EXCLUSIVE:NOTW delivers 66 on-the-run foreigners to Home Office.. to show how easy it is
By Mazher Mahmood
THE News of the World has given bungling Home Office officials a lesson in catching illegal immigrants.
They say they haven't a clue how many are in Britain. And they can't find hundreds who've gone on the run.
But within a few hours we managed to round up TWO BUSLOADS of them.
We drove them to an immigration detention centre with the message: Try not to lose them this time.
We delivered 70 in all—49 on a luxury coach and 21 crammed into a minibus. It would have been MORE if the coach driver hadn't chucked 20 off for safety reasons.
Last night a red-faced Home Office spokesman spluttered: "We are grateful to the News of the World for its work to bring these cases to light. Tackling illegal working is a top priority."
It took our undercover reporters less than two days to track down almost 100 illegals in London. All they had to do was put the word round they were seeking cheap labourers.
BUSLOAD No1 came from the East End. A regular at the White Hart pub in Green Lane put our reporters on to an illegal worker called Manjit Singh.
He told us: "If you want cheap labourers, you can get hundreds.
"The only thing is they're all illegal and don't have any paperwork. You have a lot of skilled Eastern European workers.
Clowns
"But if you want a gang of grafters then I'd suggest Indian boys. They'll work a whole day for £40.
"The Home Office are clowns. They can't track us down and nowhere we have worked has ever been raided. We are safe."
Manjit, in his 30s, told how he'd paid £9,000 to be smuggled to Britain on a fake visa from Jullundar in India. He has been living and working in London illegally for three years.
He took us to nearby Rosebery Avenue, East Ham, where scores of illegal workers live. Inside a terraced house next to a Sikh temple turban-headed Makhan Singh asked: "How many people do you need? We'll get as many as you want.
"We've got 12 living in here and we all do building work, but we don't work on the books. There are more of us living over the road."
There were two single beds in the cramped, foul-smelling front room with another mattress thrown on the floor. Washing was hung over the open door.
Within minutes nearly 20 people crammed into the room, all seeking work. They openly admitted being illegal immigrants. Meanwhile Manjit used his mobile to line up more.
Our investigators moved on to a makeshift employment agency in the back yard of an off-licence in Plashett Road, east London.
There Bhola Singh promised: "I can get you a hundred people by clicking my fingers. None of them have any papers. It's cheap labour."
True to his word, 40 men filed in the next day to sign up for work.
Yesterday at 9.30 am, our luxury 53-seater coach pulled up outside the Ruskin Arms pub in East Ham. Scores of workers, some clutching lunchboxes, piled on board.
At one point they were sitting on each other's laps! When our law-abiding driver threw some off they begged to be let back on.
BUSLOAD No2 came from Southall, west London, where hordes of illegals converge in the Northwood Road car park every morning from 6am.
They are picked up by a fleet of minibuses and paid from £30 a day to work on building sites.
Our investigators approached a man with a green turban called Nishan Singh, who came to Britain a year ago on a fake visa.
Swooped
He said: "How many days work do you have and how many people do you need? There's a ring of us. I can get them easily. No one has any papers, brother."
He handed over his phone number and said that he would turn up with 20 people.
Yesterday when our minibus arrived outside a Sikh temple in Southall there were many more than we'd allowed for. Twenty-one of them squeezed aboard.
Somewhat to the surprise of all the illegals, BOTH buses headed straight to the Colnbrook Immigration Detention Centre near Heathrow where 25 uniformed police officers stood in wait.
The convoy was ordered into a secure compound where 35 immigration officers swooped.
Each illegal was searched and placed in detention. All mobiles were confiscated.
One passenger said in Punjabi: "Don't worry, lads, I know we're f****d but stay calm. Say nothing."
Last night a Home Office spokesman confirmed that of the 70 we delivered, 66 people had been arrested and detained. Among them were EIGHT failed asylum seekers already sought by immigration.
Our investigation will heap even more shame on the government. Home Secretary John Reid admits he has no idea how many illegal immigrants are in Britain. The Home Office's own figures claim there are between 310,000 and 570,000, believed to be a huge underestimate.
Our Investigations Editor Mazher Mahmood is famous as the Fake Sheik. Now, after his On The Buses coup. he'll also be known as the Fake Blakey...
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Sunday, May 21, 2006
VICTIMS WIN 7/7 VICTORY
EXCLUSIVE: Compensation DOUBLED following News of the World campaign
By Ian Kirby & Sara Nuwar
TRAGIC victims of the 7/7 London bombings are to have their compensation payments DOUBLED, the News of the World can reveal.
Home Secretary John Reid has promised to fork out the extra cash after the first anniversary of the suicide bomb horrors.
And immediately delighted relatives hailed the move as a thrilling victory for this newspaper's hard-fought campaign to win help for the suffering victims.
Last night Mr Reid told us he had ordered the extra payments after talks with families of those severely injured and traumatised in the blasts.
"I have decided to make a special payment recognising the special circumstances of the 7/7 attacks," he said.
Delays
The government will also SCRAP its £500,000 ceiling on compensation packages to ensure sufficient cash is available for medical treatment.
The one-off extra payments will be followed by an overhaul of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, designed to slash red tape and speed up its payouts.
Last year we disclosed that hundreds of crippled victims had been left dependent on charity because of CICA delays.
We launched our What About the Victims? campaign on the front page, calling for immediate action. It demanded: NO CEILING on compensation, SPEEDY assessment to ensure a victim's long-term security would be sorted within six months, and a MINISTER to look after their rights. Survivors and relatives of 7/7 victims delivered a 10,000-strong petition to Downing Street in October and the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke ordered a review.
It concluded that it would be unfair to give the victims special treatment. But Prime Minister Tony Blair later over-ruled this verdict. Now he has also agreed to our plea for a nationwide two-minute silence at midday to mark each July 7 anniversary.
So far the CICA has paid out £2.1million to those injured or who lost a relative in the horror.
Families of those who died in the bombings—at Aldgate East, Edgware Road and King's Cross tube stations and on the No27 bus in Tavistock Square—welcomed Mr Reid's announcement.
John Taylor, whose 24-year-old daughter Carrie was killed at Aldgate, said: "It's great news and about time. The News of the World fought a fantastic campaign." And Dania Gorodi, 48, whose sister Michelle Otto, 46, died in King's Cross, added: "I'm absolutely thrilled your campaign has paid off.
"It will make a huge difference to people's lives and your paper has been a tremendous support for the families."
John Falding, whose girlfriend Anat Rosenburg, 39, died at Tavistock Square, said: "I'm delighted. The survivors have had enough to cope with, without the hassle over money."
By Ian Kirby & Sara Nuwar
TRAGIC victims of the 7/7 London bombings are to have their compensation payments DOUBLED, the News of the World can reveal.
Home Secretary John Reid has promised to fork out the extra cash after the first anniversary of the suicide bomb horrors.
And immediately delighted relatives hailed the move as a thrilling victory for this newspaper's hard-fought campaign to win help for the suffering victims.
Last night Mr Reid told us he had ordered the extra payments after talks with families of those severely injured and traumatised in the blasts.
"I have decided to make a special payment recognising the special circumstances of the 7/7 attacks," he said.
Delays
The government will also SCRAP its £500,000 ceiling on compensation packages to ensure sufficient cash is available for medical treatment.
The one-off extra payments will be followed by an overhaul of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, designed to slash red tape and speed up its payouts.
Last year we disclosed that hundreds of crippled victims had been left dependent on charity because of CICA delays.
We launched our What About the Victims? campaign on the front page, calling for immediate action. It demanded: NO CEILING on compensation, SPEEDY assessment to ensure a victim's long-term security would be sorted within six months, and a MINISTER to look after their rights. Survivors and relatives of 7/7 victims delivered a 10,000-strong petition to Downing Street in October and the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke ordered a review.
It concluded that it would be unfair to give the victims special treatment. But Prime Minister Tony Blair later over-ruled this verdict. Now he has also agreed to our plea for a nationwide two-minute silence at midday to mark each July 7 anniversary.
So far the CICA has paid out £2.1million to those injured or who lost a relative in the horror.
Families of those who died in the bombings—at Aldgate East, Edgware Road and King's Cross tube stations and on the No27 bus in Tavistock Square—welcomed Mr Reid's announcement.
John Taylor, whose 24-year-old daughter Carrie was killed at Aldgate, said: "It's great news and about time. The News of the World fought a fantastic campaign." And Dania Gorodi, 48, whose sister Michelle Otto, 46, died in King's Cross, added: "I'm absolutely thrilled your campaign has paid off.
"It will make a huge difference to people's lives and your paper has been a tremendous support for the families."
John Falding, whose girlfriend Anat Rosenburg, 39, died at Tavistock Square, said: "I'm delighted. The survivors have had enough to cope with, without the hassle over money."
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Jordan babies target in £1m kidnap terror
EXCLUSIVE: Nightmare for celebrity couple as cops warn them of plot
By Lucy Panton
A CRACK team of elite cops raced to protect top model Jordan after dicovering a millionpound plot to kidnap one of her children.
The mega-wealthy blonde and her family have been given special protection after Scotland Yard's snatchbuster squad got a tip-off that three-year-old Harvey and 11-month-old Junior were under threat.
Detectives discovered a gang of foreign and London crooks planned to take one of the tots hostage and issue Jordan and pop star husband Peter Andre with a £1million ransom demand.
Officers last night described it as "a very real threat".
As soon as the news reached police through underworld informers, an investigation was launched to identify and infiltrate the gang.
Jordan, 27, and Peter, 33, had no idea their tots were targets until worried cops contacted them.
The terrifying scam mirrors a plot against the Beckhams six years ago, when the News of the World uncovered plans to snatch Victoria and son Brooklyn. Liaison officers from the same unit that handled that case have spent the last month in constant contact with Peter and Jordan to protect them and the children. A police source revealed: "We uncovered the plot at an early stage and it appeared sophisticated.
"It was immediately taken very seriously and security was put in place around the family."
A panic button and a monitored alarm system have been installed at Jordan's £750,000 country home in Maresfield, East Sussex.
An official Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed last night: "The Metropolitan Police specialist kidnap unit are investigating intelligence about a threat to kidnap and extra security has been put in place to protect the family."
Jordan—real name Katie Price— has also been offered police minders when she takes her children out. A friend said: "Obviously Katie's main concern is for her kids.
"She's used to being in the limelight and knows the risks which that brings—particularly when her fortune has been so widely discussed. She has been targeted by burglars in the past.
"But this is different—it's a sinister turn because it puts the boys at risk. Katie is working closely with police to do everything in her power to keep them safe."
Friends fear the pin-up queen's fame and showy displays of wealth—including her fleet of cars and £3.5million holiday home in Cyprus— make her a prime kidnap target.
Just this week the former Page Three girl, reckoned to be worth £10million, spoke of her ambition to become "the world's richest woman" before she's 30.
Jordan—whose first son Harvey was fathered by former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke—declared: "I know I'll top that Rich List."
The model, who is trying to reinvent herself in a bid to go upmarket, was recently snapped by David Bailey for swish American Vogue magazine and is determined to conquer the USA.
Her five-acre Sussex spread is already protected by a £10,000 security fence topped with barbed wire. Now it is under surveillance by cops, too.
Only last June—around the time their son Junior was born—Jordan and Peter were forced to beef up security after ram-raiders broke through the perimeter. They bypassed the alarm sensors but fled empty-handed when Jordan's mum Amy spotted them and alerted the police.
Officers probing the latest threat do not believe the cases are linked. Our insider said: "There's an awful lot of work going on to build up evidence and nail this gang."
The timetable of the snatch plot and details of exactly where the villains planned to strike is being kept secret.
Our investigation into the similar Beckham plot led to the arrest of five men accused of planning to hold the England captain's wife to ransom.
When the prosecution case collapsed one of the criminals, Alin Turcu, tried to sue us—but a High Court judge ruled that our exclusive story WAS accurate.
By Lucy Panton
A CRACK team of elite cops raced to protect top model Jordan after dicovering a millionpound plot to kidnap one of her children.
The mega-wealthy blonde and her family have been given special protection after Scotland Yard's snatchbuster squad got a tip-off that three-year-old Harvey and 11-month-old Junior were under threat.
Detectives discovered a gang of foreign and London crooks planned to take one of the tots hostage and issue Jordan and pop star husband Peter Andre with a £1million ransom demand.
Officers last night described it as "a very real threat".
As soon as the news reached police through underworld informers, an investigation was launched to identify and infiltrate the gang.
Jordan, 27, and Peter, 33, had no idea their tots were targets until worried cops contacted them.
The terrifying scam mirrors a plot against the Beckhams six years ago, when the News of the World uncovered plans to snatch Victoria and son Brooklyn. Liaison officers from the same unit that handled that case have spent the last month in constant contact with Peter and Jordan to protect them and the children. A police source revealed: "We uncovered the plot at an early stage and it appeared sophisticated.
"It was immediately taken very seriously and security was put in place around the family."
A panic button and a monitored alarm system have been installed at Jordan's £750,000 country home in Maresfield, East Sussex.
An official Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed last night: "The Metropolitan Police specialist kidnap unit are investigating intelligence about a threat to kidnap and extra security has been put in place to protect the family."
Jordan—real name Katie Price— has also been offered police minders when she takes her children out. A friend said: "Obviously Katie's main concern is for her kids.
"She's used to being in the limelight and knows the risks which that brings—particularly when her fortune has been so widely discussed. She has been targeted by burglars in the past.
"But this is different—it's a sinister turn because it puts the boys at risk. Katie is working closely with police to do everything in her power to keep them safe."
Friends fear the pin-up queen's fame and showy displays of wealth—including her fleet of cars and £3.5million holiday home in Cyprus— make her a prime kidnap target.
Just this week the former Page Three girl, reckoned to be worth £10million, spoke of her ambition to become "the world's richest woman" before she's 30.
Jordan—whose first son Harvey was fathered by former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke—declared: "I know I'll top that Rich List."
The model, who is trying to reinvent herself in a bid to go upmarket, was recently snapped by David Bailey for swish American Vogue magazine and is determined to conquer the USA.
Her five-acre Sussex spread is already protected by a £10,000 security fence topped with barbed wire. Now it is under surveillance by cops, too.
Only last June—around the time their son Junior was born—Jordan and Peter were forced to beef up security after ram-raiders broke through the perimeter. They bypassed the alarm sensors but fled empty-handed when Jordan's mum Amy spotted them and alerted the police.
Officers probing the latest threat do not believe the cases are linked. Our insider said: "There's an awful lot of work going on to build up evidence and nail this gang."
The timetable of the snatch plot and details of exactly where the villains planned to strike is being kept secret.
Our investigation into the similar Beckham plot led to the arrest of five men accused of planning to hold the England captain's wife to ransom.
When the prosecution case collapsed one of the criminals, Alin Turcu, tried to sue us—but a High Court judge ruled that our exclusive story WAS accurate.
7/7 Victory
Survivor gets £10 compensation
By Keith Gladdis
A SURVIVOR of the 7/7 London bombings has received just £10 from the government.
Professor John Tulloch, 63, whose blood-soaked face became one of the enduring symbols of the atrocity, suffered head and thigh injuries and hearing loss due to perforated eardrums.
But he revealed: "I have so far only received £10 to cover the cost of the photos of my remaining scars that the government has asked for."
However, he said he has been given a "few thousand pounds" by the London Bombings Charitable Fund.
The sociology lecturer was sitting opposite terrorist Mohammed Sidique Khan when he detonated his bomb near Edgware Road station.
Six peope died, but incredibly the professor walked away—saved by his briefcase which took the full force of the blast.
His story highlights the shocking delay in helping victims of the bombing—an issue first raised by the News of the World in our What About the Victims campaign.
Last night Prof Tulloch, from Penarth, South Wales, backed our crusade. He said: "I'm so grateful for the News of the World campaign. It's very important to make sure compensation is adequate for all concerned. I was one of the lucky ones. My heart goes out to those who suffered appalling injuries and need constant care."
Tory MP for Monmouthshire David Davies yesterday said the miserly sum paid to Prof Tulloch was "appalling". He added: "It's almost a year since the bombings. This is another example of government incompetence."
The compensation claims are handled by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. So far, it has made 106 payments totalling more than £1million to victims of the attacks, which killed 52 and injured 750.
A CICA spokesman said: "We are working hard to make sure that victims of these terrible bombings receive the compensation they are entitled to as quickly as possible."
News of the World wins 2-minute silence for the victims
A NATIONWIDE two-minute silence WILL be held to remember the victims of the 7/7 London bombings—following a News of the World campaign.
The tribute to the 52 innocent people who died in the horrific attacks is to be announced by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell this week.
The silence will take place at midday on the first anniversary of the horror. Mrs Jowell told the News of the World: "A nationwide silence will bring the country together in memory of the 52 innocent people who died on 7/7, and the hundreds of others whose lives will never be the same again.
"It will be a chance for us all to stand together, a moment of remembrance, reflection and respect. I am very grateful to the News of the World for its wholehearted support for a tribute."
Last night injured victims of the 7/7 bombings welcomed the decision.
Emotional
Nina Kovacevic, 29, who was hurt in the bus blast in Tavistock Square, said: "I am pleased. It's a great way for the country to remember those who perished. And they should be remembered. It will be a very emotional time."
Nina, a project manager at a design consultancy, had flesh gouged out of her shoulder in the blast, strips of skin were torn from her face and back and her head was split, leaving a five-inch gash.
She added: "I hope everyone in Britain will mark the day with this silent show of respect." Retired journalist John Falding, whose girlfriend Anat Rosenburg, 39, died in the bus attack, said: "I think the two-minute silence will bring comfort to people who still need some public recognition of their private grief."
Grahame Russell, whose 28-year-old son Philip also died on the bus, said: "It's only right. It is respectful."
Bomber blunder
THE Security Services had evidence 7/7 bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan was intent on violence, it emerged last night.
Khan, 30, ringleader of the attack, was covertly recorded talking about plans to wage jihad. He discussed whether to say goodbye to his family, suggesting he was seeking martyrdom. The details form part of an Intelligence and Security Committee report released last week.
By Keith Gladdis
A SURVIVOR of the 7/7 London bombings has received just £10 from the government.
Professor John Tulloch, 63, whose blood-soaked face became one of the enduring symbols of the atrocity, suffered head and thigh injuries and hearing loss due to perforated eardrums.
But he revealed: "I have so far only received £10 to cover the cost of the photos of my remaining scars that the government has asked for."
However, he said he has been given a "few thousand pounds" by the London Bombings Charitable Fund.
The sociology lecturer was sitting opposite terrorist Mohammed Sidique Khan when he detonated his bomb near Edgware Road station.
Six peope died, but incredibly the professor walked away—saved by his briefcase which took the full force of the blast.
His story highlights the shocking delay in helping victims of the bombing—an issue first raised by the News of the World in our What About the Victims campaign.
Last night Prof Tulloch, from Penarth, South Wales, backed our crusade. He said: "I'm so grateful for the News of the World campaign. It's very important to make sure compensation is adequate for all concerned. I was one of the lucky ones. My heart goes out to those who suffered appalling injuries and need constant care."
Tory MP for Monmouthshire David Davies yesterday said the miserly sum paid to Prof Tulloch was "appalling". He added: "It's almost a year since the bombings. This is another example of government incompetence."
The compensation claims are handled by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. So far, it has made 106 payments totalling more than £1million to victims of the attacks, which killed 52 and injured 750.
A CICA spokesman said: "We are working hard to make sure that victims of these terrible bombings receive the compensation they are entitled to as quickly as possible."
News of the World wins 2-minute silence for the victims
A NATIONWIDE two-minute silence WILL be held to remember the victims of the 7/7 London bombings—following a News of the World campaign.
The tribute to the 52 innocent people who died in the horrific attacks is to be announced by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell this week.
The silence will take place at midday on the first anniversary of the horror. Mrs Jowell told the News of the World: "A nationwide silence will bring the country together in memory of the 52 innocent people who died on 7/7, and the hundreds of others whose lives will never be the same again.
"It will be a chance for us all to stand together, a moment of remembrance, reflection and respect. I am very grateful to the News of the World for its wholehearted support for a tribute."
Last night injured victims of the 7/7 bombings welcomed the decision.
Emotional
Nina Kovacevic, 29, who was hurt in the bus blast in Tavistock Square, said: "I am pleased. It's a great way for the country to remember those who perished. And they should be remembered. It will be a very emotional time."
Nina, a project manager at a design consultancy, had flesh gouged out of her shoulder in the blast, strips of skin were torn from her face and back and her head was split, leaving a five-inch gash.
She added: "I hope everyone in Britain will mark the day with this silent show of respect." Retired journalist John Falding, whose girlfriend Anat Rosenburg, 39, died in the bus attack, said: "I think the two-minute silence will bring comfort to people who still need some public recognition of their private grief."
Grahame Russell, whose 28-year-old son Philip also died on the bus, said: "It's only right. It is respectful."
Bomber blunder
THE Security Services had evidence 7/7 bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan was intent on violence, it emerged last night.
Khan, 30, ringleader of the attack, was covertly recorded talking about plans to wage jihad. He discussed whether to say goodbye to his family, suggesting he was seeking martyrdom. The details form part of an Intelligence and Security Committee report released last week.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
MI5: We will have new 7/7
Give 7/7 dead two minutes' silence
By Sarah Newar
SPOOKS at MI5 have warned the 7/7 bombings WILL happen again—because they don't have enough spies.
A disturbing report will reveal intelligence services are overstretched and have failed to penetrate Muslim terror groups.
It says another bombing is a CERTAINTY unless gaps are plugged.
Three attacks have been thwarted since the London bombings. And another six possible plots are being monitored now.
But intelligence agents have told MPs there must be other undetected terror cells who will succeed.
An official enquiry into 7/7 by the super-powerful Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee concludes that MI5 failed to infiltrate radical British Muslims because of a severe "resource problem".
Spy chiefs are still desperately short of surveillance teams, undercover agents and translators.
The committee's report, published on Thursday, will reveal that at one stage just 20 agents were trying to keep tabs on 400 terror suspects linked to al-Qaeda.
And surveillance on 7/7 ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan, 31, was called off because of lack of manpower.
He recruited Hasib Hussain, 18, Shehzed Tanweer, 22, and Jermaine Lindsay, 26, for the suicide bombings.
The report warns Britain will face another attack unless MI5—still geared to fighting decades of Irish terrorism—is overhauled.
Danger
The committee, made up of MPs and chaired by former Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy, examined top-secret papers and heard evidence from senior spies.
They are the only independent body monitoring the security and intelligence services and have full access to its shadowy commanders.
Their report is important because it is the only authoritative inquiry into the 7/7 bombings.
It concludes that MI5 had too many white, middle-class agents who could not work undercover in tight-knit Muslim communities.
And although the intelligence budget doubled since the New York attacks in 2001, the money was too late to stop the bombings here.
A senior intelligence source told the News of the World: "With Irish terrorism there was a clear pattern. With Islamic extremists it is harder to tell whether these are kids talking tough, bigots or genuine terrorists.
"That is why another attack will happen at any time."
Tory homeland security spokesman Patrick Mercer said: "There is no doubt that there is a clear and present threat. The only priority now for the security services is the prevention of further Islamic fundamentalist attacks."
"There are continued warnings of attacks in Britain by Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. These have to be taken seriously."
He added: "I am waiting to see how much truth we are going to get from the government about these events.
"After 9/11 and the Madrid bombings both the American and Spanish governments carried out extensive independent inquiries.
"All we are getting is a narrative which has come from the hands of civil servants and a heavily-censored report by MPs.
"It is crucial we have an independent inquiry before we are attacked again."
THE News of the World today demands that the victims of the 7/7 London suicide bombings are remembered with a two-minute silence.
The 52 people murdered in the bloodiest terrorist attack in British history DESERVE a fitting tribute.
Last year Britain came to a standstill in respect exactly a week after the atrocity. Response to that silence, organised by London Mayor Ken Livingstone, was a magnificent success at the bombing scenes and across the country.
But relatives of the victims have been pressing the government for an official silence on the one-year anniversary.
Now with less than two months to go nothing has been finalised. And The News of the World is demanding action.
By Sarah Newar
SPOOKS at MI5 have warned the 7/7 bombings WILL happen again—because they don't have enough spies.
A disturbing report will reveal intelligence services are overstretched and have failed to penetrate Muslim terror groups.
It says another bombing is a CERTAINTY unless gaps are plugged.
Three attacks have been thwarted since the London bombings. And another six possible plots are being monitored now.
But intelligence agents have told MPs there must be other undetected terror cells who will succeed.
An official enquiry into 7/7 by the super-powerful Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee concludes that MI5 failed to infiltrate radical British Muslims because of a severe "resource problem".
Spy chiefs are still desperately short of surveillance teams, undercover agents and translators.
The committee's report, published on Thursday, will reveal that at one stage just 20 agents were trying to keep tabs on 400 terror suspects linked to al-Qaeda.
And surveillance on 7/7 ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan, 31, was called off because of lack of manpower.
He recruited Hasib Hussain, 18, Shehzed Tanweer, 22, and Jermaine Lindsay, 26, for the suicide bombings.
The report warns Britain will face another attack unless MI5—still geared to fighting decades of Irish terrorism—is overhauled.
Danger
The committee, made up of MPs and chaired by former Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy, examined top-secret papers and heard evidence from senior spies.
They are the only independent body monitoring the security and intelligence services and have full access to its shadowy commanders.
Their report is important because it is the only authoritative inquiry into the 7/7 bombings.
It concludes that MI5 had too many white, middle-class agents who could not work undercover in tight-knit Muslim communities.
And although the intelligence budget doubled since the New York attacks in 2001, the money was too late to stop the bombings here.
A senior intelligence source told the News of the World: "With Irish terrorism there was a clear pattern. With Islamic extremists it is harder to tell whether these are kids talking tough, bigots or genuine terrorists.
"That is why another attack will happen at any time."
Tory homeland security spokesman Patrick Mercer said: "There is no doubt that there is a clear and present threat. The only priority now for the security services is the prevention of further Islamic fundamentalist attacks."
"There are continued warnings of attacks in Britain by Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. These have to be taken seriously."
He added: "I am waiting to see how much truth we are going to get from the government about these events.
"After 9/11 and the Madrid bombings both the American and Spanish governments carried out extensive independent inquiries.
"All we are getting is a narrative which has come from the hands of civil servants and a heavily-censored report by MPs.
"It is crucial we have an independent inquiry before we are attacked again."
THE News of the World today demands that the victims of the 7/7 London suicide bombings are remembered with a two-minute silence.
The 52 people murdered in the bloodiest terrorist attack in British history DESERVE a fitting tribute.
Last year Britain came to a standstill in respect exactly a week after the atrocity. Response to that silence, organised by London Mayor Ken Livingstone, was a magnificent success at the bombing scenes and across the country.
But relatives of the victims have been pressing the government for an official silence on the one-year anniversary.
Now with less than two months to go nothing has been finalised. And The News of the World is demanding action.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: We ask Prime Minister Blair the BIG questions on his blackest week ever
WILL I SACK CLARKE? WELL, THAT DEPENDS
By Ian Kirby
PRIME Minister Tony Blair has refused to rule out sacking his embattled Home Secretary Charles Clarke.
In an exclusive News of the World interview he admitted there were "no excuses" for the catalogue of errors that allowed 1,023 foreign prisoners to be freed without deportation.
And the PM revealed the Home Secretary's long-term future would "depend on what happens" as officials and police try to trace lost offenders.
At the end of his worst week —but before the latest revelations about John Reid—the News of the World asked Mr Blair the toughest questions.
And in a combative question-and-answer session at 10 Downing Street, the PM:
ADMITTED he was "angry" at the prisoners debacle.
BLANKED questions about John Prescott.
INSISTED the week's events have made him more determined to stay on and complete his reforms.
ATTACKED the legal establishment for putting criminals before victims.
PROMISED new laws and police powers to combat anti-social behaviour.
ON CLARKE
News of the World: What was your reaction when you were told about the prisoners?
PRIME MINISTER: The reaction you'd expect—pretty angry about it. But it was important to get to the facts and see what people had been trying to do. I make no excuses for what happened, it was wrong and shouldn't have happened. The reason the problem was uncovered was because people started to make changes.
We had no knowledge until we started to work through the system about whether foreign prisoners were being deported.
NOTW: We still have no idea where most of them are or what they are capable of...
PM: It is important to say that of the 1,023 prisoners, 355 have been dealt with. They will work through the rest of them. I'm saying none of this in mitiga-tion—just presenting the facts.
This is a systemic failure that goes back over years. That's no excuse not for us to have sorted it out. What isn't correct is the impression this is a problem that has just arisen.
NOTW: Was it a quick decision for you not to accept the Home Secretary's resignation?
PM: Yes, because my point is: In the time he's been Home Secretary has he been trying to sort it out? Actually he has.
NOTW: But a News of the World reader would say, ‘Hold on, at what point does someone become responsible?'
PM: I think it's a fair point.
NOTW: When you look at our polls or randomly dip into our mailbag crime is the number one issue. People are sick of living in fear. But from that, surely, comes some accountability? He's known about this for some time.
PM: Yes, but he has been acting on it. That's where I disagree with people who say he's ignored it. He hasn't.
NOTW: Do we know where these people are?
PM: No, but this is a backlog going back over many years, including many years before he was Home Secretary.
NOTW: What changes have you put in place to stop this and isn't there a wider problem —the deportation system is overstretched, it cannot cope?
PM: We have made it easier to deport people. There is a strong case for saying people who are guilty of serious criminal offences and are foreign nationals—unless there is some very, very good reason—should be deported.
NOTW: If a serious crime is committed by one of these prisoners, does the situation regarding the Home Secretary change?
PM: I don't think I'm going to speculate. It depends on what happens, what the reasons are.
NOTW: The British crime survey last week said that two thirds of the public think sentences are too lenient. Why do courts refuse to get tough?
PM: The frustration for me is that I have been introducing legislation the public would support but we are constantly getting it watered down.
Its time to have a proper national debate about what we want our system to do.
NOTW: Why are victims' needs not being put first by courts?
PM: It's borne out of a completely mistaken view of civil liberties, because the civil liberty that should matter most is the right to be safe, free from fear.
NOTW: Surely you can pass whatever laws you want but if judges don't hand out the sentences it means nothing?
PM: Look, the judges should do their job and do it utterly independently of government. But judicial decisions don't happen in a different country, a different society. That's why you need to have a discussion about what's necessary.
NOTW: Do you believe in instant justice?
PM: The reason we introduced on-the-spot fines and fixed penalty notices is to say that you need an instant remedy. If they get a £100 fine they might think twice about doing it again.
NOTW: But judges have used the Human Rights Act to block this sort of justice and challenge tough sentencing.
PM: Yes, but it is perfectly right for courts to say that there are other human rights that have to be put in balance here.
NOTW: But they're not saying that, are they?
PM: No, and that's why I say that in the end this is not just about the laws we pass. It's about an attitude we have about the issue of civil liberties.
NOTW: Are you saying some judges put civil liberties ahead of public safety?
PM: I think it is that the system we have is not sufficiently geared to concerns of people.
NOTW: Do you regret the Human Rights Act?
PM: No, because all the Act did was give people the ability to challenge the government in this country. They already had that right in Europe.
ON STAYING ON
NOTW: May I ask you about your legacy?
PM: What? The ‘L' word we don't use?
NOTW: What jobs do you still have to do?
PM: The most important thing for me is to carry on the programme on the NHS, our schools, this whole business to do with anti-social behaviour and respect on our streets, which I believe passionately in and think are the things that people really expect me to do.
I'm not saying we haven't made mistakes, but what I can say is that if you look back over eight or nine years in the local communities it's very hard to say things have not improved. That's not to say there are not still massive challenges.
NOTW: Does a week like this make you more determined to see those changes through?
PM: Yes. The pressure, especially the longer you have been there, gets more intense.
Interesting
The comparison with Black Wednesday is quite interesting. Black Wednesday was the day the government lost control of the economy, interest rates shot up and this was a fundamental moment of the collapse of the government's policy.
I'm not saying this has not been a bad week because it obviously has been, but I don't feel that's where we're heading.
The very fact that a minister getting booed at a union conference is seen as the equivalent of Black Wednesday— well, hang on a minute!
First, is what she's trying to do right or wrong? Second, are there actually improvements in the service? Third. This is what happens when you are in government. Particularly if you go to address a conference where people have a particular interest.
If you measure the seriousness of this against the collapse of economic policy I think you see the world of difference that there is.
For me, the tough week is just another tough week.
ON HEWITT
NOTW: You said you were annoyed at the treatment Pat Hewitt got. Would you agree that the NHS has had its best year yet?
PM: I know that everyone is going to deride it, but what's the best way of measuring whether the NHS is doing well or not? It's by the results.
And all I can say is get a sense of balance. If you go to an accident and emergency department it is a different experience than it was four or five years ago. And if you are waiting for a heart operation you will wait for a lot shorter time than you did eight years ago.
Although you will have readers who have had bad experiences from the NHS, you will have many who have had excellent treatment.
ON PRESCOTT
NOTW: John Prescott, from 1995 to 1997, was at the forefront of the attacks on John Major over sleaze. He may now regret saying morality for a Tory meant not getting caught.
Prime Minister: I don't want to be difficult about it, but I don't want to comment on it.
NOTW: OK, let's not make it specific to John Prescott. It was a big part of your campaign to talk about your moral code.
PM: Yes, but I don't think I talked about the private lives of Tories. It would be a very bold political leader who says there will never be any problems in the personal lives of any of my ministers.
NOTW: Sure, but from the point of the readers, they completely bought into the idea of a sleaze-free Cabinet. We now have a Deputy PM who, having made his own attacks on the Tories, has been caught out.
PM: How many different ways do you want me to say nothing? There's nothing I can say except I think these are private matters and I don't think anybody in politics should cast stones at other people on that.
In respect of the Tories I don't think you would ever have found me making comments about their private lives.
ON NEW ASBO POWERS
NOTW: What new powers can you promise for this autumn?
PM: ASBOs do work but they can be difficult to get.
I think there is a case for allowing a senior police officer to impose an instant ASBO that then comes to court at a later time, so they can halt the offending behaviour straight away and then come to court at a later time so you can decide what happens to a person.
Breaching drug testing and treatment orders should be an arrestable offence. I've spoken to police officers who are fed up with people who breach their orders.
They can't arrest them for it and then it's months before they come back before the courts again.
I also think for people who sell drugs to youngsters there should be a minimum sentence. We do this for gun crime, and for unlawful possession of a firearm now is a minimum five-year sentence.
Support
On organised crime we need stronger powers to be able to open up the bank accounts and financial circumstances of people who have got no particular visible means of support but are living a lifestyle wholly inconsistent with that.
There is a very strong case in my view for allowing the police to seize cash or assets above £1,000 in value in circumstances where they suspect someone is involved in drug dealing.
Now that would give you an immediate ability to take a car or the cash off people who are operating in local communities.
I still think there is a gap between the powers needed on the ground to try to do some of these things and what is there now. What's there now is working when it's being used—there are drug dealers' houses being shut down, crack houses are being shut down. There are anti-social behaviour orders that do actually work when they are secured.
There are situations where as a result of people being tested for drugs on arrest they don't get bail if they're not prepared to take treatment for their addiction.
By Ian Kirby
PRIME Minister Tony Blair has refused to rule out sacking his embattled Home Secretary Charles Clarke.
In an exclusive News of the World interview he admitted there were "no excuses" for the catalogue of errors that allowed 1,023 foreign prisoners to be freed without deportation.
And the PM revealed the Home Secretary's long-term future would "depend on what happens" as officials and police try to trace lost offenders.
At the end of his worst week —but before the latest revelations about John Reid—the News of the World asked Mr Blair the toughest questions.
And in a combative question-and-answer session at 10 Downing Street, the PM:
ADMITTED he was "angry" at the prisoners debacle.
BLANKED questions about John Prescott.
INSISTED the week's events have made him more determined to stay on and complete his reforms.
ATTACKED the legal establishment for putting criminals before victims.
PROMISED new laws and police powers to combat anti-social behaviour.
ON CLARKE
News of the World: What was your reaction when you were told about the prisoners?
PRIME MINISTER: The reaction you'd expect—pretty angry about it. But it was important to get to the facts and see what people had been trying to do. I make no excuses for what happened, it was wrong and shouldn't have happened. The reason the problem was uncovered was because people started to make changes.
We had no knowledge until we started to work through the system about whether foreign prisoners were being deported.
NOTW: We still have no idea where most of them are or what they are capable of...
PM: It is important to say that of the 1,023 prisoners, 355 have been dealt with. They will work through the rest of them. I'm saying none of this in mitiga-tion—just presenting the facts.
This is a systemic failure that goes back over years. That's no excuse not for us to have sorted it out. What isn't correct is the impression this is a problem that has just arisen.
NOTW: Was it a quick decision for you not to accept the Home Secretary's resignation?
PM: Yes, because my point is: In the time he's been Home Secretary has he been trying to sort it out? Actually he has.
NOTW: But a News of the World reader would say, ‘Hold on, at what point does someone become responsible?'
PM: I think it's a fair point.
NOTW: When you look at our polls or randomly dip into our mailbag crime is the number one issue. People are sick of living in fear. But from that, surely, comes some accountability? He's known about this for some time.
PM: Yes, but he has been acting on it. That's where I disagree with people who say he's ignored it. He hasn't.
NOTW: Do we know where these people are?
PM: No, but this is a backlog going back over many years, including many years before he was Home Secretary.
NOTW: What changes have you put in place to stop this and isn't there a wider problem —the deportation system is overstretched, it cannot cope?
PM: We have made it easier to deport people. There is a strong case for saying people who are guilty of serious criminal offences and are foreign nationals—unless there is some very, very good reason—should be deported.
NOTW: If a serious crime is committed by one of these prisoners, does the situation regarding the Home Secretary change?
PM: I don't think I'm going to speculate. It depends on what happens, what the reasons are.
NOTW: The British crime survey last week said that two thirds of the public think sentences are too lenient. Why do courts refuse to get tough?
PM: The frustration for me is that I have been introducing legislation the public would support but we are constantly getting it watered down.
Its time to have a proper national debate about what we want our system to do.
NOTW: Why are victims' needs not being put first by courts?
PM: It's borne out of a completely mistaken view of civil liberties, because the civil liberty that should matter most is the right to be safe, free from fear.
NOTW: Surely you can pass whatever laws you want but if judges don't hand out the sentences it means nothing?
PM: Look, the judges should do their job and do it utterly independently of government. But judicial decisions don't happen in a different country, a different society. That's why you need to have a discussion about what's necessary.
NOTW: Do you believe in instant justice?
PM: The reason we introduced on-the-spot fines and fixed penalty notices is to say that you need an instant remedy. If they get a £100 fine they might think twice about doing it again.
NOTW: But judges have used the Human Rights Act to block this sort of justice and challenge tough sentencing.
PM: Yes, but it is perfectly right for courts to say that there are other human rights that have to be put in balance here.
NOTW: But they're not saying that, are they?
PM: No, and that's why I say that in the end this is not just about the laws we pass. It's about an attitude we have about the issue of civil liberties.
NOTW: Are you saying some judges put civil liberties ahead of public safety?
PM: I think it is that the system we have is not sufficiently geared to concerns of people.
NOTW: Do you regret the Human Rights Act?
PM: No, because all the Act did was give people the ability to challenge the government in this country. They already had that right in Europe.
ON STAYING ON
NOTW: May I ask you about your legacy?
PM: What? The ‘L' word we don't use?
NOTW: What jobs do you still have to do?
PM: The most important thing for me is to carry on the programme on the NHS, our schools, this whole business to do with anti-social behaviour and respect on our streets, which I believe passionately in and think are the things that people really expect me to do.
I'm not saying we haven't made mistakes, but what I can say is that if you look back over eight or nine years in the local communities it's very hard to say things have not improved. That's not to say there are not still massive challenges.
NOTW: Does a week like this make you more determined to see those changes through?
PM: Yes. The pressure, especially the longer you have been there, gets more intense.
Interesting
The comparison with Black Wednesday is quite interesting. Black Wednesday was the day the government lost control of the economy, interest rates shot up and this was a fundamental moment of the collapse of the government's policy.
I'm not saying this has not been a bad week because it obviously has been, but I don't feel that's where we're heading.
The very fact that a minister getting booed at a union conference is seen as the equivalent of Black Wednesday— well, hang on a minute!
First, is what she's trying to do right or wrong? Second, are there actually improvements in the service? Third. This is what happens when you are in government. Particularly if you go to address a conference where people have a particular interest.
If you measure the seriousness of this against the collapse of economic policy I think you see the world of difference that there is.
For me, the tough week is just another tough week.
ON HEWITT
NOTW: You said you were annoyed at the treatment Pat Hewitt got. Would you agree that the NHS has had its best year yet?
PM: I know that everyone is going to deride it, but what's the best way of measuring whether the NHS is doing well or not? It's by the results.
And all I can say is get a sense of balance. If you go to an accident and emergency department it is a different experience than it was four or five years ago. And if you are waiting for a heart operation you will wait for a lot shorter time than you did eight years ago.
Although you will have readers who have had bad experiences from the NHS, you will have many who have had excellent treatment.
ON PRESCOTT
NOTW: John Prescott, from 1995 to 1997, was at the forefront of the attacks on John Major over sleaze. He may now regret saying morality for a Tory meant not getting caught.
Prime Minister: I don't want to be difficult about it, but I don't want to comment on it.
NOTW: OK, let's not make it specific to John Prescott. It was a big part of your campaign to talk about your moral code.
PM: Yes, but I don't think I talked about the private lives of Tories. It would be a very bold political leader who says there will never be any problems in the personal lives of any of my ministers.
NOTW: Sure, but from the point of the readers, they completely bought into the idea of a sleaze-free Cabinet. We now have a Deputy PM who, having made his own attacks on the Tories, has been caught out.
PM: How many different ways do you want me to say nothing? There's nothing I can say except I think these are private matters and I don't think anybody in politics should cast stones at other people on that.
In respect of the Tories I don't think you would ever have found me making comments about their private lives.
ON NEW ASBO POWERS
NOTW: What new powers can you promise for this autumn?
PM: ASBOs do work but they can be difficult to get.
I think there is a case for allowing a senior police officer to impose an instant ASBO that then comes to court at a later time, so they can halt the offending behaviour straight away and then come to court at a later time so you can decide what happens to a person.
Breaching drug testing and treatment orders should be an arrestable offence. I've spoken to police officers who are fed up with people who breach their orders.
They can't arrest them for it and then it's months before they come back before the courts again.
I also think for people who sell drugs to youngsters there should be a minimum sentence. We do this for gun crime, and for unlawful possession of a firearm now is a minimum five-year sentence.
Support
On organised crime we need stronger powers to be able to open up the bank accounts and financial circumstances of people who have got no particular visible means of support but are living a lifestyle wholly inconsistent with that.
There is a very strong case in my view for allowing the police to seize cash or assets above £1,000 in value in circumstances where they suspect someone is involved in drug dealing.
Now that would give you an immediate ability to take a car or the cash off people who are operating in local communities.
I still think there is a gap between the powers needed on the ground to try to do some of these things and what is there now. What's there now is working when it's being used—there are drug dealers' houses being shut down, crack houses are being shut down. There are anti-social behaviour orders that do actually work when they are secured.
There are situations where as a result of people being tested for drugs on arrest they don't get bail if they're not prepared to take treatment for their addiction.
PRESCOTT: How he risked everything for lust
WE ROMPED IN HIS ROOM AFTER WAR SERVICE
By James Weatherup
TWO-SHAGS John Prescott is under new pressure after lurid claims in his mistress's sex diaries that they had FOUR shags a night.
Tracey Temple sensationally claims she gave the Deputy Prime Minister sex in his office as he was going though his government papers.
And, the News of the World can reveal, the secret affair only ended in the LAST MONTH, not in 2004, as the Deputy Prime Minister claimed.
In a series of devastating entries, leather-trousered secretary Tracey reveals how Prescott:
ROMPED with her in the afternoons in his office and at his plush grace-and-favour London home, Admiralty House
INDULGED in seedy phone sex when they couldn't be together
TOOK the secretary back to his flat to bed her immediately after they'd attended the Iraq war memorial service with the Queen
PERFORMED like a tiger and was incredibly enthusiastic in bed despite his age and bulk
SNEAKED into her room for sex at a hotel while trusting wife Pauline waited downstairs.
As bookies slashed the odds on his survival, lardy Prescott, 67, was holed up grim-faced inside his Hull mansion.
And temptress Tracey, 43, who loves to wear red leather trousers in all weathers, was facing the sack from his department over her embarrassing revelations.
But at the same time she bitterly accused Prescott of betraying her. She is furious that "lots of lies" have been told about her and protests she has been "dumped."
She said: "He exploited power for his own sexual gratification. We made love in John's office. We were lucky we never got caught."
Tracey, who has had flings with a string of other married men, logged their secret romps in astonishingly graphic and explicit hand-written diaries which reveal Prescott was a tiger in bed.
The man known as Two Jags was more than Two Shags. Three, and on one occasion even FOUR, times a night was common.
And she recorded breathlessly that she was delighted he was such a practised and adventurous lover with the passion and stamina of a man half his age.
She confided that she found it impossible to believe she was the first woman with whom the married Deputy Prime Minister had been unfaithful—because of his expert technique
She said "I find it unlikely that I am the first—or that I will be the last!"
The diaries records details of frantic, wild sex in his grand office at the Cabinet Office, at Admiralty House and at Dorneywood, his official country residence.
She also details another occasion in a Southampton hotel when Prescott had sex with her in her bedroon then brazenly went down to join Pauline—who was with them on an official trip—for dinner.
She also claims that Prescott had a string of lovers during his political career, including a parliamentary candidate 20 years ago.
And one of her diary items in the Mail on Sunday recalls how after the solemn Iraq war memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral, attended by the Queen, Prescott whisked her back to his flat desperate for a sex romp.
She says: "The service was nice. Had to go back to the flat with the boss. He can be a randy old sod at times coz he wanted sex again he was so up for it though."
She tells how he would regularly grope and grapple her during the working day. And when unable to be together they would coldly indulge in sordid phone sex.
Sometimes she would go to his flat once or twice a week, other weeks not at all. She said: "It was usually spontaneous. I would stay no more than an hour. We would have sex."
She recalls they first made love on Thursday Dec 19, 2002, the day after the office Christmas party. Tracey agreed to go back to Prescott's flat and as she walked in he started kissing her and undressing her. He carried her into the bedroom and went out of his way to make sure she was satisfied.
They had sex, then went into the kitchen for a coffee. She asked him if he had any regrets and he told her he hadn't.
Soon it was a full-blown affair. A pal told the News of the World how they used to have a secret code when they were in the office.
"He'd slip off to his flat and arrange for her to bring him something he'd forgotten. She'd then sneak off through the internal corridors"
We can also reveal that Tracey, Prescott's diary secretary, carried on having secret sex sessions with the passionate Deputy Prime Minister until just a few weeks ago.
One source added: "I think it only stopped when they were rumbled." Whitehall sources believe Prescott claimed the affair was historic in a desperate bid to get forgiveness from wife Pauline.
However, Prezza and Tracey continued with secret meetings at Prescott's Admiralty House flat until very recently. And the pair were even together in the days before the news of the affair broke.
When that happened her bosses initially supported her. They whisked her on to a plane to stay with her mother in the South of France and arranged new phone numbers.
But now she faces the sack for breaking the strict civil service code of behaviour. Having an affair with a minister is not in breach of it but speaking to the media without permission or selling a story is an instant sacking offence.
Last night furious Tracey hit out at the way she'd been treated
She said: "A lot of lies have been put about about me which have been very upsetting and distressing to me and my family.
"I have done nothing to bring this upon myself. Yes, I had an affair. Yes, John Prescott and I had an affair."
On how Prescott issued a statement confirming his adultery, Tracey added: "He wasn't going to say anything about it, and I certainly wasn't. But I wasn't given any choice!"
She claimed that since the affair became public she has been "betrayed, dumped" by Prescott, the civil service and the government and left to cope with the flak alone while everyone else focused on protecting the Deputy Prime Minister's reputation.
She added: "Everybody else is giving their version of what I am meant to have done and what I'm meant to have said and what went on. There are only really two people who know. Now the world is going to know."
Tracey also revealed how she performed oral sex on him Monica Lewinsky-style in his Whitehall office.
She told how, in an astonishing abuse of power, they even did it with the door open.
She said: "If I was wearing a skirt he would slide his hand up my leg, under it. He used to stroke my back.
"And yes, I did give him sex in the office a couple of times. We were very lucky we were never caught as we never shut the door."
Tracey revealed how married Prescott demanded sex from her in his grand office-while civil servants worked outside.
Sometimes they did it behind the desk, other times just inside the door.
She told the Mail on Sunday how he would grope her when she went into his office for diary meetings.
Breasts
He would touch her, kiss her and cuddle her behind his desk and things would go on from there. It was quite risky.
The temptress also recorded in her bombshell sex diaries that Prescott got frisky in the Admiralty boardroom, a government conference room.
Tracey revealed how when she went in to take some notes he touched her breasts and started kissing her.
But in her diaries she said that on more than one occasion she was worried about 67-year-old Prescott's health.
Tracey said their affair lasted two years during which she met Tony and Cherie Blair and all the leading Cabinet ministers. But she believed none of them suspected that anything was going on between them.
She also said she had a close relationship with Prescott's wife Pauline, 66, and never wanted to break up their marriage.
Tracey has always been open about her relationships to her friends, and often boasted about her sex diaries.
She boasted to friends that she liked to record "every kiss, snog, grope, and ****" she ever had."
Viagra
She explained: "You're only young once, I don't want to forget any of it when I get old and I'm past it!"
As her betrayed ex-fiance Barrie Williams, 46, has revealed, she enjoyed regular boozy nights out with her friends when the conversation would get spicy.
She would regularly start giggling about her hot and heavy affair with her married boss, one of the most famous and powerful men in the country.
She told the pal: "It's fantastic, amazing. He's so strong and confident. He says while we have to be discreet to at least some extent we have nothing to be ashamed of, we're two consenting adults, so why should we skulk in corners when we're together without our partners?"
The pal said: "Tracey told us her affair with Prezza was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her. She loved talking about it, and told us that she was writing it all down in her diary.
"At the beginning I used to take the mickey out of their sex life, ‘What's it like bedding a pensioner? Does he need Viagra? Does it last more than 30 seconds?' That kind of thing.
"But she soon put me straight on that! She said he was an eager and energetic lover it staggered her. She said he couldn't get enough, and he could go on long after she was tired.
"She insisted he was far more than once a night. Once she came back the morning after a night out when we'd been gossiping about his prowess to tell me, ‘I checked my diary, we DID do it four times in one night once!'
A source close to Prescott—who was at home in Hull last night trying to save his marriage to Pauline, his loyal wife of 44 years—revealed: "John is a big, physical type of person.
"Like Tracey, he is a very tactile person and they just clicked sexually.
"She couldn't keep her hands off him and he responded in kind. She told friends that he was very eager and energetic lover."He was having a lot of dirty fun at his wife's expense."
By James Weatherup
TWO-SHAGS John Prescott is under new pressure after lurid claims in his mistress's sex diaries that they had FOUR shags a night.
Tracey Temple sensationally claims she gave the Deputy Prime Minister sex in his office as he was going though his government papers.
And, the News of the World can reveal, the secret affair only ended in the LAST MONTH, not in 2004, as the Deputy Prime Minister claimed.
In a series of devastating entries, leather-trousered secretary Tracey reveals how Prescott:
ROMPED with her in the afternoons in his office and at his plush grace-and-favour London home, Admiralty House
INDULGED in seedy phone sex when they couldn't be together
TOOK the secretary back to his flat to bed her immediately after they'd attended the Iraq war memorial service with the Queen
PERFORMED like a tiger and was incredibly enthusiastic in bed despite his age and bulk
SNEAKED into her room for sex at a hotel while trusting wife Pauline waited downstairs.
As bookies slashed the odds on his survival, lardy Prescott, 67, was holed up grim-faced inside his Hull mansion.
And temptress Tracey, 43, who loves to wear red leather trousers in all weathers, was facing the sack from his department over her embarrassing revelations.
But at the same time she bitterly accused Prescott of betraying her. She is furious that "lots of lies" have been told about her and protests she has been "dumped."
She said: "He exploited power for his own sexual gratification. We made love in John's office. We were lucky we never got caught."
Tracey, who has had flings with a string of other married men, logged their secret romps in astonishingly graphic and explicit hand-written diaries which reveal Prescott was a tiger in bed.
The man known as Two Jags was more than Two Shags. Three, and on one occasion even FOUR, times a night was common.
And she recorded breathlessly that she was delighted he was such a practised and adventurous lover with the passion and stamina of a man half his age.
She confided that she found it impossible to believe she was the first woman with whom the married Deputy Prime Minister had been unfaithful—because of his expert technique
She said "I find it unlikely that I am the first—or that I will be the last!"
The diaries records details of frantic, wild sex in his grand office at the Cabinet Office, at Admiralty House and at Dorneywood, his official country residence.
She also details another occasion in a Southampton hotel when Prescott had sex with her in her bedroon then brazenly went down to join Pauline—who was with them on an official trip—for dinner.
She also claims that Prescott had a string of lovers during his political career, including a parliamentary candidate 20 years ago.
And one of her diary items in the Mail on Sunday recalls how after the solemn Iraq war memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral, attended by the Queen, Prescott whisked her back to his flat desperate for a sex romp.
She says: "The service was nice. Had to go back to the flat with the boss. He can be a randy old sod at times coz he wanted sex again he was so up for it though."
She tells how he would regularly grope and grapple her during the working day. And when unable to be together they would coldly indulge in sordid phone sex.
Sometimes she would go to his flat once or twice a week, other weeks not at all. She said: "It was usually spontaneous. I would stay no more than an hour. We would have sex."
She recalls they first made love on Thursday Dec 19, 2002, the day after the office Christmas party. Tracey agreed to go back to Prescott's flat and as she walked in he started kissing her and undressing her. He carried her into the bedroom and went out of his way to make sure she was satisfied.
They had sex, then went into the kitchen for a coffee. She asked him if he had any regrets and he told her he hadn't.
Soon it was a full-blown affair. A pal told the News of the World how they used to have a secret code when they were in the office.
"He'd slip off to his flat and arrange for her to bring him something he'd forgotten. She'd then sneak off through the internal corridors"
We can also reveal that Tracey, Prescott's diary secretary, carried on having secret sex sessions with the passionate Deputy Prime Minister until just a few weeks ago.
One source added: "I think it only stopped when they were rumbled." Whitehall sources believe Prescott claimed the affair was historic in a desperate bid to get forgiveness from wife Pauline.
However, Prezza and Tracey continued with secret meetings at Prescott's Admiralty House flat until very recently. And the pair were even together in the days before the news of the affair broke.
When that happened her bosses initially supported her. They whisked her on to a plane to stay with her mother in the South of France and arranged new phone numbers.
But now she faces the sack for breaking the strict civil service code of behaviour. Having an affair with a minister is not in breach of it but speaking to the media without permission or selling a story is an instant sacking offence.
Last night furious Tracey hit out at the way she'd been treated
She said: "A lot of lies have been put about about me which have been very upsetting and distressing to me and my family.
"I have done nothing to bring this upon myself. Yes, I had an affair. Yes, John Prescott and I had an affair."
On how Prescott issued a statement confirming his adultery, Tracey added: "He wasn't going to say anything about it, and I certainly wasn't. But I wasn't given any choice!"
She claimed that since the affair became public she has been "betrayed, dumped" by Prescott, the civil service and the government and left to cope with the flak alone while everyone else focused on protecting the Deputy Prime Minister's reputation.
She added: "Everybody else is giving their version of what I am meant to have done and what I'm meant to have said and what went on. There are only really two people who know. Now the world is going to know."
Tracey also revealed how she performed oral sex on him Monica Lewinsky-style in his Whitehall office.
She told how, in an astonishing abuse of power, they even did it with the door open.
She said: "If I was wearing a skirt he would slide his hand up my leg, under it. He used to stroke my back.
"And yes, I did give him sex in the office a couple of times. We were very lucky we were never caught as we never shut the door."
Tracey revealed how married Prescott demanded sex from her in his grand office-while civil servants worked outside.
Sometimes they did it behind the desk, other times just inside the door.
She told the Mail on Sunday how he would grope her when she went into his office for diary meetings.
Breasts
He would touch her, kiss her and cuddle her behind his desk and things would go on from there. It was quite risky.
The temptress also recorded in her bombshell sex diaries that Prescott got frisky in the Admiralty boardroom, a government conference room.
Tracey revealed how when she went in to take some notes he touched her breasts and started kissing her.
But in her diaries she said that on more than one occasion she was worried about 67-year-old Prescott's health.
Tracey said their affair lasted two years during which she met Tony and Cherie Blair and all the leading Cabinet ministers. But she believed none of them suspected that anything was going on between them.
She also said she had a close relationship with Prescott's wife Pauline, 66, and never wanted to break up their marriage.
Tracey has always been open about her relationships to her friends, and often boasted about her sex diaries.
She boasted to friends that she liked to record "every kiss, snog, grope, and ****" she ever had."
Viagra
She explained: "You're only young once, I don't want to forget any of it when I get old and I'm past it!"
As her betrayed ex-fiance Barrie Williams, 46, has revealed, she enjoyed regular boozy nights out with her friends when the conversation would get spicy.
She would regularly start giggling about her hot and heavy affair with her married boss, one of the most famous and powerful men in the country.
She told the pal: "It's fantastic, amazing. He's so strong and confident. He says while we have to be discreet to at least some extent we have nothing to be ashamed of, we're two consenting adults, so why should we skulk in corners when we're together without our partners?"
The pal said: "Tracey told us her affair with Prezza was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her. She loved talking about it, and told us that she was writing it all down in her diary.
"At the beginning I used to take the mickey out of their sex life, ‘What's it like bedding a pensioner? Does he need Viagra? Does it last more than 30 seconds?' That kind of thing.
"But she soon put me straight on that! She said he was an eager and energetic lover it staggered her. She said he couldn't get enough, and he could go on long after she was tired.
"She insisted he was far more than once a night. Once she came back the morning after a night out when we'd been gossiping about his prowess to tell me, ‘I checked my diary, we DID do it four times in one night once!'
A source close to Prescott—who was at home in Hull last night trying to save his marriage to Pauline, his loyal wife of 44 years—revealed: "John is a big, physical type of person.
"Like Tracey, he is a very tactile person and they just clicked sexually.
"She couldn't keep her hands off him and he responded in kind. She told friends that he was very eager and energetic lover."He was having a lot of dirty fun at his wife's expense."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)