He said: I tell them they must count their blessings in this rich country to grasp the positive and reach their

He said: “I tell them they must count their blessings in this rich country, to grasp the positive and reach their goals.”Mr Wright’s advice is credible on housing estates because he has come from a far harsher environment “My brother was killed by the security forces. I’ve seen my friends and other relatives killed just like that in the gutter,” he said. “When I share experiences like those, they believe me when I say there is a need for peace. My message is stronger because of my experiences.”Teenagers who have joined the AYF in Jamaica have managed to turn away from the gang culture to embark on careers in law, the police, the army and the media industries. Others have established their own businesses.AYF students are drawn to the project by its reputation for arts productions, which provide a platform for building their confidence and introducing them to other skills.Sheila Graham, joint founder and executive manager of the project, said the Jamaican young people were using their abilities in the performing arts to engage with British youth and put across a serious message. “The power of music is greatly under-estimated,” she said.In Liverpool, the AYF met up with other young artists from around the world, who were performing for the Queen and local people as part of the city’s bid to be named European Capital of Culture.Mr Wright and his compatriots sang a series of self-composed pieces, one of which included the lyrics: “You don’t have to be a roughneck to get power and respect, you don’t have to move along with the crowd …

I don’t need a gun to be a man.”Among those listening was Leroy Ruglass, a rap group member and a visual artist from the inner-city Liverpool district of Toxteth.Ruglass, whose father was Jamaican, said: “I have read so much publicity about Yardies and subconsciously you buy into the lie and expect Jamaicans to do the walk and talk.”But [the AYF] are showcasing Jamaica; it’s not about guns and rough, raw and ready. They have got the Jamaican accent but not the baggage you expect to come with it.”. A policeman was jailed for five years yesterday for sexually assaulting a student he dragged into bushes. A jury at the Old Bailey cleared the officer of attempted rape but found him guilty of sexual assault.The girl was described as deeply traumatised and has had to move schools.Miller, a member of the Metropolitan Police’s territorial support group from St Albans, Hertfordshire, denied the offences, claiming the girl had offered him sex for £25.The judge, Recorder Rosamund Horwood-Smart QC, told Miller during sentencing: “You, a policeman on whom any young girl would seek to rely, assaulted this girl and subjected her to a terrible ordeal which she had to relive.”Miller was placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely His 14-year career in the police is now in ruins. The trial was the second after a jury in September was unable to agree a verdict.The court was told Miller was off duty when the teenager was pushed into bushes near Hendon railway station Neighbours heard her screams and telephoned police.

Officers found Miller trying to leave a muddy area with his trousers undone. The partially clothed teenager was found behind the bushes.Timothy Langdale QC, for the prosecution, told the jury that the student, who was staying with her sisters during half-term, had had a row with her eldest sister and had left a restaurant to walk home alone. She was nearly home when Miller grabbed her.David Bate QC, defending, said the officer had an “exemplary record”. Outside court, Detective Inspector Robert Stimpson, who led the investigation, said: “Today’s trial should act as a stark warning that the Metropolitan Police will do everything in its power to catch and bring to justice those responsible for such crimes, whoever they may be.”. The Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, dismissed demands yesterday for an immediate public inquiry into the deaths of four soldiers killed in mysterious circumstances at an army barracks in Surrey. While military investigators said the death was suicide, witnesses have since come forward to claim hearing three shots that night.