A police sergeant was found guilty yesterday of obscenely exposing himself to a group of elderly women while visiting his father
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A police sergeant was found guilty yesterday of obscenely exposing himself to a group of elderly women while visiting his father at an old people's home. Andrew Chatfield, 45, of New Ash Green, near Sevenoaks, Kent, denied indecently exposing himself with intent to insult a woman at the Old Downs Residential Home in Hartley, Kent. During a two-day trial at Maidstone magistrates' court, the 21-stone defendant claimed that the zip of his green cords came undone accidentally as he sat down, and that he was too big to notice.But magistrates convicted Chatfield, who has two children, after a police tailor told the court it was extremely unlikely the zip could have come undone accidentally.The court was told how Chatfield, a custody sergeant at Tonbridge police station, had been warned at the care home that his flies were undone four months before the incident on 7 March last year.The chairwoman of the bench, Margaret Ivell, said: "We are satisfied that this was a deliberate act and it was conducted in a lewd, obscene and insulting manner." Sentencing will take place on 10 May.. A deputy headteacher convicted of murdering his foster daughter applied yesterday to have his case considered for a second appeal. A deputy headteacher convicted of murdering his foster daughter applied yesterday to have his case considered for a second appeal. Solicitors for Si?enkins handed a file containing new evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). Jenkins, 42, has already lost an appeal against his conviction and was refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords.He was jailed for life for bludgeoning 13-year-old Billie-Jo Jenkins to death with an 18in metal tent spike as she painted a patio door at their home in Hastings, East Sussex, in 1997. His trial was told that after killing her he went to a DIY store with two of his four other daughters and pretended to discover Billie-Jo's body on his return.A spokesman for the CCRC said it had received the Jenkins application.
The commission, an independent body with the power to reopen cases where it suspects a miscarriage of justice, will now decide if it is grounds for a fresh hearing.Jenkins's trial in July 1998 was told there were more than 150 microscopic spots of the teenager's blood on Jenkins's jacket, which the Crown said pointed to his guilt.At Jenkins's unsuccessful appeal in December 1999, his barrister, Anthony Scrivener QC, claimed his client's jacket had been contaminated with the blood as he attended the dying girl. Channel 4's Trial and Error programme suggested a mentally ill man seen near the family home might have been the killer.. Rules governing advertising have had to be rewritten because of the protracted and bitter battle of the carpet cleaners fought between Dyson and Hoover. Rules governing advertising have had to be rewritten because of the protracted and bitter battle of the carpet cleaners fought between Dyson and Hoover.Guidelines are being drawn up for the two manufacturers after Lord Borrie QC, the chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority, the industry watchdog, complained that too much of the its time was spent fielding complaints between rival companies.While the association was set up primarily to address consumer concerns about advertising campaigns it is increasingly being hijacked by companies seeking to sabotage rivals' advertising campaigns. Almost 10 per cent of all complaints handled by it now come from rival companies with vacuum cleaner manufacturers being the main culprits. In a recent speech Lord Borrie called on advertisers to act more responsibly, adding that industry-to-industry complaints take up much more than 10 per cent of its resources because they are more likely to require outside experts to evaluate evidence.The new guidelines are intended to lower the number of complaints being received from rival companies. It is hoped they will encourage advertisers to avoid campaigns that are likely to be deliberately antagonistic to competitors or that make claims that are impossible to substantiate.The authority said it was seeking, with the Committee of Advertising Practice, to "establish a more level playing field where claims and comparisons between products can be easily understood".
Lord Borrie is anxious to give more resources to complaints from the public about campaigns such as French Connection's FCUK series and Yves Saint Laurent's advert for Opium perfume featuring a naked Sophie Dahl.Dyson's latest complaint was concluded this week. It objected to a national press advertisement from Hoover that was headlined: "New from Hoover The most powerful bagless upright cleaner. It's here in black and white." The advert went on to state: "Independent tests have confirmed Hoover Vortex Power as the most powerful bagless upright cleaner."Dyson challenged the claim on its understanding that it applied only when the advertisers' product was empty and that its suction power decreased with use. After five months of deliberation the complaints were not upheld the average time to settle a complaint is about one month.A spokesman for the authority said: "The problem for us is that it's all rooted in science and we're not experts on suction power. It has become massively time-consuming."James Dyson, the inventor who founded Dyson after pioneering a bagless cleaner, said his company has won 44 complaints against Hoover over the past couple of years.He said: "It's all part of the enjoyment of being in business. I think the ASA has enjoyed it too it justifies their existence.
But if the competition made more accurate claims there would be fewer complaints.". And the winner is... the well-known comedian who has just pocketed £50,000 for two hours' work delivering one-liners and schmoozing back-slapping luvvies at Britain's top television awards night And the winner is... the well-known comedian who has just pocketed £50,000 for two hours' work delivering one-liners and schmoozing back-slapping luvvies at Britain's top television awards night. The BBC was accused of setting new standards of excess in showbiz remuneration yesterday, after it agreed to pay Angus Deayton, the host of Have I Got News For You, £416-a-minute to host this year's Baftas.A contract agreed between the deadpan television host and the corporation even includes the price of a new bespoke suit in which to comp? the ceremony at a top London hotel on 13 May.The deal is the latest in series of five-figure appearance fees paid by organisers of top awards ceremonies as they try to get ahead of the competition in an increasingly crowded market. From the Brits to the Smash Hits awards, the TV Quick awards, the Empire Magazine awards and the Soap awards, there are now at least 20 showbiz prize ceremonies in Britain every year.Industry insiders said yesterday that the average deal to host a frontline event ranged between £15,000 and £35,000, but they called the fee for next month's Bafta television awards "excessive".The BBC refused to discuss the details of Deayton's pay package but insisted it was getting value for money, when the preparatory work for hosting the Baftas at the Grosvenor Hotel was taken into account.
A spokesman for the corporation, which is understood to have set a target of £25,000 to £30,000 for a host, said: "The fee includes not only presenting on the night but also scriptwriters and preparation. We cannot comment on private fees paid to individuals but Angus Deayton is a top name and a very talented presenter. We are very pleased that he has agreed to host the event."The corporation declined to comment on "frills" included in its contract with the star, including a tailored suit, saying it was a matter of "client confidentiality".The coverage of the television Baftas, one of three events held by the organisation including its main cinema awards shortly before the Oscars, is swapped yearly between the BBC and ITV.Underlining its newly commercial attitude to securing talent, the corporation, which will have around 200 executives and stars at the event, was anxious to secure a dynamic host.The Baftas have recently been hosted by more lugubrious talents such as Des Lynam last year for ITV and Michael Parkinson in 1999 for the BBC.But the more youthful Deayton has been increasingly in the public eye after making his name in the acerbic BBC1 news quiz alongside Ian Hislop, the editor of Private Eye, and the comedian Paul Merton. He currently advertises Barclaycard.But even for showbiz agents, the amount being paid to Deayton was too much. One agent said: "Paying £50,000 for an awards ceremony is well over the going rate.