Christians challenge hybrid embryo move

The legality of the licences that allowed the creation of Britain’s first human-animal hybrid embryos is to be challenged by the Christian Legal Centre. It wants a judicial review of the decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to allow two teams to start the experiments, arguing that the watchdog acted beyond its powers.

In January, the HFEA awarded licences to scientists at King’s College London, and Newcastle University to create cytoplasmic hybrid or “cybrid” embryos by inserting human DNA into cow eggs. Last week it emerged that the Newcastle group has already produced cybrids.

Pair are jailed for blackmail

Two men who were party to a kidnap were jailed yesterday after an international police operation. Masood Sarwar, 51, from London, and Rehmat Awan, 55, from Bradford, both admitted blackmail and were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court. Sarwar received six years for conspiracy to commit blackmail and Awan received seven years.

Mohammed Sabir Mughal, 47, a businessman, was kidnapped at gunpoint in Pakistan last year. He was released after 15 days. The men tried to get ransom money from the victim’s brother, who lived in Bradford.

DNA policy in court

A schoolboy can challenge the police policy of keeping DNA samples taken from children who are acquitted or not charged, two judges ruled in the High Court. The child had his DNA taken without consent when he voluntarily attended an interview at a Staffordshire police station about an alleged disturbance.

Taxi killed drunk girl

A drunk schoolgirl who had taken cocaine and cannabis lay down in a road and was killed when a taxi ran over her. Megan Cowell, 15, of Basildon, Essex, was heard shouting: “I’m fed up, kill me,” Chelmsford Coroner’s Court was told. A verdict of death as the result of a road traffic collision was recorded.

Charge withdrawn

A woman who died when she was hit by a train had been due in court charged with witness intimidation. The case against Kelly Mack, 29, was withdrawn yesterday at Chelmsford Crown Court. She was killed near Colchester on March 27. Her partner, Adrian Palmer, 38, is charged with her manslaughter.

Woman refused blood and died

Emma Gough, 22, a Jehovah’s Witness from Telford, Shropshire, told a midwife that she was happy to die rather than have a blood transfusion after giving birth to twins, an inquest heard. Mrs Gough had signed an “advance directive” that she did not want a transfusion. She died hours after giving birth at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on October 25.

The North Shropshire Coroner recorded a narrative verdict.

BA bans Naomi over bag row

BA has banned Naomi Campbell after the model became enraged over a missing bag at Heathrow Terminal 5 last week and was removed from an aircraft bound for Los Angeles. She was arrested and bailed pending inquiries into a suspected assault on a police officer.

Footballer badly hurt in car crash

A star of Liverpool FC’s youth academy is critically ill after a road crash in the city that killed two of his friends. Sean Highdale, 17, suffered critical injuries in the collision and had a kidney removed. Thomas Benn and Kalam Wooding, both 17, died in the crash.

Doctors assess police suspect

A man arrested for stabbing his care worker to death is being medically examined to see if he is fit to be interviewed by police. Philip Ellison, 47, a father of three, was knifed repeatedly on Monday during a home visit in Fulwood, Preston.

Teenagers die in canal crash

Two teenage girls died when their car crashed through a railing and into a canal in Skipton, North Yorkshire. The accident happened on a bend in the road. A diver from the Wharfedale Fell Rescue team helped the emergency services.

Fines for spa town ‘cruisers’

Seven young drivers who often turned the centre of Cheltenham into an unofficial racetrack were fined a total of £1,000 for speeding offences. Among those appearing before magistrates was Laura Bains, 19, a beautician, who said that they were “cruisers, not criminals”.

Tory councillor 'sought bribes'

A Tory councillor from Redbridge, East London, asked for £20,000 in bribes to help property developers with a planning application, Southwark Crown Court was told. Suresh Kumar, 44, denies three counts of corruption. The trial continues.

Open-and-shut case for rubbish

Refuse collectors have been banned from emptying dustbins unless the lids are shut, out of concern for health and safety, East Hampshire Council has confirmed. It said that it was worried that collectors might be injured by rubbish falling on them.

‘Multiracial’ sheep

The Welsh-language television channel S4C is to collaborate with the Arabic broadcaster al-Jazeera to tell the story of a family of “all-singing, all-dancing, multiracial sheep” in a 52-part series called Baaas. The animals are played by actors in masks, with animatronic technology controlling facial expressions.

Forever amber

A spider trapped in a piece of amber about 40 million years ago has been donated to the Natural History Museum. Terence Collingwood noticed the rare harvestman spider, pictured right, in a delivery of amber to his shop, I Dig Dinos, in Rochester, Kent, last year. The Natural History Museum offered to examine the spider, which was in a piece of amber the size of a £2 coin. It is the second example of a Dicranopalpus ramiger to be found. Mr Collingwood, 37, said: “Finding this was pure chance but I realised straight away that it was something special.”

Protection for Falklands wreck

The wreck of the Atlantic Conveyor, a container ship that was sunk in the Falklands conflict, has been designated a protected site by the Ministry of Defence. The merchant ship is one of ten wrecks to be added to a list of protected sites.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• An officer and a gentle woman
• Dame Helen Mirren is worthy of the Epidaurus
• Foods that can help to prevent swine flu