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Charges have been dropped against three former executives of G4S’s electronic tagging arm who were accused of defrauding the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) following a 10-year investigation.

G4S Care and Justice Services had provided electronic monitoring services to the government from 2005 to 2013.

The subsidiary of security giant G4S was accused of misleading the MoJ over the extent of its profits from the tagging contract.

In July 2020, the firm accepted responsibility for three counts of fraud and agreed to pay a financial penalty of £38.5m and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) costs of £5.9m.

Under the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the SFO, G4S could continue to be considered as a government supplier.

The DPA only applied to the potential criminal liability of G4S Care and Justice Services as a company, and not to any current or former employees.

Former managing director Richard Morris, 47, from Buckinghamshire, ex-commercial director Mark Preston, 51, from Cheshire, and former finance manager James Jardine, 41, from Cumbria had been charged with seven counts of fraud.

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The SFO alleged the executives made false representations to the MoJ between 2009 and 2012.

At an Old Bailey hearing before Mr Justice Johnson on Friday, prosecutor Crispin Aylett KC gave no evidence in the case which was due to go to trial in April next year.

Mr Aylett said: “The decision to drop this case is not one that could be taken either quickly nor lightly.”

Serious Fraud Office

Following a “careful and comprehensive review” it was decided it was “no longer in the public interest” to proceed with a trial.

He recognised the impact of the case on the defendants who are of good character, adding: “We regret the way the case has turned out.”

Mr Aylett said: “The defendants have been under suspicion for 10 years and the prosecution are only too aware of the impact the proceedings will have had on them and their families.

“We recognised the potential unfairness of asking that this should go on for a substantial period of further time.”

The judge formally acquitted the defendants of the charges.

Speaking after being cleared of fraud charges, Mr Morris said: “I am delighted this matter has finally come to an end.

“From the outset, the allegations against me were plainly wrong.

“That it has taken 10 years for the SFO to acknowledge as much is a scandal.

“I’d like to thank my family, friends and colleagues for their support. I would also like to thank my legal team who have worked so determinedly to expose the truth and dismantle the SFO’s flawed case.

“I was shocked when I learnt that G4S had entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement accusing me of wrongdoing, a wholly untrue allegation.

“This amounted to G4S signing a false confession, plain and simple.

“The outcome of this case shows G4S’s decision to enter into a DPA was unfair and misguided.

“To later learn that the SFO accepted the DPA’s untrue narrative and decided to prosecute me without properly investigating the underlying evidence, was incomprehensible.

“I am of course pleased to be vindicated, but no one should have to go through such an ordeal.

“Without significant changes to the DPA regime and the SFO I fear they will.”

Mr Jardine’s lawyer Joanna Dimmock, said: “After 10 years of delay, mismanagement and misunderstanding of the evidence the SFO have finally recognised this case should never have been brought.

“The SFO knew in 2021 fundamental errors existed which impacted the safety of Mr Jardine’s case. What followed has been a litany of disclosure disasters and breaches by the SFO of over 60 court orders.

“Yet again the SFO has wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers money whilst three men’s lives have been ravaged and put on hold for nearly a decade.

“Mr Jardine is grateful that he can finally put the injustice of the last nine years behind him and begin to rebuild his future with his family.”

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New Zealand: Family’s plea to fugitive dad on the run with children for nearly four years

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New Zealand: Family's plea to fugitive dad on the run with children for nearly four years

The family of a father who disappeared with his three children nearly four years ago in New Zealand have broken their silence to appeal for him to return home.

In December 2021, Tom Phillips vanished into the wilderness with his two daughters and son – but his family have said they still remain hopeful “today will be the day you all come home”.

Phillips, along with Jayda, now aged 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, nine, were last believed to have been seen in a “credible sighting” last October hiking through a bush area near Marokopa on the country’s North Island.

For the first time, his family have directly appealed to Phillips in the hope that “just maybe, he’s going to see this” and “that we are here for him”.

In an interview with New Zealand journalist Paddy Gower, his sister Rozzi Phillips said she missed being part of her brother’s life, adding “I really want to see you” and “you’re very special to me”.

She also read out a handwritten message from Phillips’ mother, Julia, which came from her “heart, just to her son”.

“Tom, I feel really sad that you thought you had to do this, not considering how much we love you and could support you,” she said.

“It hurts every time I see photos of the children and of you and see some of your stuff that is still here, thinking what could have been if you’d not gone away.”

Tom Phillips. Pic: New Zealand Police
Image:
Tom Phillips. Pic: New Zealand Police

According to New Zealand news site, Stuff, the letter ended with a message for the three children.

“We love you so much and really miss being part of your lives,” it read.

“Every day we wake up and hope that today will be the day you all come home.”

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Ms Phillips said her brother is a skilled builder and would have constructed a shelter.

Police believe his actions could be linked to a custody battle.

There have been numerous reported sightings since December 2021.

The most recent last October was said to be from a distance when the group were seen wearing camouflage gear and carrying large camping backpacks.

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Israel calls up thousands of reservists as it prepares to launch new Gaza offensive

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Israel calls up thousands of reservists as it prepares to launch new Gaza offensive

Israel will call up 60,000 reservists as it prepares to launch an expanded military operation in Gaza City.

The military said the country’s defence minister Israel Katz has approved plans to begin a new phase of operations in some of the most densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces will operate in areas of Gaza City where they have not yet operated and where it believes Hamas is still active, a military official said.

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Israel must have ‘security control’ to end Gaza war, Netanyahu says

The city is the main military and governing stronghold of Hamas and Israeli troops will target the group’s vast underground network, the official added.

Although Israel has targeted and killed much of Hamas’ senior leadership, parts of the group are actively regrouping and carrying out attacks, including launching rockets towards Israel, the official said.

It remains unclear when the operation will begin, but it could be a matter of days.

Palestinians at the site of a house struck by Israel in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Palestinians at the site of a house struck by Israel in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters

The official said 60,000 reservists will be called up in the coming month and the service of an additional 20,000 reservists currently serving will be lengthened.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the objectives of the war are to secure the release of the remaining hostages and destroy Hamas.

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Gaza hospitals ‘overwhelmed with malnutrition cases’

International criticism of Israel increased after the planned offensive was announced earlier this month amid fears of another mass displacement of Palestinians.

The families of the hostages and former army and intelligence chiefs oppose an expanded operation in Gaza City, with most of the families of hostages wanting an immediate ceasefire.

They worry an expanded assault could threaten prospects of bringing the 50 remaining hostages home. Israel believes 20 of those are still alive.

Read more:
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Parachutes drop aid supplies in Gaza. Pic: AP
Image:
Parachutes drop aid supplies in Gaza. Pic: AP

Palestinians rush to collect airdropped humanitarian aid packages. Pic: AP
Image:
Palestinians rush to collect airdropped humanitarian aid packages. Pic: AP

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251.

Many of the hostages have been released in ceasefires and other deals, with Hamas saying it will only free the remainder in exchange of a lasting ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.

More than 62,000 people have been killed during Israel’s 22-month counteroffensive, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up around half of those killed.

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Earlier this week, the ministry said 154 adults had died of malnutrition-related causes since the ministry began counting such deaths in late June, and 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began.

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Tents abandoned as Palestinians flee Israeli advance into Gaza City

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Tents abandoned as Palestinians flee Israeli advance into Gaza City

Thousands have fled parts of Gaza City in recent days amid airstrikes and advancing Israeli troops, new satellite imagery shows.

Israel’s advance comes as it prepares to mount a full-scale invasion of the city, where the UN says around one million Palestinians are sheltering.

Satellite imagery shows that entire tent camps in southeast Gaza City were emptied between 9 and 17 August as families fled the renewed attacks.

The video below shows the moment of an airstrike in southeastern Gaza City on 13 August. Sky News geolocated the footage to a building less than 200 metres from a major tent camp.

Another video, taken on 15 August, shows a strike on a building right next to the camp.

By the following day, almost all the camp’s residents had fled, along with people sheltering at 30 other locations in the area.

Fresh vehicle tracks in the area indicate extensive troop movements on the ground.

The satellite image below, taken on 17 August, shows at least nine military vehicles in the streets surrounding one former tent camp.

Sky News counted 58 military vehicles in the area on 17 August, including 17 bulldozers.

The image below shows four IDF vehicles, including a bulldozer, parked next to the remains of one tent camp. Several nearby buildings had been levelled in the days beforehand.

Between 9 and 17 August, at least 132 buildings were destroyed in less than one square kilometre of the city.

It’s unclear how much of the destruction was carried out by IDF bulldozers and how much was a result of airstrikes.

On Monday, eyewitnesses reported that Israeli tanks had made further advances into eastern Gaza City.

The advances came as Hamas said it had approved a ceasefire deal presented by mediators Egypt and Qatar. Israel has yet to respond to the proposal.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his country’s military to prepare for a full-scale invasion and occupation of the city in order to “free Gaza from Hamas”.

The UN has said that the invasion risks “catastrophic consequences” for the estimated one million Palestinians sheltering in the city, while UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the plan would “only bring more bloodshed”.


The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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