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."
Monday, March 05, 2007
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)