The passage of time since the atrocities were committed and the fact that many criminals are unprosecuted in no

The passage of time since the atrocities were committed, and the fact that many criminals are unprosecuted, in no way diminishes the severity of the crimes and the culpability of the perpetrators."Britain has prosecuted no further cases since a former Belorussian policeman, Anton Sawoniuk, was convicted of war crimes two years ago.A retired railway ticket collector, Sawoniuk, 79, of Bermondsey, south-east London, was given two life sentences. He was convicted of murdering 18 Jews in Nazi-occupied Belarus in the early 1940s and is Britain's only convicted Nazi war criminal.The Israeli researchers ranked Scotland separately from Britain, and gave it an even lower rating of "insufficient or unsuccessful".The report singled out Scotland for its failure to prosecute Anton Gecas, an Edinburgh guesthouse owner, who has been accused of participating in the murder of 32,000 civilians by a Lithuanian death squad. A court in Lithuania has issued a warrant for his arrest and extradition.The United States was the only country to be graded "highly successful" in the first Nazi War Criminals Prosecution Status Report, which the centre intends to publish annually.. The two killers were waiting for Leonard Naylor in a van at the end of a quiet tree-lined cul-de-sac near his Kent home. The two killers were waiting for Leonard Naylor in a van at the end of a quiet tree-lined cul-de-sac near his Kent home. They followed his white Rover car on to his bungalow driveway before one of the balaclava-clad men got out of his vehicle and shot Mr Naylor, 44, several times in the back of the head and body.The murder, which was described by police yesterday as a classic gangland hit, is being linked to the victim's criminal past and a possible falling out with members of the south London underworld.It appears to be the latest murder by contract killers.The former London taxi driver was no stranger to bloodshed. He had a reputation for violence and was arrested for attempted murder in east London in June 1996, after an attack involving a machete. The case was dropped because the alleged victim refused to testify.A few months later Mr Naylor was given a seven-year jail term for supplying drugs and was released in September 1999 on licence.

He was known to have connections with criminals in south and south-east London.The murder took place at about 5pm on Wednesday. Police believe the two men responsible must have spent several days planning the hit.They appear to have driven their white Bedford Rascal van up to Mr Naylor's detached bungalow in the village of Isted Rise, near Gravesend, 15 minutes before the attack.On finding his car missing ­ he was visiting his father ­ the killers returned to the end of the cul-de-sac until their target returned home.Police believe he was shot from behind with a handgun Four cartridge cases were found at the murder scene. A post-mortem examination confirmed he died from multiple injuries to his head and body.The victim's wife, Eileen, 44, who was at home at the time of the shooting, was seen cradling her husband's body in her arms and crying.She was heard shouting: "Somebody do something, my husband has been shot. He's dying."His daughter, Emma, 19, was also said to be distraught.After the shooting the attackers drove the van, which was bought in February in Dagenham, Essex, to an underpass about two miles from Mr Naylor's home below the A2 and set it on fire.

Forensic science experts were searching the burnt-out vehicle for clues yesterday.Detective Chief Inspector Colin Murray, speaking at the murder scene, said: "This was a carefully planned and cold-blooded execution."We need to know the ins and outs of Mr Naylor's life so we can find out who it was who wanted him dead. Clearly it would appear at this stage to be a professional hit. Why that should be, we don't know yet."We have begun a detailed investigation into Mr Naylor's background to try to discover who may have wanted to murder him. We know Mr Naylor was once a London taxi driver but at this stage we are not entirely sure what he was doing for a living."Det Ch Insp Murray added that detectives had ruled out any links to Kenneth Noye, who lived in the area. Noye, convicted of handling gold from the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery, is now serving life for the M25 "road rage" murder of Stephen Cameron in May 1996.The murder comes seven months after Alan DeCabral, 40, a key witness in the Cameron murder trial, was shot dead in his car as he sat in a retail warehouse car park in Ashford, Kent. DeCabral, who lived in Pluckley, near Ashford, was shot twice in the head.Ken Jones, a neighbour of Mr Naylor, said his wife went to comfort Mrs Naylor's wife, who had emerged from her house to find her husband lying on the bloodstained drive and apparently dead.Mr Jones said: "I heard three shots and I saw a white van reverse out from by the house and a man wearing dark clothes jump into the vehicle as it was on the move."I called the ambulance and in the meantime my wife went down to see Mrs Naylor.

When Mrs Naylor came out of the house after hearing the shots she could not see anything, but when she turned round to the other side of the car she saw her husband lying there."Many of the residents in the quiet Kent village are professional workers who commute into London.. Crime in London has fallen for the first time in three years despite a huge rise in street robberies and bag snatches, figures from Scotland Yard show. The number of reported offences fell by 22,500, a drop of 2.2 per cent, to about one million in the year up to April 2001. Crime in London has fallen for the first time in three years despite a huge rise in street robberies and bag snatches, figures from Scotland Yard show. The number of reported offences fell by 22,500, a drop of 2.2 per cent, to about one million in the year up to April 2001. The success in bringing crime down, after a 3 per cent rise in 2000 and a 6 per cent hike the year before, was marred by news that muggings and other street offences continue to rise.There were almost 8,000 more street robberies than in the previous year, a rise of 18 per cent, to more than 50,000. Non-violent offences, where belongings are stolen, went up by nearly a quarter to 13,584.

Robberies in the West Midlands police force area are also rising, up 12 per cent to 11,355 in the past year. Overall reported crimes have remained static.Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, said crime levels were still high and street offences such as robbery needed special effort "Every crime in London is one too many," he said. "I pay tribute to the dedicated work of the thousands of police officers in the Metropolitan Police, and the leadership of Sir John Stevens."Sir John, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said the huge rise in thefts of mobile phones was a main factor. "Street crime remains a major challenge and although we are managing to slow the increase there will be absolutely no let-up in our efforts to get on top of street robbery across the capital."Burglary was down by 9.5 per cent to the lowest level in 22 years, and the number of drug offences fell by 7.5 per cent.