Canoeist and wife in court
John Darwin, the canoeist who reappeared after being presumed dead, appeared
in court with his wife, Anne, yesterday to face further fraud charges
(Andrew Norfolk writes).
It was the first time that they had met since Mr Darwin, 57, walked into a
police station in London last month. He vanished in March 2002 and was
declared dead 13 months later. The couple, jointly charged with obtaining
more than £250,000 by deception, made no eye contact during the appearance
before Hartlepool magistrates. They were remanded in custody to appear again
on January 18, when the case is expected to be committed to the Crown court.
Lottery win leads to arrest
A fish-and-chip-shop worker who celebrated a £1 million win on a lottery
scratch card with a holiday in the Canary Islands is facing arrest when she
arrives back in Britain at Bristol airport today. Leah Sumray, 21, from St
Ives, Cornwall, was to have given evidence against Mark Rodriguez, 38, who
was accused of causing actual bodily harm to his girlfriend Janine Harkins,
24. Judge Christopher Elwen, sitting at Truro Crown Court, issued a warrant
for Miss Sumray’s arrest for contempt of court after she sent a text message
to say that she would not be attending. Mr Rodriguez, who had denied
assault, was acquitted by the jury at the end of a two-day trial.
£19m bonus for staff at data loss ministry
Civil servants at the government agency responsible for Britain’s biggest
personal data blunder were paid a total of almost £19 milllion in bonuses
last year (Greg Hurst writes).
Staff at Revenue & Customs, which lost computer discs containing records
of 25 million people, were paid bigger bonuses in a new scheme to boost
their performance.
Jane Kennedy, the Treasury minister responsible for the agency, told the
Treasury subcommittee that the agency must improve its performance, but
defended the payouts. Bonus payments of £18.9 million were divided between
38,000 Revenue & Customs staff. The figure was 72 per cent higher than
that for the previous year.
Barclays conned by its 'chairman'
Barclays has been defrauded out of £10,000 after a conman posed as the bank’s
chairman, ordering a credit card in Marcus Agius’s name from a call centre
(Fiona Hamilton writes). The criminal then used the card to withdraw £10,000
from a Barclays branch.
Mr Agius, 61, who earns £800,000 a year, has ordered a review of security
procedures in the wake of the scam, it was reported last night. Barclaycard
has repaid the £10,000 to Mr Agius after accepting liability for the theft.
It is believed that the conman used the internet to research his victim’s date
of birth, background and address. A spokesman said: “It was down to human
error on the part of a member of our call-centre staff. We have learnt from
it.”
Army casualties double in 2007
British soldiers suffered their worst year for casualties in Iraq and
Afghanistan in 2007, with the number of dead and wounded doubling compared
with 2006, according to Ministry of Defence figures.
More members of the Armed Forces died in Iraq last year than in Afghanistan –
47 compared with 42 – although the same number (37) were categorised as
“killed in action” or “died of wounds” in each operation. The rest were
killed in noncombat incidents.
The figures show there were 62 “very serious” or “serious” injuries in
Afghanistan last year, compared with 30 in 2006.
Blood fears for troops
Gravely wounded British soldiers may have been given contaminated blood from
US sources, the Ministry of Defence said last night (Yepoka Yeebo writes).
Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan were yesterday awaiting test results
after the Pentagon said that the blood they received had not been properly
screened. There are fears that the soldiers may have been exposed to
infectious diseases.
Derek Twigg, the Defence Minister, said: “These 18 personnel would almost
certainly have died without receiving an emergency blood transfusion.
“The actual risk of any infection is low. However, we are taking it very
seriously.”
Presenter cleared
The children’s television presenter Mark Speight is no longer being treated as
a murder suspect by police. He had been arrested and bailed on suspicion of
murder and supplying Class A drugs after the body of his fiancée, Natasha
Collins, a fellow presenter, was discovered at the flat they shared in St
John’s Wood, northwest London. Police have said that the death was “not
suspicious”.
Sainsbury’s fined
A Sainsbury’s local store manager offered a customer £20 to “pay for
medication” when she complained that turkey sold past its use-by date had
made her feel ill. Sainsbury’s was fined £15,000 with £8,000 costs at City
of Westminster Magistrates’ Court. It admitted seven counts of breaching
food labelling regulations in two of its Central London stores in June last
year and December 2006.
Volunteers stay away
Baby-boomers have rejected Gordon Brown’s call to join a “grey army” of
volunteers, new figures show (Rosemary Bennett writes). The number of people
aged 55 to 64 joining the National Experience Initiative, which Mr Brown
launched as Chancellor in 2001 to encourage older people to assist
charities, schools or hospitals, has fallen since he became Prime Minister
last summer.
Actor's suicide bid
The actor Jeff Stewart attempted suicide on the set of The Bill after being
told that his contract with the show would not be renewed. Stewart, 52, who
had played PC Reg Hollis since the show began 24 years ago, cut his wrists
in his dressing room before calling security staff. He was discharged from
hospital.
Stab youth 'critical'
A teenage boy is critically ill in hospital after being stabbed. The youth,
believed to be 16, was found injured in Southwark, in southeast London.
Detective Inspector Bernie Galopin, of Southwark CID, said: “We believe
there may have been a number of witnesses.”
Anyone with information should call the incident room on 020 7232 6145 or
Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Rare aye-aye born in zoo
A rare species of lemur, which was hunted to near-extinction in its native
Madagascar, has been born in Bristol Zoo Gardens. The two- month-old
aye-aye, which has been named Raz, is only the second of the species to have
been born in Britain. It is believed that there are only 1,000 aye-ayes left
in the world.
Teacher dismissed
A married woman teacher who was cautioned by police for committing a sex act
with a teenage pupil has been sacked. Jo Gorman, 28, was suspended from
teaching English at Paignton Community and Sports College in South Devon in
November after being cautioned for “sexual touching by a person in a
position of trust”. The investigation has concluded and there will be no
criminal trial.
Boy killed by bus
An 11-year-old boy was knocked down and killed by a bus on his way to school,
police said. Matthew Hobbs was confirmed dead at the scene in Dartford,
Kent. His death is likely to provoke controversy over the safety of a new
public transport system. Witnesses said he had crossed the road when the
traffic lights showed red, but stepped into the dedicated Fastrack bus lane
which remained on green.
End for blasphemy
Gordon Brown signalled his intention to scrap the law of blasphemy as he
headed off a cross-party attempt to force a vote in the Commons on its
abolition. Mr Brown pledged to consult Christian churches about getting rid
of blasphemy laws, which are rarely used and frequently criticised as
archaic.
MPs attack NICE
Decisions made by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
(NICE) are slow, arbitrary and make too little use of expert opinion, a
report by the Commons Health Select Committee says. But the report finds
that, although they could be better, NICE procedures are robust and
effective.
Boy, 13, killed on M1 is identified
A 13-year-old boy who was knocked down and killed on the M1 while fleeing from
police was named as Wasid Ali, of Willesden, Greater London. The police had
approached him and two other youths as they pushed a moped towards an
underpass in Hendon.
Richey home at last
Kenny Richey, 43, said it was good to be home as he arrived back in Scotland a
free man last night after 21 years on death row in an American prison. The
Scot was released from jail in Ohio on Monday after reaching a plea deal
with prosecutors over an arson attack in which a two-year-old girl died.
Expensive Britain
Britain is the third most expensive country in the world in which to maintain
a decent standard of living. A study by HSBC has found that annual
expenditure in Britain goes a lot farther in every other country apart from
Norway and France, where a typical British spend would run out after 11
months.
Doctors do not report attacks
One in three doctors was attacked verbally or physically last year, but most
did not report it, according to a survey of 591 doctors by the British
Medical Association. More than half had seen violence against staff, and the
report suggested that doctors increasingly were accepting attacks.
Frustration with waiting times was a frequent cause of violence.
Dying woman to be deported
Immigration officials removed a dying woman from the University Hospital of
Wales, Cardiff, where she had been receiving treatment for cancer. Ama
Sumani, 39, says she is being sent back to Ghana to die. She arrived in
2003, but her student visa has expired.
No questions for Meredith friends
British friends of Meredith Kercher, the student murdered in Perugia in
November, will not be recalled for further questioning as witnesses, an
Italian judge has ruled. They were said to be easily traceable if required
to give evidence at a trial.
