1,292 sent to prison after riots

More than 1,200 people have been jailed for an average of almost 18 months following last summer's riots, figures show.

Some 3,051 people had appeared before the courts by June 8 following the looting and violence which spread across English cities last August, the Ministry of Justice said.

A total of 1,292 of the 1,968 found guilty and sentenced for their role in the riots were jailed immediately, with an average sentence of 16.8 months.

This was much higher than the average 3.7-month sentence handed down to those convicted by magistrates but sentenced at any court for similar offences in England and Wales in 2010, the figures showed.

As of two weeks ago, some 692 offenders involved in the riots were behind bars, with a further 710 having served their jail term and been released.

Overall, more than half (53%) of those before the courts over the riots were aged under 20, and only one in 16 (6%) was over 40.

One in two (50%) faced burglary charges, while a fifth (22%) were accused of violent disorder and one in six (16%) were accused of theft.

©Press Association

Syria Olympics chief 'refused visa'

The head of the Syrian Olympic Committee has been refused a visa to travel to London for the Games, it has been reported.

There had been suggestions for months that General Mowaffak Joumaa would be barred from entering the UK because of his connection to the Syrian military.

Due to his links to the regime of Syria's President Bashar Assad, the application has been refused, according to the BBC.

The Home Office said: "We are not commenting on individual cases."

A recent spike in violence by the forces of President Assad's regime has been seen in the troubled Middle East state.

The Home Office is responsible for carrying out background checks on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and advises the committee on whether an applicant is suitable for accreditation.

Exclusion decisions also have involvement from the Foreign Office. Particular interest would be shown in visitors from countries where there are human rights abuses. Officials are expected to keep a close eye on Syria.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has compared the recent massacres in Syria to those in Bosnia in the 1990s while Prime Minister David Cameron has condemned the killings as "brutal and sickening".

The Syrian charge d'affaires in London has already been expelled in the wake of mounting condemnation of the attacks. Britain has condemned the regime for its crackdown on opponents.

It is thought that Syrian athletes may receive visas because those of Olympic standard are not required to serve in the armed forces, but there is a question mark against General Joumaa and other officials.

©Press Association

Olympic ticket corruption claims probed

A probe is under way into claims of widespread corruption among foreign agents and officials supplying tickets to the London Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee is threatening a radical shake-up of the way Olympic tickets are distributed among its member countries after a Sunday Times investigation suggested officials were offering thousands of top tickets on the black market.

London Olympics chief Lord Coe was dragged into the row after the newspaper secretly filmed Greek national Olympic committee president Spyros Caprolos claiming he had successfully lobbied him for more premium Olympic tickets on Greece's behalf.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) has denied the claims.

The revelations have prompted senior politician Sir Menzies Campbell - a member of the Olympic Board which helps oversee London 2012 - to call for offending countries to lose future allocations of tickets. He told the BBC: "The sanctions should be not just that the tickets get cancelled for this Olympic Games but that tickets are not awarded on future occasions."

The Sunday Times newspaper has presented a dossier of evidence on agents and officials controlling the tickets for 54 countries. Thousands of the best seats at the top events - including the 100m final - were up for sale after being siphoned off from official supplies held by overseas national Olympic committees (NOCs), the newspaper said.

National Olympic committees are forbidden to sell their tickets abroad or to anyone who plans to resell them. But The Sunday Times said undercover reporters posing as envoys of a Middle Eastern ticket tout found 27 officials and agents who were willing to do business.

According to the paper, these included one country's official ticket agency which The Sunday Times claimed offered category AA tickets, the best seats in the stadiums, to the fake Middle Eastern tout for up to £6,000 each. The IOC confirmed they were investigating the allegations and will consider a complete shake-up of how Olympic tickets are distributed among member countries.

Regarding the evidence against Mr Caprolos, Locog said in a statement: "Seb received a letter from the Greek Olympic Committee (HOC), as he did from other NOCs, and responded saying that tickets had been allocated in accordance with the IOC's ticketing policy. There was no further contact - either formal or informal - on this subject."

Locog added that rules and regulations for selling London 2012 tickets to international fans were "clear and unambiguous". A spokeswoman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it was awaiting the result of the IOC investigation before commenting.

©Press Association

Racism warnings 'fell on deaf ears'

Warnings of racism at Scotland Yard have fallen on "deaf ears" for more than a decade, a top policeman said as eight officers were suspended from the force.

Superintendent Leroy Logan, of the Black Police Association, said he was "disappointed" by the Met's apparent failure to take effective action following years of feedback from black communities.

He spoke after 10 complaints - relating to 20 officers and one member of police staff - were referred to the police watchdog. The referrals came just days after Scotland Yard vowed to get to the bottom of "very damaging" footage of one officer apparently racially abusing a man and another allegedly assaulting a teenage boy last summer.

Supt Logan, a founder member and former chairman of both the London and National Black Police Association (NBPA), said while race relations had improved since a 1999 report accused the force ofinstitutional racism, there had been a recent deterioration in attitudes.

Warnings over racism in the Met have '
fallen on deaf ears', according to a black police chief

Citing a need to "root out the bad boy cops," he said race relations had dropped down the agenda. But he said the issue had been raised yearly by youths on the NBPA's community engagement programme.

"Every year since 2001, the young people have been saying how they believe they are being dealt with disrespectfully, not shown enough dignity, casual racist comments were being used," he said.

The officer, who has more than 30 years of practical policing experience, added: "You would think these casual racist comments would be long gone and here we are and they are still coming up." And he said the force now needed to "get its act together", adding: "The police service isn't in a good place."

In total, eight officers and one member of staff at the Yard have been suspended. Pc Alex MacFarlane has been temporarily stripped of his duties after a recording was made of a suspect being called a "n*****". The arrested man, named as Mauro Demetrio, 21, from Beckton, east London, was arrested on suspicion of drug driving but no action was later taken. He recorded the abuse on his mobile phone.

It emerged that another officer, reportedly with Pc MacFarlane when Mr Demetrio was abused, was also placed on restricted duties after allegedly being seen kicking a 15-year-old black boy to the ground and kneeing him. Met Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey has warned there could be further referrals to the watchdog.

Elsewhere, four police officers have been temporarily stripped of their duties in Northern Ireland following the discovery of racist and sectarian text messages.

©Press Association

Potential Olympic disease crisis has health officials on alert

©Reuters

Police Racism Claims: 10 Cases Investigated

Scotland Yard has referred 10 cases of alleged racism to the police watchdog and suspended five officers.

Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey confirmed that the 10 cases were being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Scotland Yard initially reported three cases - but the number increased to 10, relating to five officers, early this evening.

The matters were referred to the IPCC after a review of complaints at the force, Mr Mackey said, insisting "the Met does not tolerate racism".

The fresh allegations come after Met boss, Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe, vowed to get to the bottom of "very damaging" footage of one officer apparently racially abusing a man and another allegedly assaulting a teenage boy last summer.

Mr Mackey warned there would be further referrals.

He said: "Whilst any use of racist language is abhorrent, what is reassuring for me is that in the ten cases that have been referred to the IPCC, six involve other officers who have stood up and raised concerns, showing that we are an organisation that will not stand for any racist behaviour.

"These officers were not motivated to report their concerns by recent media coverage as this was done before this week.

"I will always want to work in an organisation where someone who believes they've seen unacceptable behaviour feels they can challenge it and report it - knowing action will be taken, as it has been in these cases and as it will be whenever it occurs.

"The Met does not tolerate racism."

At least three of the five officers were based in Newham, east London, and were suspended earlier today in relation to complaints that they used racist language.

• Police Racism Claims: 10 Cases Investigated

Mike Franklin, a commissioner with the IPCC, said: "Naturally members of the public are going to have concerns that this again involves officers based in Newham Borough and I have asked the Metropolitan Police Service what measures they have in place to ensure allegations of this nature are not more widespread."

Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe was previously forced to speak out after incidents on August 11 last year as police officers in London dealt with the fallout of the riots sweeping the capital.

Pc Alex MacFarlane was suspended after a recording was made of a suspect being called a "n*****".

The arrested man, named as Mauro Demetrio, 21, from Beckton, east London, was arrested on suspicion of drug driving but no action was later taken.

He recorded the abuse on his mobile phone.

It also emerged that another officer, reportedly with Pc MacFarlane when Mr Demetrio was abused, was placed on restricted duties after later being allegedly seen kicking the 15-year-old black boy to the ground and kneeing him.

The incident was said to have happened in the custody area of an east London police station with part of the incident recorded on CCTV.

©SkyNews

Policeman filmed 'assaulting' boy

A policeman has been filmed on CCTV allegedly assaulting a teenage boy just hours after his colleague was recorded apparently racially abusing a man, it has been reported.

Both incidents happened on August 11 last year as police officers inLondon dealt with the fallout of the riots sweeping the capital.

Last week sources confirmed Pc Alex MacFarlane of theMetropolitan Police had been suspended after a recording was made of a suspect being called a racial slur.

The arrested man, named as Mauro Demetrio, 21, from Beckton, east London, was arrested on suspicion of drug driving but no action was later taken. He recorded the abuse on his mobile phone.

The Guardian has reported that another officer, who it said was with Pc MacFarlane when Mr Demetrio was abused, was placed on restricted duties after later being allegedly seen kicking the 15-year-old black boy to the ground and kneeing him.

A Met policeman has been placed on
restricted duties after he was filmed on
CCTV allegedly assaulting a black teenager,
it has been reported

The incident was said to have happened in the custody area of an east London police station with part of the incident recorded on CCTV.

An independent investigation into the alleged assault on the teenager ended last week and a report, understood to recommend disciplinary action, has been submitted to the Metropolitan police, the Guardian reported.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "This matter was referred to the IPCC and the officer placed on restricted duties pending the outcome of their independent investigation. We have now received their findings and recommendations which we will consider and respond to.

"The decision about who is investigated as a result of a complaint and who is treated as a witness is a decision for the investigators, in this case the IPCC. When an investigation has concluded, and if an officer is found to have failed in the high standards expected of them, then we will instigate misconduct proceedings."

Referring to both incidents, Commander Peter Spindler of the Directorate of Professional Standards said: "We are taking these allegations extremely seriously. Any use of racist language or excessive use of force is totally unacceptable; at the conclusion of any criminal proceedings we will instigate the appropriate internal action."

©Press Association