• A Hendon businessman terrified of fatherhood was jailed for feeding abortion pills to his partner in an attempt to make her miscarry their baby. Gil Magira, of Holmbrook Drive, who admitted giving his wife a cocktail of drugs designed to cause abortion, was sentenced to three years, nine months.
  • An accountant, who claimed he fell into a deep depression after slipping on a grape, failed in his attempt to sue a supermarket for £300,000. Alexander Martin-Sklan alleged he had fallen foul of the stray fruit in the Finchley Road store in 2004, rupturing a tendon in his leg. He had claimed his business suffered as a result of related depression and loss of confidence. After a three-day hearing at the high court the case was dismissed.
  • A Potters Bar man was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. Mark Russell was found guilty of stabbing his ex-girlfriend’s lover to death in August 2007.
  • Developers submitted the largest planning application ever dealt with by Barnet Council for the £4.5billion regeneration of Brent Cross. Named Brent Cross Cricklewood, the 250-site borders Brent Cross shopping centre to the north, and Cricklewood Broadway to the south.