jailed

South Wales Police

Wales News Service

Wales News Service

‘Gut-wrenching and sickening’

A man who murdered his wife in front of their infant son has been jailed for life.

Kulsuma Akter, 27, had been living in a refuge in Bradford when she was fatally stabbed by her husband, Habibur Masum, as she pushed their seven-month-old baby in a pram through the city centre in April last year. The child was unharmed.

Last month, Masum, 27, of Leamington Avenue, Burnley, was convicted of murder following a trial at Bradford Crown Court.

Sentencing him at the same court on Tuesday to a minimum 28 years, the judge, Mr Justice Cotter, told Masum he “viciously and mercilessly” attacked Ms Akter, stabbing her 26 times.

Influential leader records message from prison, saying ‘care and sensitivity’ needed for peace process.

Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has announced the end of the group’s armed struggle against Turkiye, calling for a full shift to democratic politics.

The jailed leader relayed his message via a video recording dated June, which was aired by the PKK-aligned Firat News Agency on Wednesday, describing the shift as a “historic gain”.

“This represents a voluntary transition from the phase of armed conflict to the phase of democratic politics and law,” said Ocalan, who has been in prison since 1999, but remains a hugely influential figure among Kurds in Turkiye and beyond.

He said the process of voluntary disarmament of Kurdish PKK fighters and the creation of a Turkish parliamentary committee to oversee the peace process would be “crucial”.

“Care and sensitivity are essential,” he said, adding that details of the disarmament process would be “determined and implemented swiftly”.

Ocalan’s message was released just days before the first PKK disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq.

Back in May, the PKK had already announced it was disbanding after more than 40 years of armed struggle against the Turkish state.

The announcement came two months after Ocalan, also known as “Appo” – Kurdish for Uncle – called on the group to disarm in February.

For most of its history, the PKK has been labelled a “terrorist” group by Turkiye, the European Union and the United States.

Ocalan was born to a poor Kurdish farming family in 1948, in Omerli, Sanliurfa, a Kurdish-majority part of Turkiye.

It was after studying political science at Ankara University that he became politically active, founding the PKK in 1978.

Six years later, the group launched a separatist rebellion against Turkiye under his command.

More than 40,000 people were killed between 1984 and 2024, with thousands of Kurds fleeing the violence in southeastern Turkiye into cities further north.

July 2 (UPI) — Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain behind bars while awaiting sentencing after a federal jury on Wednesday found him guilty of two prostitution-related charges.

The jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and innocent on one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking at the U.S. District Court of Southern New York in Manhattan.

Combs’ attorneys sought bail to obtain his immediate release, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied the request, CNN reported.

“The defense conceded defendant’s violence in personal relationships, saying ‘it happened,'” Subramanian told the court.

“This highlights a disregard for the rule of law and a propensity of violence,” the judge said, adding that violence and illegal acts continued after investigators searched Combs’ homes and he was aware of the investigation.

Subramanian proposed a sentencing hearing for Combs at 10 a.m. EDT on Oct. 3 but said he would be willing to move up the date if Combs’ attorneys request it.

Throughout the nearly two-month-long trial, prosecutors alleged Combs used his business empire to push two people into taking part in drug-fueled, sexual activities called “freak offs.”

The defense argued the sexual activities were consensual, and Combs had pleaded not guilty to the five criminal counts against him.

Each of the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution carries a 10-year maximum sentence.

Prosecutor Maurene Comey said the government will request that Combs serve each sentence concurrently, which would give him a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Comey also said a pre-sentencing investigation is necessary to ensure a fair sentence is imposed, which would be done as soon as possible, CNN reported.

Lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo wants to waive the pre-sentencing investigation to end the matter sooner.

He said the defense will argue for a sentence that is less than the maximum of 10 years per count.

July 2 (UPI) — Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain behind bars while awaiting sentencing after a federal jury on Wednesday found him guilty of two prostitution-related charges.

The jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and innocent on one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking at the U.S. District Court of Southern New York in Manhattan.

Combs’ attorneys sought bail to obtain his immediate release, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied the request, CNN reported.

“The defense conceded defendant’s violence in personal relationships, saying ‘it happened,'” Subramanian told the court.

“This highlights a disregard for the rule of law and a propensity of violence,” the judge said, adding that violence and illegal acts continued after investigators searched Combs’ homes and he was aware of the investigation.

Subramanian proposed a sentencing hearing for Combs at 10 a.m. EDT on Oct. 3 but said he would be willing to move up the date if Combs’ attorneys request it.

Throughout the nearly two-month-long trial, prosecutors alleged Combs used his business empire to push two people into taking part in drug-fueled, sexual activities called “freak offs.”

The defense argued the sexual activities were consensual, and Combs had pleaded not guilty to the five criminal counts against him.

Each of the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution carries a 10-year maximum sentence.

Prosecutor Maurene Comey said the government will request that Combs serve each sentence concurrently, which would give him a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Comey also said a pre-sentencing investigation is necessary to ensure a fair sentence is imposed, which would be done as soon as possible, CNN reported.

Lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo wants to waive the pre-sentencing investigation to end the matter sooner.

He said the defense will argue for a sentence that is less than the maximum of 10 years per count.

Tblisi court sentences opposition figure Nika Gvaramia to eight months and bans him from holding office for two years.

A court in Georgia has sentenced prominent opposition figure Nika Gvaramia to eight months in prison, amid a deepening crackdown on critics of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Gvaramia, the co-leader of the opposition Akhali party, was also barred from holding office for two years.

The court imposed the sentence on Tuesday over his refusal to cooperate with a parliamentary commission tasked with investigating alleged wrongdoing under ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, a pro-Western reformer currently serving a 12-and-a-half-year prison term.

Several other leading opponents of Georgian Dream have been jailed on similar charges to Gvaramia, including Giorgi Vashadze, a former deputy justice minister, who received a seven-month prison sentence last week.

The crackdown has led to growing accusations against the governing party that it is trampling on democracy amid continuing protests in the wake of last year’s disputed elections.

Speaking to the AFP news agency on Tuesday, Gvaramia’s lawyer Dito Sadzaglishvili said the verdict against his client was “unlawful” and “part of the government’s attempt to crush all dissent in Georgia”.

Growing criticism

The British government on Monday denounced the crackdown on opposition figures and summoned the country’s charge d’affaires.

“The imprisonment of prominent opposition leaders is the latest attempt by the Georgian government to crack down on freedoms and stifle dissent,” the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office said.

“The UK Government will not hesitate to consider further action should Georgia not return to respecting and upholding democracy, freedoms and human rights,” it added.

The NGO Amnesty International also criticised the government, saying last week in reaction to Vashadze’s sentencing that it had “serious concerns over the misuse of legislative, policing and other powers to silence government critics in Georgia”.

The human rights organisation specifically took aim at the parliamentary commission linked to the arrests of opposition figures.

“With its status disputed, the commission has been instrumentalised to target former public officials for their principled opposition,” said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty’s deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

After Georgian Dream claimed victory in a contested election in October, the European Union candidate nation experienced mass protests.

Critics accuse the government of undermining democracy and of bringing the country close to Moscow, allegations the governing party denies.

The EU has said some 80 percent of the population supports Georgia’s bid to join the bloc, a commitment enshrined in its constitution.

Amid allegations of democratic backsliding, the United States and several European countries have sanctioned some Georgian government officials.

The sentence sees most opposition leaders behind bars as the ruling Georgian Dream squeezes critics and rivals.

A Georgian court has sentenced an opposition leader to seven months in prison, as a crackdown by the governing party on its rivals continues.

The Tbilisi court imposed the sentence on Giorgi Vashadze, a leader of the Strategy Builder party, on Tuesday for failing to cooperate with a commission investigating abuse of power by a former government.

The jailing means that nearly all of the country’s major pro-European opposition figures have now been imprisoned. The crackdown has increased accusations against the ruling Georgian Dream party that it is trampling on democracy amid ongoing protests in the wake of last year’s disputed elections.

Vashadze, deputy minister of justice from 2010 to 2012, was found guilty of refusing to cooperate with a government commission investigating alleged abuse during its time in power under former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Opposition figures say the commission is a ruse used by the government to stifle opponents.

Saakashvili is currently serving a 12-and-a-half-year sentence on charges that rights groups say are politically motivated.

Vashadze, whose party belongs to a coalition that came third in last year’s election, was also handed a two-year ban on holding public office.

Three other opposition figures have been jailed on the same charge.

“The Georgian Dream regime has imprisoned the whole of Georgia. We are fighting for the country’s liberation,” Vashadze said before the verdict, the AFP news agency reported.

Turmoil

Georgia has been racked by political turmoil since Georgian Dream secured a further term in power in October’s parliamentary election.

The opposition continues to dispute the results, claiming vote fraud and Russian interference.

Mass protests broke out, gathering steam when the government announced in November it was suspending talks on joining the European Union in response to a European Parliament resolution rejecting the results of the elections, citing “significant irregularities”.

The protests have continued nightly for more than 200 days, although they have shrunk in size in recent months.

Prominent poet arrested

At a protest outside parliament in Tbilisi on Monday night, Georgia’s most celebrated poet, Zviad Ratiani, was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer, news agencies reported.

He faces up to seven years in prison.

Ratiani has been a high-profile figure in the protest movement and was arrested at a protest last year, spending a week in prison despite having serious injuries from assaults in custody, AFP reported.

The men provided financial assistance to al-Shabab fighters who attacked the DusitD2 complex in Nairobi, killing 21 people.

A Kenyan court has sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for aiding al-Shabab fighters who were behind a deadly attack in Nairobi that left 21 people dead in 2019.

On Thursday, Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache ruled that Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali played a critical role by helping two of the attackers escape from a refugee camp using fake identity cards. The pair also provided financial assistance to the group.

“Without financiers, facilitators and sympathisers, terrorists cannot actualise their activities,” the judge said during sentencing, stressing that their support made the attack possible.

“The convicts may not have physically wielded the weapons that caused harm to the victims, but their facilitation directly enabled attackers who were heavily armed with guns, grenades and suicide vests,” Kavedza said.

“This was not a crime with isolated harm; 21 lives were lost,” she added, acknowledging statements from survivors about their ongoing psychological struggles.

“The emotional scars of the attack run deep,” she said.

Abdile and Ali were convicted last month for facilitating and conspiring to commit a “terrorist” act. Both men denied the charges and now have 14 days to appeal.

Background to attacks

The assault on the upmarket DusitD2 complex in the Kenyan capital began on January 15, 2019, when gunmen stormed the compound and opened fire.

Security forces launched an operation that lasted more than 12 hours. The government later announced that all the attackers had been killed.

Al-Shabab, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility, saying the assault was in retaliation for then-United States President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The siege was the first major attack in Nairobi since the 2013 Westgate mall massacre, which killed 67. In 2015, al-Shabab also attacked Garissa University, killing 148 people.

Since Westgate, high-end venues in the capital have ramped up security, including vehicle and pedestrian checks.

The DusitD2 complex, like Westgate, catered to wealthy Kenyans and foreign nationals, groups often targeted by al-Shabab.

The Somalia-based group has repeatedly struck inside Kenya, aiming to force the withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia, where they are part of a regional force battling the rebellion.

Blenheim Palace

Thames Valley Police

Thames Valley Police

‘Truly shocking’

Thames Valley Police

Who are the other burglars?

As a victim of ‘Babes in the Wood’ killer Russell Bishop describes how the monster has cast a dark shadow over her life, we speak to the Detective Inspector responsible for putting him behind bars

Malcolm Bacon’s first major inquiry as a Detective Inspector was more than 30 years ago but he can remember the details as if it were yesterday. Rachael Watts was just seven years old when she was kidnapped in broad daylight before being sexually assaulted and strangled.

The schoolgirl survived against the odds and helped to convict evil Russell Bishop, who had been wrongfully acquitted of murdering Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway a few years before in the infamous ‘Babes in the Wood‘ case. Now 42, Rachael is the subject of a new Sky documentary about the impact of the monster’s attack on her life.

Retired police officer Malcolm appears in the two-part programme and is convinced Bishop would have struck again if he hadn’t been caught. “He was a psychopath, a really dangerous person who would absolutely have killed again,” he told The Mirror. “I’m fully convinced he thought he had killed Rachael. He thought he could get away with it but she turned into an incredible witness.”

READ MORE: Family of Sarah Everard murdered by police officer slams major jail change plans

Rachael became a victim of predator Bishop in 1990, soon after moving to the Brighton area of East Sussex with her family. She had planned to roller skate to a friend’s house but bumped her head, returned home and was given a pound by her father to buy sweets from the local shop.

The schoolgirl took a wrong turn on her way home and asked a man for directions. It was Bishop, who was tinkering with his red Ford Cortina. Without saying a word in reply to her, he threw her in the boot of his car and drove his victim to a well-known beauty spot in the South Downs.

“When the information came in that a girl had been discovered at Devil’s Dyke, the main thing was to preserve the scenes,” said Malcolm. “The first ‘scene’ was Rachael herself and the second was the Dyke, which was a huge area. There were only a few roads in and out, so once we sealed them off, we were fairly happy we had a sterile area.”

When the predator reached Devil’s Dyke, he put Rachael on the back seat of his car and removed her clothing before sexually assaulting and strangling her. He then discarded her underneath some gorse bushes.

“He disposed of me like he was flytipping,” said the survivor, fighting back tears in the documentary. “Just like I was an old mattress or something, just thrown into a bush somewhere. He left me thinking I was dead.”

The terrified schoolgirl came around in the dark, and as she stumbled out of the bushes, a nearby couple who had been enjoying the sunset wrapped her in a blanket and sought help. Heartbreakingly, she asked them: “You two aren’t kidnappers, are you?”.

The former DI is convinced Bishop thought he had killed his victim, saying: “She was strangled and suffocated to the point what’s known as petechial haemorrhages took place (tiny pinpoint spots of bleeding under the skin caused by straining for a long time) which are quite indicative of a strangle injury. Usually, they only come out at the point of death, really. That’s how close to death she was.”

The young girl’s memory of her ordeal until she was strangled unconscious would prove vital. “Rachael was a fabulous witness,” said the retired cop. “She was able to explain everything she saw, the man in the red car with a moustache. In the boot of the car, she saw a can of WD40, the same that her dad used. She found a hammer too and started banging on the boot lid.”

Incredibly, Rachael had the presence of mind to take off her roller skates in the boot of the car, to aid any chance of escape once the boot was opened. “She formulated an escape plan,” said Malcolm. “She offered Bishop the pound she had been given if he would let her go.”

Four years earlier, a double child murder had taken place in Brighton’s Wild Park, which became known as the ‘Babes in the Wood’ murders in the press after the children’s tale of the same name. Nicola and Karen were nine-year-old schoolgirls when they went out to play and never came home.

Their bodies were found in the park close to their homes the next day. They had known Rachael’s future attacker, Bishop, then 20 and a local labourer and petty criminal, and he was charged with killing them.

But the monster’s then-girlfriend, Jennifer Johnston, changed her story in the witness box after previously saying a blue sweatshirt found close to the scene had been his. And to the horror of police and psychologists involved in the case, Bishop was found not guilty by a jury at Lewes Crown Court in December 1987.

With the predator free to roam the streets once more, the experts’ worst fears came true. Rachael was his next victim, with retired DI Malcolm describing her as an “articulate, intelligent seven-year-old girl who met a monster”. This time, Bishop wouldn’t be able to evade justice thanks in large part to the bravery of his victim, who picked him out of an identity parade and testified against him in court.

“Her first account got us all going,” said Malcolm. “The red car was mentioned in a first briefing, and an intelligence report had come through days before saying Bishop had been seen in a red car.

“He went on to admit to driving it and put himself at the point of the abduction at the relevant time. I arrested him on suspicion of kidnapping and indecent assault, and we got his car, opened up the boot and in there was WD40 and a hammer with chip marks on the boot, corresponding to what Rachael had said.”

“He tried to become chatty with us,” added the former police officer. “‘What’s going on? You trying to fit me up? Of course, it’s not me. He was a psychopath; his whole entity was to look after himself. He would try and manipulate things, but he wasn’t very bright.”

Bishop was later jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 14 years for attempted murder, kidnapping and indecent assault.

“He was prowling, we suspect he had been following other little girls around,” said Malcolm. “We did get another report from another girl who was followed by a man in a red car. If the circumstances were correct, she might have been another victim.”

Dubbed ‘Britain’s bravest girl’ for stopping a paedophile killer from striking again, Rachael’s life was irreparably blighted by Bishop, suffering from crippling depression, agoraphobia and complex post-traumatic stress along the way.

As a teenager, she had frequent nightmares where the predator would climb through her window and kill her. The survivor had four children and, in the course of her adult life, moved around a lot and changed her name a couple of times in a bid to remain anonymous.

But in 2022, Rachael told her children the secret she was “going to take to my grave” after Bishop died from brain cancer. Today, she’s speaking out in public to rid herself of the “boulder” of a secret that has cast a dark shadow over her life.

As for the families of the ‘Babes in the Wood’, they finally achieved some form of justice in 2018, after the 2005 scrapping of the ‘double jeopardy’ rule combined with advances in forensic technology meant evil Bishop was able to be tried for a second time. This time, he was rightfully convicted for his abhorrent crimes, receiving two life sentences and ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years behind bars.

In April last year, Nicola and Karen’s families received apologies from Sussex Police for failures in the original investigation into their murders. And in 2022, Bishop’s ex-girlfriend, Johnson, who had changed her evidence at his original trial to devastating effect, was jailed for six years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Watch The Girl Who Caught a Killer on Sky and streaming service NOW

A WOMAN who stabbed her boyfriend to death after she found him speaking to his wife has been jailed for 16 years.

Joanna Wronska plunged a kitchen knife into partner Marcin Koziol’s heart – only to ring the emergency services and tell them he “injured himself”.

2

2

Wronska was jealous and “possessive” of Marcin’s ongoing contact with his estranged wife and attacked him in an “explosive loss of temper”, the court heard.

She then made a 999 call claiming her partner had “injured himself with a knife”.

When the cops arrived, they found Marcin naked and bleeding on the bed in the flat in Wrexham, North Wales.

And despite the best efforts by the paramedics, Marcin tragically died from the wounds.

Wronska is said to have gone to great lengths to cover her crime.

She maintained that her partner stabbed himself in an attempt to take his own life.

But Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers said it was “highly unusual” to sever your own ribs when stabbing yourself.

Cops also found a large “freshly washed” knife in the kitchen sink, which matched the wounds inflicted on Marcin.

Prosecutor Andrew Thomas KC said: “This was a knife with an eight-inch blade that was thrust with severe force towards the chest and through the rib cage – penetrating the heart and lung.

“Her actions, in removing the knife and washing, “strongly suggest” she stabbed Mr Koziol and tried to hide the evidence of her involvement”.

In the 999 call played to the jury, Wronska is heard saying: “My partner dead…please help me now.”

She kept saying “Marcin, Marcin, Marcin” over and over again before saying the word “gone”.

It is believed that in a drunken temper, Wronska took the knife and stabbed her partner.

Judge Rhys Rowlands said: “[The attack followed] an explosive drunken loss of temper on your part, to which you stabbed the victim to the chest with a kitchen knife, you then washed the knife in the sink.”

He said the blow from the knife had been delivered “with severe force”.

Detective Chief Inspector Eleri Thomas said: “Joanna Wronska senselessly and needlessly ended Marcin Koziol’s life – her partner whom she claimed she loved deeply.

“It was a cruel and violent attack on a man who had sought support from her.”

Marcin’s wife Marta said: “Joanna has taken all of this from me, I have seen no remorse, she has not even admitted the fact she has done it and I can’t understand this senseless crime

“I can’t understand why she has done it, Marcin was harmless and wouldn’t hurt anyone. I can’t understand why someone would do this and that Marcin has been taken away and I can never bring him back.”

The court heard Marcin and Marta had separated after he suffered an injury at work and fell into depression after losing his career.

But she said he was a “gentle giant” who would not hurt anyone, and they had remained in contact.

Wronska was jailed for life and told she must serve a minimum of 16 years behind bars less the time she had spent on remand.

A GANGSTER jailed for plotting to blow up a football stadium has lost his bid to stay in Britain — but is still here.

Maksim Cela, 59, claimed returning to Albania would put him at risk from rivals.

1

His claims were thrown out by a judge on Friday after a two-year fight costing taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.

But the crook, who arrived in 2023, five days after serving a sentence for murder and terrorism in Albania, has not left and launched yet another appeal.

Cela argued sending him home breached European human rights laws.

But Judge Jeremy Rintoul of the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber said: “I do not accept that the appellant has told the truth about the nature of the threats.

“I find that the appellant’s refusal to acknowledge guilt weighs heavily against him.”

Cela was jailed in Albania for masterminding the murder of a crime-busting police officer and plotting to bomb a football stadium.

In his legal battle, he claimed the elderly mum of the dead officer might seek revenge.

He was named as the mafia boss in the case only after The Sun fought for 23 months to overturn an anonymity order.

Sources last night confirmed Cela was still in the UK and had lodged another legal appeal.

The Home Office said: “Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets.”

It remained unclear last night where Cela was living — but he can remain here while his appeal is being prepared.

A PRISON governor has been jailed over an illicit relationship with a drug gang boss who gifted her a £12,000 Mercedes.

Kerri Pegg was seen as a “rising star” in the Prison Service and quickly rose through the ranks to become governor at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire.

8

8

8

8

But her career is now in ruins after she embarked on a relationship with inmate Anthony Saunderson, who was known as Jesse Pinkman after the series Breaking Bad.

Pegg, 42, has now been jailed after she was found guilty of two counts of misconduct in a public office.

One relates to the divorcee’s fling with Saunderson and the second by failing to disclose county court judgements about her debts.

She was also convicted of one count of possessing criminal property, the Mercedes car, from Saunderson.

Preston Crown Court heard Pegg released Saunderson on licence in 2019 despite not having the authority to approve the bid.

After he was granted his freedom, the prisoner used cash from selling 34 kilos of amphetamines to buy Pegg the Mercedes coupe.

On April 6, 2020, Saunderson was sent a message on Encrochat saying “car her for ya bird 12 quid or work” and a photo of the vehicle.

The court was told “12 quid” meant £12,000 and “work” meant drugs.

Saunderson asked “what work they want” and he was told “top or weed” – meaning cocaine or cannabis.

Two days later, he arranged for “17 packs” to be dropped off in Manchester to pay for the car.

The Mercedes was registered in Pegg’s name, with a pal messaging Saunderson: “Where u ya seedy man u and Peggy out floating orrel in the new whip?”

Law enforcement agencies cracked the criminal’s Encrochat and discovered he was involved in drug trafficking on a huge scale.

Saunderson, who was also known to his criminal pals as James Gandolfini -the actor who played Tony Soprano in the mafia TV Series – has now been locked up for 35 years.

8

8

The court was told other messages revealed the “ongoing nature” of his relationship with Pegg.

Police searched her home on November 19, 2020, and found a toothbrush and flip flops containing Saunderson’s DNA.

Officers also discovered a haul of designer clothing and found Pegg was subject to a number of county court judgements for unpaid debts.

Prosecutor Barbara-Louise Webster said: “Her downfall was two-fold, the first, despite having a good income, she lived beyond her means.

“She spent all her income and more, incurring debts and she had county court judgements made against her.

“As a consequence, she became vulnerable and open to exploitation.

“The second was that she became emotionally and personally involved with a serving prisoner, Anthony Saunderson and later accepted an expensive car, a Mercedes C class, which was paid for by him out of his proceeds of criminal activity ie trading in drugs.”

Pegg joined the prison service in 2012 as a graduate entrant and worked at prisons in Risley, Liverpool and Styal.

By April 2018, she was a governor at HMP Kirkham, where Saunderson was serving a lengthy jail term.

He had been locked up in 2014 for his part in importing £19m of cocaine in shipments of corned beef from Argentina.

From the start, there were concerns about Pegg being inappropriately close to prisoners.

It was also noted that she spent a lot of time in her office with Saunderson.

In October 2018, he put in a request to be released on temporary licence.

Despite Pegg not having the authority to green light his release, she intervened and approved his application without notifying the official who should have dealt with the case.

Days later she was moved to another jail, later becoming duty governor at HMP Lancaster Farms.

Saunderson meanwhile was revealed as one of nine gangland figures responsible for producing amphetamines on an industrial, multi-million-pound scale.

The gang made and dealt 2.6 tonnes of amphetamines worth £1million – as well as trafficking heroin, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, MCAT and diazepam.

Tarryn McCaffrey, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “Kerri Pegg’s conduct fell far short of what might be expected from any professional within the Prison Service, let alone one of such a senior grade as prison governor.

“She was clearly involved in an inappropriate relationship with Saunderson after he was released and the evidence points to this going back further, to a time when he was in jail.

“This relationship, and the fact that Pegg failed to disclose her debts to her employers, amount to a gross breach of trust and are therefore extremely damaging to public confidence.”

8

8

The new pontiff talks of witnesses ‘who report on war even at the cost of their lives’.

Pope Leo XIV has called for the release of journalists imprisoned for doing their work while affirming free speech.

Leo, who was elected pontiff on Thursday after the death of Pope Francis, gave his first news conference at the Vatican on Monday.

Addressing some of the thousands of journalists who travelled to Rome to cover his election as the first American pontiff, he said journalists jailed “for seeking and reporting the truth” must be released.

“The church recognises in these witnesses – I am thinking of those who report on war even at the cost of their lives – the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed because only informed individuals can make free choices,” he said.

“The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press.”

The new pope also reiterated his message of peace that he had communicated to large crowds on Sunday as well.

“Peace begins with each one of us – in the way we look at others, listen to others and speak about others,” he told assembled journalists at the Vatican’s vast Paul VI Audience Hall.

“In this sense, the way we communicate is of fundamental importance. We must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images. We must reject the paradigm of war.”

Leo, who was active on social media before becoming pope, cautioned against  “communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred”.

“Let us disarm words, and we will help to disarm the world,” he said, urging reporters to favour a path of communication for peace.

During his first Sunday blessing as pontiff, Leo advocated for genuine peace in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere.

He said he carries in his heart the “suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine” and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and release of all people held by the Palestinian group Hamas in the enclave.

A man who murdered a biker by deliberately ramming him with his car after seeing him do a wheelie has been jailed for life.

Abdirahman Ibrahim, 21, twice drove into Liam Jones, 22, as he rode his e-motorbike in Sheldon, Birmingham, on 1 August 2023. At Birmingham Crown Court he was given a minimum jail term of 22 years.

Mr Jones crashed into a bollard and died at the scene from his injuries.

After Ibrahim was convicted in February, police said they believed he was motivated to ram Mr Jones after seeing him showboat and wanted to “teach him a lesson”.

At the crown court on Monday, Judge Andrew Smith KC said it must have been clear to Ibrahim that Mr Jones was not wearing a helmet while riding his e-motorbike on Moat Lane.

“After careful reflection I have concluded that you did drive the car into and on Moat Lane such that you had the car available as a weapon,” he said.

The judge said Ibrahim, of Bonham Grove, Yardley, he had pursued Mr Jones and his friend in a “determined and deliberate way”.

West Midlands Police previously said Ibrahim first came across Mr Jones and a friend when they were riding their e-motorbikes on Coventry Road on 1 August 2023.

The 21-year-old started to follow the pair in his Seat Leon and CCTV footage showed the car close behind Mr Jones, who was performing a “stand-up wheelie”.