Dishonourable Toff's Greedy Charity Grab

The greedy disgraced grandson of a philanthropic Lord, who milked over £1.6m from a charity established by the generous artistocrat, blew the cash on a doomed spark plug invention plus posh wines, exclusive clubs and private schools.

Eton-educated The Honourable Jonathan Davies, 64, pleaded guilty to ten sample counts of stealing £232,000 between 1999 and 2000 from Dinam – a charity founded by his grandfather Lord David Davies in 1926.

Davies – the charity’s general secretary – also squandered funds on golf club membership, settling debts and lavishing gifts on family.

Investment banker Davies, of Ramsden Road, Wandsworth, only confessed to his crimes after his trial started at Southwark Crown Court and he will return for sentencing on a date to be fixed.

He handed £1.5million to an inventor developing a new type of spark plug and the losses of the Wales-based charity – involved in healthcare and international relations - are so damaging it faces closure.

Although the charges reflect dishonesty during his last year at the helm of the charity, inquiries revealed the father-of-six had actually taken a total of £1,656,143.

When the fraud came to light, he told “horrified” relatives a seven-figure fortune had been ploughed into the spark plug venture.

A detailed trawl through various documents, as well as his chequebooks, revealed he had also tried to cover up extensive personal expenditure.

Prosecutor Stephen Leslie QC said: “Many of us dream of having a bottomless piggy bank full of money that we can dip into whenever we need to solve our financial troubles – a tax demand, unpaid credit card debt, repairs to our car or an overdue bill.

“For most of us it remains just that, a dream. When we wake up, we realise that life doesn’t work like that and instead of dipping into the magical piggy bank, we have to go out and earn the money to pay for the bills we incur and the things we buy.

“Not so, however, for Jonathan Davies, he did not need to dream about a piggy bank, he had access to one.

But in order to use it he had to practice a fraud and the fraud he practiced was not on a faceless corporation like a bank or an insurance company or the Government, but on members of his own family.”

“He abused his position of authority and trust and turned the funds of the charity to his own uses,” added the QC.

“When his own financial means became stretched, he simply wrote a cheque to himself from the charity’s bank account, thereby solving the problem immediately.”

Davies became involved with the charity in the Sixties before being appointed secretary in 1992.

Apart from preparing the charity’s financial reports and liaising with accountants, he was in possession of the body’s chequebook.

At the Dinam AGM on February 24, 2000 trustees reacted with horror after learning over £1 million had been ploughed into the spark plug scheme.

A total of 120 cheque stubs were examined and revealed “considerable discrepancies” designed to conceal the truth, the court heard.

Outside court, Detective Sergeant Ward, of the Met’s Private Sector Fraud Team, said: “It is really sad that the greed of Jonathan Davies has meant that a fund set up by his grandfather in order to invest millions so that charitable causes could benefit from the profits now faces closure.

Nigerian Murder: Second Man Charged

A second suspect charged with the brutal stabbing murder of a Nigerian man - who recently swapped his homeland for the killing fields of South-East London - now faces a date with an Old Bailey Judge.

Michael Henry, 38, of no fixed abode, was charged on September 10 with the murder of Sunny Eze, 35, who suffered multiple stab wounds on March 4 in a ground floor flat at Vyvyan House, Campbell Close, Woolwich.

Jobless Mark Anthony Brown, 34, of no fixed address, has already appeared at Greenwich Magistrates' Court on March 25 charged with the murder and is due to stand trial at the Old Bailey along with Henry.

Gun Sights Bound For Iran

A businessman accused of unlawfully exporting 100 telescopic sights for firearms use in Iran appeared at City of London Magistrates’ Court after a seizure by Customs men at Heathrow Airport.

Company Director Andrew Faulkner, 41, of Hollyhock Farm, Dog Drove, Sutton St. James, Spalding, Lincolnshire, was bailed to return on October 27 for Crown Court committal after JP’s declined jurisdiction.

In a prosecution brought by Customs and Excise Faulkner is charged that on or before February 18, 2009 at Heathrow Airport, Hounslow and elsewhere in the U.K. he was knowingly concerned in the unlawful exportation of goods, namely optical sights.

One hundred Schmidt & Bender sights, worth 124,000 Euros, were packed into seven boxes seized by Customs and Excise at Heathrow on February 18.

They were bound for Dubai, but the prosecution allege the final destination for the scopes – which have 3 – 12x magnification - was Iran.

Faulkner, who only spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address during the fifteen-minute hearing was arrested on February 23 and charged at Snow Hill Police Station, City of London on September 1.

Singer Charlotte Church's Ex Caged For 12 Years.

Singer Charlotte Church's ex boyfriend – caught after police seized nearly £10m worth of heroin in one of London’s largest drug busts last year – was jailed for 12 years on Thursday.

Barber Kyle Johnson, 24, of Cowbridge Road West, Cardiff, pleaded guilty at North London’s Wood Green Crown Court to possessing 149.35 kilos of heroin, with intent to supply.

He dated the Welsh songstress, dubbed 'Voice of an Angel', for eighteen months in 2003 and 2004.

Johnson (pictured with Charlotte) went on the run following a raid by the Metropolitan Police’s Central Task Force on a rented three-bedroom house in Meath Road, Forrest Gate, East London on December 4, last year.

Detectives knew he was effectively the warehouseman responsibly for looking after the drugs and Johnson surrendered himself on June 30 after a media appeal.

Two week earlier Calvin Markall, 20, of Menai Way, Rumney, Cardiff, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, after pleading guilty to supplying large amounts of heroin in London before the police raid.

Inside the house – located in an ordinary street - officers found four brown cardboard boxes stacked on top of a single bed in one of the side room.

Split between the boxes were 597 envelopes stashed with a total of 149.35 kilos of heroin.

The drugs were high grade, with 60-65% purity and were packaged ready for distribution.

The total street valued was £9,956,000.

DI Colin Stephenson, from the Met's Central Task Force East, said:” This was one of the most significant drugs seizures by the Met last year, and has seriously disrupted a major criminal network planning to flood London with heroin over the Christmas period.

"The fact that Johnson handed himself in and pleaded guilty demonstrates the thoroughness of the investigation we conducted and the overwhelming evidence we obtained.

"Today's sentencing is yet another blow to those who attempt to supply drugs in London."

Markall was arrested in the street after undercover surveillance officers observed him leaving and locking the property with a set of house keys. 

Chinese Fake Student Scam Alleged

A woman accused of forging university and college documents for bogus Chinese students to apply for and extend their visas  was remanded in custody at City of London Magistrates Court yesterday (Thursday).

Officers from the City of London Police’s Economic Crime Unit raided a Holborn address on June 4 in their investigation said to involve sixty-five universities and colleges in England and Wales and seized  £13,000 cash hidden in a wardrobe.

Jiao Wang, 25 of 3 Magellan Place, Walthamstow is charged with forging university letter heads, university authentication stamps and Chinese Embassy stamps knowing it was in the course of or in connection with fraud between December 1, 2007 and June 4, this year within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court.

She also faces a money laundering charge in that she acquired, used or had possession of criminal property, namely  £75,000 between June 4 and August 6 this year, within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court.

The bogus certificates are alleged to have been sold for between  £600 and  £3,800 and were presented with visa applications to the UK Border Agency.

Wang will return to court on September 17.

Palm Beach Playboy Convicted Of Torture-Murder

A playboy Palm Beach property developer – who rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous in Florida’s most exclusive neighbourhood - faces a suntan-fading life sentence for the brutal torture-murder of a stubborn tenant.

Flash Thanos Papalexis, 37, was convicted at the Old Bailey of murdering 57 year-old Charalambos Christodoulides in March 2000 who was beaten and strangled in the North London warehouse he called home.

Described in court as a "classic psycho" Papalexis – allegedly aided by two Albanian henchmen - tortured and killed loner Christodoulides for refusing to leave a flat in a building he wanted to sell.

The caretaker was attacked before being tied to a chair, hooded, beaten further and finally strangled.

His body was found 15 days later hidden in a pit at the warehouse complex.

Londoner Papalexis (pictured) – the son of a wealthy Greek shipping tycoon - wanted to sell the Kilburn site to help raise cash to save his ailing property development business.

Although the £2m deal to sell the warehouse had collapsed Papalexis pocketed a £750,000 VAT rebate before creditors could get it and moved to Palm Beach.

In the US he reinvented himself and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle as an entrepreneur and playboy.

He rubbed shoulders with the social elite and last year even hosted former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton at a fund-raising gala for her presidential campaign.

He equipped his office with gold thrones, drove a Bentley convertible, wore Saville Row suits and rented a £1.8million beachfront mansion.

He threw parties, including one at which Paris Hilton and designer Valentino were guests.

Papalexis had a string of lovers, including blonde prostitute Rebecca DeFalco, 40, - who starred in hardcore sex films – and to whom he confessed killing Christodoulides.

He forked out thousands of pounds for orgies with hookers, bought boob jobs for four girlfriends and admitted in court that he enjoyed group sex.

He was extradited to Britain after his DNA was found on items at the London warehouse and will be sentenced on September 30.

Detective Inspector Brent Hyatt said: "Charalambos Christodoulides was a quiet and reserved man of impeccable character who Papalexis thought stood in the way of a property deal.

“We believe that this is why he was killed and throughout this 14-week trial, Papalexis has proved to be an enormously arrogant, compulsive and practiced liar driven by his desire to make money.

"In the nine years that it has taken to bring Papalexis to justice, all avenues of evidence have been fully explored to ensure that the best possible evidence can be put before the court.

"I hope this verdict goes someway to achieving justice for Charalambos and closure for his family.

“Despite their pain, they have patiently and wholeheartedly supported this investigation, behaving with great dignity throughout. I thank them for the support they have given me and the officers involved in this investigation.

"This investigation should also serve to remind those that commit murder in London that they should not rest easy. The MPS will relentlessly pursue them until they are placed before the courts to answer for their crimes. "

Homeless Ylli Xhelo, 36, and painter Robert Baxhija, 29, of Sidney Avenue, Palmers Green, North London, face a retrial.

Scotland Yard's Most Wanted Captured

A security van robbery suspect – on the run for six years after a dramatic armed escape outside a courthouse – has been arrested in Holland, says Scotland Yard.

Remand prisoner Noel Cunningham, 48, escaped from a prison van along with Clifford Hobbs in June 2003 outside Inner London Crown Court where he was appearing on a charge of conspiring to steal £1.25 million from a Securicor van.

Cunningham was en route from Brixton Prison to the courthouse, near Elephant and Castle, when the van was ambushed by two armed men who shot the driver in the leg and pistol-whipped a guard.

He recently appeared on Scotland Yard’s 40 most-wanted list and was being hunted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Cunningham was arrested in Amstelveen, Amsterdam, on September 8 and is in custody pending a court hearing on September 11.

He faces extradition to the U.K. where he will eventually have his long-overdue court appearance.

Hobbs stayed with friends in south London before fleeing on a fake passport to France, Portugal and eventually Malaga in Spain.

He was arrested and extradited to the UK in 2007 and was jailed for life in February last year after he admitted organising an 'inside job' on the security van in March 2003.

Officers, who had been tipped off about the raid, moved in as the van made a pick-up from a cafe in Effra Road in Brixton, south London.

Hobbs, from Rotherhithe, south east London, also admitted escaping from lawful custody and a jury at Woolwich Crown Court found him guilty of having a firearm with intent to escape from custody.

Soon after he went on the run Cunningham's mother urged her son to give himself up.

Speaking from her home in Rotherhithe, Margaret Cunningham said: 'He must give himself up. It's no good being on the run from the police.'

Six Years For White Supremacist Loser

A jobless loser - who lived in misery with his mum and dad - was caged for a six-year minimum on Tuesday for making homemade bombs in his lonely bedroom to arm himself in a white supremacy campaign of terror.

Unemployed Neil Lewington, 43, had not uttered a word to his father in ten years at the family home in Tilehurst, Reading where police found weedkiller, firelighters, three tennis balls with diagrams on how to convert them into shrapnel bombs, firework powder, electrical timers and detonators.

He was convicted in July of having explosives with intent to endanger life and preparing for acts of terrorism.

Judge Peter Thornton said: "You are a dangerous man, somebody who exhibits emotional coldness and detachment.

"You would not have been troubled by the prospect of endangering somebody's life."

Lewington was arrested - on his way to an online date - last October at Lowestoft Station, Suffolk, after hurling abuse at a female train conductor.

A search of his bag uncovered two home-made bombs.

The judge said these had been made "to a very high standard."

"These were dangerous firebombs, meticulously constructed, all set to go," he said.

A notebook labelled "Waffen SS UK members' handbook" included a "device logbook" of drawings of electronics and chemical mixtures.

He also kept video tapes about right-wing extremists, including London nailbomber David Copeland and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh - who murdered 168 people when he blew up a US government building in 1995.

During the trial, Lewington was described as a loner who had been unemployed for 10 years after losing his last job owing to drunkenness, and who had also not spoken to his father for a decade.

The court heard he spent time searching for girlfriends on chatlines, where he made racist remarks and spoke of converting tennis balls into bombs.

His defence QC had argued Lewington was just an "oddball" and was not a terrorist, but merely "a big pest, a nuisance".

But the judge told Lewington: "You were in the process of embarking upon terrorist activity.

"You were going to use or threaten action involving either serious violence to people or serious damage to property.

"This action was designed to intimidate non-white people and it was for the purpose of pursuing the ideological cause of white supremacy and neo-fascism, albeit in a rather unsophisticated way."

He will serve at least six years, but even then can only be released if the parole board considers he is no longer a threat to the public.

"Neil Lewington clearly set out to make viable devices which could have seriously injured or possibly killed members of the public going about their daily lives," said Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowall.

Boozy Birthday-Bash Brawl

A birthday party guest, who downed eight bottles of beer before brawling with club bouncers and police, was rushed to hospital with a bleeding head wound after falling to the ground while handcuffed during the late-night melee.

Plumber Jamie Kenna, 29, of Gaskell Street, Clapham, pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates' Court to being drunk and disorderly outside Reflex nightclub, Watling Street, on August 29.

He also pleaded guilty to resisting two police officers in the execution of their duty and was fined at total of £365, plus £90 costs.

Prosecutor Miss Regina Naughton told the court police were called to the club because Kenna was behaving aggressively towards the door staff.

He tried to break away from the officers when they arrived. "His behaviour was aggressive and unpredictable. He was kicking out at door staff and the police officers."

Eventually drunken Kenna, who told police he had consumed eight bottles of beer, was handcuffed, but suffered a nasty gash to his head as he fell to the floor and was rushed by ambulance to hospital with a police minder.

Following medical treatment police charged him with the offences.

'Bullet-Proof' Gangster Jailed For Cocaine Plot

A notorious criminal – who survived an Old Bailey murder trial and a gangland shooting – was caged for 11 ½ years on Friday for plotting to sell cocaine from a Brixton tyre shop.

The nine-strong gang was jailed for a total of 81 years after police seized £160,000 worth of drugs, plus £65,000 cash.

Ex-market trader Anthony Brindle, 45, of Harris Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to conspiring to supply class A drugs.

Brindle,(pictured) who was cleared in May 1992 with his brother Patrick, 47, of assassinating Ahmed ‘Abbi’ Abdullah, 30, -  shot in a Walworth betting shop - himself survived a hit man’s bullets in September 1995.

Also convicted of conspiring to supply class A drugs were: John Cobbina, 43, of Carlysle Courts, Chelsea Harbour, jailed for 12 years.

Tony Zacharia, 33, of Court Bushes Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey, jailed for thirteen years and eight months.

Paul Benstead, 51, of Holfields House, Hazel Wood Crescent, Ladbroke Grove, jailed for six years.

Jude Streeks, 52, of Pulross Road, Brixton, jailed for six years.

Andre Clementson, 33, of no fixed abode, jailed for 8 years.

Francis Opoku, 57, of Manour Avenue, Brockley, jailed for four years.

Zakey Zacharia, 56, of Copsleigh Avenue, Redhill, Surrey, jailed for 10 years and 9 months.

Clifton Fritz, 28, of Logan House, Grange Road, Sutton, jailed for 8 years and a half years.

The court heard how the gang used Zak's Tyres in Pulross Road, Brixton, as the hub of their operation.

Two further properties – a South Kensington flat in Manson Place and Brixton house - were used to prepare and package drugs worth £160,000.

Police searches of these addresses uncovered a hydraulic press, large quantities of cocaine and cutting agents, used to bulk-out the drugs.

Further searches of the defendants' homes uncovered £65,000 cash, some of which was hidden behind a sofa.

Detective Sergeant Richard Noble, of the Middle Market Drugs Partnership said: "In undertaking this operation the Metropolitan Police Service, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and City of London Police on the MMDP have worked tirelessly with local police in Lambeth to dismantle a group of criminals, who have caused great harm to the area through the supply of cocaine.

“These prison sentences should go a long way in reassuring the public that we are dedicated to removing drugs and those supplying them from the streets of the capital.”

Brindle was shot three times on September 20, 1995 outside his home in Christopher Close, Rotherhithe, by ex-IRA man Michael Boyle, 48, now serving life for attempted murder.

Undercover cops - some disguised as gasmen - were tailing the gunman and their failure to prevent the hit triggered an unsuccessful court action by Brindle who sued the Metropolitan Police.

Family and friends packed the public gallery at the end of the three-day sentencing hearing with some leaving the courtroom in tears as the sentences were handed down.

Graf Jewellers: Attempted Murder Charge

An alleged gunman charged with attempted murder in connection with the £40m Graf jewellery raid – the most valuable gems heist in British criminal history – appeared in court today (Monday).

Aman Kassaye, 24, of no fixed address, was remanded in custody at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court to appear at Kingston Crown Court on September 22.

He has also been charged with conspiracy to rob, unlawful imprisonment and unlawfully possessing a firearm, namely a handgun.

Shots were fired during the robbery at Graff Jewellers,(pictured above) New Bond Street, Mayfair on August 6.

He will be joined by David Joseph, 22, of Flaxman Road, Camberwell, charged with conspiracy to rob.

Six other men, also charged with conspiracy to rob, will appear at the same court on October 23.

They are: Craig Calderwood, 26, of no fixed address; Waiter Solomun Beyne, 24, of Lilestone Street, St. John’s Wood; Doorman Jamal Mogg, 42, of Westby Road, Bournemouth; Gregory Jones, 29, of Elgin Avenue, Harrow; Courtney Lawrence, 30, of Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington and Benjamine McFarlane, 21, of Paveley Street, St. John's Wood.  

Calderwood and Beyne also face one firearms charge each, namely possessing a handgun on August 6.

They were originally arrested and charged by Barnes Flying Squad detectives.

Former business and marketing student Beyne is employed at his Ethiopean parents’ Millennium coffee shop in West Hampstead.

Forty-three pieces, including watches, necklaces and earrings, were snatched during the daring raid – Britain’s biggest ever jewellery robbery.

Ex-Squaddie's 'Kettle' Boil-Over

A former Northern Ireland squaddie “kettled” by riot cops during the violent G20 protest in the City of London hurled his rucksack at police lines after spending five hours penned in at the Bank of England.

Jobless lorry driver William Harvey, 44, of Argyl Avenue, Hounslow pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour towards police officers in Cornhill on April 1 and was bound over to keep the peace for twelve months in the sum of £250 and was ordered to pay £50 costs.

“He is particularly embarrassed because previously he was trained in defusing volatile situation having served in Northern Ireland,” Harvey’s lawyer Mr. Niall Hearty told City of London Magistrates’ Court.

Harvey was the only one of twenty-eight defendants appearing on G20-related charges to plead guilty.

Prosecutor Mr. Edmund Hall told JP’s: “Mr. Harvey was seen by a police evidence gatherer and recorded on CCTV throwing a rucksack over police lines. It landed in an empty space.

“He was about ten rows back at the time and not in the melee and when he was arrested about four hours later said he was frustrated and threw the rucksack containing a towel and his wallet.”

Mr. Hearty said: “He intended to take part in a peaceful gathering that day, but found himself penned in by the Bank of England.

“He found it very frustrating. He was kettled in for five hours with large numbers of people and was unable to go to the toilet.”

Harvey, like many other demonstrators claims he was the victim of police brutality. “Another protester was struck by a police officer and as he bent down to assist he was struck by the police,” explained Mr. Hearty.

“He is the only defendant who has pleaded guilty today and taken responsibility for his actions. He was not intending to hurt any police officers. It was an act of sheer frustration.”

Sixteen G20 Protesters Appear

A further sixteen April 1 G20 protesters appeared at City of London Magistrates Court – bringing the total to twenty-eight - and all either pleaded not guilty or will face jury trial on a variety of charges stemming from clashes with riot police. 

Jobless Darren Withers, 28, of Crayigton Road, Glasgow is charged with entering the Royal Bank of Scotland, Bartholomew Lane, with intent to cause unlawful criminal damage.

It is alleged Withers was caught on CCTV reaching through a smashed window and pushing papers from a desk onto a small blaze started by protesters inside the building.

He was bailed unconditionally until October 22 for Crown Court committal after JP’s declined jurisdiction.

Pedro Arisi, 25, of Seven sisters Road, Finsbury Park, pleaded not guilty to assaulting police constable Zoe Judd and was bailed unconditionally to return for trial on December 21.

Mathew Boden, 24, of Park Road, Hornsey, who pleaded not guilty to threatening behaviour in Queen Victoria Street towards PC Ashcroft, was bailed unconditionally until October 15 to set a trial date.

He claims he was the victim of police brutality and it is accepted he suffered a head wound and was filmed near the police line with blood pouring down his face.

Pascal Bouzenard, 39, of Alvington Crescent, Hackney is charged with violent disorder and was bailed until September 24.

Harvey Brown, 30, of Cathcart Road, Glasgow is charged with violent disorder in Threadneedle Street and was bailed unconditionally until October 15 when he will be committed to the Crown Court.

It is alleged Brown kicked a police officer in the groin and JP’s declined jurisdiction.

Antonio Costa, 31, of Richmond Road, Hackney is charged with violent disorder and was bailed unconditionally to return on October 22 for Crown Court committal.

He is accused of throwing a green glass lager bottle, which smashed against the side of a police vehicle.

Greek national Christos Filinis, 29, employed by the British Council in Athens is charged with violent disorder in Queen Victoria Street.

He is accused of throwing an unidentified missile at the backs of police who were walking away from him and was bailed unconditionally to return on October 15 for Crown Court committal after JP’s declined jurisdiction.

Jeremiah Spillane, 29, of Lisieux Park, Cork City, Ireland is charged with violent disorder and was bailed unconditionally to return on October 29 for Crown Court committal.

It is alleged he threw a glass bottle, which shattered against a police officer’s helmet.

John Turner, 54, of Hallam Fields Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, is charged with violent disorder and possessing a police baton as an offensive weapon in Cornhill.

Prosecutor Mr. Edmund Hall, the reviewing CPS lawyer for the entire G20 prosecutions, dropped a charge of stealing the baton.

Turner, accused of striking a helmeted police officer over the head with the baton, was bailed unconditionally to return on October 15 for Crown Court committal after JP’s declined jurisdiction

Michael Wells, 50, of Rutland Gardens, Finsbury Park, charged with causing  £1,200 worth of criminal damage to an ITN camera during a live news broadcast was bailed until September 24.

Huw Norfolk, 22, of Robertson Road, Bristol, is charged with possessing a tin of red spray paint and a marker pen in Paternoster Square on April 2 with intent to destroy or damage property.

He elected Crown Court trial and was bailed unconditionally until October 22 for committal.

Daniel Simmons, 18, of Selwyn Road, Cambridge is charged with violent disorder and was bailed unconditionally until October 22 for Crown Court committal after JP’s declined jurisdiction.

It is alleged he is caught on CCTV at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Bartholomew Lane kicking at a window and spray-painting ‘Burn’ on the building wall near a small blaze protesters had started inside and then kicking out at police lines.

Gary Cole, 18, of King Henry’s Drive, New Addington, Croydon, pleaded not guilty to causing criminal damage to two police vehicles and was bailed unconditionally to return on December 14 for trial.

Phillip Georgopoulos, 26, of Prestonville road, Brighton is charged with violent disorder and was bailed until September 24.

It is alleged he threw scaffold brackets during the height of the disturbances.

Couple Lee Jenkins, 37, and Karen Smith, 45, of Prudential Buildings, Above Bar Street, Southampton are jointly charged with violent disorder in Cornhill and were both bailed unconditionally until October 29 for Crown Court committal.

Jenkins was allegedly captured on CCTV punching and kicking the front line of police and Smith is accused of attacking the police officer that arrested him.

G20 'Armoured Car 11' Deny Charges

Eleven protesters arrested for allegedly driving an armoured car into the City of London while dressed as police during the G20 mass protest earlier this year all pleaded not guilty when they appeared in court.

All the defendants are charged with impersonating a special constable or member of a police force on April 1, with intent to deceive, contrary to Section 90 (1) of the Police Act 1996.

They are each also charged with wearing an article of police uniform including NATO helmets and blue overalls so nearing that of a member of a police force as to be calculated to deceive contrary to Section 90 (2) of the Police Act 1996.

They were allegedly part of a group of G20 activists stopped near the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The six-wheel Alvis Saracen, (pictured above) a model once used by the British Army in Northern Ireland, was emblazoned with the word 'Riot' and police-style black and white chequered livery.

They are: Jessica Barter, 19, of St. Andrew’s Road, Plaistow; Leah Borromeo, 30, of Sprules Road, Brockley; Stephen Gibbens, 21, of Allington Circle, Kingsmead, Milton Keynes; Paul Hardcastle, 23, of Bellenden Road, Peckham; Mohammed Hayder, 25, of Hooke House, Gernon Road, Bow.

Stephen Jewkes, 28, of Bellenden Road, Peckham; Suzan Keen, 41, of Parkside Estate, Rutland Road, Homerton; David Parkhouse, 22, of Homerton High Street, Homerton; Robin Priestley, 32, of  Morrison Buildings North, Commercial Road, Stepney; Rebecca Walpole, 21, of Seaforth Road, Aberdeen and David Vannen, 38, of Upper Highway, Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire.

They all pleaded not guilty to both counts at City of London Magistrates’ Court and have been bailed to appear on February 8 for a four-day trial before a District Judge at City of Westminster Magistrates Court.

£1m 'Boiler Room' Plot Alleged

The alleged administrator of a near £1m 'Boiler Room' conspiracy which allegedly duped investors into buying worthless shares appeared at City of London Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Christopher Fay, 62, of Holburne Road, Blackheath is charged with conspiring with others between March 1 2008 and April 24, 2009, within the Jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, to defraud investors by selling worthless shares.

Fay is also charged with entering into an arrangement which he knew or suspected facilitated the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property, and with acquiring criminal property, contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act, between the same two dates.

Fay, who allegedly received £300,000 into his account, was bailed to appear at Southwark Crown Court on September 7.

Mortgage Frauds On The Rise

City of London police has reported a 72% increase in cases of financial fraud driven by a jump in mortgage scams over the previous year.

The force said cases of mortgage fraud had reached double figures and were one of the largest areas of activity for its officers. 

The number of investigations is expected to increase over the next year as frauds came to light and lenders sought to recover their losses, it said.

Detective chief superintendent Steve Head, who leads the City of London's economic crime directorate, said mortgage fraud "was happening all over the country" and "has jumped from nothing 18 months ago to being one of the biggest areas of investigation".

"While the amounts of money we are dealing with are significant, I don't think we are seeing the full picture. It is a fraction of the amount of fraud that has taken place.

"It is the mortgage lenders that are hit by the crime and they usually see it first. It would be good if the lenders were coming forward more than they are at the moment," he added. 

Last year the Association of Chief Police Officers estimated that mortgage frauds rake in £700m a year.

"Greed is the driving factor in fraud," said Head. "There are some where there are family links, some cultural links and some where the only link is greed. But a valuer is a key figure in the process."

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is currently investigating 10 complaints of valuation fraud, several of them in conjunction with the City Police.

The Financial Services Authority has banned 65 mortgage brokers in the last three years for mortgage fraud and levied fines totalling more than £1m.

In some cases gangs would buy a property, typically in a large development, at a deliberately inflated price.

Once the purchases appeared on the Land Registry website, they would be used as a basis for subsequent valuations, enabling the fraudsters to obtain inflated mortgage applications on other homes, often in the same development.

So, if a property was valued at £250,000 but was only actually worth £200,000, the gang could pocket the spare £50,000 to fund further deposits or to remove offshore.

The gang would usually include a solicitor and surveyor "on the payroll" to ensure that the funds from the lender were siphoned off.

Frauds went undetected because, at the height of the boom, lenders were happy to hand out mortgages without carrying out their own due diligence but relying on third party valuations.

Five Remanded On £40m Graff Heist Charges

Five men accused of the £40m armed raid on Mayfair’s Graff jewelers appeared via video link at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday and were remanded in custody until October 23.

They are: Craig Calderwood, 26, of no fixed address; Waiter Solomun Beyne, 24, of Lilestone Street, St. John’s Wood; Doorman Jamal Mogg, 42, of Westby Road, Bournemouth; Gregory Jones, 29, of Elgin Avenue, Harrow and Courtney Lawrence, 30, of Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington.

All three are charged with conspiring to rob the prestigious New Bond Street store (pictured above) on August 6.

Calderwood and Beyne also face one firearms charge each, namely possessing a handgun on August 6.

They will be joined by a sixth man, 21 year-old Benjamine McFarlane, of Paveley Street, St. John's Wood, who was also charged with conspiracy to rob and was remanded in custody.

They were originally arrested and charged by Barnes Flying Squad detectives.

Former business and marketing student Beyne is employed at his Ethiopean parents’ Millennium coffee shop in West Hampstead.

Forty-three pieces, including watches, necklaces and earrings, were snatched during the daring raid – Britain’s biggest ever jewellery robbery.  

FSA Chairman A "Marxist"

The chairman of the Financial Services Authority, who described the City as "socially useless",has been branded a "Marxist" by the Association of British Insurers. Lord Turner of Ecchinswell makes an unlikely anti-capitalist - he's a former vice-chairman of the investment bank Merrill Lynch, but it takes one to know one, I suppose. His call in Prospect magazine for a reduction in the size of the financial sector, and for steps to eliminate high-risk practices had City bigwigs choking on their champagne.  If capitalism is to be saved from itself, it should listen - not that it is.  Lord Turner has been kicked all round the City by angry bankers and politicians.  Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said Turner was "crackers" for risking the City of London's standing as Europe's leading financial centre and The Association of British Insurers described his remarks as "Marxist". Angela Knight of the British Bankers' Association, interviewed on BBC, refused to believe he'd actually said what he said. "It's a race to see who will sack him first," said one City figure.