The deputy leader of Britain First yelled “paedophile” at a Muslim man in a pizza takeaway, a court was told. Jayda Fransen, 31, confronted Jamshed Khesrow in Ramsgate, Kent, while the leader of the far-right group, Paul Golding, 36, filmed.
The pair, from Penge, southeast London, were arrested while campaigning during the trial of four Muslim men who were later jailed for raping a 16-year-old girl above the takeaway. Mr Khesrow told Folkestone magistrates: “I was so scared, I thought she was going to start fighting with me.” Ms Fransen and Mr Golding deny racially aggravated harassment. The trial continues.
Headmaster plagiarised article for school magazine
The headmaster at a grammar school has apologised after passing off the work of a newspaper columnist as his own in the school magazine. Dermot Mullan, of Our Lady and St Patrick’s College in Belfast, was caught out after the author, Tom Rogers, posted the two articles alongside each other.
“This head teacher decided to copy one of my blogs word for word . . . I particularly like his signature and picture at the end. Hope his students have got the message — plagiarism is A-OK!” Mr Rogers wrote. In response Mr Mullan tweeted: “Tom, we have never met in person or spoken and I have done you a wrong. I apologise. I should have attributed your article. I would like to apologise in person if I had your contact details.”
The journalist responded: “Apology accepted. I was very surprised you’d do this though. It’s probably a breach of copyright but beyond that a terrible example to students about plagiarism!” Rogers, who writes for the education weekly TES, described how being told he would get an E grade in an A level prompted him to work harder and achieve a B. Mr Mullan, whose school was named Northern Irish school of the year by The Sunday Times in 2015, altered the copy to state that he had gained an A.
Advertisement
Vegans abuse farmer
A trainee farmer who complained on television that vegan extremists had called her a rapist and murderer suffered further abuse online yesterday. Alison Waugh, who works on a sheep farm in Northumbria, had told the Victoria Derbyshire show on BBC Two: “You do get death threats which is quite ironic coming from people who want peace for animals.”
Remand for Hayes crash
A man charged with causing death by dangerous driving in a crash that killed three teenage friends has been remanded in custody. Jaynesh Chudasama, 28, of Hayes, west London, appeared at Uxbridge magistrates’ court. He did not enter a plea and will appear at the Old Bailey on February 26. Police named the victims as Harry Rice, 17, and 16-year-olds George Wilkinson and Josh McGuinness. A second man, 34, has been arrested over the incident on Friday.
Teacher accused of plot on Big Ben ‘had knife in car’
A religious teacher had a large kitchen knife hidden in his car when he was arrested for plotting Islamic State-inspired attacks on London, a court has heard. Umar Haque, 25, had allegedly resolved to target landmarks including Big Ben and Westfield shopping centre in 2016 and early 2017. The Old Bailey was told that he had groomed and trained youngsters for terrorism at the Ripple Road mosque in Barking, east London. Isis propaganda was found during the search of Mr Haque’s computer and memory sticks, the court heard. He denies charges of preparing acts of terrorism. The trial continues.
National Trust raises fees to meet £2m-a-week costs
The National Trust is putting up membership fees to cover the rising costs of looking after the houses, coastline and countryside in its care. A rise of 50p a month on average for its five million members will help to fund its biggest programme of repairs, maintenance and improvements. The charity’s costs rose 15 per cent last year as it spent the equivalent of £2 million a week. Sharon Pickford, the membership director, said: “We are a charity, we don’t receive any direct government funding and our conservation costs are increasing. We need help from our members to look after these amazing places.”
Burglar stakes out rich
Four police forces are searching for a violent burglar who stakes out wealthy households for days at a time before breaking in and terrorising the inhabitants with a sawn-off shotgun. Described as 6ft tall and stocky, with a southern accent, he has stolen jewellery worth at least £1 million from homes in Surrey, Kent and Berkshire since 2014. Police said that the “professionalism” of the crimes suggested that he was an ex-serviceman or was trained in law enforcement.
Advertisement
Turner export ban
The government has imposed a temporary export ban on one of JMW Turner’s greatest paintings. Ehrenbreitstein, which was bought at auction in London last year for £18.5 million, depicts the fortress overlooking the Rhine near Koblenz in Germany. The ban will give individuals or organisations time to raise the money to buy the 1825 work and prevent it being lost to the nation.
Oxford climbers’ boast
Students have been warned to beware of a group of so-called nightclimbers on Oxford University’s dreaming spires. The group had told Cherwell, the university’s student newspaper, that Christ Church was “the easiest college to both climb and infiltrate”. The college said: “Make sure you don’t let anyone use your windows to access either the scaffolding or roof areas.”
Kayak corpse found
A body has been found in the search for a British man caught in a kayak tragedy that killed two others in the Ecuadorian jungle. Adam Vaughan, 22, of Newbury, Berkshire, was in a group of four on the Rio Abanico when they were hit by a flash flood. The body has not yet been identified. David Higgins, 26, and Alexander McGourty, 19, both Irish, were confirmed dead last week.
Moon puts on a show
Skygazers looking forward to a blue moon tomorrow — the second full moon in a calendar month — will also witness a super moon, 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than normal. However, people watching from the US to the Middle East and even Australia will see something still rarer: a super blue blood moon, brought on by a total lunar eclipse.