroad to be linked to a 'temperature test' from Autumn 2015 to ensure pensioners in hot countries do not get it.

JOBS & PAY:

:: Government workers to fall by extra 144,000 by 2015/16.

:: Ending automatic progression pay in public sector - though Armed Forces excluded. Pay rises limited to average of up to 1%.

INVESTMENT:

:: £50bn of capital investment in 2015/16, amounting to more than £300bn for infrastructure including broadband, science and schools by 2020. Promises the largest programme of investment in roads for 50 years and in railways since the Victorian age.

TAX:

:: HMRC resource budget cut by 5% but extra resources provided to tackle tax evasion raising a predicted £1bn-plus.

NHS:

:: NHS budget rises to £110bn for 2015/16. some £4.7bn capital spending in NHS.

EDUCATION:

:: Education budget increased to £53bn for spend on schools only. Pupil Premium extended to more children and 180 more Free Schools funded.

DEFENCE:

:: No reduction in numbers of soldiers, sailors or airmen, but cuts in civilian workforce.

:: Defence resource budget maintained at £24bn. Its equipment budget will be £14bn and will grow by 1% in real terms in following years.

TRANSPORT:

:: Government to "look at the case for" Crossrail 2 link from Wimbledon to Alexandra Palace in London and give mayor Boris Johnson almost £9bn of capital spending and additional financing power by 2020.

:: Transport to make 9% savings in day-to-day spending but receive largest boost of any department to its capital budget, which rises to £9.5bn - to be repeated every year to 2020.

LAW & ORDER:

:: Savings of 10% in justice department.

:: Police counter-terrorism budget will not be cut while there will be an increase of 3.4% in intelligence services budget.

KEY FIGURES:

:: A further £5bn of efficiency savings found in the latest spending round.

:: Total Government spending for 2015/16 will be £745bn.

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Ex-Pilot Guilty Of Murdering Wife In Car Crash

An ex-airline pilot has been convicted of murdering his wife after he deactivated her airbag and deliberately crashed their car into a tree.

Iain Lawrence, 53, was told by High Court judge Mr Justice Leggatt he would serve a minimum of 24 years after being found guilty of murdering his wife Sally.

Prosecutors said Lawrence adopted the brace position as the car crashed into a tree as Mrs Lawrence, who was not wearing a seat belt, died almost instantly.

Lawrence had denied deliberately driving his car into a tree to murder his 47-year-old wife and claimed it was an accident.

But the jury of six men and six women at Leicester Crown Court took just over eight hours to convict him of murder by a majority verdict of 11-1.

The court heard that Lawrence disabled the passenger airbag of his red Peugeot before the crash in Gartree Road in Oadby, Leicestershire, on October 6 last year and, in the moments before the car struck the tree, unclipped his wife's seatbelt.

Sentencing Lawrence, Mr Justice Leggatt said: "The way in which you killed Sally was both brutal and carefully planned.

"How you got Sally into your car, and whether by trickery or force, no-one but you can know. I suspect it was a combination of the two.

Sally Lawrence died along this road in Oadby, Leicestershire

"It was not chance but the result of your careful and cold-blooded planning that you came away from the collision with a few bruises while Sally died of catastrophic injuries."

During the trial, jurors heard that Lawrence was struggling to cope with the break-up of his 12-year marriage.

The couple, of Ring Road, Oadby, were going through an acrimonious divorce and had "locked horns" over the settlement the night before the crash.

They were still living together at their matrimonial home at the time of the crash, although they were leading separate lives.

Mrs Lawrence, who was seeing another man and had instigated divorce proceedings months earlier, had told friends she feared her "calm and cold" husband would try to kill her.

Lawrence claimed he knew nothing of his wife's affair until after her death.

Giving evidence, he told the court he had suffered a spasm in his leg moments before the crash, leaving him unable to hit the brakes as the car headed towards the tree.

Jurors heard that he feigned unconsciousness behind the wheel following the crash.

Witness Peter Hawkins, a retired firefighter, told the jury: "It was as if a child was squeezing his eyes shut pretending to be asleep.

"He was squeezing but the eye was twitching."

Following the sentencing, Mrs Lawrence's sister Catherine Kudhail said: "Sally's murder was an act of pure evil. She was an inspirational, caring, kind young woman with a huge heart. She was so full of life."

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Spending Review: Osborne Wields The Axe Again

Public sector workers, benefit claimants and ex-pat pensioners have all been hit under the Chancellor's drastic plans for extra spending cuts.

George Osborne declared Britain was "moving out of intensive care and from rescue to recovery" but warned the country had to keep on making savings.

As part of moves to save a further £11.5bn across Whitehall, public sector pay will be limited to an average of 1% for 2015/16 and automatic rises scrapped.

Welfare spending including housing benefit, tax credits, disability benefits and pensioner handouts except the state pension will be capped from April 2015.

A council tax freeze due to end next April is being extended for two years, saving around £100 per family, but local authorities face 10% cuts in resources.

And £30m-a-year will be saved by stripping the winter fuel allowance from Britons who move to live in countries warmer than the UK.

George Osborne and Danny Alexander leaving the Treasury on Wednesday

In a 50-minute statement, Mr Osborne said balancing the UK's books involved "difficult decisions", adding: "There never was an easy way to bring spending under control."

But shadow chancellor Ed Balls claimed the new cuts represented a "comprehensive failure" of the top Tory's economic strategy and were simply "more of the same".

"This out of touch Chancellor has failed on living standards, growth and the deficit and families and businesses are paying the price for his failure," he said.

Ministers for the Treasury, Cabinet Office, Justice, Environment and Communities and Local Government will have to slash another 10% from their budgets and Work and Pensions 9.5%.

Business and the Home Office face cuts of 6%, the Foreign Office 8% and Culture, Media and Sport 7% while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland offices will also be squeezed by 2%.

The security services were one of the biggest winners with MI5, MI6 and GCHQ seeing a 3.4% increase in their annual budget to help the fight against terrorism.

The Department of Transport has to find 9% in day-to-day savings but also emerged with the largest cash boost because its capital budget is due to rise to £9.5bn.

Mr Osborne promised there would be the largest programme of investment in roads for 50 years and in railways since the Victorian age.

The Ministry of Defence will see its budget maintained in cash terms at £24bn, which will mean a real-terms cut of 1.9%, but money for equipment will rise by 1% a year.

Its capital budget will also be held at £8.7bn, representing a real-terms reduction of 2.3%.

There will be no further reductions in troop levels, although the Chancellor confirmed the civilian workforce will be slashed.

And fines levied against banks for the Libor rate-rigging scandal will be used to fund the Armed Forces Covenant, setting out the nation's obligation to troops in perpetuity.

The Chancellor insisted his measures, which only spared schools, the NHS, overseas aid and the intelligence services, were necessary and fair.

Nurses, police officers and teachers will all be hit by the loss of progressive pay, which sees them earn more each year regardless of performance, with only the armed forces exempt.

Mr Osborne said: "Progression pay can at best be described as antiquated; at worst, it's deeply unfair to other parts of the public sector who don't get it and to the private sector who have to pay for it."

The Chancellor also revealed the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts another 144,000 working for the Government will lose their jobs by 2015/16.

There was immediate anger at the pay changes, with union chiefs claiming civil servants have been made "scapegoats" for the coalition's austerity regime.

Fresh cuts for local authorities also raised concerns, despite Mr Osborne telling MPs spending would only fall by 2% once local government changes had taken effect.

Sir Merrick Cockell, chairman of the Local Government Association, said the reductions would "stretch essential services to breaking point in many areas".

Mr Osborne defended moves to restrict winter fuel payments for ex-pats, declaring he was putting a "limit on the nation's credit card".

"Paying out even more money to people from all nationalities who may have worked in this country years ago but no longer live here is not a fair use of the nation's cash," he said.

An unimpressed Ed Balls during Mr Osborne's statement

But he vowed not to include the basic state pension in his welfare cap, despite Labour signalling it would and experts warning its exclusion would make the limit "meaningless".

In further moves on benefits, jobseekers will have to wait seven days before they can claim handouts and sign in once a week, and foreign applicants will be forced to learn English.

In his last spending review in 2010, Mr Osborne set out plans to eliminate the deficit by 2015 - allowing the cuts to end in time for the election.

But sluggish economic growth and a rising deficit have forced him to impose further drastic savings for 2015/16.

There was some positive news as billions more was pledged for key infrastructure projects over the next five years, further details of which will come on Thursday.

More than £3bn in capital investment will go on affordable housing, Mr Osborne said, and science capital funding will rise from £0.6bn this year to £1.1bn in 2015/16.

The education budget will also rise by £53bn to cover extra spending on schools, with the pupil premium extended and funding for another 180 free schools.

The Commons statement was highly political, coming less than two years before the next election and outlining plans for a time Mr Osborne hopes the Tories will be in power alone.

He said: "I know that times are still not easy for families. But we have a clear economic plan. We've stuck to it. It is working. And I'm determined to go on delivering it."

Labour claims the Government will go into 2015 with state debt at £96bn and has pushed borrowing up by £245bn more than planned at the last spending review.

However leader Ed Miliband has admitted he cannot promise to reverse any of Mr Osborne's cuts in day-to-day spending if he wins the next election.

John Cridland, Director General of the CBI , said: "The Chancellor has carefully walked a tightrope of protecting growth, while making sizeable savings to pay down the debt."

But he warned the Government had to deliver on its promises about infrastructure, saying it was "critical we see a real pipeline of projects" announced by Danny Alexander tomorrow.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "This is a toxic mix of bad economics, nasty politics and dishonest presentation.

"The last thing our struggling economy needs is further cuts to spending to try to close a deficit made worse by the Chancellor's earlier cuts.

"When the medicine is not working and side effects are choking the patient, you need a change in treatment, not more of the same.

Ahead of the statement, Sky's City Editor Mark Kleinman revealed the Government's main body for encouraging inward investment and promoting British companies abroad, UKTI, faced an 8% cut to its budget.

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Woolwich: Geller And Spencer In EDL Rally Ban

Two US anti-Muslim activists who hoped to join an EDL march in Woolwich have been banned from entering the UK, the Home Office has confirmed.

Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, who set up Stop Islamization of America and run the website Jihad Watch, have been forbidden from entering the country on the grounds that their presence would "not be conducive to the public good".

The far-right EDL is planning a march to mark Armed Forces Day on June 29, ending in Woolwich, south east London, where soldier Drummer Lee Rigby was killed last month.

Ms Geller and Mr Spencer were both set to attend.

A Home Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer are subject to an exclusion decision.

"The Home Secretary will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.

"We condemn all those whose behaviours and views run counter to our shared values and will not stand for extremism in any form."

Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz welcomed the decision.

He said: "I welcome the Home Secretary's ban on Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer from entering the country.

"This is the right decision. The UK should never become a stage for inflammatory speakers who promote hate."

More follows...

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Murdered Church Organist Was 'Suitable Victim'

A church organist was battered to death with a pick-axe handle on Christmas Eve by two men who had gone out "looking for a suitable victim", a court has been told.

Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster smashed 68-year-old Alan Greaves over the head so hard that his bone splintered into pieces in an attack that was "unsurvivable", it is alleged.

Fuelled by lager and Bacardi and Coke the pair had gone in search of someone to attack after a family party.

They found Mr Greaves, who was walking to St Saviour's Church in High Green, Sheffield, for Midnight Mass on December 24 to play the organ as he had done for 40 years.

The church organist had left his wife, children and friends at the family home.

Robert Smith QC, prosecutor, told Sheffield Crown Court: "In short, the prosecution say that these two men were walking the streets looking for a suitable victim. If it hadn't been Mr Greaves, it would have been someone else."

Mr Greaves suffered "grave and catastrophic" head injuries in the attack and died in hospital three days later.

Maureen Greaves speaking at her husband's funeral

Witnesses said that Bowling and Foster, both aged 22, were spotted shortly after the attack laughing in a park.

Mr Smith also described how Foster visited the scene of the attack the day after Mr Greaves died in hospital and described the attack to a police officer guarding the area as "disgraceful".

He told the officer he hoped those responsible would get hammered in prison for beating up an old man.

Foster denies one count of murder, however, the jury was told that Bowling had already admitted murdering Mr Greaves.

Mr Smith told the court that a pick-axe was found at Bowling's sister's home and that a fragment of wood found embedded in Mr Greaves had been matched to this weapon.

But the prosecutor said scientific analysis of the pensioner's damaged hat showed that a second weapon must have been used in the assault.

Alan Greaves and his wife Maureen on their wedding day

Mr Greaves's widow, Maureen, watched the beginning of the trial from the public gallery, along with other members of her family.

Mr Smith said Bowling and Foster were identified by a number of people after police released CCTV footage of two men.

He said Foster handed himself in to police the day after the footage was publicised but told officers that Bowling was responsible for the attack and he "played no part in it".

Mr Smith said: "The prosecution case is that both of these men were in this together.

"Together they went out on Christmas Eve looking for a suitable victim to attack and the two men together followed Mr Greaves as he walked to St Saviour's Church."

The case continues.

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