US will not pay congestion tax
The US Embassy is refusing to pay the London congestion charge after declaring it to be an illegal tax under the terms of the Vienna Convention (Ben Webster writes).
Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, is preparing to risk a confrontation with the US by clamping and removing cars belonging to its diplomats. The embassy said yesterday that it had instructed its “diplomatic, administrative and technical staff” not to pay the £8 daily charge. “We consider it a tax, and it is the view of the United States Government that all direct taxes on diplomats and diplomatic operations, including this one, are prohibited by the Vienna Convention.”
Sadist jailed
Taru Patel, 55, who carried out sadistic beatings on a woman she kept as a virtual prisoner, telling her that she was obeying Kali, the Hindu god of death, has been jailed by Harrow Crown Court for 14 years. The woman, 42, who came from India to work for Patel in a pickle factory, was crippled for life by the attacks.
Spelling mistake
The statue of a nude and heavily pregnant armless woman has sat proudly in Trafalgar Square for a month . . . complete with a spelling mistake. The word “resilience” appeared as “resiliance” on a plaque for Marc Quinn’s 13-tonne, 3.5m sculpture, Alison Lapper Pregnant. The plaque is being replaced.
Bus scheme for poor students
A US-style yellow bus system that could open up the best schools to pupils from poorer families is being considered by the Government as part of its plans to improve choice for parents. A White Paper, due to be published next week, is expected to include plans which would allow children to travel long distances to schools even if their parents cannot afford to drive.
The measures were included in the School Transport Bill, which failed to become law in the last parliamentary session due to lack of time. The Bill allowed councils to charge parents for the buses on a means-tested basis.
Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, is believed to favour scrapping the clause which would have allowed councils to charge poorer families for the bus service if they had rejected a nearby school in favour of one farther away.
Who can it be?
The revival of Doctor Who is to be followed by an adult spin-off on BBC Three. Torchwood — an anagram — will be a “dark, clever, wild, sexy, crime/sci-fi paranoid thriller cop show with a sense of humour”, said its creator, Russell T. Davies, the chief writer and executive producer of the Doctor Who series.
Accused man dies
A retired chief inspector with Leicestershire police died on a railway line hours after failing to beat charges that he raped a teenage girl in the 1980s. John Walker, 55, is believed to have jumped off a bridge in front of a train at Cossington, Leicestershire, after a jury at Leicester Crown Court failed to reach a verdict. A retrial was being sought. He was given community service last year after admitting indecent assault on a 12-year-old girl.
Student grants up
About 85,000 part-time students will get extra financial help with rising tuition fees and living costs, the Government is expected to announce. Grants will rise from £590 to £750 for students studying half the time and from £885 to £1,125 for those studying three-quarters of the time.
Animal charges
A man was remanded on bail by Bishop Auckland Magistrates’ Court after 29 dead animals were found at stables in Trimdon, Co Durham. Lee Howard, 39, of Middlesbrough, is charged with causing unnecessary suffering to the dead horses, hens, dogs and rabbit, and abandoning three animals.
'Sex ring' broken
A suspected sex slave ring involving illegal immigrants in Preston has been broken up by the police. Ten women were taken into custody after dawn raids were carried out on a sex parlour and other premises as part of a national clampdown on people smuggling. Four people were arrested.
Inhaler traps killer
A man who murdered a pregnant prostitute was jailed for life by Liverpool Crown Court after detectives traced him through an asthma inhaler he had dropped at the scene. Stuart Milsted, 31, battered Danielle Moorcroft, 21, to death with a bottle and brick in Bolton in June 2002, after paying £40 for sex.
Infant 'misdeeds'
Birmingham City Council has apologised to the mother of a baby and toddler who were threatened with ASBOs. An antisocial behaviour team wrote to Sarah Tullett, of Longbridge, asking to meet to discuss the misdeeds of Mikey, 8 months, and Tamzine, 2, after her partner had been arrested in a drugs raid.
Smoking ban
Smoking will be banned in workplaces in Northern Ireland, including bars and restaurants, from April 2007. But Shaun Woodward, the Northern Ireland Office Health Minister, said that a decision still had to be reached on whether the ban would apply in prisons and psychiatric institutions.
Grave discovery
A gravedigger arrested on suspicion of theft after he hid the ashes of 11 people in his car will not be prosecuted. He is thought to have hidden the urns and caskets, some for five years, after falling behind with his work at a crematorium in Basildon, Essex. Basildon council has arranged for the ashes to be properly interred.
Travel chaos for air passengers
Hundreds of holidaymakers remained caught up in travel chaos yesterday because of the financial troubles of Air Scotland, the budget airline. Flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Athens, Paris, Málaga and Alicante were experiencing delays of up to 14 hours in a saga that began last week when the carrier had its only plane grounded in a row over unpaid fuel bills.
At Spain’s Palma Airport on Saturday, armed police had to be called to calm a crowd of furious Scots after Air Scotland’s Glasgow-bound plane was hit by a 17-hour delay.
Police defence
A police force has defended its decision to arrest a woman under terrorism laws after she trespassed on a restricted harbour path. Sally Cameron was reported to the procurator fiscal after she walked through a restricted part of Dundee harbour without authority. A spokeswoman for Tayside Police said that the same action would be taken against anyone found to be breaching harbour security.
New Columba monastery
Archaeologists have discovered a second monastery founded by St Columba after he landed in Scotland in the Dark Ages. St Columba’s monastery on Iona, founded in 563AD, was a renowned centre of learning in the Christian world and became a place of pilgrimage. Archaeologists have uncovered the site of a second monastery at Portmahomack, Easter Ross, which they believe was also founded by St Columba at about the same time. Evidence suggests that the monastery produced significant books and documents similar to the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. It is likely the Vikings ransacked the monastery in the 9th century and destroyed the manuscripts.
Second term
The chairman of a health authority that was criticised in the wake of the collapse of a child abuse case has been reappointed. David Currie will serve a further four-year term at Western Isles NHS board. An investigation by the Social Work Inspection Agency this month found that the board did not have the procedures to support health staff in protecting three children at the centre of the Western Isles case. In 2003 nine people were charged with serious sex offences involving the girls, aged under 16, after they suffered years of abuse, but prosecutors decided not to proceed with the case.
Easy riding
Tourists will soon be able to take a guided tour of some of Scotland’s most famous landmarks on the back of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Christopher Asensio plans to use a two-way radio to talk to tourists as they roar around Edinburgh on the back of his powerful 1,500cc machine. Mr Asensio is having discussions with the City of Edinburgh Council over how the scheme will operate, and intends to be open for business by next summer.
Boxer's fall
Ken Buchanan, the former world lightweight boxing champion, is in hospital after a fall at his home. The 50-year-old will have to spend at least a fortnight at the Astley Ainslie Hospial in Edinburgh to recover from a serious ankle injury. Buchanan won the world lightweight title in 1971, losing it a year later in a controversial bout with the great Roberto Duran.
Business bleat
Business leaders seeking compensation over the disruption to trade caused by G8 protests have criticised the Scottish Executive’s “hard-nosed” refusal to pay up. The Executive told the Forum of Private Business that any claims would “set a precedent which is neither sustainable nor appropriate”.
