'Marked men' jailed for killing Ben

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Juress Kika, 19, Jade Braithwaite, 18, and Michael Alleyne, 20, who are all from London, were told they would have to serve minimum terms of 19 years each after they stabbed Ben to death in Islington, north London, in June last year.

Lawyers for the trio told the Old Bailey judge, the Common Serjeant of London Brian Barker, that the defendants have been served with letters from prison authorities warning them of fears of retaliation in jail.

Nerida Harford-Bell, defending Braithwaite, said: "Jade Braithwaite understands he is a marked man."

Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC, for Alleyne, said he had also been served with a letter and added it is an "unusual step", while Kika's solicitor advocate James Nichol said the letter "is being taken seriously".

After sentencing, the judge told the trio: "Your blind and heartless anger that night defies belief. He had in front of him a lifetime of promise. You have taken all that away from him in a brutal, cowardly and totally unjustified attack."

There was loud cheering and shouts of "bye bye" from the public gallery where dozens of Ben's friends and family gathered - including actress Linda Robson - as the killers were taken down.

Kika and Alleyne both turned and jeered, making gestures towards them.

Members of the defendants' families exchanged angry words with Ben's friends and relatives in the public gallery before they were led out.

Ben's sister, former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, 25, said of the terms handed to the trio: "It is little more than Ben lived, so it is not really enough."