The week: 27 October - 2 November

Published on Saturday 3 November 2007 00:38

A MOTHER whose son was injured in an Afghan mine blast said on Sunday that brain-damaged soldiers were not being properly compensated.

Diane Derney said the Ministry of Defence was "cynically neglecting" soldiers with brain injuries. A minor member of the Royal Family was revealed to have been targeted in a blackmail plot, but the British press was barred from revealing who was involved. The Royal College of Nursing said new rules allowing nurses to make decisions about whether to resuscitate patients would save suffering for patients and relatives by allowing people to die in dignity.

On Monday, Alex Salmond unveiled a "bonfire of the quangos", saying his administration planned to pull the plug on 50 of Scotland's 200 public bodies. Billionaire Paul Lister, who wants to release bears and wolves on to his Sutherland estate, asked to be granted exemption from right-to-roam legislation. A new campaign, "Think Differently, Act Positively", was launched to challenge misconceptions about the 50,000 Scots who have some degree of autism.

There was speculation on Tuesday about a possible crash in property prices after the Council of Mortgage Lenders forecast prices would rise by only 1 per cent next year. It predicted 45,000 repossessions as homeowners failed to keep up with mortgage payments. There were warnings the Scottish justice system was struggling to cope due to a lack of trained translators, after a sex trafficking trial collapsed because of a lack of competent interpreters. Mike Small, an environmentalist from Burntisland, launched the Fife Plan Diet - which challenges people to eat only food that grows within a 100-mile radius of their home.

The government was accused on Wednesday of losing track of immigration after it gave three different figures for the number of foreign workers to have come to the UK in the past ten years. David Cameron, the Tory leader, pledged to introduce stricter constraints on the numbers of economic migrants allowed into Britain. Scotland was said to be beating heart disease as new figures revealed a drop in deaths among the under-75s. There was mixed news for the SNP when a poll revealed Alex Salmond had a high rating with voters but that support for independence had fallen to a ten-year low. Stuart Gair, who spent 12 years in prison for a murder he did not commit and was eventually freed by the Scottish appeal court, was revealed to have died of a heart attack just one month before he had been due to receive 1 million pounds in compensation.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair rejected calls that he should resign from his post after a court in London ruled on Thursday that officers had broken health and safety laws over the shooting of Brazilian student Jean Charles de Menezes.

On Friday, the Home Office minister Liam Byrne was unmasked as one of those people who chats on his mobile while driving. He was fined 100 with 35 costs and a 15 victim surcharge - not a good message from a government keen to clamp down on such offences.

THE WEEK IN BRIEF

Boy blunder

THE PUBLIC image of the new caring sharing Tories took a step backwards this week after head prefect David Cameron, below, was alleged to have made a remark about grants to "one-legged Lithuanian dance troupes".

Conservative Central Office said the Boy David was simply trying to make a point about the arbitrary nature of arts council grants and had plucked the expression "out of the air".

However, ambassador Vygaudas Usackas wrote to Cameron saying: "It would be incredibly helpful to understand exactly what you meant when referring to 'Lithuanians' and how this relates, if at all, to the Arts Council." He added: "This will enable me to pass your message to the many Lithuanians living in the UK and also to their homeland, where this report has caused a great deal of concern."

For peat's sake

THE Isle of Lewis is not known for public displays of nudity, but a group of uninhibited Hebridean hunks have decided to follow the example of the Rylstone Women's Institute and cast off their clothes for charity.

The peat cutters' calendar features black-and-white shots of naked men cutting peat and driving tractors against the stark northern landscape, with strategically placed obstacles blocking the full frontal view. Jock Murray, from Gress, said he already had orders from Australia and the US for the calendars, which will raise money for Leukaemia Research in Glasgow.

He said: "I couldn't care less what people think if I am mad or not. The problem when one retires is finding something to do." Murray said he had chosen the theme of peat-cutting to emphasis the hard work that goes into gathering the islanders' traditional winter fuel. No movie deals are believed to be in the offing - but there's still time.

Logan's run ends

MUSCLE-BOUND sports presenter Gabby Logan, above, was muttering about conspiracy theories after being voted off Strictly Come Dancing this week. Logan was chosen for the boot when pitted against Rod Stewart's enormous blonde wife Penny Lancaster, despite being considered the better dancer by almost everyone. Hundreds of viewers rang the BBC to complain, while host Bruce Forsyth quipped: "Next week remember this is a dancing competition."

In the end it was naked ambition which was her downfall - Logan's card was marked after she threw a massive strop for failing to get top marks in week one.

Flushed Italia

SLICED-UP sharks, unmade beds, elephant poo and skulls made of human blood have all become acceptable in the world of contemporary art.

But police in Rome decided a couple of artists had gone too far when they created a toilet that flushes to the sound of the Italian national anthem the Fratelli d'Italia.

Law enforcement officers swooped on the Bolzano Museum of Modern Art and impounded the offending water closet, saying the singing toilet was an affront to the nation.

A court in Bolzano must now decide whether the musical loo is a national outrage or a deep and meaningful work of art.

Acid Nellie

THE decision to give 3000 doses of LSD to an adult male elephant made it to the top of the list of the ten most stupid scientific experiments ever devised. Popular science magazine New Scientist compiled the list, which also included a vet who tried to revive dead dogs by strapping them on a seesaw and a doctor who painted wounds with the vomit of yellow fever patients.

Runner up in the most stupid stakes was a psychological test devised in the Sixties, in which a group of marines was told their plane was about to crash and asked to fill out insurance forms to test their reaction to stress.

Despite the evidence Alex Boese, who compiled the list, insisted: "These experiments are not the work of cranks."

Candy kisses

ENVIRONMENTALISTS worried about the level of toxic chemicals in modern cosmetics are suggesting women should consider making their own lipstick. After the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics raised fears about the levels of lead in lipsticks, young ladies were advised to slather their lips in concoctions made out of beetroot powder or dried cranberries mixed with chocolate, almond oil, beeswax and honey.

It reminds The Week of being five years old and using pink and red Smarties as make-up.

Catwalk crime

AMERICA'S Next Top Model is under scrutiny from women's campaigners for an episode where the aspiring models were asked to pose as "victims of crime".

Bonkers supermodel turned TV magnate Tyra Banks, right, told the "beautiful young ladies" they would be pictured drowned, stabbed, strangled, pushed off high buildings and driven to suicide. The offending episode, screened last week, has sparked a YouTube campaign against the programme, with protesters saying it fetishises violence against young women. Meanwhile fans of the show, while conceding the episode was in spectacularly bad taste, say watching the models trying to look fierce, sexy and dead made it one of the funniest ever. The judges comments included such gems as: "What's great about this is that you can also look beautiful in death", "I think you look absolutely wonderful" and "Death becomes you, young lady".

Hope floats

FORTY years after thousands of hippies, Allen Ginsberg and the Fugs gathered to try to levitate the White House, a Dutch magician has been pictured floating serenely above the US president's lawn. Pictures of sweetly smiling long-haired Ramana appearing to float in thin air have flashed around the world on the anniversary of the famous anti-Vietnam protest. Ramana, whose real name is Wouter Bijdendijk, learned his art from Indian street magicians, and has previously floated half way up a skyscraper in Times Square. He said: "I want to make people think."

Royal revelations

RELATIONS between the Palace and the RSPB are said to be strained over recent events at Sandringham. Prince Harry was questioned by police about the killing of a protected hawk, which is punishable by a six month jail sentence and a 5,000 fine. The RSPB said there were fewer than 20 pairs of hen harriers in England.