My blog will be updated daily, so make sure you come back! If you would like to add or reply to a comment on one of the articles below just send me your comment and, if it's reasonably decent and not libellous or anything like that, I'll add it to the article (don't forget to include the date and title of the article).
22.10.12
Stepdad secretly filmed me naked for years ...yet my mum stood by him
TRUSTING teen Bethany Buckle had thought her mum’s boyfriend was a good bloke ever since he had moved into the family home when she was seven. Camping trips, cinema visits, bike rides and meals out were the stuff of a happy childhood for Bethany and her older brother Nathan.
So they were delighted, in 2009, when mum Tracy finally tied the knot with Michael Connor.
But a month later their world fell apart when Bethany, then 15, logged on to a family laptop and discovered Connor had been secretly filming her NAKED in her bedroom since she was just ten.
She found video footage of her getting changed for school, undressing or drying off after showers and, chillingly, a sequence where Connor came into the room to test the cameras.
Sickeningly, for years he had been collecting the images and ogling them in a file he callously named “home videos”.
Disgusted Bethany, now 18, who is training to be a nurse, says: “I felt sick when I found the videos.
“There were ten different sets of footage. In some of them I was in my bra and pants but in others I was completely naked.
“I was in shock staring at the screen and started panicking when the second video showed my stepdad Michael coming into my room in the morning to test the cameras.
“Complete horror washed over me when I realised it was him. I didn’t want to believe it. There were graphic videos of me drying off after a shower. I was shaking as I realised the man I trusted as my dad was a sick pervert.
“I ran into my room frantically looking for the cameras but I couldn’t find anything.
“I desperately wanted to tell my mum but was terrified by Michael after seeing the videos and thought my mum wouldn’t believe me, so I kept it to myself.”
But then, in February this year, Bethany noticed Connor, 39, had been spending more time on his laptop — and she was appalled to find a batch of fresh footage.
She says: “I couldn’t believe he was still recording me. I was sure I’d checked my room before but I was later to find out the cameras he was using were hidden in PENS so I never noticed them.
“This time I confided in my boyfriend Ryan and his shock made me realise I should have told someone the first time round. So I waited for Michael to go out and showed my mum the videos.”
Mum Tracy, 40, sobbed as Bethany also revealed she had found similar images when she was just 15.
But in a shock double betrayal, secretary Tracy begged her daughter not to report her husband to the police.
Bethany, from Leeds, says: “I thought that, by confiding in my mum, I would finally have a weight lifted and my family could be free of Michael. Instead she stuck by him. My stomach lurched as she told me not to go to the police and that we should sort it out as a family.”
While Bethany stood in shock, brother Nathan, 21, ignored his mum’s pleas and called the police.
She says: “I was scared but knew it was the only way to stop Michael if my mum wouldn’t support me.
“Police searched the house after they saw the videos and I was horrified when they found two pinhead cameras in my bedroom.”
In August, Connor pleaded guilty to two charges of voyeurism and got three years’ community service, three years’ probation and five years on the sex offenders’ register. Bethany said: “It was a huge relief.”
But she added: “He’d convinced Mum he did the filming for my own good because he wanted to check I was doing my homework properly.
“I couldn’t believe it — the only film on the computer was me naked or in my underwear.”
She and Nathan have now moved out of the family home and no longer speak to their mum as they cannot accept she has chosen their Peeping Tom stepdad over them.
vicious.sid: A disgusting, perverted man - but what a vile, vile woman.
ElviriaDreamer: Re the camera post...you are correct. What a vile woman! To stand by a seedy pervert over your own child is a disgrace. Some people have no morals and don't understand the meaning of loyalty. SHOCKING! Having found myself in a similar position (being filmed by a seedy, sexual deviant called Barry in Fuerteventura) I can resonate with it all. My daughter has chosen to stand by a seedy pervert who was involved in setting up the filming along with others, over me her mother. She hangs out with everyone involved in setting up the film and fraud of my name/address. DISGUSTING! That's not all of it...but all I will print here. I can no longer have a relationship with her EVER. Even when she finds out the whole truth (and the risk she has placed her children at) and leaves this bloke. It's about respect and loyalty. Some women are a disgrace and care only about their own needs and wants.
22.10.12
Five-star Generals
DEFENCE bigwigs blew a staggering £227million last year travelling around the world and staying in posh hotels, an investigation has revealed. The MoD bill for civil servants and top brass was paid despite a cost-cutting operation that has axed 20,000 serving soldiers.
Privileged officials often stayed at lavish venues where the cost of a room — paid by taxpayers — was more than £300 a night. But the MoD was prepared to pay £600 a night at some opulent hotels, the figures reveal.
Colonel Richard Kemp, former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, last night branded the bills “shameful”.
He accused officials of “profligate waste” while squaddies were being laid off, deprived of vital fighting kit and housed in slum barracks.
It is not known which MoD staff lapped up the life of luxury. But one blew £3,000 on five nights at a swanky seafront hotel in Malaysia.
Others were put up at plush venues in Paris, Madrid, Washington — and even London, where the MoD is based.
vicious.sid: That's a bargain! Knowing the MoD, they probably spent £227m in a month on sandwiches for one office.
22.10.12
Chris Brown is on Rih-peat
DIE-HARD RIHANNA fans won’t be happy to hear CHRIS BROWN is close to worming his way back into her life full time. He launched his new website at the weekend in Beverly Hills and she showed up to lend her support.
A source said: “They were hugging, making kissy-faces at each other, laughing and sharing drinks and a cigarette rollie.”
“It’s clear that they’re making no secret things are back on track.”
The pair made a big deal of leaving in separate cars, with Rihanna travelling alongside a girl pal. But it is believed the Diamonds singer has been planning her first public appearance with Chris as a couple.
She’s keen to show up with him at a big awards ceremony, arm-in-arm, over the next few months.
vicious.sid: Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick . . .
22.10.12
Only 'ere for Amir
KELL BROOK wants a shot at Amir Khan so badly that he is ready to give up his world title fight to get it. The Sheffield star is now mandatory challenger for Devon Alexander’s IBF welterweight crown after his stunning third-round KO of Argentine Hector Saldivia on Saturday.
But Brook has also set his sights on a possible all-British affair against Khan.
Khan, 25, fights Carlos Molina in December to get his career back on track after two losses — and a source in his camp revealed Brook is only a lucrative option if he is world champion.
It would be a risky fight for the Bolton boxer considering he has yet to fight at welterweight.
But Brook said: “I would be very hungry for Khan if it came along before the world title challenge. It is personal. The things that he said about me in the past have made it personal. I want to take him out.”
Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn also fancies a clash with Kahn or even with Ricky Hatton.
He said: “The only possible fights that could stop us going for the world title are Khan or Hatton, “We know what Khan’s people are like, they love a pound note.”
vicious.sid: Kelly Brook v Amir Khan? That's a bit one-sided isn't it?
dezza69: @vicious.sid I agree it would be one sided but I am sure Khan would finally realise it is time to quit when Kelly Brook wins
22.10.12
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185 MPs take us for a ride in first class
A TOTAL of 185 MPs are claiming for first class rail tickets on their expenses. They exploit a rules loophole that allows them to go first class in some circumstances.
But these tickets can be five times more expensive than the standard fares for the same train.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls and ex-Lib Dem Cabinet minister Chris Huhne are among those using the taxpayer-funded perk.
The revelations come days after Chancellor George Osborne sparked controversy by nabbing a first class seat despite having a standard class ticket.
Commons expenses watchdog IPSA had cracked down on the perk after the 2009 scandal.
But under the rules, MPs can buy a first-class ticket if it is cheaper than a standard open fare.
If they buy far enough in advance, the price can be lower.
Figures show 113 Labour 48 Tory, 19 Lib Dem, three SNP and two Plaid Cymru politicians have used the loophole.
Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “MPs should be able to order a standard class ticket in plenty of time - and it will almost always be cheaper.”
vicious.sid: All men are equal, but some are more equal than others. We make the rules so we'll make sure that the plebs pay through the nose for everything (including us) and we'll pay for the least possible. And if we can't get round paying for something, we'll just claim it back from the plebs. You just expect if from politicians - can you imagine if there ever was an honest one . . ? Nah!!!!
22.10.12
Lag of luxury
PRISON Service chiefs have blown millions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash on hairdressers, taxis and even actors, The Sun can reveal.
Silly money ... where cash has gone The sums were squandered after civil servants signed off an array of vast contracts with private firms to supply the Ministry of Justice.
They included £720,000 paid to actors to take part in role playing to help cons get jobs, £4.5million for private cab firms to ferry inmates and staff around Britain, £84,000 for hairdressers to trim lags’ locks at just three prisons and £100,000 for cons’ toothbrushes.
The figures, obtained in a Freedom of Information probe, show that one taxi firm — Val’s Cars 98 Ltd — pocketed £920,000 alone for its work.
Other firms got £60,000 to set up a radio station at Brixton prison, £58,469 for an “artificial sports pitch” at Wormwood Scrubs while £645,000 went to a counselling company.
A Ministry spokesman said the contracts “help us drive efficency and achieve best value for taxpayers”.
But the TaxPayers’ Alliance said “The Ministry of Justice has to save money.
"It should start by cutting out barmy spending and stop providing prisoners creature comforts that they gave up the right to when they broke the law.”
vicious.sid: Are we surprised? Do we think anything will change? Answers on a postcard . . .
22.10.12
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Fergie is the last person on earth you’d want to cross, Rio
The players who've crossed Fergie Jaap Stam DUTCH defender Stam was moved on after revealing in his autobiography that he was tapped up by United before he signed from PSV Eindhoven in 1998.
At the time, Alex Ferguson denied that had anything to do with it and said that the £16.5m fee Lazio offered in 2001 was ‘too good to turn down’.
But Fergie later admitted that selling Stam was his biggest-ever mistake.
David Beckham GOLDENBALLS was forced to pack his bags for Spain a few months after Ferguson kicked a boot that struck Beckham in the face following a 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Arsenal in 2003.
But that was not the only factor in Fergie’s decision, as Becks hinted in his auto- biography My Side.
He said: “The gaffer had had enough. I’d grown up as a person and he didn’t seem to like what I’d become.”
After a 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough, Keano told Rio Ferdinand: “Just because you are paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you’re a superstar.”
United’s former skipper was shown the door in 2005 by Fergie after a series of incidents culminated with an outburst on a tour to Portugal. Relations between the pair remain frosty.
AFTER 150 goals in 210 matches, Ruud van Nistelrooy was sold to Real Madrid in 2006 after criticising Fergie’s tactics and team selection.
Left on the bench for the opening day of the season against Charlton, Van Nistelrooy’s feud with Fergie lasted more than five years.
The pair patched up their differences last year and finally buried the hatchet.
Carlos Tevez was allowed to join rivals City in 2009 after Fergie claimed he had ignored his text messages about a new deal.
Tevez claimed United had taken too long to offer him a new deal and promptly jumped ship. His ‘RIP Fergie’ sign on last season’s title parade means Tevez shouldn’t expect a Christmas card from him anytime soon.
IT’S time for Rio Ferdinand to take a step back. Or else risk tumbling over the precipice.
Everyone understands the point he was trying to make by not joining the rest of the Manchester United team in wearing a Kick It Out top on Saturday — that he didn’t agree with John Terry receiving just a four-game ban for racially abusing his brother Anton.
The £220,000 fine — and anything else added on top by Chelsea — is immaterial.
But Ferdinand is not doing himself, the Kick It Out campaign, his club or Alex Ferguson any favours by continuing to act as the focal point for a group of disgruntled black players who firmly believe the Chelsea skipper got off lightly.
When you start drawing Ferguson into an argument he doesn’t really want to be in, it’s time to ask yourself a few questions.
As it is, Ferdinand is in deepish water by severely embarrassing Ferguson after the Old Trafford boss had said on Friday that ALL United players would be supporting the FA’s anti-racism campaign by wearing the Kick It Out training tops.
Ferguson’s reaction was Ferdinand would be “dealt with”, an interesting scenario seeing the former England skipper chose the week before United’s trip to Stamford Bridge to keep everything bubbling over.
The last person he wants to cross is the still all-powerful Old Trafford chief — as countless United players in the past will confirm.
But even more so in his own case as the United boss has gone out of his way to back him.
vicious.sid: I would be very happy to sit on the bench a couple of times a week for the rest of my career whilst being paid a couple of hundred thousand quid a week just for upsetting the red nosed one.
22.10.12
Ronnie Barker’s paedophile son will pocket £1.4m legacy after jail term
THE paedo son of comedy legend Ronnie Barker stands to pick up a £1.4million inheritance when he is released from jail in the New Year. Adam Barker, 44, was jailed for a year after he admitted having 1,675 vile images of child abuse on his laptop.
But he could be free in three months after time served on remand and is expected to bank his windfall soon after.
The bit-part telly actor, who had small roles in Wycliffe and Monarch of the Glen, was arrested by Opertation Ore cops in 2004 aftere they tracked credit card payments to paedophile websites.
But he went into hiding for eight years in Hungary - missing both his parents' funerals - before finally handing himself in at a London police station when he had run out of cash.
vicious.sid: That's it now. Now he has money he won't be prosecuted when they catch him again.