Cocaine charges

The two most senior British Army officers to be accused of drug offences have faced a preliminary court martial. Captain James Fulton and Captain Daniel Chamings, both 27, are due to face criminal trial on cocaine charges in October. A guilty verdict could lead to dismissal from the Army and a prison sentence. Fulton has admitted possessing cocaine, a class A drug, but denies having supplied it.

Harry Potter auction

An 800-word story by J.K. Rowling set three years before Harry Potter is born and which features the boy wizard’s father has been sold for £25,000 at a charity auction at Waterstone’s in Piccadilly, Central London. Thirteen authors contributed to the sale, in aid of English PEN and Dyslexia Action. Works by Sir Tom Stoppard and Doris Lessing raised £4,000 and £3,000 respectively.

Footballer sentenced

Steve Claridge, the former Premiership footballer, was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years for dangerous driving. Claridge, 42, of Fareham, Hampshire, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to do 150 hours’ community work. His trial last month at Birmingham Crown Court was told that he drove at about 100mph on the M42 on a rainy day.

Social work sick leave

One fifth of all social workers have taken long-term sick leave of a month or more in the past five years. The scale of sick leave, on top of an acute shortage of experienced social workers, means that services to children at risk and vulnerable elderly people are being compromised. Figures show that 62,203 working days are being lost each year.

PC wore no armour

A policeman shot dead at close range during a training exercise was not wearing body armour. PC Ian Terry, 32, was playing the role of a fleeing criminal as part of an exercise in North Manchester on Monday when he was hit in the chest. It is understood that the officer, a married man with two young children, was a front-seat passenger in a stationary car.

Accused in visit to Dando murder scene

The man accused of shooting dead the television presenter Jill Dando nine years ago was taken by prison van yesterday to the scene of her death (Steve Bird writes). Handcuffed and wearing a fluorescent vest marked HM Prison, Barry George walked along the West London street where the body was found. The 48-year-old defendant remained a few steps back from the judge, jury, barristers and court officials as they assembled outside the Victorian four-bedroom house. The street, near Parsons Green, was cordoned off for the visit. The group spent three hours on a tour of nine places that are key to the Old Bailey trial.

Sex trafficker jailed

A human trafficker who forced a Czech woman into prostitution by threatening to sell her children for their organs was jailed for eight years. Gejza Kaco, 24, lured the 31-year-old to Britain in 2005 with the promise of a good job in a shop, Manchester Crown Court heard. Kaco, of Openshaw, Manchester, had earlier admitted trafficking, controlling prostitution and rape.

SFO under fire

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has come under fire in a highly critical report that condemns its “pass the buck” culture, lack of focus and skills. Also criticised was its success rate, which compares unfavourably with agencies in the US. The SFO’s conviction rate for 2003 to 2007 was 61 per cent, compared with 92 per cent for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Governors face sack

School governing bodies could be sacked and replaced by local authority appointees as part of a £400 million drive to raise standards in England’s worst-performing secondary schools. New interim executive boards will be authorised to replace the head teacher and take over at schools that have less than 30 per cent of pupils achieving five GCSEs at grades A* to C.

Something old

The wedding dress in which Jerry Hall married Mick Jagger in 1990 sold for £2,420, more than 18 times its estimated price. It was one of scores of items of clothing being sold by Hall, raising £28,000 for Emmaus, a homeless charity. Hall, whose marriage was annulled in 1999, said of the Antony Price dress: “I’m hoping someone else will have more luck than I did. It feels great.”

Police lose battle over pay

Police lost their High Court challenge yesterday over the Home Secretary's refusal to award them a 2.5 per cent pay increase (Richard Ford writes).

Lord Justice Keene and Mr Justice Treacy said police were in a “difficult position over pay” and denied the right to strike. But Jacqui Smith had not acted unlawfully by refusing to backdate the award by three months - making it worth 1.9 per cent.

Union rejects breakaway call

The Communication Workers' Union annual conference has rejected a call to disaffiliate from the Labour Party and set up a breakaway workers' party. The decisive defeat came despite heavy criticism of Labour's actions in government.

Stepmother of Cherie in MP bid

Stephanie Booth, the fourth wife of Cherie Blair's father, the actor Tony Booth, is hoping to become a Labour MP at the next general election. Mrs Booth is one of five women vying to replace Chris McCafferty in Calder Valley.

New community hospitals chosen

Community hospitals are to be built or renovated in Finchley, North London, Eltham, southeast London, and Ashford, Kent. Ministers say that their services will include GP surgeries, minor injury units and social care facilities.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Donor organ allowed child’s own heart to heal
• Michael Jackson: Not the final chapter
• Brüno toned down for 15 rating