FG summons Saudi envoy over arrested Nigerian female pilgrims

The Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Khaled Abdrabuh is optimistic that the detention of female Nigerian pilgrims will be resolved sooner rather than later.
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, who is the head of federal government delegation to Saudi Arabia to resolve the impasse, met with the Saudi Arabia envoy behind closed doors.
Hounourable Tambuwal also added that the Nigerian mission in Riyadh is meeting with Saudi authorities to resolve the situation.
However, the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Representative Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje added that Nigeria will not hesitate to bring back her people if the issue is not resolved today.
According to the National Hajj Commission, 908 female Nigerian pilgrims were refused entry into Saudi Arabia breaching the escort rules for female pilgrims under Saudi Law.
The female pilgrims need to be accompanied by a male who should either be her husband, brother or father.

Abbey and glorious: Portrait of The Queen, alone, at the spot where she was crowned is unveiled in all its 11ft glory

In centuries past, royal artists portrayed monarchs as grand, imposing and often rather stern.
But the latest portrait of the Queen pictures her in a moment of quiet reflection as she stands on the spot in Westminster Abbey where she was crowned 60 years ago.
Artist Ralph Heimans said he sought to capture 'her humanity' in the 9ft by 11ft portrait, commissioned by the Palace to mark the Diamond Jubilee.

'It captures her humanity': Artist painted a portrait of the Queen in a contemplative pose

Her majesty posed for an hour-long sitting in The Yellow Drawing Room, at Buckingham Palace, in March.
Mr Heimans then imagined the dramatic backdrop – the Sacrarium at Westminster Abbey, also known as The Coronation Theatre.
She stands on the Cosmati pavement – a spot where every English monarch has been crowned since it was commissioned by Henry III in the 13th century.

Deep in thought: A new official portrait of Her Majesty The Queen, painted by Australian-born, London-based artist Ralph Heimans shows the monarch looking deep in reflection

Mr Heimans, said: 'I hope there is a degree of humanity uncommon in traditional Royal portraits.
'I wanted her expression to be open to interpretation so that people could imagine what she was thinking at that moment, but I think there is a sense of tenderness and soulfulness, as well as nostalgia and contemplation.

Artist Ralph Heimans poses for photographs in front of the painting 'The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabethh II, 2012' at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia

The Queen posed for the artist and gave him 'complete freedom' with his artistic process

'But there is also a suggestion of her inner strength.
'She has an extraordinary aura and a real energy and presence.'
The painting is entitled The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The huge work of art was unveiled by Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia.
In spring it will then be brought back to London for display in the run up to marking 60 years since the Queen's Coronation in June.
Mr Heimans, 42, said he wanted to 'produce a work of particular significance for the Diamond Jubilee'.
The artist spent six months on the portrait, working up to 20 hours a day.
Mr Heimans said: 'The Queen was very respectful of the artistic process and gave me complete freedom.
'When she arrived in all her regalia it was a spectacular moment.
'Painting the Queen is the biggest commission an artist can have. I feel very privileged.'

 

ECOWAS members charged to implement laws of Community Court

Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has appealed to members of the economic community of West African states to address the role of the community court of justice in the effective implementation of ECOWAS community laws.
Speaking in Abuja at the official opening ceremony of the 2012/2013 legal year of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, Senator Ekweremadu says the implementation of judgments of the community court of justice will fast track the integration and development of the sub-region.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Solicitor General of the Federation, Mr. Abba Yola stressed the need for member states to explore the option of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in order to reduce the number of cases filed before the ECOWAS Community Court.

Police officer gets death sentence for killing 3 yr old girl

Three years after he callously killed a three year old girl Kausarat Muritala in cold blood in Lagos, Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the Lagos High Court in Ikeja yesterday sentenced ex-police corporal, Ikechukwu Nwabueze to death by hanging.
Justice Akinlade handed down the verdict after reviewing the fact of the case, according to her, the weight of evidence before the court showed that Nwabueze had the intention to kill.
It will be recalled that Nwabueze was alleged to have in April 2009 shot at a car in which the parents, the three-year old Kausarat, and her siblings were commuting at Oba Nle Aro Bus Stop, Alapere, Ketu.
The condemned man and his colleagues took to their heels when they discovered that the there was a fatality.
However, they were later arrested, while Nwabueze who was later dismissed from the Police Force, was said to have confessed during investigation that he shot dead the deceased little girl.
The convict, however, recanted during trial, maintaining that he was coerced to make the confessional statement by the police officer who investigated the case.
The condemned man also claimed that he was not the only one that fired shots into the air and that other members of his team also did same.
The court pointed out some inconsistencies in the testimony of Nwabueze while also holding that a recanted confessional statement does not necessarily cancel its relevance.
“It is trite law that the confessional statement of a defendant is relevant regardless of the fact that it is recanted. It is also trite that a person can be convicted on the basis of the confessional statement.
“It is my opinion that the evidence of P1 is consistent with the testimonies of PW 2 and PW 3.”
The judge further held that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses were not discredited during cross-examination unlike that of the defence.
According to her “By his training as a police officer he (Nwabueze) cannot claim ignorance of the probable consequences of shooting at the vehicle.
“I therefore hold that the defendant had intention to kill or cause bodily harm to the occupants of the car. I find the defendant guilty as charged.”
After court reached it decision, counsel to the defendant, A.O. Omodele made an allocutus (plea for mercy) for the convict, urging the judge to temper justice with mercy on the grounds that he was at his duty post when the offence was committed and that he was a first offender. He also said that he was a young man who was yet to be married and had a lot to contribute to the nation.
But, the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan opposed Omodele’s plea.
She said: “We do not have enough records of the defendant. Notwithstanding, the menace of police in releasing bullets recklessly on innocent citizens should be discouraged.
While passing out her sentence the court held that it is not convinced of any reason why it should show some leniency.
She therefore pronounced: “The sentence of the court upon you is that that you be hung on the neck until you are dead. And may God have mercy on your soul.”

Akwa Ibom assembly passes N125bn supplementary budget into law

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on Thursday passed the N125 billion supplementary budget into law.
A breakdown of the budget showed that N11.88 billion was earmarked for recurrent expenditures while N113 .43 billion was voted for capital projects.
The supplementary budget took effect from June 1.
The Speaker, Mr. Samuel Ikon, said it became necessary to provide additional services for Akwa Ibom people in the outgoing fiscal year.
Ikon urged the executive after the passage of the law to continue to exercise fiscal discipline in the implementation of the budget.
He said that the fifth assembly would do its best to leverage development in the state through the making of good laws.
Governor Godswill Akpabio had on September 4 presented a supplementary budget of N125 billion to the House.
Akpabio said that the supplementary budget was to ensure the payment of enhanced salaries and allowances to civil servants as well as the road construction and other social infrastructure.
The Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Mr. Onofiok Luke, said that the committee had examined the budget and commended members for their support.

But mum, I don't need a bath! Adorable orphan ape Mr Bernie, two, does all he can to avoid getting his fur wet

• Mr Bernie is one of 330 orphaned apes at an orangutan centre in Borneo
• He was brought to the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine in July 2010
• Those in the wild often evade water and clean themselves with their fingers

As generations of parents will gladly testify, bath time often turns into a battleground when toddlers are involved.
And as these adorable pictures show, it’s not just human babies who get all steamed up when it’s time to take a dip.
Two-year-old Mr Bernie — one of 330 orphaned apes at the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine in Borneo — will do just about anything to avoid taking a plunge. With four strong hands able to firmly grasp the sides of the bath, getting him into the warm, soapy water can be a soggy struggle.

I'm the king of the swimmers: Two-year-old Mr Bernie - one of 330 orphaned apes at the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine in Borneo - will do just about anything to avoid taking a plunge

Not happy: In the wild, orangutans usually shy away from water, preferring to keep themselves clean through picking out bugs and dirt with their long fingers. But at the orphanage there are no ape mums to help out

In the wild, orangutans usually shy away from water, preferring to keep themselves and their babies clean through picking out bugs and dirt with their long fingers. But at the orphanage there are no ape mums to help out.
Some toddler apes — such as Charlie, pictured here in a green towel — are fans. Mister Bernie, however, is not. He was brought to the orphanage in July 2010.
A spokesman from the centre said: ‘He was a scrawny, scared little thing with hair matted from sticky sap. After a long bath, some motherly attention, and countless bananas, Mr Bernie started thriving  in his new home. He is now strong, healthy and handsome.’
The centre was set up in 1998 to help orphaned and rescued orangutans learn the skills they need to live independently in the wild.  
Located in the village of Pasir Panjang near Tanjung Puting National Park, a team of surrogate human mums live with the youngsters day and night.
Each day, the orphans are taken into the 200 acre forest surrounding the centre where they forage, play and hunt, carefully watched by their carers.

Care: The centre was set up in 1998 to help orphaned and rescued orangutans learn the skills they need to live independently in the wild

Under wraps: Some toddler apes - such as Charlie, pictured (right) - are fans. Mr Bernie (left), however, is not

Often, the human mothers sleep with the young apes overnight in wooden shelters in the forest. The bond between carer and orphan is powerful.
Soon after arriving at the centre, traumatised babies can cling to their new mothers all day, only gradually learning independence over weeks and months.

'He was a scrawny, scared little thing with hair matted from sticky sap. After a long bath, some motherly attention, and countless bananas, Mr Bernie started thriving  in his new home. He is now strong, healthy and handsome'
Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine spokesman

The caregivers stay by their wards’ sides until they are able to live completely on their own. The moment when the youngsters finally leave home can be devastating for their human “parents”.
All the orphans have distinct  personalities. Luna, pictured with a milk bottle, is quiet and nervous. She was rescued from a worker at a palm oil plantation who was keeping her as a pet.
When she arrived at the centre a year ago, aged 12 months, she was half the size of a healthy orangutan of her age.
Mr Bernie has altogether more confidence. Famed for his insatiable appetite and his ability to sneak food, he will — if unsupervised — steal baby bottles full of milk from other apes.

Nigerian couple tried to claim £3.8m in ‘eye watering’ benefits scam using 1,400 identities

• Adeola Thomas, 38, assisted by his partner, Abimbola Abiola, 34, secured £87,000 from fraudulent claims totalling £3.8million over four years
• Thomas used 1,400 stolen identities to complete 2,495 handwritten tax and benefits claims forms
• HMRC suspicions were raised when he used the same address for all the claims
• Thomas, an illegal immigrant, was jailed for seven years while Abiola, also a Nigerian national with leave to remain in the UK, received two-and-a-half years

A Nigerian couple who tried to claim £3.8million in an ‘eye-watering’ benefits scam using 1,400 stolen identities have been jailed for a total of almost 10 years.
Adeola Thomas, 38, assisted by his partner, Abimbola Abiola, 34, managed to pocket £87,000 after submitting almost 2,500 handwritten applications for tax credits and benefits.
The pair spent the money on designer clothing and electrical items including a 50-inch plasma television.

Adeola Thomas, left, was jailed for seven years while his accomplice Abimbola Abiola, right, was locked up for two-and-a-half years for charges relating to identity theft, tax and benefits fraud

But the fraud was discovered when benefits staff noticed the same address was being used for multiple claims, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Thomas, an illegal immigrant, was jailed for seven years while Abiola, also a Nigerian national with leave to remain in the UK, received two-and-a-half years.
Passing sentence, Judge William Kennedy said: ‘This was no less than a criminal industry, with simple and eye watering criminality designed to maximise the loss to the public.
‘It was a difficult investigation carried out with skill and tenacity.
‘The largest single joint conspiracy [of its kind] for these departments and the actual loss was kept down because of the work of both departments.’
Judge Kennedy also indicated that both Thomas and Abiola should be deported at the end of their prison terms.
The pair, who carried out the scam between January 3, 2007 and October 7, 2011, tried to claim £827,000 from HMRC, securing £43,000.
They also claimed £3 million from the Department of Work and Pensions and received £44,000.
With Abiola’s help, Thomas used stolen personal details to complete 2,495 handwritten application forms, which were sent to the appropriate departments for processing.

When the claims were successful, the pair withdrew cash from acquaintances' bank accounts or from bogus post office accounts that Thomas, pictured, had set up

It is believed that others unknown to investigators, also provided postal addresses and assisted with correspondence.

When the claims were successful, the pair withdrew cash from acquaintances' bank accounts or from bogus post office accounts that Thomas, who masterminded the scam, had set up.
As well as analysing tax credit records, computer systems, hand written application forms and bank account details and listening to hours of recorded phones calls to the Tax Credit Helpline, HMRC investigators viewed CCTV footage showing activity outside various North London Post Office ATMs and carried out surveillance on Thomas.
He was arrested outside a cash point at Upper Clacton Post Office in Hackney, east London last October 7 where he was found to be in possession of 17 Post Office accounts.

Thomas, pictured, was arrested outside a cash point at Upper Clacton Post Office in Hackney, east London last October where he was found to be in possession of 17 Post Office accounts

He also had two mobile phones and two fraudulently completed application forms addressed to Job Centre Plus.
Abiola, a mother-of-one, was caught on the same day with £4,125 cash in her handbag, which she claimed was child benefit payment.
Thomas, of Hackney, east London, admitted three counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
Abiola, of the same address was found guilty of four counts of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and possession of criminal property following a trial at the court in August.

I'm ashamed of my cabinet minister son: Father of disgraced David Laws says the Lib Dem deserves to be in jail over expenses

• David Laws's father Tony is embarrassed for his son after an expenses scandal that destroyed several MPs' reputations
• It was revealed Laws had been guilty of a serious expenses fiddle totalling more than £50,000 and involving his secret gay lover
• Laws and his father have not spoken in 15 years

David Laws resigned as the Coalition's Chief Secretary to the Treasury after it was revealed he had fiddled with expenses totalling more than £50,000 and involving his secret gay lover

When David Laws resigned as the Coalition’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury after only 17 days, he made history as the shortest-serving Cabinet minister in modern times.
The man charged with reducing the country’s £156  billion deficit sensationally quit after it was revealed he had been guilty of a serious expenses fiddle totalling more than £50,000 and involving his secret gay lover.
This was hugely embarrassing for the Lib Dem MP, one of the cleverest men at Westminster (with a double first in Economics from Cambridge) who was once dubbed ‘Mr Integrity’ by former party leader Paddy Ashdown, his predecessor as MP for Yeovil.
The expenses scandal that ripped through Westminster had already destroyed several reputations. Some MPs ended up in prison, while many lost their seats. 
David Laws, with his trademark white shirts, Hermes ties and polished shoes, was the only Cabinet minister to lose his job.
At the time, some of his closest friends feared he was so ashamed of the scandal and the revelation he was gay that he would quit politics altogether.
However, he bided his time on the backbenches and was forgiven by David Cameron and Nick Clegg. They brought him back as Education Minister in last month’s ministerial reshuffle. As a result, the 46-year-old is now back in the Government, can attend Cabinet meetings and enjoyed a starring role at this week’s Lib Dem conference in Brighton.
Many in Westminster think he was lucky to be given a second chance — particularly so soon — since the Parliamentary Standards and Privileges Committee had criticised his behaviour, having accused him of a ‘series of serious breaches of the rules over a considerable  period of time’.
He was suspended from Parliament for seven days having already repaid £56,500 to the Commons authorities.

Growing up: David Laws (far right) with his adopted brother and sister Peter and Jacquelyn and father Tony who says he was embarrassed for his son

Many respected observers said he should have had the decency to wait until his constituents had re-elected him, and shown that they had confidence in his probity and integrity, before re-entering the Government.
Among those critics are Laws’s father, Tony.
The retired City banker contacted the Mail this week because he said he wanted to dispute several claims made by his son about his family as he attempted to explain the background to his expenses fiddle.
Tony Laws says: ‘I was embarrassed my son had been caught taking money he was not entitled to. I think David was damn lucky that further action wasn’t taken against him, as I know some MPs went to prison.’
Referring to the fact that his son had tried to make political capital out of other Labour and Tory MPs’ expenses fiddles before his own were exposed, his father says: ‘And what was he thinking of, moralising about other MPs? He should have counted his lucky stars that he had got away with it and said nothing.’  Asked if he was happy that his son was now back in government, Tony Laws says: ‘I’m pleased for him, but I think he has gone back too soon. He should have waited until after the general election to let his constituents deliver their verdict on what he did.’ He adds: ‘I am sure he would be forgiven.’

Come back: Laws was brought back as Education Minister in last month's ministerial reshuffle and enjoyed a starring role at this week's Lib Dem conference in Brighton, pictured

It is not only Laws’s speedy return to ministerial office that has perturbed his father. He is also upset by the nature of his son’s emotional statement, announcing his resignation two years ago, when the politician said he recognised that he had neglected ‘those I love’ and that he intended to make amends.
It was in May 2010, just weeks after the Coalition was formed, when it was revealed that David Laws had funnelled £40,000 of taxpayers’ money to his secret gay lover, Westminster lobbyist Jamie Lundie.
Over a period of five years, the MP claimed between £700 and £950 a month to rent a room in Kennington, South London, from Mr Lundie. This broke Commons rules, which bar MPs from claiming for payments to a partner.

'I've no difficulty whatsoever with him being gay'

Mr Laws immediately issued an apology and announced he had paid back the money claimed for rent and other housing costs. He said: ‘I regret this situation deeply, accept that I should not have claimed  my expenses in this way and apologise fully.’
He went on to say he and his boyfriend were ‘intensely private people’, adding: ‘We made the decision to keep our relationship private and believed that was our right. 
‘My motivation throughout has not been to maximise profit but simply to protect our privacy and my wish not to reveal my sexuality.’
He added: ‘Our relationship has been unknown to both family and friends throughout that time.’
In truth, the couple had been together for nine years. But the MP’s friends briefed journalists that he had been trying to protect his elderly parents, who are devout Catholics, from the truth about his homosexuality.
However, Laws’s father, to whom David has not spoken in 15 years following a rift that Tony still finds inexplicable, claims this was very misleading. He says the truth is that he has not been to church for decades, although he was christened a Catholic.
‘It is beyond a joke to call me a devout Catholic,’ says Tony. ‘As early as the age of seven, I was crossing my sister’s palm with silver to cover up for the fact I was playing cricket and football instead of going to church.
‘When David said he was going to remedy the neglect of the people he loved, I thought he might be referring to me. But since I have still not heard from him, I was clearly wrong.’

No surprise: Tony said that when Laws resigned, acknowledging publicly his sexuality came as no surprise to him, saying 'I realised it at least 20 years ago. There were signs'

Tony Laws is also angry that friends of David were quoted at the time of the expenses scandal as saying the MP was trying to do the right thing to shield his aged parents. 
‘Well, I suppose at 76 I am “aged”, but I simply don’t accept David lied over his Commons expenses to protect me,’ says Tony. ‘He was trying to protect himself — because I have no difficulty whatsoever with the fact that he is gay.’ 
Then there were the claims by the MP’s friends that he was an only child. His father says these were ‘very hurtful’, because the truth is that the MP has an adopted older brother and adopted younger sister. 
‘We all used to be so close,’ says Tony Laws.
In fact, David Laws’s entry on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia has stated for years that he is the ‘only son of a Conservative-voting father and a Labour-supporting mother’. He has joked that, as a Lib Dem himself, he was the ‘perfect fusion’.
When told about the Wikipedia entry, Tony Laws became angry and emotional: ‘I can’t believe it! My blood is going hot and cold. It is  so hurtful.’
Tony Laws separated from David’s mother, Maureen, when their son was getting ready to go to university and the couple divorced 24 years ago. But they would meet up for important family occasions such as David’s graduation from Cambridge in 1987. 

'He simply lost interest in me as his father'

‘The end of my marriage was a tragedy, but David never talked to me about it,’ says Tony Laws. ‘I spoke to my other children, but David was not open to discussion.’ 
As for David’s sexuality, his father says he realised his son was gay when he was in his 20s.
‘When he resigned from the Cabinet, he publicly acknowledged his sexuality. It came as no surprise to me. I realised it at least 20 years ago. There were signs. Over time you come to recognise what is happening. I was his father. You see things.
‘David never had a relationship with a female, but there were always male friends. 
‘As a father, I want my children to be happy. Their sexuality is of no concern to me.
‘David is a very private person.  As a young boy he was positively secretive. I’m glad he now feels able to be open.’
David Laws’s father recalls his three children’s early years in Surrey’s stockbroker belt.
In interviews, David has described ‘a pretty comfortable upbringing’, saying his parents were ‘reasonably easy-going’. 
His father worked long hours at JP Morgan Chase bank to put his children through private education. David attended the fee-paying St George’s College in Weybridge before going on to Cambridge.
Explaining how he and his wife adopted a child before David was born, Tony Laws says: ‘Nature  didn’t deliver in a timely fashion. So when we didn’t succeed in having a baby, we adopted a boy who we called Peter.

Brought back: Nick Clegg, left, and David Cameron, right, brought Laws back when even some of his closest friends feared he was so ashamed of the scandal that he would quit politics

‘My wife became pregnant with David barely a year later. We wanted to equal it up, so we adopted our daughter, Jacquelyn. They were great children.’
Peter, who studied biochemistry at Oxford, is an accountant in London and is married with two daughters. Jacquelyn, who worked for a merchant bank, is also happily married. They are in regular contact with their father, but have little to do with David, who has never referred to their existence in any interviews. 
Like father, like son: David went into investment banking at JP Morgan and Barclays de Zoete Wedd.
He retired at 28 already a multi-millionaire and went to work for the Lib Dems in 1994. 
Within three years he was head of policy and research and then was selected as the party’s candidate in Yeovil for the 2001 election. By now, there was no contact between father and son.
Tony, who now lives in a modern home in Axminster in Devon with his second wife, Tamara, explains the rift.

'It's too late for a reconciliation with David now'

‘There was no row, no major fallout, I just think David lost interest in me as his dad,’ says Tony. ‘We haven’t spoken for the best part of 15 years — even though he lives only eight miles away.’ 
In fact, he only learned of his son’s parliamentary ambitions when he appeared on a local TV bulletin announcing his Yeovil candidacy. Tony says David later visited his home and left a note. 
‘That is the last contact I have had from my son,’ he explains. ‘When he was campaigning to be an MP in 2001, he must have been in the locality but he never came to see me.’ 
Mr Laws tried to contact his son after he won the seat. ‘I was thrilled for him. What father wouldn’t be? I wrote a letter, drove to his house, and pushed it through his letter box at 5.30am. 
‘I like to think it was the first letter he received addressed to David Laws MP. I never received any acknowledgement of the card.’
There was no contact between the two men — the only way  he saw his son was when he appeared on TV.

Some of those appearances involved the high-profile Lib Dem MP adopting a lofty tone of moral superiority in 2008 when Tory and Labour MPs were caught fiddling their expenses.
For example, Laws issued a press release aimed at trying to reinforce his image as ‘Mr Integrity’. He boasted: ‘The (official) report into MPs’ expenses has been published today and this confirms that David Laws has not been asked to repay any of his expenses, as it found all his claims for London living costs to be in order.’

Like father, like son: Laws went into investment banking at JP Morgan and Barclays de Zoete Wedd, pictured

He also tried to score points at the expense of his political opponents locally. ‘Over half of MPs (390 out of 650) have been ordered to repay expenses, including many from the Somerset and Dorset area,’ he said.
He listed the names of several MPs and how much they had to repay. These included Oliver Letwin, a Tory facing a fierce Lib Dem challenge at the time, who now sits around the same Cabinet table as Mr Laws.
But the £3,000 Mr Letwin had to repay was dwarfed by the £56,500 that ‘Mr Integrity’ had to give back to the taxpayer when his own expenses fiddle was unearthed two years later.
Laws’s subsequent resignation as Chief Secretary to the Treasury was another blow to his father.
Does Tony think there can now be a reconciliation with his son?
‘Not now. I think it’s too late,’  he says.
Only days before his spectacular fall in 2010, David Laws was asked about his marital status. As  ever, the image-conscious MP answered: ‘Single.’
That was slightly disingenuous considering that he had been in a relationship for nine years with his partner Mr Lundie, who used to work for former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy.
Whether he was misguided about trying to hide his sexuality is hard to tell. 
But the fact is, as David Laws has discovered, most people don’t care if their MP is gay or straight.
The truth is that it’s hypocrisy and fraudulent behaviour over expenses that they can’t bear.

Two HIV-positive British bar workers accused of raping 17-year-old after plying him with alcohol

• The couple, named so far as Andreu Paul W and Warren H, are accused of raping the 17-year-old
• They met the boy at the bar they worked at before taking him back to their flat in Calpe, eastern Spain
• They allegedly raped him
• The couple will stand trial in October after they were extradited back to Spain in May 2009

Two HIV-positive British bar workers stand accused of raping a 17-year-old boy after plying him with alcohol.
The gay couple, named so far only as Andreu Paul W, 38, and Warren H, 34, are said to have made their victim drink 'large quantities of vodka' after taking him back to their flat in Calpe, eastern Spain.
They are then accused of making him sniff an unknown substance and, when he had passed out, stripping him naked from the waist down and taking it in turns to rape him, El Mundo newspaper reports.

Extradited back to Spain: Two HIV-positive British bar workers are accused of raping a 17-year-old boy after plying him with alcohol at their flat in Calpe, eastern Spain (pictured)

The Director of Public Prosecutions says the incident is alleged to have happened on March 7, 2008, and they returned back to Britain but were extradited to Spain in May the following year.
Spanish media reports that during the night, the couple met the teenager, also British, at the bar they were working at. 
After closing time, they went on to another pub, where they convinced him to come back to their flat.

Not infected: While the boy was not infected by the HIV virus, pictured, he is reportedly suffering post-traumatic stress disorder from the crime

Once there, prosecutors say they made him drink large amounts of vodka with 'the only intention to deprive him of his senses' until he lost his balance and fell to the floor.
They are then accused of carrying him to their bedroom, throwing him onto the bed and stripping him naked from the waste down - making him sniff an unknown substance. 
The couple then allegedly took it in turns to rape their victim.
The following day, the victim regained consciousness and left the house by foot.
He reported the alleged crime a month later, on April 2, when he visited a Guardia Civil station with his step-father and lawyer.
Despite the couple being HIV-positive, the boy was not infected with the virus but he is still reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from the crime.
The men will stand trial in Alicante on Tuesday, October 2.

Named: The 'role model' schoolboy, 15, who was 'stabbed to death on London estate in row over a girl, 14'

• Junior Nkwelle, 15, was pronounced dead at the scene on Thursday
• Locals claim there had been a disturbance and a girl had got a knife from the kitchen and called another man to the property
• Tributes describe Junior as a 'very good footballer' and a 'very quiet'
• His mother says her son 'never stood a chance'

A promising teenage footballer described as a 'role model' for his community may have been killed in a fight over a girl.
Junior Nkwelle, 15, was stabbed to death outside a block of flats in what may have been an attack over a love triangle.
Neighbours claimed he was attacked after a girl grabbed a knife from a kitchen and called another boy to come to her aid.

Floral tributes left outside the block of flats in Brixton, south London, where a 15-year-old boy has been stabbed to death

Police are reportedly investigating whether a girl called a boy who was in a south east London gang to come to her aid, the Sun claimed.
Officers were called to reports of a disturbance on the Loughborough Estate in Brixton just before 9.25pm on Thursday and found the boy with serious stab wounds.
His heartbroken mother Stella Muma, 39, told The Sun her son was a motivated boy who used to write a list every day of his ambitions and was determined to be a professional footballer.
She said he had gone to play football after school but her other son dashed home hours later and told her Junior had been stabbed.
She told The Sun: 'Junior was not in a gang and never looked for trouble.
'I told him to walk away form trouble but he never stood a chance.'
A 14-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the 'brilliant' student died at the scene.
Police say they do not believe the killing was gang-related.

Tributes for Junior have been laid outside the flats in Brixton, South London

Locals were shocked by the death as they gathered to inspect floral tributes placed outside Secker House in Minet Road.
One card on a tribute said: 'Dear Junior, You was a good friend, a great footballer and a great person. Justice will happen. I promise!'
Another said: 'If football be the food of love 'Play on'. RIP young fella.'
Solomon Smith, 27, a youth support worker at Marcus Lipton Youth Centre a few yards from the scene, said yesterday: 'He was one of our locals, and had been coming here for about two years.
'He was a very good footballer. When he came in, he always played football indoors here.
'He was a very quiet guy, you wouldn't think anything like this would happen to him.
'When we left here at 8pm last night, we heard a lot of commotion outside.
'The youngsters are saying that Junior might have been trying to flirt with a girl, who said 'my boyfriend's from Peckham and he's coming down', there was a fight and Junior was stabbed.
'From about 9.30pm I was getting told that he'd died.
'Because it's Brixton, and there's blocks of flats, you get gang troubles round here. There's been gang wars with guys from Stockwell and Tulse Hill, and that's what we are trying to tackle.'

An ambulance was called but it was too late for the talented teenager, who died at the scene in Brixton

Brixton, in south London has been previously associated with gang wars, but it is not known whether the fatal stabbing in the flats is linked to gang crime

He was a very good footballer. When he came in, he always played football indoors here. He was a very quiet guy, you wouldn't think anything like this would happen to him.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the dead boy was from the Loughborough Estate and that his next of kin had been informed.
London Ambulance Service and London’s air ambulance attended after receiving the emergency call at 9.24pm and found the boy with serious stab wounds, but despite trying to save him, he died from his injuries.
A post-mortem examination was being carried out last night at Greenwich mortuary with the results expected to be known today, the spokesman added.
Lambeth-based detectives, together with officers from the homicide and serious crime command, are investigating.
Faith Marriott, 30, who lives locally, said: 'I empathise with his mum. He used to coach my son at football. So what does that say about him, that he's only 15, and wants to coach little ones.
'He was a friendly boy, he wasn't in a gang.
'When children die, people don't believe he could be innocent. We mums would like to be better off and live in a better place, but we try.
'I hope CCTV cameras were working.'

Her friend Dawn Pusey, 45, a mother of five, said: 'It's sad that the youths are thinking about killing each other instead of their education.'
Mrs Marriott's brother David, who helps run local youth project Lambeth Tigers, said: 'He's been coming to us for about four months and coached younger boys at football.
'He was a brilliant kid, only 15, but a good role model for this community. He was always smiling, an asset - to lose somebody like this is devastating.'
An incident room was opened under Detective Chief Inspector Charles King, who said the murder was not believed to be gang-related.
He added: 'We would appeal for anyone who has any information or witnesses to come forward as soon as possible.'
Anyone who could assist the inquiry was urged to call detectives on 020 8721 4054 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The wife he betrayed: Months after their fairytale wedding, this husband was hand in hand with Megan, his besotted pupil of 14

• Emily Forrest and her husband Jeremy celebrated their first wedding anniversary with a two week romantic break in Thailand and Malaysia
• Three months earlier Jeremy had been spotted holding hands with one of his pupils, Megan Stammers, on the way back from a school trip
• Megan was reported missing last Friday when she failed to turn up to school
• After eight days away from home, Megan and Forrest were finally apprehended by gendarmes in the French city of Bordeaux

Perfect day: Emily Forrest often posted online dispatches about life with the 'love of her life' Jeremy

To celebrate their first wedding anniversary in April, Jeremy Forrest and his photographer wife Emily spent two idyllic weeks in Thailand and Malaysia.
They flew by propeller plane to the beautiful island of Koh Samui, where they went kayaking, before taking a boat to the neighbouring island of Koh Tao, where they drank pink cocktails overlooking the sea.
Arriving at the five-star Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumpur for their final three days away, Emily, 30, was presented with a bouquet of red roses and a cake decorated with the words ‘Happy Anniversary’.
Emily’s response to this was a thrilled ‘Lovely!’ We know this because Emily, in happier days, loved to share her life – as so many young people do today – on public internet sites.
What she didn’t know then, however, was that three months before her romantic anniversary, her 30-year-old husband had been seen holding hands with one of his pupils, Megan Stammers, on a flight back from Los Angeles following a school trip. Megan was just 14 at time.
Nor was Emily aware, of the scores of tweets and messages being posted online by the husband she adored and Megan.
Indeed, Emily Forrest was already planning their next romantic holiday together – Christmas and New Year in Dubai.
‘Next adventure booked,’ she wrote last month. ‘Not sure if I will love or hate it, but it’s somewhere I have always been intrigued to visit.’
Seemingly unbeknown to her, Forrest had been tweeting about his secret torment over the schoolgirl since March. He wrote he was ‘sacrificing his sanity’ to be with the one he loved and said he felt ‘helpless’.
On his blog, Forrest, an amateur musician who performs under the name Jeremy Ayre, wrote ‘You hit me like heroin…’ and mentioned the ‘moral dilemma’ he was in.
In June, two months before his wife posted rave reviews of their anniversary holiday on the Trip Advisor website, Forrest was tweeting ‘Some things are worth fighting for...’
In the light of this week’s drama, he clearly wasn’t talking about his marriage.

In the dark: Unbeknown to Emily, her teacher husband Jeremy had been spotted holding hands with a pupil on a school trip just three months before their first wedding anniversary

Megan Stammers, 15, and Jeremy Forrest, 30, disappeared last week and boarded a ferry to Calais in France

Beautiful bride: Emily Forrest, pictured with Jeremy on their wedding day, has maintained a dignified silence since her husband disappeared with the school pupil

Similarly, many of Megan’s tweets concern the trials and tribulations of a complicated romance. In March, she wrote ‘Too many things keep me awake!!! Are you not sleeping either?!’
And in May she tweeted: ‘Talking to Mum about how good my best friend’s love life is and she goes “what’s yours like then?” hahaha... you literally have no idea.’ The same month she wrote: ‘Right love, wrong time’.

Megan, who describes herself on Twitter as a ‘self-loathing, music-loving, art and fashion-obsessed nostalgic loner’ was reported missing last Friday after failing to turn up at her school in Eastbourne. 
Yesterday she and Forrest were finally apprehended by gendarmes in the French city of Bordeaux.
Where this leaves Forrest’s poor wife is anyone’s guess. She had maintained a dignified silence throughout the week despite the humiliating end to her marriage being reported across Europe.
Only last month she wrote on Trip Advisor about their stay at the Jamakhiri resort in Thailand: ‘My husband and I reminisce about this place all the time.’

In love: Emily and Jeremy Forrest seemed like a happily married and devoted couple to the outside world

Romantic getaway: The pair celebrated their first wedding anniversary with a romantic two week break to Thailand and Malaysia

For those following her online posts, the pair must have seemed the most blessed, devoted, attractive and well-suited of couples.
Both grew up in affluent areas of Kent and were drawn together by their love of music.
Emily, the daughter of David and Deborah Faulder, who are partners in an optician’s practice, describes herself as an arty, creative, ‘geeky’ type, who spent most of her childhood in Chislehurst drawing and writing.

A CCTV image shows maths teacher Jeremy Forrest with teenager Megan Stammers aboard a ferry from Dover to Calais

Forrest, whose family own a chain of bakeries, grew up in Petts Wood near Orpington. From the age of 14 he performed in a band and wrote his own songs, taking inspiration from bands such as Nirvana and REM.
It is not known exactly how they met, but it’s clear that he and Emily were friends first, and she helped design his CD covers. She lovingly watched him perform in various local pubs.
But with rock stardom proving elusive, Forrest trained to become a teacher and by all accounts he was a good one, widely respected by his pupils and peers.
Indeed, many of his former students have been stunned by his romance with Megan, describing Forrest as a popular, caring and ‘cool’ teacher.
Nicola Foxen, 19, who attended Bishop Justus School in Bromley, Kent, where Forrest taught until 2009, said: ‘He was everyone’s favourite teacher. He was good because he was younger and pretty cool because he was in a band, which made us respect him. He was the last person I would have expected to do something like this.’
Forrest and Emily moved to East Sussex in 2009, settling in the village of Ringmer. He took a post at Bishop Bell School while Emily, who had been working as a learning and development adviser in south east London, developed her love of photography, hoping to become a travel photographer.
Last September, she wrote: ‘I love photography more than I have ever loved anything ever (apart from my pet rabbit and my husband).’
As she neared her 30th birthday, Emily drew up a ‘bucket list’ – again posted online – of the things she wanted to do before she died. These included: ‘Plan and organise my own fairytale wedding’, ‘Marry the love of my life’ and ‘Be a size six when I get married.’
She ticked all these off when she married Forrest in Brighton on April 8 last year, which she meticulously planned with a ‘mint green, peaches and cream’ vintage theme.  She made all the invitations and place settings by hand, writing of the experience, ‘spent many hours dragging Jeremy around Hobbycraft looking at endless bits of paper and sparkly things’.

Sighting: Sussex Police issued this picture of the Ford Fiesta driven by Jeremy Forrest to Dover, with Megan Stammers also inside

After vanishing last Thursday, police found the schoolgirl and maths teacher in Bordeaux, France

She bought sticks of rock for the guests and at one point considered having an owl or her pet rabbit Herman as the ring bearer. She cheerfully confessed to having the odd ‘Bridezilla’ moment.
Describing it as ‘the best day of my life’, Emily, wearing a dress by designer Justin Alexander, exchanged vows with her husband in an outdoor ceremony at Lewes Castle, East Sussex.

Bustling: The street Sainte-Catherine where the British schoolgirl, Megan Stammers, 15, and her maths teacher, Jeremy Forrest, 30, were found by the police in Bordeaux

Wanting a ‘wedding that would stand out from the crowd’, the newly-weds were driven by camper van to their reception for 70 guests at the Hotel Du Vin in Brighton.
Forrest’s family made the wedding cake, to which was added a Sylvanian Family cake topper – a nod to Emily’s childhood love of the animal toys.
‘Even though Jeremy told me I was sad at first, when he got his Sylvanian Club certificate through the post he got really excited!’ she wrote.
Beautiful wedding photographs taken by David McNeill, featuring the ‘very cool’ couple on Brighton Pier as the sun set, later featured in Rock and Roll Bride – a website devoted to quirky, alternative weddings.
The Forrests had planned to honeymoon in Japan, but cancelled because of the tsunami and spent two weeks on the Caribbean island of St Lucia instead. They enjoyed cocktails at ‘swim-up bars’ and stayed in a villa which looked like ‘something out of Disney’.
Struck by post-wedding blues, Emily set up a blog called ‘Bride on a Shoestring’, writing ‘I was lying in bed, thinking about my awesome wedding and feeling a bit sad about never being able to plan a wedding again, when a lightbulb moment hit me! Cool wedding ideas which don’t cost the earth.’
Settling into married life, last Christmas her present to her husband was a five-night trip to Valencia in Spain, staying in the Hotel Primus. ‘All in all a fantastic holiday!’ she wrote.
Little over a month later, Forrest was seen holding hands with Megan on that flight back from the US.
The teenager’s tweets around this time reveal a girl besotted, while Forrest’s tweets could have been written by an angst-ridden teenager rather than a married man. In the summer, Forrest posted pictures on his Twitter account of two new tattoos on his arm; one of them a young brunette in a hat and floral dress. He didn’t say who it was modelled on.

'Overjoyed': Megan's stepfather Martin Stammers told a press conference the family couldn't wait to be reunited with Megan after she was found in France

In custody: Jeremy Forrest, believed to be pictured in the front left hand seat of the car, leaving Bordeaux Police station today

The other was a floral tattoo beneath which the words from a Nirvana song stood out: ‘One baby to another says I’m lucky to have met you.’ Who was he referring to?
When Megan and Forrest went to France, all their tweets and blogs fell eerily silent as did Emily’s online dispatches about life with the ‘love of my life’.
On his music blog, Forrest left a song for fans, called Arrows and Hearts, in which he sings agonised lyrics of love, loss and torment. It begins: ‘I was afraid someone would catch us... I took on someone else’s skin’. It finishes: ‘I was afraid some day I’d lose you. My heart still sings your name.’
But who was the song for? Sadly, it seems, not his wife.

If you can't stand the heat... keep away from the volcano: Astonishing picture of scientist just metres from boiling hot lava cauldron

He looks like he's on a journey to the centre of the Earth.
But unlike the professor in Jules Verne's novel of the same name, this scientist could meet a fiery end if he goes any further.
In these stunning pictures, fearless Geoff Mackley looks like a speck of tin foil next to the 1,150C molten pit raging inside the crater of a volcano.

Like the surface of the sun: Getting to within just 30m of the molten lava, Geoff Mackley has become the first person ever to get so close to the centre of this volcano

No sweat: Thanks to his protective heat-proof suit, Mr Mackley was able to stand next to raging lava for a staggering 45 minutes

Staring into hell: Mr Mackley peers into the raging Marum Volcano, on the island of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific as he abseils into the heart of the crater

Mr Mackley has become the first person ever to get so close to the heart of the Marum Volcano, on the island of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific.
At a distance of just 30 metres, one slip or a sudden surge of the bubbling lava and he would be instantly turned to ash.

 

But incredibly, wearing a protective heat-proof suit, Mr Mackley managed to stand there for a staggering 45 minutes in August this year.
The 46-year-old said: 'It looks like the surface of the sun, it’s like all my wildest dreams in one moment, it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen or done.

'The most amazing thing I've ever done': Mr Mackley has been trying for 15 years to reach the bottom, but failed a number of times before now

Extraordinary career: Mr Mackley has been nicknamed 'Rambocam' after taking his childhood hobby of photographing natural phenomena to extreme lengths

Early inspiration: His father used to take Mr Mackley and his two younger brothers, Richard and Steven, on trips to take pictures of freak conditions, such as snowstorms and flooding

Fiery: Marum is situated on Ambrym, a volcanic island in the archipelago of Vanuatu, which is well-known for its high volcanic activity that includes lava lake formation

FIRE AND BRIMSTONE IN PARADISE

Marum is situated on Ambrym, a volcanic island in the paradise archipelago of Vanuatu (formerly known as the New Hebrides).
It is well known for its high volcanic activity that includes lava lake formation.
Ambrym is a large basaltic volcano with a 12km-wide crater and one of the most active volcanoes of the New Hebrides.
The massive, 1,900-year-old crater is the site of two active volcanic cones, Benbow being the other.

'I’ve been trying to get to the bottom for 15 years, I’ve learnt from every failed expedition what to do on the next one. It’s really down to the right people and the right equipment.
'I live for each day. I intend to be doing this for as long as I can. I probably won’t be able to climb volcanoes forever.
'But I can certainly fly to the other side of the world, get in a rental car and drive to a hurricane until I’m who knows how old. There are people running marathons in their 80s.'
Incredible footage taken by Geoff and his team shows them camping at the summit of the volcano for 38 days with it raining heavily for 33 of them.
After a 400-metre descent, Mr Mackley can be seen staring death in the face as he looks over the edge into the fiery abyss. The video also shows a large part of the volcano lake wall collapsing into the lava and instantly turning into smoke.
Rambocam, as he is nicknamed, took his childhood hobby of taking photos of natural phenomena and developed it into an extraordinary career with a reputation worldwide for being prepared to go where others fear to tread.

Adrenalin-junkie: The New Zealand-based photographer, cameraman and reporter carts his £50,000 equipment virtually anywhere where a natural disaster occurs

Patience is a virtue: Mr Mackley and his team camped at the summit of the volcano for 38 days with it raining heavily for 33 of them as they waited for right moment to descend into the crater

The New Zealand-based photographer, cameraman and reporter, carts his £50,000 equipment virtually anywhere where a tsunami has struck, a cyclone is perilously hovering or a volcano is erupting.
His father used to take Geoff and his two younger brothers, Richard and Steven on trips to take pictures of freak conditions, such as snowstorms and flooding.
'We were brought up with an interest in nature. I started doing what I’m doing because I’m interested in nature and it evolved to what’s happening now. I never really expected that to happen. I never thought for a moment I’d be doing this.'

Surveying the landscape: The 46-year-old has developed a reputation worldwide for being prepared to go where others fear to tread

Loving his job: Mr Mackley says he lives for each day and intends to carry on exploring for as long as he can

Photo op: Mr Mackley said he was brought up with an interest in nature, but never expected to be going on adventures like this