Craig Lewis
BBC News

Former Northamptonshire police and crime commissioner Adam Simmonds continued to give evidence at Southwark Crown Court this afternoon.

He told the jury he disclosed information about an investigation into Wellingborough MP Peter Bone as "I felt it was within my role as PCC".

Mr Simmonds (pictured) is on trial accused of recklessly breaching the Data Protection Act by disclosing information about a fraud probe into Mr Bone and his wife, Jeanette, in 2013.

He denies the charge.

Image source, PA

Talking about a conversation with Northampton North MP Michael Ellis, he said he had been "frustrated" about the length of time the investigation into Mr Bone was taking.

He said he had been worried Mr Bone would be "vilified" if the information had entered the media before a charging decision was made.

Mr Simmonds told the court: "I felt I owed something to someone [Peter Bone] under investigation to make sure the system was working."

He said he had spoken to Mr Ellis as a "mentor", adding "I was not an expert and I wanted to ask one what his views were".

Mr Simmonds added: "I believed the information was in the public domain. People had been talking about it.

"I don't think it [the conversation] was unlawful, unhelpful, unreasonable."

The investigation into Mr Bone was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in March 2014.

The case against Mr Simmonds continues.

Craig Lewis
BBC News

More now from the trial of former Northamptonshire police and crime commissioner (PCC) Adam Simmonds.

He told the jury at Southwark Crown Court he first heard about a criminal investigation into an MP from the chief executive of Northamptonshire County Council.

Mr Simmonds said Dr Paul Blantern told him about the investigation into Peter Bone in January 2013.

The ex-PCC told the jury he had then been briefed on the case by then chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, Adrian Lee, "within weeks".

Mr Simmonds, 40, from Leicester, denies recklessly breaching the Data Protection Act by discussing details of the probe into Mr Bone with Conservative colleagues.

The fraud case against the Wellingborough MP - which related to care home fees - was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2014.

Mr Simmonds told the court that during his conversation with Mr Lee he had not been told "what I could do with that information" or "what that information status was".

More follows...

We're in for a mainly cloudy afternoon, with only limited sunshine.

There is also a risk of some showers, and one or two of those could be on the heavy side.

Highs of 21C (70F).

For more where you live, visit BBC Weather.

The evidence "does not tell us" who inflicted the fatal stab wounds on David Miller, a jury is told.

With the 2017 county season here, keep up to date with the latest signings, departures and rumours ahead of next season.

Stuart Bailey
BBC News

There is a "lack of evidence" to say for sure who killed a man in his own bedroom, a court has heard.

The body of David Miller, 56, was found at his home in Northampton last June.

Ian Cuthbertson, 49; Michael Hallett, 37; Joseph Catlin, 30, and Zena Kane, 35, all of no fixed address, deny murder.

Image source, David Miller family

Defending Mr Catlin, Rudi Fortson QC said: "The evidence doesn't tell us who inflicted the fatal stab wound or who was in the bedroom at the time."

He said blood found on Mr Catlin's clothing suggested he was not in the room as the attack was being carried out.

Ben Aina QC, on behalf of Mr Cuthbertson, said his client had simply gone to the flat for "a bath, a change of clothing and to watch TV", but had been caught up in a "truly horrific" crime.

Mr Miller was stabbed multiple times and crude attempts had been made to destroy his body during the attack at Patterdale Walk, Boothville, Northampton, on 14 June 2016.

He had been partially-dismembered.

In summing up at Northampton Crown Court on Friday, prosecutor Peter Joyce QC said the defendants had acted like "a pack of wolves".

He called the killing of Mr Miller "a team job" and that the only possible verdicts were guilty of "murder, murder, murder, murder".

But James House QC, defending Ms Kane, told the jury that "being there in that flat, at that time, is not enough" to prove that someone is guilty of murder.

"The prosecution cannot say who did what and when - there's a lack of evidence so they suggest it does not matter," he said.

The trial continues.

Craig Lewis
BBC News

Meanwhile, we've heard from Adam Simmonds who has taken to the stand at Southwark Crown Court.

The jury heard the former police and crime commissioner (PCC), who's accused of breaching confidentiality laws by sharing details of a case with Conservative colleagues, had no training in the Data Protection Act.

Mr Simmonds, 40, denies recklessly passing on details of a fraud probe involving Wellingborough MP Peter Bone.

Giving evidence, Mr Simmonds said: "The first time I read the Data Protection Act was when I was told I had broken it."

He told the jury he had received no training about confidentiality during his time as PCC.

"I raised this with my own team, in that they were better trained than me," he said.

Mr Simmonds, of Northcote Road in Leicester, admits having conversations with four Conservative colleagues - Northamptonshire MPs Michael Ellis and Christopher Heaton-Harris, former Wellingborough Borough Council leader Paul Bell and the then Northampton Borough Council leader David Mackintosh - about the investigation into fellow Tory Mr Bone.

The prosecution says these conversations saw him recklessly breach the Data Protection Act.

The alleged offence is said to have taken place between November 2013 and May 2014.

The investigation into Mr Bone was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in March 2014.

The case continues.

Craig Lewis
BBC News

Wellingborough MP Peter Bone was "quite shocked" after undergoing four hours of questioning over allegations he was engaged in fraud involving the care of an elderly relative, a court has heard.

Southwark Crown Court was read a number of witness statements, including one from MP for Corby Tom Pursglove, as part of the trial of former Northamptonshire police and crime commissioner Adam Simmonds.

Mr Simmonds, 40, of Northcote Road, Leicester, denies knowingly or recklessly breaching the Data Protection Act by disclosing information relating to the criminal investigation into Mr Bone during 2013 and 2014.

The case against Mr Bone was dropped in March 2014.

In his statement given to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, Mr Pursglove said he first heard about the investigation into Mr Bone during a car journey on their way to a business lunch in 2013.

Mr Pursglove said Mr Bone had told him "he and Jenny [his wife Jeanette] had been interviewed by police for four hours".

Mr Pursglove also said he was told about the investigation into Mr Bone by fellow county councillor Graham Lawman, who told him: "I know something about a senior political figure that you don't know."

During a later conversation, Mr Pursglove said Mr Lawman had told him a file in the Peter Bone case had gone to the Crown Prosecution Service, the court was told.

He said: "I got the feeling that gossip was going round about it."

More follows...

A bit more on those street racing reports we mentioned earlier...

Police have told us they were called to Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) at about 19:30 last night after being tipped off that cars were racing northbound on the A5, close to the Sainsbury's distribution depot.

About 20 officers attended and stopped 118 cars at the scene after closing the road at 22:00, with the incident continuing until about 03:00 this morning.

The press office was unable to provide further details on "offences and seizures", which one of their officers alluded to on social media,, external but did say no arrests were made.

Last month, we told you police had been called to reports of cars racing on the roads surrounding Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT).

And as this tweet shows, police appear to be making progress with the problem...

We've contacted Northamptonshire Police for more information.

A schoolboy had a knife "held to his throat" during a robbery at Abington Park in Northampton.

It's alleged a man approached the 14-year-old victim from behind, close to the bird aviary at the park, between 08:40 and 08:50 on 28 June.

Image source, Google

The suspect - described as 6ft 1in tall, skinny and aged in his 20s - put the victim in a headlock grip and held a 12-inch kitchen knife to his throat, taking the boy's phone and money before going on to search his jacket and trousers.

Police said the robber, wearing a full black tracksuit, black Nike gloves and all black Nike Air Max trainers, ran off towards the roundabout on Park Avenue South.

Anyone with information is asked to contact officers on 101.

BBC Sport

Lewis Hamilton admits he faces an uphill struggle to win a fourth world title this year after finishing fourth in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

He is 20 points behind Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who finished second behind Hamilton's team-mate at Brackley-based Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas.

The Stevenage driver said: "I don't have a crystal ball but it doesn't look great.

Image source, Rex Features

"There is a long way to go. The bigger the gap gets, the more the pressure builds."

However, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Bottas' victory had done Hamilton a favour because it took points away from Vettel.

• Title challenge not going great - Hamilton
• 'You don't use your car as a weapon'

With less than four weeks to go until they start their new League One campaign, Northampton Town's footballers are stepping up their pre-season preparations with a trip to Spain.

The Cobblers flew to Alicante yesterday and will undertake a week-long training camp, which will include a match against a Birmingham City development squad on Friday.

Here's a few pictures which the club have shared...

On Saturday the Cobblers beat non-league Sileby Rangers 8-2, external in their first pre-season game.

A woman was struck in the face with a glass bottle in a fight with pyjama-wearing offenders at a nightclub, police said.

The attack happened shortly after 02:00 on Saturday in the Abacus nightclub on Kettering's Dalkeith Place.

Police said the victim's sister was punched by a female who then grabbed the victim's hair and held her head, while a second female struck her with a bottle.

It caused a one-inch cut above her right eye for which she required hospital treatment.

One person has been arrested.

Image source, Google

The victim believes the offenders had just been to a funeral at which attendees had been asked to wear pyjamas.

One of the attackers had blonde hair and wore a black dress.

The second had black hair and wore a black top and dark trousers - possibly pyjamas.

A third suspect was white with light brown hair and she wore a peach pyjama top.

Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses.

Georgina Burnett
BBC Weather

A dry and sunny start to the day but that could change later.

The Met Office has a yellow warning of thundery showers from 10:00 to 18:00, with localised flooding.

Temperatures peaking at 24C (75F).

BBC Weather has a more detailed forecast for where you live.

Kris Holland
BBC Radio Northampton

Welcome to live updates for Northamptonshire on Monday, 10 July.

We'll be here until 18:00 keeping you up-to-date with the latest news, sport, weather and travel as it happens.

As ever, don't forget that you can get in touch with the team by email, Twitter, external and Facebook, external.

Colin Ingram hits a century as Glamorgan beat Sussex and Leicestershire win a last-ball thriller in the T20 Blast

Listen to BBC local radio commentary as Durham host Northamptonshire in the T20 Blast.

The opening round of the 2017 T20 Blast sees Yorkshire make a record 227-5, a thrilling finish at Chelmsford and a tied match.

A court hears four homeless people had attacked and killed David Miller like "a pack of wolves".