Free Republic

The Yom Kippur killer was on bail for alleged rape before his synagogue attack, it emerged last night. Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was under investigation by Greater Manchester Police over a sexual attack carried out this year and was due to appear in court. It is believed unemployed Al-Shamie was also facing mounting debts and the collapse of his marriage, with his wife leaving the family home with their one-year-old son six months ago. Residents said he was a loner who spent his days in pyjamas, bulking up by weightlifting in his garden and annoying neighbours by parking his battered Kia...

Cameron hails by-election victory   Conservative leader David Cameron has hailed an "excellent result" in the Henley by-election, which saw Labour beaten into fifth place.Mr Cameron said his party's win showed people were starting to think of the Tories as an alternative government. But Gordon Brown - speaking a year after he became PM - said "by-elections come and by-elections go". Labour lost its deposit with just 1,066 votes - fewer than the BNP, Greens, Lib Dems and Tory victor John Howell. Mr Howell took the seat with 19,796 votes - a majority of 10,116 to the Lib Dem...