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Paralympic hero Tanni Grey-Thompson overlooked

Paralympic hero Tanni Grey-Thompson has been turned down for a key role in delivering London 2012's legacy amid claims of a Government 'stitch-up'. A political row is expected to spark today when ministers announce that the new head of Sport England will be Nick Bitel, chief executive of the London Marathon. It is claimed Baroness Grey-Thompson, who had the backing of Lord Coe and was Mr Bitel's main rival, was overlooked because she had been too critical of the Government. Although the 43-year-old who won 11 Paralympic gold medals sits in the Lords crossbench peer, she has lead criticism of disability benefit cuts. Hugh Robertson, the Sports Minister, will say today that Mr Bitel, who has been in charge of the London Marathon since 1995, was the best candidate for the job, The Times reported. Whitehall sources told the paper: 'In terms of national organisation, leadership, commercial experience, he's got it all.' It was Lady Grey-Thompson's lack of exp

Mystery buyer makes a bid for Michael Winner's £50million

Almost exactly three months after the death of ebullient Michael Winner, a buyer has been found for his magnificent 46-room Kensington mansion, which he originally wanted to leave to the nation. The film director who spent millions renovating Woodland House — once the home of the pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Luke Fieldes who painted Edward VII there — put the pile discreetly on the market via his lawyers when he knew he was dying so as not to complicate matters for his widow, Geraldine. The house was originally three flats, which were bought by Winner's property magnate father, George, and it remains leasehold. The freeholder is Charlotte Townsend, one of Britain's richest women. The buyer, who is expected to have to part with £50 million, will also have to pay at least another £15 million to extend the lease, which runs out in 32 years. I understand that lawyers acting for the late bon viveur have sealed a deal with a new owner, but are remaining discreet about his identity.

Victory for the villagers who ignored death threats

For 1,088 days they have braved storms, floods, snow and torrential rain to prevent the spread of an illegal gipsy camp on the edge of their village. But yesterday the villagers of Meriden celebrated victory after the Romanies who threatened to destroy their rural idyll were finally forced to leave. The triumph is a hard-fought win for the hardy band who have maintained a round-the-clock vigil to stop further development at the camp since April 2010. Defiant: A traveller fuels a fire at the site in Meriden yesterday as villagers triumphed over the Romanies At the same time, the residents have faced a long and arduous legal fight to remove the travellers, who have repeatedly used delaying tactics to stay on the site. Some of the villagers have also faced death threats, had their homes vandalised and been labelled racist. Last month the gipsies lost their three-year legal battle to stay on the land. A judge at the High Court in Birmingham gave them until the weekend to move and orde

Police hunt gang of leering 'Benny Hill-style' sex pests

Police in the Lake District are hunting a Benny Hill-style gang who lean out of car windows to slap the bottoms of women riding bikes. The gang of leering, cackling youths are touring the roads around Barrow, Cumbria, on the lookout for ladies cycling in Lycra shorts. Just like a scene from a Benny Hill Show, they wind down the window, reach out and smack the women's bottoms before roaring off. The youths are wreaking havoc in the usually quiet seaport town. Three women have reported their anti-social behaviour Detectives are following up reports from three furious cyclists and believe many more victims are too embarrassed to come forward. In the latest incident, the youths, in a black car, slowed down before the passenger leaned out and slapped a shocked women cyclist on her bottom, causing her to wobble, lose control of her bike and nearly fall off. More... Student, 14, charged with causing a disruption at school after refusing to remove NRA T-shirt Conflict-of-interest p

'Don't panic Mr Miliband!' Labour's Diane Abbott tells Ed Miliband

Labour MP Diane Abbott has warned her own leader Ed Miliband not to panic and to be careful to avoid 'dog whistle politics' on immigration. The shadow health minister said the party could be plunged into a downward spiral if it tried too hard to apologise for its record on immigration. The UK Independence Party had made people 'panicky' about immigration but Mr Miliband must resist the temptation to become 'over-anxious' to reassure voters. Labour MP Diane Abbott said the party could be plunged into a downward spiral if it tried too hard to apologise for its record on immigration Ms Abbott said: 'We are in the middle of a recession, or as near as damn it. In a recession you always see a rise in racism and anti-immigrant feeling - you had it in Germany in the 1930s. 'We have to be very careful about our language because when people are frightened about their future, they want to blame outsiders, they want to blame the other, ' she told the Sky News

Considering another career? Disgraced cyclist

Does the man who took one of the steepest, most public falls from grace in recent sports history have a new career path in the works? Possibly, but judging from his trepidation about playing the drums for an Austin, Texas audience of 10,000 people, disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong won’t be moving on to the music world any time soon. The founder of the Livestrong Foundation took to Twitter to tell what fans he has left what it felt like to play the drums at a recent reggae festival in his hometown. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO New gig? Lance Armstrong may have gotten a new job, for one night anyway, when he played drums for a reggae group in Austin, Texas ‘Helluva good time sitting in with @LanceHerbstrong 2night @AustinReggae,’ Armstrong tweeted April 20. To clarify, Armstrong shared the stage that night with a reggae group that cribbed its name from the former Tour de France champ, known as Lance Herbstrong. ‘Drumming in front of 10,000 peeps had me more than a little freaked,’ he went

Children's author E.L. Konigsburg who won top book award twice dies aged 83

An award-winning children's author whose celebrated book was turned into a 1973 film starring Ingrid Bergman has died aged 83. Elaine Lobl Konigsburg, who went by the name E. L. Konigsburg, passed away on Friday at a hospital in Falls Church, Virginia, a week after suffering a stroke, her son, Paul Konigsburg, said. The long-time Florida resident, who had moved to the state a few years ago to live with another son, will be fondly remembered for her 'brilliant storytelling,' which twice won her the John Newbery Medal - one of the top honors for children's literature. Konigsburg won the prestigious award in 1997 for her book 'The View from Saturday' and in 1968 for 'From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.' Ingrid Bergman starred as Mrs. Frankweiler in a 1973 film adaptation of Konigsburg's book called 'The Hideaways.' 'From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler' was one of the first manuscripts she submitted to