The News Matrix: Monday 7th July 2014

Tax-avoiding firm in Government deals

The Government is risking taxpayers’ money by approving £140m worth of deals with a company based in the Cayman Islands, despite Prime Minister David Cameron vowing to clamp down on tax-avoiding companies last year . MORE

City council ‘ignored Trojan horse affair’

Birmingham City Council ignored the Trojan horse affair – in which Islamist fundamentalists allegedly sought to take charge of several schools – for 12 years, an inquiry is set to find. It came as Education Secretary Michael Gove called for a “robust” defence of liberal values in schools.

Stolen Soviet-era documents released

Documents from the Mitrokhin Archive have been opened to the public after being kept at a secret location for more than 20 years. Major Vasili Mitrokhin smuggled the information out of Soviet archives during 12 years of working for the KGB before defecting to Britain in 1992.

Human rights lawyer jailed

A court sentenced a prominent human rights lawyer yesterday to 15 years in prison and barred him from travelling for another 15 years after that on charges related to his activism. The court in Jiddah found Waleed Abul-Khair guilty of “inciting public opinion”.

Authorities examine Baghdadi video

Iraq security agencies are working to verify the authenticity of a video that purportedly shows Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the Sunni extremist group Isis that has declared an Islamic state. MORE

Two inmates go on run from open jail

Two criminals have gone on the run from an open prison. Philip Stephenson, 33, and Gareth Robinson, 24, left HMP Kirkham in Lancashire together yesterday. Stephenson was serving a sentence for firearms offences while Robinson was in prison for burglary, police said. They are believed to have got into a silver Volkswagen Golf before heading to the Oldham area.

UK parks to share £34m from Lottery

Parks across the UK are to receive a share of £34.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund to restore features such as bandstands and put in new facilities. The announcement comes after warnings the UK’s public green spaces are “close to crisis point”

Fraudsters faking official websites

Hoaxers are faking government websites that deal with passports and tax return services. Nearly 6,000 have complained to Citizens Advice, and a Which? investigation found some people lost up to £1,000. The government is to launch a crackdown.