Nine Asian men convicted of sexually exploiting teenage girls were jailed for a total of 77 years today as a judge told them they had treated their victims as “worthless and beyond respect”.

Three men were jailed for life today for the "calculated and cold-blooded" murder of a nightclub doorman.

A former soap star who admitted driving the getaway car in a gangland shooting has been cleared of murder, it can be reported today.

"We are innocent people loyal to the community," proclaimed the posters adorning the windows of the Tasty Bites takeaway yesterday. If we are guilty, why the police have not arrested us? Why we are still working? Why our shop is still open?"

A teenager was repeatedly raped by members of a gang who used alcohol and threats of violence to force her to comply with their demands, a court heard today.

Two former care home workers who "fleeced" vulnerable patients of tens of thousands of pounds were jailed today.

A paedophile who was the first person extradited from China to the UK after he skipped bail on a false passport was finally jailed for seven years and eight months today.

Two alleged gang members who escaped from a prison van faced trial in their absence yesterday over a series of gun and grenade attacks.

Liverpool and Everton come together at Anfield tonight to contest the 217th Merseyside derby.

There were two significant sporting moments played out in courtrooms in this country this year. One came amid a scrum of international media at Southwark Crown Court on the banks of the Thames in London and resulted in the imprisonment of three Pakistan Test cricketers, the captain Salman Butt, and two of the world's best fast bowlers, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. It shook cricket, a continent and the sporting world beyond.

An MP's wife was given a nine-month suspended jail sentence yesterday for snatching a kitten from the home of her husband's mistress.

The jury in the trial of Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were yesterday sent home for the weekend by the judge after a second day of deliberations failed to produce a verdict.

An MP's wife was given a nine-month suspended jail sentence today for snatching a kitten from the home of her husband's mistress.

Twenty-four members of an international drugs gang have been handed jail terms ranging from one year to 30 for plotting to smuggle up to 40 tonnes of cocaine into the UK.