Clifford raps ‘damaging’ sex claims
PR guru Max Clifford has protested his innocence after being arrested by detectives investigating the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal - describing the allegations as “damaging and totally untrue”.
The publicist was held at his Surrey home at 7.40am yesterday on suspicion of sexual offences and taken to Belgravia police station in central London for questioning.
He was arrested as part of Operation Yewtree, the investigation into allegations of sex abuse surrounding Savile and others, before being bailed at around 9.20pm.
£1.9m for military-style education
FORMER soldiers will be sent into classrooms to instil discipline and raise results among troubled youngsters, ministers announced today.
Under a new £1.9 million initiative, four projects will be set up to pass on values taught in the military to children who have been excluded from school, Education Secretary Michael Gove said.
Ex-servicemen will be employed to help instil teamwork, discipline and leadership skills through mentoring, outdoor activities and other group exercises such as military-style obstacle courses.
Taxpayers face ‘significant’ bill
TAXPAYERS face a “significant” bill over the botched West Coast rail franchise process, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said.
The Department for Transport’s (DfT) running of the West Coast bidding process lacked management oversight, with some staff “confused” by the system, the National Audit Office (NAO) report said.
The Government has already indicated that repaying bidding costs to the companies competing for the franchise is likely to land taxpayers with a bill of around £40 million.
More Muslim men in youth jails
THE proportion of young Muslim men in youth jails in England and Wales rose by more than a quarter last year, figures showed today.
One in five males (21%) in young offender institutions (YOIs) identified themselves as Muslim in 2011/12, compared with 13% in 2009/10 and 16% in 2010/11, the annual review of children and young people in custody showed.
The proportion of youth offenders in custody from black and minority ethnic communities also rose slightly to 42%, from 39% in 2010/11, according to the report by the chief inspector of prisons.
Pirate site student pays US £20,000
A STUDENT who ran a website where users could stream pirated films has “avoided a conviction” after paying £20,000 to US authorities, his lawyer has said.
Richard O’Dwyer, from Sheffield, ran the TVShack website hosting links to pirated films and TV programmes.
After a court hearing in New York, the 24-year-old avoided extradition and conviction by signing a deferred prosecution agreement.
