The Millennium Dome Bombing Saga

 

MD News
In 2001 Thursday, 22/03/2001
The Election Plot Thickens
Lucy Raven: Election agent
Photo: Tim deLong
The agent of the independent MPs at risk of a by-election through election expenses irregularities has fallen for a sting operation. Lucy Raven acted as agent for Clive Denison of the non-aligned Dump The Dome Party, who won the seat at Greenwich. A national newspaper has obtained what it is calling conclusive proof that Ms Raven deliberately 'shopped' herself to the UK Electoral Regulation Commission over irregularities in Mr. Denison's election expenses. The newspaper is saying that she was paid off by either a Real Labour supporter, or even a party official, to slant her evidence to enhance Real Labour's chances of recovering the seat.
   The lady concerned is denying all accusations strenuously but, significantly, 9 other independents MPs, and/or their election agents, have reported approaches from people claiming to be from one or another of the major political parties. In each case, the object seems to have been to sleaze the party most likely to win the seat if a by-election is held.
   Who says politics is dull?

filed by Joe Deblat [j.deblat@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Monday, 02/04/2001
A Great Story Lost

the Millennium DomeScotland's favourite newspaper, the Sunday Post, was planning to run an April Fool story about the Millennium Dome yesterday. Unfortunately, journalist Craig Robertson has been overtaken by events.
   His bright idea was to suggest that the Scottish Parliament intended to abandon the scandal-ridden new building at Holyrood in favour of selected areas of the Dome.
   It is no secret that the new Scottish Parliament building is expected to cost anything up to ten times the original costing of £50million. Relocation elsewhere looks a very attractive alternative to completing the white elephant in Scotland because, as Mr. Robertson would have pointed out, Scottish MPs could be flown to and from Greenwich on a daily basis for 25 years for less than the cost of the Holyrood Parliament building.
   The Dome's Education, Ecology and Business Zones would have provided logical homes for sections of the Scottish governmental machine. But given the freeloading nature of all MPs, it is likely that the Rest Zone would soon have become overcrowded.
   Mr. Robertson's unpublished article also contains a suggestion that the Dome could be moved to Scotland. Maybe they could even build a Millennium Dome II there now that the constructors have had a spot of practice at erecting and repairing a circus tent of this size.

filed by Maris O'Vishke [m.ov@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Tuesday, 03/04/2001
Investigate, Investigate, Investigate
PM Tudor: Investigate
Photo: Oliver Strange Agency
Interrim Prime Minister Henry Tudor has put a stop to the speculation about alleged financial irregularities before the last election and dodgy goings on after it. He has ordered a judicial inquiry into the whole sorry business, which means that no one can mention it for fear of being charged with contempt of the enquiry. [But not until it gets going, surely? Ed.]
   His opponents are crying, "Foul!" Mr. Tudor is insisting that he is taking the only reasonable course of action in the circumstances. The inquiry is expected to take about a year to collect up evidence. Then the judge, who has yet to be appointed, will probably take about the same amount to deliver a verdict. And, who knows? Mr. Tudor will probably have become one with history, like his predecessor Mr. McBlair, by then!
   In the meantime, the public inquiry puts the kybosh on a spring election and brings a little stability to the political scene. Everyone is expected to hold their places and wait for whoever heads the inquiry to pronounce on the rights and wrongs of the last election.

filed by Joe Deblat [j.deblat@md.news.uk]
 

 

MDB News
In 2001 Thursday 19/04/2001
Police 'rioters' brought to book
(well, sort of)

Give us our year back, you bastard!Eight police constables, who were involved in a mini-riot at the Prime Minister's constituency office last year, have been 'sent for retraining'. The decision constitutes agreement that they went out of control when they stormed a peaceful demonstration by members of the 20th Century Appreciation Society with batons drawn.
   A sergeant and an inspector, who were in charge of the police contingent, have already been demoted to the rank of constable.
   The TCAS picketed the Prime Minister's first surgery of the year 2000 for his Dredgefield constituents as a protest against his government's decision to crop a full year off the 20th Century by celebrating the arrival of a new millennium on December 31st 1999.
   Despite strong denials from the police and Downing Street, it is likely that the demonstration was seen as support for the actions of the Millennium Dome Bomber. The police over-reaction, therefore, was a misguided attempt to prove that the government will be tough on the supporters of terrorism.
   Readers with long memories will remember that the Downing Street press office was still calling the Millennium Dome bombing 'an act of terrorism by an international gang', and promising to arrest the gang members 'speedily' whicle cracking down 'with vigour' on any of its supporters in Britain.

   Misguided

Eight demonstrators and two police officers ended up in hospital when the group of protesters was dispersed. 19 people were arrested and 4 'ringleaders' were put on trial for public order offences last May. They were able to offer an extensive video record of what took place and they were duly acquitted.
   All of the investigations by the Police Compaints Bureau arising from the 'riot' have now been completed but the claims for damages and compensation, lodged against the Durham police by the TCAS, are still in progress.
   In the meantime, the TCAS is still demanding the return of the year cropped off the 20th Century, and the society plans to continue to harass the Prime Minister until Mr. McBlair admits it was wrong to 'dumb down' the millennium change.
   The Society will be holding another day-long vigil for their lost year in Millennium Park on Sunday, July 15th – on the day after the Prime Minister's birthday. And if Mr. McBlair still hasn't apologized by then, the next vigil will be held on Sunday, December 30th.

filed by Insider [In-113@mdb.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Sunday, 06/05/2001
Big Bang, Scandal, Speculation

A lot seems to be going on in Greenwich, home of the former Millennium Dome, so here's a recap of this week's events.
   A loud explosion blew out all the windows at the Labour Party constituency office in Greenwich last Sunday night. Officers of the London Fire Service stood by while an Army bomb disposal squad check the building for further explosive devices. Then police forensic teams took over when the Army team told them that the building was safe and the Fire Service confirmed that there were no fires.
   According to reports, the police found documents proving abuse of postal votes laid out for their inspection . The explosion seems to have been both an attention getter and a device for clearing the building until the police had found the documents.
   Events took an even more sinister turn in the next couple of days. The Greenwich police are believed to have investigated complaints from residents of a local old people's home. Someone, the residents say, talked them into applying for postal votes for the general election last October, but they never saw the forms. The implication is that the 'someone' filled in the forms and stole their votes.
   Another interesting development is a leak from Scotland Yard to the effect that the explosive device had the Millennium Dome Bomber's 'style fingerprints' all over it. There is some speculation that the MDB is now seeking to become a political crusader. The implication is that he/she is an attention-seeker who's not getting any attention right now and missing the media spotlight.
   On Thursday, a Home Office forensic psychologist said that the MDB got a big thrill from the operation at the Dome. But that has passed into history now. The bomber wants to feel that buzz again and he/she is confident that he/she can get away with something a lot smaller – like blowing up a constituency office – after getting away with the major crime of partially demolishing a national monument.
   Yesterday (on Saturday), the MDB send out a communication sprayed with his/her personal combination of fluorescent marker dyes. The MDB thinks the shrink is an idiot and so's the 'expert' at Scotland Yard. Every explosion after the Millennium Dome is the work of imitators and saying they're the work of the MDB is pure idleness on the part of people who should be able to do a better job.
   Commander Paul Brass, leader of the MDB Taskforce, is said to be 'keeping an open mind' on the information flowing from the forensic laboratories and the MDB's denial. His team is offering its expertise to the local force in Greenwich but maintaining a stance which is 'observational rather than active'.
   Of course, it occurs to your fearless reporter that the authorities might be trying to lull the real Greenwich protest bomber into a sense of false security. Or they're trying to provoke him/her into doing something rash out of indignation. Oops, what a giveaway! Sorry, chaps! That's not going to happen now, is it?

filed by Joe Deblat [j.deblat@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Friday, 11/05/2001
Dome Fire Sale Soon

A surprising amount of Millennium Dome material survives three months after it was destroyed when a light aircraft crashed onto it. Some of the material was salvaged from areas remote from the fire but most of it comprises new exhibits which were waiting their turn and items removed either for repair or because they had served their purpose.
   The Dome's new enterprising owners have decided to let the British people share the Millennium Dome experience by holding a fire sale of their collection of 'Domabelia'. The auction will be held in Greenwich in the last week of the month. Preview days will be held on the final two weekends of May and members of the public will be free to come along to Complex B of the surviving Dome peripherals to view what is on offer.
   In addition to Dome exhibits, the auctioneers have indicated that posters, unused tickets, routine Dome merchandise like mugs and teeshirts, and all sorts of other ephemera will be available. A certain amount of lighting, computer and catering equipment will be offered to commercial buyers.
   The sale marks the beginning of a period of 'normalization' for Signor Lucrio Sospettoso, the owner of the Dome site. His lawyers have spent the last three months tracking down all those who spread rumours that Signor Sospettoso was responsible for hiring the so-called MD2 Gang to destroy the Dome. Most of their work has been behind the scenes, but a number of media companies are known to have received nasty shocks and the Internet has been full of sites offering grovelling apologies as the price of staying out of the bankruptcy courts.
   Sir Tom Todhunter, Signor Sospettoso' representative in the UK, sees the sale as a means of 'engaging with the people of Greenwich'. Quite what he means by this is unclear, but it seems likely that the locals will find themselves engaging with a lot of heavy lorries when the developers start putting over 10,000 new homes on the site!

filed by Maris O'Vishke [m.ov@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Wednesday, 16/05/2001
Not Quite As 'Public' As Expected

The inquiry into alleged irregularites over election expenses for last October's general election will not be held in public, the Prime Minister's office at Downing Street has just confirmed. Lord Justice Belkrayne will be sitting in closed sessions and anyone who doesn't like it will just have to lump it.
   Excluding the public and the press from evidence gathering sessions is intended to prevent the spread of potentially prejudicial speculation. Privacy, or secrecy as some prefer to call it, is expected to encourage some witnesses to be more forthcoming and reduce the risk of intimidation.
   Clive Denison of the Dump The Dome Party, independent MP for Greenwich and one of the inquiry's 'suspects', has vowed not to be bound by the secrecy rule. His position is that he has nothing to hide and there is no reason to keep anything that he tells Lord Justice Belkrayne from his constituents. And if he chooses to talk about his evidence in the House, there's not a lot that anyone can do about it.

filed by Jarvic Klute [j.klute@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Monday, 02/06/2001
The Great Dome Fire Sale Begins!

The Body ZoneA staggering 18,000 items went on view to prospective buyers at a Millennium Dome peripheral site at the end of May. After two viewing days, the sale began today. The vendors are hoping to raise £4-6million from the sale.
   The more bizarre items on offer include four latex models of body lice, herds of rubber chickens, a Mini chopped in half and a nine-foot model of a hamster with its own huge chunk of cheese. Some of the punters seemed to think that they would make entertaining garden ornaments. They're certainly a lot different from gnomes!
9 foot hamster   Many of those attending the sale are just looking for a souvenir of the Dome – and hoping to find something which will grow in value. "The Dome cost us all an arm and a leg. They'd have been better off spending the money on new hospitals," said one potential buyer, who preferred to remain anonymous. "I think most people are just trying to get a bit of value for themselves for all the cash the government wasted."
   On a more commercial level, however, advanced lighting, sound, computer and catering equipment are all going under the hammer. The issue of reserve prices has been giving the government a lot of grief and the Prime Minister must be preparing his excuses for the inevitable questions about giving away taxpayers' property at knock-down prices when the sale ends.

filed by Maris O'Vishke [m.ov@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Wednesday 15/08/2001
Was the Millennium Dome Cursed?
The Dome : Cursed?
There is a growing suspicion among the capital city's journalists that someone put a curse on the Millennium Dome. It was rammed down the nation's throats because the McBlair government thought that it would make the regime look good. It also provided 'jobs for the boys' (and girls) as gifts from the prime minister and it put a hell of a lot of cash into the pockets of his party's supporters. But at what would have been the triumphal opening, the dream began to to horribly wrong.
   The Millennium Dome Bomber stepped in to ensure that the millennium change junket would not take place a year too early. Prime Minister McBlair put on his brave face and assured the nation that the bomber would be caught and the Dome would open on time; even if the schedule had been revised a bit.
   The Dome did open, and the Jubilee Line extension to the Tube system was completed before the opening day (just). But less than a month later, it was the government's fiddles over the Dome's finances which were making the headlines, not the Dome itself, and the Bomber remains at liberty a year and a half on.
   And then we had all the fun and games over selling the Dome, Fraud Squad investigations of contracts for supplying goods and services to the Dome, the Dome Secretary and the head of its management quango being fired, and the scandal of honours for the Dome's sponsors. And finally, the election which shoved Angus McBlair into the dustbin of history.
   Once McBlair had been shuffled out of the public arena, the Dome began to prosper – only to be destroyed by a mysterious plane crash, which remains the subject of police investigation. And with McBlair out of Downing Street and no longer able to keep the lid on his past dodgy dealings, investigators have been allowed a fairly free hand as they seek to unravel the Dome's darkest secrets. Yes, the Millennium Dome may be gone but it is certainly not forgotten, and all those who made money out of it at the taxpayers' expense are living in fear of a knock at the door and a copper with a search warrant.
   Was the Dome cursed? How could it not be!

filed by Dana Howmaj [d.howmaj@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Thursday 20/09/2001
Carnell-Wyatt Questioned
Carnell-Wyatt: Dawn Arrest
Amos Roche: Whistle blown
Detective Chief Inspector Sam Breitsch of Scotland Yard's Fraud Squad had an army of press photographers and TV camera crews in attendance when he went out to make a couple of dawn arrests yesterday. The flurry of excitement was not appreciated in the rather posh area to the north of Hastings.
   The police have been investigating corruption in connection with Millennium Dome contracts for a couple of years, but they have been wading through a mass of incomplete records. Now, some disgruntled employee has blown the whistle on Amos Roche, former boyfriend of Robyn Carnell-Wyatt, who used to be an officer of A New Millennium Dawn, the Millennium Dome's management quango.
   Roche received contracts worth £20million from ANMD and it looks like he didn't share his good fortune widely enough. Scotland Yard's press office has been resisting temptation nobly when invited to speculate, but enough hints have come out suggest that the whistle-blower has provided DCI Breitsch and his squad with some joined-up documents, which show a long, and complete, trail of corruption.
   Both Ms Carnell-Wyatt and Mr. Roche are 'helping the police with their inquiries' but it is not yet known whether they are helping to point fingers in the right directions or trying to avoid becoming guests of Her Majesty in two of her gaols.
   Whatever the outcome, let us hope that the Can't Prosecute Service don't screw this one up!

filed by Dana Howmaj [d.howmaj@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Monday, 08/10/2001
Was the Dome Crash a rehearsal for September 11th?
the Dome, 2001/02/19New York, 2001/11/09
The Dome in flames in FebruaryThe World Trade Centre 7 months later

Britain's intelligence agencies are exploring the possibility that the destruction of the Millennium Dome in February was a try-out for the assaults on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York last month. "It could well be that the terrorists were finding out how easy it is in practice to fly into regulated air-space," an expert on international terrorism said.
   "The crash occurring at two o'clock in the morning could well have been part of the strategy," our expert continued. "Vigilance tends to be lower when there are fewer aircraft flying, and this factor balances out the lower numbers of aircraft which the relevant air-traffic control district will be observing."
   A police spokesman did not dismiss this theory out of hand but she emphasized that the investigation into the London plane crash is still in the evidence-gathering phase. No evidence of a terrorist connection has surfaced so far.
   The aircraft which crashed onto the Dome was a LearJet, which was sold off by the US Customs authorities as the confiscated property of a drug dealer. According to federal records in the United States, the aircraft was written off in October of last year after a collision on the ground involving a heavy goods vehicle.
   Following identification of the aircraft from serial numbers obtained from the wreckage, insurance investigators from the US have joined the police operation in Greenwich 'in an observer capacity'.
   The Sospettoso Organization, the owners of the Millenium Dome, had no comment to make on this latest twist of their acquisition's chequered history.

filed by Erik Voth [ej.voth@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Monday 05/11/2001
End Of An Era
Tudor: No longer the boss
Henry Tudor's period as interrim leader of the Labour party has come to an end. Since the country's top job became his, more or less by default, he has enhanced his reputation as a bruiser, who is willing to ride roughshod over opposition in the name of rebuilding his party's shattered reputation.
   He will be chiefly remembered as the Minister For Covering Up Scandals. In April, he set up a public inquiry into the alleged financial irregularities surrounding the last general election. This move was particularly unpopular with Clive Denison of the Dump The Dome Party. Mr. Denison won in Greenwich as an independent at the expense of a McBlair Labour candidate and he is claiming that he is the victim of a Real Labour conspiracy.
   Lord Justice Belkrayne is currently gathering evidence at closed sessions to 'prevent the spread of potentially prejudicial speculation'. He is expected to deliver his conclusions sometime in the autumn of 2003. Until them, speculation in the main news organs is suppressed to avoid sanctions for contempt of the inquiry. [Although, the same consideration does not apply to material posted on the internet. Ed.]
   Mr. Tudor has also worked tirelessly (if anyone can believe that) behind the scenes to frustrate the attempts of those who wished to inquire closely into the finances of the Millennium Dome and those associated with it.
   On the positive side, Mr. Tudor is credited with stabilizing the Labour party by cementing over the gaps between McBlairites and the Real Labour movement. His actions allowed Labour to maintain a working majority in the House of Commons and avoid the embarrassment of a general election at a time when the funds of the major polical parties were, and still are, exhausted. He is expected to be suitably rewarded in the new administration.

filed by Joe Deblat [j.deblat@md.news.uk]

Who's the new boss?

Jenson: The new boss
EVENING UPDATE
The afternoon has seen the usual beauty parade to and from 10 Downing Street as a new prime minister dished out jobs to his pals and the sack to representatives of older regimes. Among them was Henry Tudor, the former holder of the job, who has been given the job of deputy prime minister as a reward for going quietly.
   His successor as Labour leader is Alen Jenson, who is known as 'Alien' because of his interest in UFOs. A former postman and trade union local official, he has served as a junior minister at the Home Office then the Foreign Office. Immediately before his elevation, he was Minister for Europe.
   He took over on a continuity agenda. He more or less promised the McBlairites that he would continue their agenda while promising the Socialists that he would revert to real (traditional) labour policies. He sucessfully pulled off one of the most incredible balancing acts in the history of politics to reach his current position of power – with a lot of help from a lot of expensively bought spin. It is rumoured that the public relations industry is considering his campaign manager for an award.
   The big mystery about Alien is who backed him and so who he's in hock to. The trade unions think he's their man but they know that he has to put on a facade of independence to take the country along with him. They're prepared to suffer a few apparent reverses if they think they'll get their way in the long run. But there are persistent rumours that Mr. Jenson has other wealthy friends, who also expect to benefit from their contributions to his success.
   As usual, we shall have to wait to find out who gets a prize and who gets screwed. Conspiracy theorists are now busily finding significance in a change of leader on Bonfire Night!

filed by Orest Beet [or.beet@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Tuesday 06/11/2001
Standing room only at Dome trial
Dome robbery
The heist in progress
Dome robbery
Pix : Oliver Strange Agency.
It seems somehow appropriate that the trial of the Millenium Dome Robbers should begin on Bonfire Night, the anniversary of an occasion some 400 years ago when another dastardly plot was foiled.
   Seven men stand accused of planning to steal the Millennium Collection of diamonds between July 1st and November 8th, 2000. All of them deny the charges (at the moment). Packed with the accused and their legal teams, the Old Bailey was bulging at the seams when the trial kicked off.
   Prosecutor Paul Hislop, QC, began his case with a quick tour of the 'blag of the century'. The gang tried to use a JCB digger to smash a path into the Dome but the ran straight into a police trap. Mr. Hislop added that if the gang had been successful, their crime could have been properly described as 'the robbery of the millennium.'
   With no regard for the safety of the general public, the gang assaulted the dome wearing body armour and carrying smoke grenades and bottles of ammonia as weapons, in additions to 'implements of demolition'. The robbery attempt was professionally planned. Mr. Hislop voiced this tired cliché with a straight face and a serious expression. The details including having a decoy boat waiting to draw the police to the wrong side of the Thames after the robbery.
   Unfortunately for the gang, the police had removed the Millennium Star from its £60,000 armoured cabinet and replaced the collection of diamonds with replicas. The police were also watching developments on the ground via CCTV and undercover officers carrying miniaturized video surveillance equipment. We were also told that the Millennium Collection has a 'sophisticated surveillance and protection system' as a further statement of the bleedin' obvious.
   At the end of this first episode of the prosecutor's opening statement, the trial was adjourned until Thursday. (Possibly because Mr. Hislop is double-booked on another case.)

filed by Saraman Zinovief [s.zinovief@md.news.uk]

Dome Robbery – The Accused

The Millennium Star
Pic : Oliver Strange Agency.
A total of twelve arrests were made between the day of the alleged attempt to steal the fabulous Millennium Star diamond in November last year and the end of May this year. Three of the suspects were released without charge. Two pleaded guilty to various offences and they await sentence when the main trial is over.
   Those on trial at the Old Bailey are: Walter Denisov, 48, of Bermondsey, London; Michael Ianbow, 57, of Dalston, London; Peter Burnside, 51, from Deal, Kent; Eustace Carmaggio, 36, of Islington, London; Alan Redmond, 39, of no fixed address; Karl Malvern, 43, from Catford, London, and William Tyler, 45, from Ashingford, Kent.
   Basically, those arrested at the Dome were charged with 'conspiracy to rob' and 'conspiracy to steal' charges were laid against those arrested in the vicinity of the Dome and others suspected of assisting in the planning and preparations for the 'job'. All five men arrested at the Dome deny the main charge but they have admitted the lesser charge of 'conspiracy to steal'.

filed by Jarvic Klute [j.klute@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Tuesday 13/11/2001
Dome trial rattles on

ArrestsPaul Hislop, QC, told an Old Bailey jury yesterday that the Millennium Dome robbers used smoke grenades to create 'an atmosphere of panic and confusion'. They had also brought stink bombs to frighten away members of staff and Dome visitors by creating an impression of a chemical warfare attack. But they were surprised by armed police as they were trying to break the three-quarter inch armoured glass on the vault housing the Millennium Collection diamonds.
   The police, in their preparations before the gang arrived, had kept children out of the danger area but they had been unable to exclude staff and some members of the public 'for obvious security reasons'. Some 38 specialist firearms officers were positioned inside the Dome when the gang broke in and 57 armed Flying Squad officers were placed around the Dome area to intercept fleeing suspects. Undercover surveillance officers were also working on foot, dressed as Dome employees, in the 'danger zone'.
   The two men who assaulted the diamond vault, and another man inside the Dome armed with smoke grenades and an ammonia spray, were arrested and confined in short order. One of them told the arresting officers: "I was 12 inches from a brilliant pay-day." The man stationed at the decoy speedboat on the Thames and the driver of the real getaway vehicle, an anonymous white van, were arrested moments later as part of a co-ordinated operation.
   During his further remarks on the robbery attempt, prosecutor Paul Hislop told us on no less than four occasions that the Millennium Collection contains some of the rarest and finest diamonds in the world. One begins to wonder who he's trying to convince, seeing this fact is trotted out every time the news media mention the robbery.
   As an additional treat, the jury got to see video footage of the gang in action, including the JCB bursting through a clear plastic door and two masked men trying to bash lumps out of the armoured glass protecting the diamonds using sledgehammers. A verdict is expected sometime in the new year.

Robbery #1Robbery #2

filed by Saraman Zinovief [s.zinovief@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Friday 30/11/2001
A New Dome Scandal

the Millennium DomeSerious questions are being asked about goods involved in the June fire sale of stock from the Millennium Dome. Officers from Scotland Yard's Fraud Squad are investigating allegations that some of the 'souvenirs' never got within 50 miles of the Dome and others were general purpose goods 'rebranded' specially for the fire sale.
   Meanwhile, the Serious Fraud Squad is looking into allegations of cronyism involving yet more sale goods. The items in question were stored in a warehouse in Greenwich and they would have been used in the Dome if it had not been destroyed by the crash of a light aircraft in February of this year. The allegation is that goods were sold off artificially cheaply without benefit of the government's usual tendering process.
   It is being whispered that someone high up in government circles is involved but the name has yet to leak out. But it will eventually, you can be sure of that!

filed by Jarvic Klute [j.klute@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Wednesday 12/12/2001
Dome robbery suspect released

Dome robberyOne of the defendants in the 'Dome Robbery' trial has been acquitted. William Tyler, 45, from Ashingford, Kent, was said to have participated in planning the robbery. At the conclusion of the prosecution case, his counsel made an application that his client had no case to answer and the judge agreed. So the foreman of the jury formally declared Mr. Tyler not guilty of charges of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to steal on the direction of the judge.
   His acquittal does not mean that Mr. Tyler (not his real name) is a free man, however. He was arrested on leaving the court and he is currently on remand facing charges of identity theft and dealing in false UK passports and driving licences. According to informed opinion, he faces deportation to his native Chechnya either in the near future or after his trial on the new charges and any prison sentence received.
   The trial of the alleged Millennium Dome raiders is of particular interest to students of court proceedings because the crime scene no longer exists. The Dome was destroyed in mysterious circumstances in February of this year and, consequently, the jury was denied the usual day out to visit the scene of the alleged attempted robbery.
   The Dome lives on in the historical record, however. The jury was treated to an abundance of promotional films from the Dome's operators and police videos of the alleged 'crime of the millennium'. And there was even a computer animation available to provide a virtual tour of the Millennium Diamonds exhibit.
   The trial is expected to conclude in about February of next year.

filed by Saraman Zinovief [s.zinovief@md.news.uk]
 

 

MD News
In 2001 Monday 17/12/2001
aei logoDome Site Sold Off

Donald AnschlussLucrio Sospettoso's organization has sold its entire holding in Greenwich, which included the site of the Millennium Dome and a great deal of development land around it. The purchaser is Donald Anschluss, [left] the c.e.o. of Anshluss Entertainment International, which owns and operates theme parks and casinos around the world.
   Signor Sospettoso, whose organization of one of Anschluss Entertainment's major international rivals, is reputed to be fed up with the constant allegations that he conspired with the mercenary known as Captain James to destroy the Dome.
   In February, there was an alleged attempt to smear Signor Sospettoso using photographs allegedly showing him in the company of Captain James. Later photographs are alleged to show Captain James with former prime minister Angus McBlair and his crony Pierson McAndelsen.
   Greenwich Council greeted the news of the sale enthusiastically. A spokesman said, "Development plans for the former Dome site have been at a standstill during this troubled period. We are confident that AEI has the resources and the experience to make a significant contribution to the Greenwich regeneration plan."

filed by Erik Voth [ej.voth@md.news.uk]
 

 

MDB News
In 2001 Monday 17/12/2001
Dredgefield 'rioters' get pay-off

policing in DredgefieldOut of court settlements have been made to the eight members of the 20th Century Appreciation Society, who required hospital treatment after a police operation in the Prime Minister's constituency in January 2000. A further eleven TCAS members have already received damages payments. Strict confidentiality rules apply to all of the awards against the Durham police.
   The 18 TCAS members were all arrested in a police operation to suppress a demonstration at a 'surgery' at Prime Minister Angus McBlair's Dredgefield constituency. It is suspected that the police thought the demonstration was support for the Millennium Dome Bomber, who had struck just over a week before. In fact, the TCAS members were protesting the loss of a year from the 20th Century following the Government's decision to hold its Millennium celebrations at the end of 1999.
   Four TCAS members were dramatically cleared of public order offences at Newcastle Crown Court in May last year. A total of ten police officers have been disciplined for their conduct in the 'riot'.
   A spokesman for the TCAS said that the awards would be used to fund further demonstrations, which will continue until Mr. McBlair admits it was wrong to 'dumb down' the millennium change.
   The government is already being accused of trying to bury the news of the damages awards under the major news story of the Millennium Dome site's sale.

filed by Insider [In-104@mdb.news.uk]
 

In 2001
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