Girl seen in Morocco is not Madeleine
Police investigating a reported sighting of Madeleine McCann in Morocco said
last night that a blonde girl living in a remote part of the country was not
the missing girl. Officers went to the coastal towns of Fnideq and Al
Hoceima after a tip-off. But they have established that the girl is a local
who speaks only Arabic.
Abdelmajid Chadili, the head of Morocco’s judicial police, said: “Some people
think it’s not possible that a blonde girl can be Moroccan. But it’s true,
we have children with blonde hair.”
Portuguese detectives are preparing to travel to Britain to reinterview at
least four of the seven British friends who were on holiday with the McCann
family in Praia da Luz.
The ‘lost’ subjects
English and maths lessons take up nearly half of all teaching time in
England’s primary schools, forcing teachers to cut time devoted to other
subjects, figures from the University of Manchester suggest. Bill Boyle, who
led the research, said that the time devoted to other subjects was
“obscenely low”.
Firefighters’ pledge
Comrades of the three missing firefighters believed to have died in a
warehouse blaze on Friday evening have vowed to retrieve their friends’
bodies when they are found. Safety campaigners said the men might have lived
if the warehouse had been in one of the areas where sprinklers are
compulsory in large buildings.
Late and lost on BA
More than two in five British Airways flights ran late this summer, according
to the Association of European Airlines, a worse performance than any other
big European operator. BA was also among the airlines most likely to lose
baggage. The company recently announced a 25 per cent increase in profits.
School under threat
A successful grammar school could be closed and reopened as a comprehensive
under plans being considered by a Labour council. St Joseph’s College in
Stoke-on-Trent, where more than half of A-level results were A or B last
year, could be shut as part of a city council plan for the school to take
more local pupils.
Two held in Ghana
Two teenagers living in London have been arrested in Ghana on suspicion of
trying to smuggle cocaine into Britain. The pair were named as Mindages
Puckorius, 16, and Audrius Dilys, 19, both originally from Lithuania. They
were stopped as they tried to board a flight to Gatwick on Saturday evening.
Languages dropped
The proportion of GCSE pupils who took a modern language exam this year was
the lowest on record, the Liberal Democrats said. Only 48 per cent of pupils
took French, Spanish or German. In 2000 the figure was 83 per cent. In 2003
the Government dropped the requirement to study a language until 16.
Teenage rapist is given five years
A teenage rapist of two girls was sentenced to five and a half years.
Jamie Cradock, 17, forced two girls - aged 15 and 16 – to have sex with him in
alleyways in two separate attacks three months apart in Brighton, East
Sussex.
Jurors at Lewes Crown Court were told that he laughed as he carried out his
first attack. The second rape happened on June 18 last year. In addition to
the custodial sentence, Cradock was ordered to serve three years on licence
upon release, and to sign the sex offenders register.
Murder hearing
A man has appeared before Crawley magistrates charged with the murder of Ricky
Butler, 15, with a pair of flails at a Hallowe’en party. Richard Martin, 18,
of Horsham, West Sussex, is also accused of causing ABH to an unnamed
16-year-old. He was remanded in custody to appear at Lewes Crown Court on
November 19.
Police pilot guilty
A police helicopter pilot could be jailed for up to two years after he
admitted dangerous driving. Ian Kingston, 49, was clocked speeding at 110mph
(177km/h) on a 40mph section of the M5 in Bristol in February. Kingston, of
Shapwick, Somerset, is suspended from his job with the Western Counties Air
Operation service.
Drug gang jailed
The two leaders of a gang that tried to smuggle £6.5 million of cocaine into
Britain were each jailed for 16 years. Lee Martin, 41, from Burnley, and
Johan Ranft, 40, from The Netherlands, brought 90kg (200lb) of the drug in a
yacht from South America. The other gang members were also sentenced to jail
by Preston Crown Court.
Fall girl returns
A girl whose fall from a hotel balcony in Majorca was followed by the
disappearance of her mother has returned to Britain. Gianna Cooper, 7, who
suffered serious injuries, was found at the Samoa Hotel after her fall on
October 22. The body of her mother, Sara, 45, was found three days later in
an underwater cave.
Charge for bags
Marks & Spencer is to begin charging for its plastic carrier bags in an
attempt to reduce waste. From February, shops in the South West of England
will charge 5p a bag after a pilot scheme in Northern Ireland reduced demand
for the bags by 60 per cent. Free, reusable bags will be given to customers
before charging begins.
Fuel prices record
The average price of a litre of petrol is now 99.5p, a record according to the
AA. The previous highest price was in August 2006, with a litre on sale at
98.54p. Diesel prices have also risen to a record 102.45p a litre. The
average cost of a litre of petrol at the start of the year was 88.82p, with
diesel selling at an average 93.68p.
Sticky wicket
A group of 18 British cricketers is trying to set a world record for holding
the world’s highest match, at the foot of Mount Everest. Three teams, which
include five county professionals, are playing six-a-side games at an
altitude of 5,184m (17,000ft) on the Gorak Shep glacier, at the southern
approach to Everest, for charity.
Climate change ‘is our WW3’
Climate change should be approached “as if it were World War Three”, the head
of the Environment Agency said. Baroness Young of Old Scone told the
agency’s annual conference: “We’re dealing with this as if it is peacetime
but . . . we need to be seeing this as a crisis and emergency.”
Officer admits misconduct
A police officer pleaded guilty to a misconduct charge after an inquiry into
the fatal stabbing of a mother of three. PC Charlotte Hall admitted she
failed to perform her duties properly after being called to the Rugby home
of Colette Lynch two days before she was killed.
Fraud fears limit online papers
The Land Registry is to limit the information it provides online in an attempt
to protect people from fraud. Documents such as mortgage deeds and leases
will no longer be available electronically. People who want copies will now
have to apply to the registry in writing.
Windsor opens after restrictions
Windsor Great Park is to reopen today to riders, joggers, cyclists and walkers
after the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Surrey. Visitors can now enjoy all
areas of the park including the Long Walk, Deer Park, Valley Gardens and
Virginia Water.
Queen documentary to be shown on BBC
The documentary about the Queen that cost the Controller of BBC One his job is
to be broadcast (Adam Sherwin writes). The future of the five-part series
was thrown into doubt when a trailer was edited to give the impression that
the Queen had stormed out of a sitting with Annie Leibovitz, the
photographer.
Peter Fincham, BBC One boss, quit afterwards. The programme, Monarchy: The
Royal Family at Work, will be shown before Christmas. Originally set to be a
money-spinner for RDF Media, all profits will now be given to charities
nominated by the Royal Household.
Hit and run charge
A 41-year-old man was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to
a police officer who was run down while trying to detain a fraud suspect.
Detective Constable Catherine Corbett, 39, remains in a critical condition.
Rashpal Singh, from West Bromwich, who also faces charges of actual bodily
harm against two officers, appeared at Hendon Magistrates’ Court. He was
remanded in custody.
Missing girl case
Police have reopened an investigation into a missing teenager, 16 years after
she was last seen. Dinah McNicol, 18, of Tillingham, Essex, vanished after
going to the Liphook music festival in Hampshire in August 1991. Police said
that Dinah and a male friend hitch-hiked after the event, and she continued
the journey alone with the driver after they got to Reigate, Surrey. The
driver has not been traced.
Officers accused
A great-grandmother was forced to help a man who was attacked by teenagers
after community support officers stood by and watched, it was claimed.
Metropolitan Police are investigating after Ann Ward, 59, complained that
the two PCSOs “could not be bothered” when three girls punched the victim,
55, and tried to steal his bag in Merton, South London. All three have been
arrested.
Assault brothers jailed
Two brothers who attacked a French student, 16, and stole his wallet before
jeering “welcome to England” at him have been jailed for two years each by
Southampton Crown Court. Jason and Stuart Westwood, aged 19 and 24,
headbutted the boy before stealing his backpack. Judge John Boggis said:
“You both are so full of it, thinking you are above it all and that this is
all a bit of fun. But it’s not.”
Lawyer aims for KO
A City solicitor who swapped the boardroom for the boxing ring is to make her
professional debut. Laura Saperstein, 36, from Tottenham, North London, was
a mergers and acquisitions lawyer with Freshfields, earning £75,000 a year.
Three years ago she left to train full-time and won the British lightweight
amateur title. Her bout, against a Swedish opponent at Tooting Leisure
Centre, will be on November 18.
Ibuprofen may cut risk of Parkinson’s
Regular use of over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen can reduce the
risk of Parkinson’s disease by as much as 60 per cent, according to
scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles (David Rose
writes).
Their findings, published in the journal Neurology, were based on a survey of
579 men and women, half of whom had Parkinson’s. Beate Ritz, one of the
researchers, said: “It’s possible the antiinflammatory agent in these drugs
may contribute to the observed protective effect, but the exact mechanism
isn’t clear and further research is needed.”
Women who were regular users of aspirin reduced their likelihood of developing
Parkinson’s by 40 per cent.
Cannabis-only users ‘are better adjusted’
Teenagers who smoke cannabis on its own have fewer social problems and achieve
better grades in school than those who mix the drug with tobacco, new
research suggests (David Rose writes).
Students who smoked only cannabis also appear to be more socially driven, more
likely to play sport and less likely to come from a broken home, a Swiss
study of 5,263 students aged 16 to 20 found.
Although teenagers who smoke a combination of cannabis and tobacco seem to
have more psychosocial problems, those who smoke only cannabis should also
be monitored closely and counselled, the Swiss researchers say.
Staff uninspired by Health Department
Only 8 per cent of staff feel that the Department of Health (DoH) is well
managed, according to its annual internal survey.
Out of 1,414 workers surveyed, only 12 per cent said that they had confidence
in senior management, 7 per cent felt uninspired by the department’s
leadership and only 3 per cent thought that change was managed well at work.
The survey also indicated increasing concern about harassment and bullying.
The Conservatives said the figures showed that Alan Johnson, the Health
Secretary, had failed to lift staff morale since taking over responsibility
for the department in June.
Woman is jailed for supplying fake drugs
A woman who supplied counterfeit prescription drugs was jailed for two and a
half years (David Rose writes).
The fake drugs, worth more than £250,000, were found at Shazia Amjad’s home in
Uxbridge, West London, in November last year. The haul included more than
50,000 units of ephedrine, a Class C drug, as well as slimming pills,
painkillers and anabolic steroids. Police also found 12 fake passports and
30 bank and Visa cards.
The drugs were sent to Amjad from Pakistan, who was paid in cash. The money
was then credited to a false bank account.
She was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court yesterday.
