More than a third of wealthy British residents are considering leaving the country because of high taxes, the weather and crime.

study by of 1,000 people with more than £250,000 in savings and investments found 35pc may move abroad because of high tax rates, while 44pc blamed the weather and 43pc want to avoid antisocial behaviour.
Recent changes in tax rules have proved controversial for many Britons, including a combination of the 50pc income tax rate on those earning more than £150,000, increases in national insurance and a reduction in personal allowances.
Almost half of respondents to the Lloyds TSB research think Britons are worse off financially that people in other developed countries, while just 9pc think people in Briton are better off.
“We are not expecting a mass exodus,” said Nicholas Boys Smith, managing director of Lloyds TSB International Wealth, “but, regrettably, many wealthy people are dissatisfied with life in the UK and are considering leaving.
“Many high earners are concerned about what they perceive as the tax increases that followed the financial crisis. Despite good recent developments, there are still many countries around which high earners believe offer more favourable tax regimes and importantly, a higher quality of life.”

 

Marbella Terra Sana restaurant row

BUSINESSMAN insists he was right to pull out of a deal with the Terra Sana restaurant chain.
Expat Ned Latif, 47, told the Olive Press he was ‘horrified’ to find the chain was, he claims, over two million euros in debt after signing for a franchise in Gibraltar.
The Portuguese restaurateur briefly took over the running of three of the chain’s restaurants in Marbella.
But, despite getting the full support of its staff, he claims the figures ‘did not add up’ and the debts – in particular 600,000 euros owed in social security payments – were too large to overcome.
Latif said: “When I came in nobody had been paid and there were big debts. I have not been able to sleep over this whole nightmare.”
In a fierce legal battle between Latif and parent company Stradane, he has now been issued a formal apology for falsehoods. A statement read: “We apologise to Mr. Latif if his image could have been tarnished.”
Latif added: “It is the first step to clearing my name, but who is going to pay back the £40,000 I lost, plus legal fees?”

 

Worker killed by falling crane arm at Cártama building site

He is the third person to have died in an accident at work in Málaga province this yearThe scene of the tragedy - EFE


A worker was killed on Tuesday after he was struck by the falling arm of a crane at a building site in Cártama.

It happened at a site near the A-7057 road shortly before 11am, when the crane’s arm collapsed and struck the 49 year old who was working below. He was from Málaga and was married with two children.

EFE reports that he had worked for the construction company for the past 13 years. He is the third person to have died in an accident at work in Málaga province so far this year.

The CCOO and UGT unions have called a protest against this latest death, which will be held on Wednesday outside the Junta de Andalucía’s employment offices in Málaga.

 

Banks are selling off property cheap, but sight unseen

Reports in the Spanish press indicate a new real estate market – Bargains for real estate being sold as bank possessions where the bank concerned has still not got the key. El Mundo has labelled such properties as ‘invisible’.

The banks and savings banks are now reported to be selling off such property cheap, but ‘sight unseen’, with purchasers not being able to even inspect the property. That requirement is compensated for by even lower prices.

However purchasers under such circumstances may have problems, the previous owner could take more than a year to be evicted in some circumstances, and there is also the danger that the current occupant of the property has signed a rental agreement.

The banks, in desperate need for cash, are selling the flats which judicially belong to them, but for which they do not have the keys.

 

27 arrested in Alicante for selling written-off caravans as new

racket involving staff from Alicante ITV vehicle testing stations to sell on written-off caravans has been uncovered by the Civil Guard with the arrest of 27 people. Twenty one of them are vehicle inspectors at the ITV stations.

The 33 caravans were amongst more than 400 which had all been sent for scrap as unfit to be on the roads after suffering serious damage in floods which hit France in 2008. The Interior Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday that the Czech company which bought the vehicles, instead of breaking them up for spare parts, repaired them and fitted them with new plates and vehicle identification numbers.

33 were sold on to an Alicante company for 9,000 € each and false vehicle inspection documents were issued. The caravans, which the Ministry said posed a serious risk on the roads and for their occupants, were then sold as new at some 10,000 € below the market price.

The total amount defrauded is put at more than 1 million €.

 

Arson attack on Sagrada Familia

Hundreds of tourists had to be evacuated from Barcelona's world-famous Sagrada Familia basilica after an arson attack.
Police said the fire was quickly extinguished and no one was hurt.
Around 1,500 people were evacuated from Antoni Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, one of the most popular tourist sites in Spain.
An official said some tourists saw smoke coming from inside the sacristy and raised the alarm, and that the suspected arsonist was arrested.
She said the fire caused damage but no injuries.
The sacristy is the area where priests put on their robes in preparation for Mass.

Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman posted Nicolas Cage's $11,000 bond, after the Knowing star was arrested on charges of domestic violence,

Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman  posted Nicolas Cage's $11,000 bond, after the Knowing star was arrested on charges of domestic violence, disturbing the peace and public drunkenness Saturday morning in New Orleans, E! News has confirmed.

"Media from around the world have been requesting interviews with me today after reports surfaced about my posting a bond for actor Nicolas Cage in New Orleans," Chapman said in a statement to E! News. "I am a truly dedicated fan of Mr. Cage and will not be granting any interviews about my client as I wish to respect his privacy. I performed my duties as a bail bondsman and not in connection with our show. This is what I do for a living. There are two sides of my job: I release my clients after they have been arrested; and pick them up if they don't show up in court. I do not believe the latter will be the case for Mr. Cage."

Following Cage's bail-out, Dog's wife, Beth Chapman tweeted, "My guy just walked out of the jail damn new Orleans 8 hours holy cow that's a lot of time toProcess one guy."

‘Lady of Marbella’, she was allegedly the smiling face that fronted many of the companies’ run by former planning svengali Juan Antonio Roca.

‘Lady of Marbella’, she was allegedly the smiling face that fronted many of the companies’ run by former planning svengali Juan Antonio Roca.
But during her day in court, Catalan lawyer Montserrat Corulla sensibly attempted to disassociate herself from the crook’s illegal business.
The elegant woman – once referred to as the Lady in the White Veil by Judge Torres – told the so-called Malaya trial that her role as manager for several of his companies was ‘purely formal.’
Dressed down without make up or jewellery she denied any knowledge of Roca’s fraudulent business, that is said to have amounted to up to two billion euros.
She even insisted that she was unaware of his role as planning assessor.
“I was an employee who received instructions,” she told the court, adding: “I never hid that I worked for Roca or that he was the true owner of the business.”
She continued: “I didn’t deal with contracts, nor intervene in accounting or finance.
I worked in the area I knew, the hospitality industry, and my role as manager was to go to the notary to sign bank cheques the companies had administered.”

Staff at La Zagaleta – where homes start at three million euros – are blaming the British owners and Troon golf club for the loss of jobs.

Staff at La Zagaleta – where homes start at three million euros – are blaming the British owners and Troon golf club for the loss of jobs.
Half a dozen staff were laid off in cutbacks and are now manning a picket line outside the upmarket development between Ronda and Marbella.
Among a dozen banners in English that line the road outside, one said: ‘English board = Fired Staff’.
First developed by arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi in the 1970s, the development counts Hugh Grant and Dolph Lundgren as residents.


The staff – three gardeners, a waiter, a cook and a caddy master – were laid off due to the recession and a loss of community fees, insist the owners.
Now with the support of the CCOO trade union, as many as 50 of the 62 members of staff are expected to go on a seven day strike from April 18.
CCOO spokeswoman, Lola Villalba, explained: “The workers are being used in a war that is being waged between Troon, the promoter of the urbanization and the board who run the club.
“Both of them are fighting to seize the reins of the complex.”
Both sides are still in discussion and a hearing with the Labour Dispute Settlement Service of Andalucia has been scheduled for Friday.
Troon golf runs golf clubs around the world, including Turnberry golf course in Scotland, La Quinta in Marbella and others in Dubai and South Africa.
A spokesman from Zagaleta said: “They want their jobs back, which is why they are protesting. We are discussing it all this Friday.”

EXPATS dividing their time between Britain and Spain should be able to claim back the cost of Spanish medical treatment on the NHS from 2013.

The Cross Border Healthcare directive, which affects all EU states, will allow patients to have elective surgery at a state hospital wherever they live instead of travelling back to the UK.
Implementation of the move – originally scheduled for 2011 – has been hampered by disputes between countries. But it is now expected that all states will sign up by 2013.
A sticking point has been whether patients using the proposed system should be reimbursed in full. The UK has successfully resisted full repayment to the patient whatever the bill.
Patients will be reimbursed only to the cost of the procedure in their home state.
In addition, a doctor in the patient’s home country will need to approve treatment in advance.
Specialised treatments will be subject to more rigorous advanced approval, and organ transplants and long-term care are excluded.

Marbella a gun-smuggling Libyan fixer and friend of the Duke of York presented Princess Beatrice with an £18,000 necklace

A gun-smuggling Libyan fixer and friend of the Duke of York presented Princess Beatrice with an £18,000 necklace months before the duke allegedly lobbied a British company on his behalf, it has been claimed.

Tarek Kaituni gave the young royal a gold pendant with a solitaire diamond after he was invited by Prince Andrew to her 21st birthday party in Spain in August 2009, his former girlfriend has revealed.

Manel Hamrouni spoke out for the first time this weekend – and  claimed Andrew played a role in introducing his friend Kaituni to representatives of the Greater Manchester-based water treatment firm Biwater, who he had met during an official trip to Libya in his role as UK trade envoy in 2007.

Three months after Beatrice’s party, Andrew told a Biwater employee over dinner at a Paris hotel that Kaituni deserved to be paid commission for working with them, Miss Hamrouni alleged.

In addition to his daughter’s extravagant gift, the Queen’s favourite son is said to have been presented with expensive watches including one costing £175,000.

Most of the allegations were denied by Buckingham Palace.

But aides tellingly declined to comment on the existence of Beatrice’s necklace, which has been acknowledged by Kaituni and places Andrew much closer to Kaituni than previously thought, despite the Libyan’s closeness to Colonel Gadaffi and his convictions for gun smuggling and drugs offences.

Miss Hamrouni, who dated Kaituni for two years until last April, told the Sunday Times: ‘Tarek told me Andrew had put him together with Biwater because the company was having some problems dealing with the Libyans. Tarek went to Libya and spoke to people there but then he didn’t get paid a commission by Biwater. Apparently they didn’t feel he’d earned it.




‘He asked Andrew to help and there was a dinner in Paris where Andrew spoke to someone from Biwater and told them he thought they should pay Tarek. I was there, too, with Tarek.’ 

She added: ‘Andrew was pushing for Tarek to be paid and the guy from Biwater was saying they hadn’t got the money from the contract yet so they couldn’t.

‘A few days later Tarek got word that some money had been paid into a special account he had set up in Germany. He said it was 600,000 euros. He went to Germany for a day and came back with 100,000 euros in cash. He gave 30,000 euros of it to me and I went to London and spent it on clothes. Tarek still wasn’t very happy, though.



‘He talked about giving Andrew a gift later to say thank you but I don’t know what happened about that because Tarek and I split up soon after.’

She went on: ‘Tarek was always giving people expensive watches as gifts. He gave four or five to Andrew, including a gold Rolex and a Cartier. The most expensive was a Patek Philippe, exactly like his own, which he gave to Andrew for his birthday. Tarek told me that watch cost 200,000 euros.’


Friends: The Duke's associates includes the 'shady' Tory financier David Rowland, who helped to pay off the debts of his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson

Biwater denied that Kaituni received any money, and royal insiders said Andrew does not recall the meal.

The allegations will heap further pressure on Andrew, who is fourth in line to the throne, to stand down as ambassador with Whitehall’s business body UK Trade and Investment.

Over the past six weeks, he has been accused repeatedly of a serious lack of judgement by blurring the line between his taxpayer-funded role and his personal friendships and financial arrangements.

His associates include the billionaire convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the ‘shady’ Tory financier David Rowland, both of whom helped to pay off the debts of his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

Kaituni, 47, first met Andrew, 51, in 2005 - the same year he was convicted of attempting to smuggle a machine gun from Holland to France. He had already spent a year in jail for possession of drugs in Tunisia.

Despite his criminal background, Andrew holidayed with him several times in North Africa, where the duke was twice introduced to Colonel Gadaffi and also met Sakher El Materi, son-in-law of the deposed Tunisian president.

A picture has now emerged of Kaituni and his girlfriend among a small number of guests at a celebration to mark Beatrice’s milestone birthday near the Spanish resort of Marbella – where Kaituni gave her the diamond necklace.

It is understood to have been worth £18,000 but was bought at a discounted price of around £4,300. Kaituni said a number of guests pooled together to afford it.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment on the pendant, but denied that Andrew had ever received personal gifts from Kaituni.

Biwater confirmed that it had had contact with Kaituni but denied he had ever been paid. It said Kaituni had approached it ‘directly’.

A spokeswoman said: ‘Biwater was approached by Tarek Kaituni in 2009. No agreements were made and no contracts have been awarded to Biwater since contact with Kaituni and no payments were ever made to Kaituni for any work in Libya. All contact ceased in early 2010.’

But Kaituni said he was approached by the company through a cousin of his. He said: ‘They never paid anything. I never asked them. Because they were not professional. I told them to go to hell.’

He said of the duke: ‘This man, he does the best job in this country. I wish anybody in the world can be like him.’

Buckingham Palace said: ‘We do not comment on private gifts or on private events attended by members of the royal family.

‘The Duke of York was introduced to the work of Biwater in Libya on an official visit to the country in November 2007. His Royal Highness did not introduce Mr Kaituni to Biwater. The Duke of York has not been involved in any discussion involving the remuneration of Mr Kaituni in respect of Biwater or any other company.’

British man arrested on Tenerife for assaulting a Civil Guard

A British man faces two sets of separate charges after the Civil Guard were called out to a domestic violence incident in Amarilla Golf, in San Miguel de Abona, Tenerife, and the suspect threw hydrochloric acid at one of the officers.

La Opinión reported on Wednesday that the officer is now recovering from injuries to an eye, although his colleague reacted quickly in washing off the ‘agua fuerte’ from his face. It was at this point that the British man took the opportunity to flee the scene.

He was arrested by the local police shortly afterwards and released from custody after appearing before a judge on the charge of assaulting an officer.

The un-named British suspect was arrested for a second time just a few hours later on the charge of domestic violence.

 

Free Internet access will be available on some beaches at Easter, to be extended to 50 access points for the summerLa Malagueta Beach.

There is to be free WiFi access on the beaches of Málaga this Easter, thanks to an agreement between the Costa del Sol’s beach businesses association and Gowex, the company which sponsors WiFi Internet connections on the municipal buses in Madrid.

Diario Sur reports that the service will be available later this week on La Malagueta in Málaga City, and on La Carihuela and El Bajondillo, in Torremolinos. The aim is to extend the project across the coast to 50 connection points for the summer.

The sign-posted points of access will be at chiringuitos and beach bed areas where users will be able to access the Net, free of charge, after registering and being provided with a user name and a password.

Gowex has a network of WiFi kiosks across the country, including a number in Málaga, where free Internet access is also available.

Search resumes in the Sierra Nevada for body of British mountaineer

The search has restarted in the Sierra Nevada for the body of John Hogbin, the British mountaineer who was caught by an avalanche while climbing with two friends in the area of Hoya de la Mora in February.

His two companions managed to escape from the avalanche unaided, but the only trace found of their friend in an extensive search of the area was his climbing axe.

The search was called off at the beginning of March, but has recommenced now the thaw has set in. Ideal newspaper reports that two of the Civil Guard’s mountain rescue team are combing the area on a daily basis, with support from a rescue helicopter at weekends. There are still some areas, however, where the snow is some 8 metres deep.

John Hogbin was born in York in the UK, but had lived in Zafarraya, Granada province, for the past 30 years.

 

The biggest ETA arms cache found by Spanish police has now grown substantially from the original 850 kilos of explosives which were discovered in a country house in Legorreta, Guipúzcoa,

The biggest ETA arms cache found by Spanish police has now grown substantially from the original 850 kilos of explosives which were discovered in a country house in Legorreta, Guipúzcoa, on Tuesday.

There were new searches at the site on Thursday, leading to the discovery of hundreds of kilos of explosives in an outbuilding near the house where the first cache was found. El Mundo reports that the amount is so large, that an exact figure cannot be given at this stage.

RTVE Spanish National Television said the total amount now, including Tuesday’s find, could be as much as two tons.

A previously undiscovered pistol was also found in a second search of the country house.

José Aitor Esnaola, one of the two brothers who were arrested in Legorreta early on Tuesday as part of ETA’s logistics operation, and who lived on the property, was with the Civil Guard officers who carried out the search.

The search, which involved 300 Civil Guard, police officers and the Tedax bomb disposal squad, then moved up into the mountains at the border with Navarra, where another ETA hideout was found to contain an unspecified amount of cash and a weapon.

José Aitor Esnaola and his brother Igor formed part of ETA’s Erreka commando, and were responsible for supplying other ETA cells with weapons and explosives.

Público reports that the Civil Guard arrested another suspect on Thursday, as yet un-named, who is accused of collaborating with Erreka.

Civil Guard seize 3.5 tons of cannabis from a fishing boat off Isla Cristina

small fishing boat which was boarded by a Civil Guard sea patrol off Isla Cristina on Sunday night was found to be carrying a cargo of more than 3.5 tons of cannabis.

The exact amount given by Europa Press this Thursday was 3,616 kilos, with the 113 packages covering almost the entire surface of the vessel’s deck.

The Civil Guard boat was on security patrol when officers on board saw the fishing vessel approaching the mouth of the río Carreras and, when they approached to investigate, saw the packages being carried in full view on the boat’s deck.

The two crew, 51 year old D.N.M. from Isla Cristina, and J.O.M., aged 49 and resident in Punta del Moral, were both taken into custody.

 

Briton arrested after crime wave in Sóller

The Guardia Civil in Sóller, Mallorca, has arrested a 24 year old British man, named with the initials D.G. in connection with several burglaries from the inside of local homes and shops.

A statement from the Guardia Civil on Thursday said that after a local crime wave was noted at homes and shops in Sóller and Puerto de Sóller, with similar characteristics both in the modus operandi and what was taken, an investigation was launched and the young Briton, who was working alone, was detained.

After the arrest the Civil Guard recovered a large amount of the stolen goods including four lap-tops, two watches, a TV a video game consul and 100 € in cash.

 

Spain not stepping up Libya role

Spain will not step up its role in the military operation in Libya, Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said at a NATO meeting in Berlin, resisting pressure from alliance members France and Britain.
"Spain chose to provide capacity to monitor the arms embargo for a period of three months, and the no-fly zone," Jimenez told reporters.
"This is the force that Spain is providing and will continue providing in the future, which is the authorisation that was asked for in parliament," Jimenez said.
Spain has committed four F-18 fighter jets and a refueling aircraft to help enforce the no-fly zone and an F-100 frigate, an S-74 submarine and a CN-235 maritime surveillance plane to help enforce the arms embargo.
It has also allowed NATO to use two military bases, at Rota and at Moron de la Frontera in the south of the country. But it has not carried out air strikes.
France and Britain have been pressing other members of the 28-nation NATO military alliance to contribute combat jets to an air campaign against Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's forces.
After nearly a month of operations the campaign has so far failed to change the balance of power on the ground.
Only six out of NATO's 28 members are conducting air strikes while French and British warplanes are carrying out half of the flights, according to Paris.

 

Morocco's king pardons 190 prisoners

King Mohammed VI Thursday pardoned or cut the sentences of 190 detainees, including Islamist political prisoners, on the advice of a rights council set up a month ago as Morocco undertakes reforms.
Only 96 of the group were immediately released with "the others, most of them common-law prisoners, having their sentences substantially reduced," a justice ministry source told AFP.
Among those freed were six Islamists known as moderates, including Mustapha Moatassim, head of the Al Badil Al Hadari (Civilised Alternative) party that was dissolved by government decree in 2008.
They had been sentenced as part of a case against Belgian-Moroccan Abdelkader Belliraj, convicted of running a terrorist network and sentenced to life in prison in July 2010.
"I hope for the release of all prisoners unfairly sentenced. It is a new page at a time when Morocco is reconciling with itself," one of the six, Mohamed Merouani, told AFP.
Also on the list of people benefitting from the royal pardon was rights activist Chakib El-Khyari, sentenced to three years in prison in February 2009 for having accused officials of involvement in drug-trafficking.
Others were around 14 Muslims from the hardline Salafist sect, including sheiks Ahmed Fizazi and Abdelkrim Chadli.
Absent was Frenchman Pierre Robert who was accused of involvement in the May 2003 bombings in Casablanca that killed 45 people, including 12 suicide attackers, and wounded scores. He was sentenced to life.
"The case of Mr Robert is being examined for a possible pardon," said Mohammed Sebbar, secretary general of National Human Rights Council (CNDH) which had recommended the pardons to the king.
King Mohammed VI established the council in early March, replacing an existing body that had a purely consultative role.
This came after February 20 demonstrations attended by tens of thousands of people who called for reform as a wave of similar protests swept the Arab world.
The monarch also announced plans for other reforms, including increasing government and judicial independence from the royal power, and established a commission tasked with proposing changes to the constitution by June.
The pro-reform movement has however kept up the pressure, calling new nationwide protests for April 24.

 

Spanish TV presenter ordered to compensate bullfighter for reporting rumours about his alleged infidelity as news

Ana Rosa Quintana, the Spanish TV presenter who was recently questioned in court over the live TV confession by Isabel García that her husband, Santiago del Valle, had killed Mari Luz Cortés, has had a sentence confirmed in another case.

In a ruling made public this Monday, the Supreme Court has confirmed a previous decision by the provincial court in Madrid on a case brought against Quintana and the Cuarzo production company by the bullfighter, Finito de Córdoba, and his wife, the actress, Arancha del Sol.

The ruling, on appeal to the Supreme Court, found that the Telecinco programme, ‘El programa de Ana Rosa’, violated the couple’s rights in two broadcasts aired in February 2005 in presenting rumours of the bullfighter’s alleged infidelity as items of news.

Quintana and Cuarzo must now pay 100,000 € compensation to the couple, with additional compensation to come from two collaborators on the programme.

British residents in Spain

Everyone registered on the padrón as a resident in Spain, including British nationals, has until and including Monday 11th April to check with their town hall whether they are on the list of registered voters, ahead of the local and regional elections across Spain on 22 May.

If not on the list, residents can request to be added (although in a few cases, it is possible that town halls may lack the necessary IT systems to enable checks).

The elections are your opportunity to have your say in who makes the decisions about public services in your area, and an opportunity for British residents to take part in Spain's democratic system and further integrate into Spanish life.

Registering on the padrón is an important part of living in Spain, and checking that you are on the list of registered voters will ensure that on 22 May you have the right to cast your vote.

English teacher Eoghan, 36, from Sligo town, disappeared a week ago in Gijon, northern Spain, after telling partner Analia Garcia he was going for a stroll.

THE girlfriend of missing Irish man Eoghan Timoney spoke yesterday of her worry over his disappearance as she relived the last time she saw him.

English teacher Eoghan, 36, from Sligo town, disappeared a week ago in Gijon, northern Spain, after telling partner Analia Garcia he was going for a stroll.

He left the flat they shared in the city with just the clothes he was wearing and a wallet with a credit card and around €40 in it. Police say he hasn't used the card or drawn money from his bank account.

Eoghan was last seen at around 1.30pm last Sunday getting off a bus on the outskirts of Gijon near to an area popular with hill-walkers.

Checks by police have shown the missing man used his monthly travel card when he got on the bus near his home just after 1pm.

His girlfriend of 12 years, Analia, who met Eoghan when they were students in Sligo, said yesterday: "I'm sick with worry. I'm on tablets to help relieve my anxiety but they're not working very well. Sleeping is difficult and I'm hardly eating. Eoghan's disappearance is totally out of character. If he was going through some sort of crisis he certainly wasn't showing it to me or my family, quite the opposite.

"He seemed very happy and was looking forward to receiving his first salary from the language school where he recently started working.

"There is a possibility of course that he had an accident while out walking. I'm not ruling out any options but the idea he was a victim of crime is not something I want to think about at the moment."

She added: "The last time I saw him was just before 1pm on Sunday. We'd gone out for dinner on the Friday night and had a great time at a spa in Gijon on the Saturday. We were due to go to my aunt's house for Sunday lunch the day Eoghan went missing. We phoned her from the bus stop to check lunch was still on, and she told me she was going to cancel because it was raining and she had other things to do.

"We'd just got back home five minutes when Eoghan said he was going to go out for a stroll. He loves walking and he told me he was going to be back shortly. He left between 12.50 and 12.55pm. That's the last time I saw him."

Police checks show Eoghan swiped his monthly travel card on a local bus at 1.03pm.

The bus driver has told police that Eoghan got off the bus in an area called Cerillero on the other side of the city to their home in a neighbourhood known as Contrueces.

He insists Eoghan was carrying a rucksack, although his girlfriend is sure he left home without one. The area he was last seen in is close to a cultural centre and cliffs overlooking the sea which are popular with walkers. It is also near to the spot where the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage walk passes through.

Police are trying to trace a man Eoghan is believed to have asked directions from when he got off the bus. They are also hoping to pinpoint his movements on that afternoon from his mobile phone.

Analia is in regular contact with Eoghan's family, including parents Ann and Tommy and older brother Mark, who has helped set up a Facebook page called Prayer, Light, Positivity for Eoghan and begun a campaign on Twitter to try to find him.

Mark, and close friends of Liverpool fan Eoghan, who moved to Gijon with his girlfriend two months ago after finishing their studies at NUI Galway, are considering travelling to Spain to help in the search.

Analia, who is visually impaired, said: "It's very important that this person Eoghan was spotted talking to when he got off the bus is found."

British contract killer who used a fake Irish passport to flee to Spain has been sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison

British contract killer who used a fake Irish passport to flee to Spain has been sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison following an international investigation. The hit-man hid out in Spain for four years using the names Michael Lynch, Ronald Farmer and O’Flynn.

James Tomkins (61) murdered Rocky Dawson in front of his children and then fled to the Costa del Sol resort of Puerto Banus, in Spain, using a fake Irish passport. Having murdered the 24-year-old father, in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity, in 2008 Tomkins was listed as one of Britain’s ten most wanted criminals by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in Operation Captura, a group set up to find fugitive hiding out in Spain.

Last August, Metropolitan Police issued a reward of $32,232 (£20,000) for the capture of the contract killer and launched an extensive manhunt. Appeals were also made on the BBC TV show “Crimewatch." He was soon traced to Marbella, arrested and extradited.

Within three months of the murder, Tomkins fled to Spain using a fake Irish passport in the name of Michael Lynch. He spent four years leading a relaxed lifestyle in the south of Spain with the help of a network of well-connected friends. The police found the fake Irish passport with him when they tracked him down last August.

Tomkins, nicknamed “Jimbles," was found guilty after a two-week trial at Woolich Crown Court and has now been sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison. The  Daily Mail reported that he showed no emotion when he was convicted. He has denied any involvement in the murder. The verdict was met by cheers from Dawson’s family.

Dawson was shot in cold blood, in the back, as he put his children, aged two and six, into his car on the driveway of his parent’s home. Tomkins shot Dawson from the passenger seat of a Land Rover Freelander. He opened fire with a handgun in what is being described as a “deliberate, calculated and cold-blooded” drive-by shooting on May 2, 2006. His associated who drove the vehicle, Christopher Pearman, was captured in 2006 and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Lawyer for the prosecution, Martin Heslop, said “there remains a terrible possibility that Rocky Dawson's killers had mistaken him for someone else ... You may think this murder has all the hallmarks of a contract killing, an assassination or execution.

“It was clearly very carefully planned in advance.

“Tomkins and Pearman plainly knew where Rocky Dawson's parents lived and he was a regular visitor to that address.

“The two men were sufficiently confident to shoot him as he tended to his children, no doubt thinking their victim's attention would be on his children rather than passing cars.”

Having spent four years in the south of Spain, Tomkins had changed his appearance dramatically. He had cut his hair, which had grayed, short and shaved his beard. Having become aware that the police were after him he rarely went out during the day in the summer season when British tourists might recognize him.

A police source told the Daily Mail: “He could have walked past 1,000 times and I wouldn't have recognized him.”

Plain-clothes police from Madrid and Malaga stormed his address in Puerto Banus after a tip-off. The hit-man attempted to escape by jumping out of a window but was trailed by a helicopter and the police on the ground. He was extradited to Britain on September 15, 2010.

Brits lodge Criminal complaint for discrimination against member of Andalucian Government

Twelve British members of AUAN (Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No) have lodged a criminal complaint against Josefina Cruz, Consejera for Public Works and Housing of the regional government of Andalucia for offensive statements made in Parliament earlier this month.


The Consejera is being sued for an alleged crime against the Spanish Constitution, specifically under Article 510.2 of the Criminal Code because of what the plaintiffs believe are discriminatory insults relating to statements made by the Consejera in a commission hearing of the Andalucian Parliament on the 9th of March 2011.

According to the Diary of Sessions of the Andalucian Parliament, the Consejera, in response to questions about the illegal houses in the region, is alleged to have stated, amongst other things “I do not know if your are defending the intrusion of people, do not know if your are defending the interests of a group of people who are not of this country, who have settled here illegally, do not know if you are defending these interests, ladies and gentlemen. I do not understand, I really do not understand”.

“I believe that I have said on this occasion that we have also had meetings about this with the British Ambassador, but I am interested in, I am concerned with the general situation, and I am not interested in the particular situation of a group of people who have settled illegally in our territory. I do not understand…, then, your confusion… I do not know if you are defending legality or not defending legality. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not know what you are defending , I do not know where you are coming from.”

“We are dealing with a problem which has resulted in Andalucian as a consequence of a lack of respect for the culture of the territory, and the culture of the land and the culture of planning and therefore, it is necessary to adapt, we must give a response within the law, within urban planning, within territorial planning, and with respect for all the legislation relating to protected land, forested land, land protected by rights of way, coasts, etc, etc, etc (…)

Tomorrow I have scheduled a meeting in Almanzora, ladies and gentlemen. Tomorrow I have scheduled a meeting with the Mayors. Ladies and gentlemen, I will meet with the mayors, who are responsible for planning in their municipalities, and from them, one can give information to affected residents, whether they are in an organisation or not in an organisation, whether they bought in good faith, or not in good faith, and who are now demanding that we resolve a problem that they are responsible for creating”.

AUAN alleges that these comments, which were later endorsed before the press, are not acceptable in a democratic state that is also a member of the European Union. They are also gravely offensive to many “people from another country”, to use the Consejeras words, who invested all of their life savings in a house in Spain, having being assured that they had all legal permits, only to find that they risk losing their home.

According to Maura Hillen, president of AUAN, “the members of our association who have made this complaint are victims of the chaotic planning system in Andalucia, which has clearly failed and continues to fail. They were assured that everything was alright when they bought their homes and now find themselves immersed in legal proceedings that could result in the demolition of their house.

In some cases it is actually the regional government who has challenged the building license granted by the town hall. In other cases the town hall or the promoter is subject to a criminal investigation. In none of these cases is the homeowner considered to be at fault.