Two framed by corrupt officer decades ago cleared

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BBC Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell was responsible for a series of racist miscarriages of justice

Two men wrongly convicted in separate trials in the 1970s following allegations made by a corrupt police officer have had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal. Errol Campbell, who died in 2004, was jailed for 18 months for theft and conspiracy to steal while Ronald De Souza, who was part of the group known as the Stockwell Six, was detained for six months for attempted robbery. Both were convicted based on evidence given by British Transport Police (BTP) officer Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell, who was responsible for racist miscarriages of justice. So far, all 13 referred cases have been overturned. Lord Justice Holroyde said it was with "regret" the court could not undo their suffering.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) carried out a range of investigations into the misconduct of Ridgewell, who fabricated evidence that led to convictions that lasted long after his death in prison in 1982. Ridgewell confronted mostly young, black men and falsely accused them of theft and robbery offences, the CCRC said. On Thursday, the Assistant Chief Constable of BTP, Charlie Doyle, said he was "disgusted" by Ridgewell's actions.

'State crime'

In April 1977, Mr Campbell was found guilty of theft and conspiracy to steal from the Bricklayers Arms Goods Depot, where he was a British Rail employee. He was sentenced to a total of 18 months' imprisonment. Ridgewell led the case against Mr Campbell and several others, but along with colleagues Det Con Douglas Ellis and Det Con Alan Keeling, later pleaded guilty to stealing from the same goods depot. Ridgewell was jailed for seven years in 1980 after stealing more than £1m in goods. In August 2023, the CCRC referred the convictions of Mr Campbell's co-defendants, Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin, after it tracked down their family members. Their convictions were both quashed in January 2024. Henry Blaxland KC, representing Mr Campbell, told the court it was dealing with victims of miscarriage of justice brought about by "state crime". He added the case "throws a shadow over the administration of justice and led to loss of confidence not only in the police, but in the legal system as a whole".

PA Media Mr Campbell's son, Errol Campbell Jr, said his father always told him he was innocent

In a statement read out by his solicitor, Matt Foot, Errol Campbell Jr, the son of Errol Campbell, said: "The British Transport Police knew that Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell was corrupt, and they let him carry on regardless with what he was doing. "My dad always said he was innocent, and today, that's finally been confirmed, almost 50 years later. "He came to England in the Windrush generation and worked for years for British Rail. The conviction caused absolute misery to my dad and our family. "I'm angry that Ridgewell is not alive for this day and that he never went to prison for all the people he fitted up. He never answered for his crimes." Mr Foot added that the law should be changed so that cases overseen by police officers who were later jailed for crimes were automatically reviewed for potential miscarriages of justice. "If that had happened, that would have saved more than 45 years of misery for the Campbell family," he said. Mr Foot also called on BTP to name those who "harboured" Ridgewell, claiming it was "no secret" in the 1970s that the officer was "racist and corrupt". He added that there were "bound to be others" who were victims of miscarriages of justice.

'Bore the burden'

The CCRC reviewed Mr De Souza's conviction after the convictions of his co-defendants Paul Green, Courtney Harriot, Cleveland Davidson and Texo Johnson were quashed in 2021. The sixth member of the so-called Stockwell Six, Everet Mullins, was acquitted because it was shown that his reading ability was not good enough for him to have read and fully understood his signed statement, which was written for him by Ridgewell.

In his ruling on Thursday, Lord Justice Holroyde said that Mr De Souza, who did not attend court, "bore the burden of his wrongful conviction throughout his adult life". "We regret this court cannot put right all that he has suffered over half a century," he said.

Ass Ch Con Charlie Doyle said BTP was "sincerely sorry" to those affected by the criminal actions of Ridgewell. "[His] appalling actions in the 1970s and 1980s led to the criminalisation of innocent people," he said. "I am disgusted by the actions of Derek Ridgewell, and while we know we can't change the past, his actions do not represent the BTP of today. "We're continuing to review records relating to his corrupt practices, which includes those relating to officers who were associated with DS Ridgewell or may have assisted him in his criminal activity. "We continue to actively pursue a criminal investigation into the actions of those involved and will present a file to the CPS for consideration once we have completed our enquiries."

Jaguar Land Rover to cut up to 500 UK jobs

1 hour ago Share Save Tom Espiner Business reporter, BBC News Share Save

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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is to cut up to 500 management jobs in the UK, as the carmaker faces pressure on sales and profits from US trade tariffs. JLR said it would launch a voluntary redundancy scheme, and that the cuts were not expected to exceed 1.5% of its British workforce. The firm described the move as "normal business practice". Last week, the carmaker revealed a drop in sales in the three months to June caused partly by it pausing exports to the US because of tariffs and also due to the planned wind-down of older Jaguar models. The company warned last month that US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 10% tariff on British cars exported to the US would hit its profits.

JLR said it "regularly offers eligible employees voluntary redundancy" and said the current programme was based on "the business's current and future needs". It added that the UK-US trade deal on car imports gives it "confidence to invest £3.5bn" per year. Car industry expert Professor David Bailey of the Birmingham Business School said the tariffs "play a big role" in the job cuts. "It wasn't that long ago that JLR was reporting bumper profits - £2.5bn profit to the year ending in March - which was its best results in a decade," he told the BBC's Wake Up to Money programme. The firm has also been taking on workers in preparation for producing more electric cars so the tariffs "have definitely had an impact", he said. As part of a wave of tariff announcements made by Trump earlier this year, UK exports of UK cars and automotive parts faced an extra 25% tax, on top of an existing 2.5% levy. This led to JLR pausing shipments of its vehicles to the US. However, the UK-US deal saw the tariff cut to 10% for a maximum of 100,000 UK cars, which matches the number of these vehicles that the UK exported last year. Despite this, Prof Bailey said the new rate is still "a big increase" from the previous tariff of 2.5%, adding that one of its best selling cars, the Defender, is made in Slovakia and that still faces a 27.5% tariff. Downing Street rejected "absolutely" any suggestion that JLR's job cuts were a personal embarrassment for Sir Keir Starmer, who visited the company in May and declared it was his intention to protect British jobs in the car industry. A spokesperson for the PM said the UK-US trade deal was "jobs saved, not job done", adding that JLR was "responding to challenging global conditions" in making the cuts.

How will votes at 16 and changes to voter ID work?

52 minutes ago Share Save Jennifer Clarke BBC News Share Save

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The voting age will be lowered to 16 across the UK before the next general election, the government has said. The move is part of wider changes to election rules, which also include expanding the range of voter ID and moving towards automatic voter registration.

What is the plan to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote?

The changes mean around 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the next general election, which must be held by 2029 but could be earlier. The government says the change will give young people a chance to have a say in how the UK is run. "At 16, a young person can work, they pay taxes, they can join the Army. So there's no reason why from that age, they shouldn't have a say in who governs our country," said Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali. The commitment to lower the voting age was in Labour's 2024 election manifesto. It represents the biggest change to the make-up of the electorate since voter age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969. It means 16-year-olds will be able to vote in all elections across the UK. As is the case in Scotland, young people will also be able to register to vote from age 14. The minimum voting age is already 16 for local council elections in Scotland and Wales, as well as for elections to the Welsh Parliament and Scottish Parliament. However, you currently need to be 18 to vote in UK parliamentary elections, local elections in England and all elections in Northern Ireland. You will still need to be 18 to stand as a candidate.

What ID will voters be able to use?

In future, voters will be able to prove their ID with a UK-issued bank card showing their name, the govenment says. Since May 2023, voters in England, Scotland and Wales have to show valid photo ID to vote in person in all general, local and national elections. There are currently more than 20 acceptable forms of ID, including passports, driving licences, bus passes and Armed Forces Veteran Cards. Anyone without valid ID can apply for a free document called a voter authority certificate. However, some 4% of people who did not vote in the 2024 general election said it was because of voter ID rules, according to the Electoral Commission, which monitors UK elections. The rules are different in Northern Ireland where voters have had to show photo ID since 2003.

How could voters be automatically registered?

At the moment eligible adults in the UK need to register in order to vote, which can be done online or using a paper form. The Electoral Commission estimates that around seven million people are incorrectly registered or missing from the electoral register entirely, which means they cannot vote. It says this disproportionately affects private renters and young people. The government says it will work towards creating an automated voter registration scheme over the coming years. It says there will be safeguards so that people are aware of their registration status and can opt-out if they wish. Voters will have to opt-in to be included in the open electoral register, which is made publicly-available. Nobody under 16 will appear on the open register. A 2023 Electoral Commision report suggested automated registration could involve organisations like the Passport Office providing Electoral Registration Officers with the names and addresses of people eligible to vote. The government says it will look closely at a number of automatic registration systems being piloted by the Welsh government for local council elections and elections to Senedd Cymru.

When is the next general election?

The latest a Parliament can be dissolved for a general election is on the fifth anniversary of the day it first met. However, 25 working days are then allowed to prepare for the election. The current Parliament began on 9 July, which means the next general election must be held by August 2029. However, the prime minister can call an election at a time of their choosing, within the five-year period.

How do general elections work?

Mystery surrounds Russian mum and children found in Indian cave

14 hours ago Share Save Geeta Pandey • @geetapandeybbc BBC News, Delhi Imran Qureshi BBC News, Bengaluru Share Save

Karnataka police Kutina has defended her lifestyle saying she and her children were happy living in the cave

Police in India are trying to piece together the story of a Russian woman who was found living in a cave in the southern state of Karnataka with her two young daughters. Nina Kutina was rescued on 9 July by policemen who were on a routine patrol near Ramteertha hills in the Gokarna forest, which borders the tourist paradise of Goa. Authorities say the 40-year-old and her daughters - six and five years old - do not have valid documents to stay in India. They have been lodged in a detention centre for foreigners near Bengaluru, the state capital, and will be deported soon. Kutina has defended her lifestyle in two video interviews to Indian news agency ANI, saying she and her children were happy living in the cave and that "nature gives good health". But even a week after they were found, there is very little clarity on how the woman and her children came to be in a forest infested with snakes and wild animals; how long they had been living there and who they really are.

Police stumble on the cave dwelling

"The area is popular with tourists, especially foreigners. But it has a lot of snakes and it's prone to landslides, especially during the rainy season. To ensure the safety of tourists, we started patrolling the forests last year," M Narayana, superintendent of police for Uttara Kannada district, told the BBC. A second policeman who cannot be named and was part of the patrol party that stumbled on the cave dwelling said they walked down a steep hill to investigate when they saw bright clothes that had been hung outdoors to dry. When they got closer to the cave - the entrance to which had been curtained off with brightly coloured saris - "a little blonde girl came running out". When the shocked policemen followed her inside, they found Nina Kutina and the other child. Their possessions were meagre - plastic mats, clothes, packets of instant noodles and some other grocery items - and the cave was leaking. Videos shot by the police at the cave dwelling which the BBC has seen, show the children dressed in colourful Indian clothes, smiling into the camera. "The woman and her children appeared quite comfortable in the place," Mr Narayana said. "It took us some time to convince her that it was dangerous to live there," he added. Police said when they told her that the cave was unsafe because of the presence of snakes and wild animals in the forest, she told them: "Animals and snakes are our friends. Humans are dangerous." Kutina and her daughters were taken to a hospital for a check-up after their rescue and were certified to be medically fit.

Who is Nina Kutina?

ANI Nina Kutina has said she was born in Russia but hasn't lived there for 15 years

An official in India's Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has told the BBC that she's Russian and that she will be repatriated once the formalities are completed. He says they have reached out to the Russian consulate in Chennai - the BBC has also written to the Russian embassy in Delhi but they are yet to respond. In video interviews with India's ANI and PTI news agencies, Kutina said she was born in Russia but hadn't lived there for 15 years and travelled to "a lot of countries, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Bali, Thailand, Nepal, Ukraine". In her interviews with both agencies, Kutina said she had four children between the ages of 20 and 5 years. She talked about the eldest - "my big son" - who died in a road accident in Goa last year. Officials say her second son is 11-years-old and is in Russia - and that they have shared the information with the consulate. On Tuesday night, the FRRO said they had tracked down the father of the girls - Dror Goldstein - and that he was an Israeli businessman. They said he was in India at the moment and that they met him and were trying to persuade him to pay for Kutina and her daughters' repatriation. On Wednesday, Goldstein told India's NDTV channel that Kutina had left Goa without informing him and that he had lodged a missing complaint with the police there. He said he wanted joint custody of his daughters and would do everything to prevent the government from sending them to Russia.

When did she come to Gokarna?

There is no clarity on how and when Kutina and her daughters reached the forest in Karnataka. Police said she told them that they had been living in the cave for a week. They added that she had bought some vegetables and groceries, including a popular brand of instant noodles, from a local store, a week ago. They said she told them that she arrived in Karnataka from Goa where she also claimed to have lived in a cave. She also said that one of her daughters was born in a Goa cave. In her interview to PTI on Wednesday, she complained about the detention centre where she's been lodged with her daughters saying "it is like jail". "We lived in a very good place. But now we cannot be alone. We cannot go outside. Here it's very dirty, and there's not enough food," she added. It's not clear when and how Kutina came to India. Police say she told them she had lost her passport, but they were able to find an older expired passport among her belongings which showed that she had come to India on a business visa which was valid from 18 October 2016 to 17 April 2017. But she overstayed, was caught a year later, and the Goa office of the FRRO issued her "an exit permit" to leave India. According to immigration stamps in her passport, she entered Nepal on 19 April 2018 and exited three months later. It's not clear where she went after that, but Kutina told ANI that overall she had "travelled to at least 20 countries" - at least "four of them since leaving India in 2018". It's also not clear when she returned to India next, although some reports say she's been back since February 2020. She told PTI that she returned because "we really love India". Kutina admitted that her visa expired a few months back. "We don't have our visa, valid visa, our visa finished," she said, adding that the lapse happened because she was grieving for her dead son and couldn't think of anything else.

Why was Kutina living in a cave?

Karnataka police The entrance to the cave where Kutina was living with her daughters had been curtained off with brightly coloured saris

The British and Irish Lions will have even "greater confidence" of beating Australia in the first Test after seeing the Wallabies' under-strength line-up, says Ugo Monye.

The tourists were favourites to win this summer's three-match series, as they did on their last visit Down Under in 2013, but former Lions wing Monye says Andy Farrell's side will be boosted by some notable absentees in the Australia XV.

Australia head coach Joe Schmidt has named a team without experienced lock Will Skelton and powerful back row Rob Valetini, who both have calf injuries, for the opening Test in Brisbane.

"Without Skelton and Valetini, Australia are underpowered and it takes away some of their super strengths," Monye, who toured South Africa with the Lions in 2009, told BBC Rugby Union Weekly.

"The Lions were favourites before we even saw their squad.

"Now we have seen their team and the Australian team, there is a greater sense of confidence."

The hosts have also handed rookie fly-half Tom Lynagh, the son of Wallaby great Michael, a first Test start in the absence of regular number 10 Noah Lolesio.

The Lions, meanwhile, have named a formidable line-up of Test stars, which includes a powerful back row and an all-Scotland midfield.

Tom Curry has been selected at open-side flanker in the most hotly contested position, after fending off fierce competition from Jac Morgan and former world player of the player Josh van der Flier.

Monye added: "It has gone to Tom Curry and I'm thrilled for him and everyone that has been selected.

"Jac Morgan is probably the one out of everyone not selected to have every reason to be slightly miffed.

"Morgan has been superb and then you also have a former world player of the year with loads of experience.

"Anyone who plays at seven is going to do a brilliant job, as you would expect on a Lions tour because you are dealing with the best of the best.

A rematch between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr is unlikely to go ahead on 20 September, says promoter Eddie Hearn.

Eubank beat Benn via unanimous decision at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April.

The British pair were due to renew their rivalry in London on 20 September.

However, Matchroom promoter Hearn, who promotes Benn, said Eubank has yet to agree to the fight and "does not want it".

Ring Magazine, which hosted the first fight and is owned by Turki Alalshikh, have since reported that the influential Saudi power broker and Riyadh Season are no longer involved in negotiations over a rematch.

Benn said in a statement to Ring Magazine: "This rematch falling apart had nothing to do with me.

"I was ready to go on the scheduled Sept 20 date. I'm not sure what happened to Chris Eubank."