UK news

Queen singer Freddie Mercury disguised the late Princess Diana as a male model and smuggled her into a notorious gay bar, according to a memoir serialised in Britain's Sunday Times.

Comedian Cleo Rocos describes in her book "The Power of Positive Drinking" how she, Mercury and fellow comedian Kenny Everett dressed Diana in an army jacket, cap and sunglasses for a night out at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, south London, in the late 1980s.

"When we walked in... we felt she was obviously Princess Diana and would be discovered at any minute. But people just seemed to blank her. She sort of disappeared. But she loved it," said Rocos, who co-starred in Everett's television show.

She said she did not know whether Diana was propositioned in the bar in her guise as a male model, but added: "She did look like a beautiful young man."

Published: 31 March 2013

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Disgraced former MP Chris Huhne has been moved to a comfortable open prison after spending seven days in a tough London jail, it has been reported.

The ex-Liberal Democrat Cabinet minister was jailed earlier this month after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice for asking his wife to take speeding points for him in 2003.

The 58-year-old served his first week at HMP Wandsworth, in south London, but has now been moved to HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire for the remainder of his eight month term, The Sun has reported.

The Category D jail is described on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) website as somewhere that prisoners can "assume more responsibility and benefit from opportunities to make decisions for themselves before returning to the outside community".

HMP Leyhill, which has farms and gardens in its grounds, offers a number of courses and employment opportunities for prisoners, such as making door and window frames and prison furniture.

On March 15 Huhne's ex-wife was moved to a "pleasant" open jail after spending only four nights in Holloway prison, according to reports.

Published: 24 March 2013

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Many children would start school hungry without breakfast clubs, teachers have claimed.

A new survey suggests these clubs are the only way many youngsters can get a meal before lessons.

More than half (54%) of the 552 school staff questioned by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said their school or college provides a breakfast club for pupils.

The overwhelming reason for children to attend these clubs is because their parent or carer goes to work early, cited by 76.8% of those questioned. But other factors, such as lack of money, also play a part. More than two-fifths (44.7%) said they believe the main reason pupils attend a breakfast club is because it is the only way the youngster will get a meal in the morning.

Around a fifth (22.6%) said children attended due to lack of money at home because parents or carers are unemployed and 15.2% cited lack of money at home due to changes or cuts to benefits. Around one in six (17.6%) said pupils mainly attend breakfast clubs to socialise.

The survey found that teachers believe that offering breakfast to pupils often helps improve their concentration and ability to learn. One primary school teacher from Kent told the survey: "Although there is a charge for our breakfast club, we have accessed funding for those pupils on free school meals and the breakfast club had an effect on their attendance, concentration and being in school for the start of lessons."

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said a nutritious meal at the start of the day has a "huge impact" on pupils' ability to learn.

Published: 22 March 2013

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The written ramblings of one of two men accused of plotting to kill international music star Joss Stone have been shown to a jury.

Kevin Liverpool, 35, wrote down in a diary his thoughts about the Devon-based soul singer. Entries talked of the need to buy a semi-automatic gun, a gun holder, a silencer and infrared equipment, as well as a "ninja sword".

Liverpool had also written a reminder to buy a hooded top, car insurance, a safe and open a bank account, Exeter Crown Court heard. He wrote of "war", "warlord #1" and of "missions" to "rob" and "discipline".

Liverpool and co-accused Junior Bradshaw, 32, are charged with plotting to rob and kill Miss Stone before dumping her body in a river in June 2011.

The defendants, both of St Stephen's Close, Manchester, deny charges of conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and conspiracy to rob.

The diary was seized by police when they raided Liverpool's one-bedroom flat in Longsight, Manchester, after he had been arrested in Devon.

Published: 21 March 2013

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The Queen is set to carry out her first public engagement in more than a week when she joins the Duchess of Cambridge at an event celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Tube.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will travel with Kate to Baker Street Underground station in London to mark the transport network's milestone.

The Queen, who had been suffering symptoms of gastroenteritis, has been carrying out her duties within Buckingham Palace but last week cancelled a trip to London's East End to visit Tech City.

The Duke of York, who carried out the engagement without his mother, said she was "not ill" but stayed at home as precaution.

The last time she was seen at an official event was an engagement last Monday evening when she signed the Commonwealth's new charter.

Published: 20 March 2013

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Shares in Marks & Spencer have surged on speculation that the high street retailer is an £8 billion bid target for Middle Eastern investors.

The stock jumped 8% at one stage, adding more than £500 million in value, after The Sunday Times said the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, is in talks with private equity and banks about an approach.

Despite the scale of the share price movement, there was no official stock market announcement to confirm or deny the speculation.

A bid for the retailer would mark the biggest private equity takeover of a British blue chip firm since Alliance Boots was snapped up by US buyout firm KKR for £11 billion in 2007. It would also see another British name fall into foreign hands after recent high-profile takeovers such as US group Kraft's controversial acquisition of Cadbury.

M&S is often the subject of takeover speculation and there are significant hurdles for any such deal to get the go ahead. Aside from the price tag needed to win over management and investors, M&S has a hefty pension deficit of about £300 million which means the scheme's trustees have a significant say in any deal.

Other bidders have tried and failed to bag M&S in the past, with BHS and Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Green launching an unsuccessful hostile £10 billion bid in 2004. Private equity firm CVC, which owns Formula One, is said to have considered a bid for M&S last summer but pulled out after its plans were made public.

Published: 18 March 2013

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More than £3.9 million has been spent by public bodies in the last two years on paying private investigators for surveillance work - including snooping on their own staff.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is among a range of public organisations that have paid private firms to spy on their behalf, while it has been claimed some 14 bodies, including 10 councils, may have commissioned potentially illegal surveillance.

The findings, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by civil liberties and privacy campaigners Big Brother Watch (BBW), revealed that four organisations paid other public bodies to undertake surveillance and four councils used private investigators to spy on their own employees.

BBW director Nick Pickles said the revelations prove that surveillance laws are "not fit for purpose". He said: "The Government has acted to control surveillance by local councils but this research shows more than ever before public bodies are using private detectives to do their snooping. The law is at breaking point and public bodies shouldn't be able to dodge the legal checks on them by using private investigators."

A total of 29 organisations - 27 councils, one public authority and one government department, the DfT - paid private firms to undertake surveillance using powers under Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) in the years 2010/11 and 2011/12.

But some 1 4 organisations - 10 councils and four public authorities - paid private firms to undertake surveillance that was not covered by Ripa - meaning they commissioned potentially illegal activity. Two public authorities and two councils paid other public bodies to spy on their behalf at a cost of £7,600, while four councils - Caerphilly, Dudley, Leicestershire and York - used private investigators to monitor their own staff.

Mr Pickles went on: "This research has uncovered cases where it looks like the law has not been followed and it's essential they are urgently investigated. Unlike the US, British law isn't strong enough to stop evidence obtained by illegal surveillance being used in court and the punishments for people deliberately flouting the law are trivial."

Published: 17 March 2013

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