The security services estimate that there are about 30 Russian intelligence officers based in London, the same number as at the end of the cold war. Only a few are officially declared. The four embassy staff expelled yesterday are said to be among those believed to be spies.
– The Guardian
The commanding officer of the SAS has resigned, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
The officer, a lieutenant colonel who cannot be named for security reasons, is believed to have been offered a lucrative job in the security industry, where he could earn well into six figures.
His departure highlights a growing exodus of officers who have been almost constantly on operations since 2001.
– The Telegraph
It has become as much a part of student life as hangovers and essay crises. But now Facebook, the social networking website, is being used as a disciplinary tool by university authorities.
Staff at Oxford University are searching the website, collecting photographs of students who they say have broken rules on post-examination celebrations, and handing down fines. The student union has branded the move a “disgraceful” intrusion into privacy and has e-mailed every common room advising how to prevent dons viewing the photographs.
– The Times
Judges should be able to decide how long alleged terrorists can be detained without trial, a Government adviser said yesterday.
At the weekend, Ken Jones, the head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, appeared to suggest that suspects should be held indefinitely.
Yesterday, Lord West, the new security minister, said he backed an extension of the 28-day limit because Islamist gangs in the UK posed “a real threat to this nation”.
– The Telegraph