Birmingham Post

Iraqi Prisoners Are Threatened with Electrocution, Stripped Naked and Humiliated by Their American Captors. Exclusive Photos by the Birmingham Post Show How British Soldiers Take Iraqi Detainees to a Prisoner-of-War Camp Without Flouting the Rules and Regulations Governing Armed Forces ; Birmingham Post Reporter Richard Warburton (Left) and Photographer Adam Fradgley Have Spent the Week with British Troops in Iraq and Witnessed the Treatment of Detainees

British forces are sticking to strict rules in dealing with Iraqi detainees. In stark contrast to the images showing the US Army torturing prisoners in an Iraqi prison which shocked the world, British troops are playing it by the book.

Mother Did Write Letter

Jackson Indicted After Pleading Not Guilty to Child Sex Charges

Michael Jackson pleaded not guilty to multiple child abuse, abduction and false imprisonment charges at a California court yesterday. The falling star, who faces a long prison sentence if convicted, stepped up to a microphone and thanked his fans for their support but refused to answer questions.

Man Who Dumped Dead Prostitute in Countryside Jailed

A man who dumped the body of a prostitute on a Warwickshire bridleway after she died suddenly while they were having sex in his car has been jailed for 21 months. Paul Hiscock panicked and bundled the body of 19-year-old Aleesha Nedic into the boot of his car before leaving it near the village of Snitterfield the following day.

Pounds 55m Drug Gang Is Remanded After Trial

Four men were remanded in custody yesterday after they were found guilty of conspiring to smuggle cocaine worth pounds 55 million into the UK hidden in a shipment of bulldozer equipment. The 651-kilogramme cargo of high-quality powder was the largest consignment of its kind seized by the authorities at the time. A jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court spent 13 hours deliberating before reaching its verdicts following a trial lasting more than two months. The four, who had each denied one count of...

Police Seize Weapons

Police seized weapons and bags of heroin in a swoop on a number of properties in south Birmingham. Up to 25 officers raided homes in Northfield, Woodgate Valley and Frankley as part of West Midlands Police's latest crackdown on drug networks in the city. As part of Operation Starlet, launched last Sunday , a Samurai sword, a 303 rifle, a crossbow and several handguns were found as well as pounds 600 of Class A drugs.

Writer, Adventurer, and a Post Reporter

A Birmingham-born writer and adventurer who reported for The Birmingham Post on the first rumblings of fascism in pre-Second World War Germany has died at the age of 90. Denis Hills was famously sentenced to death by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin after he described him as a 'black nero' and a 'village tyrant'.

Clapton Regains God-Like Status

It was a relief when Eric Clapton stepped out onto the stage looking unshaven, wearing jeans, shirt and a guitar at the Birmingham NEC last night. I'm not alone in the belief that his late eighties/early nineties excursion into bland M.O.R rock was intrinsically linked with his decline into Miami Vice style Armani suits (complete with rolled up sleeves).

Letter Sending Toni-Ann to Her Father Confirmed

Birmingham social services confirmed last night that ToniAnn Byfield's mother was happy for her daughter to live with convicted crack dealer Bertram Byfield. A spokeswoman from the department said Roselyn Christine Richards had asked for Byfield to care for her sevenyear-old nine months before the pair were murdered in a gangland-style execution in London last year.

Mother of Teenager Hanged After Nine Days in Cell Welcomes Inquiry Call

The mother of a 16-year-old boy who hanged himself nine days into a twoyear detention term at a young offenders' institution yesterday welcomed calls for a public inquiry into his death. The coroner for Mid and North Shropshire, John Ellery, said he would be writing to the Home Secretary to make the recommendation after Joseph Scholes was found hanging from a bedsheet tied to his cell window at Stoke Heath YOI, near Market Drayton, Shropshire. An inquest jury sitting at Shrewsbury Magistrates...

Former Mp and Leading Academic Will Join Lords

A former Midland MP and one of the region's leading academics have been made members of the House of Lords. Peter Snape, who represented West Bromwich East from 1974 to 2001, is one of 46 new working peers named by Downing Street today.

Hundreds Expected at City Park Pot Festival

More than 100 people are expected to turn up at an illegal drugs festival in Birmingham today being held as part of a national campaign to legalise cannabis. The Healing of the Nation Cannabis Festival is expected to go ahead in Cannon Hill Park, despite a city council ban, and festival goers are expected to openly smoke cannabis.

Police Hunt Pair Linked to Robberies

Police are hunting a couple believed to be responsible for a series of robberies in Birmingham where one man was shot with a cross bow and a woman threatened with a meat cleaver. The man and woman, riding a black Suzuki motorbike, have been linked to six incidents in the last week.

Man Charged Over Heroin

A Birmingham man was yesterday remanded in custody by magistrates in Manchester following the seizure of heroin with an estimated street value of pounds 500,000 at Manchester Airport. Afghan national Aimal Khan, a 21-year-old factory worker who lives in Stratford Road, Sparkhill, arrived at the airport from Islamabad on Thursday night. He was arrested and charged with the illegal importation of approximately eight kilos of heroin.

Lorry Driver Kidnapped As Load Is Snatched

A lorry driver was recovering yesterday after he was kidnapped at gunpoint and released nearly 24 hours later, 60 miles away. Staffordshire Police said the 36-year-old driver was held up near Lichfield, Staffordshire, on Wednesday afternoon and discovered bound up next to a road near Kettering, Northamptonshire, on Thursday.

Rifle Threat to Landlady

Armed police surrounded a village pub yesterday after the landlady was threatened by a customer brandishing an air rifle. Trained negotiators spent five hours trying to persuade the man to leave The Gamecock Pub in Harbury, Warwickshire, after being called to the scene at 12.15pm. Officers entered the pub and were confronted by the armed man.

City Wardens Singled Out As Best in the Country

Birmingham's eight street wardens have shown off their work to colleagues from across the country. David Roberts and his team have been singled out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as providing a model of best practice for street warden schemes.

App Nothing More Than an Expansion of Council ; Aston Pride Partnership Was Formed to Spend Pounds 54 Million of New Deal for Communities Money. Robert Cope, App's Programme and Finance Manager, Spent Months Unsuccessfully Attempting to Blow the Whistle On Its Activities. This Is the Final Part of His Story, As Told to Chief Reporter Paul Dale

From October 2001, when it was registered at Companies House, to March 2003, when it effectively ceased to exist, Aston Pride Partnership Ltd submitted one set of annual accounts. The information on the balance sheet simply referred to APP as a dormant company with a nil return.

Deputy Pm Issues New Warning On Tax Capping

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott warned local councils yesterday that he would take further action against them to stop more 'unreasonable' council tax rises in the future. Mr Prescott's message came 24 hours after the Government told six councils, including Herefordshire County and Telford and Wrekin District, and Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority it was planning to cap their budgets to curb soaring council tax bills.

Four Quizzed Over Murder

Four people were being questioned by police last night on suspicion of murdering a teenager who was stabbed outside a takeaway. The two men and two women, all in their 20s, were arrested by West Midlands Police after the 16-year-old was fatally wounded during a fight outside Woks Wagon takeaway in Willenhall, Coventry, on Thursday night.