Month: March 2018

A man who murdered his ex-partner will spend more time in prison after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP referred his original sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

Theodore Johnson, 64, was originally sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years in January at the Central Criminal Court. The minimum term was increased today after the Solicitor’s action, meaning Johnson will now serve at least 30 years behind bars.

Johnson, who had previously been convicted of the manslaughter of 2 former partners, attacked and killed his 51 year old ex-partner after she ended her relationship with him.

The Solicitor General presented the case personally to the Court of Appeal. Speaking after the hearing he said:

“This was a vicious and brutal attack which ended in the tragic death of a woman. The offender is a danger to women and his crimes deserved tougher sentencing. I am pleased the Court has now seen fit to increase the prison term.”

This was agreed during today’s constructive Joint Ministerial Council (Gibraltar, European Negotiations) by Minister at the Department for Exiting the EU, Robin Walker and the Chief Minister for Gibraltar Fabian Picardo.

The package sets out how we will continue to collaborate closely in a range of important areas, such as on the environment, online gaming, financial services market access, transport and the level of university tuition fees during our Brexit negotiations and beyond.

The measures include a commitment to continued market access for financial services, assurance that British Citizens resident in Gibraltar will continue to be eligible for higher education home fee status at English Institutions, enhanced liaison on environmental issues, and that Gibraltar can continue to refer an unlimited number of their patients to the UK for free elective treatment. The full details of the deal are available in the UK Government statement here [link].

Following the meeting, Minister Robin Walker said:

I’m delighted that the sixth meeting with Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and his team saw us agree this set of measures to ensure UK-Gibraltar ties will endure and strengthen.

Today we have agreed a positive package deal on issues surrounding our exit from the EU, once again demonstrating that we stand shoulder to shoulder with Gibraltarians in our unwavering commitment to the UK-Gibraltar relationship.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen said:

We know the people and businesses of Gibraltar have been asking for certainty, and we have heard them. We are ensuring that Gibraltar’s access to UK markets will continue unchanged until 2020, even in the unlikely event of no deal being reached. This will give us the time we need to work with the Government of Gibraltar to design a new, modernised agreement, based on similar, high standards of regulation and enforcement.

Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo said:

Today our bilateral relationship grows stronger and the terms for it to endure are further cemented as we realise the commitment to maintain and enhance market access for Gibraltar service providers into the UK post-Brexit.

There is a lot to celebrate in this and a lot of hard work to recognise on the part also of the team in Gibraltar, in particular the Deputy Chief Minister and the Attorney General, and in the UK FCO, DExEU, Treasury, DCMS, Cabinet Office and Downing Street. I extend the gratitude of Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar and the people of Gibraltar to all involved.

The scheme to improve the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down includes plans for a 1.9-mile long tunnel past Stonehenge, a free-flowing dual carriageway and a much-needed bypass north of Winterbourne Stoke.

Consultation on the plans launched on 8 February but severe weather which swept across the region at the end of last week affected two public information events, at Mere and Salisbury.

They are due to rescheduled for later this month.

The news comes at the conclusion of a three-day fact-finding mission to Stonehenge of a delegation from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

The aim of the mission was to explain how the designs of the proposed 1.9-mile long road tunnel will bring together the World Heritage Site landscape currently split by the A303.

Derek Parody, Project Director for Highways England, said:

We are grateful to the representatives from ICOMOS who have taken the time to be with us on a 3 day visit to understand the scheme we are proposing. It is been an excellent opportunity for us to explain how we have responded to their previous recommendations and how the scheme is developing.

We look forward to the panel’s report in due course, which will help us further refine the scheme, as well as to all the feedback from all interested parties during the current public consultation.

The consultation events continue today at the Society of Antiquaries at London’s Burlington House (12 noon-8pm).

Since the last ICOMOS visit early last year and the announcement of the tunnel route plan in September, Highways England has continued to work with heritage groups including the National Trust, Historic England, English Heritage, and experts in the field, including the Stonehenge Scientific Committee – a body of leading independent archaeologists – to ensure a new route is built sensitively to the World Heritage Site.

The route was carefully chosen to avoid monuments and barrow groups, and Highways England’s modified plans also included moving the position of one of the entrances to the tunnel to avoid conflicting with the Winter Solstice alignment.

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