Colin Batley was the leader of a “quasi-religious” sex cult
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Members of a Carmarthenshire sex cult are expected to be sentenced later for a series of offences against children and young adults.
Cult leader Colin Batley, 48, was found guilty of more than 35 offences, and three women, including his wife, were also convicted.
Batley had moved from London to Kidwelly as the self-styled high priest of the occult group.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court said they face “vast” jail terms.
A jury rejected claims by Batley and other defendants during the trial that no cult existed.
The court heard how the cult operated from a number of homes in a cul-de-sac in Kidwelly.
Batley, his wife Elaine and two other women who all lived in the street took part in a catalogue of abuse against children and young adults.
Victims said the group used occult writings and practices to “brainwash” them, and justify their abuse.
Batley used his position as the cult leader to rape boys and girls, the court was told.
One of his victims told the court that when she became pregnant as a young teenager, Batley told her the unborn baby was a “child of the occult” and threatened to kill her if she spoke out.
Batley was found guilty of 35 offences, including 11 rapes, three indecent assaults, causing prostitution for personal gain, causing a child to have sex and inciting a child to have sex.
His wife Elaine Batley, 47, was convicted of five sex-related offences. Jacqueline Marling, 42, was found guilty on five charges and Shelley Millar, 35, two.
Another woman, Sandra Iveson, 45, was cleared of the one charge she faced of indecency with a child.
A sixth defendant, Vincent Barden, 70, from Kempston, Bedfordshire, who is unconnected with the cult, was found not guilty of rape, but had already admitted indecent assault.
Before the trial Batley had already admitted indecent assault.
Judge Thomas indicated on Wednesday that he would sentence the four cult members and Barden on Friday, saying they had been found guilty of “extremely serious charges” and their sentences “will be vast”.
In a statement following the convictions, Carmarthenshire council’s local safeguarding children’s board expressed “sincere sympathy” for the victims and their families in this “distressing” case.
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Daniel Morgan was found with an axe in his head in a pub car park on 10 March 1987
The family of private detective Daniel Morgan has called for a judicial inquiry after his multi-million pound murder case collapsed on the 24th anniversary of his death.
Mr Morgan, 37, was found with an axe in his head in a pub car park on 10 March 1987, in a case which has become one of Britain’s longest unsolved murders.
No-one has been brought to justice despite five police inquiries.
Mr Morgan’s family said: “The criminal justice system is not fit for purpose.”
Unofficial estimates put the cost of five police inquiries and three years of legal hearings at about £30m.
Mr Morgan, a father-of-two from Monmouthshire, was found with an axe embedded in his skull outside the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London, in March 1987.
Five people were arrested in 2008 but two, including a former detective accused of perverting the course of justice, were discharged after a string of supergrasses were discredited.
Analysis
Behind the headline figure of £30m spent on a police investigation and legal expenses is the human cost.
In the early 1990s, while working on a weekly newspaper, I met Daniel Morgan’s brother, Alistair, who came in to do work experience. Over the years I have spoken to him several times.
He and his elderly mother, Isobel, will be devastated at this latest turn of events.
The trial was due to start last year but was delayed by legal argument as the defence sought more disclosure about the evidence.
As witness after witness was undermined and more and more was disclosed about the police investigation, prosecutor Nicholas Hilliard QC resembled a man carrying a box full of sand with a hole in the bottom.
Reporters at the Old Bailey were unable to report any of the proceedings until now because of the increasingly slim chance that a trial would take place in the spring.
Now the CPS has finally thrown the towel in and the mystery of who killed Daniel Morgan will remain unsolved.
The Crown Prosecution Service has now dropped the case against the remaining three people – Mr Morgan’s former business partner Jonathan Rees and brothers Garry and Glenn Vian.
Mr Morgan’s brother Alistair, 62, said: “My family is devastated by this news.
“We put some flowers on the grave. It’s just horrible.”
He said he believes there have been a number of police cover-ups over the years and alleges that his brother was murdered because he was about to expose police corruption.
“It was obvious my brother was going to blow the lid off the links between the police and criminals,” he added.
A family spokesman said: “His family have seen that the criminal justice system is simply not fit for purpose to address the crime with which they have been required to live over the last two-and-a-half decades.
“So they have been left with no option but to call upon the Home Secretary today to order a full judicial inquiry into the handling of the case by the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).”
Alistair Morgan added: “For almost a quarter of a century, my family has done everything democratically and legally possible to secure justice for Daniel.
“For much of this time, we have encountered stubborn obstruction, and worse, at the highest levels of the Metropolitan Police.
“We have found an impotent police complaints system.
“And we have met with inertia, or worse, on the part of successive governments.
“We have been failed utterly by all of the institutions designed to protect us.”
But he said those responsible for the present inquiry and prosecution had done their best “to redress the catastrophic failures of earlier investigations”.
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Insurance premiums have gone up sharply over the past year
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Insurers must do more to tackle fraudulent injury claims, which are driving up the cost of motor insurance, a report by MPs has said.
The Transport Select Committee wants a dedicated police unit, paid for by insurers, to tackle the issue.
The committee also wants more transparency on “referral” fees – involving organisations like vehicle repairers and medical experts.
But the insurers’ association called the report a “missed opportunity”.
“The committee has failed to recognise that the main cause of the recent increases in motor insurance premiums is ever-increasing personal claims and spiralling legal costs,” said Nick Starling from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
It said more should be done to tackle the “compensation culture” which it said was behind the rise in legal costs, adding an extra £40 a year to average motor premiums.
AA Insurance said it supported the report’s findings.
Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, welcomed the idea of a special police unit.
“With insurer control, such a unit could very quickly pay for itself. Fraud, particularly false personal injury claims, is in my view the biggest driver of premium increases,” he said.
The committee received evidence from the police and the AA for its report The Cost of Motor Insurance.
“The police made plain to the committee that ‘staged accidents’ are on the increase and that, so far, we have been lucky there have been no fatalities resulting from such incidents,” committee chairman Louise Ellman said.
It is also calling for more transparency on “the merry-go-round” of referral payments.
“Consumers are largely unaware of how much money moves around the insurance industry in this way when they make a claim. They deserve to see where their money is going,” Ms Ellman said.
The ABI said these fees were a symptom of a “dysfunctional compensation system, not the cause of it” and should be banned altogether.
The committee also looked at the AA’s British Insurance Premium Index, which showed that the average Shoparound premium – an average of the lowest three quotes for each risk – increased by 33% over 2010.
Young drivers saw the biggest increases. Those aged between 17 and 22 saw their premiums rise by more than 58%, the AA said.
The committee also wants the government to make the driving test more rigorous to help bring down the “appalling” casualty rate among young drivers.
However, Mr Douglas from the AA, which also operates a driving school, cautioned that making the driving test too difficult could lead some young drivers not to bother and try to drive without a licence.
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The fire was in Blair Castle’s clock tower
A 13th Century Scottish castle has been damaged in a blaze.
Firefighters were called to a fire in the clock tower at Blair Castle in Pitlochry, Perthshire, on Thursday evening.
Seven crews attended the blaze, which broke out at about 2035 GMT. Tayside Police said the cause was not yet known.
Blair Castle is the ancient seat of the Dukes and Earls of Atholl and its history dates back about 740 years.
A Tayside Police spokesman said: “At 8.35pm police and the fire and rescue service were called to a fire at Blair Castle in Pitlochry.
“The fire was contained to the clock tower and there were no persons injured.
“The cause has not yet been determined.”
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The family of Peter Wilson, who was abducted in Belfast and murdered by republicans in 1973, say his inquest had “brought them nearer to closure”.
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Japan’s massive earthquake has sparked a tsunami which has caused further devastation. But what can be done to tsunami-proof a country?
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A powerful earthquake has struck off Japan’s north-eastern coast, shaking buildings in Tokyo and forcing people out of their homes, witnesses said.
Japan issued its most serious tsunami warning, saying a wave as high as 6m (20ft) could strike the coast near Miyagi prefecture.
US officials said the 8.8-magnitude quake struck about 250 miles (400km) from Tokyo at a depth of 20 miles.
TV pictures showed a wave crashing into the Pacific coast.
The surge of water carried cars and ships as it surged through a coastal town.
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Amateur footage has emerged showing the moment Japan’s earthquake hit.
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Fit-again flanker Tom Croft returns on the bench while Alex Corbisiero starts at prop for England in Sunday’s Six Nations clash with Scotland.
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A top US intelligence official describes China’s growing capabilities in cyber-warfare and intelligence gathering as a “formidable concern”.
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Arsenal expect to be without Wojciech Szczesny for six weeks after the goalkeeper dislocated his finger during the defeat by Barcelona on Tuesday.
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An earthquake measuring 8.9 magnitude hit the north of Japan at 2.46pm local time (0546 GMT).
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Will Mr Clegg disagree publicly with Mr Cameron more often?
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Nick Clegg has told Liberal Democrats to “hold your nerve” as he prepares to face activists rattled by sinking poll ratings and public anger at cuts.
The Lib Dem leader is seeking to rally his troops as his party gathers for its spring conference in Sheffield.
He is expected to tell them: “Don’t be cowed by what people are saying about us. Stick to the course.”
Police are preparing for up to 10,000 people to take part in anti-government protests in Sheffield city centre.
South Yorkshire Police have spent an estimated £2m on a “ring of steel” around the conference centre and have said they are looking into one report there had been a threat to kidnap Mr Clegg.
But the deputy prime minister is also expected to face hostility from members of his own party, with a motion tabled attacking Project Merlin, the government’s deal with the banks to increase lending as “weak and hard to enforce”.
Activists are also expected to voice their concern at the government’s planned shake-up of the NHS.
Mr Clegg sought to play down talk of conflict with activists an eve-of-conference interview with the Independent.
“We were right to go into government – we are doing the right things in government”
Nick Clegg Lib Dem leader
“People want to build this up into the Gunfight at the OK Corral,” said Mr Clegg. “It is not like that at all.
“Most people accept we want to see the NHS become more democratic. I am very much in listening mode.”
Mr Clegg is nevertheless expected to use the weekend in Sheffield to reassert his party’s independence, amid fears it is losing its identity in its coalition with the Conservatives.
In his Independent interview, Mr Clegg suggested he would disagree publicly with prime minister David Cameron on more issues.
He said he had told Mr Cameron he was talking “complete bilge” when the prime minister defended first-past-the post voting in the Commons on Wednesday, but added: “We were very good humoured about it. We mutter to each other. We were just joking. We disagree on this one.”
The party will be handing out pocket-sized cards to Lib Dem members containing a list of things the party had achieved in government, including civil liberties reform, tax cuts for the lowest paid and the “pupil premium” to channel cash to schools in deprived areas.
Mr Clegg told the Independent: “We are in this for the long haul. We are going to keep our nerves. We are not going to flinch.
“We were right to go into government. We are doing the right things in government.”
He added: “People have to hold their nerve, not lurch from one thing to the next.”
The newspaper quotes Mr Clegg, in rehearsal for his big conference speech on Sunday, saying: “Keep your head up high. Be proud of what we are doing. Don’t be cowed by what people are saying about us. Stick to the course.”
Mr Clegg, who is MP for Sheffield Hallam, has also faced criticism over his U-turn on student tuition fees and the axing of a grant to Sheffield Forgemasters.
But his Parliamentary aide Norman Lamb said the party would not be “in hiding” and planned to get out on the doorstep in Sheffield.
Some activists fear the party faces a hammering at English local elections on 5 May, but Mr Lamb told reporters earlier this week that the “the mood of the party remains good”.
The latest YouGov opinion poll for the Sun has put the Lib Dems on just 9%, trailing well behind their Conservative coalition partners on 34% and Labour on 45%.
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Prince Charles spent a term at Aberystwyth in 1969
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An historic hall of residence at Aberystwyth University where Prince Charles stayed as a student could be replaced by a new £45m scheme.
Pantycelyn became one of the first halls for Welsh-speaking students in 1974, but the university plans to build a new development on farmland.
Up to 1,000 students could be based there and not just those from Welsh speaking backgrounds.
The Prince of Wales stayed at Pantycelyn for a term in 1969.
The new self-catering accommodation is earmarked for university farmland behind the Pentre Jane Morgan student village, and building work, costing between £40m and £45m, could start in autumn 2012.
The university said the project underlined its commitment to “improving the quality of the accommodation”.
“The university will be engaging with student representatives to ensure the new halls provide the living experience…future generations of Aberystwyth students will expect”
Rebecca Davies Aberystwyth University Pro Vice-Chancellor
University pro vice-chancellor Rebecca Davies said: “Aberystwyth offers one of the best student experiences in the UK.”
She said the project was the “biggest single strategic element” of its plan, underlying a commitment to improve accommodation, with an emphasis on self-catering, en-suite rooms.
“As the process unfolds, as well as working closely with the local community and planners, the university will be engaging with student representatives to ensure the new halls provide the living experience, in terms of social and technological facilities, that future generations of Aberystwyth students will expect.”
Aberystwyth Guild of Students and the Welsh language student body, Undeb Myfyrwyr Cymraeg Aberystwyth (UMCA), were unavailable for comment.
Plans to close Pantycelyn were first mooted in 2008. At the time there was speculation the building could be converted into offices for university staff.
Pantycelyn opened in the early 1950s, and became one of the first halls of residence for Welsh-speaking students in 1974.
The Prince of Wales stayed there when he studied at Aberystwyth University for a term in the spring of 1969.
The BBC’s One Show presenter Alex Jones was also a student at Pantycelyn, while the eminent Welsh historian John Davies was a warden there for 18 years.
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The quake was also felt as far away as Tokyo
Asia stock markets and the yen have fallen sharply in response to a tsunami and earthquake in Japan measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale.
It struck only minutes before the 0645 GMT close of trading in Tokyo.
The dollar briefly gained about 0.5% against the yen to 83.275 yen, before snapping right back again.
The Nikkei index ended the day some 1.7% lower, but Nikkei futures fell 3% in after-hours trading in Singapore as the scale of damage became apparent.
The Tokyo market had already been suffering amid the turmoil in the Middle East, and closed at its lowest level in five weeks.
Across Asia other markets also fell.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped some 1.8% following the earthquake, and was down some 1.6% as of 0800 GMT.
David Cohen, a Singapore-based analyst at regional economic commentators Action Economics said although the yen had traditionally been “a safe haven for investors” during disasters in other parts of the world, they may now ditch the yen in favour of the US dollar.
US Dollar v Japanese YenLast Updated at 11 Mar 2011, 03:40 ET *Chart shows local time 
$1 buys change %82.7500
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-0.24
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However, Arjuna Mahendaran, chief Asia strategist of HSBC Private Bank in Singapore, played down the risk of any long-term impact on the currency.
“Japan’s big insurance companies and pension funds have been bringing funds back into Japan,” he said. “And that has kept the currency strong. I think if the damage is too big, we could see them further liquidate their foreign assets and bring funds back to Japan.”
On the other hand, the quake is likely to hurt and already weak economy.
“In the short term, the damage could even knock off almost 1% of the country’s GDP,” noted Mr Cohen.
“Longer-term though, it will balance out, through the rebuilding exercise which will be positive for growth will all the construction taking place. It could turn positive in about 12 months.”
There will also be concerns about damage to productive capacity, Mr Cohen said, and industrial production may suffer as a consequence of the damage caused.
An oil refinery near Tokyo caught fire, causing a massive blaze.
Activity at the major port of Yokohama has been disrupted by the earthquake, suffering a loss of power at its terminal.
An oil refinery near Tokyo caught fire, causing a massive blaze
“At the moment there are trying to get power back but it’s unlikely to happen today,” said Boon Lee Lur of shipping company Neptune Orient Lines.
The city Sendai in the north of Japan, which was the worst hit by the disaster, saw fires break out and its port overrun by the tidal wave.
But the city is much smaller than Kobe – which was hit by Japan’s last big earthquake in 1995 – according to Richard Jerram of Australian bank Macquarie.
“Transportation linkage is also less important [there], so [you can] assume the scale of disruption will be much smaller.”
The cost of clearing up the damage done could run into the billions, according to Mr Mahendaran, and that is likely to add further to the Japanese government’s ballooning debts.
But rating agency Moody’s was more upbeat about Japan’s capacity to deal with the quake.
“In a big economy like Japan, the impact of a natural disaster can be absorbed economically by the government and private insurance, so there will be no impact on government’s finances and therefore Japan’s sovereign rating.”
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