Bigley family saw videos
Videos of Kenneth Bigley pleading for his life were smuggled to his family by an intermediary who was in close contact with his kidnappers. The engineer was beheaded when negotiations failed. His family will disclose what Mr Bigley, 62, said in the videos on Panorama tonight on BBC One. They will tell how in the first film he appeared calm as he called for the Government to intervene.
Green light for big wind farm
Members of the Western Isles Council’s environmental services committee backed proposals yesterday for the controversial development of what could be the world’s largest wind farm — 209 turbines on the Isle of Lewis. Their decision, including cutting the turbines from 234, comes after planning officials had recommended that the £400 million application by Lewis Wind Power — the subject of thousands of written objections — should go ahead.
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Ferrari death
A driver was killed and his passenger seriously injured in a creash at Goodwood Motor Circuit. The 59-year-old man from Norfolk lost control of a Ferrari as he sped around the track, police said. Paramedics were unable to save him. The venue, north of Chickester, hires out time on the track and instructors to thrill-seekers.
Victims talk
More than 100 victims of domestic violence have been forced to give evidence against their will in only one month. The 140 victims, mostly women, were handed witness orders last December obliging them to testify. Domestic violence courts are to be set up throughout England and Wales by next spring.
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More playtime
The amount of time parents spend with children under the age of three is quadruple that of their 1970s counterparts, according to a survey. Parents of young children now spend approximately 250 minutes a day with them, compared with the 25 minutes that studies in 1975 suggested was the case at that time.
Railway attacks
Attacks on railway staff have more than doubled in the past seven years. Figures from the British Transport Police show that assaults rose to 2,769 in 2004-05 from 1,225 in 1998-99. Attacks on bus crews increased from 1,938 in 1995 to 2,874 in 2002, according to data from Transport for London and bus operators.
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Suicide blame
Paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland have been blamed for the high level of suicides among young men. Shaun Woodward, the Province’s Health Minister, said that he was setting up a task force to study suicide and that it would set out proposals to address the problem by the autumn.
Fortune awaits
A Lotto winner has until 5.30pm tomorrow to claim a jackpot of £3,987,470 on a ticket purchased on New Year’s Day in Richmond upon Thames. The winning numbers were 4, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 40. This would be the second-largest prize to go unclaimed since the National Lottery started in 1994.
Missing sparkle
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Aberdonians are the least likely in Britain to crack open the bubbly, a survey by Tesco has found. Aberdeen has the lowest Champagne sales in the UK, but drink experts think it may be down to the weather with the cold, windy climate driving residents to prefer a warming cup of tea.
Walker dies
An experienced hill walker whose body was found on Monday was named as Stewart McInnes, 55, a social work team leader from Callander, Perthshire. He had been reported missing when he failed to return from a walk in the Glenshee area on Sunday.
Challenge to inquest verdict
The family of a man shot by police while holding a cigarette lighter shaped like a gun won the right yesterday to challenge an inquest verdict that he had been lawfully killed. Derek Bennett, 29, was shot four times in the back in Brixton, South London, as he ran from police marksmen.
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The High Court gave the family permission to argue in an application for judicial review that the inquest was seriously flawed.
Parrot beheaded
A 35-year-old Wolverhampton man who ripped the head off his pet parrot told RSPCA officers he should be shot, Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court was told. Paul Pugh, who was allegedly drunk when he killed the bird, was not allowed to enter court as he had been drinking. Another hearing was set for July 18.
Flyaway mother
Police arrested Kelly Piggford, 23, a single mother of three from Darlington, on suspicion of neglect when she returned to Tees Valley Airport from a two-week holiday in Turkey. Neighbours on Red Hall estate had alerted Social Services alleging that she had left the children with a 15-year-old girl babysitter.
Hero pilot dies
A Second World War fighter pilot who saved Buckingham Palace from a direct hit has died at the age of 90. Sergeant Ray Holmes, who ran out of ammunition during the attack in September 1940, used his Hurricane to slice through the tail of a German Dornier bomber before parachuting to safety.
Freud sketch sold
An etching of a Jobcentre manager who weighs 20 stones was sold at auction for £26,180. Woman with an arm tattoo was one of two etchings Lucian Freud created of Sue Tilley, whom he nicknamed Big Sue. Freud gave the etching to the model, who sold it from her collection. The image shows her sleeping.
Something fishy
“No Fishing” signs in Polish and Chinese have been put up at Newent Lake, in Gloucestershire, to warn migrant workers against stealing carp. Members of a local angling club say that fruit and vegetable pickers sit with their legs dangling in the water with lines and hooks attached to their ankles.