​Council bosses are set to consider finding an external partner to help bring forward regeneration proposals for several council-owned sites in Scarborough town centre.

​The proposed masterplan would consider the future of several high-profile council-owned buildings and sites that require significant investment, including Scarborough Town Hall, where about 80 per cent of the available floor space is currently unused due to its deteriorating condition.

​North Yorkshire Council said it wants a development partner to prepare a masterplan to help identify future uses for underutilised and vacant sites, assess regeneration opportunities, attract investment into some of the town centre’s much-loved buildings and bring forward deliverable proposals for key locations across the town centre.

​The authority recently purchased Resolution House as a new out-of-town office in Scarborough for £3 million, as the first staff members moved into the building last month.

​However, concerns have been raised by local councillors about the future of the Town Hall, which currently serves as a civic centre and hosts many public and council meetings, including those of Scarborough Town Council.

Resolution House. NYC

​Town Mayor, Thomas Murray, said: “Scarborough’s historic Town Hall is not just another office block to be quietly written off from Northallerton.

​“It has stood at the heart of Scarborough’s civic life for generations and remains the home of Scarborough Town Council, our council meetings, mayoralty and civic functions. It is an important part of our town’s heritage and civic identity, and I sincerely hope North Yorkshire Council will work constructively with the Town Council to secure its long-term future.”

​North Yorkshire Council wants to appoint a development partner to prepare a masterplan that will identify future uses for “underutilised and vacant sites, assess regeneration opportunities, attract investment into some of its much-loved buildings and bring forward deliverable proposals for key locations”.

​Scarborough is one of the council’s “highest development priority locations” and is also recognised as a key place for growth and investment by York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Scarborough South Bay. Courtesy NYC

​The proposed approach – set to be considered at a meeting on Tuesday, September 15 – would help the council take a coordinated view on a number of sites, identify funding opportunities and attract investment into regeneration projects.

​North Yorkshire Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Mark Crane, whose responsibilities include regeneration and economic development, said: “We have a number of prominent sites that are currently underused or vacant.

​“By undertaking market engagement to identify a potential development partner, we can take a coordinated approach to understanding how those sites can contribute to the town centre and bring forward practical regeneration proposals.

​“This will help us assess future options for these sites, identify opportunities for investment, and ensure any proposals are deliverable.”

​Following local government reorganisation in 2023, which saw the former county council and seven previous district and borough authorities merge, North Yorkshire Council inherited a large estate of buildings and land.

​This included a number of sites in Scarborough facing significant challenges, alongside annual running costs of up to £1 million.

​As some council staff begin to transition into Resolution House by the A64 – which was bought from Anglo American – the council will retain a town centre presence in Scarborough, including customer services and a base for those who need to work in and around the town centre. Council staff currently work at both the Town Hall and Castle House.

​If the market engagement exercise is successful and the appointment of a development partner is approved, the masterplan would sit alongside a number of regeneration projects already underway in Scarborough, including the Station Gateway public realm scheme and plans to revitalise West Pier.

​Together, they would support a coordinated approach to investment and development across the town.

​North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for finance and property, Cllr Peter Wilkinson, said: “It’s important that we carefully consider how these sites can contribute to Scarborough’s future, identify regeneration opportunities and reduce the costs associated with buildings that are underused and require significant investment.

​“This work will help us assess what options are available and consider proposals that are practical and financially viable.”

Police rushed to the streets after shots were fired from a handgun in broad daylight

Panicked pedestrians ran into a busy street in screams after a gunman opened fire in Merseyside. Police descended on Stanley Road just before 5pm following reports of a man riding an e-bike had let off shots from a handgun on Monday (September 7).

There have been no reports of any injuries, while a damaged was caused to a property. Huge cordon is in place around Stanley Street, with further blockades at its junctions with Merton Road and Balliol Road.

A forensics team arrived at the scene which has been secured by several police vehicles and officers throughout the evening.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

CSI officers were seen working around the area of a bus stop on the busy street.

One witness who was driving along Stanley Road at the time told the ECHO they heard what sounded like two gunshots. They said they noticed a car around 20 metres ahead suddenly stop before reversing back towards them.

The witness said: “At that point, I didn’t know what was going on so I just waited behind for a second. What sounded like two gunshots were then fired. It was really loud; two bangs.

“Two people, I don’t know whether they were male or female, on big black bikes like e-bikes, whizzed off around the corner.

“About 20 seconds later, a guy came out of Swift’s pub holding a brick, with two other girls. He looked like he was looking for somebody.

“He and the girls were shouting. By this point, everyone had come out of the shops.

“People were everywhere, screaming on the street. I didn’t really know what was going on.”

Advertisement

Armed officers remain in the area and detectives are carrying out CCTV and witness enquiries.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Saidi-Bidokhti said: “We are in the very early stages of an investigation and I would appeal to anyone who may have witnessed what happened or has any information which could help us with our enquiries to come forward.

“I would also like to appeal to anyone who lives in the area, who has CCTV footage or Ring doorbell, that may have captured the incident to get in touch.

“We are relentless in our pursuit of such offenders who carry dangerous weapons in our community and urge anyone who has any information to contact us so we can find those responsible.”

If you have any CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage or information about this incident, please contact Merseyside Police social media desk via X @MerPolCC or on Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’.

You can also report information via the force’s website: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or call with log number 745 of 7 September.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously In an emergency always call 999.

All 89 remaining restaurants will serve their last customers on Monday, September 7, as owner Whitbread brings the Brewers Fayre brand to an end.

For diners across the area, one of the nearest restaurants affected is Wheatlea Park on Warrington Road in Wigan.

The restaurant, next to the Premier Inn Wigan West, will close after its final dinner service tonight.

Other North West Brewers Fayre restaurants shutting for good include Stable Gate on Alphagate Drive in Denton and Oakenhurst Farm, off Eccleshill Road in Lower Darwen.

Cottams Field on Caton Road in Lancaster is also closing.

Brewers Fayre has been a familiar name across the UK for decades, with its restaurants known for family dining and often found alongside Premier Inn hotels.

But Whitbread announced earlier this year that it would get rid of all its separately branded restaurants in a major overhaul of the business.

The move affects around 200 restaurants and is expected to result in approximately 3,800 job losses across the UK and Ireland.

Brewers Fayre is not the only well-known restaurant name disappearing as a result.

Bar + Block, Table Table and Cookhouse + Pub sites had their final trading day on September 3.

Beefeater will be next, with 106 restaurants due to close after service on Thursday, September 10.

Whitbread instead plans to operate restaurants within its Premier Inn hotels, a model it says is more efficient and “highly popular with hotel guests”.

The changes form part of a five-year strategy aimed at making £250 million in cost savings.

The company still plans to grow its Premier Inn business, increasing its number of hotel rooms from around 86,600 to 96,000 by the 2031 financial year.

Chief executive Dominic Paul said when the overhaul was announced: “We always challenge ourselves to improve and, in light of significant cost increases in the form of business rates and national insurance, as well as the implied market discount to our inherent value, we’ve looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term.”

He added: “This plan will transform Whitbread into a higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.”

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green closed schools and government offices on the westernmost islands of Kauai and Niihau for Tuesday as Hurricane Lowell was expected to pass nearby, bringing damaging winds, mudslides, possible tornadoes, dangerous rip currents and as much as 16 inches (about 40 centimeters) of rain to some areas.

The closures, which include community colleges and state and county offices, were put into effect for Kauai County, which was under a hurricane warning issued by the National Hurricane Center. The county includes the major islands of Kauai, which has a population of over 73,000, and Niihau, where there are fewer than 100 residents.

A portion of the vast Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument was also included in the warning.

Monday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said the core of the storm was expected to pass over or just west of Niihau late Monday and early Tuesday. While the winds — which were strong enough to make Lowell a Category 2 hurricane as of Monday afternoon — were expected to weaken, the storm was expected to remain a hurricane at its closest approach to the islands

“Closing offices, schools and courts will help keep people off the roads during dangerous conditions and allow emergency crews to focus on protecting our communities,” Green said in a news release. “I urge everyone in Kaua’i County to remain indoors, avoid unnecessary travel and follow all official emergency instructions.”

He also urged residents to stay away from shorelines, avoid driving through floodwaters, prepare for power outages and monitor for updates.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Oahu, which has close to 1 million residents.

Isolated rainfall totals of up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) were expected in Oahu and Maui, and 12 inches (30 centimeters) was expected in portions of the Big Island of Hawaii, the farthest east of the state’s major islands.

Last month, the state had a brush with Tropical Storm Lala. While it did not make landfall, it hit Hawaii — and especially the Big Island — hard, leaving behind landslides, washing away about 100 homes and causing widespread power outages.

An Illinois woman charged with killing her 2-year-old son had been closely following the murder trial of Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy and was texting friends about the case just hours before her son was found dead, prosecutors said.

Corie Walsh, 40, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder after her son, Barrett, was found dead in the basement of the family’s suburban Chicago home on Sept. 1, according to court records obtained by NBC Chicago.

Prosecutors said Walsh had become “very invested” in Clancy’s nationally watched trial and was discussing it with friends until about 12:30 p.m. that day. A neighbor found Barrett less than four hours later.

Walsh was found elsewhere in the home with injuries authorities said were self-inflicted. Prosecutors said she later told investigators that she killed her son because she believed he was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ.” Her attorney, Andrea Lyon, told reporters Walsh was experiencing a psychotic episode and called the boy’s death a tragedy for the entire family.

Police were called to Walsh’s home in Frankfort, about 35 miles (56.33 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, shortly before 4 p.m. after a neighbor discovered Barrett in the basement, according to prosecutors’ petition seeking to keep Walsh jailed before trial.

The neighbor found the boy and began CPR while calling 911, prosecutors said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined that he died from asphyxia caused by ligature compression of the neck.

Police searching the house found Walsh fully dressed in a bathtub containing bloody water, prosecutors said. She had cuts to her wrists and thighs and was taken to a hospital with injuries authorities described as not life-threatening.

The disclosure that Walsh had been following Clancy’s trial came days after a Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial in that case when jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, was accused of killing her three young children in 2023. Her lawyers argued that she was legally insane and suffering from postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors maintained that Clancy understood what she was doing and knew it was wrong.

Authorities in Illinois have not alleged that Clancy’s trial played a role in the killing of Walsh’s son, and no evidence made public so far establishes a connection beyond her discussion of the case.

Frankfort Police and prosecutors in Will County did not respond to calls for comment on Monday.

Erik and Lyle Menendez will have an opportunity to fight for parole earlier than expected.

The brothers, who were once sentenced to spend the rest of their lives behind bars for killing their parents, have been granted an early parole suitability hearing – tentatively scheduled for March 2027, TMZ reports.

They had previously only been able to apply for another hearing in August 2028, after the California Board of Parole denied their requests for early release last year.

But the parole board has since found they qualified for an earlier parole hearing under a provision to Proposition 9, a 2008 law that amended the California state Constitution and was meant to provide certain rights to crime victims, according to the Orange County Register. 

Provisions to the law allow a person’s next parole hearing date to be moved up if there was a change in circumstances or new information indicating the person may be suitable for parole.

It remains unclear whether the parole board uncovered new information indicating the Menendez brothers may be suitable for parole, but their family members have argued that Lyle, 58, and Erik, 55, have been model prisoners.

‘For almost 40 years, Erik and Lyle have worked to take responsibility for their actions, confront and heal from the unimaginable abuse and trauma they endured, grow as individuals and dedicate themselves to serving others,’ a family spokesperson said in a statement.

‘Through efforts such as helping to establish a hospice program and creating Green Space, they have sought to build an environment that reminds people serving life sentences that their lives still have meaning and that, regardless of their circumstances, they can choose each day to grow, heal, accept accountability and contribute something of value to the world around them.

The brothers were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, inside their Beverly Hills mansion

‘Erik and Lyle were once sentenced to life without the possibility of parole,’ the family noted. ‘We will always be profoundly grateful that they have been resentenced and that our family can now imagine a future in which they are once again part of our everyday lives.’

The family then went on to say that the California Board of Parole’s decision to move up their hearing ‘is especially meaningful and brings us immeasurable joy as we move one step closer to a future with them that once seemed impossible.’ 

The brothers have been in jail ever since they were arrested for the shooting deaths of their parents, Kitty and Jose, as they watched a movie at their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989.

The duo were 18 and 21 at the time they killed their parents. 

Their trial prompted worldwide headlines. Prosecutors said their motive was greed, as they stood to inherit $14 million from their parents and had spent large sums of cash following the murders.

Erik had purchased a Jeep and retained a private tennis instructor with hopes of becoming a professional, while his brother bought a Porsche and a restaurant. The two were also infamously seen sitting courtside at an NBA game in between the murders and their arrest. 

The brothers insisted they acted against a father who sexually abused them for years and a mother who turned a blind eye to the abuse.

An initial trial ended with a hung jury. But at a second trial in 1996, where the judge refused to allow any evidence about the brothers being molested by their father, they were convicted and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. 

The brothers had been sentenced to serve life in prison behind bars without the possibility of parole, but last year a judge decided to reduce the brothers’ sentences to 50 years to life, making them eligible for release

Advertisement

But nearly 30 years later, a judge decided to reduce the brothers’ sentences to 50 years to life, making them eligible for release.

Still, the California Board of Parole ruled last year that the brothers would be denied parole for three years, noting that they have both violated prison rules.

‘Contrary to your supporters’ beliefs, you have not been a model prisoner and frankly we find that a little disturbing,’ the board told Erik at his hearing, according to reporter Brian Entin. 

That decision came after a full-day hearing during which commissioners on the board questioned Erik about why he committed the crime and why he violated prison rules.

He had claimed at the hearing that he bought firearms ‘to protect myself in case my father or my mother came at me to kill me, or my father came in the room to rape me.’

When he was then asked why he did not just run away or report the abuse to the police, Erik said he felt ‘leaving meant death’ and he had an ‘absolute belief that I could not get away.’

Erik was denied parole by the California Board of Parole at a hearing last August

Lyle was also denied parole at a separate hearing days later 

Advertisement

Another commissioner then asked why he decided to also kill his mother. Evidence at the trial showed she had crawled on the floor, wounded, before the brothers reloaded the shotguns they had bought with someone else’s ID and fired a final shot.

‘When Mom told me… that she had known all of those years, it was the most devastating moment in my entire life,’ Erik said, becoming visibly emotional. ‘It changed everything for me. I had been protecting her by not telling her.’

‘On that night, I saw them as one person,’ he continued. ‘Had she not been in the room, maybe it would have been different.’ 

Erik also admitted at the hearing that his and his brother’s spending spree was an ‘incredibly callous act.

‘I was torn between hatred of myself over what I did and wishing that I could undo it and trying to live out my life, making teenager decisions,’ he explained.

Erik also used the hearing last year as a chance to apologize to his family.

‘I just want my family to understand that I am so unimaginably sorry for what I have put them through,’ he said.

‘I know they have been here for me and they’re here for me today, but I want them to know, that this should be about them. It’s about them, and if I ever get the chance at freedom, I want the healing to be about them.’

Then, at Lyle’s parole hearing days later, Parole Commissioner Julie Garland cited Lyle’s ‘deception, minimization and rule breaking’ despite his volunteer work and education while behind bars for the board’s decision to deny him parole.

Still, she told the elder brother that his denial ‘wasn’t the end,’ and added: ‘It’s a way for you to spend some time to demonstrate, to practice what you preach about who you are, who you want to be. Don’t be somebody different behind closed doors.’ 

Manchester City footballer Jack is hoping to see the reunited Gallagher brothers even more times next year if the band announce a new Oasis Live 2027 tour…

A host of stars joined Oasis at their big UK premiere of the new docufilm Don’t Look Back in Anger, and among them was some of Liam and Noel Gallagher’s footballer pals too. And one Manchester City star is such a big fan he’s already plotting how many shows he hopes to see when the band finally announced their much-teased new tour in 2027.

Blues star Jack Grealish (currently on loan to Everton) rocked the red carpet along with his glamorous partner Sasha Attwood on Leicester Square on Monday night. They were among a host of famous faces walking a special black carpet laid out for the occasion at the Cineworld in the capital who also included BBC star Vernon Kay, Manc music icon Johnny Marr and comedian Rob Beckett.

And for Jack, it was a huge thrill to head along to be among the first to watch the new Oasis film, as he’s a massive fan of the band.

Click here for the latest on Manchester’s food & drink scene, gigs and more in our CityLife newsletter

He told the MEN how he had watched them TWICE at their big reunion gigs at Heaton Park in Manchester last summer. But that has simply whetted his appetite further and now he wants MORE.

For he said that if, as is widely anticipated, the band announce a new 2027 tour later this week, he’ll be clamouring to get tickets for even more gigs the next time around.

Jack told the MEN on the red carpet: “I’m a massive Oasis fan so I can’t wait to see the film.” Talking about his highlights of Oasis Live 25, he said: “I went to two at Heaton Park me, I tried to go to as many as I could.

“I was there for the first one at Heaton Park and I’ll never forget that day, it’s the best I’ve ever been to.”

When asked about his favourite song or moment from the last tour, he said: “I’ve got loads, but I’d say Slide Away, I just like the lyrics.”

As for a tour next year: “If it happens, I can’t wait. I’ll be at more than two shows.”

Jack may be in luck with securing tickets, given the band are set to play 12 HUGE gigs at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium in June 2027, according to music industry sources. Given his current loan spell with Everton, his footballing future may not be with the Blues, but we’re sure he’ll be keen to see the band back on their home turf there next summer all the same.

The band themselves have been teasing that big run of Etihad gigs with one of a host of cryptic videos that have been posted at the exact same time every day since last Thursday. The MEN understands a big tour announcement will be coming within days now, with tickets set to go on sale before the end of the month.

In the meantime, fans can savour once again all the best moments of the Oasis Live 25 tour in the new movie, created by Peaky Blinders writer Stephen Knight and from directors Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace.

It features never-before-seen backstage and rehearsal footage during the tour, as well as renditions of some of their biggest hits as captured on stage during the Live ’25 set of shows. Following its cinema release, the film will make its way to Disney+ in the UK, but a streaming date has not yet been announced.

As well as also including the first joint interview with the Gallagher brothers since the start of the tour, the film also explores ‘the profound emotional impact of this phenomenal global cultural moment and what their music means to audiences and generations worldwide’.

Steven Knight said: “The Oasis world tour united generations, cultures and countries and spoke to a broken world about reconciliation. ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ is not only your ticket to the show – it’s a backstage pass and a seat at the table when Liam and Noel sit down together for the first time in 15 years and tell it how it is and how it was.”

At the London premiere, like the Venice world premiere at the weekend, neither Liam and Noel did any press interviews on the red carpet.

However, they made time to meet fans who attended the event, and signed a host of memorabilia many had brought along.

Nigel Farage has called for a ban on all face coverings in Britain days after hundreds of masked protestors took to the streets of Dover. 

The Reform UK leader described the coverings – whether that be a balaclava or an Antifa mask – as a ‘menace’ designed to bully and intimidate. 

He added that the sight of an ordinary citizen crossing the road to avoid a masked figure would have been ‘unimaginable’ a generation ago. 

It comes just days after a huge crowd of men donning all-black outfits and balaclavas brought Britain’s busiest ferry port to a standstill on Saturday morning. 

Anti-migrant demonstrators were heard chanting ‘stop the boats’ and ‘enough is enough’ while blocking roads to and from the port on the east coast. 

Hard-Right organisation Patriot Platform – run by convicted attempted kidnapper Daniel Thomas – claimed responsibility for the demonstration. 

In a fiery interview on Saturday night, Farage dubbed the protest ‘disgusting’, insisting that ‘nobody in any political protest, left or right, should be appearing in balaclavas’. 

And now the 62-year-old and Reform UK are calling for all face coverings in public spaces to be banned.

Hundreds of anti-migrant protestors took to the streets of Dover on Saturday

The demonstration, believed to have been organised by Patriot Platform, was described as ‘intimidating’

Advertisement

Farage told The Telegraph: ‘Now, I’m all for the protest – plenty to protest about – but seriously this is not the way to go about it. 

‘Let’s be clear, face coverings are a menace. Whether it is a heavy-duty balaclava worn by a gang member or the dark mask of “Antifa” extremists, their purpose is to bully and intimidate.’

He added: ‘Reform UK is calling for a ban on all full-face coverings in public spaces. No ifs, no buts. And yes, that includes religious ones too. 

‘Because a free and open society depends fundamentally on trust. That trust is built on a simple, ancient social contract: I show you my face, you show me yours. When you strip that away, the entire fabric of public safety and mutual trust begins to fray.’ 

Only a day after hard-Right protestors caused havoc in Dover, more than 500 people took to Portsmouth in a bid to stop 140 asylum seekers being transported to an immigration centre.

The migrants had earlier arrived on a huge dinghy which set sail from Calais, with the French coastguard shadowing the vessel until British lifeboats took over. 

Protesters, some of whom had waded into the sea earlier in the day, said they were prepared to remain throughout the night to block any routes out of the city, leading to clashes with police as riot officers were deployed.  

Eastney is just four miles from the Port of Portsmouth and the HM Naval Base, home to six Royal Navy destroyers and its two flagship aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

In protest footage shared on social media, a riot officer appeared to be pushed from his motorbike as demonstrators, many wearing caps and hoods, shouted: ‘Shame on you.’

Further clips showed officers carrying shields ordering the crowd to ‘get back’ before pushing some protesters away from a nearby police van.

The demonstrators remained in the area until almost midnight amid chaotic scenes and multiple clashes with officers near the waterfront.

The protest is thought to have been spearheaded by hard-Right influencer Daniel Thomas, the Tommy Robinson associate whose Patriot Platform group organised the mass demonstration in Dover. 

Speaking on Monday, government minister Emma Reynolds dubbed the 500 Eastney protestors ‘thuggish and intimidating’. 

The Treasury Chief Secretary said: ‘I absolutely support people’s right to peaceful protest. But this crosses a line and I just want to take the opportunity to thank the police and other emergency services who have brought this under control.’ 

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’s police and crime commissioner Donna Jones said officers from other forces had to come to help – and fears that this ‘is just the start’ of protests.

She said: ‘Last night we had mutual aid, public order police officers sent from police forces across the country including the Metropolitan Police Service.

‘We also had a number of our own police officers, obviously, from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary trying to take back control of the roads, forming a line and holding a few hundred protesters back.

‘This is just the start, if this continues, these numbers will grow from the protesters.

‘They were making their point that they don’t want Portsmouth to become a destination’.

But Rezart Balesi, the 44-year-old Bistro boss who led his son, brother and others into a major cocaine dealing plot, did not have the long criminal history recorded by many others like him.

This is what Judge Sarah Johnston alluded to when she told Balesi and his henchmen that their own families may have been left wondering why they had chosen such a path.

She said: “No one who spends any time at all in the crown court can fail to see the problems drugs, particularly but not always of Class A, cause to our community.”

Before his involvement in leading the cocaine conspiracy centred around the Village Bistro in Greenmount, Balesi’s only previous conviction had been for affray.

The conspiracy had centred around the Greenmount Village Bisto (Image: Google Maps)

This had arisen from his time as landlord of the Lord Raglan pub in Radcliffe when on May 2, 2015, he had used a bottle to beat a man as he lay on the ground.

This was after a fight had broken out near the pool table, while Balesi’s brother Refail, now 39, who would later become a key henchman in the drugs conspiracy, was also involved.

Greater Manchester Police were granted permission to revoke the pub’s licence and temporarily close it back in 2015 because of the brawl.

Rezart Balesi had previously been landlord of the Lord Raglan pub in Radcliffe (Image: Google Maps)

But the brothers avoided jail when brought before Bolton Crown Court in 2017, with each given 18-month sentences, suspended for two years.

At the time, Judge Timothy Clayson told them that they seemed to be “happy to get involved in large-scale violence”.

He told the brothers that had they been convicted by a jury, rather than each pleading guilty to affray, he would have sent them to prison.

Refail Balesi (Image: NWROCU)

But as he was sentenced for his role leading the drugs conspiracy nearly a decade later, prosecutor Lee Fish revealed Balesi had another conviction.

This was for gun offences in his native Albania in 2001, when he would have been in his late teens.

However, compared to other drug kingpins who come before the courts, Balesi’s barrister Andrew Alty was still able to say he was “comparatively lightly convicted”.

Rezart Balesi (Image: NWROCU)

Aside from the two brothers’ affray conviction, the only other member of the gang with a criminal history was “trusted street dealer” Fatos Vrenezi, 53.

He had previous convictions for assault, driving offences and possession of cocaine to his name.

Vrenezi, who Judge Johnston said came from an “upstanding family”, was an unusual figure to have been involved in dealing cocaine.

Fatos Vrenezi (Image: NWROCU)

His barrister Richard Vardon told the court how he had come from an educated family in Kosovo, arriving in the UK in 1991.

Mr Vardon told the court that Vrenezi’s father had been an academic, while his brother worked for the United Nations.

Judge Johnston told Balesi it was to his “eternal shame” that he had involved his 23-year-old son Joshua, who had no previous convictions, in the plot.

Joshua Balesi (Image: NWROCU)

But Joshua had also been involved in a separate cannabis plot, together with 33-year-old Antonino Precaj.

None of the other members of the gang, Immanuel Lumaj, 30, Fjoraldo Lukaj, 31, and Lorenzo Canovi, 48, had any previous convictions recorded against them.

All pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, aside from Precaj, who confessed to being concerned in the supply and production of cannabis.

Antonino Precaj (Image: NWROCU)

Joshua also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Rezart Balesi, of Caldy Drive, Ramsbottom, was jailed for seven years and six months and Refail, of Links View Court, Whitefield, for five years and three months.

Joshua Balesi, of Hazelwood Drive, Bury, was jailed for four years and Vrenezi, of Sunny Bank Road, Bury, for four years.

Canovi, of Lune Close, Whitefield, was jailed for 37 months and Lumaj, of Heathway, Dagenham, for three years and nine months.

Lukaj, of Albert Avenue, Hull, for three years and six months, while Precaj, of Capstan Ride, Enfield, was jailed for 27 months.

Andy Burnham is poised to impose sanctions on Israel, despite warnings that it could undermine Britain’s security.

The Prime Minister is close to agreeing a package of measures that is expected to agree a ban on imports from goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

He is thought to have briefed Donald Trump on the plans during a phone call on Monday night in a bid to contain an expected White House backlash.

The package could be announced as soon as Tuesday morning – with an Israeli minister already hitting out at Britain. 

On Monday, Downing Street said that Mr Burnham has not spoken to Israeli leader Benjamin Netenyahu since becoming PM in July, despite Israel being a key ally in the Middle East.

Labour is under intense pressure from activists to toughen its position on Israel after losing votes to the Greens and so-called Gaza Independents.

Concern about settlements has been mounting for years. It has intensified following Israel’s recent decision to open tenders for 1,200 homes east of Jerusalem, which would divide the West Bank.

Ed Miliband has said he wants a ‘comprehensive reset’ of relations with Israel, which has long been a key Middle East ally of the UK

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband last week said the plan was ‘crossing a red line’ and ‘illegal under international law’. 

He said the proposal ‘cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable’.

Mr Miliband said Labour wanted a ‘comprehensive reset’ of relations with Israel.

Mr Burnham has said the Israeli proposals could ‘imperil or end’ the dream of a two-state solution, which successive British governments have supported for years.

But sanctioning Israel could trigger a major backlash.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar warned last week that his country would retaliate, adding: ‘If they act, I think they will be making a big mistake.’

And, Itamar Ben-Gvirm, the Minister of National Security of Israel, seemingly retaliated to Monday night’s announcement and called for the Falkland Islands to be recognised as Argentine. 

He wrote on X: It’s time for the State of Israel to publicly recognize that the Malvinas Islands are Argentine territory under occupation, which the British violently steal from the Argentine people. 

‘The British are not content with merely occupying the territory; they also carry out oil drilling there and steal the money from the Argentine people. 

‘I call upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and to impose sanctions on Great Britain as long as the occupation continues.’ 

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat on Monday warned the move to impose sanctions could imperil security cooperation credited with saving British lives.

He urged ministers to ‘put our own national interests and our own national security first’, adding: ‘That means that where we have friends and allies who provide us with intelligence in order to keep us safe we should work with them.’

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said: ‘Labour’s desperation to win back hard-Left and Islamist voters from the Greens is stupidly self-defeating.

‘Ed Miliband’s kamikaze mission to take a wrecking ball to the relationship with one of most important security partners and economic interests is student politics at its most destructive. It also gives licence to the Jew haters to be even more antisemitic.’

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has said sanctions will be ‘counterproductive’ and warned they could trigger further hostility towards British Jews.

He said it was ‘difficult to escape the painful conclusion that domestic political considerations are driving foreign policy, the impact of which is negative both for prospects for peace in the Middle East and for the UK Jewish community’.

Sir William Shawcross of the UK Israel Alliance said: ‘This is an appalling mistake by a weak government which ignores British national interests. Ed Miliband is damaging a crucial relationship with the only democracy in the Middle East that makes this country much safer. This reckless anti-Israel stunt will embolden our extremist enemies and drive further anti-Jewish racism.’

Ministers are also braced for an angry reaction from the White House.

Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, accused Mr Miliband of ‘Jew hate’ after he posted a video claiming that medicines had been blocked from entering Gaza.

Downing Street said it ‘completely rejected’ the US claim, saying the government was ‘committed to protecting the Jewish community in the UK’.

No 10 declined to comment on the timing of the sanctions announcement.

But the PM appears to have discussed the proposals during a phone call with President Trump on Monday night.

A No 10 spokesman said Mr Burnham ‘set out the UK’s commitment to working towards peace and security in the region, stressing the importance of the two-state solution’.