'Gems worth £25m were stolen in Hatton Garden vault raid'

Hole in the wall: The gap the raiders crawled through to access the vault in the Hatton Garden raid
Metropolitan Police
Hatty Collier31 January 2017
WEST END FINAL

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A gang who tunneled their way into one of London's most secure jewellery deposits stole a total of £25 million, a court heard today.

It was originally thought that some £14 million in gems and jewellery had been snatched during the raid at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd in 2015.

But at a confiscation hearing today at Woolwich Crown Court, barristers said the amount stolen totalled £25m.

Denis Barry, representing one of the gang's ringleaders, Daniel Jones at Woolwich Crown Court, said: "The Crown say £25 million between five."

Philip Evans QC, prosecuting, said: "This is an exceptional case which warrants an extension."

John "Kenny" Collins, 76, Daniel Jones, 62, Terry Perkins, 68, and the group's oldest member, Brian Reader, 78, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.

Collins, of Beltsoe Walk, Islington, Jones, of Park Avenue, Enfield, and Perkins, of Heene Road, also Enfield, were each given a seven-year prison term for their involvement in the burglary over the 2015 Easter bank holiday weekend.

William Lincoln, 60, of Winkley Street, Bethnal Green, east London, was found guilty of the same offence and one count of conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property.

Lincoln was also given a seven-year sentence.

Reader, of Dartford Road, Dartford, was jailed for six years and three months. He was sentenced separately because of his deteriorating health.

If members of the gang do not pay back what the judge rules they gained from the crime, they could face up to a maximum of 14 years of jail time being added to their sentences, without parole.

Tom Wainwright, for Reader, asked for a QC to be appointed to his client's case, stating they would have the required skill to deal with proceedings of this length and Reader's health.

He said: "The case is made more complex because Mr Reader is not in good health.

"He is likely to be in worse health come December or January."

The court heard that a full confiscation hearing is expected to last around six weeks, and a date was set for January 15 2018, with a deadline of April 30 that year.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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