Jody McIntyre Wheelchair Complaint: Tuition Fees Police Cleared

Police were justified in removing a man from his wheelchair during a violent demonstration against tuition fees in central London, Scotland Yard has said.
Jody McIntyre said he was tipped out of his chair and dragged across a road on 9 December, and was hit with a baton.
A police probe found officers were right to remove him from the wheelchair based on the "perceived risk" to him, while the baton hit was "inadvertent".The 20-year-old said the findings were "shockingly poor" and plans to appeal.The Directorate of Professional Standards at the Metropolitan Police (Met) said violent disorder had been taking place and officers were "under sustained attack and were required to use force to protect themselves".

Queen Safety Police Wheel-Clamped In Portsmouth

 Two police officers had their vehicles wheel-clamped as they carried out security duties for the Queen's recent visit to Portsmouth.

 The two unmarked police vehicles were clamped during the surprise royal visit to Gunwharf Quays on Wednesday for lunch aboard a luxury yacht.
Hampshire Police said the officers had "not left the vehicles".
The alleged clamper, Gareth Andrews, 37, from Fareham, has been charged with obstructing police.
Mr Andrews, of Privett Road, is due to appear before South East Hampshire Magistrates' Court on 3 June.

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The officers had not left the vehicles at the time they were clamped”

Hampshire Constabulary spokesman

Police said the incident had stopped them "conducting their duties".

Wheel-clamping firm Shoal Enforcement said the police officers had declined to prove they were on duty when asked, and had subsequently arrested their member of staff.
During the Queen's unannounced visit she had lunch on board the 245ft (75m) super yacht Leander, owned by NCP car park millionaire Sir Donald Gosling.

Crowd gathered

Shoppers were taken by surprise when they heard she was near to the Gunwharf Quays shopping complex, which she visited in 2002 as part of her Golden Jubilee Tour.
A crowd gathered to see her leave the yacht and applauded her as she waved back to them.
The Queen had arrived in Portsmouth by helicopter, having attended a dinner the evening before hosted by US President Barack Obama at the end of his state visit to the UK.
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said the incident had prevented "the officers, who were at Gunwharf as part of a security operation, from conducting their duties".
"The officers had not left the vehicles at the time they were clamped."
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said that she could not confirm details of the visit as it was a "private engagement".

'No officers in vehicles'

Shoal Enforcement said: "A plain-clothes police officer produced his warrant card and requested that both vehicles be released.
"Our member of staff confirmed he would release the vehicles if the police officer would provide confirmation that he was on duty.
"The police officer declined and arrested our member of staff for obstruction.
"There were no officers in the vehicles at any time during the incident and our member of staff was correctly displaying his SIA licence."
Mr Andrews was also charged with contravening the Private Security Industry Act for allegedly not displaying the appropriate licensing badge

Titanic Captain's Cigar Box Sells For £25,000

 A cigar box once owned by the captain of the Titanic has been sold for £25,000 at an auction in Liverpool.

The walnut humidor was discovered gathering dust on a bedroom cabinet in the Merseyside home of Hilary Mee.
It was spotted by auctioneer John Crane when he was invited to value a number of antiques.
Ms Mee said she had no idea the item was connected to the ill-fated vessel, even though it had been lying around her home for 20 years.

Finest smokes

The box carries the distinctive emblem of the White Star Line shipping company and bears the initials of the master of the passenger liner, Edward John Smith, who was from Stoke-on-Trent.
At first Mr Crane could not work out what the initials stood for but he said a tingle went down his spine when he realised it belonged to the ship's captain.
Ms Mee said the box had been in her family for several generations. It is thought to have been given to her father by relatives of Edward John Smith's widow, Sarah.
The box is lined with camphor wood and was designed to hold 40 of the finest Havana cigars.
The RMS Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast and sank after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912.

France And Russia Strike Mistral Warship Deal

The purchase of four Mistral-class helicopter carriers was finalised at the G8 summit in Deauville, France, and will be signed within a fortnight.
Two of the carriers will be built in France, and the other two in Russia.
The Russian military has also long been in need of modernisation, correspondents say.
"We have reached a definitive agreement on the two carriers built in France and the two carriers built in Russia," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a news conference with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.
Mr Sarkozy added the deal was evidence the Cold War was far in the past and Russia should be considered a friend.
The carriers are thought to cost between 400m euros and 500m euros each ($525m to $655m).
Negotiations over the purchase began two years ago, but stalled on several occasions over price and technology transfer.
There were also some concerns from France's Nato allies that the ships could be used against Russian neighbours such as Georg

Barack Obama's The Beast Incurs £10 London C-charge

Mayor Boris Johnson said the motorcade was charged, unlike the Popemobile, because roads were not closed.
He and Mr Obama exchanged "points of view", he said, over £5.2m worth of unpaid congestion bills when they met.
The US Embassy said it was exempt from paying "direct taxes" but the mayor maintains the charge is not a tax.
Transport for London has confirmed that the Presidential convoy was charged but the bill has not been paid.
Mr Johnson said: "Unlike the Pope where we didn't charge the Popemobile because we closed the roads, when The Beast rolled through London that Beast paid a congestion charge.
But on the wider principle of US and other diplomats following on the lead of the majority of good embassies in London, who pay the congestion charge, a discussion was had, points of views were exchanged, I would say that discussions were ongoing."
Several embassies refuse to pay the £10-a-day charge for driving in central London, claiming they are exempted from local taxes.
The total bill stands at £51m and the US, Russia and Japan are the top three in the list of non-payers.
In a statement, the US Embassy said it "conscientiously abides by all UK laws, including paying fines for all traffic violations, such as parking and speeding violations"
"Our position on the direct tax established by Transport for London in 2003, more commonly known as the congestion charge, is based on the 1960 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which prohibits the imposition of this sort of tax on diplomatic missions," the statement adde