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Post by Admin on Aug 2, 2014 5:59:55 GMT
A couple in their sixties who made fake bomb detectors and sold them around the world have been convicted of fraud. Sam Tree and his wife, Joan, made the bogus devices in their garden shed at Dunstable in Bedfordshire. The couple had denied fraud at the Old Bailey trial, claiming their device, sold as Alpha 6, did work. Each device cost just a few pounds to make using a plastic box and antenna, but they were sold for as much as £1,171 ($2,000). It consisted of an aerial on a handle into which a card was slotted. The card was supposedly programmed to detect different substances. The couple, of Houghton Road, also claimed the device could help police find missing child Madeleine McCann. The detectors were marketed by the couple's company Keygrove and some were found to have bits of torn-up paper inside, including a photo of missing Madeleine. Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said: "The impression given is one of sophistication and effectiveness based upon scientific principles. "Despite the fact that these plastic boxes plainly could not work, people did, astonishingly, buy them." The City of London Police's Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit, which led the investigation, said Alpha 6 was sold to police and security services around the world. Det Con Joanne Law said: "Sam and Joan Tree are criminals who put lives at risk when they chose to cash in on detectors manufactured to supposedly locate anything from hidden explosives to missing persons. The couple are due to be sentenced next month and Judge Richard Marks QC said: "The strong likelihood given the offence of which you have been found guilty is a custodial sentence."
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Post by Admin on Aug 8, 2014 15:41:05 GMT
The parents of Queensland teenager Daniel Morcombe, who was abducted and killed in 2003, have told how a meeting with the parents of Madeleine McCann gave them strength during their toughest times. In an interview with Today on Wednesday morning Denise and Bruce Morcombe spoke of a dinner they shared with Kate and Gerry McCann during a holiday to England in July 2011. The McCanns' daughter Madeleine vanished from their holiday apartment at the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007. She has never been found. 'You know it was really just like looking in the mirror', Mr Morcombe revealed. '[They were] truly ordinary people and it was amazing how quickly we communicated even though that was the first time we'd ever met,' he told host Karl Stefanovic. Mr Morcombe also revealed that during the meal the two families compared their experiences with media, police, 'the frustrations of no news' and how they dealt with everyday life and commitments. 'In the back of everybody's minds is where is Daniel? But it's Brad and Anna's day': Twin brother of murdered Daniel Morcombe set to marry schoolgirl sweetheart. 'We sat down and had dinner and about three or four hours later it felt like five minutes had passed and they were really lovely people,' Mrs Morcombe said. The two families had been in contact for many years before through email, but the dinner was their first encounter face to face. On Today the Morcombes also told of how proud and excited they were for the upcoming wedding of their son Bradley, Daniel's twin brother, and revealed how they dealt with their grief and the unknown. Mr Morcombe said it was too easy to wake up each day feeling anger, and said it was much more beneficial for he and his wife to put their energy into helping others. He is survived by two brothers, Bradley and Dean, and Bruce Morcombe said they are incredibly proud of their boys. 'I think we've done a pretty good job - They've both got nice girls and both got their own homes and good job and they've turned out pretty well,' he said. Daniel's remains were discovered in 2011 around the time his killer was charged. The whereabouts of Madeleine still remain a mystery.
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Post by Admin on Aug 26, 2014 5:39:28 GMT
The BBC are in talks to run a TV drama about the hoax kidnap of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews, whose mother was jailed for what the judge described as a “truly despicable” plot. Writer Jeff Pope, who was behind hit blockbuster Philomena, suggested award-winning actress Sheridan Smith is set to play the role of Shannon’s mother Karen (pictured). Shannon was nine when she disappeared from her home in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, in February 2008, sparking a massive police investigation. But she was discovered 24 days later at the home of her stepfather's uncle, Michael Donovan, less than a mile away, where she had been imprisoned as part of a plan he and Matthews hatched to claim a £50,000 reward offered by a national newspaper. The youngster had been drugged and forced to adhere to a strict list of rules while held captive. Matthews and Donovan were both jailed for eight years but were released after serving half their sentence. Jeff has said that the project would be “extremely complex”. Speaking at the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, where he appeared alongside Sheridan, he said: “It’s very early stages; it has not been commissioned yet and the casting process hasn’t even begun.” But when asked if Sheridan might be involved in the drama he replied: “Maybe, yes.” When asked if she might play Shannon Matthews’ mother, Jeff replied: “Yes.” The pair have previously worked together, with Jeff casting Sheridan in a lead role in his docu-dramas Mrs Biggs (2012 drama about the Great Train Robbery) and Cilla (about Cilla Black, to be screened this autumn). The drama would be made for the BBC and created by ITV Studios, where Jeff is head of factual drama.
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Post by Admin on Sept 5, 2014 21:22:15 GMT
The artwork on the P&O ship Ventura depicts a row of people sitting and reading a selection of newspapers - one of which is the Sunday Times with a lead story on the search for missing Maddie. But Michael Gould, 55, said that he did not believe the subject was suitable material to be displayed on a family-friendly vessel. Madeleine McCann disappeared aged three in May 2007 while on holiday with her parents in the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal. Despite extensive appeals and searches, her whereabouts have still not been discovered. Dad-of-three Mr Gould, a company director, was on holiday with his wife Corinna and his youngest daughter Olivia on a cruise in early July round the Mediterranean. He said the family had to walk past the artwork every evening to take Olivia, five, to a child's club on board the ship. Father-of-three Michael was on holiday with his wife Corinna and their youngest daughter Olivia on a Mediterranean cruise in early July. The company director from Liverpool said the family were staying at the rear - aft - of the ship and during the evening would walk up a flight of stairs to take Olivia, aged five, to an area devoted to children. 'I just thought it was a very odd piece of art to have on a child-friendly ship, we went past it every night to the child's club en route from our cabin,' Gould said. 'It was at the top of the aft stair well in a high-profile public area. When I contacted P&O about it they more or less said "well it's there". 'P&O said the artist was depicting the sad realities of life, I don't go on holiday to be reminded of the sad realities of life. 'I think what's happened is someone somewhere has said we need a load of art for the ship and this has been done. 'I'm disappointed P&O don't seem to have taken this seriously, and I think they're wrong.' A spokesperson for P&O said: 'The artist intended to depict a snapshot of the headlines and capture a moment in time through actual front pages.' Maddy has been missing since May 2007 when she disappeared during a holiday in Portugal with her family. Her parents Kate and Gerry have never given up hope of being reunited with the little girl, now 9, but despite an international appeal and numerous reported sightings Maddy hasn't been found. A spokesperson for P&O said: "The artist intended to depict a snapshot of the headlines and capture a moment in time through actual front pages."
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Post by Admin on Sept 30, 2014 15:56:30 GMT
Police sniffer dogs used in searches for both Madeleine McCann and April Jones joined the hunt for missing schoolgirl Alice Gross. The springer spaniels, called Tito and Muzzy, are helping a team of officers from more than 20 forces trying to find the 14-year-old who hasn’t been seen for over a month. The dogs – trained in finding concealed bodies – are working with their South Wales police handlers. A spokesman confirmed they took part in the ongoing hunt for Madeleine in June seven years after she disappeared aged three in Praia da Luz, Portugal. They were also used during the hunt for five-year-old April before she was found murdered in 2012. A statement issued said: “South Wales Police is supporting the Metropolitan Police investigation into missing teenager Alice Gross. "The mutual aid provision consists of several members of the Specialist Search and Recovery Team.” The hunt for Alice moved to Osterley Park in west London – two miles from the last sighting of her near the Grand Union Canal on August 28. And a team of officers continue to comb through scrubland running alongside the canal. Meanwhile detectives are sifting through hours of “crucial” CCTV footage from more than 300 cameras in a bid to piece together her last movements. Convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, who was filmed cycling the same route as the teenager just 15 minutes later, remains the prime suspect in her disappearance.
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