A Hampshire man has had his jail sentence doubled following an intervention by the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP.

Nico Alexander, 26, was charged with robbery and aggravated burglary for two offences taking place in March 2019 and May 2020.

On 2 March 2019, a female accomplice lured a man in his twenties (who was unknown to the offender) to a flat. Alexander, alongside Ricki Tribble and a third male accomplice, viciously attacked the man, stealing his phone and demanding money. Alexander forced the victim to go to a nearby ATM machine to withdraw £50. The victim suffered a fractured jaw, requiring surgery involving the fitting of a metal plate, and suffered damage to his front teeth, requiring extensive dental work.

On 2 May 2020, Alexander, Louie Comley and Daniel Watson broke into the home of a former partner of Comley. They smashed the windows and entered the home armed with knives and baseball bats. The occupants of the house, including several children, took shelter in the bedrooms as Alexander, Comley and Watson searched the home for their intended victim, who had escaped the home. On leaving the house, Alexander and his associates stole £200 in cash, and damaged their victims’ phones.

Alexander was convicted of robbery and aggravated burglary and on 31 March 2021, he was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months’ imprisonment at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Following the Court’s decision, the Solicitor General referred Alexander’s sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

On 11 June 2021, the Court ruled that the sentence was unduly lenient and increased it to 10 years’ imprisonment.

After the hearing at the Court of Appeal the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP, said:

Alexander subjected several entirely innocent people to terrible acts of violence. I am glad that the Court of Appeal saw fit to increase this dangerous criminal’s sentence. I hope the Court’s decision can offer some comfort to the victims.

The announcement comes as the Government continues its drive to level up transport in regions right across the country, investing in vital infrastructure and boosting both connections and local economies as we build back better from the pandemic.

Well-known motorways and major A roads including the M11, A14, A1, A47 and A12 are all included in the package. Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists all set to benefit from the planned works, which include road resurfacing, bridge joint replacements, the creation of cycle lanes, improved signage and landscaping. In total, Highways England will spend £218 million on more than 100 schemes across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said:

As we build back better from the pandemic, this multi-million-pound investment will ensure millions of motorists and road-users in the East of England have access to better journeys, all while improving road safety and boosting the economy right across the region.

The investment comes in addition to our plans for major dualling and widening schemes on roads such as the A47 and A12, which will begin construction over the next 2 to 3 years.

This Government will continue to level up connections and improve infrastructure across the country, ensuring everyone, everywhere, can get around quickly and easily.

Martin Fellows, Highways England Regional Director, said:

Hundreds of thousands of drivers use our roads every day for work journeys, home deliveries and the movement of the goods and services, so it’s essential we keep them in a good condition to ensure safety and reliability.

With this investment, Highways England will continue to deliver the essential maintenance and upgrades throughout the region to improve safety and help keep drivers on the move.

Highways England will begin work on its comprehensive maintenance programme in the coming weeks, with schemes including:

• A12 junction 15-18 and junction 25 – concrete repairs and renewals, road markings, studs and kerbs.
• A11 Tuttles to Thickthorn – concrete renewals, studs and road markings.
• A120 Crown Interchange – resurfacing
• A14 junction 39 (Higham) to junction 42 (Westley) – resurfacing, studs, kerbs, road markings, restraint systems, traffic signs, bridge joints.
• A414 M1 J7 (Park St Roundabout, St Albans) – resurfacing, bridge joints, traffic signs, road markings and studs.
• A47 Longthorpe footbridge replacement – replacing bridge bearings.

This latest investment into the regions roads follows on from last year’s essential maintenance programme which saw Highways England pump £117m million into the completion of 123 road renewal and maintenance projects. Over the past 12 months, Highways England resurfaced 203 lane miles of motorways and major A roads in the East, using 221,177 tonnes of resurfacing material. A further 82,000 road studs were laid to help light the way for divers, 335 traffic signs were erected, 95 bridge joins installed, and 111 lighting improvements made.

To keep up to date with the latest travel information follow @HighwaysEast on Twitter or visit the Highways England website

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The UK will chair the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2024, 10 years after first chairing the Alliance in 2014, the government confirmed today.

The Alliance, which is made up of 34 countries including the US and Germany, unites governments to promote and strengthen Holocaust education and research.

The UK already plays a leading role in the IHRA and its chairmanship will strengthen work to combat Holocaust denial, along with championing the IHRA definition of antisemitism – the UK’s use of the definition has been recognised as the gold standard across the globe.

At this week’s meeting of IHRA delegates, representatives from the 34 countries voted to confirm the UK would take up the role of chair in 2024.

The UK’s chairmanship will be supported by experts including representatives from the Holocaust Educational Trust, UCL’s Centre for Holocaust Education, the Association of Jewish Refugees, The Wiener Library and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

It will be a poignant moment for the UK to chair the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2024, 80 years after the first discovery of the Nazi death camps. We will never forget the worst crime of modern history, and we will never relent in the fight against antisemitism.

Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

It will be a great honour for this country to chair the IHRA and continue to lead the way in promoting Holocaust education and remembrance.

Our new UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre will bear witness to the evils of the Holocaust and stand as a permanent reminder of why we need to make a stand against antisemitism wherever and whenever it appears.

UK Special Envoy on post-Holocaust issues, and head of the UK IHRA delegation, Lord Eric Pickles said:

As the head of the UK delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, I am especially honoured that we will be chairing IHRA in 2024.

At a time when Holocaust distortion and revisionism is on the increase the UK intends to be at the forefront of nations that uphold the truth of the Shoah, with a clear unblinking eye. The UK Chair will build on cooperation between international institutions to fight antisemitism and Holocaust denial.

The UK will begin chairmanship of the IHRA in 2024, following Croatia.

The UK was the first country to adopt the adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism in 2016. At least three quarters of local councils and over 80 universities in the UK have adopted the definition following the government’s encouragement and own adoption.

The proposed new Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre is planned to be built next to the Houses of Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens. It will be a focal point for national remembrance of the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust and all other victims of Nazi persecution.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) was founded in 1998 and is made up of 34 countries including Germany, the US and the UK.

The UK IHRA delegation is headed by Lord Pickles, Post Holocaust Issues Envoy and made up of experts in Holocaust remembrance and education.

The IHRA is an intergovernmental organisation which unites governments and experts to strengthen, advance and promote Holocaust education, research and remembrance and to uphold the commitments to the 2000 Stockholm Declaration (the founding document of the IHRA).

The UK plays a leading role in IHRA and is recognised for our work on Holocaust remembrance, education and the fight against antisemitism.

The IHRA meets twice a year and during the UK’s chairmanship Lord Pickles, who is the head of the UK delegation, will take on the role of Chair.