Meet Mr Angry. It is his job to encourage you to foam at the mouth and then sound off about certain stories from NOTW.
Miss Miffed brings up the rear.
How amused is one allowed to be at the way NOTW have finally introduced interactivity on their website?
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry's boozy night with 'other girl'
By James Weatherup & Rav Singh
FIGHTING drunk Prince Harry exploded into booze-fuelled rage on Saturday after being caught on a secret date.
Our astonishing pictures show the paralytic prince crashing onto his backside as a minder tries to manhandle him into his car.
Other photographs show how, seconds earlier, Harry ran amok, attacking one snapper and yelling at him to "F*** off" as he sneaked out of a London club following a night out with very close friend Natalie Pinkham.
The 22-year-old prince — due to head to Iraq for a six-month tour with his unit in weeks — was furious that he'd been spotted meeting former TV presenter Natalie, 29, while girlfriend Chelsy Davy is away on her gap year.
The two had spent the night canoodling on the dance floor of Boujis, with Harry caressing the beauty whose boobs he once famously groped on another wild night out in London nearly four years ago.
One fellow clubber revealed yesterday: "He and Natalie were dancing very close and his hands were everywhere."
Harry tried to sneak out of the back door of the club at 3am yesterday while Natalie left by the front. But when the royal on the razzle spotted photographer Nirach Tanner waiting he chased him down the street in a fury.
"He was very drunk. I took a few shots of him and he just came for me," said Tanner, 27. "He knows me because I've taken his pictures before and I have never had a problem with him.
"He saw me as he came out of the club's rear entrance because he didn't want to be spotted leaving with Natalie.
"He screamed at me to ‘F*** off', then grabbed me and tried to shove me over. He had his hands around my collar and back.
"It was an assault. I've never known anything like it before."
Dazed
Another photographer who saw the prince lunge at Tanner said: "Harry's mood changed as he came out and he started chasing after him. It was only for seven or eight yards but the prince went to grab him.
"If Tanner hadn't been trying to get away it could have got ugly. I thought they taught discipline in the army but Harry wasn't exactly showing any.
"His bodyguard tried to stop him getting hold of Tanner but then things went pear-shaped when Harry tried to change direction and get into his Range Rover which had driven up.
"He turned sharply left, completely lost his footing and fell on his backside. We could see he was wearing pink socks and pink boxer shorts. He was all over the place.
"The bodyguard had to help him up and direct him into the car. Harry looked a bit dazed but didn't say anything and got in and buried his head in his arms."
Royal raver Harry's antics will doubtless be of huge interest to absent girlfriend Chelsy Davy, 21, now on a round-the-world tour after graduating from university in Cape Town, South Africa.
In the club Harry and Natalie — who he describes as one of his favourite drinking buddies — knocked back vodka and Red Bull.
The two were surrounded by royal protection officers at a private corner table. Harry's pal and former royal aide Mark Dyer was also there.
Harry and Natalie occasionally dashed out onto the tightly packed floor where they danced close together with the Prince caressing the sexy brunette's curves.
A fellow reveller said: "Harry was obviously very drunk. He and Natalie spent most of the night huddled together at a corner table beside the dance floor where Harry's bodyguards did their best to hide them both from view.
"They ordered full-size bottles of vodka and cans of Red Bull and mixed their own drinks at the table. It was clearly a big night out for both of them. Harry kept putting his arm around her.
"At times it even looked like he was kissing her neck — although it was difficult to see. They were certainly being very touchy-feely with each other."
The prince also danced with a second girl — an attractive mystery blonde.
Our source revealed: "They were gyrating together. He held her very close and had his leg between hers. He was totally out of it. It was like something from a hip hop video.
"The club was totally packed and he was constantly bumping into other people but he just didn't care."
After the near brawl in the street, there was nearly another incident as Harry's Range Rover sped off into the night.
Tanner added: "The driver panicked and floored it while Harry's friend Mark Dyer was half in and half out of the car. I screamed at him to stop otherwise Mark would definitely have fallen out. Luckily for him he did and Mark was able to scramble in and then they roared off.
"It's hardly the way for a prince to behave on a night out, is it?"
MEANWHILE Harry's brother Prince William danced on a PODIUM for revellers at a Bournemouth nightclub.
The young royal turned up at Elements on Thursday night with a bunch of army buddies and posed for mobile phone snaps with local girls before demonstrating his moves on the podium.
FIGHTING drunk Prince Harry exploded into booze-fuelled rage on Saturday after being caught on a secret date.
Our astonishing pictures show the paralytic prince crashing onto his backside as a minder tries to manhandle him into his car.
Other photographs show how, seconds earlier, Harry ran amok, attacking one snapper and yelling at him to "F*** off" as he sneaked out of a London club following a night out with very close friend Natalie Pinkham.
The 22-year-old prince — due to head to Iraq for a six-month tour with his unit in weeks — was furious that he'd been spotted meeting former TV presenter Natalie, 29, while girlfriend Chelsy Davy is away on her gap year.
The two had spent the night canoodling on the dance floor of Boujis, with Harry caressing the beauty whose boobs he once famously groped on another wild night out in London nearly four years ago.
One fellow clubber revealed yesterday: "He and Natalie were dancing very close and his hands were everywhere."
Harry tried to sneak out of the back door of the club at 3am yesterday while Natalie left by the front. But when the royal on the razzle spotted photographer Nirach Tanner waiting he chased him down the street in a fury.
"He was very drunk. I took a few shots of him and he just came for me," said Tanner, 27. "He knows me because I've taken his pictures before and I have never had a problem with him.
"He saw me as he came out of the club's rear entrance because he didn't want to be spotted leaving with Natalie.
"He screamed at me to ‘F*** off', then grabbed me and tried to shove me over. He had his hands around my collar and back.
"It was an assault. I've never known anything like it before."
Dazed
Another photographer who saw the prince lunge at Tanner said: "Harry's mood changed as he came out and he started chasing after him. It was only for seven or eight yards but the prince went to grab him.
"If Tanner hadn't been trying to get away it could have got ugly. I thought they taught discipline in the army but Harry wasn't exactly showing any.
"His bodyguard tried to stop him getting hold of Tanner but then things went pear-shaped when Harry tried to change direction and get into his Range Rover which had driven up.
"He turned sharply left, completely lost his footing and fell on his backside. We could see he was wearing pink socks and pink boxer shorts. He was all over the place.
"The bodyguard had to help him up and direct him into the car. Harry looked a bit dazed but didn't say anything and got in and buried his head in his arms."
Royal raver Harry's antics will doubtless be of huge interest to absent girlfriend Chelsy Davy, 21, now on a round-the-world tour after graduating from university in Cape Town, South Africa.
In the club Harry and Natalie — who he describes as one of his favourite drinking buddies — knocked back vodka and Red Bull.
The two were surrounded by royal protection officers at a private corner table. Harry's pal and former royal aide Mark Dyer was also there.
Harry and Natalie occasionally dashed out onto the tightly packed floor where they danced close together with the Prince caressing the sexy brunette's curves.
A fellow reveller said: "Harry was obviously very drunk. He and Natalie spent most of the night huddled together at a corner table beside the dance floor where Harry's bodyguards did their best to hide them both from view.
"They ordered full-size bottles of vodka and cans of Red Bull and mixed their own drinks at the table. It was clearly a big night out for both of them. Harry kept putting his arm around her.
"At times it even looked like he was kissing her neck — although it was difficult to see. They were certainly being very touchy-feely with each other."
The prince also danced with a second girl — an attractive mystery blonde.
Our source revealed: "They were gyrating together. He held her very close and had his leg between hers. He was totally out of it. It was like something from a hip hop video.
"The club was totally packed and he was constantly bumping into other people but he just didn't care."
After the near brawl in the street, there was nearly another incident as Harry's Range Rover sped off into the night.
Tanner added: "The driver panicked and floored it while Harry's friend Mark Dyer was half in and half out of the car. I screamed at him to stop otherwise Mark would definitely have fallen out. Luckily for him he did and Mark was able to scramble in and then they roared off.
"It's hardly the way for a prince to behave on a night out, is it?"
MEANWHILE Harry's brother Prince William danced on a PODIUM for revellers at a Bournemouth nightclub.
The young royal turned up at Elements on Thursday night with a bunch of army buddies and posed for mobile phone snaps with local girls before demonstrating his moves on the podium.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
EXCLUSIVE: Sally Clarke drank herself to death
By Neville Thurlbeck
TRAGIC cot death mum Sally Clark drank herself to death as she tried to drown out the pain of being wrongly jailed for murdering her two baby boys.
The 42-year-old solicitor was found dead at her home on Friday following a massive heart attack brought on by years of boozing to blot out the horror of losing both tots to cot death.
Her devoted husband Stephen was away on business.
Speaking exclusively to the News of the World, Sally's closest family friend John Batt revealed: "She was drinking to console herself and to ease the pain of her grief. It was no secret she had an alcohol problem.
"If it was a bad day, she was inconsolable — that's the best way of putting it, I suppose.
"Fortunately, as friends we didn't see too many of those. But Steve saw them all. You go through ten years of that sort of torture and it does something to you.
"But Sally was the best mother a child could wish for. How tragic it is for her family to be facing all this on Mothering Sunday."
In Sally's own moving written account of her problems she wrote: "As time has gone by since my release things have got worse, not better.
"Now I am devastated that I seem to be going backwards... I can't cope."
Professor Sir Roy Meadow - the disgraced paediatrician expert whose flawed evidence sent Sally to jail in 1999 with two life sentences — has been accused of having blood on his hands.
Hiding
Sally's furious father-in-law Thomas Clark said: "Why don't you track down Roy Meadow and ask him what he thinks about this?
"He has put this family through more grief than you can ever imagine.
"I hope he rots in hell."
The 73-year-old professor was in hiding after news of Sally's death broke. Curtains at his £500,000 cottage in the picture-postcard Warwickshire village of Upper Tysoe were closed and the door remained firmly locked.
He failed to come to the door and speak to the News of the World, or offer any sort of public apology or statement of regret over Sally's death.
Neighbours told callers he did not want to answer questions over whether he felt any guilt over the tragedy. One insisted: "He won't want to speak to you."
When paramedics answered Friday's 999 call to Sally's home in Hatfield Peverel, Essex, her third son — who is now eight and cannot be named for legal reasons — was with another member of the family.
A police spokesman said: "Mrs Clark was alone at the time of her death. And we do not suspect suicide. A post-mortem will take place on Monday. This may show that she had taken something but we very much doubt it."
Paramedics at the scene suspected a massive cardiac arrest.
Mr Batt, also a lawyer, has known the Clark family for more than 30 years and wrote a book about the battle to clear Sally's name.
He added: "I spoke to Sally last Monday and last saw her a couple of weeks ago when they came over to visit us.
"She was fine. But it depended on whether you caught her on a good day or a bad day.
"The succession of disasters that overtook her life is the stuff of nightmares. Her death is simply the last in a succession of terrible tragedies.
"Christopher and Harry, the babies who died, were more important to her than her own life. She absolutely adored both of them. She would never, ever, in a million years have harmed a hair on either of their heads.
"She was a wonderful mother, absolutely wonderful. Her surviving son totally adored her. She was a magical mother, there's no other word for it.
"When those babies died her life fell completely apart. And before she had a chance to grieve for them the whole machinery of the criminal justice system swung into action.
"She was arrested, charged with murder, convicted and locked up. She served 3 years before the second appeal cleared her name and freed her.
"I don't think anyone ever recovers from something like that.
"But as well as being an amazingly talented mother she was an amazingly gifted lawyer. I've no doubt that, had she chosen to do so, she could have gone right to the very top."
Sally's 1999 trial at Chester Crown Court, where she was accused of smothering 11-week-old Christopher and shaking eight-week-old Harry to death at their home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, sparked sensation.
It was there that Sir Roy, as an expert witness for the prosecution, rejected Sally's testimony that her babies had both suffered cot death 13 months apart.
The jury convicted Sally after he insisted there was only a one in 73 MILLION chance of that being true.
But Stephen, 45, also a solicitor, always vowed she was not guilty. On the day she was led away to prison in handcuffs he declared: "My wife was a caring devoted mother to our sons. She is innocent."
As he began his long crusade to clear her, Sally discovered the hell she was in for behind bars. In her own moving account of that time she wrote: "At Styal Prison as I walk through the door 50 faces stare at me, screaming, ‘Here's the nonce!' ‘Murderer!' ‘Die woman, die!'
"I am put in a small holding cell.
"Other prisoners are banging on the door, shouting more abuse and clambering up to look through the window. I feel like a caged animal."
On the outside there were raised voices too. Professor Meadow's 73-million-to-one theory was rubbished by The Royal Statistical Society.
They wrote to the Lord Chancellor saying there was NO statistical basis for his evidence. And The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths produced evidence that second cot deaths in the same family occur roughly once a year.
Experts now believe the risk could be as high as one in 100.
Meanwhile Stephen uncovered key Home Office evidence NOT revealed to the jury or the defence team — that Harry's body had contained lethal levels of bacterial infection indicating death by natural causes.
In January 2003 Sally's conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal and she was free. But her nightmare was never to end.
Shame
Angela Cannings — another mum left "an emotional wreck" after being wrongly convicted of murdering her two baby sons in 1999 — spoke out passionately to challenge discredited expert Sir Roy.
"He should feel ashamed of himself," said Angela, 43, at her Cornwall home.
"He has to take some responsibility for what's happened and have the guts to make a public apology. But he's not the only one who should feel shame. The Crown Prosecution Service had a hand in our convictions as did the police and social services.
"They all helped convict people who were completely innocent, ripping lives and families apart."
HURT WAS TOO MUCH
By Jayne Butterworth
IT'S almost impossible to comprehend what Sally went through. Not only did she lose the babies she loved, but she was falsely imprisoned and, subsequently, endured abuse and mental torture.
No wonder she found it so difficult to come to terms with her life after her release. She had won back her freedom but what life was left waiting for her? She had lost her children but she never had the opportunity to grieve for them AND she had been accused of their murder.
Turning to alcohol when you're trying to mask inner pain seems tempting because it obliterates the hurt and stops you having to deal with the horror. But you can't put a sticking plaster over such a deep wound.
As for her husband Steve and their son, what terrible torments for them to have to endure.
Sally showed incredible strength to survive her ordeal and beat the justice system. Sadly she could not escape the demons in her head. And it was those demons that eventually overwhelmed her.
TRAGIC cot death mum Sally Clark drank herself to death as she tried to drown out the pain of being wrongly jailed for murdering her two baby boys.
The 42-year-old solicitor was found dead at her home on Friday following a massive heart attack brought on by years of boozing to blot out the horror of losing both tots to cot death.
Her devoted husband Stephen was away on business.
Speaking exclusively to the News of the World, Sally's closest family friend John Batt revealed: "She was drinking to console herself and to ease the pain of her grief. It was no secret she had an alcohol problem.
"If it was a bad day, she was inconsolable — that's the best way of putting it, I suppose.
"Fortunately, as friends we didn't see too many of those. But Steve saw them all. You go through ten years of that sort of torture and it does something to you.
"But Sally was the best mother a child could wish for. How tragic it is for her family to be facing all this on Mothering Sunday."
In Sally's own moving written account of her problems she wrote: "As time has gone by since my release things have got worse, not better.
"Now I am devastated that I seem to be going backwards... I can't cope."
Professor Sir Roy Meadow - the disgraced paediatrician expert whose flawed evidence sent Sally to jail in 1999 with two life sentences — has been accused of having blood on his hands.
Hiding
Sally's furious father-in-law Thomas Clark said: "Why don't you track down Roy Meadow and ask him what he thinks about this?
"He has put this family through more grief than you can ever imagine.
"I hope he rots in hell."
The 73-year-old professor was in hiding after news of Sally's death broke. Curtains at his £500,000 cottage in the picture-postcard Warwickshire village of Upper Tysoe were closed and the door remained firmly locked.
He failed to come to the door and speak to the News of the World, or offer any sort of public apology or statement of regret over Sally's death.
Neighbours told callers he did not want to answer questions over whether he felt any guilt over the tragedy. One insisted: "He won't want to speak to you."
When paramedics answered Friday's 999 call to Sally's home in Hatfield Peverel, Essex, her third son — who is now eight and cannot be named for legal reasons — was with another member of the family.
A police spokesman said: "Mrs Clark was alone at the time of her death. And we do not suspect suicide. A post-mortem will take place on Monday. This may show that she had taken something but we very much doubt it."
Paramedics at the scene suspected a massive cardiac arrest.
Mr Batt, also a lawyer, has known the Clark family for more than 30 years and wrote a book about the battle to clear Sally's name.
He added: "I spoke to Sally last Monday and last saw her a couple of weeks ago when they came over to visit us.
"She was fine. But it depended on whether you caught her on a good day or a bad day.
"The succession of disasters that overtook her life is the stuff of nightmares. Her death is simply the last in a succession of terrible tragedies.
"Christopher and Harry, the babies who died, were more important to her than her own life. She absolutely adored both of them. She would never, ever, in a million years have harmed a hair on either of their heads.
"She was a wonderful mother, absolutely wonderful. Her surviving son totally adored her. She was a magical mother, there's no other word for it.
"When those babies died her life fell completely apart. And before she had a chance to grieve for them the whole machinery of the criminal justice system swung into action.
"She was arrested, charged with murder, convicted and locked up. She served 3 years before the second appeal cleared her name and freed her.
"I don't think anyone ever recovers from something like that.
"But as well as being an amazingly talented mother she was an amazingly gifted lawyer. I've no doubt that, had she chosen to do so, she could have gone right to the very top."
Sally's 1999 trial at Chester Crown Court, where she was accused of smothering 11-week-old Christopher and shaking eight-week-old Harry to death at their home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, sparked sensation.
It was there that Sir Roy, as an expert witness for the prosecution, rejected Sally's testimony that her babies had both suffered cot death 13 months apart.
The jury convicted Sally after he insisted there was only a one in 73 MILLION chance of that being true.
But Stephen, 45, also a solicitor, always vowed she was not guilty. On the day she was led away to prison in handcuffs he declared: "My wife was a caring devoted mother to our sons. She is innocent."
As he began his long crusade to clear her, Sally discovered the hell she was in for behind bars. In her own moving account of that time she wrote: "At Styal Prison as I walk through the door 50 faces stare at me, screaming, ‘Here's the nonce!' ‘Murderer!' ‘Die woman, die!'
"I am put in a small holding cell.
"Other prisoners are banging on the door, shouting more abuse and clambering up to look through the window. I feel like a caged animal."
On the outside there were raised voices too. Professor Meadow's 73-million-to-one theory was rubbished by The Royal Statistical Society.
They wrote to the Lord Chancellor saying there was NO statistical basis for his evidence. And The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths produced evidence that second cot deaths in the same family occur roughly once a year.
Experts now believe the risk could be as high as one in 100.
Meanwhile Stephen uncovered key Home Office evidence NOT revealed to the jury or the defence team — that Harry's body had contained lethal levels of bacterial infection indicating death by natural causes.
In January 2003 Sally's conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal and she was free. But her nightmare was never to end.
Shame
Angela Cannings — another mum left "an emotional wreck" after being wrongly convicted of murdering her two baby sons in 1999 — spoke out passionately to challenge discredited expert Sir Roy.
"He should feel ashamed of himself," said Angela, 43, at her Cornwall home.
"He has to take some responsibility for what's happened and have the guts to make a public apology. But he's not the only one who should feel shame. The Crown Prosecution Service had a hand in our convictions as did the police and social services.
"They all helped convict people who were completely innocent, ripping lives and families apart."
HURT WAS TOO MUCH
By Jayne Butterworth
IT'S almost impossible to comprehend what Sally went through. Not only did she lose the babies she loved, but she was falsely imprisoned and, subsequently, endured abuse and mental torture.
No wonder she found it so difficult to come to terms with her life after her release. She had won back her freedom but what life was left waiting for her? She had lost her children but she never had the opportunity to grieve for them AND she had been accused of their murder.
Turning to alcohol when you're trying to mask inner pain seems tempting because it obliterates the hurt and stops you having to deal with the horror. But you can't put a sticking plaster over such a deep wound.
As for her husband Steve and their son, what terrible torments for them to have to endure.
Sally showed incredible strength to survive her ordeal and beat the justice system. Sadly she could not escape the demons in her head. And it was those demons that eventually overwhelmed her.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
EXCLUSIVE: Heather Mills' £29m kiss-off from Macca
By Rav Singh & James Desborough
HEATHER Mills has sensationally backed down in her bitter divorce battle with Paul McCartney — and is set to accept a £29 million cash and property settlement.
Sources close to Macca's camp told the News of the World: "It's amazing how quickly things have turned around. Heather has caved in on lots of things — including the money demands and sole custody of daughter Beatrice — and we now expect her to settle."
News of the planned settlement — which works out at £696 an hour for their 1,735 days of marriage so far — comes after a fortnight of blazing rows between the couple.
They have silently faced each other at the High Court three times for opening hearings over the divorce. But in private they have been letting fly.
After one session furious Macca ranted at Heather down the phone:
"I just can't wait until I never have to see your face again!"
But she blasted back: "You'll never get rid of me!"
And in another vicious screaming match about one-legged Heather appearing in US prime time show Dancing With The Stars, Sir Paul labelled the move "tacky".
He rubbished the idea and predicted she will become a "reality TV freak like Anna Nicole Smith".
Gagging
A close friend of Heather insisted that a settlement deal wouldn't buy her silence about claims Paul had been violent towards her.
Heather — dubbed Mucca because of her porn and vice past — has repeatedly told her pal: "I will NOT sign a gagging clause because I want people to know the truth."
But an end to the bitter court battle is in sight after the warring couple — who wed in June 2002 — finally came close to agreement over the key issue of joint child custody.
The Beatles legend had been desperate to secure his share of control over three-year-old Beatrice.
And we can reveal Heather, 39, is expected to drop her outrageous demand for £3.4 million a year (£10,000 a day) just "to get by". Instead it is believed she will accept the scaled-down pay-off.
Included in the deal is one of Macca's homes — likely to be his £4 million luxury Georgian house in St John's Wood, London.
A source close to Sir Paul said: "Heather's completely changed her stance. Only recently Paul's team were worried she might have upped the stakes by threatening to leave England, taking Beatrice with her.
"It didn't happen but it would have driven Paul to the brink. He doesn't care where Heather ends up but he is devoted to caring for Beatrice and couldn't bear the thought of not being able to see her.
"Being realistic it could still take weeks to finally thrash out a deal but they're on the right path and now they're talking the same language. And if negotiations keep going this well it could be even sooner."
The new deal saves 64-year-old Macca a fortune on the £32 million settlement first offered in January and exclusively revealed by the News of the World. Under that proposal Heather would have walked away with TWO houses.
Last week Paul gave a V for victory sign as he left the court.
Now the settlement will be thrashed out by lawyers Anthony Julius and Fiona Shackleton, who arranged the deal between Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Our source said: "It seems Heather has been stung by the outrage over her cash demands. She thought she was entitled to that much but realises the longer this battle goes on the worse she'll come out of it.
"She's ready now to make a compromise. There's been a great deal of horse-trading between the lawyers.
"Sir Paul will be delighted. All he ever wanted was for this to be settled so he can get on with his life."
But Heather's camp insisted there were other motives behind the new moves — and they centre on the leaked divorce papers that reveal she had accused Macca of humiliating and physically abusing her.
The claims included allegations that Paul poured wine over her, stabbed her arm with a broken glass, shoved her violently into a bath when she was pregnant and pushed her over a coffee table.
A friend said: "He won't let it go to court, that's for sure. Heather has independent witnesses to support her claims, medical evidence and tapes in which he states his intentions very clearly. Why would Paul want that discussed in court and have to live with that stigma for the rest of his life?
"Maybe it's getting closer to a settlement but what's clear is there's a very nasty and evil campaign going on here.
Disgusting
"What McCartney has done is categorically deny the wife-beating, saying it's disgraceful and disgusting, then settle so she won't have a chance to show the evidence to back up what she said.
"I know that Paul's worn her down and she got completely fed up with the whole thing. But he'll never keep her quiet."
On Friday Heather was spotted enjoying drinks at a Brighton pub then dinner at a restaurant with her American make-up artist friend Mark Payne, also pictured with her at court on Tuesday.
Now it's clear that she had plenty to celebrate.
On top of the £29 million deal, legal sources said Paul had failed in an attempt to have Heather's divorce petition citing those accusations of physical abuse thrown out of court.
And she won a larger-than-expected interim annual maintenance payment.
Plus Macca has agreed to pay a lump sum — thought to be as much as £2 million — for her security needs during the divorce procedings. Heather also clinched her right to take Beatrice to Los Angeles to be with her next week as she competes in the dance show.
Her friend stressed: "Heather has NO plans to move to America because she, her friends and family are in England. And there'll be NO custody battle as she and Paul both want Bea to be happy. Heather wants to do this show because it will take her mind off the divorce battle.
"And she wants to take Bea along not as a publicity stunt, as critics claim, but simply because she's a caring mum.
"The deal is she will take Bea out for a couple of weeks during her Easter holiday and then Paul will look after her.
"In the past Heather's been distraught about the backlash she's received over the divorce case. She's been phoning me in tears.
"But she has really enjoyed doing the show and now sounds very upbeat."
HEATHER Mills has sensationally backed down in her bitter divorce battle with Paul McCartney — and is set to accept a £29 million cash and property settlement.
Sources close to Macca's camp told the News of the World: "It's amazing how quickly things have turned around. Heather has caved in on lots of things — including the money demands and sole custody of daughter Beatrice — and we now expect her to settle."
News of the planned settlement — which works out at £696 an hour for their 1,735 days of marriage so far — comes after a fortnight of blazing rows between the couple.
They have silently faced each other at the High Court three times for opening hearings over the divorce. But in private they have been letting fly.
After one session furious Macca ranted at Heather down the phone:
"I just can't wait until I never have to see your face again!"
But she blasted back: "You'll never get rid of me!"
And in another vicious screaming match about one-legged Heather appearing in US prime time show Dancing With The Stars, Sir Paul labelled the move "tacky".
He rubbished the idea and predicted she will become a "reality TV freak like Anna Nicole Smith".
Gagging
A close friend of Heather insisted that a settlement deal wouldn't buy her silence about claims Paul had been violent towards her.
Heather — dubbed Mucca because of her porn and vice past — has repeatedly told her pal: "I will NOT sign a gagging clause because I want people to know the truth."
But an end to the bitter court battle is in sight after the warring couple — who wed in June 2002 — finally came close to agreement over the key issue of joint child custody.
The Beatles legend had been desperate to secure his share of control over three-year-old Beatrice.
And we can reveal Heather, 39, is expected to drop her outrageous demand for £3.4 million a year (£10,000 a day) just "to get by". Instead it is believed she will accept the scaled-down pay-off.
Included in the deal is one of Macca's homes — likely to be his £4 million luxury Georgian house in St John's Wood, London.
A source close to Sir Paul said: "Heather's completely changed her stance. Only recently Paul's team were worried she might have upped the stakes by threatening to leave England, taking Beatrice with her.
"It didn't happen but it would have driven Paul to the brink. He doesn't care where Heather ends up but he is devoted to caring for Beatrice and couldn't bear the thought of not being able to see her.
"Being realistic it could still take weeks to finally thrash out a deal but they're on the right path and now they're talking the same language. And if negotiations keep going this well it could be even sooner."
The new deal saves 64-year-old Macca a fortune on the £32 million settlement first offered in January and exclusively revealed by the News of the World. Under that proposal Heather would have walked away with TWO houses.
Last week Paul gave a V for victory sign as he left the court.
Now the settlement will be thrashed out by lawyers Anthony Julius and Fiona Shackleton, who arranged the deal between Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Our source said: "It seems Heather has been stung by the outrage over her cash demands. She thought she was entitled to that much but realises the longer this battle goes on the worse she'll come out of it.
"She's ready now to make a compromise. There's been a great deal of horse-trading between the lawyers.
"Sir Paul will be delighted. All he ever wanted was for this to be settled so he can get on with his life."
But Heather's camp insisted there were other motives behind the new moves — and they centre on the leaked divorce papers that reveal she had accused Macca of humiliating and physically abusing her.
The claims included allegations that Paul poured wine over her, stabbed her arm with a broken glass, shoved her violently into a bath when she was pregnant and pushed her over a coffee table.
A friend said: "He won't let it go to court, that's for sure. Heather has independent witnesses to support her claims, medical evidence and tapes in which he states his intentions very clearly. Why would Paul want that discussed in court and have to live with that stigma for the rest of his life?
"Maybe it's getting closer to a settlement but what's clear is there's a very nasty and evil campaign going on here.
Disgusting
"What McCartney has done is categorically deny the wife-beating, saying it's disgraceful and disgusting, then settle so she won't have a chance to show the evidence to back up what she said.
"I know that Paul's worn her down and she got completely fed up with the whole thing. But he'll never keep her quiet."
On Friday Heather was spotted enjoying drinks at a Brighton pub then dinner at a restaurant with her American make-up artist friend Mark Payne, also pictured with her at court on Tuesday.
Now it's clear that she had plenty to celebrate.
On top of the £29 million deal, legal sources said Paul had failed in an attempt to have Heather's divorce petition citing those accusations of physical abuse thrown out of court.
And she won a larger-than-expected interim annual maintenance payment.
Plus Macca has agreed to pay a lump sum — thought to be as much as £2 million — for her security needs during the divorce procedings. Heather also clinched her right to take Beatrice to Los Angeles to be with her next week as she competes in the dance show.
Her friend stressed: "Heather has NO plans to move to America because she, her friends and family are in England. And there'll be NO custody battle as she and Paul both want Bea to be happy. Heather wants to do this show because it will take her mind off the divorce battle.
"And she wants to take Bea along not as a publicity stunt, as critics claim, but simply because she's a caring mum.
"The deal is she will take Bea out for a couple of weeks during her Easter holiday and then Paul will look after her.
"In the past Heather's been distraught about the backlash she's received over the divorce case. She's been phoning me in tears.
"But she has really enjoyed doing the show and now sounds very upbeat."
Monday, March 05, 2007
CASH FOR HONOURS: Fury over 'bid to destroy' probe
By Ian Kirby and Lucy Panton
DETECTIVES involved in the cash-for-honours inquiry believe Downing Street is trying to wreck their investigation by leaking top secret evidence.
They hit out after being forced to get Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to issue an injunction on Friday night — stopping the BBC from running new allegations about the probe.
We can reveal police acted after the Beeb obtained an email understood to contain damning evidence about an alleged cover-up by No 10 officials over giving peerages to prominent Labour Party donors.
The row puts the spotlight on Labour fundraiser Lord Levy and Downing Street aide Ruth Turner.
They have each been arrested and questioned twice during the 11-month inquiry, as the investigation concentrated at first on cash-for-honours and then on allegations of a cover-up. Downing Street has consistently denied any wrong-doing over the inquiry.
But furious detectives believe the leak was a deliberate attempt to destroy the probe, which is now in its final stages.
A Crown Prosecution Service source said: "We believe the leaks are coming from government sources who are trying to disrupt the inquiry.
"If evidence police are hoping to rely on appears in the media it could bring down the whole case. Those in the firing line are well aware of that."
The move for an injunction also prompted intense speculation that charges could be imminent.
The News of the World has learned that detectives believe they have uncovered clear evidence to bring charges alleging a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said he believed Lord Goldsmith had intervened because charges were imminent.
He explained: "The important thing to remember is that the Attorney General acts in the public interest and, in particular, he has an interest to ensure that no possible prosecution is prejudiced and no possible defence is prejudiced.
"The inference of Lord Goldsmith's actions was that he at least contemplates the possibility that a prosecution of some kind will follow."
And media lawyer Mark Stephens said: "I would expect a development this weekend. I would be astonished if there wasn't."
DETECTIVES involved in the cash-for-honours inquiry believe Downing Street is trying to wreck their investigation by leaking top secret evidence.
They hit out after being forced to get Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to issue an injunction on Friday night — stopping the BBC from running new allegations about the probe.
We can reveal police acted after the Beeb obtained an email understood to contain damning evidence about an alleged cover-up by No 10 officials over giving peerages to prominent Labour Party donors.
The row puts the spotlight on Labour fundraiser Lord Levy and Downing Street aide Ruth Turner.
They have each been arrested and questioned twice during the 11-month inquiry, as the investigation concentrated at first on cash-for-honours and then on allegations of a cover-up. Downing Street has consistently denied any wrong-doing over the inquiry.
But furious detectives believe the leak was a deliberate attempt to destroy the probe, which is now in its final stages.
A Crown Prosecution Service source said: "We believe the leaks are coming from government sources who are trying to disrupt the inquiry.
"If evidence police are hoping to rely on appears in the media it could bring down the whole case. Those in the firing line are well aware of that."
The move for an injunction also prompted intense speculation that charges could be imminent.
The News of the World has learned that detectives believe they have uncovered clear evidence to bring charges alleging a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said he believed Lord Goldsmith had intervened because charges were imminent.
He explained: "The important thing to remember is that the Attorney General acts in the public interest and, in particular, he has an interest to ensure that no possible prosecution is prejudiced and no possible defence is prejudiced.
"The inference of Lord Goldsmith's actions was that he at least contemplates the possibility that a prosecution of some kind will follow."
And media lawyer Mark Stephens said: "I would expect a development this weekend. I would be astonished if there wasn't."
Sunday, February 25, 2007
HARRY PAYS TO GO TO WAR
Exclusive: Prince buys his own kit
By Ryan Sabey
PRINCE Harry has had to spend more than £1,000 on extra kit for duty in Iraq in a damning indictment of the funding of British forces.
The 22-year-old royal — third in line to the throne — bought at least TEN items considered vital for his tour in war-torn Maysan province in May.
But scores of junior-ranking troops in Harry's Blues and Royals regiment have complained they simply cannot afford the equipment.
Many earn less than £16,000-a-year.
Poor or missing kit has blighted the Iraq campaign despite repeated government promises of help.
In March 2003 Sgt Steve Roberts, 33, was shot dead at an Iraqi checkpoint after being ordered to give his body armour to a colleague judged to be at greater risk days earlier.
Six Red Caps were killed by a mob when they were sent 12 miles from base with communications equipment that could only reach nine miles.
Harry's self-bought kit includes a lightweight Para helmet costing £225, far more comfortable than normal Army-issue, and £70 for some specialist goggles.
The prince has also spent more than £300 on three pairs of boots — troops say standard issue footwear simply isn't good enough. He paid £110 for a pair of Lowas, £125 on waterproof jungle boots and £70 on Magnum desert boots.
The prince has also spent £140 on a Global Positioning System so he can pinpoint exactly where he is on the Iraq-Iran border.
Along with many others in his troop he has forked out £80 on a quality sleeping bag.
Harry also bought £30 Helly Hansen long-johns for the cold nights.
Popular
Less expensive items include extra webbing to hold equipment like drinks bottles and a Gerber knife, both cost £20.
Harry will be in charge of 11 men patrolling an area populated by Iranian-backed Shia Muslim extremists loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The unit will carry out long-range desert patrols.
A source said: "The squaddies have been saying for a long time that they don't get any help paying for equipment. It's a case of having the right kit for the job.
"There's no resentment towards Harry. It just shows how standard Army equipment isn't up to scratch."
By Ryan Sabey
PRINCE Harry has had to spend more than £1,000 on extra kit for duty in Iraq in a damning indictment of the funding of British forces.
The 22-year-old royal — third in line to the throne — bought at least TEN items considered vital for his tour in war-torn Maysan province in May.
But scores of junior-ranking troops in Harry's Blues and Royals regiment have complained they simply cannot afford the equipment.
Many earn less than £16,000-a-year.
Poor or missing kit has blighted the Iraq campaign despite repeated government promises of help.
In March 2003 Sgt Steve Roberts, 33, was shot dead at an Iraqi checkpoint after being ordered to give his body armour to a colleague judged to be at greater risk days earlier.
Six Red Caps were killed by a mob when they were sent 12 miles from base with communications equipment that could only reach nine miles.
Harry's self-bought kit includes a lightweight Para helmet costing £225, far more comfortable than normal Army-issue, and £70 for some specialist goggles.
The prince has also spent more than £300 on three pairs of boots — troops say standard issue footwear simply isn't good enough. He paid £110 for a pair of Lowas, £125 on waterproof jungle boots and £70 on Magnum desert boots.
The prince has also spent £140 on a Global Positioning System so he can pinpoint exactly where he is on the Iraq-Iran border.
Along with many others in his troop he has forked out £80 on a quality sleeping bag.
Harry also bought £30 Helly Hansen long-johns for the cold nights.
Popular
Less expensive items include extra webbing to hold equipment like drinks bottles and a Gerber knife, both cost £20.
Harry will be in charge of 11 men patrolling an area populated by Iranian-backed Shia Muslim extremists loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The unit will carry out long-range desert patrols.
A source said: "The squaddies have been saying for a long time that they don't get any help paying for equipment. It's a case of having the right kit for the job.
"There's no resentment towards Harry. It just shows how standard Army equipment isn't up to scratch."
Sunday, February 18, 2007
EXCLUSIVE: Lord Goldsmith admits affair with barrister
By Philip Whiteside
THE country's highest-ranking lawyer, Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, has sensationally confessed to the News of the World that he cheated on wife Joy with a top barrister.
Lord Peter Goldsmith, a close friend and long-time ally of Tony Blair, admitted having an affair with Kim Hollis — the first Asian woman to reach the rank of Queen's Counsel.
He made his shock confession to us in the week it was revealed Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald had cheated on HIS wife Linda with blonde barrister Kirsty Brimelow.
When we asked him about mum-of-two Mrs Hollis the Attorney General, who is the DPP's boss, released a statement saying: "My wife knows all about this and has done for some time. It is all in the past.
"We are both very happy. This is a private matter and my wife and I have no further comment."
MPs last week demanded to know whether the DPP was guilty of a conflict of interest as a result of the affair with high-flier Kirsty.
Their concerns may now extend to whether the Attorney General could also have been compromised by having a close relationship with a senior QC.
One source said: "You have to question whether they've had their minds fully on the job of looking after the legal needs of the government and country."
As Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, 57, is the government's legal adviser.
He was appointed to the £106,358-a-year post in 2001 and his most famous act was telling the Cabinet he believed the invasion of Iraq was justified under international law.
Mired
Having previously questioned its legality, he was accused of caving in under pressure. Since then he has been mired in controversy over his decision to abandon a prosecution over the export of arms to Saudi Arabia.
The Prime Minister was understood to have been keen to appoint Lord Goldsmith to the post of Lord Chief Justice when Lord Woolf stood down, but the plan was abandoned in the face of massive opposition.
There have recently been growing calls for his position to be scrapped with confidence in his role as an independent legal adviser to the government at an all-time low.
Before joining the Government, Lord Goldsmith was one of the founders of the Bar Council's Pro Bono Unit which offers free legal work for people in need.
He was chairman of the unit from 1996 until he took on the role of Attorney General.
Lord Goldsmith, who went to the same Quarry Bank School in Liverpool as John Lennon, once said if he had not become a lawyer he wanted to be the "Fifth Beatle."
He and Joy, left, have three sons and a daughter in their teens and early 20s and live in London's Westminster.
Mrs Hollis, 49, the grand-daughter of an Indian freedom fighter who battled alongside Mahatma Gandhi, split from her husband Andrew three years ago.
It is unclear if her affair was the cause of the break-up. But it is believed she and Lord Goldsmith met regularly in secret over several months behind the backs of both spouses.
The attractive QC was called to the Bar in 1979 and soon after began to specialise in defending those accused of sex crimes and so-called honour killings.
But perhaps her most famous case was prosecuting the man who handled thousands of pounds worth of Victoria Beckham's designer underwear after it was stolen at an airport.
She grilled binman Mark Oliver in the case at Isleworth Crown Court and spoke with Posh when she took the stand to give evidence in 2001.
Trip
Mrs Hollis helped secure the conviction against Oliver, who got 15 months in jail for handling the clothes.
She became a QC, the legal profession's most prestigious inner circle, the following year.
Mrs Hollis, born in the Forest of Dean to an Indian father and British mother, has two children by Andrew, one at university and the other taking GCSEs.
There was no reply at Mrs Hollis' home in Fulham, west London, on Saturday.
Lord Goldsmith was on an official trip to the US with his wife.
THE country's highest-ranking lawyer, Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, has sensationally confessed to the News of the World that he cheated on wife Joy with a top barrister.
Lord Peter Goldsmith, a close friend and long-time ally of Tony Blair, admitted having an affair with Kim Hollis — the first Asian woman to reach the rank of Queen's Counsel.
He made his shock confession to us in the week it was revealed Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald had cheated on HIS wife Linda with blonde barrister Kirsty Brimelow.
When we asked him about mum-of-two Mrs Hollis the Attorney General, who is the DPP's boss, released a statement saying: "My wife knows all about this and has done for some time. It is all in the past.
"We are both very happy. This is a private matter and my wife and I have no further comment."
MPs last week demanded to know whether the DPP was guilty of a conflict of interest as a result of the affair with high-flier Kirsty.
Their concerns may now extend to whether the Attorney General could also have been compromised by having a close relationship with a senior QC.
One source said: "You have to question whether they've had their minds fully on the job of looking after the legal needs of the government and country."
As Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, 57, is the government's legal adviser.
He was appointed to the £106,358-a-year post in 2001 and his most famous act was telling the Cabinet he believed the invasion of Iraq was justified under international law.
Mired
Having previously questioned its legality, he was accused of caving in under pressure. Since then he has been mired in controversy over his decision to abandon a prosecution over the export of arms to Saudi Arabia.
The Prime Minister was understood to have been keen to appoint Lord Goldsmith to the post of Lord Chief Justice when Lord Woolf stood down, but the plan was abandoned in the face of massive opposition.
There have recently been growing calls for his position to be scrapped with confidence in his role as an independent legal adviser to the government at an all-time low.
Before joining the Government, Lord Goldsmith was one of the founders of the Bar Council's Pro Bono Unit which offers free legal work for people in need.
He was chairman of the unit from 1996 until he took on the role of Attorney General.
Lord Goldsmith, who went to the same Quarry Bank School in Liverpool as John Lennon, once said if he had not become a lawyer he wanted to be the "Fifth Beatle."
He and Joy, left, have three sons and a daughter in their teens and early 20s and live in London's Westminster.
Mrs Hollis, 49, the grand-daughter of an Indian freedom fighter who battled alongside Mahatma Gandhi, split from her husband Andrew three years ago.
It is unclear if her affair was the cause of the break-up. But it is believed she and Lord Goldsmith met regularly in secret over several months behind the backs of both spouses.
The attractive QC was called to the Bar in 1979 and soon after began to specialise in defending those accused of sex crimes and so-called honour killings.
But perhaps her most famous case was prosecuting the man who handled thousands of pounds worth of Victoria Beckham's designer underwear after it was stolen at an airport.
She grilled binman Mark Oliver in the case at Isleworth Crown Court and spoke with Posh when she took the stand to give evidence in 2001.
Trip
Mrs Hollis helped secure the conviction against Oliver, who got 15 months in jail for handling the clothes.
She became a QC, the legal profession's most prestigious inner circle, the following year.
Mrs Hollis, born in the Forest of Dean to an Indian father and British mother, has two children by Andrew, one at university and the other taking GCSEs.
There was no reply at Mrs Hollis' home in Fulham, west London, on Saturday.
Lord Goldsmith was on an official trip to the US with his wife.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
DUKE & THE HOOKERS: He pays for sex as soldiers risk lives
By Ross Hall
WHILE 900 courageous Territorial Army heroes put their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan their multi-billionaire boss is home revelling in seedy sex with a procession of vice girls.
A News of the World investigation exposes The Duke of Westminster— Britain's richest man, Prince Charles' best friend, full-blown major-general and married dad of four—as a serial cheat and user of £750-an-hour hookers.
Our sensational dossier reveals how the Duke, Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Gerald Grosvenor, disgraced the record of 11,000 TA reservists sent to Iraq since 2003 as he:
- HIRED four prostitutes over the last six weeks to party at his posh West End mews house.
- RISKED blackmail and security scandal by revealing his name and Army connections to the girls.
- BRAGGED he knew how to find al-Qaeda boss Osama bin Laden.
- HAGGLED with one prostitute for a discount despite being worth an incredible £6.6 billion.
- DEMANDED sex without condoms—while bemoaning the fact his men have to be regularly tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
Haggle
The 55-year-old Duke commands 250,000 reservists—including 138,000 young cadets who look up to him as a role model. Six of his men have died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He stays in London three days a week carrying out his Ministry of Defence duties while wife Natalia lives at their vast country estate Eaton Hall 200 miles away in Cheshire.
But after clocking off from his Whitehall office he hires girls young enough to be his daughters to join him at his luxury home off Oxford Street—part of his massive property empire which includes over 300 acres of central London with vast swathes of Mayfair and Belgravia.
On THURSDAY DECEMBER 28 the Duke paid £2,000 to bed 26-year-old Lithuanian Zana Brazdek at the mews house.
She arrived at 5pm and left with a wodge of cash in an envelope marked Eaton Estates two hours later.
Zana, who was booked through an agency, said Grosvenor crowed about his Army connections and even attempted to haggle over her price. "I thought his conversation was quite boring," she said. "He talked about the Army, going to Afghanistan and bin Laden. And he wanted unprotected sex. I refused."
On TUESDAY JANUARY 9 the Duke arrived home around 1.30pm. At 2.45pm an Asian girl in black coat, knee-high boots and heavy make-up strolled up to his front door.
After a discreet glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking, she pressed the buzzer on the intercom system.
Moments later the door opened and she was ushered inside. An hour and a half later at 4.15pm the huge black door opened again and the Asian girl shuffled out, heading off towards Oxford Street. Bright and breezy the next morning, the Duke was out of the house and into his waiting dark green Jaguar by 7.30am.
He left the house wearing green military trousers, a white shirt and camel-coloured sleeveless jacket.
He was also carrying a riding crop and military jacket, which he carefully placed on the car's parcel shelf before getting into the rear.
The Duke puffed on a cigarette as his chauffeur drove him to the MoD building on the Embankment just before 8am. Armed security guards waved the vehicle through their gates and into the car park, which backs onto Whitehall directly opposite Downing Street.
The Duke's importance in Britain's military hierarchy was apparent on Tuesday, January 23, as he drove his Maserati sports car to visit the Army's tank training base in Bovington, Dorset—where Prince Harry spent four months last summer and Prince William is due next month.
But a week later the Duke was back at his London pad and up to his old tricks. At 6.20pm on TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, a blonde Russian hooker working under the name Stella pouted as she approached the Duke's door in a silky red dress and black boots.
When the door opened Stella, caked in thick blue eye shadow, provocatively strutted into the hallway to start her night's work.
About an hour and a half later at 7.45pm, out walked the girl. This time the Duke poked his head around the door to wave her off, as she puckered up and blew him a kiss.
He giggled and then watched as she wandered to the top of the road before flagging down a black cab to take her home. Next morning Grosvenor was up bright and early to report for duty at the MOD, with his chauffeur waiting outside at 6.45am.
This time he appeared in the same sleeveless top, a white shirt and black trousers, with his military pass strung around his neck.
And last week on WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7 the Duke was dropped off at the house by his driver at 4.30pm. At 6.20pm, under cover of darkness, a brown-haired Brazilian girl arrived in a pink coat, clutching a small black handbag.
She pressed the buzzer and was quickly taken inside. After the usual hour and a half had passed the Duke saw the girl out. As he waved her off he was wearing just a brown dressing gown.
On Thursday it was business as usual, picked up and taken to the MoD in his Jag by 8am.
But the Duke—who is paid £240 a day for his Army role—faces censure when he returns to his desk tomorrow. For The Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct insists:
"The overriding operational imperative to sustain team cohesion and to maintain trust and loyalty between commanders and those they command imposes a need for standards of social behaviour which are more demanding than those required by society at large...and a requirement to avoid conduct which offends others."
Our revelations will raise serious questions about the Duke's position because of his access to top-secret military information.
And he has often proclaimed himself a devoted family man. In an interview he once vowed that he would never cheat on his wife.
"I don't need other women as a substitute," he said. "I immerse myself in work."
WHILE 900 courageous Territorial Army heroes put their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan their multi-billionaire boss is home revelling in seedy sex with a procession of vice girls.
A News of the World investigation exposes The Duke of Westminster— Britain's richest man, Prince Charles' best friend, full-blown major-general and married dad of four—as a serial cheat and user of £750-an-hour hookers.
Our sensational dossier reveals how the Duke, Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Gerald Grosvenor, disgraced the record of 11,000 TA reservists sent to Iraq since 2003 as he:
- HIRED four prostitutes over the last six weeks to party at his posh West End mews house.
- RISKED blackmail and security scandal by revealing his name and Army connections to the girls.
- BRAGGED he knew how to find al-Qaeda boss Osama bin Laden.
- HAGGLED with one prostitute for a discount despite being worth an incredible £6.6 billion.
- DEMANDED sex without condoms—while bemoaning the fact his men have to be regularly tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
Haggle
The 55-year-old Duke commands 250,000 reservists—including 138,000 young cadets who look up to him as a role model. Six of his men have died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He stays in London three days a week carrying out his Ministry of Defence duties while wife Natalia lives at their vast country estate Eaton Hall 200 miles away in Cheshire.
But after clocking off from his Whitehall office he hires girls young enough to be his daughters to join him at his luxury home off Oxford Street—part of his massive property empire which includes over 300 acres of central London with vast swathes of Mayfair and Belgravia.
On THURSDAY DECEMBER 28 the Duke paid £2,000 to bed 26-year-old Lithuanian Zana Brazdek at the mews house.
She arrived at 5pm and left with a wodge of cash in an envelope marked Eaton Estates two hours later.
Zana, who was booked through an agency, said Grosvenor crowed about his Army connections and even attempted to haggle over her price. "I thought his conversation was quite boring," she said. "He talked about the Army, going to Afghanistan and bin Laden. And he wanted unprotected sex. I refused."
On TUESDAY JANUARY 9 the Duke arrived home around 1.30pm. At 2.45pm an Asian girl in black coat, knee-high boots and heavy make-up strolled up to his front door.
After a discreet glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking, she pressed the buzzer on the intercom system.
Moments later the door opened and she was ushered inside. An hour and a half later at 4.15pm the huge black door opened again and the Asian girl shuffled out, heading off towards Oxford Street. Bright and breezy the next morning, the Duke was out of the house and into his waiting dark green Jaguar by 7.30am.
He left the house wearing green military trousers, a white shirt and camel-coloured sleeveless jacket.
He was also carrying a riding crop and military jacket, which he carefully placed on the car's parcel shelf before getting into the rear.
The Duke puffed on a cigarette as his chauffeur drove him to the MoD building on the Embankment just before 8am. Armed security guards waved the vehicle through their gates and into the car park, which backs onto Whitehall directly opposite Downing Street.
The Duke's importance in Britain's military hierarchy was apparent on Tuesday, January 23, as he drove his Maserati sports car to visit the Army's tank training base in Bovington, Dorset—where Prince Harry spent four months last summer and Prince William is due next month.
But a week later the Duke was back at his London pad and up to his old tricks. At 6.20pm on TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, a blonde Russian hooker working under the name Stella pouted as she approached the Duke's door in a silky red dress and black boots.
When the door opened Stella, caked in thick blue eye shadow, provocatively strutted into the hallway to start her night's work.
About an hour and a half later at 7.45pm, out walked the girl. This time the Duke poked his head around the door to wave her off, as she puckered up and blew him a kiss.
He giggled and then watched as she wandered to the top of the road before flagging down a black cab to take her home. Next morning Grosvenor was up bright and early to report for duty at the MOD, with his chauffeur waiting outside at 6.45am.
This time he appeared in the same sleeveless top, a white shirt and black trousers, with his military pass strung around his neck.
And last week on WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7 the Duke was dropped off at the house by his driver at 4.30pm. At 6.20pm, under cover of darkness, a brown-haired Brazilian girl arrived in a pink coat, clutching a small black handbag.
She pressed the buzzer and was quickly taken inside. After the usual hour and a half had passed the Duke saw the girl out. As he waved her off he was wearing just a brown dressing gown.
On Thursday it was business as usual, picked up and taken to the MoD in his Jag by 8am.
But the Duke—who is paid £240 a day for his Army role—faces censure when he returns to his desk tomorrow. For The Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct insists:
"The overriding operational imperative to sustain team cohesion and to maintain trust and loyalty between commanders and those they command imposes a need for standards of social behaviour which are more demanding than those required by society at large...and a requirement to avoid conduct which offends others."
Our revelations will raise serious questions about the Duke's position because of his access to top-secret military information.
And he has often proclaimed himself a devoted family man. In an interview he once vowed that he would never cheat on his wife.
"I don't need other women as a substitute," he said. "I immerse myself in work."
Sunday, February 04, 2007
TERROR: How MI5 snared al-Qaeda kidnap gang
By Lucy Panton & Ian Kirby
THE al-Qaeda plot to behead a British Muslim soldier was smashed after MI5 intercepted a panic order to the kidnap gang: "If you can't find a Muslim, ANY squaddie will do."
The demand, made directly to Birmingham from a terror boss in Pakistan, came after the British-based cell spent days trawling a Midlands army base for a victim.
A military source revealed: "Security services and police had been watching for them to try to grab a Muslim soldier. But as soon as we knew they were willing to take anyone in any uniform — man or woman — and cut their head off then they had to act.
"The sheer casual, callous evil of what these British guys were willing to do on the orders of al-Qaeda is beyond belief."
Now we can reveal the truth behind the Birmingham raids is even more terrifying than first thought.
- AL-QAEDA CHIEFS in Pakistan planned, ordered, directed and activated the plot. It was not a home-grown idea.
- Anti-terror police and MI5 became seriously concerned about the plot just FIVE WEEKS ago.
- None of the Birmingham suspects had recent terror training abroad. "SLEEPERS" were put in place years ago waiting to be activated.
- Suicide attacks were ruled out. Al-Qaeda wanted the group to do it AGAIN as many times as possible.
- Large bundles of CASH were handed over to the suspects to fund the planned atrocity—hiring houses, buying clothes and video cameras.
One senior Anti-Terrorist Squad officer said: "This is even more terrifying than some of the highly complex long-term plots we have already disrupted and taken to court, such as 21/7 and the airline bomb plot. "It was barely a month in the making and its aim — to kidnap and kill one anonymous soldier — was so limited they could easily have succeeded. But the ramifications would have shocked the nation, probably the world."
The News of the World can reveal a massive counter-terrorism police and MI5 operation was swung into action between Christmas and New Year when they discovered a top secret communication from a notorious senior al-Qaeda chief to a known British extremist suspect.
An MI5 source explained: "We had known for some time via routine terrorist ‘chatter' we monitor worldwide of a vague plot but it seemed that was all it was — words.
The head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, said recently that at any one time there are about 30 top-level Islamic terror plots under way in this country that we are fully committed combating.
"This was not one of them. It was far lower priority until that message from AQ in Pakistan in explicit terms, which activated this sleeper group into carrying out the attack.
"The logic from Pakistan to the Birmingham guys was simple. They'd wanted a summer spectacular, but one hadn't happened, and the airline plot had been defeated.
"They wanted something, anything — and this was the quickest and easiest plot they could think of that wouldn't require complex planning like, for instance, buying a ton of special fertiliser from scores of garden centres to make bombs.
"Ideally they wanted a Muslim soldier, preferably in uniform, and hopefully one who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"They didn't look for one home on leave, as has been suggested. In fact there is a military base in the Birmingham area where some troops live with their families in army houses on estates mixed in with ordinary civilian housing.
"We monitored suspects 24/7 and saw them begin scouring the streets there simply looking for a Muslim face in a uniform."
Around 700 counter-terrorist detectives from Scotland Yard and MI5 agents from London, Wales and Manchester poured into Birmingham to help local anti-terror cops.
MI5 discovered barely 100 Muslim servicemen had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of those about 20 lived in the Midlands.
The source added: "They never got to the point of finding a specific Muslim target, though we spotlighted two most likely victims and gave them specific protection in case the gang made a kidnap bid."
A Ministry of Defence source revealed: "Because they'd failed to target an individual Muslim, AQ back in Pakistan got impatient.
"Last weekend the security services discovered another message had been brought to Birmingham which ordered the suspects to strike immediately - and if they couldn't find a Muslim squaddie, simply snatch any serviceman or woman off the street.
"After that we couldn't allow the police to wait any longer. Protecting a small group of soldiers and their families 24/7 is one thing, particularly as they were doing it in secret.
"But the danger of anyone in the armed forces—man or woman, black, white, Muslim or Chinese—being taken off the street like this to be beheaded on film was another.
"They couldn't put protective surveillance around them all. So we insisted it be brought to an end and the raids began."
THE al-Qaeda plot to behead a British Muslim soldier was smashed after MI5 intercepted a panic order to the kidnap gang: "If you can't find a Muslim, ANY squaddie will do."
The demand, made directly to Birmingham from a terror boss in Pakistan, came after the British-based cell spent days trawling a Midlands army base for a victim.
A military source revealed: "Security services and police had been watching for them to try to grab a Muslim soldier. But as soon as we knew they were willing to take anyone in any uniform — man or woman — and cut their head off then they had to act.
"The sheer casual, callous evil of what these British guys were willing to do on the orders of al-Qaeda is beyond belief."
Now we can reveal the truth behind the Birmingham raids is even more terrifying than first thought.
- AL-QAEDA CHIEFS in Pakistan planned, ordered, directed and activated the plot. It was not a home-grown idea.
- Anti-terror police and MI5 became seriously concerned about the plot just FIVE WEEKS ago.
- None of the Birmingham suspects had recent terror training abroad. "SLEEPERS" were put in place years ago waiting to be activated.
- Suicide attacks were ruled out. Al-Qaeda wanted the group to do it AGAIN as many times as possible.
- Large bundles of CASH were handed over to the suspects to fund the planned atrocity—hiring houses, buying clothes and video cameras.
One senior Anti-Terrorist Squad officer said: "This is even more terrifying than some of the highly complex long-term plots we have already disrupted and taken to court, such as 21/7 and the airline bomb plot. "It was barely a month in the making and its aim — to kidnap and kill one anonymous soldier — was so limited they could easily have succeeded. But the ramifications would have shocked the nation, probably the world."
The News of the World can reveal a massive counter-terrorism police and MI5 operation was swung into action between Christmas and New Year when they discovered a top secret communication from a notorious senior al-Qaeda chief to a known British extremist suspect.
An MI5 source explained: "We had known for some time via routine terrorist ‘chatter' we monitor worldwide of a vague plot but it seemed that was all it was — words.
The head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, said recently that at any one time there are about 30 top-level Islamic terror plots under way in this country that we are fully committed combating.
"This was not one of them. It was far lower priority until that message from AQ in Pakistan in explicit terms, which activated this sleeper group into carrying out the attack.
"The logic from Pakistan to the Birmingham guys was simple. They'd wanted a summer spectacular, but one hadn't happened, and the airline plot had been defeated.
"They wanted something, anything — and this was the quickest and easiest plot they could think of that wouldn't require complex planning like, for instance, buying a ton of special fertiliser from scores of garden centres to make bombs.
"Ideally they wanted a Muslim soldier, preferably in uniform, and hopefully one who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"They didn't look for one home on leave, as has been suggested. In fact there is a military base in the Birmingham area where some troops live with their families in army houses on estates mixed in with ordinary civilian housing.
"We monitored suspects 24/7 and saw them begin scouring the streets there simply looking for a Muslim face in a uniform."
Around 700 counter-terrorist detectives from Scotland Yard and MI5 agents from London, Wales and Manchester poured into Birmingham to help local anti-terror cops.
MI5 discovered barely 100 Muslim servicemen had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of those about 20 lived in the Midlands.
The source added: "They never got to the point of finding a specific Muslim target, though we spotlighted two most likely victims and gave them specific protection in case the gang made a kidnap bid."
A Ministry of Defence source revealed: "Because they'd failed to target an individual Muslim, AQ back in Pakistan got impatient.
"Last weekend the security services discovered another message had been brought to Birmingham which ordered the suspects to strike immediately - and if they couldn't find a Muslim squaddie, simply snatch any serviceman or woman off the street.
"After that we couldn't allow the police to wait any longer. Protecting a small group of soldiers and their families 24/7 is one thing, particularly as they were doing it in secret.
"But the danger of anyone in the armed forces—man or woman, black, white, Muslim or Chinese—being taken off the street like this to be beheaded on film was another.
"They couldn't put protective surveillance around them all. So we insisted it be brought to an end and the raids began."
Sunday, January 28, 2007
INVESTIGATION - HOME OFFICE SHAMBLES
[Note from the editor of this website: How depressing... NOTW's flirtation with online feedback was merely a cheap (and temporary) stunt designed to cash in on the latest series of Big Brother, and there appears to be no plan to expand/extend beyond this. Oh well... this blog almost became surplus to requirements. Let's carry on as before and see what the new editor makes of things.]
322 SEX FIENDS LOOSE
By Guy Basnett
BUNGLING police have lost track of THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO sex monsters now at large on our streets, a shock News of the World investigation reveals.
British forces supposed to keep tabs on freed offenders from rapists to paedophiles have confessed to us that they have no idea where they are.
Our findings will strike a mixture of fear and fury into parents across the land — and further infuriate Home Secretary John Reid who is already dealing with a series of prison and sentencing scandals.
And when our investigators uncovered the chilling total and asked for details of the missing fiends, police:
- REFUSED to name or reveal any details about them, including how many were paedophiles.
- REFUSED to say how long the sex offenders had been missing.
- INSISTED that giving out details and descriptions of these vile criminals would HINDER attempts to find them.
- DEFENDED the rapists and child sex fiends' human rights — claiming that the information we wanted would put THEIR safety at risk.
Chilling
This latest law and order disgrace is another nail in the coffin of the discredited government MAPPA agencies supposed to monitor freed offenders—and it further strengthens our campaign for Sarah's Law — the right to know if paedophiles are living near you.
But that depends on police KNOWING where they are in the first place.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, we demanded all 50 forces in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland reveal how many registered sex offenders — ordered to keep police and probation officers informed of their address — had given them the slip.
Their responses — detailed in the table below — will make chilling reading for Mr Reid whose department is already under fire for not bothering to keep details of 27,500 Britons convicted abroad and failing to enforce overseas travel bans on nearly 150 drug traffickers.
Phone call after phone call revealed a catalogue of missing monsters.
London's Met have no idea where 88 of theirs are. West Midlands Police has 25 vanished perverts loose on their beat. The Greater Manchester force admitted to losing 18, Hampshire 11, and Northumbria 10. Only two Welsh forces did not provide a figure — Dyfed Powys and Gwent.
The other forces' refusal to give details of offenders in hiding clashes with a government-backed website which has netted four missing men within weeks by posting information on them.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) site still displays the name of three freed sex attackers at large after failing to inform police of their whereabouts.
And it shows the kind of dangerous perverts out there thanks to slipshod monitoring. The three are Joshua Karney, 29, convicted of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old boy; Colin Taylor, 46, convicted of three indecent assaults on a male over 16 and paedophile Peter Wheatherley, 39, placed on the sex offenders register for indecently assaulting a schoolgirl.
One loophole that makes it easy for sex offenders to disappear are the vague "addresses" they are allowed to register under. Last year it emerged that one paedophile who went missing was allowed to give his address as "woods" after moving from "a tent near Guildford leisure centre".
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "Yet again we see a serious failure of government criminal justice databases to do their job."
Michele Elliott founder and director of Kidscape, which campaigns to protect children from abuse, described our findings as "frightening".
"It's totally unacceptable for registered sex offenders to be missing," she said. "And it's absurd that police don't release details of these people. If any of those offenders harm someone else, it will be on the heads of our police."
When we contacted the embattled Home Office with a list of questions about the missing sex offenders they LOST our email.
A red-faced worker confessed it took them a month to find it after it was forwarded to the wrong office. But when officials did get their hands on it they said they would need another MONTH to reply.
Last year, John Reid hinted that he would take a serious look at introducing Sarah's Law. This latest scandal gives him even more reason to do so. For details of some of the UK's most wanted click here.
322 SEX FIENDS LOOSE
By Guy Basnett
BUNGLING police have lost track of THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO sex monsters now at large on our streets, a shock News of the World investigation reveals.
British forces supposed to keep tabs on freed offenders from rapists to paedophiles have confessed to us that they have no idea where they are.
Our findings will strike a mixture of fear and fury into parents across the land — and further infuriate Home Secretary John Reid who is already dealing with a series of prison and sentencing scandals.
And when our investigators uncovered the chilling total and asked for details of the missing fiends, police:
- REFUSED to name or reveal any details about them, including how many were paedophiles.
- REFUSED to say how long the sex offenders had been missing.
- INSISTED that giving out details and descriptions of these vile criminals would HINDER attempts to find them.
- DEFENDED the rapists and child sex fiends' human rights — claiming that the information we wanted would put THEIR safety at risk.
Chilling
This latest law and order disgrace is another nail in the coffin of the discredited government MAPPA agencies supposed to monitor freed offenders—and it further strengthens our campaign for Sarah's Law — the right to know if paedophiles are living near you.
But that depends on police KNOWING where they are in the first place.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, we demanded all 50 forces in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland reveal how many registered sex offenders — ordered to keep police and probation officers informed of their address — had given them the slip.
Their responses — detailed in the table below — will make chilling reading for Mr Reid whose department is already under fire for not bothering to keep details of 27,500 Britons convicted abroad and failing to enforce overseas travel bans on nearly 150 drug traffickers.
Phone call after phone call revealed a catalogue of missing monsters.
London's Met have no idea where 88 of theirs are. West Midlands Police has 25 vanished perverts loose on their beat. The Greater Manchester force admitted to losing 18, Hampshire 11, and Northumbria 10. Only two Welsh forces did not provide a figure — Dyfed Powys and Gwent.
The other forces' refusal to give details of offenders in hiding clashes with a government-backed website which has netted four missing men within weeks by posting information on them.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) site still displays the name of three freed sex attackers at large after failing to inform police of their whereabouts.
And it shows the kind of dangerous perverts out there thanks to slipshod monitoring. The three are Joshua Karney, 29, convicted of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old boy; Colin Taylor, 46, convicted of three indecent assaults on a male over 16 and paedophile Peter Wheatherley, 39, placed on the sex offenders register for indecently assaulting a schoolgirl.
One loophole that makes it easy for sex offenders to disappear are the vague "addresses" they are allowed to register under. Last year it emerged that one paedophile who went missing was allowed to give his address as "woods" after moving from "a tent near Guildford leisure centre".
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "Yet again we see a serious failure of government criminal justice databases to do their job."
Michele Elliott founder and director of Kidscape, which campaigns to protect children from abuse, described our findings as "frightening".
"It's totally unacceptable for registered sex offenders to be missing," she said. "And it's absurd that police don't release details of these people. If any of those offenders harm someone else, it will be on the heads of our police."
When we contacted the embattled Home Office with a list of questions about the missing sex offenders they LOST our email.
A red-faced worker confessed it took them a month to find it after it was forwarded to the wrong office. But when officials did get their hands on it they said they would need another MONTH to reply.
Last year, John Reid hinted that he would take a serious look at introducing Sarah's Law. This latest scandal gives him even more reason to do so. For details of some of the UK's most wanted click here.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
EXCLUSIVE: Jade Goody admits "I was racist. I am a bully."
[Note from the editor of this website: you can finally comment on individual NOTW stories via an official NOTW website (hooray!) and you can comment on this individual story here if you wish.]
DISGRACED Celebrity Big Brother star Jade Goody sensationally confessed: "Shilpa WAS a victim of racism and bullying."
And today we print the hard-hitting interview all Britain has waited for after voting out the foul-mouthed housemate by a landslide on Friday night.
The News of the World grilled the 25-year-old with the tough questions TV host Davina McCall failed to pose about her treatment of Bollywood beauty Shilpa Shetty after Jade's carefully stage-managed exit from the hit Channel 4 reality show.
Jade will get no payment for this article. Her £50,000 fee will go to charity—along with every penny of her £50,000 Big Brother fee. The £100,000 total will be divided between good causes nominated by Shilpa and Jade.
In the most emotional and important interview of Jade's life—which was punctuated by frequent tearful outbursts— we asked:
ARE YOU A RACIST?
No, I'm not a racist, but I accept I made racist comments. I don't see people for the colour that they are, or where they come from.
I'm mixed race myself and I speak to everyone of every colour, background and nationality. I don't care about where people are from.
AT THE HEIGHT OF THE TENSION SHILPA TOLD CLEO SHE THOUGHT YOU WERE RACIST. WAS SHE THE VICTIM OF RACISM AND BULLYING?
She was a victim of bullying and racism, yes. I can understand why she would have said that.
Disgusted
HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY THE COMMENTS YOU MADE TO SHILPA?
I'm not going to justify my actions because they were wrong. I was shocked to see how I behaved. I was shocked and disgusted at myself.
I don't know why I said those things to her or why those words came into my head. I wasn't thinking in my head a nasty thought.
I'm not making excuses because I know that it's wrong. I now know that it's offensive.
Maybe I'm just really stupid and nasty at heart. But I really don't think I am.
YOU SAID ABOUT SHILPA: "SHE MAKES ME FEEL SICK, SHE MAKES MY SKIN CRAWL."
I can now see how that's been interpreted, that people think I hate her, but I promise to God that if I was a racist I wouldn't have kissed her, cuddled her or ate her food.
DURING THE OXO CUBE ROW YOU SHOUTED AT SHILPA: "YOU'RE A F***ING LOSER AND A LIAR, YOU NEED A DAY IN THE SLUMS!"
I said: "You are a f***ing loser and a liar!" and I did say that.
I know that Shilpa doesn't live in the slums, because I took the time to get to know her. The slums is a word that Shilpa would have told me. I can't justify my actions for that. It wasn't meant as a racist comment.
YOU TOLD HER: "SHUT THE F*** UP! WHO THE F*** ARE YOU? YOU AREN'T SOME PRINCESS IN NEVERLAND, YOU'RE A NORMAL HOUSEMATE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE."
I remember saying that and it's wrong, but it's not a racial comment.
In my rage of anger that's why I said she wasn't a Princess and not a God, she's a normal f***ing person.
YOU ALSO REFERRED TO HER AS "SHILPA F***AWALLAH, SHILPA DURUPA, SHILPA POPPADOM".
I remember saying Shilpa F*** something.
DOES IT SHOCK YOU THAT YOU SAID THOSE THINGS?
My anger when I watched it on the screen shocked me. I didn't like it. I didn't know that my presence could be so intimidating or bullying.
I don't want that, but I don't know any other way to argue.
I've never blamed my past for anything I've done, but I don't know any other way. My only way to argue is to shout—to get louder and louder so that I can't hear what they're saying.
It's the way I am. I didn't know it was a problem until I watched it. I don't want people to be scared of me, or think that I'm intimidating.
YOU CAN SEE WHY SHILPA F***AWALLAH IS RACIST?
It is. Because I now know that in Shilpa's religion anything to do with swearing or the "f" word is seen as hurtful and racist. For me it's normal to say effing this and effing that. I didn't think that these words would cause offence.
DO YOU ACCEPT THAT THOSE COMMENTS AND COMMENTS LIKE IT ARE RACIST?
I hold my hand up to my comments and to people reading them or hearing them and thinking I'm a racist. I can understand why those words would look racist because I didn't get on particularly well with Shilpa. It's offensive to her and her culture. I didn't think poppadom was a racist word. I now know that things that I may not think are racist can actually be racist. It's my own fault for not knowing enough about other people's cultures.
HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?
I feel sh*t. I hate myself right now. The first time I was on Big Brother it was like a holiday camp but I've now got people out there who look up to me. I didn't want to get evicted for the wrong reasons. Evict me because I'm loud or annoying, but not because I'm a racist, because I'm not.
YOU GANGED UP WITH JO AND DANIELLE AGAINST SHILPA.
You sometimes click with people more than others. I clicked with Danielle and Jo because they are the same age, we live in the same area and we had things in common.
ALL THREE OF YOU MADE RACIST COMMENTS. DANIELLE SAID ABOUT SHILPA WHEN SHE HAD BLEACH ON HER FACE: "SHE WANTS TO BE WHITE" AND "SHE'S A DOG."
I wasn't there. I would have said: "You can't say that." Shilpa isn't ugly, she's a beautiful person. She had bleach on her face and I said to her: "Is it true that in India people do want to lighten their skin?"
IF YOU HAD HEARD DANIELLE'S COMMENTS WOULD YOU HAVE INTERVENED?
I would have because that's wrong, Shilpa's not a dog. I wasn't part of it. That's obviously a racist comment.
WHEN YOU WERE IN BED WITH JACK HE SAID: "I DON'T LIKE HER, IN FACT I HATE HER. SHE CAME INTO THIS HOUSE A C***."
Then I didn't see any wrong in it. My reaction now is that this is all wrong. Yes I'm responsible, yes I've said things that can be interpreted as being a racist and a bully, but I don't like that person. I won't let that happen again. I said poppadom and I said f*** in anger but I never said Shilpa wanted to be white or that she should go back to her own country.
AFTER THE OXO CUBE ROW DANIELLE SAID: "THAT WAS F***ING FANTASTIC. I LOVED IT, I THINK SHE SHOULD F*** OFF HOME"—A BLATANTLY RACIST COMMENT.
Yes it is, but that didn't come from me. I didn't say anything as I was too angry.
YOU WERE THERE WHEN JO THEN SAID: "THAT'S MADE ME FEEL BETTER. I MUST SAY, IT'S MADE MY DAY."
I wasn't taking any notice of what they were saying. I was so angry at the time. I was angry with me.
DANIELLE THEN SAID ABOUT SHILPA: "SHE CAN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH PROPERLY."
I feel ashamed about that. I'm ashamed about everything.
DO YOU AGREE THAT YOU, DANNIELLE AND JO HAVE MADE RACIST COMMENTS?
Yes they're wrong.
DID YOU BULLY SHILPA?
Looking at it, yes. I didn't think that my presence was that strong and that people were copying me. I didn't think that I was bullying.
HAVE YOU HAD ANY CONTROL OVER THIS INTERVIEW?
None whatsoever. I want to face the toughest questions possible. Everyone knows the News of the World is a tough paper and won't shirk from asking what people want to know. I'm happy to put myself through this so people can see what I did was wrong and I'm truly sorry.
DISGRACED Celebrity Big Brother star Jade Goody sensationally confessed: "Shilpa WAS a victim of racism and bullying."
And today we print the hard-hitting interview all Britain has waited for after voting out the foul-mouthed housemate by a landslide on Friday night.
The News of the World grilled the 25-year-old with the tough questions TV host Davina McCall failed to pose about her treatment of Bollywood beauty Shilpa Shetty after Jade's carefully stage-managed exit from the hit Channel 4 reality show.
Jade will get no payment for this article. Her £50,000 fee will go to charity—along with every penny of her £50,000 Big Brother fee. The £100,000 total will be divided between good causes nominated by Shilpa and Jade.
In the most emotional and important interview of Jade's life—which was punctuated by frequent tearful outbursts— we asked:
ARE YOU A RACIST?
No, I'm not a racist, but I accept I made racist comments. I don't see people for the colour that they are, or where they come from.
I'm mixed race myself and I speak to everyone of every colour, background and nationality. I don't care about where people are from.
AT THE HEIGHT OF THE TENSION SHILPA TOLD CLEO SHE THOUGHT YOU WERE RACIST. WAS SHE THE VICTIM OF RACISM AND BULLYING?
She was a victim of bullying and racism, yes. I can understand why she would have said that.
Disgusted
HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY THE COMMENTS YOU MADE TO SHILPA?
I'm not going to justify my actions because they were wrong. I was shocked to see how I behaved. I was shocked and disgusted at myself.
I don't know why I said those things to her or why those words came into my head. I wasn't thinking in my head a nasty thought.
I'm not making excuses because I know that it's wrong. I now know that it's offensive.
Maybe I'm just really stupid and nasty at heart. But I really don't think I am.
YOU SAID ABOUT SHILPA: "SHE MAKES ME FEEL SICK, SHE MAKES MY SKIN CRAWL."
I can now see how that's been interpreted, that people think I hate her, but I promise to God that if I was a racist I wouldn't have kissed her, cuddled her or ate her food.
DURING THE OXO CUBE ROW YOU SHOUTED AT SHILPA: "YOU'RE A F***ING LOSER AND A LIAR, YOU NEED A DAY IN THE SLUMS!"
I said: "You are a f***ing loser and a liar!" and I did say that.
I know that Shilpa doesn't live in the slums, because I took the time to get to know her. The slums is a word that Shilpa would have told me. I can't justify my actions for that. It wasn't meant as a racist comment.
YOU TOLD HER: "SHUT THE F*** UP! WHO THE F*** ARE YOU? YOU AREN'T SOME PRINCESS IN NEVERLAND, YOU'RE A NORMAL HOUSEMATE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE."
I remember saying that and it's wrong, but it's not a racial comment.
In my rage of anger that's why I said she wasn't a Princess and not a God, she's a normal f***ing person.
YOU ALSO REFERRED TO HER AS "SHILPA F***AWALLAH, SHILPA DURUPA, SHILPA POPPADOM".
I remember saying Shilpa F*** something.
DOES IT SHOCK YOU THAT YOU SAID THOSE THINGS?
My anger when I watched it on the screen shocked me. I didn't like it. I didn't know that my presence could be so intimidating or bullying.
I don't want that, but I don't know any other way to argue.
I've never blamed my past for anything I've done, but I don't know any other way. My only way to argue is to shout—to get louder and louder so that I can't hear what they're saying.
It's the way I am. I didn't know it was a problem until I watched it. I don't want people to be scared of me, or think that I'm intimidating.
YOU CAN SEE WHY SHILPA F***AWALLAH IS RACIST?
It is. Because I now know that in Shilpa's religion anything to do with swearing or the "f" word is seen as hurtful and racist. For me it's normal to say effing this and effing that. I didn't think that these words would cause offence.
DO YOU ACCEPT THAT THOSE COMMENTS AND COMMENTS LIKE IT ARE RACIST?
I hold my hand up to my comments and to people reading them or hearing them and thinking I'm a racist. I can understand why those words would look racist because I didn't get on particularly well with Shilpa. It's offensive to her and her culture. I didn't think poppadom was a racist word. I now know that things that I may not think are racist can actually be racist. It's my own fault for not knowing enough about other people's cultures.
HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?
I feel sh*t. I hate myself right now. The first time I was on Big Brother it was like a holiday camp but I've now got people out there who look up to me. I didn't want to get evicted for the wrong reasons. Evict me because I'm loud or annoying, but not because I'm a racist, because I'm not.
YOU GANGED UP WITH JO AND DANIELLE AGAINST SHILPA.
You sometimes click with people more than others. I clicked with Danielle and Jo because they are the same age, we live in the same area and we had things in common.
ALL THREE OF YOU MADE RACIST COMMENTS. DANIELLE SAID ABOUT SHILPA WHEN SHE HAD BLEACH ON HER FACE: "SHE WANTS TO BE WHITE" AND "SHE'S A DOG."
I wasn't there. I would have said: "You can't say that." Shilpa isn't ugly, she's a beautiful person. She had bleach on her face and I said to her: "Is it true that in India people do want to lighten their skin?"
IF YOU HAD HEARD DANIELLE'S COMMENTS WOULD YOU HAVE INTERVENED?
I would have because that's wrong, Shilpa's not a dog. I wasn't part of it. That's obviously a racist comment.
WHEN YOU WERE IN BED WITH JACK HE SAID: "I DON'T LIKE HER, IN FACT I HATE HER. SHE CAME INTO THIS HOUSE A C***."
Then I didn't see any wrong in it. My reaction now is that this is all wrong. Yes I'm responsible, yes I've said things that can be interpreted as being a racist and a bully, but I don't like that person. I won't let that happen again. I said poppadom and I said f*** in anger but I never said Shilpa wanted to be white or that she should go back to her own country.
AFTER THE OXO CUBE ROW DANIELLE SAID: "THAT WAS F***ING FANTASTIC. I LOVED IT, I THINK SHE SHOULD F*** OFF HOME"—A BLATANTLY RACIST COMMENT.
Yes it is, but that didn't come from me. I didn't say anything as I was too angry.
YOU WERE THERE WHEN JO THEN SAID: "THAT'S MADE ME FEEL BETTER. I MUST SAY, IT'S MADE MY DAY."
I wasn't taking any notice of what they were saying. I was so angry at the time. I was angry with me.
DANIELLE THEN SAID ABOUT SHILPA: "SHE CAN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH PROPERLY."
I feel ashamed about that. I'm ashamed about everything.
DO YOU AGREE THAT YOU, DANNIELLE AND JO HAVE MADE RACIST COMMENTS?
Yes they're wrong.
DID YOU BULLY SHILPA?
Looking at it, yes. I didn't think that my presence was that strong and that people were copying me. I didn't think that I was bullying.
HAVE YOU HAD ANY CONTROL OVER THIS INTERVIEW?
None whatsoever. I want to face the toughest questions possible. Everyone knows the News of the World is a tough paper and won't shirk from asking what people want to know. I'm happy to put myself through this so people can see what I did was wrong and I'm truly sorry.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry to serve in Iraq war zone
By Ryan Sabey
ACTION man Prince Harry's guts and skill are about to be put to the ultimate test — as his regiment heads to war in Iraq.
The royal family and army top brass all know he will be a prize target for battling insurgents and factions.
But this week 2nd Lieutenant Harry will get special pre-deployment training — including Arabic lessons — with other key members of his Blues and Royals regiment earmarked to serve in Iraq from April.
The two-day course with the Operational Training and Advisory Group (OPTAG) is ONLY given to troops heading for the war zone.
An Army source said: "This training is exclusively for troops given the green light for Iraq.
"They don't waste time, money and manpower on anyone else.
"If a soldier's in OPTAG training for Iraq then he's going, simple as that."
Tough
If Harry is sent it will nail widespread speculation that the 22-year-old prince will be kept away from frontline duties because of safety fears.
Harry will be delighted. He has repeatedly told friends he is desperate to serve "like any other officer".
The specialist OPTAG sessions, to be held at the Household Cavalry's barracks in Windsor, Berkshire, will drill Harry and his comrades in basic Iraqi Arabic in a bid to win over the hearts and minds of the people.
Lectures will also deal with local customs, welfare problems and tough living conditions, including extreme weather changes.
An Army insider said: "They are taught words and phrases from a special vocabulary book so that they may address civilians politely but also issue orders and warnings.
"The prince will get instruction on the geography and climate of the region plus specialised drills that have been adapted just for Iraq.
"This ranges from contact drills — what to do if you or your unit is shot at or bombed — to the way sentry duty is carried out. What Harry and rest will get is the benefit of hard-learned lessons passed on by the men and women who've served before them.
"It's a final phase of training prior to deployment.
"The next step is a dress rehearsal exercise carried out by the entire brigade over several days in the UK.
"Once that's complete they're off to do the business."
As part of the build-up to war Harry will also spend a week on exercise with up to 1,000 other men on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, next month.
Harry will don a special laser suit that will reveal if he has been "shot" in the hi-tech war games.
Tellingly, Prince William, who is also part of the Blues and Royals but junior to Harry in terms of training, will NOT take part in the exercises or the OPTAG lectures.
Risky
Instead, he will embark on a troop leader's course in Bovington, Dorset, for five months starting from March.
As second-in-line to the throne he cannot serve in a war zone.
It has also been confirmed he will quit the army after a year before spending time with the RAF and Navy, combined with royal duties.
But young brother Harry is now set to follow in the footsteps of his uncle Prince Andrew, who served in the 1982 Falklands War flying Sea King helicopters on risky battle missions.
A Clarence House spokesman confirmed: "Prince Harry is undergoing this training but no final decision has been made on whether he will be deployed. That will come shortly."
But an inside source source insisted: "Harry's desperate to go.
"I wouldn't want to be the one telling him he can't get on the plane."
Additional reporting: ROBERT KELLAWAY
ACTION man Prince Harry's guts and skill are about to be put to the ultimate test — as his regiment heads to war in Iraq.
The royal family and army top brass all know he will be a prize target for battling insurgents and factions.
But this week 2nd Lieutenant Harry will get special pre-deployment training — including Arabic lessons — with other key members of his Blues and Royals regiment earmarked to serve in Iraq from April.
The two-day course with the Operational Training and Advisory Group (OPTAG) is ONLY given to troops heading for the war zone.
An Army source said: "This training is exclusively for troops given the green light for Iraq.
"They don't waste time, money and manpower on anyone else.
"If a soldier's in OPTAG training for Iraq then he's going, simple as that."
Tough
If Harry is sent it will nail widespread speculation that the 22-year-old prince will be kept away from frontline duties because of safety fears.
Harry will be delighted. He has repeatedly told friends he is desperate to serve "like any other officer".
The specialist OPTAG sessions, to be held at the Household Cavalry's barracks in Windsor, Berkshire, will drill Harry and his comrades in basic Iraqi Arabic in a bid to win over the hearts and minds of the people.
Lectures will also deal with local customs, welfare problems and tough living conditions, including extreme weather changes.
An Army insider said: "They are taught words and phrases from a special vocabulary book so that they may address civilians politely but also issue orders and warnings.
"The prince will get instruction on the geography and climate of the region plus specialised drills that have been adapted just for Iraq.
"This ranges from contact drills — what to do if you or your unit is shot at or bombed — to the way sentry duty is carried out. What Harry and rest will get is the benefit of hard-learned lessons passed on by the men and women who've served before them.
"It's a final phase of training prior to deployment.
"The next step is a dress rehearsal exercise carried out by the entire brigade over several days in the UK.
"Once that's complete they're off to do the business."
As part of the build-up to war Harry will also spend a week on exercise with up to 1,000 other men on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, next month.
Harry will don a special laser suit that will reveal if he has been "shot" in the hi-tech war games.
Tellingly, Prince William, who is also part of the Blues and Royals but junior to Harry in terms of training, will NOT take part in the exercises or the OPTAG lectures.
Risky
Instead, he will embark on a troop leader's course in Bovington, Dorset, for five months starting from March.
As second-in-line to the throne he cannot serve in a war zone.
It has also been confirmed he will quit the army after a year before spending time with the RAF and Navy, combined with royal duties.
But young brother Harry is now set to follow in the footsteps of his uncle Prince Andrew, who served in the 1982 Falklands War flying Sea King helicopters on risky battle missions.
A Clarence House spokesman confirmed: "Prince Harry is undergoing this training but no final decision has been made on whether he will be deployed. That will come shortly."
But an inside source source insisted: "Harry's desperate to go.
"I wouldn't want to be the one telling him he can't get on the plane."
Additional reporting: ROBERT KELLAWAY
Sunday, January 07, 2007
EXCLUSIVE: Strangler suspect's prison letter
Exclusive by James Weatherup
THE man accused of murdering five Suffolk prostitutes has poured out his soul in a dramatic letter from behind bars.
Strangler suspect Steve Wright insisted to lover Pam Goodman, pictured below, that he did not kill the girls, whose naked bodies were found dumped around the outskirts of Ipswich.
"Please believe me when I say I'm not capable of those crimes," he pleaded.
Awaiting trial in south-east London's tough Belmarsh prison, 48-year-old Wright spoke out for the first time, revealing he is under a round-the-clock watch by guards.
"I am worried how you are coping with this nightmare," he told his partner of eight years in three pages littered with spelling mistakes (which we have left in).
"I keep hopeing I am going to wake up and realise it was only a bad dream.
Flak
"I don't want you to worry about me.
"I am stronger in mind and body than I make out.
"I know this is a frightening place but I am coping well at the moment as long as I know that you are all right."
Wright then begged Pam, 61, not to take any notice of what people are saying about him.
"I just want you to remember that I love you very much and I always have," he said.
"I just wish I had shown you more, you are my whole life.
"I know this must be tough on you because you are out there takeing all the flak. Weather bad comments from people who do not know us.
"I know that you will have the support of your friends and you will be OK. Try not to worry about me too much but I know that you will.
"Thinking about you is keeping me strong."
A close pal of the couple, who leaked the letter to us, revealed last night: "Pam burst into tears when she got it through the post on Thursday. She's been on a rollercoaster of emotion since Steve was arrested.
"She kept reading it and re-reading it and wouldn't put it down.
Stressed
"She is completely devastated by what's happened and feels she's been left high and dry.
"She's done nothing wrong but can't get back into her home to pick up clothes or anything personal.
"She's got nowhere to live and friends are having to put her up at a secret location just outside Ipswich.
"She's been prescribed tranquillisers by her doctor so she can keep calm. The enormity of this hasn't hit her yet.
"She's lost loads of weight because she couldn't eat for a week when it all blew up. She's still very stressed.
"The police have frozen her bank accounts so she's in complete limbo. They've even taken her phone so friends can't contact her."
Wright asked whether Pam had got her a Christmas present, not knowing that cops seized everything in their house at London Road, Ipswich.
He said he is desperate for more tobacco, spends his time watching TV movies and wants her to get a landline so he can make cheap calls to her.
"I have a televisoin outside my cell which I watch through the bars so you know I'm keeping up with all the soaps," he wrote.
"Mind you,EastEnders is a bit boring lately."
Then Wright detailed how he spent the three days after Boxing Day just like millions across Britain—glued to ITV's afternoon blockbuster repeats of the Back To The Future and Jurassic Park trilogies.
"I even watched The Railway Children, believe it or not," he added. "You know me, if the telly is on I have got to watch it.
"I am still trying to get the hang of rolling cigerettes because that is all they have in here.
"They gave me a smoker's pack when I first arrived but that went a couple of days ago so I am chewing my fingers a bit.
"I get £2.50 a week from the prison which will buy me a packet of tobacco. I suppose that will last three days if I smoke spareingly. When you come and see me, if you could bring me some boxer shorts and socks and some T-shirts and trainers."
Wright revealed he is reading a book lent to him by a prison officer and added: "Ninety-five per cent of them are OK.
Stupid
"Some have been really helpful. I'm on constant watch here which means I have a prison officer outside my cell 24 hours a day.
"I suppose it's to make sure I don't do anything stupid but you make me strong, honey.
"The thought of you pulling for me gives me a tremendous boost. I have got to finish this letter now so I can get it in the post. Just know that I love you very much.
"All my love and my thoughts are with you."
In a dramatic new twist last night it emerged that partner Pam has been barred from visiting Wright because of red tape. She cannot get in to see him because she can't prove her identity.
Another pal of the couple told us: "With the house closed up and everything taken away Pam hasn't got access to her passport, driving licence or even a utility bill which prison authorities need to prove who she is.
"She's very upset and desperate to see Steve as soon as possible.
"But she has now asked the police to see if they can get her permission."
On Friday Wright's estranged dad Conrad, 70, also said he wanted to visit his son, who is awaiting trial for the killings of Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Annette Nicholls, 29, and Paula Clennell, 24,.
"I'll look him in the eye and I'm certain that I'll know if he's done it," he said.
THE man accused of murdering five Suffolk prostitutes has poured out his soul in a dramatic letter from behind bars.
Strangler suspect Steve Wright insisted to lover Pam Goodman, pictured below, that he did not kill the girls, whose naked bodies were found dumped around the outskirts of Ipswich.
"Please believe me when I say I'm not capable of those crimes," he pleaded.
Awaiting trial in south-east London's tough Belmarsh prison, 48-year-old Wright spoke out for the first time, revealing he is under a round-the-clock watch by guards.
"I am worried how you are coping with this nightmare," he told his partner of eight years in three pages littered with spelling mistakes (which we have left in).
"I keep hopeing I am going to wake up and realise it was only a bad dream.
Flak
"I don't want you to worry about me.
"I am stronger in mind and body than I make out.
"I know this is a frightening place but I am coping well at the moment as long as I know that you are all right."
Wright then begged Pam, 61, not to take any notice of what people are saying about him.
"I just want you to remember that I love you very much and I always have," he said.
"I just wish I had shown you more, you are my whole life.
"I know this must be tough on you because you are out there takeing all the flak. Weather bad comments from people who do not know us.
"I know that you will have the support of your friends and you will be OK. Try not to worry about me too much but I know that you will.
"Thinking about you is keeping me strong."
A close pal of the couple, who leaked the letter to us, revealed last night: "Pam burst into tears when she got it through the post on Thursday. She's been on a rollercoaster of emotion since Steve was arrested.
"She kept reading it and re-reading it and wouldn't put it down.
Stressed
"She is completely devastated by what's happened and feels she's been left high and dry.
"She's done nothing wrong but can't get back into her home to pick up clothes or anything personal.
"She's got nowhere to live and friends are having to put her up at a secret location just outside Ipswich.
"She's been prescribed tranquillisers by her doctor so she can keep calm. The enormity of this hasn't hit her yet.
"She's lost loads of weight because she couldn't eat for a week when it all blew up. She's still very stressed.
"The police have frozen her bank accounts so she's in complete limbo. They've even taken her phone so friends can't contact her."
Wright asked whether Pam had got her a Christmas present, not knowing that cops seized everything in their house at London Road, Ipswich.
He said he is desperate for more tobacco, spends his time watching TV movies and wants her to get a landline so he can make cheap calls to her.
"I have a televisoin outside my cell which I watch through the bars so you know I'm keeping up with all the soaps," he wrote.
"Mind you,EastEnders is a bit boring lately."
Then Wright detailed how he spent the three days after Boxing Day just like millions across Britain—glued to ITV's afternoon blockbuster repeats of the Back To The Future and Jurassic Park trilogies.
"I even watched The Railway Children, believe it or not," he added. "You know me, if the telly is on I have got to watch it.
"I am still trying to get the hang of rolling cigerettes because that is all they have in here.
"They gave me a smoker's pack when I first arrived but that went a couple of days ago so I am chewing my fingers a bit.
"I get £2.50 a week from the prison which will buy me a packet of tobacco. I suppose that will last three days if I smoke spareingly. When you come and see me, if you could bring me some boxer shorts and socks and some T-shirts and trainers."
Wright revealed he is reading a book lent to him by a prison officer and added: "Ninety-five per cent of them are OK.
Stupid
"Some have been really helpful. I'm on constant watch here which means I have a prison officer outside my cell 24 hours a day.
"I suppose it's to make sure I don't do anything stupid but you make me strong, honey.
"The thought of you pulling for me gives me a tremendous boost. I have got to finish this letter now so I can get it in the post. Just know that I love you very much.
"All my love and my thoughts are with you."
In a dramatic new twist last night it emerged that partner Pam has been barred from visiting Wright because of red tape. She cannot get in to see him because she can't prove her identity.
Another pal of the couple told us: "With the house closed up and everything taken away Pam hasn't got access to her passport, driving licence or even a utility bill which prison authorities need to prove who she is.
"She's very upset and desperate to see Steve as soon as possible.
"But she has now asked the police to see if they can get her permission."
On Friday Wright's estranged dad Conrad, 70, also said he wanted to visit his son, who is awaiting trial for the killings of Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Annette Nicholls, 29, and Paula Clennell, 24,.
"I'll look him in the eye and I'm certain that I'll know if he's done it," he said.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
SADDAM: Last words of tyrant - SPECIAL REPORT
By Robert Kellaway
IT WAS the Mother of all Executions...for the Mother of all Tyrants.
Evil Saddam Hussein was justly consigned to the pit of hell — dangling from his own noose.
The butchering Iraqi despot was led mumbling and stumbling towards his doom in the same execution chamber where he eliminated THOUSANDS of political enemies.
REPORT: 300,000 innocents can now rest in peace
ANALYSIS: Col Tim Collins - This death will heal Iraq
REPORT: President Bush - Good Riddance
COMMENT: Fraser Nelson - Our Columnist looks to the future
Saddam, who ruled his nation through utter terror for 24 years, shuffled towards the hangman's rope muttering to himself: "Do not be afraid, do not be afraid."
Filmed scenes of the dictator's last moments were flashed around the world hours after the execution but stopped short of the actual drop to his death.
But late on Saturday chilling fresh footage — believed to have been filmed on a mobile phone — emerged on the internet showing Saddam plunging through the trapdoor and then swinging at the end of the rope.
The video, sent to the News of the World, is taken from the foot of a wrought iron staircase leading to the crudely-built scaffold.
Chants
Saddam is seen being led on to the death platform by hooded executioners. The waiting noose hangs from a pulley bolted to the gallows' rough concrete ceiling.
The dark room is lit by the flare of flashbulbs as onlookers photograph the gruesome spectacle.
There is a rising chant from the crowd as the grim scene unfolds, which we have had translated:
ONLOOKERS: "May God bless Prophet Mohammed and his family, and curse his enemy."
The chant changes...
ONLOOKERS: "Muktada! Muktada! Muktada!"
This refers to Muktada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric leader and a direct opponent of Saddam. It would have been a galling taunt to the dictator.
ANOTHER VOICE: "Go to hell!"
ONLOOKERS (still chanting): "Long live Mohammed Bakir al-Hakeem."
This is another Shia leader who was killed in a car bomb attack outside a mosque in Najaf in 2003.
SADDAM (With the rope around his neck, he twice repeats this phrase): "I too bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and I too bear witness that Mohammed is his prophet."
By this time the dictator has been kept standing on the platform with the noose tight round his neck for 45 seconds before suddenly, mid-prayer, the trapdoor springs open and he plunges to his death.
ONLOOKERS (chanting): "May God bless prophet Mohammed and his family, and curse his enemy.
Again, the chant changes...
ONLOOKERS: "The tyrant is dead! May God curse him!"
Then there is a voice in the background from someone who appears to be one of those in charge.
OFFICER: "Leave him for three minutes. Everybody move to the back."
As the world shuddered with relief at his historic execution, a witness revealed: "We heard his neck snap instantly and we even saw blood on the rope."
Sami al-Askari, a prominent politician close to the Iraqi Prime Minister, added: "In fact, they left him hanging for 10 minutes before a doctor confirmed his death and they untied him and placed him in a white body bag."
Before the corpse was taken away, officials took DNA samples to convince sceptics that they'd rid the world of the right man. Another witness—who lost 26 family members to Saddam's regime—said: "Now he is in the garbage of history."
Jawad Abdul-Aziz, there as a representative of all the tyrant's victims, added: "When I saw the body in the coffin, I cried. I remembered my three brothers and my father who he had killed. I approached the body and told him, ‘This is the well-deserved punishment of every tyrant'".
Iraqi national security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told in astonishing detail how he stared into Saddam's eyes as the fallen dictator muttered reassurance to himself.
Mr al-Rubaie, one of a handful of witnesses, said: "He was very, very broken. He looked really, really weak. He looked at the gallows not believing what was going to happen. He kept on staring at me. I couldn't see any remorse in his look.
"They tied his hands at the back and it was a little bit tight so I instructed the guard to loosen it up. He was offered a hood but he said, ‘There is no need for that.'
Then the rope went around his neck, tightened, and the executioner started to read rituals from Koran.
"He went down in no time. It was so, so quick and totally painless. It was over in a second.
"We took the body and it was respected. We put him in plain white clothes and carried him to the ambulance and then to the helicopter."
Appeal court judge Munir Haddad, who also watched, said: "I witnessed the impact of the rope around his neck and it was a horrible sight."
He revealed that one of the guards had asked close to the end: "Why did you destroy Iraq?" But unrepentant Saddam replied: "I destroyed the invaders. I destroyed the enemies of Iraq and turned Iraq from poverty."
The execution took place at 3am British time Saturday — around dawn in Iraq — just 30 minutes after Saddam, 69, was released by US Forces into the hands of the Iraqis at the former military prison in Kadhamiya on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Earlier he had been woken in his permanently-lit whitewashed cell in the US Army's Camp Cropper in the city, where he had been held as HVD1 (High Value Detainee One) since he was sentenced to death earlier this year for the massacre of 148 Shia Muslims in 1982.
He was offered a traditional Arab breakfast of yoghurt, toast and tea or his favourite cereal Raisin Bran before being handcuffed and flown out by helicopter.
On arrival at the execution chamber he launched into an anti-West rant. Security adviser Mr al-Rubaie said: "He started his rhetoric of long live Islam, down with Persia, down with the West, down with this, down with that.
"He was shouting his head off. He was broken but he was trying to put up his old rhetoric."
Officials explained to him everything he had been convicted of. Then Saddam—wearing a black woollen overcoat, black trousers and white shirt all stitched by his personal Turkish tailor—was bundled upstairs to the gallows by SIX burly guards.
A black cloth was placed around his neck to stop the rope cutting his flesh. Saddam frowned as two hangmen helped him shuffle forward and positioned him in the centre of the right-hand trapdoor.
They placed the enormous noose over his head and around his neck. The eight-coil, five-inch wide hangman's knot was tied from hemp rope one and a quarter inches thick.
Blood
The hangman to Saddam's left held it in place with his right hand and twice pulled hard to tighten the noose. Another pulled the gallows lever sending him through the trapdoor. His neck broke instantly.
Around 15 official witnesses saw his body fall, blood clearly visible on his neck where the rope had sliced through, despite the black cloth.
The Iraqi government decided to act before dawn because of Eid, one of Islam's holiest days. It was important to finish the execution before the day began at sunrise.
Saddam's half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and ex-judge Awad al-Bander also face hanging but their executions were delayed until after the week-long religious celebrations.
Ironically, the prison at Kadhamiya where the execution took place—now dubbed Camp Justice by the Americans—was the former hellhole HQ of Saddam's military intelligence.
He ordered thousands of his enemies to be tortured there and executed on the same gallows.
In effect, the vile tyrant, who threated the West with "the Mother of all Battles" in the first Gulf War, was hanged by his own rope that he used to slaughter so many.
Saddam's lawyers issued a statement of empty bravado. It said: "Saddam Hussein fell a martyr after he tried his judges before they convicted him. The martyr remained fearless, honest and clear-minded."
But the country he ruled with murderous brutality was last night finally able to plan for a future free of fear.
IT WAS the Mother of all Executions...for the Mother of all Tyrants.
Evil Saddam Hussein was justly consigned to the pit of hell — dangling from his own noose.
The butchering Iraqi despot was led mumbling and stumbling towards his doom in the same execution chamber where he eliminated THOUSANDS of political enemies.
REPORT: 300,000 innocents can now rest in peace
ANALYSIS: Col Tim Collins - This death will heal Iraq
REPORT: President Bush - Good Riddance
COMMENT: Fraser Nelson - Our Columnist looks to the future
Saddam, who ruled his nation through utter terror for 24 years, shuffled towards the hangman's rope muttering to himself: "Do not be afraid, do not be afraid."
Filmed scenes of the dictator's last moments were flashed around the world hours after the execution but stopped short of the actual drop to his death.
But late on Saturday chilling fresh footage — believed to have been filmed on a mobile phone — emerged on the internet showing Saddam plunging through the trapdoor and then swinging at the end of the rope.
The video, sent to the News of the World, is taken from the foot of a wrought iron staircase leading to the crudely-built scaffold.
Chants
Saddam is seen being led on to the death platform by hooded executioners. The waiting noose hangs from a pulley bolted to the gallows' rough concrete ceiling.
The dark room is lit by the flare of flashbulbs as onlookers photograph the gruesome spectacle.
There is a rising chant from the crowd as the grim scene unfolds, which we have had translated:
ONLOOKERS: "May God bless Prophet Mohammed and his family, and curse his enemy."
The chant changes...
ONLOOKERS: "Muktada! Muktada! Muktada!"
This refers to Muktada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric leader and a direct opponent of Saddam. It would have been a galling taunt to the dictator.
ANOTHER VOICE: "Go to hell!"
ONLOOKERS (still chanting): "Long live Mohammed Bakir al-Hakeem."
This is another Shia leader who was killed in a car bomb attack outside a mosque in Najaf in 2003.
SADDAM (With the rope around his neck, he twice repeats this phrase): "I too bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and I too bear witness that Mohammed is his prophet."
By this time the dictator has been kept standing on the platform with the noose tight round his neck for 45 seconds before suddenly, mid-prayer, the trapdoor springs open and he plunges to his death.
ONLOOKERS (chanting): "May God bless prophet Mohammed and his family, and curse his enemy.
Again, the chant changes...
ONLOOKERS: "The tyrant is dead! May God curse him!"
Then there is a voice in the background from someone who appears to be one of those in charge.
OFFICER: "Leave him for three minutes. Everybody move to the back."
As the world shuddered with relief at his historic execution, a witness revealed: "We heard his neck snap instantly and we even saw blood on the rope."
Sami al-Askari, a prominent politician close to the Iraqi Prime Minister, added: "In fact, they left him hanging for 10 minutes before a doctor confirmed his death and they untied him and placed him in a white body bag."
Before the corpse was taken away, officials took DNA samples to convince sceptics that they'd rid the world of the right man. Another witness—who lost 26 family members to Saddam's regime—said: "Now he is in the garbage of history."
Jawad Abdul-Aziz, there as a representative of all the tyrant's victims, added: "When I saw the body in the coffin, I cried. I remembered my three brothers and my father who he had killed. I approached the body and told him, ‘This is the well-deserved punishment of every tyrant'".
Iraqi national security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told in astonishing detail how he stared into Saddam's eyes as the fallen dictator muttered reassurance to himself.
Mr al-Rubaie, one of a handful of witnesses, said: "He was very, very broken. He looked really, really weak. He looked at the gallows not believing what was going to happen. He kept on staring at me. I couldn't see any remorse in his look.
"They tied his hands at the back and it was a little bit tight so I instructed the guard to loosen it up. He was offered a hood but he said, ‘There is no need for that.'
Then the rope went around his neck, tightened, and the executioner started to read rituals from Koran.
"He went down in no time. It was so, so quick and totally painless. It was over in a second.
"We took the body and it was respected. We put him in plain white clothes and carried him to the ambulance and then to the helicopter."
Appeal court judge Munir Haddad, who also watched, said: "I witnessed the impact of the rope around his neck and it was a horrible sight."
He revealed that one of the guards had asked close to the end: "Why did you destroy Iraq?" But unrepentant Saddam replied: "I destroyed the invaders. I destroyed the enemies of Iraq and turned Iraq from poverty."
The execution took place at 3am British time Saturday — around dawn in Iraq — just 30 minutes after Saddam, 69, was released by US Forces into the hands of the Iraqis at the former military prison in Kadhamiya on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Earlier he had been woken in his permanently-lit whitewashed cell in the US Army's Camp Cropper in the city, where he had been held as HVD1 (High Value Detainee One) since he was sentenced to death earlier this year for the massacre of 148 Shia Muslims in 1982.
He was offered a traditional Arab breakfast of yoghurt, toast and tea or his favourite cereal Raisin Bran before being handcuffed and flown out by helicopter.
On arrival at the execution chamber he launched into an anti-West rant. Security adviser Mr al-Rubaie said: "He started his rhetoric of long live Islam, down with Persia, down with the West, down with this, down with that.
"He was shouting his head off. He was broken but he was trying to put up his old rhetoric."
Officials explained to him everything he had been convicted of. Then Saddam—wearing a black woollen overcoat, black trousers and white shirt all stitched by his personal Turkish tailor—was bundled upstairs to the gallows by SIX burly guards.
A black cloth was placed around his neck to stop the rope cutting his flesh. Saddam frowned as two hangmen helped him shuffle forward and positioned him in the centre of the right-hand trapdoor.
They placed the enormous noose over his head and around his neck. The eight-coil, five-inch wide hangman's knot was tied from hemp rope one and a quarter inches thick.
Blood
The hangman to Saddam's left held it in place with his right hand and twice pulled hard to tighten the noose. Another pulled the gallows lever sending him through the trapdoor. His neck broke instantly.
Around 15 official witnesses saw his body fall, blood clearly visible on his neck where the rope had sliced through, despite the black cloth.
The Iraqi government decided to act before dawn because of Eid, one of Islam's holiest days. It was important to finish the execution before the day began at sunrise.
Saddam's half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and ex-judge Awad al-Bander also face hanging but their executions were delayed until after the week-long religious celebrations.
Ironically, the prison at Kadhamiya where the execution took place—now dubbed Camp Justice by the Americans—was the former hellhole HQ of Saddam's military intelligence.
He ordered thousands of his enemies to be tortured there and executed on the same gallows.
In effect, the vile tyrant, who threated the West with "the Mother of all Battles" in the first Gulf War, was hanged by his own rope that he used to slaughter so many.
Saddam's lawyers issued a statement of empty bravado. It said: "Saddam Hussein fell a martyr after he tried his judges before they convicted him. The martyr remained fearless, honest and clear-minded."
But the country he ruled with murderous brutality was last night finally able to plan for a future free of fear.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
EXCLUSIVE: Secrets of 'Suffolk Strangler'
By Georgina Dickinson
(Additional reporting: CHRIS TATE)
THE HEARTBROKEN elderly mum of Steve Wright believes her confused son is LAPPING UP the notoriety of being a suspected serial killer.
Collapsing in tears, Patricia Wright, 67, revealed: "Steve is normally a bit withdrawn. I think now he is enjoying all the attention without realising the seriousness of it all.
"All of a sudden he is like a star. Everybody is talking about him and he's on the news. He doesn't understand how terrible this is."
But Patricia, who fled a violent marriage and moved to the United States when Wright was still a teenager, is convinced her son is innocent of the murders of five Ipswich prostitutes.
She said: "This is a serial killer, a monster. I don't think Steve is smart enough to be a serial killer and cover his tracks."
Patricia sobbed as she spoke exclusively to the News of the World at her home on America's East Coast hours after forklift driver Wright, 48, appeared in court charged with the Suffolk Strangler murders. She recalled how he:
- SUFFERED a troubled childhood at the hands of his disciplinarian father Conrad, an RAF corporal.
- HELD his breath until he passed out if he feared a smack from his strict dad.
- ENJOYED having a string of girlfriends that he aways treated like princesses.
- SAVED stray animals as a child and always looked after them.
- TURNED against her under his father's influence after the divorce.
- FELL out with her in a drunken, four-letter rage the last time they met.
Shattered Patricia told how she has been weeping ever since learning of her son's arrest.
She said: "My daughter Jeanette called and told me that they were questioning Steve for the five prostitutes that had been murdered. I said, ‘Oh my God'.
"Then I turned on the TV and there it was. I've been watching the news ever since. I have been crying for about three days. It's so unbelievable. I was worse when they actually charged him...then the floodgates really opened.
"Steve couldn't do anything like that. I don't believe he did it, but if he did, he needs help. It's not something a sane person does and he seemed pretty sane to me."
Retired veterinary nurse Patricia, who now lives with second husband Ron, added: "My heart and my prayers go out to the families of these young girls who did not deserve to die the way they did."
Patricia married Wright's father Conrad, an RAF corporal, soon after she got pregnant aged 16 in 1956. They had children David, now 49, Steve, 48, Tina, 47, and Jeanette, 45.
She says her second son was the apple of her eye. But he had a rough upbringing at the hands of his dad as they lived on RAF bases across the world before finally settling in Suffolk.
Patricia said: "Steve was shy — especially in a crowd — but he was such a love when he was a kid.
"He loved animals. One time in Singapore he and his brother brought home a snake. Then it was a turtle and then a puppy from the beach.
"I never saw any violence there. He definitely didn't have it in him when he was a little boy."
But her marriage to Conrad turned into a fiery one. She recalled: "As we went to Malta and then to Singapore the marriage became increasingly violent.
"Steve was withdrawn. He was afraid of his strict dad if I wasn't there. He would actually hold his breath and pass out if he thought his dad was going to smack him."
The family returned from the Far East and Patricia made the decision to get out. She intended to take the children too.
But when they arrived in Ipswich she says her husband grabbed their sons and told her: "You're not getting the boys."
Patricia was forced to abandon her children and move into a bedsit.
She said: "I went to the welfare people and tried to get my children back. But they wouldn't let me have them because I was living in one room.
"Conrad poisoned the children against me. He said I left them because I didn't care.
"I wrote a letter to him asking to be allowed to visit them but he wouldn't let me."
Patricia moved to the USA and didn't see any of her children again for more than 15 years.
But she was reunited with twice-married Wright when she visited him during Christmas 1992 at the pub he was running.
She recalled: "At first Steve was great. We talked a lot and we were fine. He lived above the pub on the outskirts of London and we stayed with him. He had a baby then.
"He had the prettiest hair still and he had a lovely smile. Then he changed completely before I went to the airport.
"When I got home he left this terrible message on my phone. He was drunk and I could hardly understand very much. It was F this and F that.
"If he could say those terrible things he obviously didn't want anything to do with me."
In another insight into her son's life, Patricia added: "Steve's had a rotten life but he doesn't go around killing people. I don't believe he would do that. He was never cruel.
"He didn't have any problems getting girlfriends. He always seemed very nice to them. But he never seemed able to stay with one woman."
Former QE2 steward Wright, who was arrested on Tuesday, is being held at London's Belmarsh prison in the same suite which once housed Soham murderer Ian Huntley.
He is accused of killing prostitutes Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Annette Nicholls, 29, and Paula Clennell, 24. whose naked bodies were found dumped on the outskirts of Ipswich.
Patricia is hoping to get a message to him in his cell. She sobbed: "I want to tell him I am here if he needs me.
"I'd tell him I don't believe he did what they are saying. I'm praying for him."
(Additional reporting: CHRIS TATE)
THE HEARTBROKEN elderly mum of Steve Wright believes her confused son is LAPPING UP the notoriety of being a suspected serial killer.
Collapsing in tears, Patricia Wright, 67, revealed: "Steve is normally a bit withdrawn. I think now he is enjoying all the attention without realising the seriousness of it all.
"All of a sudden he is like a star. Everybody is talking about him and he's on the news. He doesn't understand how terrible this is."
But Patricia, who fled a violent marriage and moved to the United States when Wright was still a teenager, is convinced her son is innocent of the murders of five Ipswich prostitutes.
She said: "This is a serial killer, a monster. I don't think Steve is smart enough to be a serial killer and cover his tracks."
Patricia sobbed as she spoke exclusively to the News of the World at her home on America's East Coast hours after forklift driver Wright, 48, appeared in court charged with the Suffolk Strangler murders. She recalled how he:
- SUFFERED a troubled childhood at the hands of his disciplinarian father Conrad, an RAF corporal.
- HELD his breath until he passed out if he feared a smack from his strict dad.
- ENJOYED having a string of girlfriends that he aways treated like princesses.
- SAVED stray animals as a child and always looked after them.
- TURNED against her under his father's influence after the divorce.
- FELL out with her in a drunken, four-letter rage the last time they met.
Shattered Patricia told how she has been weeping ever since learning of her son's arrest.
She said: "My daughter Jeanette called and told me that they were questioning Steve for the five prostitutes that had been murdered. I said, ‘Oh my God'.
"Then I turned on the TV and there it was. I've been watching the news ever since. I have been crying for about three days. It's so unbelievable. I was worse when they actually charged him...then the floodgates really opened.
"Steve couldn't do anything like that. I don't believe he did it, but if he did, he needs help. It's not something a sane person does and he seemed pretty sane to me."
Retired veterinary nurse Patricia, who now lives with second husband Ron, added: "My heart and my prayers go out to the families of these young girls who did not deserve to die the way they did."
Patricia married Wright's father Conrad, an RAF corporal, soon after she got pregnant aged 16 in 1956. They had children David, now 49, Steve, 48, Tina, 47, and Jeanette, 45.
She says her second son was the apple of her eye. But he had a rough upbringing at the hands of his dad as they lived on RAF bases across the world before finally settling in Suffolk.
Patricia said: "Steve was shy — especially in a crowd — but he was such a love when he was a kid.
"He loved animals. One time in Singapore he and his brother brought home a snake. Then it was a turtle and then a puppy from the beach.
"I never saw any violence there. He definitely didn't have it in him when he was a little boy."
But her marriage to Conrad turned into a fiery one. She recalled: "As we went to Malta and then to Singapore the marriage became increasingly violent.
"Steve was withdrawn. He was afraid of his strict dad if I wasn't there. He would actually hold his breath and pass out if he thought his dad was going to smack him."
The family returned from the Far East and Patricia made the decision to get out. She intended to take the children too.
But when they arrived in Ipswich she says her husband grabbed their sons and told her: "You're not getting the boys."
Patricia was forced to abandon her children and move into a bedsit.
She said: "I went to the welfare people and tried to get my children back. But they wouldn't let me have them because I was living in one room.
"Conrad poisoned the children against me. He said I left them because I didn't care.
"I wrote a letter to him asking to be allowed to visit them but he wouldn't let me."
Patricia moved to the USA and didn't see any of her children again for more than 15 years.
But she was reunited with twice-married Wright when she visited him during Christmas 1992 at the pub he was running.
She recalled: "At first Steve was great. We talked a lot and we were fine. He lived above the pub on the outskirts of London and we stayed with him. He had a baby then.
"He had the prettiest hair still and he had a lovely smile. Then he changed completely before I went to the airport.
"When I got home he left this terrible message on my phone. He was drunk and I could hardly understand very much. It was F this and F that.
"If he could say those terrible things he obviously didn't want anything to do with me."
In another insight into her son's life, Patricia added: "Steve's had a rotten life but he doesn't go around killing people. I don't believe he would do that. He was never cruel.
"He didn't have any problems getting girlfriends. He always seemed very nice to them. But he never seemed able to stay with one woman."
Former QE2 steward Wright, who was arrested on Tuesday, is being held at London's Belmarsh prison in the same suite which once housed Soham murderer Ian Huntley.
He is accused of killing prostitutes Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Annette Nicholls, 29, and Paula Clennell, 24. whose naked bodies were found dumped on the outskirts of Ipswich.
Patricia is hoping to get a message to him in his cell. She sobbed: "I want to tell him I am here if he needs me.
"I'd tell him I don't believe he did what they are saying. I'm praying for him."
Sunday, December 17, 2006
EXCLUSIVE: Strangler victim's client was top cop
MURDERED Paula Clennell is pointing the finger at a senior policeman punter from beyond the grave, the News of the World can reveal.
The officer — who works for a neighbouring constabulary — was a regular client to her AND one of the Suffolk Strangler's other victims.
Paula 24, volunteered the information to detectives shortly before her death when she was quizzed over two fellow hookers.
At the time Gemma Adams was dead and Tania Nichol was missing.
An insider told us: "The detectives asked Paula to list her clients. She told them that one of her regulars was a senior police officer with another force who she shared with one of the other girls.
"She revealed that she visited him at a house in Suffolk.
"Irrespective of what this man does for a living, this is now an active line of inquiry.
"He won't be treated any differently because of who he is. This is a murder investigation."
Paula was known to regularly pair up with other girls to entertain clients. Last night, Suffolk police refused to deny that they were actively investigating the officer.
A spokesman said: "We are interested in speaking to anyone who may have had contact with any of the victims."
And Det Chief Supt Stewart Gull, who is heading the investigation into the murder of the five Ipswich prostutes, told us: "Regardless of whether he's a police officer, I am not going to be drawn on a particular individual.
"We are looking at a number of interesting individuals and that's my line."
A spokesman for the force where the client is allegedly based said: "If there is a police officer who has had any contact with any of the victims it is their professional responsibilty to come forward and we would ask that they do so at their earliest opportunity."
Paula was filmed by a TV company on December 5 as she continued to walk the streets in the red light district of Ipswich even though the body of Gemma had already been found and Tania was missing. She told ITV Anglia: "I need the money. But I am a bit wary about getting into cars."
Our source said: "Paula clearly went with the killer knowing a murderer was on the loose so it is likely she was familiar with the punter."
It is possible that the girls — all addicts — were given drugs to render them powerless. Toxicology tests are being carried out on all five bodies.
Meanwhile detectives have released poignant CCTV footage of the last time vice girl Anneli Alderton, 24, was seen alive.
The grainy 1 min 59 seconds video was taken on a train at approximately 6pm between Harwich and Colchester on December 3 and there were no sightings of her after that.
Seven days later her body was found in woods at Nacton near Ipswich — the third to be discovered. She was three months pregnant. Det Ch Supt Gull said: "We need to piece together Anneli's movements after this. At what stage did Anneli get off the train? And where did she go after that? If anyone saw Anneli after Sunday December 3 we want to hear from them."
Almost childlike, Anneli looks excited as her train nears a station. Seemingly alone she uses the dark windows as mirrors and preens and poses as if getting ready for a night out.
She is dressed in blue jeans, a black zipped anorak with fur-lined hood and grey top. She carries a nylon tie-up bag. Unaware of the camera, she delves into the bag and pulls out a tatty Aldi carrier, from which she grabs a can of hairspray and brush.
The officer — who works for a neighbouring constabulary — was a regular client to her AND one of the Suffolk Strangler's other victims.
Paula 24, volunteered the information to detectives shortly before her death when she was quizzed over two fellow hookers.
At the time Gemma Adams was dead and Tania Nichol was missing.
An insider told us: "The detectives asked Paula to list her clients. She told them that one of her regulars was a senior police officer with another force who she shared with one of the other girls.
"She revealed that she visited him at a house in Suffolk.
"Irrespective of what this man does for a living, this is now an active line of inquiry.
"He won't be treated any differently because of who he is. This is a murder investigation."
Paula was known to regularly pair up with other girls to entertain clients. Last night, Suffolk police refused to deny that they were actively investigating the officer.
A spokesman said: "We are interested in speaking to anyone who may have had contact with any of the victims."
And Det Chief Supt Stewart Gull, who is heading the investigation into the murder of the five Ipswich prostutes, told us: "Regardless of whether he's a police officer, I am not going to be drawn on a particular individual.
"We are looking at a number of interesting individuals and that's my line."
A spokesman for the force where the client is allegedly based said: "If there is a police officer who has had any contact with any of the victims it is their professional responsibilty to come forward and we would ask that they do so at their earliest opportunity."
Paula was filmed by a TV company on December 5 as she continued to walk the streets in the red light district of Ipswich even though the body of Gemma had already been found and Tania was missing. She told ITV Anglia: "I need the money. But I am a bit wary about getting into cars."
Our source said: "Paula clearly went with the killer knowing a murderer was on the loose so it is likely she was familiar with the punter."
It is possible that the girls — all addicts — were given drugs to render them powerless. Toxicology tests are being carried out on all five bodies.
Meanwhile detectives have released poignant CCTV footage of the last time vice girl Anneli Alderton, 24, was seen alive.
The grainy 1 min 59 seconds video was taken on a train at approximately 6pm between Harwich and Colchester on December 3 and there were no sightings of her after that.
Seven days later her body was found in woods at Nacton near Ipswich — the third to be discovered. She was three months pregnant. Det Ch Supt Gull said: "We need to piece together Anneli's movements after this. At what stage did Anneli get off the train? And where did she go after that? If anyone saw Anneli after Sunday December 3 we want to hear from them."
Almost childlike, Anneli looks excited as her train nears a station. Seemingly alone she uses the dark windows as mirrors and preens and poses as if getting ready for a night out.
She is dressed in blue jeans, a black zipped anorak with fur-lined hood and grey top. She carries a nylon tie-up bag. Unaware of the camera, she delves into the bag and pulls out a tatty Aldi carrier, from which she grabs a can of hairspray and brush.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
DIANA EXCLUSIVE: Final verdict of crash probe
NO ASSASSINATION, NO COVER-UP, NO BABY
Exclusive by Ryan Sabey
THE MAJOR probe into the death of Princess Diana will DESTROY once and for all the myths and conspiracy theories about the crash, the News of the World can reveal.
A £2million, two-year inquiry led by former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens, below, will deliver its findings on Thursday.
We can exclusively divulge that the bombshell dossier will conclude that new blood tests show that the Princess was NOT PREGNANT.
She was NOT ENGAGED to boyfriend Dodi Fayed. There was NO ASSASSINATION plot and NO COVER-UP afterwards.
The car was NOT SABOTAGED —it was in perfect working order.
And a mystery white Fiat didn't cause the crash . . . driver Henri Paul was three times over the drink limit and going TOO FAST.
Codenamed Operation Paget, the crack investigation team interviewed 400 witnesses and friends, examined 20,000 official documents, and conducted new forensic tests.
The report contradicts many claims made by Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed after Diana and his son Dodi were killed when their chauffeur-driven Mercedes crashed in the Pont l'Alma tunnel, Paris, in August 1997.
It will be examined by Royal coroner Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss before she starts formal inquests in the New Year.
One theory, that the Di and Dodi were engaged, was proven to be untrue after investigators examined footage of interviews given by friends and family of Dodi to US TV journalist Daphne Barak.
THE THEORY: Al Fayed claims a nurse passed on Diana's so-called "last words" to him at the Paris hospital. She allegedly said: "I would like all my possessions in Dodi's apartment to be given to my sister Sarah. And please tell her to take care of my boys."
THE FACTS: Investigators have probed staff lists and duty rosters but the mystery nurse has never been found. During extensive interviews with the News of the World last year, Al Fayed's bodyguard Kez Wingfield rubbished his story. Our findings were crucial to the inquiry.
Kez accompanied Al Fayed to La Petie-Salpetriere Hospital in the early hours of that Sunday morning. He said: "The boss NEVER set foot inside the hospital and DIDN'T talk to any nurses.
And a hospital spokesman said: "The Princess was unconscious on arrival and then she had a heart attack. She was not capable of speech in her last hours."
THE VERDICT: NO last words.
THE THEORY: Al Fayed claimed Di and Dodi had told him she was four or five weeks pregnant just before the crash.
THE FACTS: Embalming fluid used on Diana's body could have given a false positive in any pregnancy test. But fresh forensic tests carried out on tiny droplets of her blood taken from the car back seat were found NOT to have the hormone level of a pregnant woman.
New techniques used by the enquiry team on tissue and blood samples confirmed this. And close friend Rosa Monckton confirmed that Di's period had started around 10 days before the crash, making it impossible for her to be expecting.
THE VERDICT: She was NOT pregnant.
THE THEORY: Diana was killed by MI6 because Prince Phillip didn't want the mother of our future king marrying a Muslim.
THE FACTS: Two secret servicemen supposed to have been involved were interviewed by the inquiry. They were never in Paris. MI5 and MI6 opened up their files and no plot was found.
Any killers would have had to know Diana's plans in detail. But the car and driver were only called up at the last minute to trick paparazzi. The route was random and the car was not sabotaged.
THE VERDICT: There was NO plot.
THE THEORY: Mysterious white Fiat Uno made her car crash.
THE FACTS: French police never traced the car despite searching a database of 112,000 Fiats. It was alleged Di's Mercedes hit it before it crashed into the wall of the Alma tunnel. White paint was found on the wreckage but its origin has never been traced.
A French cameraman who drove a white Fiat Uno denied being in the tunnel that night. His body was found in a burnt-out car in 2000 amid speculation he was murdered. But investigators concluded the crash simply happened because the Merc was going too fast.
THE VERDICT: Fiat didn't cause smash.
THE THEORY: Chauffeur Henri Paul was a French spy in on the assassination plot. Blood samples were tampered with to brand him a drunk driver as part of a cover-up.
THE FACTS: Paul WAS a sleeper for French Intelligence but that had nothing to do with it. The inquiry took new samples for testing and checked them with the DNA of his parents. They concluded the original tests were not faked. Paul was "as drunk as a pig" on a combination of booze and tranqillisers.
THE VERDICT: Driver WAS drunk.
THE THEORY: Al Fayed claims Dodi bought Di a ring and they were engaged.
THE FACTS: Investigators pieced together a minute-by-minute account of Diana and Dodi's final hours. They have spoken to close friends of the couple and studied hours of footage of interviews by US TV journalist Daphne Barak.
She interviewed several pals of the playboy who said he'd he made no mention of an engagement. A step-uncle who spoke to him on the fateful night revealed he told him he was only THINKING of proposing.
In one of her last conversations with best friend Rosa Monckton, Diana dismissed talk of an engagement. And a Monte Carlo jeweller who claimed they had chosen a £230,000 emerald ring has since changed his recollection of events.
THE VERDICT: She was NOT engaged.
Exclusive by Ryan Sabey
THE MAJOR probe into the death of Princess Diana will DESTROY once and for all the myths and conspiracy theories about the crash, the News of the World can reveal.
A £2million, two-year inquiry led by former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens, below, will deliver its findings on Thursday.
We can exclusively divulge that the bombshell dossier will conclude that new blood tests show that the Princess was NOT PREGNANT.
She was NOT ENGAGED to boyfriend Dodi Fayed. There was NO ASSASSINATION plot and NO COVER-UP afterwards.
The car was NOT SABOTAGED —it was in perfect working order.
And a mystery white Fiat didn't cause the crash . . . driver Henri Paul was three times over the drink limit and going TOO FAST.
Codenamed Operation Paget, the crack investigation team interviewed 400 witnesses and friends, examined 20,000 official documents, and conducted new forensic tests.
The report contradicts many claims made by Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed after Diana and his son Dodi were killed when their chauffeur-driven Mercedes crashed in the Pont l'Alma tunnel, Paris, in August 1997.
It will be examined by Royal coroner Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss before she starts formal inquests in the New Year.
One theory, that the Di and Dodi were engaged, was proven to be untrue after investigators examined footage of interviews given by friends and family of Dodi to US TV journalist Daphne Barak.
THE THEORIES
THE THEORY: Al Fayed claims a nurse passed on Diana's so-called "last words" to him at the Paris hospital. She allegedly said: "I would like all my possessions in Dodi's apartment to be given to my sister Sarah. And please tell her to take care of my boys."
THE FACTS: Investigators have probed staff lists and duty rosters but the mystery nurse has never been found. During extensive interviews with the News of the World last year, Al Fayed's bodyguard Kez Wingfield rubbished his story. Our findings were crucial to the inquiry.
Kez accompanied Al Fayed to La Petie-Salpetriere Hospital in the early hours of that Sunday morning. He said: "The boss NEVER set foot inside the hospital and DIDN'T talk to any nurses.
And a hospital spokesman said: "The Princess was unconscious on arrival and then she had a heart attack. She was not capable of speech in her last hours."
THE VERDICT: NO last words.
-
THE THEORY: Al Fayed claimed Di and Dodi had told him she was four or five weeks pregnant just before the crash.
THE FACTS: Embalming fluid used on Diana's body could have given a false positive in any pregnancy test. But fresh forensic tests carried out on tiny droplets of her blood taken from the car back seat were found NOT to have the hormone level of a pregnant woman.
New techniques used by the enquiry team on tissue and blood samples confirmed this. And close friend Rosa Monckton confirmed that Di's period had started around 10 days before the crash, making it impossible for her to be expecting.
THE VERDICT: She was NOT pregnant.
-
THE THEORY: Diana was killed by MI6 because Prince Phillip didn't want the mother of our future king marrying a Muslim.
THE FACTS: Two secret servicemen supposed to have been involved were interviewed by the inquiry. They were never in Paris. MI5 and MI6 opened up their files and no plot was found.
Any killers would have had to know Diana's plans in detail. But the car and driver were only called up at the last minute to trick paparazzi. The route was random and the car was not sabotaged.
THE VERDICT: There was NO plot.
-
THE THEORY: Mysterious white Fiat Uno made her car crash.
THE FACTS: French police never traced the car despite searching a database of 112,000 Fiats. It was alleged Di's Mercedes hit it before it crashed into the wall of the Alma tunnel. White paint was found on the wreckage but its origin has never been traced.
A French cameraman who drove a white Fiat Uno denied being in the tunnel that night. His body was found in a burnt-out car in 2000 amid speculation he was murdered. But investigators concluded the crash simply happened because the Merc was going too fast.
THE VERDICT: Fiat didn't cause smash.
-
THE THEORY: Chauffeur Henri Paul was a French spy in on the assassination plot. Blood samples were tampered with to brand him a drunk driver as part of a cover-up.
THE FACTS: Paul WAS a sleeper for French Intelligence but that had nothing to do with it. The inquiry took new samples for testing and checked them with the DNA of his parents. They concluded the original tests were not faked. Paul was "as drunk as a pig" on a combination of booze and tranqillisers.
THE VERDICT: Driver WAS drunk.
-
THE THEORY: Al Fayed claims Dodi bought Di a ring and they were engaged.
THE FACTS: Investigators pieced together a minute-by-minute account of Diana and Dodi's final hours. They have spoken to close friends of the couple and studied hours of footage of interviews by US TV journalist Daphne Barak.
She interviewed several pals of the playboy who said he'd he made no mention of an engagement. A step-uncle who spoke to him on the fateful night revealed he told him he was only THINKING of proposing.
In one of her last conversations with best friend Rosa Monckton, Diana dismissed talk of an engagement. And a Monte Carlo jeweller who claimed they had chosen a £230,000 emerald ring has since changed his recollection of events.
THE VERDICT: She was NOT engaged.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
MYLEENE BARES ALL: EXCLUSIVE
By Nadia Cohen
I'M A Celebrity jungle babe Myleene Klass has confessed how she was bursting to bed her hunky lover the moment she got out.
She peeled off her grimy shorts and T-shirt to remind breathless fiancé Graham Quinn exactly what he's been missing for the past three weeks.
Talking for the first time of their amazing sex life, TV's loved-up Queen of the Jungle exclusively told the News of the World: "Graham's an incredibly gorgeous man—of course I couldn't wait to get back in his arms.
"It was the longest we've ever been apart, and the longest we've ever gone without making love. After all the bruises and cockroaches it was wonderful to feel his arms around me again."
Relaxing in their plush five-star hotel suite, the former Hear'Say beauty giggled as she recalled romantic highlights of their six hot years together: "We're pretty adventurous sometimes—we've done it on a piano and I know all the practice rooms at my old music school intimately.
"I can safely say they were not only used for practising classical music!
"Graham loves my body and he adores it when I dress up for him in stockings, suspenders and stilettos.
"I really enjoy that but I'd only do it for him. If everyone saw it, it wouldn't be ours."
Myleene—who was just pipped for first place in the show by new King of the Jungle, Busted star Matt Willis—revealed how she secretly pined for Graham as she battled for votes in the steamy rainforest.
She said: "I missed having my best friend in there to cuddle up to at night, to lay my head on his chest and have that pillow talk."
Myleene Klass opened her heart for the first time about the shameful past of her fiancé Graham Quinn—a convicted heroin dealer.
I'm A Celebrity runner-up Myleene, 28, insisted Quinn—who she lovingly calls ‘Gray'—is a reformed character and she is determined to stick by him.
But she confessed: "I knew all about what he'd done right from the start, but I never judged him.
"I'd have to be perfect myself, like Mother Teresa, to pass judgment on somebody like that."
Problem
Pusher Graham was arrested in 1996 with more than £1,000 of heroin but jumped bail and spent six years on the run, changing his name from Smith to avoid capture.
He was on the Interpol wanted list when he met Myleene six years ago as a bodyguard for her band Hear'Say.
He immediately confessed his past to her, but it wasn't until his picture was recognised in a news-paper that Myleene encouraged him to give himself up and face the music.
He was expecting a harsh punishment, but escaped with a £1,500 fine and an 18-month suspended prison sentence after pledging he had turned his back on crime.
Myleene admitted: "Gray's not proud of what he did. But now he's a changed man and he has done good work with a lot of kids. I've seen him put his hand in his pocket and take needy children to hostels.
"He genuinely had a problem back then, he took drugs, but he's paid the price.
"I never felt trapped or duped because he'd been honest from the start.
"I stood by him and he's stood by me in some very dark times. People say ‘In sickness and in health' and those words, they mean something to me.
"Because of what Gray's been through he's wise and not so quick to judge, and I like that. When I went into the jungle he said ‘Make sure you'rebloody perfect before you criticise.'
"And that's why I got along with everyone. Gray would never do what he did again, he wouldn't dare. I know he wouldn't."
Myleene revealed she now plans to marry in the New Year and start a family.
And she said the close bond she feels with Graham even worked in the jungle. "There were times during my 19 days in there that I honestly felt like he was in there with me," she said.
That feeling was especially strong when Myleene found herself alone—like she was in those sensational shower scenes in a skimpy bikini that drove millions of TV fans wild!
Glimpses of water splashing over those killer curves sent temperatures soaring in wintry Britain. But modest Myleene had no idea she was putting on such a show. "I find it hilarious," she laughed. "I can't imagine people found that interesting. I'd no idea everyone was going on about the white bikini. All I could think about under the shower were the bruises and cockroaches all over me, and how cold it was!"
Myleene, dubbed I'm A Celebrity Queen of the Jungle after becoming the final girl left in there, developed a special routine to spare her blushes from the hidden cameras.
"I did this whole song and dance changing into my bikini in the dunny, then coming out and putting my shorts and hat on," she said.
"I'd wear it all down to the waterfall then leave my clothes by the side so that as soon as I was out I could throw them back on.
Cough
"Just like every woman I don't like my own figure. If it's a photo you can seem perfect, but in real life I know what's going on out there.
"I only went for showers in the afternoon when nobody was around.
"But you don't realise there are cameras and cameramen everywhere until you hear a tree cough!
"The camera guys gave me a round of applause when I came out. I said, ‘Is that for the singing?' But they just winked and said, ‘You'll see!' I had no idea!
"I'm like every other girl. I have conversations about stretch marks and cellulite. I hate my bum and thighs, who doesn't?
"All girls have those wobbly bits. And I genuinely love my food. I lost a stone in the jungle but I've had two burgers already so I'm going to stick that straight back on and love every minute of it.
"My fella Gray will say I look amazing but he's my fella. He has to say that. Or he won't get fed!"
I'M A Celebrity jungle babe Myleene Klass has confessed how she was bursting to bed her hunky lover the moment she got out.
She peeled off her grimy shorts and T-shirt to remind breathless fiancé Graham Quinn exactly what he's been missing for the past three weeks.
Talking for the first time of their amazing sex life, TV's loved-up Queen of the Jungle exclusively told the News of the World: "Graham's an incredibly gorgeous man—of course I couldn't wait to get back in his arms.
"It was the longest we've ever been apart, and the longest we've ever gone without making love. After all the bruises and cockroaches it was wonderful to feel his arms around me again."
Relaxing in their plush five-star hotel suite, the former Hear'Say beauty giggled as she recalled romantic highlights of their six hot years together: "We're pretty adventurous sometimes—we've done it on a piano and I know all the practice rooms at my old music school intimately.
"I can safely say they were not only used for practising classical music!
"Graham loves my body and he adores it when I dress up for him in stockings, suspenders and stilettos.
"I really enjoy that but I'd only do it for him. If everyone saw it, it wouldn't be ours."
Myleene—who was just pipped for first place in the show by new King of the Jungle, Busted star Matt Willis—revealed how she secretly pined for Graham as she battled for votes in the steamy rainforest.
She said: "I missed having my best friend in there to cuddle up to at night, to lay my head on his chest and have that pillow talk."
FIANCE'S SHAMEFUL PAST
Myleene Klass opened her heart for the first time about the shameful past of her fiancé Graham Quinn—a convicted heroin dealer.
I'm A Celebrity runner-up Myleene, 28, insisted Quinn—who she lovingly calls ‘Gray'—is a reformed character and she is determined to stick by him.
But she confessed: "I knew all about what he'd done right from the start, but I never judged him.
"I'd have to be perfect myself, like Mother Teresa, to pass judgment on somebody like that."
Problem
Pusher Graham was arrested in 1996 with more than £1,000 of heroin but jumped bail and spent six years on the run, changing his name from Smith to avoid capture.
He was on the Interpol wanted list when he met Myleene six years ago as a bodyguard for her band Hear'Say.
He immediately confessed his past to her, but it wasn't until his picture was recognised in a news-paper that Myleene encouraged him to give himself up and face the music.
He was expecting a harsh punishment, but escaped with a £1,500 fine and an 18-month suspended prison sentence after pledging he had turned his back on crime.
Myleene admitted: "Gray's not proud of what he did. But now he's a changed man and he has done good work with a lot of kids. I've seen him put his hand in his pocket and take needy children to hostels.
"He genuinely had a problem back then, he took drugs, but he's paid the price.
"I never felt trapped or duped because he'd been honest from the start.
"I stood by him and he's stood by me in some very dark times. People say ‘In sickness and in health' and those words, they mean something to me.
"Because of what Gray's been through he's wise and not so quick to judge, and I like that. When I went into the jungle he said ‘Make sure you'rebloody perfect before you criticise.'
"And that's why I got along with everyone. Gray would never do what he did again, he wouldn't dare. I know he wouldn't."
Myleene revealed she now plans to marry in the New Year and start a family.
And she said the close bond she feels with Graham even worked in the jungle. "There were times during my 19 days in there that I honestly felt like he was in there with me," she said.
That feeling was especially strong when Myleene found herself alone—like she was in those sensational shower scenes in a skimpy bikini that drove millions of TV fans wild!
Glimpses of water splashing over those killer curves sent temperatures soaring in wintry Britain. But modest Myleene had no idea she was putting on such a show. "I find it hilarious," she laughed. "I can't imagine people found that interesting. I'd no idea everyone was going on about the white bikini. All I could think about under the shower were the bruises and cockroaches all over me, and how cold it was!"
Myleene, dubbed I'm A Celebrity Queen of the Jungle after becoming the final girl left in there, developed a special routine to spare her blushes from the hidden cameras.
"I did this whole song and dance changing into my bikini in the dunny, then coming out and putting my shorts and hat on," she said.
"I'd wear it all down to the waterfall then leave my clothes by the side so that as soon as I was out I could throw them back on.
Cough
"Just like every woman I don't like my own figure. If it's a photo you can seem perfect, but in real life I know what's going on out there.
"I only went for showers in the afternoon when nobody was around.
"But you don't realise there are cameras and cameramen everywhere until you hear a tree cough!
"The camera guys gave me a round of applause when I came out. I said, ‘Is that for the singing?' But they just winked and said, ‘You'll see!' I had no idea!
"I'm like every other girl. I have conversations about stretch marks and cellulite. I hate my bum and thighs, who doesn't?
"All girls have those wobbly bits. And I genuinely love my food. I lost a stone in the jungle but I've had two burgers already so I'm going to stick that straight back on and love every minute of it.
"My fella Gray will say I look amazing but he's my fella. He has to say that. Or he won't get fed!"
Sunday, November 26, 2006
EXCLUSIVE: IGOR THE POISONER
POISONER NAMED: Sushi assassin outed as Ruski vet
Exclusive by James Weatherup
THE ruthless assassin at the centre of the Litvinenko poison murder is a highly-trained veteran of Russia's deadly Spetsnaz special forces.
The News of the World knows the killer's full identity but for legal reasons we are just using his middle name Igor.
The 46-year-old expert in covert operations was dramatically fingered in a bombshell document passed to former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko at London's Itsu sushi bar before he was slipped lethal radioactive polonium-210.
The three-page dossier was handed to Scotland Yard by the victim and is now being analysed by the anti-terrorist branch. The News of the World has obtained a copy and can reveal it contains a chilling hitlist with Litvinenko, 43, as a prime target.
Alert
A security source who leaked the document to us said: "This is dynamite. It's clear there's a violent and ruthless campaign to wipe out anyone who gets under the skin of the new regime in Russia."
And as a massive police manhunt got underway to find Igor, understood to be deep undercover at a secret Italian hideout, health officials in London went on alert.
Following an emergency meeting of the government's COBRA comittee, an appeal was issued for anyone who used the Piccadilly sushi restaurant and the Millennium Hotel — both used by former KGB colonel Litvinenko on November 1, the day he was poisoned — to contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647. Both places tested positive for radiation.
It also emerged that the Sushi bar is to be decontaminated and that polonium traces have been found at two other separate addresses in the capital, and also at Litvinenko's home.
The extraordinary hitlist, which was originally given to Litvinenko by Italian academic Mario Scaramella, mentions the doomed poison victim FIVE times.
It reveals that Dignity And Honour, part of a group of ex-KGB spies, appear to be waging their own Cold War on dissidents trying to embarrass President Vladimir Putin.
After naming Igor the document describes his killing capabilities and expertise. He walks with a slight limp after an accident to his right leg, but is lean and muscular, six feet tall, with greying black hair.
He is said to be a "master in judo" who speaks perfect English and Portuguese as well as Russian.
The hitlist in the leaked document, which appears to be a whistleblowing report from an insider, details names in the firing line including:
- FEARLESS journalist Anna Politkovskaya who was shot dead in Moscow last month, after exposing Russian atrocities. (top left)
- PROFESSOR Mario Scaramella, who gave the document to Litvinenko and probed KGB infiltration for the Italian parliament. (top right)
- HUMAN rights activist and novelist Vladimir Bukovsky, who campaigned over attempts to dump radioactive material off northern Russia. bottom right)
- ANTI-PUTIN billionaire Boris Berezovsky, 60, who bankrolled a candidate to stand against Putin in the 2004 elections. (bottom left)
- CRUSADING Italian Senator Paolo Guzzanti who is in charge of an influential committee probing KGB links in Italy. (centre)
It has neem revealed that Litvinenko was poisoned with a massive overdose of the deadly polonium-210. A Whitehall source told the News of the World: "A few microbes would be fatal, but we think he had a TEASPOON'S worth—more than a billion times what was needed to kill him."
Experts believe the poison was delivered in a liquid solution in drink. After learning of the "worryingly high" levels of radiation discovered at the sushi bar, the government issued its plea for customers — and those of the Millennium Hotel's Pine Bar, which was yesterday sealed off — to contact NHS Direct.
By Saturday more than 300 diners had called in.
The experts fear that if, say, a waiter's finger came into contact with the poison it could be passed on in "a daisy chain effect", from person to person.
Itsu boss Clive Schlee insisted: "I understand the Health Protection Agency has to take all precautions. But I've not had a single report from our staff or customers of any illness related in any way to November 1."
In yet another twist to the drama, sources close to Litvinenko also claimed there was a connection between his murder and the mystery death of a British lawyer in a helicopter crash two years ago.
Stephen Curtis, 45, who died in 2004, was chairman of security firm ISC Global which worked for a group of Russian tycoons who had fallen out with Putin.
Our insider claimed: "The inquest recorded accidental death but two weeks before the tragedy Stephen said if something happened to him it would NOT not be an accident.
"He had told of threats and felt he was under surveillance. I'm told he also had a ‘hit list' similar to Lit-vinenko's and had passed it onto the authorities."
Exclusive by James Weatherup
THE ruthless assassin at the centre of the Litvinenko poison murder is a highly-trained veteran of Russia's deadly Spetsnaz special forces.
The News of the World knows the killer's full identity but for legal reasons we are just using his middle name Igor.
The 46-year-old expert in covert operations was dramatically fingered in a bombshell document passed to former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko at London's Itsu sushi bar before he was slipped lethal radioactive polonium-210.
The three-page dossier was handed to Scotland Yard by the victim and is now being analysed by the anti-terrorist branch. The News of the World has obtained a copy and can reveal it contains a chilling hitlist with Litvinenko, 43, as a prime target.
Alert
A security source who leaked the document to us said: "This is dynamite. It's clear there's a violent and ruthless campaign to wipe out anyone who gets under the skin of the new regime in Russia."
And as a massive police manhunt got underway to find Igor, understood to be deep undercover at a secret Italian hideout, health officials in London went on alert.
Following an emergency meeting of the government's COBRA comittee, an appeal was issued for anyone who used the Piccadilly sushi restaurant and the Millennium Hotel — both used by former KGB colonel Litvinenko on November 1, the day he was poisoned — to contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647. Both places tested positive for radiation.
It also emerged that the Sushi bar is to be decontaminated and that polonium traces have been found at two other separate addresses in the capital, and also at Litvinenko's home.
The extraordinary hitlist, which was originally given to Litvinenko by Italian academic Mario Scaramella, mentions the doomed poison victim FIVE times.
It reveals that Dignity And Honour, part of a group of ex-KGB spies, appear to be waging their own Cold War on dissidents trying to embarrass President Vladimir Putin.
After naming Igor the document describes his killing capabilities and expertise. He walks with a slight limp after an accident to his right leg, but is lean and muscular, six feet tall, with greying black hair.
He is said to be a "master in judo" who speaks perfect English and Portuguese as well as Russian.
The hitlist in the leaked document, which appears to be a whistleblowing report from an insider, details names in the firing line including:
- FEARLESS journalist Anna Politkovskaya who was shot dead in Moscow last month, after exposing Russian atrocities. (top left)
- PROFESSOR Mario Scaramella, who gave the document to Litvinenko and probed KGB infiltration for the Italian parliament. (top right)
- HUMAN rights activist and novelist Vladimir Bukovsky, who campaigned over attempts to dump radioactive material off northern Russia. bottom right)
- ANTI-PUTIN billionaire Boris Berezovsky, 60, who bankrolled a candidate to stand against Putin in the 2004 elections. (bottom left)
- CRUSADING Italian Senator Paolo Guzzanti who is in charge of an influential committee probing KGB links in Italy. (centre)
It has neem revealed that Litvinenko was poisoned with a massive overdose of the deadly polonium-210. A Whitehall source told the News of the World: "A few microbes would be fatal, but we think he had a TEASPOON'S worth—more than a billion times what was needed to kill him."
Experts believe the poison was delivered in a liquid solution in drink. After learning of the "worryingly high" levels of radiation discovered at the sushi bar, the government issued its plea for customers — and those of the Millennium Hotel's Pine Bar, which was yesterday sealed off — to contact NHS Direct.
By Saturday more than 300 diners had called in.
The experts fear that if, say, a waiter's finger came into contact with the poison it could be passed on in "a daisy chain effect", from person to person.
Itsu boss Clive Schlee insisted: "I understand the Health Protection Agency has to take all precautions. But I've not had a single report from our staff or customers of any illness related in any way to November 1."
In yet another twist to the drama, sources close to Litvinenko also claimed there was a connection between his murder and the mystery death of a British lawyer in a helicopter crash two years ago.
Stephen Curtis, 45, who died in 2004, was chairman of security firm ISC Global which worked for a group of Russian tycoons who had fallen out with Putin.
Our insider claimed: "The inquest recorded accidental death but two weeks before the tragedy Stephen said if something happened to him it would NOT not be an accident.
"He had told of threats and felt he was under surveillance. I'm told he also had a ‘hit list' similar to Lit-vinenko's and had passed it onto the authorities."
TIMELINE TO MURDER
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7: Journalist Anna Politkovskaya is shot dead. Litvinenko begins to probe.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1: Litvinenko meets Italian academic Prof Mario Scaramella at Itsu sushi bar London and receives hitlist papers. Then he meets two Russian men at the Millennium Hotel. Later falls sick and admitted to Barnet Hospital.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17: Transferred to University College Hospital.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20: Moved to Intensive Care. Kremlin denies any involvement.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23: Litvinenko dies at 9.21pm.
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