Why a Spy was Killed When Alexander Litvinenko fled Moscow for Britain, he found it hard to find work; London was awash with former KGB agents. So he turned to Italy, where he found a ready market for intelligence, not all of it real. What happened next was to make him some dangerous enemies. Alexander [...]
TIffany Wright Starved to Death in this Room on a Urine Soaked Bed, Surrounded by Soiled Nappies.
The 999 call came in just after midnight. With Saturday sliding into Sunday, the streets of Sheffield ricocheted with the sounds of boozy bravado. On the line was the landlady of the Scarbrough Arms, a quiet pub in Upperthorpe, a nondescript suburb off the inner ring road. Her name was Sabrina Hirst and she was [...]
Netted
The jailing of Colin Blanchard, Tracy Lyons, and Tracy Dawber marks the end of a complex and disturbing police investigation spanning five counties that ended up uncovering not just a paedophile ring, but also a crime of our times. The three accused were the last to be dealt with in this case, which was triggered [...]
Lights Camera Disaster
Brixton-born City trader Robert Fucilla had succeeded in everything he had put his hand to, from selling oil to backing British hip-hop acts, and believed his Italian ancestry gave him a shot at being a British Al Pacino. Of course, millions dream of breaking into the movies, but what underpinned Fucilla’s ambition, friends and workmates agree, what made [...]
Crossbow Cannibal – He Killed Because it was Easy
Donna and Louise know a thing or two about scouting for punters. Their beat on City Road, a major artery moments from Bradford city centre, is a strategic choice. “If the vice squad stops [the punters], they can say they’re heading home,” Donna explains. The nearby backroads, on the other hand, lead nowhere in particular – and it is there, amid condemned terraces, [...]
Guardian Weekend – Alibi for Slaughter
The half-century-old dispute in Kashmir escalated to the brink of war in recent weeks -at a time when India, in the name of the worldwide war against terrorism, was stepping up a purge on ‘militants’. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark talk to the families who bore the brunt. A percussive thump sent everyone running for [...]
The Sunday Times Magazine – State of Despair
Kashmir’s young men are disappearing, victims of the 10 year civil war between India and Pakistani-backed militants. And parents who try to find them wind up dead. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark Photographs by Harriet Logan. Hours of cooking had stained Gulshan’s hands a deep shade of scarlet, but she looked with satisfaction at the [...]