Merseyside Police were today accused of unlawfully arresting a young woman in the same area as the ‘Love Activist’ protests in Liverpool City Centre last year.

Four women are on trial at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court after being arrested outside the old bank building in Castle Street, on April 30.

The women were in the area offering support to the activists, who were illegally occupying the building in protest against austerity and lack of support for the homeless.

Ellie Louise Longman, 19, of Alstonfield Road, Huyton ; Ann Cawson, 58, Regina Road in Walton ; Kim Michelle Scott, 39, of The Grange in Warrington Road, Chester and Amanda Doyle, 27, of Woolfall Crescent, Huyton have all pleaded not guilty to one charge of failing to comply with a section 35 direction excluding a person from an area.

The orders mean the recipient must leave the area immediately and not return within 48 hours, or face possible arrest.

The court heard at the time the building had been sealed off by police after its owners obtained a court order meaning anyone remaining inside was guilty of trespass.

Angela Conlon, prosecuting, told the court that Scott had been staffing a makeshift soup kitchen outside of the building, Cawson had been holding a placard stating “United we stand, divided we fall,” while Doyle became “argumentative and abusive” and began throwing bottles of water.

Longman was arrested after refusing to leave the area, telling arresting officer PC Clarke that she “agreed with the cause”.

The court was played CCTV footage of events outside the building, which showed Inspector Sarah Hamilton attempting to read a warning notice, with the aid of a loudhailer, ordering the crowd to disperse or face arrest.

In the footage protesters could be heard chanting “give peace a chance” in an attempt to drown out Inspector Hamilton’s voice.

The court heard evidence from the Inspector for Liverpool city centre, Neil Arrowsmith, who authorised the use of dispersal notices to clear the area.

He told the court police had received 28 calls from businesses and members of the public about the protesters, which included reports of “minor assaults, graffiti both internal and external, and criminal damage.”

The court heard Inspector Arrowsmith authorised officers to hand section 35 notices to anyone deemed to be contributing or at risk of contributing to “harassment, alarm or distress” to members of the public or who officers suspected to be contributing to criminality in the locality.

He told the court some individuals outside of the building had been passing food up to the occupiers via a “pulley system”, although he could not say whether any of the defendants were involved.

But Richard Brigden, representing Scott and Doyle, questioned him over the law surrounding the notices.

He said: “What you are saying is that there were those occupying the building, and there is no dispute that this was illegal, and that those outside of the building were to be dispersed if they were contributing to that illegality?”

Inspector Arrowsmith agreed.

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Mr Brigden asked: “Presence would not be enough in your view?”

Inspector Arrowsmith said: “No, it would have to be behavioural.”

PC Clarke was questioned over his arrest of politics and history student Longman, who had been asked to leave but said she had left her mobile phone inside the building on charge.

Mark McLorinan, representing Longman, asked: “What was it that led you to believe that she was going to be involved in any incident or criminal activity?”

PC Clarke replied: “I knew she had been charging her phone and I knew there was a minor abstraction of electricity in the building, and I had asked her to leave the area.”

Mr McLorinan asked: “Are you in reality trying to tell this court that an 18-year-old girl was contributing to people doing criminal activity inside the building?”

PC Clarke replied: “Yes.

He told the court he gave Longman numerous chances to leave the area, and even offered to de-arrest her if she chose to leave, but she refused.

But Mr McLorinan claimed there was no evidence to warrant PC Clarke approaching his client and asking her to leave, and suggested she was detained in an “unlawful arrest.”

PC Clarke replied: “In my eyes, she was not arrested unlawfully.”

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A man is due in court today to face 11 counts of burglary after police were called to two Waterloo schools.

Alex Ivan John Maloney, 29, of no fixed abode is also due to be recalled to prison.

The 29-year-old was wanted by detectives for breaching the terms of his release from prison on parole.

Police descended on Waterloo Primary School after reports of a man acting suspiciously on the premises in Crosby Road North.

Eyewitnesses described seeing a large number of police cars at the scene, with officers “jumping out and sprinting straight to the direction of the front gates”.

At 5.45pm, a further report was received of a man inside St Edmunds and St Thomas Primary School on Oxford Road.

Today Merseyside Police confirmed Maloney, of no fixed abode has been charged with 11 counts of burglary, following his arrest on Monday, He will appear at South Sefton Magistrates today and is due to be recalled to prison.

Stories from the courts

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A heroin addict who stole a handbag containing about £100 in cash from a house in Runcorn has been sent down.

Pauline Ayres, 41, of Worthington Close, Palacefields, sneaked in via a back door on Martin Close on Wednesday, November 4.

Mike Stevenson, prosecuting, said the victim had been at home but did not discover the burglary until the evening.

The bag was found in nearby woods with its bank cards and purse in place but about £100 missing.

Police identified Ayres as a suspect and showed CCTV footage featuring her to the victim, who said she recognised Ayres as being from the neighbourhood and as someone who had called at the house previously trying to sell things.

The court heard another woman had noticed Ayres and an associate because they looked like ‘smack heads’.

A further witness said she saw Ayres walking up the side of the house then appear with a handbag.

She later picked Ayres out of a line-up.

Mr Stevenson said the defendant offered an alibi in police interview, but it was found to be false.

She admitted taking the bag and leaving it in the woods.

Mr Stevenson told Judge Tina Landale, presiding, that Ayres had previous convictions including six for theft in April 2014. She breached her suspended sentence by committing two thefts two months later.

Ayres was also slapped with a community order and rehabilitation requirement in October 2015 for four counts of theft.

William Staunton, defending, told the court his client had stopped taking drugs and wanted to be removed from other inmates who were still using.

He added that she had fallen back into drug use after returning home from prison to find a man she had known with two drug dealers, and that the man proceeded to ‘threaten her’, adding that Ayres ‘bears the scars of that relationship, missing a front tooth’.

Mr Staunton said Ayres had been subject to ‘brutalising experiences’, but had ‘an awful lot that’s positive in her life’ – she was a mother-of-three and looking forward to the birth of her first grandchild.

Judge Landale sentenced Ayres to eight months in prison for burglary and seven days consecutive for failing to comply with a drugs test.

She said the defendant had failed to keep out of trouble after past non-custodial punishments.

Ayres must also pay a victim surcharge.

Sending her down, Judge Landale said: “This was a simple opportunity to slip into her home at which point you have found perhaps a patio door open and you made a decision to steal her handbag.

“That’s set against your background of heroin addiction.”

She added: “The offence is aggravated because of your previous convictions.

“You were on a community order.

“You have a long history of failing to respond to community orders – although Mr Staunton’s submission is an attractive one, you have had so many chances.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Three men are due in court today in connection with a shooting that saw staff and pupils at a Kirkby school kept indoors.

On Monday staff and pupils at at All Saints Catholic High School in Roughwood Drive l were told not to leave by police after a firearms incident nearby .

The drama occurred when shots were fired at a house window in Whitburn Road.

A shotgun was used and caused damage to a window of the house at around 2.30pm. No-one was injured.

Today police confirmed three men have been charged with possession of a firearm following the incident. Philip Mark Thomas Cox, 25, of College Fields, Cronton, Liam Doyle, 21, of Roman Way, Kirkby and Kevin Paul Kelly, 23, of Barford House, Huyton, are due to appear at Liverpool Magistrates Court today.

After the incident several people wrote on a local Facebook page that they had heard the gunshots.

Gillian O’Hare Humphreys said: “My daughter was about to leave All Saints at 3pm. She texted me saying there were police everywhere, because there had been a shooting.

“Then at 20 past she texted to say they had been kept in because it was too dangerous to be let out of school. There was a noise on the loud speaker at school and it said it was safe for them to leave at about 3.20pm.”

A spokesperson for Knowsley Council said: “Staff and pupils at All Saints were advised by the police to remain in school following an incident in the local area.

“Parents were notified of the slight leaving time delay of 20 minutes – parents were very supportive of this precautionary measure.”

Stories from the courts

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A man who thrust a broken bottle into a teenager’s face – leaving him scarred for life – was today starting a six-year jail sentence.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Michael Halsall attacked his partner’s 18-year-old son, Cameron Williams, after getting drunk at a family party.

Halsall, 49, of Poulton Road, Southport, was with his partner of ten years, Samantha Williams, and Mr Williams on Boxing Day at his sister’s home in Threlfalls Lane.

After a row, Halsall’s partner told him she wanted to go home without him and asked Cameron to get him out of her van at the end of the driveway.

The court heard there was a confrontation and Halsall grabbed hold of him and they scuffled.

The teenager managed to get him to the floor and backed away but Halsall got up and again came at him and there was a further scuffle.

Chris Hopkins, prosecuting, said: “Halsall grabbed his face but Mr Williams managed to put him in a headlock and put him to the floor again.”

Stories from the courts

Someone took Halsall back into the house but shortly afterwards he came out holding a wine or beer bottle, the court heard.

Mr Hopkins said: “Mr Williams heard him shout ‘run’ but before he could do the defendant was in his face and grabbed at him and they scuffled again. He again tried to put him to the floor so he could run away but he hit him on the head with the bottle which smashed but did not cause any injury at that stage except perhaps a lump to the side of his head.

“But while scuffling Mr Williams felt the defendant push the glass into the side of his face once and felt the bottle dig into him.”

Mr Williams was taken to hospital where he needed 18 stitches.

In an impact statement the victim said he had been left permanently scarred and is currently unable to play rugby.

The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, Liverpool Crown Court.

Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, said Halsall was “capable of acting in a violent way” while under the influence of alcohol.

The judge said that he had read a moving reference from Mrs Williams, who appeared to be standing by him, and was told Halsall’s employer was willing to keep his job open for him.

But he told him that because of the seriousness of the offence there was “no prospect” of maintaining his employment or being reunited with his partner in the near future.

Stuart Nolan, defending, said that Halsall, who pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, accepted he had caused life-changing injuries.

While on remand in prison, Halsall has taken courses in anger management and alcohol awareness.

Halsall wiped away tears as he was jailed, while supporters in the public gallery also wept.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson has pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of grooming.

The 28-year-old Sunderland winger continues to deny two charges of sexual activity with a girl aged under 16.

The footballer, who has earned 12 caps for England, appeared in the dock at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday wearing a black suit and white shirt and was flanked by a female prison officer.

The defendant, from Castle Eden, County Durham, had his case moved from Durham.

Born in Sunderland, he began his career at Middlesbrough before moving to Manchester City and then to Sunderland for £10 million in 2012.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

The Hillsborough jury were reminded of evidence on the crush outside the turnstiles as the coroner continued summing up the case.

Sir John Goldring began summarising the evidence of Liverpool FC supporters who had been caught up in the crowd outside the Leppings Lane entrance on April 15, 1989.

The inquests heard that Court of Appeal judge Sir Maurice Kay, who was a QC at the time, had arrived at the entrance at about 2.30pm.

Sir Maurice said he saw no “untoward” behaviour from fans, but saw large numbers waiting to get through the turnstiles.

The coroner said: “He said that to turn up at 2.30pm was perfectly normal. By about 2.30pm, it seemed to him, he said, the police had lost control.”

The court was also reminded of the evidence of Trevor Hicks, whose teenage daughters Sarah and Vicki died in the disaster.

Mr Hicks said the account of police inspector Gordon Sykes, who said fans were “blind drunk”, was “nonsense”.

He said: “I must have been at a different game.”

The court also heard evidence of Sheffield residents, including some who claimed fans had been drunk and urinating in public.

The jury was reminded about some of the police statements which were changed.

Sir John told the court that in his original statement, Chief Inspector Robert Creaser had said he visited the police control box at 12pm and spoke to ground commander Bernard Murray to ask how fans should fill the Leppings Lane terrace.

Mr Creaser said: “I was informed that the filling of the fence pens would be allowed to take place in a natural fashion and that no control would be exercised by the police on the supporters regarding which particular pen would be filled.”

But the coroner said that part of Mr Creaser’s statement was edited out as a result of legal advice.

He said: “The paragraph was crossed out by hand. It is not clear by whom.”

The coroner today told the jury that he expects his summing up to conclude on March 2.

The jury had originally been due to go out on February 22.

Hillsborough coroner’s summing up

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A teacher has been accused of the rape and indecent assault of a 15-year-old pupil who had a “crush” on him in the nineties.

Malcolm Nicholson, 46, a former science teacher at St Edmund Arrowsmith school in Prescot , is alleged to have taken advantage of the “vulnerable” girl, now in her thirties, after telling her he “wanted to be her first.”

Nicholson, who now lives in Morton Carr Lane in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, denies the charges and is standing trial at Liverpool Crown Court .

His accuser came forward in 2014, after watching news reports on the crimes of notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile and realising: “I was like those victims.”

Lee Bonner, prosecuting, said: “The complainant thinks that the defendant realised, as time and lessons went by, that she had a crush on him. And the complainant started to think that it wasn’t just a one way crush; that the defendant seemed to have feelings for her and that they began to flirt with each other.

“This progressed to an occasion when he kept the complainant back after a lesson and asked her if she wanted to meet up outside of school time. And she agreed.”

Stories from the courts

The court heard Nicholson picked the girl up from outside a local pub after she told her parents she was going to a friend’s house, and took her back to his address.

Mr Bonner said the defendant repeatedly told the girl that “know one could know they were together,” and that on the first occasion they kissed and talked, but nothing more.

After several more meetings the complainant realised that Nicholson wanted “things to go further,” the court heard.

The jury were played footage of the woman’s police interview, in which she described the encounter.

She said: “He told me I would really like to be your first. I got myself undressed and I got into his bed, and then he came and he just lied (sic) on top of me, not completely but a bit to one side, and he was touching me and touching my breasts.”

The court heard Nicholson performed a sex act on the complainant, who then decided she did not want things to go any further.

The woman told officers: “I just remember saying to him I don’t want it, I don’t want it, I’m not ready.” She said Nicholson told her “it won’t hurt, I promise” before raping her.

The court heard the pair had sex on one more occasion, when Nicholson took her to stay at his parents house in Middlesbrough, who were away on holiday.

In her interview she said he took her to see the film Indecent Proposal before taking her to a nightclub and having sex with her back at the house, although he is not charged in relation to this incident.

The court also heard Nicholson tried to buy the woman’s silence after begging her to not involve the police in a series of texts and phone calls.

In a phone call, which was also heard by the woman’s husband, Nicholson allegedly offered to pay the woman £200,000 not to involve the police, and later agreed to make an initial transfer of £8,000.

However the woman claimed she withdrew the £8,000 from her account and burned it in her back garden, because it made her feel “powerful.”

She told the court she was inspired to contact him when an old school friend told her Nicholson was on Twitter.

After obtaining his phone number she messaged him to say “I have issues with what you did to me when I was 15 years old, and having a school reunion has brought it all back.”

In one message she asked him: “Why did you have sex with me when I was 15?”

Nicholson allegedly replied: “It was for my own insecurities.”

When she told him she was planning to inform the police he allegedly said: “Oh God, oh please don’t, I will lose everything, I will lose my wife and children and my job.”

Giving evidence in court, the complainant said she had wanted to get Nicholson’s name on her account “to prove what he had done” so that she could “expose him as a paedophile.”

She will be cross examined tomorrow (Wednesday).

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A teenager arrested while supporting the Love Activist’s occupation of the old Bank of England told her trial: “I was only helping the homeless.”

Ellie Longman was one of four women detained by police outside the Castle Street building in Liverpool city centre last April and May amid fractious scenes.

The women, who were not in the building, are on trial at Liverpool Magistrates Court for refusing to leave the area when ordered to by officers.

Longman, 19, broke down in tears as she gave evidence this afternoon, telling lawyers she felt ‘confused and panicked’ by the police tactics.

Visibly distressed, the Huyton teen told court: “I was there to support the homeless. I got the impression I was being challenged (by police}.

“I feel like I’m being criminalised because I was trying to help homeless people.

“I don’t agree with graffiti and criminal damage, but I have a genuine interest to help the homeless.

“I’d been speaking to them all day, giving them soup, engaging with them.”

Mobile phone footage showed the moment Longman, of Alstonfield Road, was arrested after refusing to leave. Police had issued a Section 35 notice, which legally excludes a person from a particular area.

In the video the teenager is heard declining to give her name to a police officer and ignoring his questions before she is arrested.

Longman then starts urging others: “Film this, film this!

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“He’s arresting me for standing here!”

The clip also showed her telling an officer: “I’m not upset, I’m really annoyed.

“I’m standing on public property.”

In court, clearly upset, Longman said: “I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I’ve been dragged to court 14 times over this.”

Under cross-examination from Angela Conlan, prosecuting, she said: “I’d been there since 1pm and it was now 9.30pm.

“I didn’t give my name because I didn’t have to.

“I was confused and panicked. I didn’t understand why I had to move or what I was doing was wrong.”

Asked why she wanted police at the demo to be filmed, Longman added: “I didn’t know what was going to happen during my arrest.

“I had no criminal record. I’d seen other arrests before and I thought, maybe this is what I need to do.”

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Longman, together with Ann Cawson, aged 58, of Regina Road in Walton; Kim Scott, aged 39, of The Grange in Warrington Road, Chester and Amanda Doyle, aged 27, of Woolfall Crescent, Huyton, all deny one charge of failing to comply with a Section 35 direction excluding a person from an area.

The anti-austerity sit-in started on April 18 and ended weeks later, on May 12 when police entered the premises.

Banners with the slogan ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ were on show as protesters sang songs and chanted the John Lennon mantra ‘Give Peace A Chance.’

Longman, who turned down an offer to be de-arrested on April 30, admitted in court not leaving the Castle Street area was ‘in hindsight’ the wrong decision.

The teenager, who said police were shining torches at her and supporters, added: “I hadn’t seen this before.

“It was quite frightening as ten minutes before we’d been lighting candles.

“There was a lot of commotion and shouting, there was a lot of hostility. Filming seemed like the right thing to do.”

(Proceeding)

Stories from the courts

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A teacher accused of raping a 15-year-old pupil who had a crush on him was being “blackmailed” by his accuser, his lawyer claimed.

Malcolm Nicholson, 46, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court after denying one count of rape and one of indecent assault against the girl, now in her 30s, when she was one of his students in the 1990s.

Nicholson, of Morton Carr Lane in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, had moved to Merseyside to work at St Edmund Arrowsmith School, which was in Prescot at the time but has since moved to Whiston.

His accuser came forward in 2014 after seeing coverage of notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile on the news, which she claimed “brought back memories”.

She told police Nicholson allegedly said he “wanted to be her first,” and the pair undressed in his bedroom.

However the woman claimed she changed her mind and told him, “I don’t want it, I don’t want it, I’m not ready.” However Nicholson allegedly said: “I love you, it won’t hurt I promise,” before allegedly raping her.

Today, Mukhtar Hussain, QC, defending, accused the woman of “fabricating” her evidence as part of a “blackmail conspiracy”,

Mr Hussain said: “We say that this was a plan. It was well-planned by you and your husband, and perhaps somebody else as well, to extract money from Mr Nicholson. This was, in other words, an allegation that succeeded partially to blackmail him.”

Yesterday the court heard that the woman had made contact with Nicholson through Twitter in January 2014, using an account under the name “Philip Flop”.

In text messages that followed she told him: “I have issues with what you did to me when I was 15 years old, and going to a school re-union brought it all back.”

Nicholson allegedly told the woman he was “sorry” for having sex with her and said it was “for my own insecurities”.

It was claimed that when she threatened to go to the police to “expose him as a paedophile” he offered her £200,000 to keep quiet, and sent £8,000 to her bank account as an initial deposit.

Stories from the courts Cop forced prostitute to perform sex act

Mr Mukhtar questioned the complainant on where his client was living at the time of the alleged offences.

The complainant said she could not remember the name of the road or the house number, but told the court it was in the Allerton area.

She did give a description of the bedroom of the house, which she described as “dark and cold.”

The jury also heard Nicholson was an avid Elvis Presley and Roxy Music fan, and had a table containing records in the corner.

Mr Mukhtar asked if she could remember a large Elvis poster on the wall, or a fireplace.

She said: “I can’t remember any of that.”

He also questioned her on an alleged trip the pair took to Nicholson’s parent’s address in Middlesbrough, were she said they went to see the film ‘Indecent Proposal’ at the cinema before going to a nightclub.

Earlier the court heard that when they got back Nicholson again had sex with her, although he has not been charged in relation to that incident.

Mr Mukhtar asked if she could remember any details of the house where she was taken to.

She said: “I can’t remember, it’s just not a memory I have.”

She told the jury: “There are a lot of things my mind blanked out, it’s a defence mechanism.”

Mr Mukhtar said:” Just to be clear out position is that this is a complete fabrication. There was never any meeting up or sexual intercourse. It’s all a fabrication from start to finish.”

The woman replied: “No, that’s not true.”

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A teacher has been accused of the rape and indecent assault of a 15-year-old pupil who had a “crush” on him in the nineties.

Malcolm Nicholson, 46, a former science teacher at St Edmund Arrowsmith school which was in Prescot at the time but later moved to Whiston , is alleged to have taken advantage of the “vulnerable” girl, now in her thirties, after telling her he “wanted to be her first.”

Nicholson, who now lives in Morton Carr Lane in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, denies the charges and is standing trial at Liverpool Crown Court .

His accuser came forward in 2014, after watching news reports on the crimes of notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile and realising: “I was like those victims.”

Lee Bonner, prosecuting, said: “The complainant thinks that the defendant realised, as time and lessons went by, that she had a crush on him. And the complainant started to think that it wasn’t just a one way crush; that the defendant seemed to have feelings for her and that they began to flirt with each other.

“This progressed to an occasion when he kept the complainant back after a lesson and asked her if she wanted to meet up outside of school time. And she agreed.”

The court heard Nicholson picked the girl up from outside a local pub after she told her parents she was going to a friend’s house, and took her back to his address.

Mr Bonner said the defendant repeatedly told the girl that “know one could know they were together,” and that on the first occasion they kissed and talked, but nothing more.

After several more meetings the complainant realised that Nicholson wanted “things to go further,” the court heard.

The jury were played footage of the woman’s police interview, in which she described the encounter.

She said: “He told me I would really like to be your first. I got myself undressed and I got into his bed, and then he came and he just lied (sic) on top of me, not completely but a bit to one side, and he was touching me and touching my breasts.”

The court heard Nicholson performed a sex act on the complainant, who then decided she did not want things to go any further.

The woman told officers: “I just remember saying to him I don’t want it, I don’t want it, I’m not ready.” She said Nicholson told her “it won’t hurt, I promise” before raping her.

The court heard the pair had sex on one more occasion, when Nicholson took her to stay at his parents house in Middlesbrough, who were away on holiday.

In her interview she said he took her to see the film Indecent Proposal before taking her to a nightclub and having sex with her back at the house, although he is not charged in relation to this incident.

The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, Liverpool Crown Court.

The court also heard Nicholson tried to buy the woman’s silence after begging her to not involve the police in a series of texts and phone calls.

In a phone call, which was also heard by the woman’s husband, Nicholson allegedly offered to pay the woman £200,000 not to involve the police, and later agreed to make an initial transfer of £8,000.

However the woman claimed she withdrew the £8,000 from her account and burned it in her back garden, because it made her feel “powerful.”

She told the court she was inspired to contact him when an old school friend told her Nicholson was on Twitter .

After obtaining his phone number she messaged him to say “I have issues with what you did to me when I was 15 years old, and having a school reunion has brought it all back.”

In one message she asked him: “Why did you have sex with me when I was 15?”

Nicholson allegedly replied: “It was for my own insecurities.”

When she told him she was planning to inform the police he allegedly said: “Oh God, oh please don’t, I will lose everything, I will lose my wife and children and my job.”

Giving evidence in court, the complainant said she had wanted to get Nicholson’s name on her account “to prove what he had done” so that she could “expose him as a paedophile.”

She will be cross examined tomorrow (Wednesday).

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

* A Court of Appeal judge said police had “lost control” outside the turnstiles by 2.30pm

The inquests heard that Court of Appeal judge Sir Maurice Kay, who was a QC at the time, had arrived at the entrance at about 2.30pm.

Sir Maurice said he saw no “untoward” behaviour from fans, but saw large numbers waiting to get through the turnstiles.

Coroner Sir John Goldring said: “He said that to turn up at 2.30pm was perfectly normal. By about 2.30pm, it seemed to him, he said, the police had lost control.”

In a statement Sir Maurice said: “It was also clear that the police officers were too few, too mounted, or too badly deployed to bring order to what was already a chaotic situation.”

* A police statement was changed to remove reference to a conversation about filling the pens

Sir John told the court that in his original statement, Chief Inspector Robert Creaser had said he visited the police control box at 12pm and spoke to ground commander Bernard Murray to ask how fans should fill the Leppings Lane terrace.

Mr Creaser said: “I was informed that the filling of the fence pens would be allowed to take place in a natural fashion and that no control would be exercised by the police on the supporters regarding which particular pen would be filled.”

But the coroner said that section of Mr Creaser’s statement was edited out as a result of legal advice.

He said: “The paragraph was crossed out by hand. It is not clear by whom.”

* A police officer’s claims that Liverpool fans were known for hooliganism was contrary to other opinions

The pitch at Anfield, covered with thousands of bunches of flowers laid as a mark of respect to the many Liverpool fans who lost their lives at Hillsborough only a few days before. 17th April 1989.

The coroner reminded the jury of the evidence of Inspector Gordon Sykes, who was on duty outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles on April 15, 1989.

When he gave, Mr Sykes claimed that Liverpool FC fans were “renowned for causing trouble” because they came without tickets.

But Sir John reminded the jurors they had also heard evidence which contradicted his view.

He said: “He (Mr Sykes) said they had a reputation for hooliganism.

“He disagreed with opinions to the contrary.

“Members of the jury, you have heard other witnesses express those opinions.

“Mr Hopkins, the independent policing expert, for example, said that Liverpool did not have a large hooligan group.

“You may want to weigh Mr Sykes’ evidence against that of other witnesses.”

* Police were encouraged to include evidence about drunkenness in their statements

Sir John reminded the jury that Sergeant Stephen Payne had told the court he completed his witness statement on plain paper.

Mr Payne said: “The only thing I was aware of, at some point we were, and I can’t remember how this was done, whether it was verbally or in writing, but we were encouraged to ensure that we put evidence in about the drunkenness or poor behaviour of the fans.”

* The summing up is now due to conclude on March 2

Originally the jury had been expected to go out to consider their verdicts on February 22.

But, after the court did not sit for four days last week, the coroner gave them an update on when he was estimated to finish his summing up.

He told the court he now expected to conclude on March 2.

The court will not sit next week due to a half term break.

Hillsborough coroner’s summing up

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Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Liverpool’s leading underworld lawyer was branded an “enemy of justice” and told his career lay in ruins after a secret bug caught him bragging about telling a wanted drugs crook how to flee the country.

Criminal defence solicitor Nick Marray, 50 – described by police as the go-to-guy for some of Merseyside’s most notorious crooks – was today beginning a two-year stretch behind bars.

After more than a week of deliberation, a jury found him guilty of doing an act intended to pervert the course of justice.

Marray, of Rosthwaite Road, West Derby, was caught out by a recording probe embedded in his car telling how he advised drug gang member Carl ‘Bobby’ Stewart to take a ferry from Scotland to Ireland after learning police mistakenly believed him still to be in prison.

The lawyer was heard telling his client William Ravenscroft in January last year: “We were sitting in my office and I said to him ‘why don’t you go up to Scotland, jump the boat from Stranraer and fly out from Dublin or something like that’.”

Carl Stewart

Judge Melbourne Inman told Marray he had moved from a “guardian of justice to one of its enemies”.

He said: “You have been a solicitor for many years. Along with the jury, having listened to many conversations you had with other clients, it is abundantly clear to me that by last year you had completely lost your moral compass.

“Instead of seeking to uphold the course of justice, you were trying to pervert it.”

Marray, who was working for city centre law firm Quinn Melville at the time, was taped telling Ravenscroft that Stewart came to his office having just been released from jail with an electronic tag.

The lawman says: “Bobby says to me, he came into the office and said to me, ‘do you think I am going to get nicked on this?’

“He had the tag on, he had been on the tag two days. So I looked at the evidence and everything […] and I spoke to the prosecutor. The prosecutor more or less said ‘look, the police are getting production orders to get him produced from prison’. The police still thought he was in prison. So I told him ‘yeah, it looks like you’re going to get locked up on this, Bob,’ so he flew down to London. He had cut his tag off, flew down to London yesterday and got on the plane to Thailand.

“The plane was already f****** taxiing on the runway and they get told to turn around, go back and the police got on the plane and took him off.”

Stewart, from the Vauxhall area of Liverpool, was later jailed for five years for his role in the massive drugs plot. Judge Inman said that while Stewart had not followed Marray’s direct advice on how to escape, he had advised him nonetheless.

The judge told him: “You in effect advised him that he was going to be arrested, that the police mistakenly thought he was in prison and you gave him at least some advice or suggestion that getting out of the country via Stranraer and Dublin may be sensible.”

SOCA surveillance picture of solicitor Nick Marray

In his defence, Marray said the comments were “stupid” remarks made to impress Ravenscroft and that he did not give Stewart that advice.

His barrister Martin Liddiard admitted that the conviction was “ruinous” for the solicitor’s career.

He said: “It has to follow that any conviction for a solicitor in this country of dishonesty, or perverting the course of justice in this case, is nothing other than ruinous for him.

“He will be struck off for life. His position as a lawyer is now over.”

Judge Inman told Marray, who expressed little emotion as he was sent down, that he had no option but to jail him immediately.

He said: “There is no higher degree of trust than could be placed upon anybody than being an officer of the court.

“The system of justice places that highest degree of trust in you as a solicitor.

“The sentence that I pass must reflect the movement of an officer of the court from a guardian of justice to one of its enemies.”

The jury found Marray not guilty on a second count of perverting the course of justice, along with his client Conrad Jones, 47, of Sewall Highway, Coventry.

Marray and Jones were alleged to have plotted to threaten and pay witnesses to come forward to support Jones’ appeal against his sentence.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Halton Magistrates Court in Runcorn is to close following a Government review.

HM Courts And Tribunals Service (HMCTS) spokesman confirmed today that the facility is to shut.

Halton is among 86 courts and tribunals to close under the ‘modernisation’ plans.

Five premises listed in the original proposals that went to public consultation were spared the axe.

Shailesh Vara, courts and legal aid minister, announced the closures today.

He said many of the existing 460 court buildings are ‘underused’.

According to an HMCTS consultation Halton operates at 66% capacity

Documents published last year said Halton’s criminal caseload will be transferred to Warrington.

Critics said the move could risk jobs and increase travel costs and time for witnesses and workers such as probation and police.

A Halton Borough Council draft response had said that most of the region’s courts operated at 45% capacity – less than Halton.

Mr Vara said the closures will make the system more efficient.

He said: “The government is committed to modernising the way in which justice is accessed and delivered.

“We are investing over £700m over the next four years to update the court and tribunal estate, installing modern IT systems and making the justice system more efficient and effective for modern users.

“Working closely with the judiciary, we have begun installing wi-fi and digital systems in our criminal courts but much more needs to be done.

“We want to make the entire justice system more accessible to everyone – witnesses, victims, claimants, police and lawyers – by using modern technology including online plea, claims and evidence systems and video conferencing, reducing the need for people to travel to court.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A high-level cocaine importer was today jailed for more than 13 years after helping smuggle a secret haul of Class A drugs into the UK using a ‘Trojan Horse’ car.

James Gradwell, 24, went with an accomplice to collect a 6kg package from suppliers on the border of France and Belgium and drove a Seat Leon with the stash hidden inside.

The gang, four of whom have already been jailed for 35 years, were caught after police intercepted their first consignment in Crosby , Merseyside.

But police were sure this was only the start of a regular monthly operation, possibly bringing to Britain as much as ‘16 bits’, slang for a kilo, every 30 days.

Messages on a seized Blackberry phone suggested the conspirators had hopes of flooding the UK with even more – up 24kg of cocaine a month. Judge Norman Wright told Liverpool Crown Court they were using a: “specially adapted vehicle as a Trojan Horse for the drugs”.

Liverpool gang caught trying to flood the UK with high purity cocaine. From left to right: William Marsh, Christopher Corry, Jordan Talbot and Ryan McQueen.

The accomplices used a telephone, nicknamed ‘PGP’ – standing for ‘pretty good privacy’ – to exchanges messages about their £1.25m plot.

Some emails referred to a ‘Pie car’, which prosecutor Ian Harris said was a: “vehicle set up to hide material it shouldn’t”.

The messages read: “When’s the new Pie car ready?

“If we can spin{sell on} more, lad, then so be it.

“Let’s get a solid month under our belt.”

Another message said: “I’ll be back in with you Monday, I’ll sort Gradwell’s wages tomorrow, lad, and take yours out of it.

“Be nice to get 6{kilos} every week and have them spun in time to work again the following Tuesday.”

On January 30, 2014, Gradwell was stopped by UK Border Agency workers while driving the Seat Leon in Coquelles, France, and the secret ‘hide’ was discovered during a search.

The cocaine was inside the transmission tunnel, at the front of the car.

Cash, a small quantity of cocaine, two mobile phones and key paperwork were found, some of it wrapped in a pair of grey Next boxer shorts.

Today, Judge Wright jailed Gradwell to 13 years and seven months, telling how cocaine ‘brought misery, dependency and sometimes death’ to users.

He added: “There were tell-tale snippets (on the Blackberry) of what the conspirators envisaged, to get six kilos of cocaine a week.

“Once the drugs were obtained, he (Gradwell) distanced himself from it.

“This clearly was a planned commercial enterprise. The drug exchange occurred on the France/Belgium border but they may have been sourced from another country.

“But the defendant did not bring the drugs into this country, he kept his distance and a lesser person was tasked with bringing them back.”

Stories from the courts

Gradwell, of no fixed abode, teamed up with Christopher Corry, 41, of Halifax Crescent, Thornton , who got 11-and-a-half years; Ryan McQueen, 32, of Laurel Drive, Laurel Vale, County Armagh, who got six years; Jordan Talbot, 22, of Elson Road, Formby, who received six-and-a-half years and William Marsh, 28, of Rock Lane, Melling , who was locked up for ten years and eight months.

Gradwell, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to supplying Class A drugs, was a major player in that gang, prosecutors said, who boasted of quaffing champagne and sniffing ‘Charlie’ on a ferry as he journeyed to the continent on a drugs trip.

They were clearly optimistic about their business plans, the court heard, with one message between them saying: “Happy days… we’ll have a good system going, we’re gonna get a proper stash car for over here soon as well, lad, then we’re tight when we work.”

Over the course of the conspiracy, the gang travelled to Turkey, France, Spain, Holland and Dubai as between them they went abroad to arrange couriers to smuggle high purity cocaine back to Liverpool.

The cocaine was initially recorded at 75% purity which had the potential to be mixed with adulterants to bulk it out, and maximise profits.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Merseyside Police officer who made sexual advances towards domestic abuse victims has been sacked.

Michael McMillan, who worked in the force’s Family Crime Investigation Unit, had already pleaded guilty to five counts of misconduct at Liverpool crown court, where he is due to be sentenced next month.

But today the PC faced an internal disciplinary hearing where Chief Constable Sir John Murphy slammed him as an officer of the “worst kind”.

In January McMillan, from Crosby, pleaded guilty to five allegations that he “willfully misconducted himself by making contact with a member of the public… who he had met in the course of his duty as a Police Constable, for his own sexual purposes”.

Today’s hearing, at Gardner Systems in Wavertree, was held to decide whether those offences amounted to a breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour, and what the officer’s punishment should be as a result.

Mr McMillan – a father of two who had worked for Merseyside Police since 2003 – did not attend the hearing, but a Police Federation representative, acting on his behalf, said he pleaded guilty to the allegations.

The hearing was also told that the 32-year-old was “ashamed” of his actions, and offered no mitigation.

After a short adjournment the hearing, which lasted around 25 minutes, was concluded with Mr Murphy offering a damning verdict on the PC and his actions.

Slamming the disgraced officer for undermining the good work carried out every day by Merseyside Police, he said: “This officer, Constable McMillan, is an officer of the very worst kind. He has utterly betrayed the trust of the public and, more importantly, the trust of five women who, when at their most vulnerable, he preyed upon for his own sexual gratification.”

Revealing that he felt “sick to the stomach and angry” when he read of PC McMillan’s actions, he added: “The evidence is overwhelming… there can be no doubt on the basis of the evidence that this officer’s misconduct is gross misconduct of the worst kind.”

Police misconduct

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

St Helens Magistrates’ Court, Ormskirk Magistrates’ Court and Warrington County Court will shut within the next two years, the Government said today.

The closures are part of a national move to modernise the justice system, which will see the closure of 86 courts in total.

A report released by the Ministry of Justice, led by Justice Minister Shailesh Vara, said that many of the current 460 court buildings are underused and nearly half of all court rooms were used for less than half the time they were open last year.

The report added that these underused courts and tribunals are expensive to maintain yet unsuitable for modern technology, and as a result nearly ninety are being closed in England and Wales to create “a more user-focused and efficient Court & Tribunal service”.

In just the last few years Merseyside has said goodbye to Dale Street Magistrates’ Court; Victoria Street Magistrates’ Court; Huyton and Knowlsey Magistrates’ Court and North Sefton Magistrates Court in Southport.

When the Southport court closed in 2011 it was met with huge opposition including a 5,000-strong petition from the Residential Landlord Association.

While St Helens County Court has been retained, St Helens Magistrates’ Court will be closed within the next two years and it is looking as though the court’s functions will be moved to Liverpool’s Combined Court Centre, which already houses the Crown Court, Youth Court and Magistrates’ courts which were shut down.

The closure comes just four years after the Ministry of Justice spent £1.7 million refurbishing the St Helens courthouse to accommodate civil and criminal proceedings in the same building.

Conor McGinn, MP for St Helens North, has criticised these plans, calling them “bad news” for residents and an attempt by the Conservative Party to “denigrate the status of St Helens as a major town in the North West”.

He said: “This is bad news for the town and for residents of St Helens North. We await further and final details from the Ministry of Justice, but it would appear that the functions of the Court will move to Liverpool.

“Many appointments at court are often first thing in the morning, and without access to adequate transport attendance will simply be unfeasible for many of my constituents.

“This is particularly the case for the people who live in places like Rainford, Billinge, Moss Bank and Haydock and rural areas, who have to travel just to reach direct bus and rail services to Liverpool.

“Added to that, the cost of the train or bus to Liverpool will also have an impact on vulnerable people in my constituency whether they are victims, witnesses or defendants. Someone’s financial means should not affect their ability to access the justice system.

“Today’s announcement is another attempt by the Tory Government to denigrate the status of St Helens as a major town in the North West. We must not let them succeed.”

Ormskirk Magistrates’ Court and Family Court – a grade II listed sandstone building that dates back to 1860 – and Warrington County Court will also close.

The ECHO has approached the Ministry of Justice to find out where the two courts’ functions will be moved to, but has not yet received a response.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A “stupid” young gangster was jailed for 15 years after being pictured him posing with a shotgun and his initials spelled out in bullets.

Joshua Caldwell, 24, was also linked to a major drugs conspiracy which involved the seizure of heroin and cocaine worth up to £118,308 at street level.

A phone belonging to a co-conspirator was also recovered containing a picture of shotguns, Remington handguns and an antique French pistol next to the “chilling” threat “F*** Dingle rats” spelled out in bullet casings.

Caldwell, of Hillview, in Aigburth, was linked to at least two sawn-off shotguns and a handgun after police investigated a drugs and firearms ring based in Garston and Mossley Hill.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and conspiracy to possess firearms.

Michael Scholes, prosecuting, told the court the investigation began in summer 2014 after a handgun was produced during the course of an argument involving an associate of Caldwell named Anthony Clements, who is still on the run.

Mr Scholes said: “At the Park Cafe, on Elmswood Road near Sefton Park, what you might call a leafy suburb, a weapon described as a handgun was produced during the course of an incident there which the Crown says involved Anthony Clements.

Joshua Caldwell, 24, of Hillview, in Aigburth, jailed for 15 years after posing with a shotgun. He was also jailed over drugs offences

“Members of the public including a child were present. One member of the public who witnessed these events heard the words “this is my f****** patch.”

A flat in Woodlands Road, Mossley Hill, linked to another associate of Caldwell named Adam Wood, was raided by police in August 2014 and found to contain high purity heroin, cocaine and cutting agents.

Police found the antique pistol, a St Etienne ordnance revolver dating back to around 1886, inside a Nike bag as well as a sawn-off Beretta shotgun under foorboards, and some bullets in a box on a desk.

Tick lists containing the names of customers were found, as well as an AA card in the name of Caldwell.

Officers later arrested another co-conspirator, Malik Murphy-Vaughan, at an address nearby.

Joshua Caldwell, 24, of Hillview, in Aigburth, jailed for 15 years after posing with a shotgun. He was also jailed over drugs offences.

Vaughan, who was sent to a young offender’s institute for two years, was found in possession of a Remington pistol and a phone contaning images including the threat to the gang’s rivals, along with three weapons that have never been recovered.

Caldwell was arrested in Mossley Hill on January 25 last year, and two Blackberry mobile phones were seized containing the incriminating pictures.

In one image, Caldwell is holding the Beretta shotgun, which was matched to the one found at Woodlands Road, before it had been sawn-off.

Mr Scholes said: “The images were sent for forensic analysis. Caldwell has very distinctive shaped eyebrows, and his attempts to disguise himself failed pretty miserably.”

Caldwell was released on bail but his then address in Lowbridge Court, was raided in August last year. A search found £15,150 in cash as well as weighing scales, tick lists and drugs paraphanalia.

Lloyd Morgan, representing Caldwell, denied his client was the “Mr Big” of the conspiracy and claimed a leading figure would not be as “bloody stupid” as to take photos of himself holding a shotgun.

He said: “He has a supportive family and both parents are of good character and are in full-time employment. He knows he has let not just himself down, but his whole family down.”

Stories from the courts

The court heard he was “horrified” at his behaviour and vowed to change his ways.

Judge Jonathan-Rowe Foster, QC, passing sentence, found Caldwell was a “leading light” in the conspiracy and described the operation as “sophisticated.”

He said: “You were in the centre of both the drugs and firearms conspiracies. Enforcing a drugs trade is to be enforcing yet more misery on those who have succumbed to the addiction and despair….

“This sort of activity is all too prevalent in this great city and those who indulge in it need to know the consequences are real.”

Detective Superintendent Richard Carr, of Merseyside Police Major Crime Unit, said: ““We won’t tolerate criminals who use guns to create fear and intimidation on Merseyside and we are also determined to crackdown on the people who help them by storing and looking after illegal weapons.

“We will be relentless in our efforts to crack down on serious and organised crime and I would continue to appeal to the public to tell us if they know where firearms or drugs are being stored.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A teenaged supporter of the Love Activists today described herself as ‘ecstatic’ after she was cleared of charges brought after being arrested outside the old Bank of England building on Castle Street.

Ellie Longman, 19, and Ann Cawson, 58, were both acquitted at Liverpool Magistrates Court this afternoon after being accused of failing to comply with a Section 35 notice which required anybody served with it to leave the immediate area during the protest last April .

Longman and Cawson, together with co-defendants Kim Scott, 39, and Amanda Doyle, 27, were outside the ex-bank premises to feed the homeless, they said, who were thought to be inside the building.

VIEW GALLERY

But they were arrested by Merseyside Police officers when they refused to leave the area, and cops insisted they were contributing to anti-social behaviour.

Today, there were joyful scenes as Longman and Cawson were cleared, with songs of ‘Give Peace A Chance’ heard by a temporary soup-kitchen outside Liverpool Crown Court.

Miss Longman told the ECHO: “I’m ecstatic that it’s over. It’s been a long 10 months, I’m glad justice and the truth has come through in the end.

“I’ll continue to feed the homeless as it’s a relevant and just cause.”

The case against Doyle, of Woolfall Crescent, Huyton, and Kim Scott, of The Grange in Warrington Road, Chester, was adjourned by magistrates.

Ann Cawson, Ellie Longman, Amanda Doyle and Kim Scott

A judgement will be handed down on their charge next month.

Kathryn Murray, Doyle’s friend, told the court earlier how she had filmed police officers arresting her because she felt ‘police were getting heavy.’

She was heard on a clip uploaded to YouTube shouting ‘police brutality’ and ‘assault’ while another man repeatedly stated the cop’s collar number.

Doyle claimed she was checking with police if she was allowed to ‘feed the homeless’ before throwing sandwiches up to protesters on the bank balcony.

The anti-austerity protesters occupied the old bank on April 18, in a demo which ended weeks later on May 12 when police entered the premises.

In bizarre scenes in court, Doyle was given permission to read a bible passage from the Book of Isaiah, stating: “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”

Scott, sitting in the dock, started to weep, and requested a tissue to dab tears away from her eyes.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A jilted boyfriend who stole his girlfriend’s cat was spared jail – after she revealed they were still together.

Glen Dempsey twice burgled Shauna Robbins’ flat after she dumped him in October last year, and cruelly attacked her cat, showering it and closing a door on its head, which he filmed and sent to her.

But the 23-year-old avoided an almost-inevitable jail sentence when his girlfriend sent a pleading letter to the judge, asking he remain a free man.

Instead, he must attend a ‘Building Better Relationships’ course.

Dempsey flew into a rage after splitting with Miss Robbins, sending her text messages threatening to kill her brother and ‘slit her throat.’

Irishman Dempsey, of Earle Road, Wavertree, also put inappropriate photographs of her on Facebook, which were later deleted, and sent further texts threatening to ‘cut her brother from ear to ear.’

Judge Elizabeth Nicholls told Dempsey he owed his partner ‘a great debt’ after persuading her not to put him behind bars.

But she warned him that unless he ‘addressed his issues’ he would ‘become a disturbed young man.’

Glen Dempsey outside Liverpool Crown Court.

Dempsey, Liverpool Crown Court heard, was still traumatised by the death of his brother in Dublin, which prompted his own five year suspended sentence for firearm offences in 2012.

He spent a year in custody before his conviction for that crime, as ‘he was in fear of his own life;’, and what would happen if he remained on the streets, his barrister Holly Betke, said.

Dempsey, who admitted animal cruelty and harassment, and was found guilty of two counts of burglary, claimed the cat’s head ‘got stuck’ when closing the door.

In the fall out with Miss Robbins, police were informed of a fire at her home, before it was discovered and put out by neighbour Rafal Marko, last November.

The pair had lived together for six months at her flat in Walton before their break-up.

Stories from the courts

Judge Nicholls described Dempsey’s actions towards the cat as ‘spiteful’, and posting the abuse video to his ex-girlfriend as ‘the actions of a disturbed young man,’

She said: “This was to inflict emotional pain on Miss Robbins.

“I am told both of you want to resume your relationship and Miss Robbins has stated she does not want you to go to custody and she acknowledges you need help and assistance.

“You should be very grateful to her, she has explored your past – you are a troubled young man who has failed to address significant and traumatic events in your past.

“You will not be able to form proper relationships with anyone in the future (if you don’t address your issues).”

Dempsey, who afterwards met up with Miss Robbins outside court, was handed a 16 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was also banned from owning an animal for four years.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/