A mother who battled with the Child Support Agency to secure maintenance for her three children has won a test case victory in the House of Lords that will mean self-employed absent fathers making higher payments.

Five law lords held that self-employed fathers can no longer deduct capital allowances from their income to reduce the amount of child maintenance.

The challenge was brought by Helen Smith, from Oldham, who has fought over five years to secure what she believed were the right levels of child maintenance from her former husband Robert.

Bradley Williams, her solicitor from Family Law in Partnership, said of the ruling: “It confirms that child support is not a tax.”

Rail strikes plan

The RMT union plans three days of strikes by 5,000 signal workers that would bring the rail network to a halt if they went ahead. A 24-hour strike is planned for July 21 and a 48-hour strike for July 27. Both are to begin at noon and are in a protest over pay.

Mayor’s power

Ken Livingstone is to get new powers as Mayor of London enabling him to force councils to build new homes. Ruth Kelly, the Local Government Secretary, will announce details of Mr Livingstone’s extended powers in planning, housing and training skills.

Lottery choice

People are to have a greater say in the way that Lottery money is spent. A “Your Pound, Your Choice” pilot scheme will be started next month, allowing the public to vote for their favourite local causes when they buy tickets from outlets.

Public sector pays

Graduates working in the public sector will for the first time earn more than those in private businesses this year, according to research from the Hay Group. Public-sector salaries for university leavers average £21,445, £1,400 more than in the private sector.

Whitehall rapped

Ann Abraham, Parliamentary Ombudsman, attacked “negative” and “defensive” government departments, saying refusals to accept her maladministration findings — she cited people being misled over final salary pensions — were “illegitimate”.

£365 cigar stub

A cigar discarded by Sir Winston Churchill was sold at auction in Liverpool for £365. The auctioneers Outhwaite and Litherland said Churchill put out the cigar as he arrived to address a meeting at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, in October 1950.

Green light for bullying claim

A gay man who claims he was bullied by his female manager because he was homosexual was given the go-ahead by the House of Lords to claim damages against the hospital where he worked. In a landmark ruling, five law lords agreed that the law designed to combat stalkers applied to victims of harassment in the workplace. William Majrowski worked at Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS Trust, London.

Stunt goes wrong

A teenage girl was engulfed by flames when a stunt being filmed for the internet went wrong, a court was told. Shelley Mandiville, 17, was in hospital for two months after being set alight by Mark Webb, a film-maker, St Albans Crown Court was told.

Bike ride may end

Jane Tomlinson, the terminal cancer patient and fundraiser, was close to aborting a 4,200- mile (6,750km) bicycle ride across the US last night. The mother of three, 42, from Rothwell, Leeds, was said to be suffering from dehydration and extreme fatigue in Utah.

Church criticised

The head of the evangelical arm of the Anglican Church has accused it of forsaking its Gospel tenets. Captain Philip Johanson, of the Church Army, said that more and more people preferred to share their faith with friends they met online or in the pub.

Hit by an ice lump

A man suffered a cut on his head after a football-size lump of ice from a plane crashed through the roof of his home into his lounge. Simon Jones, of Wickford, Essex, was watching TV when the ice dropped through the ceiling, covering him in rubble.

Who go online

The Who will become the first rock band to broadcast every concert on their world tour live over the internet. Each will be available for $10 (£5.45) starting with tomorrow night’s show in Switzerland. The 66 gigs will be broadcast on www.thewholive.tv.

4x4 off-road flop

A brand-new 4x4 vehicle worth £20,000 disappeared into thick mud after its owners decided to test its off-road capabilities. A recovery truck arrived too late to save the Land Rover Freelander from mudflats at Berrow Beach, Somerset, on Tuesday.

Pleasant green

Three golfers — Maurice Almond, 66, Chris Hulmes and Mike Wilkinson, both 40, — hit a hole-in-one on the 180-yard, par three 14th at Bury Golf Club, in Greater Manchester, within an hour of each other. The club average is fewer than one a month.

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