News in Brief

Bank bans card use

Egg, the online bank, is to ban 161,000 of its customers — many with perfect credit ratings — from using their credit cards. The lender has written to the customers to tell them that their agreements will end in 35 days because they have a “higher than acceptable risk profile”. They will still be expected to pay existing balances. The bank is looking to get rid of unprofitable customers after its parent company, Citigroup, was exposed to bad debt in the US sub-prime crisis.

GP jailed for rape

A GP who used Bollywood chat-up lines and poetry as he drugged two virgin brides-to-be before raping one and attempting to rape the other was jailed for 11 years by Snaresbrook Crown Court, East London. Anil Tangotra, 53, of Ilford, gave false names as he tried to portray himself as a Mr Right to the women he met through an online marriage bureau. He is serving an 18-month General Medical Council suspension and faces permanent removal.

Scientist killed wife

A scientist who tried to kill his wife with anaesthetic before smothering her to death with a cushion was told at Sheffield Crown Court he must serve at least 15 years in prison for her murder. Andrew Booth, 44, the head of biomedical sciences at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, had also spiked Lorraine Booth’s drinks with ethanol before she died at their home in Barnsley last July, the court was told. He was found guilty by an 11-1 majority.

Baby taken from teenage mother for second time

A baby boy taken from his teenage mother by social workers hours after he was born, then returned after a High Court ruling, is to be placed with foster parents after all.

A district judge granted social workers from Nottingham City Council an interim care order allowing them to place the child, named only as “G”, with foster parents, although the 18-year-old mother – said to have mental problems, and who was herself in care after running away from home – will be allowed to visit frequently. The child was removed by social workers just two hours after his birth early on Wednesday morning. The mother’s solicitor believed the social workers had not followed proper legal procedures and took the case to the High Court the same day, where Mr Justice Munby ordered that the baby be returned immediately. They were reunited 46 minutes after the ruling.

However, District Judge Richard Inglis ruled at Nottingham County Court yesterday that G should remain with foster parents “while further inquiries are made and assessments carried out”. He added that there was still a chance that the mother would be able to care for him. Interim care orders normally run for about eight weeks and are then reviewed.

Kercher theft theory

Police investigating the murder of Meredith Kercher said that her handbag had traces of blood from Rudy Guede, the Ivory Coast immigrant and drugs dealer, who is one of the three suspects.

Traces of Ms Kercher’s blood were inside the bag and Mr Guede’s was on the outside, suggesting that theft may have been a motive in the killing, investigators said. Ms Kercher, a Leeds University student who had started a course at Perugia University for Foreigners, had withdrawn €250 (£188) from a bank machine to pay her rent. The money has never been found.

Police said that they were unable to confirm reports that DNA traces not matching the three suspects had been found on Ms Kercher’s bra, suggesting that others were also involved in her murder.

Trust boss in pay-off fight

The former head of an NHS trust at the centre of a Clostridium difficile scandal has rejected a pay-off of £75,000 to fight for the full amount she claims she is owed, her union said yesterday. Rose Gibb left Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust by mutual agreement after a report revealed that appalling hygiene standards had contributed to 90 deaths. The trust said last week that she would be given half her annual salary of £145,000 to £150,000 as severance pay. But last night the Managers in Partnership union said Ms Gibb believed she was entitled to £150,000.

Wash no longer washed up

The most important haven for wetland wildlife in Britain is back in good health, a decade after it was condemned as being in disastrous decline.

Overfishing in the Wash left shellfish populations, a vital source of food for many other creatures, at a low.

Conservation measures to protect the sand and mudflats in the Wash, between the north Norfolk and Lincolnshire coasts, were introduced with the cooperation of local fishing industry groups and yesterday the organisation Natural England was able to announce that the Wash is again a flourishing habitat. Sir Martin Doughty, chairman of Natural England, said it was an example of how, through partnerships, “we can achieve a sustainable future for both the natural environment and the economy”.

Prison term ‘too lenient’

A dentist who was stopped at Heathrow on his way to fight British troops in Afghanistan could have to spend longer in prison after Baroness Scotland of Asthal, QC, the Attorney-General, appealed yesterday against his “unduly lenient” sentence. The 4½ years passed on Sohail Qureshi will be considered by the Court of Appeal. Qureshi, 30, of Forest Gate, East London, who was born in Pakistan, admitted a range of terrorism offences. Prosecution lawyers and police believe that the sentence gave an impression that preparing for terrorism was a minor offence.

Record drug haul jailing

The head of a drug smuggling ring who was caught with Britain’s biggest seizure of cannabis was jailed for 26 years yesterday. Drugs with a street value of £28 million were found at Felixstowe. Robert Flook, 47, who worked with a South African drugs ring, had smuggled the drugs in containers of household items, Blackfriars Crown Court was told.

Flook had been found guilty of conspiracy to supply 150kg of cocaine and eight tonnes of cannabis. Two expatriates, Thomas Mckinnon and John Tutton, are serving 30 years in a South African prison.

Nasa moves into ‘extraterrestrial pop’

Aliens in the vicinity of the North Star are to be given a taste of Earth music by Nasa which is to beam the Beatles song Across the Universe into space (Lewis Smith writes).

It is the first time Nasa has intentionally broadcast a song into deep space. The broadcast is being undertaken to mark the agency’s 50th anniversary.

Sir Paul McCartney was so thrilled at the prospect of performing to aliens that he sent Nasa the goodluck message: “Amazing! Well done, Nasa! Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul.” Across The Universe will be played towards the North Star, Polaris, in the constellation of the Little Bear from a giant radio dish in Goldstone, California.

Radio waves travel at the speed of light but, with the star 431 light years away, it will take until the year 2439 before the song reaches it.

The song is to be beamed into space from midnight on Monday.

Sir Paul has previously performed the song Good Day Sunshine in a concert transmitted to the International Space Station.

Master classes in torture for students

Students at the University of Kent’s school of architecture have been set the task of designing a piece of torture equipment. One of the first-year students on the Masters course lodged a complaint because he was uncomfortable about the brief to “design, construct and draw a fully operational prototype torture device based on ergonomic principles”.

As part of the brief, students were told: “You may use a historical precedent as a point of departure or attempt to develop something completely without precedent.” The brief added: “Through design development, we hope you may advance your understanding of ergonomics as it pertains to torture.”

Don Gray, head of the University’s architecture department, said: “I agree that it is a slightly shocking introduction to a very serious long-term design project. I’m neither justifying it nor defending it but that is how we are going about it.”

The brief was designed by Mike Richards, the course tutor. The students’ next project is to design a new headquarters for Amnesty International.

Pavlov’s fish learns dinner time trick

A giant humphead wrasse has been taught to eat on command in a test that is similar to the research on dogs by the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov. The tropical fish, called Bentley, has been taught by keepers at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth to go to a feeding pen when they make a sound in his tank. Phil Gee, of the University of Plymouth, said: “We’re learning more about fish every day. They are not the cold, slimy, brainless creatures that many people still believe them to be.” The keepers hope to teach Bentley to float on his side for healthcare examinations.

Child-porn father loses anonymity

A man convicted of downloading indecent images of children who had his identity protected to protect his young family was named yesterday after judges ruled that “open justice” was more important (Adam Fresco writes).

After a challenge by media organisations, including The Times, five Court of Appeal judges said that it was “impossible to overemphasise” the importance of reporting criminal trials. The injunction banning identification was made last year by a judge at Croydon Crown Court, in the case of Raymond Cortis, 45, from Upper Norwood, South London, who pleaded guilty in December 2006 to 20 counts of making or possessing indecent images of children, which he downloaded from the internet. It was argued at the time that if he was named his children would suffer bullying and teasing.

Sir Igor Judge, announcing the court’s landmark ruling yesterday, said that if they upheld the ruling it would be “countenancing a substantial erosion of the principle of open justice”.

Train crash driver trapped in his cab

The driver of a train that hit a footbridge in Leicestershire was badly injured and trapped in his cab. A lorry had hit the footbridge earlier and knocked part of the cast iron structure on to the track. The train, which was travelling from Nottingham to Norwich, hit the bridge, in Barrow upon Soar, near Loughborough, about 6.30am but remained upright. It took two hours for the fire brigade to rescue the driver, who was taken to hospital with injuries to his leg and pelvis. There were six passengers on the train and one suffered minor injuries.

Man who gave lovers HIV jailed for 14 years

A British man was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a Swedish court after infecting two women with HIV and exposing 13 more to risk (Yepoka Yeebo writes).

Christer Merrill Aggett, 32, was also found guilty of six counts of underage sex and ordered to pay 2.27 million kronor (£180,000) in damages at a district court in Solna, near Stockholm. The two women will each receive 850,000 kronor in damages.

Aggett was charged with exposing others to danger after having unprotected sex with 13 other women between 2001 and 2006. Police found a diary in which he detailed sexual encounters with 130 women, which triggered a hunt for everyone he had come into contact with, including six girls aged under 15, the legal age of consent in Sweden.

Film attack girl guilty

A teenager who made a video of herself trying to strangle her mother and stab her father with scissors was convicted of assault at Cambridge Crown Court, but cleared of attempted murder. The judge said that the girl “needs help”. She was aged 15 at the time of the attack at the family home in St Neots in February last year. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was remanded to a secure unit before sentencing. Her parents were not badly hurt.

New jail already full

The first jail to be built under the Government’s £1.2 billion drive for more prisons is full already. HMP Kennet, in Merseyside, was part of a plan to increase prison places from the present 81,000 to 96,000 by 2014. The jail started accepting inmates six months ago and has already reached its capacity of 324 prisoners, with some inmates released early because of overcrowding. It was officially opened yesterday by David Hanson, the Prisons Minister.

Detention extended

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Diane Chenery-Wickens, 48, a television make-up artist, were given another 36 hours to question her husband, David, 51, on suspicion of murder. Police can now question him until tomorrow morning. He told officers that he was the last person to see his wife a week ago after they travelled from their home near Uckfield, East Sussex, to London where she was going to a meeting at the BBC.

Scientist killed wife

A scientist who tried to kill his wife with anaesthetic before smothering her to death with a cushion was told at Sheffield Crown Court he must serve at least 15 years in prison for her murder. Andrew Booth, 44, the head of biomedical sciences at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, had also spiked Lorraine Booth’s drinks with ethanol before she died at their home in Barnsley last July, the court was told. He was found guilty by an 11-1 majority.