UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Launches Police Recruitment Drive

Peter Thomas -
L o n d o n ,   U K - 

UK Metropolitan Police Officers

The recruitment of 20,000 new police officers will begin within weeks, confirming the commitment made by the Prime Minister as he entered Downing Street.

The unprecedented drive to deliver more frontline officers will start in September with the launch of a national campaign, led by the Home Office.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

“As I said on the steps of Downing Street this week, my job as Prime Minister is to make our streets safer."

“People want to see more officers in their neighbourhoods, protecting the public and cutting crime."

“I promised 20,000 extra officers and that recruitment will now start in earnest."

The Prime Minister has said he wants recruitment completed over the next three years. To support this the Government will shortly set out plans for a new national policing board.

Chaired by the Home Secretary and bringing together key police leaders, it will hold the police to account for meeting this target and drive the national response to the most pressing issues that affect communities right across the country.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

“Officers up and down the country put themselves in danger every day to keep us safe, they deserve our support."

“The rise we’ve seen in serious violence is deeply worrying. An additional 20,000 officers sends a clear message that we are committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle the scourge of crime."

“This is the start of a new relationship between the government and the police working even more closely together to protect the public."

In addition - as part of ongoing work to tackle serious violence - the Government will urgently review the pilot which makes it simpler for officers to use stop and search powers, with a view to rolling this out across all forces.

In April seven forces started a trial with relaxed conditions on the use of Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act.

The Prime Minister has been clear he fully supports the police’s use of stop and search to tackle and disrupt those carrying knives.

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Flying Dutch Man Charged with Assault on Plane to Perth

Avi Cohen  -   
P e r t h ,   A u s t r a l i a - 

Australian Federal Police Charge Flying Dutch Man.

A 26-year-old Dutch national is set to appear in Perth Magistrates Court charged with allegedly assaulting passengers and crew on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Perth.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) Airport Uniform Police (AUP) received reports of a disruptive passenger on the incoming flight.

AUP were advised the man allegedly left his seat roughly three hours into the flight and moved to the rear of the plane where he began talking and shouting to himself.

Cabin crew attempted to calm the man, but he started banging on the walls and overhead compartments. He then began moving down the aisle of the plane, where he allegedly assaulted a crew member and later a male passenger who tried to calm the man, before being restrained by other passengers.

AFP Acting Commander Martin Goode, Manager Aviation, warned those travelling over the Easter break to consider their behaviour in the air.

“Disruptive and dangerous behaviour on a flight can have very serious consequences,” Acting Commander Goode said.

“Anyone who puts the safety of crew and their fellow passengers at risk – either in the sky or on the ground – will be prosecuted.”

AUP officers removed the man from the flight and charged him with:

• One count of offensive and disorderly behaviour, contrary to regulation 256AA of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1998 (Cth);
• One count of assault crew on a plane, contrary to section 20A of the Crimes (Aviation) Act 1991 (Cth); Five counts of assault passenger on a plane, contrary to section 14(1) of the Crimes (Aviation) Act 1991 (Cth).

The man was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court.

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Australian Federal Police Release Photo of Man Wanted for Breach of Parole

Avi Cohen  -   
S y d n e y ,   A u s t r a l i a - 

Wanted: 43-year-old Ibrahim Assoud.

Australian Police are calling for public assistance to locate a Sydney man wanted for breach of parole, after being imprisoned for drug-related offences.

In 2011, 43-year-old Ibrahim Assoud was arrested for attempting to possess a marketable quantity of cocaine.

He was convicted and sentenced in 2012 in the District Court of New South Wales to a maximum of 6.5 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 3.5 years.

In May 2016, the man was released from prison on parole. His release was subject to a number of conditions – which included regular reporting to a parole officer, notifying of change of employment, living in an approved location, and not associating with anyone who uses, possess, manufactures or sells serious drugs.

Due to a breach of these conditions, Assoud’s parole was revoked in May 2018.

He has not been located by authorities since, and as a result, he is the subject of a Commonwealth arrest warrant and is now wanted by the Australian Federal Police.

He is described as being 173cm tall, with medium build, brown eyes and grey/black hair.

Anyone who sights him, or who has information regarding his whereabouts, is urged to come forward and contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. You can remain anonymous.

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New Zealand Police Association Fully Supports Prime Minister's Call For Gun Law Changes

Karley Burtt-
A u c k l a n d ,   N e w   Z e a l a n d - 

Police Association President Chris Cahill has welcomed the Prime Minister’s early commitment to changing New Zealand’s gun laws.

“Jacinda Ardern has said emphatically that New Zealand’s gun laws will change and that now is the time for that change. I absolutely agree with her and I believe many New Zealanders will be aghast that in our country someone can amass a cache of weapons like that discovered in this Christchurch tragedy,” Mr Cahill said.

“It is sickening that it has taken this horrific event to wake us up to our vulnerability. My first thoughts are with the families of those who have been killed or injured, and with our incredibly brave first responders – police officers, ambulance and hospital staff, and all those members of the public who helped in any way they could.

“However we cannot ignore the role of guns in this event.”

Mr Cahill says the debate that New Zealand is about to have on access to certain firearms should be short and swift.

“As we enter that debate however, we need to be mindful of the welfare of victims and their families and the people of Christchurch for whom Friday’s shocking events will remain raw for a very long time,” he said.

“There is no place in the upcoming debate for the radical gun lobby which has made its presence felt in previous attempts to make our country safer. That input undoubtedly contributed to the rejection of most of the select committee recommendations on tightening our gun laws. We have seen what happens in the United States when gun radicals are involved. Nothing. That is not good enough for New Zealand.”

“Reputable firearms owners have a role to play but I do not believe there is any place at the table for those who use social media to spew hate and vitriol as they wind each other up in the belief that it is their right to own whatever weapons they desire,” Mr Cahill said.

“The bitter irony with this alleged perpetrator in Christchurch is he would not have been able to buy the weapons he had in his home country of Australia, because immediately after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 the then Prime Minister John Howard acted swiftly to ban semi-automatic weapons and Australians were with him.”

“New Zealanders and our politicians now need to step in behind Prime Minister Ardern as she takes decisive action on access to lethal weapons. I can pledge that the association will do everything it can to assist her in cleaning up our gun laws.”

The Police Association has grave concerns about the safety of police officers following the recent incidents which appear to show they have, once again, been deliberately shot at.

Association President Chris Cahill says that concern most certainly extends to the safety of innocent members of the public who, as last night’s incident in suburban Richmond showed, were just getting on with their lives in their own neighbourhood.

“The one biggest dread I have in my role is getting that call to say a police officer has been shot and killed."

Yet as every day passes, and the reports of firearms incidents becomes relentless, I fear that call is ever closer unless we seriously crack down on the proliferation of illegal firearms,” Mr Cahill said.

“I have been keeping watch on the number of firearms incidents now being reported in everyday media, and since last June there have been at least 60,” he said.

“On top of that are the daily reports from Association members of finding firearms during routine police stops and property and personal searches throughout New Zealand. These rarely make the news. ”

Mr Cahill says it is not good enough to downplay New Zealand’s increasing issue with firearms by writing off such incidents as the domains of gangs or organised criminals.

“The families who were forced to take shelter in Christchurch last night know, following their appalling experience, that firearms in the hands of the wrong people are terrifying and a potential risk to us all.”

“I want to make it very clear that my concerns are not about law abiding firearms owners who securely store their guns. My focus is on the ease at which people can access firearms, especially through burglaries, and the fact that no-one actually knows how many firearms are out in our communities because we are not required to register them individually,” Mr Cahill said.

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Ex-West Yorkshire Police Officer Has Rape Sentence Increased

Peter Thomas -
L o n d o n ,   U K - 

The Royal Courts of Justice

David Lomax has had his sentence increased following the Solicitor General's referral to the Court of Appeal.

An ex-police officer who raped a woman 40 years ago while on duty has today had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred it for being too low.

David Lomax was a 43 year old serving with the West Yorkshire Police at the time of offending, and responsible for arresting those who had failed to pay court-ordered fines. In October 1978, Lomax was sent to arrest his victim, but instead he told her that she would have to perform a sexual favour for him to avoid being arrested and going to prison. Lomax then raped the victim.

When the victim was later arrested for non-payment of the fine, she told the arresting officers about the rape. While DNA testing was able to identify a specimen as not belonging to the victim’s partner, and possibly belonging to Lomax; it was not able to identify Lomax conclusively.

The case was reopened in 2016, and modern DNA testing was able to prove that the specimen belonged to Lomax, leading to his arrest.

Lomax, now 84, was originally sentenced in October 2018 to 4 years and 9 months imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court. Today, the Court of Appeal has increased his sentence to 8 years in prison.

Commenting on the increase, the Solicitor General said:

“Lomax abused his position of trust as a police officer, and got away with his crime for too long. Thanks to modern forensic science, he was brought to book. It is only right that it is now made clear to him that his actions have not been forgotten and will be met with the full force of the law.”

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Potential Illegal Ship to Ship Transfers of Goods by North Korean Tanker

Hirokazu Watanabe -
T o k y o ,   J a p a n - 

Ship-to-ship transfers banned by UNSCR: transfers of
goods or items to or from DPRK-flagged vessels at sea.
AN SAN 1 and a vessel of unknown nationality lying
alongside each other and connecting hoses.

Suspicion of illegal ship-to-ship transfers of goods by ‘AN SAN 1', North Korean-flagged tanker, and vessel of unknown nationality took place in the East China Sea.

Today it was confirmed that in the afternoon of January 18, 2019, a AOE ‘OUMI' (Replenishment at Sea Squadron 1: Sasebo) of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force found that ‘AN SAN 1' (IMO number: 7303803), North Korean-flagged tanker, was lying alongside a vessel of unknown nationality on the high sea (around 410km south offshore of Shanghai) in the East China Sea.

Judging from the fact that the two vessels lay alongside each other and connected hoses, both vessels could have been engaged in some type of activity. Following a comprehensive assessment, the Government of Japan strongly suspects that they conducted ship-to-ship transfers banned by UNSCR.

In March 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1718 designated AN SAN 1 as a vessel subject to assets freeze and prohibited from port entry.

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Two arrested following drones disruption at Gatwick

Peter Thomas -
L o n d o n ,   U K - 

Superintendent James Collis said “As part of our ongoing investigations into the criminal use of drones which has severely disrupted flights in and out of Gatwick Airport, Sussex Police made two arrests just after 10pm on Friday.

“Our investigations are still on-going, and our activities at the airport continue to build resilience to detect and mitigate further incursions from drones, by deploying a range of tactics.

“We continue to urge the public, passengers and the wider community around Gatwick to be vigilant and support us by contacting us immediately if they believe they have any information that can help us in bringing those responsible to justice.

“The arrests we have made are a result of our determination to keep the public safe from harm, every line of enquiry will remain open to us until we are confident that we have mitigated further threats to the safety of passengers.

“Anyone with information about the incident or who may have suspicions about the drone operators is asked to report online or call 101 quoting Operation Trebor. If you see anyone acting suspiciously in the area of the airport, please dial 999 immediately.”

A 47-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman, both from Crawley, were arrested in the town on suspicion of disrupting services of civil aviation aerodrome to endanger or likely to endanger safety of operations or persons. They remained in custody at 11am on Saturday.

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Australia's Palaszczuk Queensland Government Hides Behind Wall of Lies

Avi Cohen - op-ed -
B r i s b a n e ,   A u s t r a l i a - 

The Health Minister Steven Miles

All the reasons given by the Health Minister for changing the name of the Lady Cilento Hospital have been proven to be baseless.

The poll used to push the Queensland government's agenda has been exposed as a rort and a fabrication. The public debate has moved beyond the name change to questions about corruption and collusion in the Government and democratic process.

The Lady Cilento Children's Hospital business names were cancelled on January 18th this year, six months before the Queensland Government's public consultation even started. The Government said the names lapsed but ASIC documents reveal this was wrong and indicates that it was a premeditated campaign to change the name. A Nobel laureate said this week the claims that the Lady Cilento hospital name were not international and would hinder research grants was just not true.

More than 84% of Queenslanders polled by the Courier Mail this week and 85% of the Nurses Professional Association of Queensland independently polled overwhelmingly support keeping the Lady Cilento name and spending the money on services within the hospital where they are most needed, healing sick children. The NPAQ has also put the Lady Cilento business names in a trust so they can be used when her name is reinstated on the hospital.

The Health Minister, Steven Miles is there to represent the people of Queensland, not the small cabal of doctors - led by key agitator Dr Ben Whitehead - that he keeps citing, who happen to be his ideological bedfellows.

Mr Miles was originally presented with less than 250 signatures signed only by hospital staff union members, not the thousand doctors he now claims. Like the Queensland Health poll, the so-called petition of hospital staff by Whitehead is a complete fabrication. Senior doctors at the Lady Cilento Children's hospital told the Brisbane Times on Wednesday that they had never seen the petition and were “vehemently" against the name change.

The Minister and this small group of medicos belong to the same card-carrying Labor union club who do not want to work in a hospital named after a great Australian woman medical pioneer – they have openly stated this on multiple occasions.

The Public Lady Cilento Children's Hospital

The Cilento family are standing up to defend Lady Cilento’s name and the honour bestowed upon her by having the premier children’s public hospital of Queensland named after her. They are standing up for the people of Queensland who do not want money wasted serving the interests of politicians and doctors who are bent on pushing their political own agenda at all costs.

The doctors who have run this gutter campaign to smear Lady Cilento's name and push their agenda through are a disgrace to the medical profession and should have their licenses suspended immediately by the Australian Medical Association Queensland. The Health Minister is their representative and he has done nothing but lie and prevaricate and defend them.

Channel Nine confronted the Minister with a recording of him admitting to the doctors' smear campaign on Tuesday after he had categorically denied it and lied on camera, saying it was the Cilento's who had not told the truth. Miles' slanderous comments about the Cilento family could end up with him being sued for defamation along with the LNP's referral of him to the Crime and Corruption Commission on Friday.

The majority of Queenslanders want to keep the Lady Cilento hospital name, not serve the interests of corrupt politicians and doctors who have already proven themselves to be dishonourable and unethical. Instead of backing her lying Health Minister and his cohorts, the Premier needs to stand up and do the right thing - sack Mr Miles and reinstate the hospital as the Lady Cilento.

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Australia's Queensland Palaszczuk Government referred to Crime and Corruption Commission

Bruce Black and Avi Cohen -
B r i s b a n e ,   A u s t r a l i a - 

Premier Palaszczuk at the centre of the scandal

LNP Leader Deb Frecklington said after a week of lies, scandals and claims of serious vote rigging that it was time the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) undertook a full investigation of the Palaszczuk Government’s Lady Cilento scandal.

Ms Frecklington has written to the CCC saying the LNP opposition has done all in its powers to bring these serious fraud allegations to light but it was now time for the state’s peak crime fighting body to step in and undertake a full investigation.

It follows a Nine News RTI showing that 74 IP addresses were responsible for almost 18,000 ‘yes’ votes in a clearly rigged consultation survey as well as admissions by the Health Minister to The Australian newspaper that his own Ministerial office voted multiple times. There have also been further revelations tonight following a Seven News RTI that the Hospital Foundation had words put in its mouth by Labor who falsely claim the Foundation had advocated for the Cilento name change.

“The Palaszczuk government’s credibility has been shot to pieces this week. To put it frankly, you can’t believe a word this government says,” Ms Frecklington said.

“This whole scandal is more than about the name change now, it goes to the heart of our democracy and good government.

“It is alleged that the Palaszczuk government rigged the vote and manipulated the entire consultation process.

“We believe there is a case and it is now time for the CCC to step in and launch a full investigation.”

The honourable Deb Frecklington MP

Ms Frecklington said she has asked the CCC to investigate whether the Palaszczuk Government has broken Section 430 of the Criminal code about fraudulent falsification of records, whether corrupt conduct under section 15 of the Crime and Corruption act has taken place and whether the alleged the vote rigging was done by Ministerial staffers or Health bureaucrats potentially breaking the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994.

“This whole scandal undermines public confidence into public administration in Queensland,” she said.

“Queenslanders don’t like being lied to and they don’t like their money being wasted.”

The maximum penalty for the fraudulent falsification of records is 10 years prison, corrupt conduct maximum penalty is 14 years prison and the breaking of the Public Sector Ethics Act is up to one year in prison.

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Two Dead: Violent Terror Attack in Melbourne, Australia

Jason Edwards -
M e l b o u r n e ,   A u s t r a l i a - 

Police officer confronting the attacker in Burke Street
Twitter/Chris Macheras

Police investigate a terror attack in Melbourne's city center that ended with two people dead and three injured.

A stabbing incident in the city center Friday afternoon is being treated as terror related at this stage.

Emergency services responded to reports of a car fire in Bourke Street about 4.10pm. As police officers got out of their vehicle, they were confronted by a male who began a physical altercation with them. The man fled on foot and was chased by police, he then lunged at police with a knife. Police shot the 31-year-old and he was taken to hospital in a critical condition but he has since died.

The man was known to Victoria Police and federal intelligence authorities by way of his family associations.

Three men were stabbed during the incident. One man, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene. A 26-year-old and a 58-year-old have been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A police officer was treated for a minor injury at the scene.

The Bomb Response Unit attended and have deemed the burnt vehicle safe and a crime scene has been set up. Road blocks in the area are expected to remain in place throughout the night and members of the public are asked to avoid the area on Bourke Street between Russell and Swanston Streets.

Counter Terrorism Command in conjunction with the Homicide Squad will investigate the incident but police do not perceive any ongoing threats at this stage. There will be an increased police presence around the CBD and at major events in the coming days so the public can feel comfortable going about their business.

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