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A builder who described himself as a “psychopath with a conscience” has been found guilty of murdering two women.

Mark Brown killed Leah Ware and Alexandra Morgan on a remote farm near St Leonards in East Sussex in May and November last year after meeting them through a sex work website, a jury at Hove Crown Court was told.

After murdering 34-year-old Ms Morgan, Brown put her head-first into a home-made incinerator before dumping her remains at a building site.

The body of 33-year-old Ms Ware has never been found, but the prosecution believe he used a similar technique to dispose of her remains – as well as killing her dog, a Pomeranian called Lady.

The jury of 10 men and two women took just over 10 hours to convict Brown of both murder charges on Thursday.

Brown stared blankly ahead as the verdict was read out to gasps from the public gallery, made up of several of Ms Ware’s and Ms Morgan’s family members.

Mark Brown has been found guilty of murdering  Leah Ware and Alexandra Morgan
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Mark Brown

The 41-year-old was described as having a “double life” and showed no signs of being violent before committing his crimes.

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But an inspection of his phone revealed he had a taste for violent pornography and secretly used a website to meet up to ten escorts for sex.

Via this website, Brown eventually met Ms Ware and Ms Morgan.

Police do not believe he attacked any of the other women.

Brown met Ms Ware in 2018 when he hired her as an escort after which they developed an “on again, off again” relationship.

image of a mini belonging to Alexandra Morgan at a petrol station which was shown in the court case of Mark Brown who has been found guilty at Hove Crown Court of murdering escorts Leah Ware and Alexandra Morgan
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Alexandra Morgan was last seen filling up her car at a petrol station

He killed her on or around 7 May last year after tensions grew when she pressed him to leave his partner of 14 years, the court heard.

In the six months between killing Ms Ware and Ms Morgan, Brown messaged a friend calling himself a “psychopath with a conscience”, as he seemingly confessed to his crimes.

He said: “I’m going to be very careful how I word this – it happened again, not very long ago when disposing of something.

Undated handout photo issued by Kent Police of an image of an oil drum which was shown in the court case of Mark Brown who has been found guilty at Hove Crown Court of murdering escorts Leah Ware and Alexandra Morgan in Sussex last year. Issue date: Thursday December 1, 2022.
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Brown was said to have made a homemade incinerator out of an oil drum

“It’s a very unpleasant thing to do – an old oil drum, five litres of diesel, and hey presto, there’s not very much left.

“It gets hot, very hot, it glows almost white.

“The things I have done weigh heavily on my heart, on my head and my soul. A psychopath with a conscience – it’s a joke really.”

The jury found this message referred to Brown disposing of Ms Ware’s remains.

Brown hired Ms Morgan for sex around a dozen times before offering her an escorting job worth £100,000 in October 2021.

But when the following month she visited Little Bridge Farm, the site he rented, he killed her and burned her body in a homemade incinerator.

He then dumped her remains in a skip at a building site where he was working in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Brown claimed Ms Morgan died accidentally after hitting her head when she slipped in his workshop at the farm, and he burned her body “in a panic”.

He told the jury he and Ms Ware broke up in early 2021 and, as far as he knows, she is still alive.

Little Bridge Farm which was shown in the court case
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Little Bridge Farm in East Sussex, where the murders took place

Judge Justice Nicholas Hilliard adjourned sentencing until 13 January, saying the case is of the “utmost gravity” and thanking the jury for committing to the case for so long.

Libby Clark, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Brown has never accepted his actions; he claimed Alex’s death was an accident and created a web of lies to cover up the truth about Leah’s murder.

“Our thoughts remain with the families of Alex Morgan and Leah Ware. We hope, now Brown has been convicted, he will finally tell us what happened to Leah’s body, so her family can have closure.”

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Prince Harry denies having ‘physical fight’ with Prince Andrew

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Prince Harry denies having 'physical fight' with Prince Andrew

Prince Harry has denied having a fight with Prince Andrew after it was claimed “punches were thrown” between the pair in 2013.

The allegations appeared in excerpts from a new book on the Duke of York being serialised in the Daily Mail.

It claims a row started after Prince Andrew said something behind Harry’s back, with Andrew “left with a bloody nose” and the pair needing to be broken up.

It also claimed the Duke of York once warned his nephew about marrying Meghan and suggested it wouldn’t last long.

However, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex strongly denied the claims.

“I can confirm Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make the comments he is alleged to have made about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry,” a statement said.

They said a legal letter had been sent to the Daily Mail due to “gross inaccuracies, damaging and defamatory remarks” in its reporting.

The book – Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York – is billed as the first joint biography of Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

It’s said to be based on interviews with “over a hundred people who have never spoken before”.

Prince Harry – in his own 2023 book Spare – made his own claims of an altercation with Prince William.

He said his brother once knocked him to the floor amid a confrontation over Meghan’s “rude” and “abrasive” behaviour.

“It all happened so fast. So very fast,” Harry wrote in the book.

“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me.”

“I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” the prince added.

Harry claimed his brother wanted him to hit him back “but I chose not to”, and that William later returned and apologised.

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The Duke Of Sussex has described his relationship with his family as extremely strained after he quit as a working royal and took legal action against the media, and over the removal of his UK police protection.

He claimed earlier this year the King wouldn’t speak to him and there had “been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family”.

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Search for British woman who disappeared from Greek beach

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Search for British woman who disappeared from Greek beach

A search is under way for a British woman who went missing from a beach in Kavala, northern Greece.

The Hellenic Coastguard said the port authority received reports that Michele Ann Joy Bourda, 59, was missing on the evening of 1 August.

The woman went missing from the Ofrynio beach area.

The coastguard is investigating reports that her belongings were left on the beach.

On Sunday, three recreational craft, five fishing boats and two patrol boats were involved in the search.

According to local media, she lived with her husband, who is reportedly of Greek origin, in the Macedonian city of Serres.

She had gone to the beach with him and reportedly vanished while he was sleeping on a sunbed.

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The charity LifeLine Hellas, which put out an appeal to try and find Ms Bourda, said she went missing at noon on 1 August.

She has been described as having straight blonde hair up to her shoulders and being 1.73m tall.

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Martin Lewis reveals who is due for car finance compensation – and how much they’ll get

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Martin Lewis reveals who is due for car finance compensation - and how much they'll get

Martin Lewis says motorists who were mis-sold car finance are likely to receive “hundreds, not thousands of pounds” – with regulators launching a consultation on a new compensation scheme.

The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com believes it is “very likely” that about 40% of Britons who entered personal contact purchase or hire purchase agreements between 2007 and 2021 will be eligible for payouts.

“Discretionary commission arrangements” saw brokers and dealers charge higher levels of interest so they could receive more commission, without telling consumers.

Pics: PA
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Pics: PA

Speaking to Sky News Radio’s Faye Rowlands, Lewis said: “Very rarely will it be thousands of pounds unless you have more than one car finance deal.

“So up to about a maximum of £950 per car finance deal where you are due compensation.”

Lewis explained that consumers who believe they may have been affected should check whether they had a discretionary commission arrangement by writing to their car finance company.

However, the personal finance guru warned against using a claims firm.

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“They’re hardly going to do anything for you and you might get the money paid to you automatically anyway, in which case you’re giving them 30% for nothing,” he added.

Read more: How to tell if you’ve been mis-sold car finance

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Who’s eligible for payout after car finance scandal?

Yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority said its review of the past use of motor finance “has shown that many firms were not complying with the law or our disclosure rules that were in force when they sold loans to consumers”.

The FCA’s statement added that those affected “should be appropriately compensated in an orderly, consistent and efficient way”.

Lewis told Sky News that the consultation will launch in October – and will take six weeks.

“We expect payouts to come in 2026, assuming this will happen and it’s very likely to happen,” he said.

“As for exactly how will work, it hasn’t decided yet. Firms will have to contact people, although there is an issue about them having destroyed some of the data for older claims.”

He believes claims will either be paid automatically – or affected consumers will need to opt in and apply to get compensation back.

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What motorists should do next

The FCA says you may be affected if you bought a car under a finance scheme, including hire purchase agreements, before 28 January 2021.

Anyone who has already complained does not need to do anything.

The authority added: “Consumers concerned that they were not told about commission, and who think they may have paid too much for the finance, should complain now”.

Its website advises drivers to complain to their finance provider first.

If you’re unhappy with the response, you can then contact the Financial Ombudsman.

Any compensation scheme will be easy to participate in, without drivers needing to use a claims management company or law firm.

The FCA has warned motorists that doing so could end up costing you 30% of any compensation in fees.

The FCA estimates the cost of any scheme – including compensation and administrative costs – to be no lower than £9bn.

But in a video on X, Lewis said that millions of people are likely to be due a share of up to £18bn.

The regulator’s announcement comes after the Supreme Court ruled on a separate, but similar, case on Friday.

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