Fugitive UK Drug Dealer Found In South Africa

One of the UK's most wanted men, convicted cocaine smuggler and fraudster Martin Evans, has been captured in South Africa.

Armed officers swooped on Evans, 52, as he was getting out of his car in Johannesburg, bringing an end to an international manhunt.

A mugshot of Evans, a former young businessman of the year in Wales

He was tracked down to a housing complex in the Midrand area of the city after investigators from Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) alerted Interpol to his whereabouts. 

Evans, a former Welsh businessman of the year, went on the run from prison in August 2011 after a home visit.

He had been serving 21 years for drug smuggling and fraudulent trading.

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said detectives described his capture as "a real scalp".

"There's a lot waiting for him when he gets back," Brunt said.

Hank Cole, head of international operations for the NCA, said: "This arrest shows the NCA and its partners will pursue fugitives wherever they are in the world. 

"They can run but they can't hide. We have the capability to track them down and bring them to justice."

Detectives arrested Evans in Johannesburg

It is understood the fugitive will appear in court in Pretoria before being extradited back to Britain.

Evans, from Pontardulais, was once an award-winning businessman running a successful double glazing firm in Port Talbot.

But his business collapsed and Evans turned to fraud, cheating investors in a new ostrich farm business out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Much of the money was channelled into offshore accounts in Jersey and the Bahamas and Evans was known to have a £2m villa in Marbella.

He also had properties in Miami and Florida.

Evans bought properties in Marbella (above) and Florida (Pic: Tomas Fano)

Shortly before his trial for fraud, Evans went on the run for the first time, first to Spain and then to Holland.

The NCA said it was while on the run that he masterminded a multimillion-pound drugs and money laundering operation.

He supplied huge quantities of cocaine and MDMA between 1999 and 2001.

He was caught when he tried to use a false passport to enter the US in November 2001. He was later jailed for 21 years back in the UK.

But he went on the run for a second time when he was released on a temporary licence to an address in Swansea in August 2011.

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Scafell Pike Fall Leaves Runner In Hospital

A runner has been seriously injured after plunging nearly 70ft on Scafell Pike.

The man, in his 40s, fell while taking part in an endurance event on England's highest peak on Saturday afternoon.

The alarm was raised by a fellow athlete, when the man slipped into a "precarious" plank on the Greta Gill part of the mountain in the Lake District.

The alarm was raised by a fellow athlete

He was taken to hospital in Newcastle.

Mike Gullen, Wasdale Mountain Rescue team leader, said: "It was a pretty serious incident.

"The man was falling in and out of consciousness when we got to him.

"He had multiple and very serious injuries and was taken to hospital."

A Royal Navy Sea King helicopter and the Air Ambulance were both used to help winch the man to safety and air-lift him to hospital.

Mr Gullen said: "The alarm was raised swiftly. But it is important to remember that people contacting the emergency services should ask for the police, as they are the ones who will get in touch with Mountain Rescue."

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Campaigners Call For 'Staycation' Tax Cut

By Frazer Maude, Sky News Reporter

Campaigners fighting for a reduction in VAT for the tourism industry say it could offer the UK economy a £4bn boost.

The popularity of domestic holidays, or 'staycations' has been fuelled by the recession.

In fact a recent survey by Barclays projects that they may be worth over £108bn to the UK economy by 2017, and that our spend on holidays at home will increase by 25% over the next four years.

But tourism chiefs say the UK isn't competing on a level playing field with the rest of Europe.

In France, Germany, Spain and Italy, VAT paid by tourists is set at 7 or 10%. Here it's 20%.

Cuts in the rates in Europe have shown to be successful, and those campaigning for the same to happen here say a cut to 5% would boost investment, jobs and visitor numbers.

Patrick Dempsey, managing director of Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: "We fully support the initiative to cut tourism tax. A cut would deliver a huge financial boost for tourism around the UK and 120,000 new jobs with 8,000 already being created by Premier Inn by 2018."

'Staycations' in the UK were made more popular by the recession

Another report shows that the UK is ranked 138 out of 140 countries for price competitiveness, and is one of only four countries in the EU not to reduce tourism VAT.

Graham Wason, chairman of the Cut Tourism VAT Campaign, said:  "This new research is the economic proof the Treasury has asked for to prove what every other country in Europe knows - that cutting VAT on holidays is profitable for governments.

"Many of our coastal towns are ignored but cutting VAT would help them thrive. More than 60 cross-party MPs have signed our parliamentary motion and more than 1,000 companies and groups are backing the campaign."

But there is little sun on the horizon from the Government.

The Treasury told Sky News in a statement: "The Government recognises the importance of the tourism and hospitality industry, and is providing additional support to businesses in a number of ways.

"For example, from April 2014 businesses and charities have been able to benefit from up to £2,000 off their employer national insurance contributions bill and over £1bn of business rates support has been provided, benefiting all ratepayers.

"While we keep all taxes under review, we do not have any plans to introduce a VAT cut for the tourism sector."

The campaigners won't be deterred, and say they will continue to lobby the Government for the same breaks that their European rivals are getting.

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'Heartbreak' Over Death Of DJ Mike Smith

Noel Edmonds, Mike Read and Simon Mayo have joined others from the world of entertainment in mourning the death of former BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Smith.

The broadcaster and qualified helicopter pilot died in hospital at the age of 59. He had complications connected to recent major heart surgery.

He was married to fellow television personality Sarah Greene for 25 years.

In a statement released through Smith's aerial filming company Flying TV, Ms Greene said she would "like to offer enormous thanks to the staff at the hospital for their care and compassion".

The statement said Ms Greene has asked that she, her family and friends be allowed to mourn in peace.

A Flying TV spokesman said: "Mike founded Flying TV 10  years ago and the company says his legacy will be FTV continuing to go from strength to strength."

The couple were married in 1989

Smith's career began at hospital radio before joining BBC Radio 1 in 1975.

In 1983, Smith took over the weekday lunchtime show and took on the Breakfast Show in 1986, succeeding Mike Read.

Paying tribute, Read said:  "The news is just devastating. Sarah and Mike were a wonderful couple - it is truly horrible to hear."

"He became a mainstay of Radio 1, was highly successful on television too, and started up his own business which he was very good at.

"Mike was a very affable guy, fantastically business-like. It's a real loss and has come as quite a shock."

TV presenter Noel Edmonds, a long-term friend of the couple, said: "I am totally stunned and heartbroken for Sarah and his family."

Phillip Schofield, who presented the show Going Live! with Greene, tweeted: "There are no words. My wonderful, bright, funny, thoughtful friend Mike Smith has passed away @RealSarahGreene I'm so so sorry my darling."

Smith was a key figure in the early years of Comic Relief but largely stayed away from the limelight after a helicopter crash in 1988 in which both he and his then-girlfriend Ms Greene were injured.

The helicopter he was piloting crashed in Gloucestershire. Ms Greene broke both legs and an arm, and Smith suffered a broken back and ankle.

He proposed to her just weeks later and they were married the following year.

They were childless and lived in London.

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British Woman 'Murdered' At Safari Lodge

A British woman thought to have been murdered in South Africa has been described as a "wonderful lady" and "very kind".

Christine Robinson, 59, who had been living in the country for about 10 years, is believed to have been found stabbed to death and robbed at her safari lodge.

Her body was discovered on Wednesday in her bedroom in Limpopo, near Thabazimbi, 150 miles north-west of Johannesburg.

The wages she had just withdrawn to pay staff were missing, according to a family spokesman.

Mrs Robinson, a former primary school teacher who was originally from Liverpool, jointly owned the lodge with her husband, Robbie, who died from cancer two years ago.

Ms Robinson's body ws found in her bedoom near Thabazimbi, Limpopo

Her niece Lehanne Sergison, 43, from Bickley, Kent, said friends and relatives were "heartbroken".

She said the Foreign Office confirmed there was a suspect but he could have "fled" to Zimbabwe.

She said of her aunt: "She was wonderful, she really was a wonderful lady. Very kind, humble woman. It's hard to express how wonderful she is.

"Christine was the most wonderful woman anyone could wish to meet, a warm, cheerful, compassionate, kind-hearted and very popular human being, who enriched the lives of everyone she met.

"She was also bubbly and full of fun. She was adventurous, too, and travelled the world - Europe, the Middle East and China - teaching English to foreign children in international schools."

Ms Sergison added: "We know very little (about the incident). She was murdered on Wednesday. We haven't had much joy out of the police in South Africa, so we don't really know anything more than that."

She also said her aunt treated her employees "as family".

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We were notified of the death of a British national on July 30 in South Africa. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."

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National Sperm Bank Launched To Meet Demand

A national sperm bank is to be launched to meet increasing demand and shorten waiting times.

The service will start in October in conjunction with the National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT) and Birmingham Women's Hospital.

The Department of Health says the service will benefit patients "both NHS and privately, of all ethnicities across the UK, including same-sex couples and single women".

The bank will be co-ordinated from Birmingham Women's Hospital

The two organisations have been awarded £77,000 by the DoH.

Based at Birmingham Women's Hospital, the sperm bank will offer an NHS-based, fully-integrated donor recruitment, screening and banking centre for all of the UK.

It is hoped the bank will reduce the number of patients putting themselves at risk by using unregulated sperm donation services.

For the first time, those from ethnic minority backgrounds will be able to choose from a range of culturally matched donors.

There is currently a national shortage of sperm donors in the UK, especially in NHS clinics, Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust said.

At present, some patients needing donor sperm are faced with few options and find themselves on waiting lists and having to use unregulated providers.

Some have to stop treatment altogether, the Birmingham trust said.

A DoH spokesman said: "The National Sperm Bank will benefit all patients who need these services."

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World War One: A Cemetery's Poignant Story

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky's Defence Correspondent

The small Belgian cemetery of St Symphorien, nears Mons, has a poignant story which makes it an appropriate venue to commemorate the outbreak of World War One.

The first shots on the Western Front were fired at dawn on August 23, 1914.

The morning was misty and damp and the British Expeditionary Force, newly arrived in Belgium, was camped in defensive positions on the bank of the Mons-Conde Canal. Facing them was the German invasion force they had come to repel.

By 10am the summer sun had risen and burnt through the fog. For the first time the enemy was revealed to the British soldiers, larger and better armed than anything they had expected.

Despite fighting valiantly through the day, the men of the BEF II Corps were overrun. By nightfall it was all over. The Germans had won the Battle of Mons, the first victory on the Western Front was theirs.

The British began the long, hard retreat towards Paris.

There are 229 Commonwealth and 294 German graves in the cemetery

The following year, 1915, after much heavy fighting, German soldiers dug up the dead around Mons. A local landowner gave them a patch of land on the edge of the small suburb of St Symphorien.

But it came with one condition attached: he insisted the German troops bury the Commonwealth dead with the same dignity and respect they do their own comrades. The Germans agreed.

Today, the cemetery is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There are roughly an equal division of graves: 229 Commonwealth, 284 German.

Two stand out: That of Private John Parr of the Middlesex Regiment. He was shot and killed by a German sniper on August 21, 1914, and became the first soldier to die on the Western Front.

His grave, by sheer coincidence, faces that of Private George Ellison of the Royal Irish Lancers. He was killed on November 11, 1918, hours before the Armistice Declaration was signed - the last British soldier to be killed on the Western Front.

On Monday, relatives, members of European Royal families and senior politicians will gather at this small cemetery to remember the outbreak of the war 100 years ago.

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Indian Olympics Officials Arrested In Glasgow

Two Indian Olympics officials have been arrested on suspicion of assault in Glasgow, say Sky sources.

One of the officials held is believed to be the Indian Olympics Association secretary general Rajeev Mehta who is part of the Indian contingent at the Commonwealth Games. The incidents are understood to be separate and unrelated.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: "On Saturday 2nd August a 49-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault in Glasgow city centre and a 45-year-old man was held for alleged assault in west Glasgow.

"Both men are expected to appear at Glasgow Sheriff's Court on Monday."

The Commonwealth Games closing ceremony takes place on Sunday night at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has praised the people of Glasgow, spectators and the athletes for helping to deliver what he said were the "best and friendliest Commonwealth Games ever".

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Woman Charged With Murder Of Girl, 7

A woman has been charged with murdering a seven-year-old girl in Nottingham.

Nottinghamshire Police said Kay-Ann Morris, 23, would appear before magistrates on Monday accused of killing the girl, who has yet to be formally identified.

Her body was found at a house in Beckhampton Road, Bestwood Park, Nottingham, at around 5.10am on Thursday.

Police say concerns had been raised for her welfare.

A police spokesman said Morris, of Beckhampton Road, would remain in police custody until her court appearance.

A post-mortem examination established the preliminary cause of the girl's death as a head injury, the spokesman added.

Officers investigating the death also arrested a 47-year-old man, who has been released without charge.

Anyone with information can call police on 0115 8445012 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Royal Navy Rescues British Nationals From Libya

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The Royal Navy has assisted the evacuation of around 110 British and EU nationals from Libya.

HMS Enterprise was earlier moved into position off the coast of North Africa before sailing into Tripoli.

There has been a severe deterioration in the security situation

The ship was moored offshore as her survey boat, Spitfire, collected people from the Port of Tripoli.

A detachment of armed personnel, usually Royal Marines, are providing force protection to the ship in the event of attack.

HMS Enterprise. File picture

A Foreign Office (FCO) statement said: "A number of passengers were transferred to Enterprise by boat and given supplies for the journey."

Britain is also planning to temporarily suspend its embassy operations in the troubled north African country, the FCO said.

The routine follows a similar scenario in 2011 during the uprising when HMS Cumberland, a Type 22 frigate, evacuated foreign nationals and refugees from the civil war.

Many of the consular staff were evacuated last Monday but the ambassador and core staff remained.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "The Royal Navy is helping British citizens leave Libya based upon Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice.

"I thank the crew of HMS Enterprise for their support and professionalism in carrying out this important task."

Although the United States used F-16 fighter jets for air cover when their citizens left Libya by road for Tunisia last week, it is not thought any British aircraft will be involved in this mission.

Britain is one of the last countries to wind down its diplomatic mission in Libya following a severe deterioration in the security situation as rebel groups continue fighting each other.

France and America, two of the other principal players in the 2011 war, closed their embassies last week.

The Ministry of Defence said: "As the Foreign Office has made clear, the UK Government will provide assisted departure for a number of UK nationals before suspending consular operations on Monday.

"For operational reasons we will not discuss further details including whether, and in what ways, the MoD could support these efforts."

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