Daniel Sandford

London

Home Affairs Correspondent at BBC

I am UK/Home Affairs Correspondent for BBC News. Police, prisons, law, crime and terrorism. Before that Moscow Correspondent so still post about Russia/Ukraine.

Articles

Hopes of closure fade despite fresh searches

1 week ago | bbc.com | Daniel Sandford

Hopes of closure fade as police wrap up Madeleine McCann search Daniel SandfordReporting fromAlgarve, PortugalPA MediaFrom the moment I arrived in Praia da Luz on Monday the word on everyone's lips was "closure". All the long-term residents of the sleepy Atlantic resort told me closure was what they were hoping for. From the English woman who lived at the time above the apartment from which Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007, to the former neighbour of the main suspect in the case.
Madeleine McCann search 18 years on may be too late

2 weeks ago | bbc.com | Daniel Sandford

Madeleine McCann search 18 years on may be too lateDaniel SandfordReporting fromAlgarve, PortugalAFP via Getty ImagesThe golden sandy beach of Praia da Luz is dominated by huge cliffs to the east, a mix of orange sandstone and black volcanic rock. These cliffs hide the strip of gorse scrubland which runs east to the larger resort of Lagos, and are dotted with derelict, abandoned agricultural buildings and houses, marked with missing roofs and chipped plaster.
Madeleine McCann: as novas buscas em Portugal pela menina britânica que desapareceu em 2007

2 weeks ago | g1.globo.com | Frances Mao |Daniel Sandford

As polícias portuguesa e alemã começaram uma nova busca em Portugal, dentro do conjunto de investigações em curso sobre o desaparecimento de Madeleine McCann. A busca abrangerá cidade de Lagos, onde fica a Praia da Luz, local onde a menina desapareceu há quase duas décadas. Madeleine tinha três anos e passava as férias com a família quando sumiu de um complexo de apartamentos no dia 3 de maio de 2007.
New Madeleine McCann search under way

2 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Daniel Sandford |Hafsa Khalil

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Portuguese authorities closed roads leading and around the search areaPortuguese and German authorities have started a new search into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal nearly two decades ago. Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from an apartment complex in the town Praia da Luz in Algarve during a family holiday on 3 May 2007.
New Madeleine McCann search under way in Portugal

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Daniel Sandford |Hafsa Khalil |Aleks Phillips

6 hours agoWatch: New search for Madeleine McCann gets underway in PortugalA new search has begun for Madeleine McCann, with Portuguese and German police carrying out searches in Lagos 18 years after the three-year-old went missing. Footage shows officers at Praia da Luz, the last known location of Madeleine, and also at a house near a holiday resort where the main suspect Christian Brueckner used to live.
Mark Gordon previously convicted of rape in US, Old Bailey retrial told

2 weeks ago | bbc.com | Daniel Sandford

Mark Gordon previously convicted of rape in US, retrial toldDaniel SandfordJulia QuenzlerMark Gordon was convicted of a series of sexual offences, including rape, which took place in Florida in 1989 when he was aged 14, a jury heard on Thursday. The details of his previous convictions were read to the jury at a retrial of separate charges at the Old Bailey in London.
Mark Gordon assaulted police officers on maternity ward, court hears

3 weeks ago | bbc.com | Daniel Sandford

Giving evidence, Det Sgt Jones said they had been called to the postnatal ward of West Wales General Hospital after medical staff raised concerns about the identity of a newborn's parents. Jones said she and PC Beynon went to a separate room with the father and asked him several times for his name and date of birth. He eventually agreed to write it in her notebook and said he was called James Amer, giving his date of birth as 31 April 1987, the jury was told.
Why police released details about Liverpool crash suspect so quickly

3 weeks ago | bbc.com | Daniel Sandford

Why police released details about Liverpool crash suspect so quicklyDaniel SandfordPA MediaMerseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims gave an update about the incident late on MondayAfter a driver ploughed into crowds during the Liverpool FC victory parade on Monday evening, Merseyside Police said they had arrested a "53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area". It was striking how quickly police shared the man's nationality and ethnicity.
Why police released details about Liverpool crash suspect so quickly

3 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Daniel Sandford

16 hours agoUK: Liverpool victory parade attack leaves dozens injuredLiverpool, United Kingdom - May 26, 2025 Footage shows the aftermath of a car attack on the Liverpool FC victory parade on Tuesday evening. The vehicle rammed through crowds of supporters who were gathered on Water Street for the football teamõs parade following their Premier League title win. Police arrested a 53-year-old man at the scene.
Mark Gordon refuses to answer prosecution questions

3 weeks ago | bbc.com | Daniel Sandford

Mark Gordon refuses to answer prosecution questionsDaniel SandfordJulia QuenzlerA court sketch of Mark Gordon giving evidence at the Old BaileyMark Gordon has refused to answer questions from the prosecution during his retrial at the Old Bailey. He gave evidence on Wednesday where he blamed the death of his newborn baby on the police manhunt for him and his partner Constance Marten.