Third man charged over £40m jewellery heist

A third man was accused today of taking part in Britain's biggest jewellery robbery.

Clinton Mogg, 42, of Westby Road, Bournemouth, was charged with conspiracy to rob, Scotland Yard said.

Two other men appeared in court today accused of stealing valuables worth almost £40 million from Graff jewellers, in Mayfair, central London, and firearms offences.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said Mogg will appear at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

Solomun Beyene, 24, and Craig Calderwood, 26, were remanded in custody after a brief hearing at the same court earlier today.

The pair are accused of undertaking the audacious robbery at the New Bond Street store on August 6. They are also charged with possessing handguns.

The two men appeared in the dock flanked by five prison officers amid heightened security.

Beyene, of Lilestone Street, St John's Wood, north London, and Calderwood, of no fixed address, spoke only to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.

Calderwood, who has short straight red hair combed flat on his head, wore a long-sleeved white T-shirt.

Beyene, who wore a grey short-sleeved T-shirt and has heavily-tattooed forearms, looked briefly at his parents who sat in the public gallery.

Presiding magistrate Anne Packer remanded the two men in custody and ordered them to appear at Kingston Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on September 1.

Solicitors acting on behalf of the two alleged robbers made no representation in court. There was no application for bail.

Speaking after the hearing, defence solicitor Antonie Xavier, who represents Beyene, said his client denies any involvement in the robbery.

He said: "It is totally denied. The CCTV shows quite clearly he could not be the person. He has always denied that he was ever near there.

"This is a shot in the dark."

A huge manhunt was launched after the audacious raid on the central London jeweller two weeks ago.

CCTV pictures of two men talking their way past security guards before robbing the shop have been beamed around the world.

The gang forced a woman member of staff to fill a bag with 43 pieces of jewellery, including earrings, necklaces and watches, worth almost £40 million.

They used a series of getaway cars and a motorcycle to escape across the capital, firing two shots in the process.

A 50-year-old man who was held last week in Ilford, east London, has been released on bail pending further inquiries.