Ashley Dale's killers and two teen extremists among most notorious criminals jailed in the UK in November

The killers of Liverpool council worker Ashley Dale and two teenage extremists - one who read Mein Kampf at the age of 10 - were among the worst offenders sent to jail in the UK in the last month.

Other criminals facing lengthy jail terms include a foster carer who killed a one-year-old child she was in the process of adopting and a corrupt cop who tipped off a criminal friend about a secret police operation.

A son who murdered his mother after subjecting her to years of domestic violence and six people involved in what is thought to be the largest drugs smuggling operation in England Wales were also locked up in November.

READ MORE: Killer neighbour, gangster ‘foot soldiers’ and a meth-making family amongst those locked up in Greater Manchester this week

Read more court stories from the Manchester Evening News here.

Lengthy sentences are handed to some of the worst offenders each month. These are some of the most shocking court cases that have been widely reported in the UK in recent weeks.

Four men were handed life sentences for the murder of 28-year-old Ashley Dale, who was shot with a machine gun in Liverpool. The environmental health worker was killed when gunman James Witham, 41, forced his way into her home in Old Swan in the early hours of August 21 last year and opened fire.

Four men were found guilty following a seven-week trial of the murder of Ms Dale, conspiracy to murder her boyfriend Lee Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon – a Skorpion sub-machine gun – and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Witham was jailed for a minimum of 43 years. Niall Barry, 26, who was described in court by the prosecution as the “malign presence” behind Ms Dale’s killing, was sentenced to a