After a cacophony of screams and shouted abuse and...

After a cacophony of screams and shouted abuse and a hail of cans, coins and eggs, the man accused of the murder of two young girls made his first appearance in court in the United Kingdom.
A crowd of up to 300 people gathered to howl at Ian Huntley as he was driven at high speed into a side entrance of Peterborough Magistrates' Court, and then attacked the police van in which he was travelling when it emerged from the building three hours later.
Many were young mothers with toddlers in pushchairs; scattered among them were businessmen, pensioners and a handful of bewildered-looking children.
Some people leant from buildings overlooking the court with video cameras while others brandished banners demanding "an eye for an eye" and the return of capital punishment. Inside the court, Huntley sat trembling, lolling his head from side to side and staring blankly into space without uttering a word.
He showed no interest when the court was told that he was charged with the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in the Cambridgeshire town in August, and failed to acknowledge his brother, who sat five feet from the dock.
He did sit up and become slightly agitated, however, whenever the name of his girlfriend, Maxine Carr, was mentioned. Huntley, 28, a school caretaker from Soham, faced an additional charge: that he conspired with Carr, 25, to pervert the course of justice.
His appearance had been delayed by concerns over his mental state, and for the last three weeks he has been undergoing examination at Rampton high-security psychiatric hospital in Nottinghamshire. He was ordered to be detained for a further 28 days to allow psychiatrists more time to determine whether he is fit to stand trial.
During the nine-minute hearing, Huntley's counsel, Maureen Baker, confirmed his name, address and date of birth, before Karim Khalil, counsel for the prosecution, outlined the case."It is about the much-publicised murders of two children, Jessica Aimee Chapman and Holly Wells," Khalil said. "There is an additional charge, that together with Maxine Carr he conspired to pervert the course of justice by doing a series of acts which had the tendency to pervert the course of justice, by agreeing that they would both give false information to police officers who were involved in a criminal investigation."
Huntley looked pale and drawn and had clearly lost weight since his arrest on August 17, the day the ten-year-old girls' bodies were found in a ditch near RAF Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk. He appeared to be in a trance, shaking and continually licking his lips, with his brow constantly furrowed.
In a warning to the press to avoid reporting anything that could undermine Mr Huntley's right to a fair trial, Judge Nicholas Coleman said: "The defendant is charged with a serious offence but he is innocent until proved guilty."
In the street outside, however, the mob appeared to have already made up its mind, baying for Mr Huntley's blood.