News about Ted Heath

The BBC used convicted paedophiles to chauffeur celebrities and high-profile guests for over 30 years, it has been claimed. A chauffeur service headed by a man with convictions that included raping a child at gunpoint was used by the BBC from the late 70s until 2006. Niven Sinclair (pictured right) was paid millions as his firm transported celebrities - including Jimmy Saville (top inset) and high-profile guests such as then-Prime Minister Ted Heath (left) - to and from the corporation's studios. The BBC itself issued glowing praise for Sinclair as being a 'wily and determined' man who 'built a reputation for digging programmes out of holes'.

The sheer stupidity of Labour ministers as they try to justify the massive pay awards they're doling out to all and sundry in the ­public sector beggars belief. One by one they step up to the microphone to claim it was cheaper to capitulate to union demands than to put up with the cost of continued disruption. Thus do they demonstrate a breathtaking naivety when it comes to industrial relations.

Shares are up about 37 per cent this year alone and recently hit a record high when Erginbilgic said he would restore dividend payments for the first time since the pandemic. Less than two years into his tenure, it is still early days for him at the company, whose engines drive passenger jets, fighter planes and submarines. However, Erginbilgic appears to be succeeding where a string of predecessors failed: in translating Rolls' undeniable technical excellence into financial returns. The question for investors is whether the profits engine can keep up at this clip. Will Tufan prove a genuine miracle man - or is it another mirage?

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Rishi's pre-briefing of the King about his General Election plans contrasts with Ted Heath in 1974, who called a snap election when the Queen was 11,500 miles away in New Zealand. Rules governing the powers of counsellors of state mean they cannot prorogue and dissolve parliament nor summon an election. Her Majesty had to issue urgent Letters Patent allowing her counsellors, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, to do just that and then cut short her visit and return to London. Prince Philip carried on in her stead. She was most unamused.

STEPHEN GLOVER: Rishi Sunak (left) was probably exaggerating when he said in his speech yesterday that 'more will change in the next five years than in the last 30'. But we do live in an age of flux and uncertainty, and the Prime Minister has quite cleverly put his finger on the nation's pulse. I doubt, in fact, that any election has taken place in recent history at a time when there was more disquiet and unease about the way the world is going. Although public alarm was obviously high at the outbreak of war in 1939, there hadn't been an election since 1935, when the prospect of another conflict still seemed distant to many. In 1974, Tory Prime Minister Ted Heath went to the country as Britain was mired in strikes and suffering the economic shocks of an oil crisis. But I doubt there was as much fear about the future as there is today.

Words often fail my opponents, as they tend not to have much in the way of arguments. So in recent years, as I battle for facts and logic on anti-social media, my critics have taken to calling me 'old' in the hope of damaging me. A variation on this is to call me a 'Boomer', the American expression for those such as me born in the great Baby Bulge after World War Two (I was born in October 1951). They do this as if it were a brilliant point. They seem to think that because I am old, therefore I am stupid. They are not at all embarrassed about this, as they would be about equally open prejudice on the grounds of race or sex. My first response to this strange, rather stupid rudeness was to say to myself: 'Old? Me?'

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Prince Andrew performed a version of musical chairs in Windsor's St George's Chapel for the late King Constantine's memorial service. In the second class, he was supposed to sit next to his ex-wife Sarah. The front row was reserved for Queen Camilla and working royals plus Marina Ogilvy, who was seen in a wheelchair for the first time. The Duke of Kent, who should have been with his sister and niece in the second row, was carried to the second row like a jumbo cuckoo Andrew. Would absent William - who has little time for Andrew (who bagged pole position as the highest in the line of succession present) - have relegated his uncle to his proper place?

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., the President of the United States, is' a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' Well, everyone knew that. However, because this was the explanation given in a legal report for failing to sue the President for mishandling classified information, it has shattered the campaign to re-elect Biden more than if the special counsel had requested the lawsuit against the 81-year-old in the White House.

During the probe into child sex abuse allegations, Sir Edward Heath's (left) close colleagues were never approached by police officers, according to Parliament. Several former Prime Minister May's colleagues have slammed the 'amateurish' probe, pressuring for a public inquiry into the unsolved charges. Despite Mr Heath's accusers, dreamer Carl Beech (right), being jailed for perverting the path of justice, they say it has tarnished the image of a "great statesman." Mr Heath had no evidence against him, although Carl Beech, his chief accuser, was both a paedophil and fantasist. Beech, the woman who screamed over a murderous VIP paedophile ring in Westminster, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Through Fort William, a police car is traveling at top speed. It swerves violently to avoid a military roadblock before a man wielding a Kalashnikov fires, smashing the windshield and killing the pilot. The vehicle explodes into a store front and screams with fire. Post-apocalyptic nightmare?Daring Hogmanay TV sketch?Not quite. Welcome to Scotch on the Rocks, a TV drama about a Scottish nationalist uprising that has never been shown again on the BBC 50 years ago. In fact, so put out was the SNP of the day by the show, which featured a fictional Scottish Liberation Army deploying Russian-supplied weapons in Fort William, when English troops gathered north of Glasgow, alleging that the series put the show's viewers out of contention that the true party was involved in conflict.

Baroness Falkender, then Marcia Williams, began behaving with increasing irregularities. Drinamyl, also known as purple hearts, was a common user of the chemical stimulant. Several people in the Wilson government who worked with her said she would often embarrass the then-Prime Minister

Sunak's administration, which has pledged to the long run, is expected to truncate the rail link to the North in the wake of the Whitehall's discontent over the price. The excitement and vision of new programs are too important to ignore. With the Elizabeth Line, which had been criticized by some as a fast rail link to nowhere, Britain's can-do spirit triumphed. Now, with air-con and the internet, it is London's most popular route.

Mike Veale (left and inset), 57, was found by a disciplinary panel to have made inappropriate sexual comments to colleagues during his time as Mayor of Cleveland Police in 2018. Steve Turner, the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner, has now backed the panel's conclusions, adding that Mr Veale will have been dismissed and should now be placed on the list of officers barred from serving indefinitely. After ten months as boss, Mr Veale resigned from the service in January 2019. Mr Heath (right), the ex-top officer who supervised a tumultuous probe into suspected sexual offences while heading Wiltshire Police, was unable to attend the 25-minute inquiry at the police headquarters in Middlesbrough.

According to newly released documents, John Betjeman was dismissed by Harold Wilson's administration as a 'lightweight' in 1967. The beloved poet was omitted from Cecil Day-Lewis, but the post was published five years later, when Ted Heath was in No. 10 and Betjeman was chosen. Government documents published today by the National Archives shed a new light on the cut-throat process, in which No. 10 aides assembled a classified list of candidates.

WH Auden was widely believed to be the correct option when a new Poet Laureate had to be chosen in 1972. Many academics rated Auden, who wrote about September 1, 1939 and Stop All The Clocks, which appeared in Four Weddings and a Funeral, as the country's most important living poet, while the bookmakers selected him 5-4 favourite. But television star Ross McWhirter was so concerned about the possibility that he contacted Buckingham Palace to alert the world to a little-known but 'hardcore' pornographic poem published under Auden's name in a 'underground' magazine today.

During his ten-month tenure as Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Mike Veale (pictured left) was discovered to have horrified a female officer of senior rank with a remark he made while waiting in her car. He now faces the possibility of being placed on the police barred list, which would mean he will no longer be able to work for policing companies in the future. Cleveland's Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner will make a decision on sanctions, which will be announced at a later date. Mr Veale is best known for leading Wiltshire police when they were investigating Ted Heath (pictured right), who was prime minister from 1970 to 1974, after being accused of a string of sexual assaults.

Governments are seen fiddling with central bank autonomy at their own risk, according to some. However, with the current crisis in financial markets causing turmoil, perhaps it is time for a rethink.

I've been walking the Brecon Beacons' lush, green valleys all my life. In the winter, I've measured the sandstone peaks in howling gales. On the slopes of Pen y Fan, the highest peak in South Wales, I've gasped for water in boiling heat. The Brecon Beacons will be on display for the remainder of my life. However, I will never, ever call them either the Bannau Brycheiniog (pronounced 'Ban-eye Bruck-iog' or, more specifically, the Bannau. And I'll explain why. The new name, which went into operation yesterday, has been implemented without consulting any of the thousands of local people (or 4 million annual visitors) who so enjoy this breath-takingly stunning landscape. It's purely the brainchild of an unethical group of virtue-signalling politicians and civil servants who appear to be able to invest taxpayers' money on the most lame of schemes, as long as they can be shown as contributing in some way to the sunlit uplands of 'net zero.'

The former chief constable (left), who supervised a disgraced witch hunt into Ted Heath abuse, has resigned from his £100,000 position days after the appointment was described as "completely troubling." Mike Veale, the former Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, is facing disciplinary charges from his time on the service triggered by "serious allegations." Despite this, Leicestershire's police and crime commissioner Rupert Matthews regarded him as the right person to lead his office as a £100,000 advisor. Mr Veale, the former prime minister of Wiltshire, is best known for leading Wiltshire police when they were investigating Ted Heath (right), who was prime minister from 1970 to 1974. Operation Midland, the Metropolitan police probe into recent allegations of child abuse and related murders sparked by fantasist Carl Beech, was investigated. (lower inset)

According to MIKE COLMAN, Adams may have seen a completely different side to the greatest cricketer to have ever lived if he had done his research before making the allegations on Thursday. When ABC News Australia contacted Bradman, the singer burstled him to tears.

Toolstation, part of Travis Perkins, the UK's largest building materials store, reported on Friday that comparing data from the first 11 days of October 2021 to the same period this year showed a 203 percent rise in generators and a 43% increase in head and head torches. Generators can be used to control electronic devices such as lamps, fan heaters, and televisions, and they can be used to power generators. For example, a Jackery Portable Explorer 500 power station costs less than £50 and will charge a smartphone 50 times, camera batteries 25 times, and even a mini fridge for a few days depending on the model. With a Kantar study this week that claimed that Britons were buying candles and duvets, the Toolstation finds common use. Last week, department store chain John Lewis said people were stockpiling thermal underwear, gloves, and dressing gowns. It comes as National Grid CEO John Pettigrew said the company would need to introduce rolling power cuts across the UK in January and February if the country struggles to obtain adequate gas supplies from Europe.

According to The Guardian, the scripts would warn the public to tune into emergency radio broadcasting via FM frequencies and will keep the public informed in the event of a'major loss of power.' Scripts are said to have been developed as part of the BBC's role in broadcasting critical health and safety information to the public in the case of national emergencies. It comes as National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew said the firm may need to introduce rolling power cuts across Britain in January and February (radio broadcast by candlelight during 1972 blackouts pictured right)

The boss of National Grid has warned that British households should plan for blackouts between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. over the winter. According to John Pettigrew (pictured top), the firm, which oversees the UK's electricity and gas networks, will need to introduce rolling power cuts in January and February (newsreader Alan Rogers pictured bottom right, having to resort to candles in 1972) if the UK does not have enough natural gas from Europe. The first two months of next year were particularly worrying, and a fuel shortage for gas-fired power stations, which accounts for a substantial portion of the UK's electricity, as well as slower wind speeds and lower imports of electricity from Europe could place strain on the grid.

MATTHEW ENGEL: As he was driving to work on cold winter mornings, a Liverpool road safety officer chastised girls wearing the latest maxi-skirts. They were much more difficult to see than those wearing minis and sporting lots of pale thigh, according to Lionel Piper, 49. He would have been delighted by the upcoming fashion: hot pants - tiny tailored shorts that brought the hemline to the upper limit, but not necessarily suitable for January mornings on Merseyside. Women were allowed to wear trousers in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot that summer, and people began to sport minis, maxis, and midis as they saw fit in the decade.