The papers all cover the clearing of a Japanese businessmen over the killing of Lucie Blackman
No Justice for Lucy says the Telegraph
The father of Lucie Blackman said yesterday that she had been robbed of justice after a Japanese court cleared a businessman of her killing.
Joji Obara, 54, was sentenced to life in jail for a series of rapes and the manslaughter of an Australian woman, Carita Ridgway, in 1992.
But the 54-year-old property developer was acquitted of all charges relating to Miss Blackman, who was raped and murdered after she disappeared in July 2000 while working as a nightclub hostess in Tokyo. Prosecutors in Japan have a 99 per cent conviction rate and, after the hearing, Tim Blackman blamed the acquittal on a prosecution failure to present "crucial evidence". Mr Blackman, 53, told a Tokyo press conference that justice had not been done and that he would seek an appeal.
Lucie's family torn to bits says the Sun
No Justice for Lucy says the Telegraph
The father of Lucie Blackman said yesterday that she had been robbed of justice after a Japanese court cleared a businessman of her killing.
Joji Obara, 54, was sentenced to life in jail for a series of rapes and the manslaughter of an Australian woman, Carita Ridgway, in 1992.
But the 54-year-old property developer was acquitted of all charges relating to Miss Blackman, who was raped and murdered after she disappeared in July 2000 while working as a nightclub hostess in Tokyo. Prosecutors in Japan have a 99 per cent conviction rate and, after the hearing, Tim Blackman blamed the acquittal on a prosecution failure to present "crucial evidence". Mr Blackman, 53, told a Tokyo press conference that justice had not been done and that he would seek an appeal.
Lucie's family torn to bits says the Sun
THE anguished mother of Lucie Blackman — raped and murdered in Japan — last night accused her ex-husband of putting cash before justice.
Jane Steare released a document which she says proves Tim Blackman helped wreck the prosecution of property developer Joji Obara after accepting a £450,000 “blood money” payment.
Tim denies helping the defence and says he signed the document merely to highlight “discrepancies” he hoped prosecutors would probe.
Obara was yesterday dramatically cleared of any involvement in Lucie’s death, but was convicted over a string of rapes and the death of another woman.
Jane Steare released a document which she says proves Tim Blackman helped wreck the prosecution of property developer Joji Obara after accepting a £450,000 “blood money” payment.
Tim denies helping the defence and says he signed the document merely to highlight “discrepancies” he hoped prosecutors would probe.
Obara was yesterday dramatically cleared of any involvement in Lucie’s death, but was convicted over a string of rapes and the death of another woman.
The Independent says
Ms Blackman's father Tim, who sat in court feet from Obara as the verdict was being read out, called it a "bitter disappointment".
"Today we witnessed Lucy giving her life for justice for others. But unfortunately we have not received justice for Lucy," he said. "We have been left feeling completely unresolved."
The lead judge, Tsutomu Tochigi, said there was "nothing to prove that the defendant was directly involved" in the rape and death of the 21-year-old former flight attendant, but acknowledged "suspicion", along with substantial circumstantial evidence linking Obara to the crime.
"Today we witnessed Lucy giving her life for justice for others. But unfortunately we have not received justice for Lucy," he said. "We have been left feeling completely unresolved."
The lead judge, Tsutomu Tochigi, said there was "nothing to prove that the defendant was directly involved" in the rape and death of the 21-year-old former flight attendant, but acknowledged "suspicion", along with substantial circumstantial evidence linking Obara to the crime.
The Mail leads with the latest on the Diana inquiry
Diana inquest: a new fiasco
Princes William and Harry faced fresh anguish last night after the inquest into Princess Diana's death descended into shambles.
In a shock announcement, the coroner Baroness Butler-Sloss said she was standing down because she was not up to the task of handling the much-delayed case.
In a shock announcement, the coroner Baroness Butler-Sloss said she was standing down because she was not up to the task of handling the much-delayed case.
DIANA FIASCO says the front page of the Mirror
THE Princess Diana inquest coroner quit yesterday in a fresh shambles.
Lady Butler-Sloss said she lacked the proper experience.
She will be replaced by Lord Justice Scott Baker, the case's third coroner in nine months.
Tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed who died 10 years ago with Diana, said: "This is further indication of an Establishment cover-up."
The chaotic Princess Diana inquest saga was branded an expensive "mockery" yesterday.
Fury erupted after coroner Baroness Butler-Sloss decided to step down because she said she lacked the experience.
It was the latest in a series of setbacks that have plagued the inquest which has still to start 10 years after the princess died in a car crash.
Lady Butler-Sloss said she lacked the proper experience.
She will be replaced by Lord Justice Scott Baker, the case's third coroner in nine months.
Tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed who died 10 years ago with Diana, said: "This is further indication of an Establishment cover-up."
The chaotic Princess Diana inquest saga was branded an expensive "mockery" yesterday.
Fury erupted after coroner Baroness Butler-Sloss decided to step down because she said she lacked the experience.
It was the latest in a series of setbacks that have plagued the inquest which has still to start 10 years after the princess died in a car crash.
DIANA NEW SENSATION is the front of the Express
Royal sources also made it clear that any delay will cause real anguish to Princes William and Harry.Critics immediately pointed out that, as Britain’s longest-serving judge when she retired in 2005 with 50 years experience of the law, Lady Butler-Sloss must have been aware of her legal limitations and should never have accepted one of the most sensitive judicial roles.Legal observers now fear that the hearing which could finally establish the whole truth behind Diana’s death – which it was hoped would start in October – will now have to be moved back and may not begin until next year.
The Broadsheets all lead with different stories this morning.The Guardian says
In 2005, G8 pledged $50bn for Africa. Now the reality
The west's foot-dragging over aid pledges to Africa was described last night as "grotesque" and a threat to the lives of the world's poor by the body set up by Tony Blair to monitor the results of Britain's Gleneagles summit.
Almost two years after the G8 group of leading industrial nations promised to boost development assistance by $50bn a year by 2010, the Africa Progress Panel headed by the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said rich countries were only 10% of the way to their target.
Almost two years after the G8 group of leading industrial nations promised to boost development assistance by $50bn a year by 2010, the Africa Progress Panel headed by the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said rich countries were only 10% of the way to their target.
The Independent reports on
The Great Pall of China
Explosive growth means China will overtake America this year as world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases
Explosive growth means China will overtake America this year as world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases
In a seismic shift for the world, China will overtake the United States as the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases this year, far earlier than thought - and present the problem of tackling climate change in even more difficult terms.
The Chinese economy, which is now growing at the unprecedented rate of 11 per cent annually, is sending carbon emissions from China's mushrooming coal-fired power stations beyond those of the whole of the US, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday.
Less than three years ago the Paris-based IEA forecast that China would overtake the US as the world's biggest polluter - but not before 2025. More recently it said that China would be first by 2010.
The Chinese economy, which is now growing at the unprecedented rate of 11 per cent annually, is sending carbon emissions from China's mushrooming coal-fired power stations beyond those of the whole of the US, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday.
Less than three years ago the Paris-based IEA forecast that China would overtake the US as the world's biggest polluter - but not before 2025. More recently it said that China would be first by 2010.
The Telegraph returns to the theme of health
Hospital failings allow superbugs to spread It says
Thousands of patients risk contracting potentially deadly superbugs because NHS hospitals are not taking basic steps to stop the spread of infection, research for The Daily Telegraph reveals today.
An independent study of 167 NHS hospital trusts in England found that infection control was in a state of disarray, with hospitals unable to reassure the public that they are screening and isolating enough infected patients.
An independent study of 167 NHS hospital trusts in England found that infection control was in a state of disarray, with hospitals unable to reassure the public that they are screening and isolating enough infected patients.
The Times reports that with the smoking ban only 2 months away
Smokers need time off to quit says NHS watchdog
Employees who smoke must be given time to attend clinics to help them to quit during working hours without loss of pay, new public health guidance recommends today.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) claims that the proposal will cut the £5 billion annual cost of lost productivity, absenteeism and fire damage caused by smoking.
It believes that a business with five smokers could spend just £66 on providing advice, including the cost of lost employees’ time, and see an overall saving of around £350 in improved productivity.
It is the first time that NICE has issued guidance that applies beyond the NHS, effectively including every workplace in England. The recommendations come as all workplaces, from offices to factories and pubs, prepare to go smoke-free on July 1.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) claims that the proposal will cut the £5 billion annual cost of lost productivity, absenteeism and fire damage caused by smoking.
It believes that a business with five smokers could spend just £66 on providing advice, including the cost of lost employees’ time, and see an overall saving of around £350 in improved productivity.
It is the first time that NICE has issued guidance that applies beyond the NHS, effectively including every workplace in England. The recommendations come as all workplaces, from offices to factories and pubs, prepare to go smoke-free on July 1.
With the local elections a week away the Guardian reports that its lastest Icm poll shows
Voters turn their backs on Labour and Tories
One in three voters have turned their backs on Labour and the Conservatives and now back the Lib Dems or a smaller party such as the Greens or the SNP. Support for Labour is down one point on last month, at 30%. The Conservatives have dropped four points to 37%.
The Liberal Democrats, campaigning hard to defend half their council seats on May 3, rise three points to 21%. Other smaller parties climb to 12%, including 2% each for the Greens and Ukip.
The poll sets out the landscape across which Labour's next leader - almost certainly Gordon Brown - will have to rebuild support if he is to have a chance of winning Labour a fourth term in power.
A majority of voters, 54%, say the next general election should bring a change of government. Only 21% think Britain should stick with Labour.
The poll sets out the landscape across which Labour's next leader - almost certainly Gordon Brown - will have to rebuild support if he is to have a chance of winning Labour a fourth term in power.
A majority of voters, 54%, say the next general election should bring a change of government. Only 21% think Britain should stick with Labour.
The Telegraph also shows that voters have other concerns on their minds
Election spotlight falls on weekly bin battle
Campaigning on the threat, which comes after the Telegraph revealed last week that weekly rounds have been ended for households in four out of 10 councils in England, stretches across party boundaries with Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates pledging to reinstate the weekly collection.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart, chairman of Local the Government Association, said the elections had seen rising concern among council taxpayers. "It is more of an issue than it was," he added.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart, chairman of Local the Government Association, said the elections had seen rising concern among council taxpayers. "It is more of an issue than it was," he added.
As does the Mail which
leads the great bin collection revolt
Millions of households are in danger of losing any say over whether they receive a weekly rubbish collection.
Laws are being drawn up to give town halls the power to switch their entire refuse collection services to unelected bodies.
This means councils will no longer be answerable through the ballotbox for cuts in their waste services.
The new organisations - to be named "joint waste authorities" - will have the right to scrap weekly rubbish collections and replace them with controversial recycling schemes which mean collections once a fortnight.
Laws are being drawn up to give town halls the power to switch their entire refuse collection services to unelected bodies.
This means councils will no longer be answerable through the ballotbox for cuts in their waste services.
The new organisations - to be named "joint waste authorities" - will have the right to scrap weekly rubbish collections and replace them with controversial recycling schemes which mean collections once a fortnight.
The Mirror reports yesterdays comments by Tony Blair
AL-QAEDA WILL HIT UK, WARNS PM
TONY Blair yesterday warned al-Qae-da would "come after" the UK unless Britain carried on fighting them in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Speaking before a meeting of a new anti-terror group in 10 Downing Street he said people needed to realise the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were all part of the battle against terror.
He said he knew his view was "not popular". But he added: "This is a very deep-rooted problem right round the world. If we don't fight it it's going to come after us."
He spoke before he and other ministers were briefed by the new head of MI5 Jonathan Evans about the terror threat. Mr Blair's spokesman said the new committee was a "recognition of the seriousness of the threat".
Speaking before a meeting of a new anti-terror group in 10 Downing Street he said people needed to realise the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were all part of the battle against terror.
He said he knew his view was "not popular". But he added: "This is a very deep-rooted problem right round the world. If we don't fight it it's going to come after us."
He spoke before he and other ministers were briefed by the new head of MI5 Jonathan Evans about the terror threat. Mr Blair's spokesman said the new committee was a "recognition of the seriousness of the threat".
Reid denies department split will lead to liberal clash with hardliners reports the Guardian
Mr Reid admitted to MPs yesterday that the split, to be implemented without legislation on May 9, will see his department shedding 50,000 staff to the new Ministry of Justice, which will also take over lead responsibility for criminal justice legislation, including a forthcoming crime bill.
Adding that
The home secretary revealed that the new Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) will get £15m to recruit its 350 staff to provide a "strategic centre" in government to coordinate the counterterrorist "battle of values and ideas" across government. Its new director-general will be recruited within the next six weeks and although 200 Home Office civil servants will form its backbone, the rest of its staff will be drawn from a wide background.
PM smuggles in new EU treaty says the Sun continuing its attack on any new treaty
TONY Blair was accused last night of “smuggling” through a surrender of British power to Brussels without giving voters a say.
The PM was savaged for plotting with Germany to bring in a rewritten EU Constitution by the back door.
The deal, which would see an irreversible handover of power, was “stitched up” in talks in Berlin. He has said there will be NO referendum.
Critics say it will mean: No more OVERTIME for millions of workers; UNELECTED European judges with power over UK suspects and FOREIGN cops acting on British soil.
Firms will have JOB-destroying laws foisted on them and WEALTH-hitting laws will hamper the City.
The PM was savaged for plotting with Germany to bring in a rewritten EU Constitution by the back door.
The deal, which would see an irreversible handover of power, was “stitched up” in talks in Berlin. He has said there will be NO referendum.
Critics say it will mean: No more OVERTIME for millions of workers; UNELECTED European judges with power over UK suspects and FOREIGN cops acting on British soil.
Firms will have JOB-destroying laws foisted on them and WEALTH-hitting laws will hamper the City.
Half of foreign lorries tested on Britain’s roads found to be dangerous says the Times
Half the foreign lorries checked on British roads last year had serious safety defects that could have resulted in crashes, according to official figures.
Eastern European lorries were the worst offenders, with prohibition notices placed on 62 per cent of those from the Czech Republic, 61 per cent from Romania, 55 per cent from Latvia, 52 per cent from Bulgaria and 49 per cent from Poland.
Foreign lorry drivers were more than twice as likely as British drivers to have breached rules on the maximum time spent behind the wheel without a break. More than 37 per cent of drivers of lorries registered in Greece had exceeded that limit, compared with 9 per cent of British drivers.
Eastern European lorries were the worst offenders, with prohibition notices placed on 62 per cent of those from the Czech Republic, 61 per cent from Romania, 55 per cent from Latvia, 52 per cent from Bulgaria and 49 per cent from Poland.
Foreign lorry drivers were more than twice as likely as British drivers to have breached rules on the maximum time spent behind the wheel without a break. More than 37 per cent of drivers of lorries registered in Greece had exceeded that limit, compared with 9 per cent of British drivers.
The Independent reports that
Illegal migrants' right to work wins support of public in poll
A campaign for an estimated 500,000 illegal workers in Britain to be given the official right to earn a living would have popular support, according to findings in an opinion poll.
The plight of illegal immigrants who are denied any right to work has been called "modern-day slavery". It is said to be flourishing in Britain while we avert our eyes to the scandal under our noses.
Liam Byrne, the Immigration minister, said mass migration had enriched Britain but left UK society so "unsettled" that the issue could cost Labour the next general election.
But an opinion poll commissioned by Strangers into Citizens - a campaign to give employment rights to illegal immigrants -shows that 66 per cent of people in the UK would accept refused asylum-seekers and those who had overstayed their visas if they worked and paid taxes. The poll was conducted last weekend by ORB with a sample of 1,004 adults across the UK.
The plight of illegal immigrants who are denied any right to work has been called "modern-day slavery". It is said to be flourishing in Britain while we avert our eyes to the scandal under our noses.
Liam Byrne, the Immigration minister, said mass migration had enriched Britain but left UK society so "unsettled" that the issue could cost Labour the next general election.
But an opinion poll commissioned by Strangers into Citizens - a campaign to give employment rights to illegal immigrants -shows that 66 per cent of people in the UK would accept refused asylum-seekers and those who had overstayed their visas if they worked and paid taxes. The poll was conducted last weekend by ORB with a sample of 1,004 adults across the UK.
The Times claims
Ted Heath ‘propositioned men for sex’
A senior gay Conservative claimed yesterday that Sir Edward Heath propositioned men for sex in the 1950s.
Brian Coleman, chairman of the London Assembly, claimed that the former Prime Minister curbed his behaviour after he was warned that it would harm his career.
Asked to substantiate his claims, Mr Coleman told The Times: “I have this on very good authority. There were many stories about Ted Heath. I did not know him well myself, but have been told this by people who did.
“It was certainly not a secret that he was an old queen. I have been told that he was warned about his behaviour and then stopped.”
Brian Coleman, chairman of the London Assembly, claimed that the former Prime Minister curbed his behaviour after he was warned that it would harm his career.
Asked to substantiate his claims, Mr Coleman told The Times: “I have this on very good authority. There were many stories about Ted Heath. I did not know him well myself, but have been told this by people who did.
“It was certainly not a secret that he was an old queen. I have been told that he was warned about his behaviour and then stopped.”
ANGER OVER CLAIMS HEATH WENT 'COTTAGING' says the Express
ALLEGATIONS that Sir Edward Heath sought gay sex in public places provoked fury among senior Tories last night.
Finally most of the papers carry the story of the discovery of a new earth.The Mail has the story as a front page banner declaring that
It's got the same climate as Earth, plus water and gravity. A newly discovered planet is the most stunning evidence that life - just like us - might be out there.
Above a calm, dark ocean, a huge, bloated red sun rises in the sky - a full ten times the size of our Sun as seen from Earth. Small waves lap at a sandy shore and on the beach, something stirs... This is the scene - or may be the scene - on what is possibly the most extraordinary world to have been discovered by astronomers: the first truly Earth-like planet to have been found outside our Solar System.
The discovery was announced today by a team of European astronomers, using a telescope in La Silla in the Chilean Andes.
Above a calm, dark ocean, a huge, bloated red sun rises in the sky - a full ten times the size of our Sun as seen from Earth. Small waves lap at a sandy shore and on the beach, something stirs... This is the scene - or may be the scene - on what is possibly the most extraordinary world to have been discovered by astronomers: the first truly Earth-like planet to have been found outside our Solar System.
The discovery was announced today by a team of European astronomers, using a telescope in La Silla in the Chilean Andes.
THE NEW EARTH
Planet may support life says the Mirror
Planet may support life says the Mirror
Dr Seth Shostak of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Institute in the US said: "I am excited about this discovery. We assumed small planets will exist in great numbers, and some by chance will be in the habitable zone."
He added that since Gliese 581 is much older than the Sun, life on the planet may have existed for longer than on Earth and could therefore be more advanced.
Dr Shostak said: "Life on Earth is four billion years old and it's taken all of that to produce us. The older the star, maybe the greater the chance it has produced something clever."
He added that since Gliese 581 is much older than the Sun, life on the planet may have existed for longer than on Earth and could therefore be more advanced.
Dr Shostak said: "Life on Earth is four billion years old and it's taken all of that to produce us. The older the star, maybe the greater the chance it has produced something clever."
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