Adam Goldsmith
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Barrister Terence Woods finally steps up to set out mitigation for Stewart Ahearne. He tells Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC that his client was not the "prime instigator" of the offence at hand, and was not present at the scene of the shooting - which the judge says she accepts.

"In not being at the scene of the shooting he obviously had no control over the immediate events", Woods explains. In addition, Woods suggests that Stewart Ahearne was "not directly involved" in any attempts to destroy evidence, and so this aggravating factor is not present.

"There is a significant distinction that can be made between the role played by him and the role played by others," Woods says.

His lawyer also argues that since serving a sentence in Switzerland for his role in the Geneva burglary, Ahearne has "developed into a model prisoner".

"He's a very different person to the person he was in 2019," Woods adds.

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from the Old Bailey

The judge notes that Louis Ahearne was the only defendant who gave evidence adding she has read "a number of positive reports" about the 36-year-old.

His defending lawyer Avirup Chaudhuri refers to letters from Ahearne himself as well as prison staff who describe him as a "model prisoner".

His lawyer explains Louis Ahearne "has been in prison for almost six years". Chaudhuri adds: "He has seen his son once in the last five years. The time he will spend in prison now will be double hard because of the evidence he gave in the trial.

"The position has been made worse by a story in a national newspaper who described him as a 'marked man'. He will be spending time in prison with one eye over his shoulder."

Adam Goldsmith
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Ruth Jones stands for the defence of Daniel Kelly - one of three men who were convicted of conspiracy to murder. She addresses Kelly's potential risk to the public, and argues that the last offence Kelly committed involving violence was one of battery in 2007.

Since then, she says, Kelly's offences have largely involved drug supply. But, she accepts that Kelly has chosen "to engage in a life of criminality", which will no doubt impact his sentence.

The judge responds by describing how she is drawing on a "wealth of information" in her sentencing. She says that while convictions for violent offences are not Kelly's most recent, his convictions for drug offences and outstanding extradition requests have caused her to consider Kelly's risk of danger in the sentence she hands out.

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Image source, Getty Images

We couldn’t report this during the trial - but we can now reveal that Daniel Kelly, 46, is one of three men from London who are the subject of an unprecedented extradition request from the Japanese government over an alleged violent robbery on a luxury jewellery shop in Tokyo.

In a recent High Court ruling, Japanese authorities accuse Kelly and two others of posing as customers to steal items worth £679,000 (¥106m) from a Harry Winston store on 20 November 2015.

The trio punched and injured a security guard, smashed showcase glass cabinets and seized 46 items - including diamond rings, Japanese police say.

For almost a decade Japanese authorities have pursued the extradition of Kelly, his son Kaine Wright, 28, of Plumstead, and Joe Chappell, 38, from Belvedere.

No extradition treaty exists between the UK and Japan, but in July 2021 a deal was signed by the two countries "for the purpose of the surrender" of Kelly, Wright and Chappell.

According to the High Court papers, seen by the BBC, Japanese authorities relied on CCTV showing all three arriving at Narita International Airport, records of the hotel they stayed at as well as items being left behind in their efforts to escape.

A judgement is due next month on Chappell and Wright who have had their cases heard in various courts in recent years. Kelly only appeared in court at the end of March over the extradition due to the conspiracy to murder case against him taking precedence.

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from the Old Bailey

The judge begins by noting that Daniel Kelly is not present - she accepts that this is because he has been complaining of back pain recently. His lawyer Ruth Jones confirms this.

Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC asks why Daniel Kelly did not stand trial for the museum burglary in Geneva - unlike Louis and Stewart Ahearne who were sentenced last year.

Prosecutor Michael Shaw KC says Daniel Kelly did not stand trial in Switzerland due to a competing extradition request from Japan. "That's the reason Daniel Kelly wasn't extradited with the others, the Japanese request took precedence."

• Here's a recap of the Swiss museum heist which took place one month before the shooting

Adam Goldsmith
Reporting from the Old Bailey

The sentencing hearing for brothers Louis and Stewart Ahearne and Daniel Kelly will begin shortly.

The prosecution and defence barristers will begin setting out their case during the hearing, before Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC delivers the sentences for the three men.

The sentencing remarks will be broadcast later today and you can follow by clicking Watch Live at the top of this page.

Image source, PATRICK TONDEUX

The Ahearne brothers were extradited to Switzerland from the UK in November 2023.

They admitted breaking into the Geneva museum in June 2019- one month before the plot to murder Paul Allen - and were sentenced by a Swiss court last January for aggravated theft.

They were each jailed for three-and-a-half years, banned from visiting Switzerland for five years and ordered to pay 15,000 Swiss francs ($17,400; £13,770) in damages to the Baur Foundation which manages the Museum of Far Eastern Art.

Until they were extradited back to the UK to face this conspiracy to murder trial, they both served time in the Champ-Dollon prison and said they were confined to a cell for 23 hours a day.

Although Kelly was not charged by the Swiss authorities, the Old Bailey heard it was accepted he took part in the raid.

Prosecutors argued that the international burglary proved the Ahearne brothers and Kelly were "at the top end" of criminality and that they were equally culpable in the conspiracy to murder Allen.

Adam Goldsmith
Reporting from the Old Bailey

We're still sat in court, waiting for this morning's sentencing proceedings to kick off, but we have heard that the defendants have now arrived at the Old Bailey.

It will take some time for the men to be processed. They'll then have a chat with their lawyers before being brought up to the courtroom.

Once they're in place, the prosecution and defence barristers will begin setting out their case before the judge.

While we wait, extra chairs have been brought to join us in the press box - it's a story that has attracted attention worldwide and there are several other journalists in the room.

We'll continue to bring you the latest developments so stick with us.

Just one month before the shooting, the Ahearne brothers and Daniel Kelly stood outside the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva equipped with a sledgehammer, angle grinders and crowbars.

Within seconds of forcing their way through the wooden front door, they shattered glass casings housing 14th Century Chinese Ming Dynasty antiques. Three items were seized - a rare pomegranate vase; a doucai-style wine cup and a porcelain bowl - and had a combined insured value of £2.8m.

Within days of returning to London with the stolen goods, the trio set about attempting to dispose of the items they had pinched.

The brothers flew to Hong Kong with Kelly as they tried to sell one of the stolen items at an auction house.

But, the auction house tipped off police in London, who were able to send undercover officers posing as art dealers to catch some other gang members in a sting operation, as two of them tried to sell another plundered item which had been concealed in a JD Sports bag.

• You can read more about that undercover police operation here

Image source, PA Media

If you’re not familiar with the court system, here’s a quick guide on what’s likely to happen in the next few hours.

Once all three convicted defendants Stewart Ahearne, Louis Ahearne and Daniel Kelly are sat in the dock of the courtroom, the sentencing hearing will begin.

The prosecution will start by outlining the facts of the case. Prosecutor Michael Shaw KC is also expected to set out aggravating factors arguing why each of the three men should get a higher sentence.

In this part of a sentencing hearing we are also expecting to hear a victim impact statement from Paul Allen.

Then, each of the three defence barristers will stand up to provide mitigation on behalf of their client, setting out reasons as to why Stewart Ahearne, Louis Ahearne and Daniel Kelly should get a lower sentence.

Once that is all done Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC will weigh up all arguments and decide what sentence to pass.

She will read out her remarks and the sentences later today - which you can follow by clicking Watch Live at the top of this page.

Adam Goldsmith
Reporting from the Old Bailey

Good morning from the Old Bailey. My colleague Tom and I have secured our seats in the courtroom ahead of today’s sentencing proceedings.

As a reminder, the first statements we’ll hear this morning won’t be broadcast. That will involve the prosecution and defence barristers giving evidence about the case before the judge.

Later on this afternoon, the cameras will be switched on when Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC will pass sentence on Louis Ahearne, Stewart Ahearne, and Daniel Kelly.

We were expecting the hearing to kick off just after 10:00 this morning. But, as is often the case in court, the proceedings are running late.

In the meantime, we’ll continue to get you up to speed with the twists and turns that unfolded during the trial.

Image source, Gett

Prosecutors alleged the background to the shooting was that Paul Allen was a "sophisticated" career criminal. Allen gained notoriety as one of the ringleaders of what remains Britain's biggest ever armed robbery.

In 2006, Allen was part of a balaclava-wearing gang toting guns including an AK-47 assault rifle who threatened to kill staff at the Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent.

They stole £53m in Bank of England cash notes - leaving behind £154m which would not fit into their lorry.

Four days later Allen fled to Morocco. But he was arrested in Rabat alongside friend and fellow robber Lee Murray - who remains in jail in nearby Tiflet.

In January 2008, Allen was extradited to the UK and subsequently sentenced to 18 years in prison.

He was released in 2016 and moved back to his roots in south-east London. But he relocated to Woodford with his partner and two younger children after a gunman opened fire at him and his pregnant daughter in the doorway of their Woolwich home in September 2018.

Ten months later, Allen almost died after two bullets hit him as he stood in the kitchen of his Woodford home. One severed one of Allen's fingers, the other went through his throat and became lodged in his spinal cord, leaving him struggling to breathe and bleeding profusely.

Through a series of operations doctors at Royal London Hospital were able to save his life. To this day, Allen relies on a wheelchair, paralysed below his upper chest.

Image source, MET POLICE

Three men, including brothers Louis and Stewart Ahearne, and Daniel Kelly were each found guilty of conspiracy to murder Paul Allen following a trial at the Old Bailey.

Prosecutors said Stewart Ahearne, 46, hired the vehicle used in the shooting in his own name, while Kelly and Louis Ahearne's DNA was found on a rear garden fence panel close to where five spent bullet casings from a Glock were discovered.

The court was also told that a month before the shooting, the Ahearne brothers and Kelly burgled Chinese Ming Dynasty artefacts from the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva.

Only Louis Ahearne gave evidence in his defence. He told the court he had become involved in the Geneva museum heist in order to pay off a debt he owed Kelly.

He denied being part of the conspiracy to kill Allen and said he believed he was there to commit a burglary or robbery of a drug dealer's house on the day of the shooting.

All three, who had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to murder, have been remanded in custody since being convicted on 24 March.

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Good morning from the Old Bailey. We are building up to the sentencing of three men from south-east London who were convicted of plotting to kill a cage fighter who was shot in July 2019.

It follows a trial where jurors heard that brothers Louis and Stewart Ahearne as well as a third man, Daniel Kelly, burgled an art museum in Switzerland a month before shooting Paul Allen.

Three men, shown to be experienced international criminals, have been undone by tenacious detective work.

It is a case which I have followed for a number of years and one which has gone from Woolwich to Woodford - via Switzerland and Hong Kong.

Later, you will be able to watch Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC pass her sentence.

For now, myself and my colleague Adam Goldsmith will bring you the background to the case and the details of the sentencing hearing as it happens.