teenager has been shot in the back in east London. The 17-year-old boy was wounded in East India Dock Road, Poplar, in the early hours of the morning. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A 17-year-old male had a gunshot wound to the back and is in hospital in a serious condition." The attack happened just before 01:00 GMT, police said. Any witnesses to the shooting should call the Metropolitan Police.
Armed guards are to be deployed on British civilian ships for the first time to protect them from pirates, David Cameron announced today.
A legal ban on weapon-toting protection staff will be relaxed so that firms can apply for a licence to have them on board in danger zones.
The Prime Minister said radical action was required because the increasing ability of sea-borne Somali criminals to hijack and ransom ships had become 'a complete stain on our world'.
He unveiled the measure after talks at a Commonwealth summit in Australia with leaders of countries in the Horn of Africa over the escalating problem faced in waters off their shores.
Under the plans, the Home Secretary will be given the power to license vessels to carry armed security, including automatic weapons, currently prohibited under firearms laws.
Officials said around 200 ships were expected to be in line to take up the offer, which would only apply for voyages through particular waters in the affected region.
It is expected to be used by commercial firms, rather than private sailors such as hostage victims Paul and Rachel Chandler.
Pirates: There are around 50 ships currently being held hostage
Asked if he was comfortable with giving private security operatives the right to 'shoot to kill' if necessary, Mr Cameron told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'We have to make choices.
'Frankly the extent of the hijack and ransom of ships round the Horn of Africa is a complete stain on our world.
'The fact that a bunch of pirates in Somalia are managing to hold to ransom the rest of the world and our trading system is a complete insult and the rest of the world needs to come together with much more vigour.
David Cameron signalled new European battles ahead as he pledged to resist alleged attempts by Brussels to shackle the City of London in red tape. The Prime Minister echoed claims that the emergence of a two-tier Europe following the financial crisis could result in a wave of EU directives that would harm the Square Mile. The Government has said it is determined to prevent the 17 members of the eurozone acting as a bloc to thwart the interests of the 10 EU states, including Britain, that have retained their own currencies.
TRAGIC Amy Winehouse died after a killer booze bender following weeks on the wagon, her inquest was told yesterday. The Back to Black star, 27, who had fought drug and alcohol problems for years, was discovered lifeless in bed at her North London home on Saturday, July 23. In June, she had stumbled around the stage during a shambolic concert in Belgrade, Serbia, where she was booed off after slurring through songs. And as tearful parents Mitch and Janis listened yesterday in the public gallery, the hearing was told Amy did not drink for the first three weeks of July. Tears: Amy's dad Mitch Winehouse and stepmum Jane arrive at the Coroners' Court (Pic: Getty) But she then hit the bottle days before her death – and the Mirror reported at the time she was spotted necking shots at the Roundhouse venue near her Camden home after dramatically falling off the wagon. Giving evidence yesterday, her GP Dr Christina Romete said this fitted a pattern in which Amy would abstain from alcohol for weeks, only to drink again. The doctor revealed she warned the star of the many dangers if she kept drinking. Dr Romete said: “The advice I had given to Amy over a long period of time was verbal and in written form about all the effects alcohol can have on the system, including respiratory depression and death, heart problems, fertility problems and liver problems.” Amy, who won five Grammy awards in 2008, was taking medication to cope with alcohol withdrawal and anxiety. She was reviewed last year by a psychologist and psychiatrist about her drinking but “had her own views” about treatment. The GP, who treated her for several years, said her patient fully understood the risks of continuing to drink. Dr Romete said the night before her death, Amy was “tipsy but coherent” and said she did not know if she was going to stop drinking but “she did not want to die”. Amy had no illegal drugs in her system when she died but police found three empty vodka bottles in her bedroom – two large and one small. She was using alcohol withdrawal drug Librium and sleeping tablets but the inquest heard they had not played a part in her death. At St Pancras Coroner’s Court in London, it emerged she had 416mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in her system, with the legal driving limit being 80mg
Jeremy Clarkson took out the gagging order against his ex-wife last year. It's not known why he applied to lift it. Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: Supplied Clarkson, who has made a name for himself as a man refuses to be silenced, denies the allegation but took out a gagging order against Alexandra Hall last year. The claim can now be revealed because he asked for the order to be lifted. It is unclear why he decided to withdraw the order, which banned any reporting of "sexual or other intimate acts or dealings" between Clarkson and Ms Hall. Ms Hall married Clarkson in 1989 but their marriage lasted only a year. She claims she had relationship with him after they split and Clarkson was married to his current wife, Frances. Clarkson's marriage came under fire from the tabloids earlier this year over claims he had cheated on his wife with a member of the Top Gear production team while in Australia. He denied the reports and said his 18-year marriage was strong. The couple have three children.
A Real IRA terrorist has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of buying weapons and explosives which he wanted to use to “kill Brits.” Irishman Michael Campbell - brother of Omagh bomber Liam - was snared in a six year MI5 sting across three countries with agents pretending to be arms dealers. Yesterday he was finally jailed by a Lithuania court after spending three years awaiting trial and having been snared by an amazing MI5 undercover operation. Campbell, 39, was secretly filmed in a field in Lithuania pointing a high-power Barret sniper rifle which he later bragged he would use to kill British people. Michael Campbell testing weapons in the Lithuanian countryside (Pic: PA) Using secret filming Campbell was caught on camera inspecting the weapons stash in a lock-up garage (Pic: PA) Campbell's shopping list for weapons (Pic:PA) He was also recorded on video in a garage buying weapons and explosives from an undercover Lithiuanian agent he nicknamed “Rambo.” But the hero of the MI5 plot was a cigarette smuggler - turned MI5 agent who went deep undercover using the cover name Robert Jardine. Using his connections Robert Jardine coolly penetrated deep into the Real IRA network knowing he could have been killed if his cover was blown. At one stage in his dealings with dark-haired Campbell and other terror suspects - who cannot be named for legal reasons - he was bundled into a padded van containing a shovel. Sources have told The Daily Mirror he feared he had been rumbled and was being driven to his death - but it was just a Real IRA tactic to unnerve him. Judge Arunas Kisielus of the Vilnius Regional Court sentenced Michael Campbell to 12 years in prison for weapons offenses and supporting a terrorist group. Covert footage showed Campbell paid £5,200 for explosives, grenade launchers, detonators, AK-47s and an assassin’s rifle to Lithuanian agents posing as arms dealers. He says on tape: “You imagine, with a six-hour timer, we could be over to London and back,” Campbell says in an audio clip after mulling over a price list for explosives and detonators. “Just tick, tick, tick, tick ... gone. In court Campbell had pleaded not guilty. The Real IRA’s worst crime to date was the 1998 Omagh bombing which killed 29 and for which Liam Campbell -Michael’s brother - was found liable in a civil trial. MI5’s Operation Uncritical ruined a bid by the Real IRA to get guns and explosives to mount a deadly terror campaign on the British mainland. Yesterday a senior security official said: “The conviction of Michael Campbell is the result of a successful joint operation between the Security Service and the Lithuanian authorities. “Working closely together, along with a selfless and brave agent, they have put behind bars a senior member of the Real IRA whose intention was to kill innocent members of the public in Northern Ireland and in Britain.” Courageously Jardine - who now lives in a secret location - for years risked his life to provide his MI5 handlers with intelligence about the Real IRA. The agent, who was referred to in court as “Robert Jardine”, was a legitimate businessman based in southern England dealing in “imports and exports.” But he also had an illicit sideline in smuggling cigarettes from Eastern Europe - and it was that which caught the eye of the security service and led him into a world of terrorist intrigue. The Real IRA (RIRA) was using the contraband cigarettes to fund its terrorist activities and in late 2002 Jardine was recruited as an agent by MI5. Two years later RIRA asked Jardine whether his contacts in Eastern Europe could help them get weapons. And - carefully directed by MI5 - he laid a trail of deception which drew in the terrorists. The court heard that in January 2005 he handed over a price list to a contact. The following July Jardine and the contact crossed the border into Lithuania where Jardine introduced her to “Tomas”. In fact Tomas was working for the Lithuanian security service, the VSD - the first in a cast of “role-players” deployed to convince the RIRA that the offer of weapons was real. The RIRA gave Jardine the first of two hand-written shopping lists of weapons they wanted to buy - including sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, hand grenades, detonators and Semtex plastic explosives. Then, in late 2006, another RIRA man, moved to revive the arrangement. Jardine responded by saying he would provide the introductions but the republicans would have to cut their own deal. The “sting” was back on. Then Michael Campbell entered the story. On August 29 2007, Michael Campbell and another associate travelled to a lodge in the Lithuanian countryside belonging to the supposed arms dealer. There they were given their first chance to test guns and explosives. Next day they were introduced to a second dealer - whom the two Irishmen quickly nicknamed “Rambo” - who was to provide them with the actual weapons they wanted. Like Tomas, however, Rambo was in reality working for the VSD. Campbell and his colleague agreed to pay a deposit on explosives, detonators and timers. Afterwards an excited Campbell was secretly recorded telling his associate: “Look at it this way, for one of them and one of them you have a bomb - for f****** a hundred quid. “F*** me. You imagine us getting over to England if you’d ten of them and ten clocks in a holdall. You imagine, with a six-hour timer we could be over to London and back. “Just tick, tick, tick - gone. Leave it anywhere.” That October, Campbell met Rambo again in Marbella in southern Spain. This time the RIRA man said he wanted a first instalment of weapons - including two rocket propelled grenades as well as the explosives - against the deposit. On January 21 2008, Campbell went to Lithuania to inspect his purchase and finalise the arrangements. That evening the couple dined with Rambo who the following day took Campbell to a lock-up garage where the weapons were stashed. A hidden camera secretly filmed as Campbell examines one of the detonators and asks whether they would be “good for booby traps”. “They would be good for under a car, wouldn’t they?” he says. “Anchored to the wheel and then the car goes round - bang.” Campbell was also filmed paying a further deposit for a powerful Barrett sniper rifle - the type of weapon used to kill Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, the last British soldier to die at the hands of the IRA in 1997. When Rambo demands what it would be used for - saying he was not prepared to sell it just “to shoot roe deer or wild boar” - Campbell tells him: “No, no, we will be shooting from across borders. The border. You know, from one side to the other.” Asked who the target would be, Campbell replies simply “Brits”.
US X Factor judge Simon Cowell says he wants fans to use Twitter to vote for their favourite contestants. The Fox show has announced that from November 2, fans can cast a ballot by sending a direct message over Twitter to the official X Factor account. Viewers can also cast a ballot on the show's Facebook page and its official website. "It's a sign of the times," said Cowell, who believes more votes will come in as a result of expanding the process. "Sites like Twitter and Facebook give (the audience) a much bigger voice." Aside from social media, votes can be sent the old fashioned way, by making a phone call or sending a text message and by using a special App created for Verizon Android devices. Cowell uses the internet to gauge what people think of the series so far. He goes online during and after the show to see what people are saying and plans to join Twitter once he learns "how to type quicker". The US show is averaging about 12.5 million viewers an episode, but one thing that has hindered it in recent weeks is the Major League Baseball World Series. Games on Fox have pre-empted the show leading to confusion among viewers and causing some DVR devices to not record X Factor. Cowell says the conflict has been frustrating but they "knew in advance this was going to happen". He believes the ratings have been consistent so far and word of mouth will get people to tune in. On Tuesday's first live show, five acts were cut leaving 12 remaining contestants. With the competition heating up, so has the tension among its judges, who are each mentoring a class of contestants. Cowell has the girls, LA Reid is mentoring the boys, Paula Abdul is helping the groups and Nicole Scherzinger has the solo acts over 30. Cowell says Abdul claims to have the hardest category to mentor, but disagrees with her. He mentored the groups in the UK version of the show and "loved doing it".
Netflix will offer tens of thousands of films in the UK - including exclusive early access to new films. The move comes after a series of hiccups for the company in the U.S., including price hikes and a disastrous attempt to split off its DVD rental business into a new company called Qwikster. Neftlix lost 800,000 U.S. subscribers in the last quarter. In the UK, it will offer video streamed to PCs, TVs and consoles, rather than DVD rentals. Coming over to the UK. Netflix has signed a number of deals with leading film studios to have the first rights to offer blockbuster movies once they have finished their cinema run Robert Downey Junior in Iron Man. In the USA, the company¿s 'watch Instantly' service holds first-run rights to films from Paramount Pictures, MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment. Paramount titles include Iron Man, Star Trek and Captain America. Netflix has 25 million users worldwide. It is said to be the biggest single source of North American web traffic, accounting for 24.71 per cent of use. North American customers typically pay around $7.99-$9.99 a month to stream Netflix films to electronics such as connected TVs, PCs and games consoles. In the UK, though, it's up against serious competition in the form of it Lovefilm, a UK on-demand service owned by Amazon which is integrated into electronics such as connected TVs and Sony's PlayStation 3. Netflix is pulling out the stops to try and ensure it offers a unique service. It has signed a number of deals with leading film studios to have the first rights to offer blockbuster movies once they have finished their cinema run. The company said the price details will be announced closer to the date of the launch of the service, which will go live in Britain and Ireland early next year. Rapid expansion: Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, already has 25million subscribers worldwide The TechRadar website said: ‘This is pretty exciting news for fans of streaming content.’ Netflix was founded in California in 1997 initially as a DVD rental business where discs were posted to customers across the USA. It subsequently developed into the world’s largest supplier of web downloads of films and TV with 24.6million users in the US alone. The company has now embarked on a major international expansion. It began operating in Canada last year and recently added 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. A spokesman said: ‘Netflix has revolutionised entertainment across the Americas by giving its members a huge selection of films and TV shows to enjoy when and where they want.’ ‘Upon launch, Netflix members from the UK and Ireland will be able to instantly watch a wide array of TV shows and films right on their TVs via a range of consumer electronics devices capable of streaming from Netflix, as well as on PCs, Macs and mobile tablets and phones.’ In the USA, the company’s ‘watch Instantly’ service holds first-run rights to films from Paramount Pictures, MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment. Paramount titles include Iron Man, Star Trek and Captain America. There are also deals with Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, and Anchor Bay Entertainment, together with US TV shows offered by NBC Universal and 20th Century Fox. Netflix is locked into complex negotiations with these companies to have the right to show all its output in the UK and Ireland. In Britain, the business will face competition from LoveFilm, which is owned by Amazon and offers packages that combine DVD postal rentals with access to streaming. Lovefilm deals start at £5.99 a month, which includes three DVD rentals a month and two hours of streaming. A £19.95 a month package allows unlimited streaming of films.
Billie added: "It's the only thing we can do to feel safe." A spokesman said: "It is being arranged. Whenever the girls feel it appropriate they will have security around them." Replacement locks were fitted at their home yesterday after the thugs stole Billie's keys along with her £1,500 handbag, mobile, jewellery and shoes. She said: "We've been too scared to go out. I lost everything." The sisters — who run a boutique in Brentwood and are regulars on the Essex party circuit — are considering a trip out today. They will also be visited by police to take statements. Yesterday The Only Way Is Essex newcomer Peri Sinclair and Sam's ex Joey Essex, 21, took flowers to their home. The sisters have decided to continue filming the programme and references will be made to their ordeal in tonight's show. Co-star Mark Wright was due to visit last night for dinner. Earlier he was seen buying cuddly toy gifts for the girls. Viewers will see tonight's ITV2 show fade to black at the end, before Sam talks to him about the attacks.
IT’S just as well Simon Cowell likes fast cars – he might need to speed off sharpish if F1 race ace Lewis Hamilton claps eyes on him... McLaren driver Lewis, 26, says the X Factor supremo is one of the key reasons that his four-year romance with Nicole Scherzinger hit the skids. He reckons 52-year-old Cowell’s decision to offer Nicole, 33, a judging job on X Factor USA – replacing Cheryl Cole – put “immeasurable strain” on the couple’s relationship. Lewis has been tied up on the Grand Prix circuit while former Pussycat Doll singer Nicole’s own hectic schedule has prevented her from spending time with him on race days. It means they have barely seen one another in person since May. Concerned by both their hectic lifestyles, Lewis is understood to have decided they needed a break – as I revealed on Monday. Last night, a source close to the couple confirmed: “Lewis and Nicole have been having problems for the past six weeks. “Increasingly hectic schedules this year have meant limited face-to-face time. “They’ve probably spent more time on the phone or on Skype than they have in person. “Sadly, Nicole’s job on X Factor USA – which, professionally, has been an unmitigated success – appears to have come at the cost of her relationship. “Nicole was under enormous pressure to succeed and was desperate to please Simon, her boss. “But Lewis found their intense working relationship hard to contend with. “This, plus Lewis’s crazy international jet-set lifestyle, put immeasurable strain on the pair. “She was crushed and did everything she could to make it work. They are still good friends though and the break-up is all very amicable.” Multi-millionaire Lewis, who was said to be in a “vile mood” after last weekend’s Korean Grand Prix, recently said he was a long way off wanting to start a family. Meanwhile, Nicole has become friends with host Steve Jones, who is said to have a crush on her. Last night, a spokesman for the couple declined to comment.
Officials said earlier that the ousted Libyan leader would be buried in a secret desert grave, ending a wrangle over his rotting corpse that led many to fear for the country's governability. Transitional government forces had put the body on show in a cold store in Misurata while they argued over what to do with it, until its decay forced them on Monday to end the display. His son Mutassim is thought to have been buried in the same ceremony. A few relatives and officials were in attendance, according to a Misurata military council official. Yesterday, the government bowed to international pressure and announced a commission to determine how Gaddafi died after he was cornered in a drain while trying to flee Sirte, his besieged home town. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chairman of the NTC, and other officials have said Gaddafi was killed in crossfire. Mr Jalil said: "In response to international calls, we have started to put in place a commission tasked with investigating the circumstances of Muammar Gaddafi's death in the clash with his circle as he was being captured."
Grzegorz Matlok, 30, burgled a mews house linked to the singer's luxury townhouse in Marylebone, central London, and stole a can of Red Bull after wandering through two bedrooms and a living room. Southwark Crown Court heard Matlok was discovered holding the drink and playing with a kitchen light switch at around 4.40am on March 12 by Madonna's former gardener-turned film director Nathan Rissman, 39, who was staying in the mews at the time. When he was quizzed over what he was doing and told Madonna was not staying there, he said: 'I'm sorry. Arrest me, arrest me'. He later told police he had been given permission by the singer and had found a welcome note from her. A map with a large 'M' scrawled over Madonna's home and a bag containing a safety knife, nail scissors, a coach ticket from Poland and Matlok's passport were found in a bag outside the property. A year ago Matlok sneaked into the Wiltshire estate Madonna used to share with ex-husband Ritchie and was caught putting on his clothes. The 'Music' star was heard to be 'distressed and unsettled' by Matlok's two successful break-ins and said she feared for the safety of herself, her four children and her staff. Prosecutor Philip Stott said: 'It appears that the defendant took a route, by examination of the lights he had turned on, through the lounge and kitchen and into a bedroom and dressing area and then gone through an inter connecting door where again he had gone into a bedroom and dressing room, where he disturbed some bed clothes.' Matlok had broken into the house after smashing a window with a stone and using a rope and scaffolding to enter one of the three properties by a first floor window. The court heard he had travelled to England from Poland by coach a few days before the burglary on March 12. Mr Stott said that in interview Matlok told Madonna's security manager he was there 'To see Madonna' and afterwards told police she had okayed his visit. Country house: A year ago Matlok sneaked into the Wiltshire estate (pictured) Madonna used to share with ex-husband Guy Ritchie 'He told the police he had permission to stay in the flat and that Madonna knew he was coming,' said the barrister. 'He said he had found a note saying welcome and he went inside. 'He said he had been at the address two or three days earlier, but no one had answered the doorbell. 'He said he was not there to steal anything - he said he had sent messages to Madonna over the internet to say he was going to turn up.' In a victim impact statement read to the court Madonna said: 'I do not know the defendant, I've not had any form of relationship with the defendant nor have I had any form of contact by phone or by email, or by any other way, with the defendant. 'In particular I've never given the defendant permission to enter the premises or any of my other premises. 'I feel very alarmed and distressed by the actions of the defendant. When Matlok broke into Wiltshire home, he was restrained by Guy Ritchie (pictured) 'It is extremely unsettling to know that despite the extensive security I have he has been able to break into two of my residential properties. 'I'm worried about my children's safety as well as the safety of my staff. I'm also naturally worried about my own safety.' The court heard that Matlok suffered from 'delusions that Madonna loved him' but, according to consultant psychiatrist Dr Nadji Kahtan, his schizophrenia could be controlled by medication. 'In hospital he's fully compliant and has expressed no wish to stop taking it [his medication] and he says he wishes to still take it because he recognises that he has a mental illness,' he said. 'We feel that the best way to manage his illness is for him to continue to be treated at a hospital in England until he can be moved to a hospital in Poland.' The court heard however that Matlok had attacked someone in his cell and had been 'rather aggressive' to women, including nurses. When Matlok broke into the Wiltshire home of Guy Ritchie he was found by a housekeeper cowering under the bed of an 'outhouse'. Mr Stott said he had to be restrained by Mr Ritchie, a gamekeeper and 'The Football Factory' director Nick Love. 'He had taken cash from Mr Ritchie and Mr Love and had put on a pair of Mr Ritchie's jeans,' he said. Batteries, a torch, a bottle of shampoo and three credit cards had also been moved, according to Mr Ritchie, but no further action was taken and Matlok was deported in August 2010. In June Matlok reportedly attempted suicide by setting fire to his cell and was said to have been dragged to safety by prison guards. Madonna, 53, was not in the property at the time, having taken her four children - Lourdes, 14, Rocco, 10, Mercy, 6, and David, 5 - to Michigan in the U.S. to pay her respects to her late grandmother Elsie Mae Fortin. Southwark Crown Court heard Matlok was discovered holding the drink and playing with a kitchen light switch at around 4.40am on March 12 The Pole, who is being held at a secure psychiatric unit, was flanked by hospital staff and assisted by an interpreter at Southwark Crown Court today. Matlok has admitted burgling the office in Marylebone but denied two charges of burglary relating to a house connected to it, both of which are owned by 'Madonna Ciccone'. The two charges he denied were ordered to lie on the court file after prosecutors accepted Matlok's plea. The burglary took place six months after Madonna was targeted by a man who was arrested outside her New York apartment carrying two knives. Judge Deborah Taylor was expected to order Matlok's detention under the Mental Health Act, 1983, this afternoon.
PARTNERS in the upmarket estate agent Knight Frank have landed a £73m payout after profits rose by 10 per cent in the last financial year, buoyed by foreign investors flocking to London’s luxury property market. The firm, which advises on both residential and commercial property deals, saw pre-tax profits rise to £101.9m in the year to March – its highest level since the credit crisis – while turnover increased seven per cent to £308.4m. “Equity rich buyers” seeking property in London helped boost the firm’s residential arm, which has instructed on deals including the sale of St John’s Wood Barracks in northwest London. The bonus pool is more than double the amount awarded in 2009, although it is now shared by more people as Knight Frank has extended its partnership. Nick Thomlinson, senior partner and chairman of Knight Frank, conceded he remained cautious about the outlook for the year ahead but said the group had strengthened its balance sheet and was focusing on growth in key markets like Asia. The firm also opened new offices in Dubai, South Africa, Austria and Switzerland.
Britain has already injected £1.88bn into the European Investment Bank (EIB) and pledged another £35.7bn, equivalent to close to 2pc of UK GDP, to be drawn down as required. Although the EIB, which is the world's largest non-government borrower, ranks above other unsecured creditors, thanks to its "privileged relationship" status under the EU treaty, it could face huge losses in the event of a euro break-up. If the UK's stake in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is included then the total capital commitment for the taxpayer could rise by a further several billion pounds. On top of this the country could also be called on to stump up some of the cost of the EU's emergency funding facility the European Financial Stability Mechanism. "What the public doesn't realise is the quite simply staggering amounts of taxpayer money that has already been committed if things get significantly worse. This may be a doomsday scenario, but recent history has proven that many events thought extremely unlikely have a funny habit of coming to pass," said one London-based credit analyst. The EIB's most recent accounts reveal huge sovereign credit risk exposures to the endangered periphery states. Some €14.2bn of loans were made to, or guaranteed by, the Greek government. Another €7.7bn is backed by the Portuguese sovereign.
The full brutality of former Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been revealed in chilling video footage of prison torture sessions. And the fallen dictatorship's former foreign minister, Musa Kusa - who was released by the British authorities six months ago after he defected to the UK in March - is facing fresh allegations that he was directly involved in the beating of political prisoners. The footage - obtained by the BBC's Panorama programme - was reportedly shot at the notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli. It shows crouching inmates, blindfolded and wearing blue uniforms, being repeatedly whipped and kicked by interrogators. Brutal: A still from footage of a prisoner being whipped inside the Abu Salim prison during Gaddafi's rule Last month the remains of more than 1,200 prisoners were found in a mass grave outside the prison's walls. The Panorama team tracked down Kusa to a luxury resort in Qatar during its investigation into his role in alleged war crimes. He declined to be interviewed for the programme. Kusa was head of Gaddafi's intelligence agency from 1994 and a senior intelligence agent when PanAm flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie. Inhumane: An inmate is kicked in the head by one official as a prison guard looks on Back in the spotlight: Torture suspect Musa Kusa defected to Britain in April but moved to Qatar just weeks later The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was en route from London to New York when it exploded over the Dumfriesshire town, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 residents. There have also been calls for Kusa to be quizzed in relation to the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot during a protest outside London's Libyan Embassy in 1984. Kusa made a high-profile defection to Britain in March and was interviewed by police and Scottish prosecutors investigating the Lockerbie attack. But within weeks he was allowed to leave the UK following an EU decision to lift sanctions against him, meaning he no longer faces travel restrictions or an asset freeze. No comment: Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon is blocked by a bodyguard while attempting to question Kusa The Foreign Office said Kusa was a 'private individual' who had been interviewed voluntarily. But the ruling was condemned by one Tory MP who said Britain had become 'a transit lounge for alleged war criminals'. And Britain is now under fresh pressure to interview Kusa in relation to the allegations. Dr Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the Lockerbie bombing, said that if anyone could offer any insight into the 'huge questions still unanswered' on Libya's role in Lockerbie, it would be Mr Kusa. High profile: Kusa was less reluctant about speaking to the press following his defection to London earlier this year He said: 'When I met Musa Kusa in Libya in 1991 it was clear to me he was the guy who was central to the Gaddafi administration. 'He could tell us just as much as Gaddafi about Lockerbie as he was at the core of the regime. 'He was a very, very key figure and we need answers as to why he was allowed to fly back. Any probing over his crimes should be done by the International Criminal Court.' Pamela Dix, who lost her 35-year-old brother Peter in the atrocity, said she was 'incensed' after Mr Kusa was allowed to leave Britain in the first place. She said: 'We cannot turn a politically pragmatic blind eye. 'I do not know what Musa Kusa knows or does not know about Lockerbie but he needs to come back to answer those questions. 'I condemn the attitude of the UK Government in the strongest possible terms. A political hands-off attitude is inappropriate.'
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JIM SALTY1
