Australian actress Rachel Griffiths says she was ‘quite elated’ when she heard a heritage-listed Catholic church in Melbourne, where horrific child abuse once took place, had been destroyed by fire. The Six Feet Under star revealed that like many of the church’s former parishioners she found it hard to even ‘drive past’ St James church in Brighton, in Melbourne’s south-east. Firefighters desperately tried to battle a fierce blaze that took hold of the 124-year-old building at around 6.30am on Monday morning but it has been left gutted. Ms Griffiths told 774 ABC Melbourne the church was plagued by ‘tragedy and complicated feelings’ and described it as being known locally as ‘the haunted house on the hill’. ‘We've all attended many funerals of boys that we now know were abused by [Father Ronald] Pickering ... and other perpetrators in the parish - at the actual church that it occurred in,’ she said. 'It's been hard for priests to really cleanse this parish, it's been very difficult to rebuild a community and we pretty much all scattered after the revelations came out and found other parishes.' Ms Griffiths revealed she and other local Catholics had avoided being married in the church because of the sick crimes that historically took place inside it. Scroll down for video . Australian actress Rachel Griffiths is happy that her former Melbourne church has burned down because of its past links to a paedophile priest . Her mother stopped taking her to the church after her father left them because Pickering wouldn't have a 'divorced woman in the church'. 'I think that's probably one thing that saved our family that so many of my friends' brothers got involved with,' she said. Ronald Pickering abused boys between 1960 and 1980 while working as a priest in Melbourne . 'We stopped going because he stopped my mother at the door.' At least five people killed themselves after being sexually abused by paedophile priest Ronald Pickering between 1960 and 1980, according to research carried out in 2012. The former priest was named by the Catholic Church in 2013 as being guilty of sexually abusing children. However, after emigrating to Britain in the 1990s he was never brought to justice before he died. One victim, Raymond D’Brass, told a 2013 Victorian government inquiry that Pickering groomed him with cigarettes, money and alcohol. He was abused between the age of 9 and 13 while acting as a choir and altar boy at the church. In his statement at the parliamentary inquiry on March 4, 2013, Mr D’Brass said: ‘Over this four-year period I am aware that two other boys were also sexually abused by Father Ronald Pickering. ‘I was regularly fondled and petted by Pickering, as were other boys. This occurred within the change rooms of the church and within the presbytery. I began smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol with Pickering from the age of nine and on many occasions passed out from consuming the alcohol, which left me vulnerable to such abuse.’ 80 firefighters attended the scene to battle the blaze at St James church in Brighton, in Melbourne's south-east . Ms Griffiths revealed she and other local Catholics had avoided being married in the church . Photos taken by eyewitnesses show the roof collapsed and plumes of smoke billowing into the sky . He recalled: ‘I now have several vivid memories of the sexual abuses, as well as some vague flashes due to the state of intoxication. In 1983, I stopped going to the presbytery after Pickering verbally abused me in front of the other boys for choosing not to attend the upcoming Sunday service and instead going to the cricket with my father. ‘He told me that I was not welcome back and that I would burn in hell. Between 1983 and 1987, the two other boys who I know were abused continued to visit the presbytery and receive money, alcohol and cigarettes from Pickering, but I chose not to because I was terrified of him. I have no doubt that they were continuing to be abused by Pickering. ‘One night after one of the boys paid a visit to Pickering, he attempted suicide. He was unsuccessful on this attempt, but he would go on to successfully commit suicide a short time later.’ Many of the church’s former parishioners found it hard to even 'drive past' St James church in Brighton after revelations of child abuse came out . The church is described as a 'a fine complex of Roman Catholic church' on its heritage-listed page . The cause of the fire has not yet been established. ‘MFB will determine the cause of the fire and then if it's suspicious it will be passed on to police,’ a Victoria Police spokesperson said. More than 80 firefighters and 20 trucks were at the scene where the ancient bluestone church was fully alight on Monday morning. A caller to radio show 3AW, named Andrew, said: ‘You can hear that in the background, the roof is actually collapsing now.’ 20 fire trucks were at the scene of the fire at the ancient bluestone church . Residents watching the fire were cleared from the area because of asbestos. And a 10 metre exclusion zone was put in place around the building over fears of structural collapse. MFB spokesperson David Jarwood told the ABC the smoke could be seen from 50 kilometres away. 'It's about 50 by 40 metres apparently the blaze is, the structure, so I'm not surprised people can see a plume from Mornington,' he said. Smoke from the St James Church fire could be seen across Melbourne, including the West Gate Bridge. An advice notice put out by the MFB said: ‘Emergency services are attending to building fire in North Rd Brighton. The area of North Rd and St James Brighton is currently closed and people are advised to avoid the area.’ Smoke from the St James Church fire can be seen across Melbourne, including the West Gate Bridge . The church was built in 1891 and the Parish of Saint James was established a year later. In 1990 a bell tower and bells were installed at a cost of $500,000. The Victorian Heritage Database website said the church 'stands on a site which has great importance in the early history of Catholicism in Victoria as the place where the mission to Brighton was established circa 1854'. It is described as 'a fine complex of Roman Catholic church, rectory and church close, mostly dating from the last century but with additions made in 1908 and in the 1920s'. It has an 'unusually elaborate 1934 decoration of the chancel with Roman mosaic flooring, opus sectile tiling and marble altars and rails. The pipe organ by Alfred Fuller of Kew, placed centrally in the rear gallery, is a rare example of his work'.

Rachel Griffiths and her family used to be members of the church . Like many locals they abandoned it when they learned of abuse history . At least five people killed themselves after being sexually abused by paedophile priest Ronald Pickering between 1960 and 1980 . 80 firefighters and 20 trucks were at the scene in south-east Melbourne . MFB crews were called to the scene of the blaze at 6.30am on Monday . The St James Church was built in 1891 and is heritage-listed .

 her colleagues in the film industry, she found herself sexually abused by a priest as a young girl in the 1970s.
The church in the St Albans suburb of Melbourne, St Michael's, was home to a paedophile priest, who had sex with his victims in a sacristy cupboard after Mass.
Now, the building has been burnt to the ground after being torched by a group of teenage boys, one of whom has reportedly claimed he set fire to the church to celebrate a pagan festival and ‘honour’ his gods, the Sun reported.
“I felt (the fire) was really symbolic,” Ms Griffiths said about the church, which stands on the grounds of a Catholic convent and school. “The church is very, very big for me. There were many, many things that had gone on there and not been dealt with.”
“I’m not sure about the symbolism, but I don’t think you could call it a symbol because there was nothing symbolic about what happened in that sacristy."
In an interview with Mamamia last December, the now 51-year-old “couldn’t put her finger on what it is” she felt about the church and the paedophile priest, who was in charge of the youth ministry when he assaulted her when she was 12 years old.
‘The priest took an innocent child’s innocence’
“As a young girl, I couldn’t really put my finger on what it was," she said. “I’m not quite sure what it is about it, but it’s something deep, and I think you’d have to be a priest to know.”
The actress and mother-of-three added: “He was a great guy. He taught religion. And as a young girl, you’d kind of look at that. I don’t think I looked at him in that way at all."
“I didn’t know he was going to abuse me, and in my eyes, he was a great guy. He taught religion. And, as a young girl, you’d kind of look at that. I don’t think I looked at him in that way at all.”
“But as an adult, as I’ve gotten older and thought about it, it was the way he treated me and took my innocence away.”
“The priest took an innocent child’s innocence,” she added


The boyfriend of EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth has claimed his head 'exploded like an egg' when he was pushed into a police van during her drink-driving arrest. Dave Fairbairn was a passenger in the actress' car when police detained her on a night out last month, prompting a clash with officers which led to him receiving a penalty for public disorder. Now Mr Fairbairn, 59, is said to have appealed to the Independent Police Complaints Commission claiming he was assaulted. Row: Gillian Taylforth's boyfriend Dave Fairbairn (pictured) was a passenger in her car when police detained her on a night out last month - prompting a clash with officers which led to him allegedly being assaulted . Dave Fairbairn (left), the boyfriend of soap star Gillian Taylforth (with him and right), said police assaulted him . He told Lewis Panther of the Sunday People: 'The copper who kept telling me to stop swearing pushed my head hard. And all I could see is a girder come towards me. 'My head just exploded like an egg. It went everywhere. Because it was a white floor you could see how soaked it was. I was covered. 'If I had seen someone covered in that much blood it would have been straight to hospital... They took me straight to a police cell.' Photographs of him leaving a police station later appeared to show a trickle of dried blood on his forehead, with smears around his nose and right eye. The pair were stopped at 1.25am on a Saturday morning, five miles from her £900,000 home in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. Mr Fairbairn said officers knew Ms Taylforth's name as soon as they tapped on the window of her car, which he said she was moving a few metres to avoid being clamped. As she was arrested he insisted he swore just once - saying 'for f***'s sake' at the general situation and not at any individual officer. Accused: The EastEnders actress was charged with drink driving and appeared at Stevenage Magistrates' Court last week (pictured). Her boyfriend - who received a fixed penalty - insisted he swore just once . Scene: The pair were stopped in the early hours in Hertford (pictured), five miles from the actress' home . But he riled police by filming his girlfriend's arrest on his phone, Mr Fairbairn claimed. The former stockbroker - who was jailed for 15 years in 2003 over one of Britain's biggest ecstasy-smuggling plots - was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken to a police station. He was released after Hertfordshire Police served him with a fixed penalty notice, which he said he is appealing. His girlfriend, who has made a surprise return to EastEnders as Kathy Beale after a nine-year break, was also arrested and was charged with drink driving. She appeared before Stevenage Magistrates' Court on Monday and was granted unconditional bail ahead of a full hearing in May. A Hertfordshire police spokesman said earlier: 'The 59-year-old was arrested at 1.25am on February 7 in Fore Street, Hertford. She has been charged with drink driving.' The actress started dating Mr Fairbairn in 2012 after they met through friends following the breakdown of her 23-year relationship with ex-fiancé Geoff Knights. Best known for playing Kathy Beale in Eastenders before her character vanished in 2006, Ms Taylforth has also appeared in The Bill and the 2013 series of Celebrity Big Brother. She made a surprise return to Albert Square to mark EastEnders' 30th anniversary and is now due to return to the show in a fuller role. Surprise return: Ms Taylforth's character Kathy Beale has reappeared in the soap after a nine-year hiatus . Back on screen: Her character was reunited with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) in a live episode . Her boyfriend was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2003 after being found guilty of plotting to import and supply Class A drugs at Bristol Crown Court. He served seven years behind bars. At the time of the court case, it was the biggest drugs raid in history after police found 839,500 ecstasy tablets worth an estimated £7.5million. Mr Fairbairn has since been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the same disease which killed Ms Taylforth's ex-partner four years after they broke up. He is already suing a different police force over a similar argument in 2013 when he was accused of drink driving on the M62 in Merseyside, he told the Sunday People. His solicitor could not be reached for comment. A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said: 'We can confirm that a complaint was received, via the Independent Police Complaints Commission, on February 24, and is being assessed by the Beds, Cambs and Herts Professional Standards Unit.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.

Dave Fairbairn was star's passenger when she was arrested in Hertford . His head 'exploded like an egg' when he was 'thrown against police van' Photos after his release showed dried blood on 59-year-old's forehead . Mr Fairbairn, who was given a fixed penalty, has complained to the IPCC . His girlfriend is due before magistrates in May charged with drink driving .

' car as she was pulled over after being seen swerving on the A4 in London's Chiswick in March.
A witness reportedly heard her saying, "Please don't shoot", and it is believed her boyfriend 'pounded the roof and windows and screamed' during the arrest. Fairbairn, who is a producer on BBC Children's TV show Mr Bloom, told the Mirror: "My head really exploded, like an egg, my ears popped... It made me so nervous."
Read more: EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth arrested for drink-driving
The pair were later charged with drink-driving and driving while disqualified.
Taylforth was sentenced to a six-month jail term, suspended for two years.
Taylforth was also issued with a 12-month driving ban and told to complete an alcohol treatment programme.
She also had to do 250 hours of unpaid work and fined £2,250.
Her partner admitted charges of drink-driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.
However, Fairbairn, from Kentish Town, North London, has told the newspaper he was "completely calm" throughout the arrest.
He claims he was handcuffed inside the police van for four hours - and spent 40 minutes in the police station waiting room before being released after the couple's solicitor gave a £3,000 bond.
Fairbairn's lawyer had explained that they needed a bigger amount due to the seriousness of the offences.
Taylforth was arrested after driving in a bus lane on the A4 at Chiswick, West London.
It was reported that the former EastEnders star was told by police to stop and was initially driving away before coming back to the police vehicle.
She was arrested at the scene and later taken to Chiswick police station where she was arrested for the offences.
Read more: EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth arrested for drink-driving
Fairbairn's mother, Jean, who lives in West London, said they were called at 9pm to be told her daughter had been arrested.
She said they had been told she was "panting like a dog", and was in shock when they eventually met her.
Fairbairn said after the interview with officers the couple went to McDonalds where it was agreed that Taylforth would call her son


A crocodile-like amphibian that was the size of a small car dominated prehistoric lakes more than 200 million years ago, a new study has found. Palaeontologists discovered the fossilised remains of the 'super salamander' while excavating on the site of an ancient lake in southern Portugal. The predator, which grew to be around two metres (6.5 ft) in length and lived in lakes and rivers during the Late Triassic Period, has been named Metoposaurus algarvensis. Scroll down for video . Metoposaurus algarvensis, shown in the reconstruction above, would have been the size of a small car . With a mouth filled with sharp needle-like teeth it is thought to have preyed upon fish but could also have snapped up any small early dinosaurs that got to close to the water. The researchers behind the discovery, which was made in mudstone flats close to Loulé, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, say that the new species was similar to other primitive amphibian that were widespread at the time. The rare giant salamander is thought to be one of the world's oldest species. It first appeared on the planet around 170 million years ago but there are now just a handful of surviving populations left in the wild. The Chinese giant salamander are now the largest living amphibians and can grow to be up to 1.8 metres (5.9 feet) in length. A Park Ranger holds the giant Chinese salamander found in Heyuan City, Guangdon Province, China . However, pollution of the rivers and streams where they live has put the species under threat. A park ranger in southern China recently caught a giant salamander weighing 5.5kg and measufing 83cm in length in Heyuan City in southern China's Guangdong Province, the first of its kind to be found in the area. After keeping it in a temporary tank, officials released the creature back into the river, watched by a crowd of fascinated tourists. They say they were probably the forerunners of modern amphibians such as frogs, newts and salamanders. Dr Steve Brusatte, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh who led the study, said: 'This new amphibian looks like something out of a bad monster movie. 'It was as long as a small car and had hundreds of sharp teeth in its big flat head, which kind of looks like a toilet seat when the jaws snap shut. 'It was the type of fierce predator that the very first dinosaurs had to put up with if they strayed too close to the water, long before the glory days of T. rex and Brachiosaurus.' Scientists said the giant creature (illustrated) would have terrorised lakes during the rise of the dinosaurs . The researchers, whose work is published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, discovered the remains of Metoposaurs algarvensis on the bed of an ancient lake. It was found within a large bed of bones where several hundred of the creatures may have died when the lake dried up. The image above shows the fossilised skulls of Metoposaurus algarvensis excavated in Portugal's Algarve . So far the researchers have excavated just four square meters of the lake and say they could find hundreds of creatures preserved in the mudstone. Most species of giant salamander-like amphibians were wiped out during a mass extinction 201 million years ago which marked the end of the Triassic period. This was when the supercontinent of Pangea began to break apart and paved the way for the dominance of the dinosaurs. Other species of Metoposaurus have been found in parts of Africa, Europe, India and North America. Dr Richard Butler, another researcher involved in the study and a palaeontologist at the University of Birmingham, said: 'Most modern amphibians are pretty tiny and harmless. 'Back in the Triassic these giant predators would have made lakes and rivers pretty scary places to be.'

Metoposaurus algarvensis grew up to 2 metres long and preyed upon fish . With a mouth of needle-like teeth it could have also eaten small dinosaurs . Scientists describe the new species as having a mouth like a 'toilet seat' Its fossiled remains were discovered on the dried bed of a prehistoric lake . Researchers say there could be hundreds of others at the site in Portugal . The creature was related to other primitive salamanders living at the time .

 while studying specimens of the long-extinct amphibian family, Eocaecilia.
The 5-foot long creature had crocodile-like features including long, sharp teeth; strong, serrated jaws; and a long neck with 'ridged rows of spiny scales' known as osteoderms, or body armour.
"Eocaecilia was one of the few amphibian families that did not go extinct with the dinosaurs 200 million years ago, " said study author Steven Stanley, associate professor at the University of Alberta in Canada.
"The discovery shows that 'living fossils' like Eocaecilia and their relatives are actually more likely to be gone in 10 million years than today's big animal species, " he added.
"And that the reason they were able to hang on for so long was that they had adapted to a variety of habitats and feeding habits." The researchers suggest the amphibian could have been a 'fast moving predator' as it had 'large powerful hind legs and large hands'.
It was found that the creature ate small fish and insects and used its feet to help it hunt. "Eocaecilia was well adapted to its aquatic life style with the long neck and tail that allowed it to swim swiftly with the aid of its large paddle-like feet," Stanley was quoted as saying in the journal Current Biology.
"I'm not sure if I should fear it, or if I should go out and hug it," Stanley joked. "It's an amazing creature, but I wouldn't mind seeing a few of them running around," said. "Because I like to see a few of them when I go for a swim, I'd rather they had all gone extinct with the dinosaurs."
The study found that the creature's teeth and jaw bones were 'not too different' from that of an extant family of 'crocodile-like' reptiles called gavialids.
The researchers found a number of features in the Eocaecilia's jaw that differed from those of modern-day gavialids, some of which may have been for hearing, while others may have been used for crushing food like an elephant trunk.
"As far as the relationship to the modern crocodiles and the gavialids, we don't know for sure, " Stanley said. "These things have been a mystery for a long time and this


Remembered in history by some as a murderous tyrant, few people may want to be related to Richard III. But the historian who confirmed the identity of the old king’s remains when they were discovered in a Leicester car park has found a direct link between the former Plantagenet monarch and English actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Professor Kevin Schürer said that the pair are second cousins, 16 times removed. Scroll down for video . Actor Benedict Cumberbatch (shown) is as closely related to Richard III as the Queen, a genealogist has claimed. Professor Kevin Schürer - the historian who confirmed the identity of the old king’s remains when they were discovered in a Leicester car park - said that the pair are second cousins, 16 times removed . The actor will play Richard III in a forth-coming television programme and it's not the first time the actor's ancestry has revealed surprising parallels with his roles, as genealogists claimed he was related to codebreaker Alan Turing, who he played in 'The Imitation Game'. It has been estimated that between one million and 17 million people in the UK are related in some way related to the former Plantagenet monarch, although not as closely as Cumberbatch. Professor Schürer said: ‘Benedict is Richard III’s second cousin, 16 removed. ‘He is linked in several ways, but in terms of number of generations, the shortest is via Richard’s mother, Cecily Neville’s grandmother Joan Beaufort. A family tree showing how the actor and former Plantagenet monarch are related is pictured. Professor Schürer first announced a link between the actor and the late king earlier this year, but at the time said that they were third cousins. He has since revised this . It has been estimated that between one million and 17 million people in the UK are in some way related to Richard III (illustrated left), although not as closely as Mr Cumberbatch (pictured right) Tomorrow, Richard III's coffin, containing his mortal remains, will be lowered into a specially made tomb of Swaledale stone in Leicester Cathedral. The historic moment will be witnessed by the Countess of Wessex, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, presiding. Benedict Cumberbatch will read a poem called 'Richard' written by Carol Ann Duffy. It is reported the Queen has written a tribute in the order of service acknowledging Richard’s role in British history. Last Sunday, thousands of people watched a procession of the king's coffin through Leicester city centre. ‘He also has more indirect links to both Queen Elizabeth II and Lady Jane Grey through other ancestors in his tree.’ Professor Schürer first announced a link between the actor and the late king earlier this year, but at the time said that they were third cousins. He has since revised this. Oscar-nominated Cumberbatch will take part in Thursday’s service of reinterment of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral. He will read a specially commissioned poem entitled ‘Richard’, by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. The 38-year-old Sherlock actor will additionally star as the English king in BBC's The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, an adaptation of four of Shakespeare's historical plays. Cumberbatch family genealogist, Bob Cumberbatch, said: 'Personally, I think it's fabulous. 'My colleague Andrew Millard estimates that there is a probability greater than 99 per cent that a modern English person is descended from Edward III.' However, he added that finding documentary evidence of this connection is a completely different matter. The 38-year-old Sherlock actor will star as the English king in BBC's The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, an adaptation of four of Shakespeare's historical plays, a shot is shown . 'Miriam Silverman, of Ancestry UK, discovered a connection between Cumberbatch and Alan Turing and now the Leicester team have extended this to reveal a connection to Richard III. 'If Andrew Millard's conclusions are right then it seems highly probable that Benedict may indeed be related to many characters he has played and will play in future with some exceptions such as Sherlock.' Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 - ending the Wars of the Roses and the Plantagenet dynasty. His body was taken to Leicester by supporters of the victorious Henry VII and buried in Greyfriars church. In February 2013 a skeleton discovered beneath a Leicester car park was confirmed as that of the English king. Mr Cumberbatch is believed to be as closely related to Richard III (right) as the Queen, Professor Schürer said . On Sunday, 35,000 people lined the route of a procession high in symbolism through the Leicestershire countryside taking Richard back to near the spot where he fell at Bosworth field, where prayers were said for all the dead of that battle. Later, he was carried through the city centre on a horse-drawn gun carriage before being borne inside the cathedral where he was welcomed as 'our brother, Richard' by Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Rev Tim Stevens. The cathedral has said the week of ceremony offers the king the 'dignity and honour' he was denied immediately after his death. Members of the public are able to view the monarch's coffin (pictured) until his reburial tomorrow, at a mass which will be led by Justin Welby . In 2012, the University of Leicester in collaboration with the Richard III Society and Leicester City Council, began searching for the king's body. The excavation uncovered not only the friary of Grey Friars but also a battle-scarred skeleton (shown) with spinal curvature. It was unveiled as King Richard III in February 2013 . A crown sits on top of Richard III's coffin, as he lies in repose at the cathedral until his formal reburial . Tomorrow, Richard III's coffin, containing his mortal remains, will be lowered into a specially made tomb of Swaledale stone in Leicester Cathedral. It is reported that the Queen has written a tribute in the order of service acknowledging Richard’s role in British history. The historic moment will be witnessed by the Countess of Wessex, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, presiding. The Bishop of Leicester said tomorrow’s service would be 'solemn, but hopeful' and mark the 'extraordinary moment' in English history that Richard’s death on August 22 1485 represented. 'It is a major national and international occasion with a lot of ceremony,' he said. 'The peers from Bosworth families, descendants of those who fought on both sides of the battle, will be here.' 'The coffin will be borne into the sanctuary of the cathedral where it will be committed to the ground, into the vault which has been prepared.' A piece of music has been written for the occasion by the Master of the Queen’s Music Judith Weir, while Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy penned the 14-line poem entitled Richard to be read by Cumberbatch. Tomorrow, Richard III's coffin, containing his mortal remains, will be lowered into a specially made tomb of Swaledale stone in Leicester Cathedral. Thousands of people watched the procession of the former king's coffin (pictured), through the city centre, on Sunday . The spot (circled in red) where archaeologists found the remains of the 15th century monarch . The poem is described as a meditation on the impact of the discovery of Richard’s remains under a council car park in 2012, and the legacy of his story. It includes the line, 'grant me the carving of my name', in reference to carvings on his tomb which read Richard III, together with his symbol, the white boar. Ms Duffy said: 'It is a privilege to be involved, in a small way, in this unique event.' Professor Schurer, who played a key role in identifying Richard's modern day relations, published a paper  showing there was a 99.999 per cent probability that the remains were those of the king. Cumberbatch also shares a common 15th century ancestor, John Beaufort, the Earl of Somerset, with Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing, making them 17th cousins. Mr Turing helped alter the course of the war after he created a machine that allowed the Allies to read secret German messages. The star, who won plaudits for playing a slave owner in 12 Years A Slave last year, is also descended from a long line of slave owners in Barbados. Earlier this year, a New York City commissioner Stacey Cumberbatch, claimed she gained her distinctive surname because her ancestors were owned by the star's fifth great-grandfather on a sugar plantation. Mr Cumberbatch once said his part in another anti-slavery film – Amazing Grace – was a sort of apology' for his ancestry. He also revealed that his mother, the actress Wanda Ventham, once urged him not to use his real surname professionally in case it made him a target for reparation claims by the descendants of slaves. A plastic facial model made from the skull of England's King Richard III . Richard was born on in 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. During the War of the Roses, Richard's father, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York was killed and in 1470, Richard and his brother Edward were exiled when Henry VI, from the rival house of Lancaster, took back the throne. Henry's reign was short lived and during a battle the following year, Edward became king. In 1483, Edward died and Richard was named as protector of the realm for Edward's son and successor, the 12-year-old Edward V. Edward V and his brother Richard were placed in the Tower of London and after a campaign to condemn the deceased king's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, the princes were declared illegitimate. Richard III took to the throne the following day. He was crowned in July and in August that year, the two princes disappeared, Rumours claimed the king had killed them to remove any threat they may have posed to his reign. In 1485, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond launched an attack on Richard III on Bosworth Field in Leicestershire. Many of Richard III's key lieutenants defected and he was killed in battle. Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII. It has been confirmed that Richard III had a curvature of the spine, although rumours of a withered arm haven't been verfied form the bones found in the Leicester car park last year. Last year scientists discovered the king was riddled with roundworm after finding large numbers of the parasite's eggs in soil taken from Richard III's pelvic region. The find suggests that the king's intestines were infected with roundworm during his life.

Mr Cumberbatch and Richard III are second cousins, 16 times removed . Actor is as closely related to former king as the Queen, it has been claimed . Kevin Schurer of the University of Leicester traced the line of descent . Professor Schürer first announced the link earlier this year . But at the time he said they were third cousins and this has been revised . Benedict Cumberbatch will read a poem at Richard III's burial tomorrow . Sherlock star will play the infamous king in BBC series The Hollow Crown .

 relative happy to be related – albeit by a long way.
Richard’s great-great-great-granddaughter, Diana Donaldson, says that she feels “proud but a little embarrassed” to be related to the monarch. She believes that her ancestors will now be “thrilled” at the findings.
She said, “They should be thrilled with themselves. For a long time there has been an identity that is not known and we will have that.”
It was Richard’s identity that the 26-year-old historian was brought in by BBC Radio Leicester to help uncover. On the day before the 500-year memorial service, he visited the excavation site and confirmed that it was Richard’s skeleton after extensive DNA testing.
She said, “I wasn’t too surprised. I guess I had hoped that it was a bit further away. But he’s still my great-great-great grandfather and still a relative even if he is quite distant. It’s a family tree but one that had a really bad family branch. It’s really great news for the whole family.”
She said the findings were “exciting” and that Richard’s story would “take a new twist” now that he is actually a skeleton and not just a legend.
She said, “It has really brought home the fact that Richard is not just the name on the side of a car or the story of the King of the ’70s musical. He is really a real person. It’s good to see that.”
In a recent interview, the historian stated that her grandfather’s 19th-century theories that Richard was living abroad were “absurd,” but was prepared to consider other possibilities.
She said, “I do feel sorry for his family that it has all happened in such an embarrassing way. But if they knew the truth, they would have loved it and wouldn’t have minded so much. It’s quite nice that I can come out now and say my ancestor had a more interesting life. And if there was the possibility of a great grandfather in France, that’s a big deal.”
The historian says that she had planned on visiting the country where Richard was supposedly hiding in the 15th century but is now happy to leave it to her sister, who will take on that journey. She says she is not sure where she will be able to travel but will likely visit the places


Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama will make a rare appearance together on Saturday in Selma, Alabama, as they commemorate the the 50th anniversary of historic civil rights protests that sounded the death knell for voter discrimination. The former and current U.S. leaders and their families will join the largest-ever congressional delegation in the Alabama town a day before an annual march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge that salutes the 600 demonstrators who were violently assaulted by Alabama state troopers on March 7, 1965 on what is now known as Bloody Sunday. The clash resulted in the speedy introduction of the Voter's Rights Act, which was signed into law in August of that year by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson. President Barack Obama, right, and former President George W. Bush are pictured here arriving at a 2013 wreath-laying ceremony for the victims of the 1998 US Embassy bombing at the Bombing Memorial in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. They will make a rare appearance together on Saturday in Selma, Alabama, as they commemorate the the 50th anniversary of historic civil rights protests that sounded the death knell for voter discrimination . The march itself will take place on Sunday, March 8, but thousands are expected to flock to Selma on Saturday to listen to President Obama give remarks at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The event is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. The yearly sojourn to Selma, held since 1998 and organized by the Faith and Politics Institute, will be made by 95 members of Congress. That includes 23 Republicans, the largest group of lawmakers from the political party to attend since the first pilgrimage, according to USA Today. Alabama Reps. Terri Sewell, a Democrat, and Martha Roby, a Republican, will lead the delegation, along with Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a participant in the original 1965 march. 'We are very pleased that the Faith and Politics Institute is gathering an unprecedented amount of senators and members of Congress in bipartisan fashion to honor and reflect upon the history of the civil rights movement and the work that still needs to be done,' Rob Liberatore, the Faith and Politics Institute's chairman of the board, told the news publication. All living U.S. presidents were invited to participate in the event but just Bush and his wife Laura and Obama and his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia will be in Selma on Saturday, USA Today reports. 'President and Mrs. Bush believe it’s important to honor such a seminal date in the history of human dignity and human rights,' Freddy Ford, a spokesman for Bush, told the New York Times. 'They are pleased to have been invited and are looking forward to attending.' Bush and Obama also spoke at a Texas event in 2014 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act but they were not on the dais at the same time, as they will be this weekend. Bush and Obama will be joined on Saturday by their wives, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, pictured here at the White House in 2013 with their husbands, and the largest-ever congressional delegation . At a White House event last week Obama said he would bring his daughters with him to Selma because he wants to 'remind them of their own obligations.' 'There are going to be marches for them to march and struggles for them to fight,' he said. 'And if we’ve done our job, then that next generation is going to be picking up the torch as well.' The Senate and the House recently approved legislation that would award the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor aside from the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 1965 marchers. It now awaits the president's signature. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a lead sponsor of the bill in the Senate said Friday after the bill's passage in the upper chamber that the 'award is a small token of our collective national gratitude to the courageous men and women who sacrificed so much to move our country forward.' 'As we confront the myriad of challenges our country continues to face, we do so with the knowledge that we drink deeply from wells of freedom and liberty that we did not ourselves dig,' he said in a statement.

Obama will speak a day before an annual march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge saluting the 600 demonstrators  violently assaulted in 1965 . Alabama state troopers beat demonstrators who participated in the March 7, 1965 event on what is now known as Bloody Sunday . The sojourn will also be made by 95 members of Congress - including 23 Republicans, the largest group from the political party to attend since 1998 .

 the current White House occupants will be making a joint trip to Alabama for this momentous event.
The “Bridge Across the Chasm” march which commenced from Selma and ended in the capital of Montgomery was organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). According to historian David Garrow, it was the biggest political protest in the U.S. prior to the Vietnam war. It also came to be known as “Bloody Sunday” when the protesters were beaten by the state troopers and the national guard who were sent in to prevent them from crossing to Montgomery. The brutal attack captured on film, led by “Bull” Connor, the public safety commissioner, was seen as “the pivotal event in the civil rights movement.” The march took place on March 7, 1965.
It should be noted that Alabama was one of the last states to desegregate its public facilities and schools.
The event will take place amid a flurry of controversy over efforts by the state to remove a monument to Confederate Civil War heroes. Democrats, who now have control of the state, want to remove the Confederate monument, erected in 1913. The Republican-controlled State Senate will have the final say whether the monument comes down, and it could prove an obstacle for a compromise bill passed by both houses.
Former President Obama will make his only visit to Alabama this year as he is expected to take a road trip to the southern state on Thursday. The last time he visited Selma was in 2008 to help his then rival, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, during a primary battle with Senator Barack Obama. The former first couple, joined by their daughter Malia, spent a night at the home of Selma civil rights hero Rev. Joseph Lowery.
Presidents Obama and Bush will also meet Rev. Lowery at the Selma Interpretive Center on Saturday evening, in a ceremony that is open to the public. The event at the historic 1965 foot-bridge will be a “special gathering of presidents, past and present and the next generation,” the president’s office said.
Former President George W. Bush will serve as president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, where he will preside over a lecture with President Obama about leadership and public service.
This is the third presidential visit to Selma since former President Barack Obama’s inauguration 6 years ago. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited Selma on two other occasions; the former


'A bubbly, caring person': Lisa Orsi, who died in Singapore this morning after suffering extreme altitude sickness on a volcano trek in Indonesia . A young British physiotherapist has died after suffering extreme altitude sickness during a volcano trek in Indonesia. Lisa Orsi, 22, from Derry city in Northern Ireland, was pronounced dead in Singapore this morning, two weeks after trekking on a popular route up a volcano on East Java. Her parents Dennis and Sharon were by her bedside as she slipped away in the early hours following extensive transplant surgery at Singapore General Hospital. Nine of Miss Orsi's organs will go to patients in need of transplants. Her parents said: 'Lisa was a bubbly, caring person whose infectious joy for life endeared her to so many people. We take comfort in their prayers and well-wishes at this time. 'Even in this dark hour we can look to take solace from knowing that even in her death Lisa's generosity has brought new life to others and given them a second chance.' Irish-born Miss Orsi, who moved to Derry from Donegal aged five, was described as a fit, healthy young woman, who enjoyed athletics and Gaelic football. She collapsed in the shower and fell into a coma after trekking a popular tourist route up an East Java volcano last month. Medics in Indonesia and Singapore spent the past fortnight trying to save her life before turning their attention to using her organs for donation. The law in Singapore makes it compulsory for people who die suddenly to have their organs donated unless they are Muslim or have expressly wished otherwise. Recently qualified as a physio, Miss Orsi was half way through a two year contract at Bright Vision Hospital in Hougang. She had been playing Gaelic football with the Singapore Gaelic Lions in her first year in the city. In a statement to the Press Association, Ms Orsi's parents added: 'The medical team at Siloam Hospital, Surabaya, who initially treated Lisa and the staff at Singapore General Hospital have provided excellent medical care. They have treated Lisa with great compassion and we will be forever appreciative of their efforts.' 'We brought Lisa back to Singapore as it is a place that is so very dear to her heart. She has always spoken of it as a second home and we have been so grateful to receive a homecoming welcome from her Singapore brothers and sisters. 'Lisa has been very fortunate to be surrounded by friends both from her working life and her club-mates from the Singapore Gaelic Lions. Gaelic Football has been a childhood passion for Lisa and we are overwhelmed by all that her GAA family have done for her.' 'Lisa's generosity has brought new life to others': Nine of Miss Orsi's organs will go to patients in need of transplants after medics in Indonesia and Singapore spent two weeks trying to save her life . In the clouds: Irish-born Miss Orsi, who moved to Derryaged five, was described as a fit, healthy young woman, who enjoyed athletics and Gaelic football. She moved to Singapore last year for work . The Orsi family are now making arrangements for their daughter's repatriation and funeral in her home city, possibly next week. They said it would be impossible to personally thank everybody who had helped them over the past two weeks. 'However, as a family, we would like to thank her best friends, Eve King and Sinead McElhinney, the clubs, schools and so many others at home in Ireland for their spontaneous outpouring of love and support. This includes her childhood school, Saint Patrick's and St Brigid's College, and Salford University alumni,' the parents said. The grieving couple paid special tribute to Ms Orsi's boss Limin Yong, who they said gave them so much guidance and assistance. They also thanked Irish politicians Pat Ramsey MLA and Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher MEP and Irish consular staff in both Indonesia and Singapore. 'Their help has been invaluable and we thank them for their ongoing efforts to assist Lisa and the Orsi family,' the couple said. The family also spoke highly about the work of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Asia and at home for helping to fund raise and offering any other support to them over the last two weeks.

Lisa Orsi fell into a coma after trekking up an east Java volcano last month . The 22-year-old was a fit and healthy athlete and Gaelic footballer . She was halfway through a two-year contract at a Singapore hospital . Nine of her organs will be donated to patients in need of transplants .

(AP) Lisa Orsi, 22, had been working for charity World Vision in Yogyakarta, on the island of Java, when she collapsed on a volcano trek and died at around 1am local time. The cause of death has not yet been determined. Ms Orsi, from Manchester, was born to Italian parents and had recently moved to Australia to complete a Masters degree in nutrition before settling in London, where she was working as a physiotherapist. Her colleagues at a charity that works in Yogyakarta, World Vision Indonesia, said she was popular with staff, who described her as a bubbly, caring person. “Lisa was loved by everyone,” Dr Henny Sedyo, the country director for World Vision Indonesia, said. “She was a friend to everyone. “She had only worked here for three months, but had made a huge impact on the country’s staff [in her time here].” Her parents said she loved the outdoors, and had been inspired after completing several climbing and trekking programmes in New Zealand. Her brother, Matt, said she was a “real adventurer” who had always been outdoorsy. “We’ve got many stories of climbing, skiing and trekking,” he said. “She had always done that and really loved it.” He said she enjoyed travelling solo. “If I went trekking with her, I knew it was going to be an adventure, and if it was a hike then it was going to be up the mountain to the highest point. “She was a bubbly, positive, caring person who enjoyed life and the world, and was always trying to do something adventurous – whether it was walking or travelling around the world.” The UK High Commission has been in contact with the family and is providing support. “We are very sad to hear of the passing of a member of the British community,” a spokesman said. “The consular team is providing support to the family at this difficult time.” World Vision Indonesia, which Ms Orsi was working for, said it was “heartbroken” by the loss of a “valued staff member”. “Lisa was a valued team member at World Vision Indonesia for less than four months,” it said in a statement. “She was a professional physiotherapist from Manchester in England. During her short time in Yogyakarta, Lisa helped set up the nutrition education activities in two remote villages and worked closely with community volunteers to ensure the activities


Video has emerged of the LAPD pulling over the 20-year-old son of Taraji P. Henson that appears to refute claims made by the Empire actress that he was racially profiled by police. Henson hit headlines earlier this week by revealing in an interview that her son, Marcel Henson, was stopped in Glendale for no reason, then doing 'exactly everything the cops told him to do, including letting them illegally search his car'. 'It was bogus because they didn't give him the ticket for what he was pulled over for,' she told Interview magazine. However the just-surfaced dashcam footage, taken in October last year, shows that Henson drove through a lighted crosswalk as a pedestrian walked across. After being questioned, Henson admitted to having marijuana and Ritalin on him. He was also found to hash oil, a grinder and a knife. Scroll down for video . Traffic stop: Footage has emerged of police pulling over Marcel Henson, son of actress Taraji P Henson, in Glendale, California, in October. Henson said this week her son was racially profiled during the stop . New footage: Despite Henson saying her son was pulled over for no reason, he actually ran a lighted crosswalk as a pedestrain crossed and admitted to having marijuana and Ritalin on him . Sobriety test: Marcel Henson, 20, told the officer he had smoked marijuana two hours before driving, and the officer asks him to get out of the car to see if he is under the influence, but determines he isn't . Taraji P. Henson saaid her son Marcel was racially profiled by police in Glendale and at tje University of Southern California. The mother and son are pictured above at a film screening in Hollywood last April . The knife turned out to be legal. Henson said he had a prescription for the marijuana but could not find it. He said he did not have a prescription for the Ritalin and that a friend had given it to him. However the officer, who seems very generous when dealing with Henson, lets the teen off with a citation for marijuana possession only. The dashcam footage was obtained by The Los Angeles Times, which noted that race did not seem to be a factor when Henson was first pulled over. 'I am not going to give you a citation for running that yellow because that would actually put a moving violation on your driving license, and you are going to have to go to traffic school and all that stuff, so I am helping you by not giving you a violation on it. All I am going to do is take the weed from you,' the officer can be heard saying in the video. The officer told Henson he could go to court with the citation and show proof he has a prescription for medical marijuana. Otherwise he could just pay a fine. 'It felt like this was a little better than the other one,' the officer said. 'I am giving this to you too because you smoked weed about two hours ago… and a warning if you have Ritalin on you and you're not supposed to, don't do it. 'That's a big violation and I wouldn't want to do that to you.' The boy's mother made her controversial comments to Uptown magazine earlier in the week. The Empire star said that not only was her son pulled over by police, but was stopped by cops at the University of Southern California for 'having his hands in his pocket. Henson revealed she had planned to transfer Marcel to USC, but had now decided to send the 20-year-old to the historically black Howard University, her alma mater. Empire star Henson, 44, says her son was stopped at the University of California (file picture) for no other reason than having his hands in his pockets . A University of Southern California chief vowed to carry out his own investigation into the alleged incident Henson spoke about in the magazine. The school's Public Safety director, John Thomas, said he was 'disturbed' by the reports. After learning of the USC allegation, Thomas revealed that he too had experienced racial profiling as a teenager . In a statement, he said: 'I was deeply disturbed to read news reports about a prospective student who felt profiled on or near campus because of his race. 'We encourage reporting of allegations of bias and I hope for the opportunity to have a conversation with the young man and his mother. Henson has revealed she has now decided to send her 20-year-old son Marcel to historically-black college . 'I would like to look into this matter further and better understand who was involved and what took place. 'As someone who personally experienced racial profiling as a teenager, I have a stake in learning more about this incident and doing all I can to reach a just resolution.' He said he was not yet clear on which police departments were involved and that 'any allegation of bias or unequal treatment by university officers would trigger an investigation that I would supervise along with the university's Office of Equity and Diversity'. He continued: 'It is my expectation and that of the university that our department uphold the highest standards of constitutional policing, affording equal rights and respect to all persons.' Marcel is Henson's only child, and his father was her high school sweetheart. New hit: Henson currently stars on Fox drama Empire as Cookie Lyon, the recently-released-from-prison ex-wife of a music mogul (played by Terrence Howard) After revealing her son's ordeal, the 44-year-old said in the interview: 'So guess where he's going? Howard University. I'm not paying $50K so I can't sleep at night wondering is this the night my son is getting racially profiled on campus. Also in the interview, Henson spoke about how happy she was to be one of now many black women leads on the small screen in shows like Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. 'It feels good that there's not just one black person. I don't like that we get fixated on one or two at a time, or three at a time. If you look at Caucasian Hollywood, every year there's a handful of new faces you've never seen before, then after that, they got five movies coming out and they're introducing you to more talent. So I'm just so happy to see what's happening on television right now. We have options and that's how it should be,' Henson said. Proud mother: Henson and her son pictured on January 20, 2013 - attending a celebration for leading women in Washington, DC . Empire aired it's two-hour first-season finale last week, and has already been green-lighted for a second season. Henson plays Cookie Lyon on the show, the ex-wife of a rap music mogul (played by Terrence Howard) who was recently released from prison after taking the fall for his drug-dealing business. The show has had several guest starts in the music industry including Snoop Dog, Courtney Love, Rita Ora, and Jennifer Hudson.

Taraji P. Henson claimed her son was 'racially profiled' by police officers . Said in interview they 'illegally searched his car' and that it was 'bogus' Also claimed police stopped him at University of Southern California . Dash came footage shows Marcel Henson running a lighted crosswalk . He also admits to possessing marijuana, smoking some before driving and having Ritalin on him without a prescription . Police let him off with just a citation for marijuana possession .

 this week after a 911 call recording revealed that the Academy Award winner had been pulled over by police while driving her son around Los Angeles this month. In the clip, a voice could be heard informing a dispatcher that Henson's son had been seen driving recklessly around the city. "The suspect is in a vehicle that fits the description and is in a red Ferrari. …
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911 calls revealed that Taraji P Henson was stopped and questioned by the police this week as a suspect driver.
Posted Apr-29-2011 By
Nephilim (3.30) (2)
@Nephilim Henson is a racist herself: "My son isn't in a gang" says Henson about her black son who's a gang-banger.
Posted Apr-29-2011 By
Nephilim (3.30) (2)
@Nephilim
I know exactly what the word means and was using it correctly. She says "my son doesn't belong to a gang" then after being questioned by the police says "He


Horrific: MIT police officer Sean Collier, 27, was found gurgling and covered in blood April 18, 2013 after prosecutors say he was shot in the head and neck by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or his brother in a failed attempt to steal his gun . A Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer who found a colleague in his squad car covered in blood three nights after the Boston Marathon bombing frantically repeated two words into his radio 'officer down, officer down.' A recording of that radio call was played to jurors hearing the trial of accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, on Wednesday, as prosecutors turned to the charge that the defendant and his older brother murdered MIT police officer Sean Collier on April 18, 2013, in an unsuccessful attempt to steal his gun. Meanwhile, the MIT police chief revealed his last words to the 27-year-old officer in a wrenching fifth day of testimony in the long awaited Boston bomber trial. Chief John DiFava on Wednesday recalled chatting with Collier about an hour before his death. 'I told him to be safe, and I left,' DiFava said, adding it was the last time he saw Collier alive. The officer who found Collier, Sergeant Clarence Henniger, said he was responding to a 911 call about possible shots fired on MIT's Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus, just outside Boston. Collier had visible bullet wounds to his temple, neck and hand and was so covered in blood that Henniger struggled to pull him from his vehicle. 'I could hear gargling coming from his mouth,' Henniger testified at U.S. District Court in Boston, where the jury hearing Tsarnaev's trial will also decide whether to sentence him to death if he is convicted of killing three people and injuring 264 with a pair of homemade bombs at the April 15, 2013, race. Jurors also saw surveillance footage of two figures approaching Collier's police cruiser on the MIT campus, spending about a minute at the car, and leaving. The only visible suggestions of commotion in the video are the car's brake lights, flashing on and off. Collier's gun belt and holster were covered in blood, evidence of Tsarnaev's clumsy but unsuccessful effort to steal his handgun, prosecutors have said. Tsarnaev's attorneys opened the trial by admitting he committed the crimes of which he is accused, but are seeking to spare him the death penalty by demonstrating he was following the lead of his older brother. Scroll down for video... Evidence: This forensics photograph released by the U.S. Attorney's office and presented during the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev shows a bloodied service pistol sitting on seat of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier's cruiser . 'Be safe': MIT Police Chief John DiFava testified he told Collier to 'be safe' about an hour before he was shot dead April 18, 2013 . Culpable? Tsarnaev's attorney says Dzhohkar's brother Tamerlan was the mastermind of the bombing and the one who pulled the trigger to kill Collier. Prosecutors say both brothers were culpable in the officer's murder and that they killed the 27-year-old in order to steal his gun and arm Tsarnaev . In the act? Video taken from above the site of Collier's April 18 murder purports to show the Tsarnaev brothers (circled) rounding a corner toward Collier's cruiser, at left (grab via WCVB) Federal prosecutors contend Tsarnaev, who emigrated with his family from Chechnya a decade before the attack, was driven by an extremist view of Islam and a desire to take revenge on the United States for military campaigns in Muslim-dominated countries. Prosecutor William Weinreb said in his opening statement last week that it was unclear if Tsarnaev or his brother fired the weapon that killed Collier but argued that both brothers were equally culpable in the officer's death. A graduate student at MIT, Nathan Harman, who was bicycling on campus the night of the murder, testified on Wednesday that he saw Tsarnaev leaning into the driver's side door of Collier's car, but did not see the older sibling. 'I only saw the one person,' said Harman, referring to Dzhokhar. 'He sort of snapped up, stood up and turned around, and he looked startled…And then I just didn't think anything of it and rode off.' Aftermath: A damaged white jersey, worn by Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jessica Kensky during the blast, is displayed to the media in a conference room after the conclusion of the day's session . Explosion: The twisted, charred remnants of a homemade pressure cooker bomb that exploded during the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 . Pieces: The tattered remains of a white and black backpack carried by one the Boston bombers was collected following the terrorist attack . The court was also shown CCTV footage of Tsarnaev withdrawing $800 from an ATM using a credit card he had just stolen during a carjacking three days after the bombings . Harman said he assumed Tsarnaev was an MIT student. 'I remember thinking he had a big nose, but nothing beyond that really,' he said. Jurors also heard testimony on . Wednesday morning from an FBI agent who led the agency's efforts . to recover evidence from the debris-strewn blast sites. arrived hours after . explosions ripped through the race's crowded finished line in Boston April . 15, 2013. FBI Special Agent Sarah DeLair--who arrived hours afterexplosions ripped through the race's crowded finished line in Boston April15, 2013--held up a twisted piece of metal which had been found on Boylston Street and told the jury: 'It's part of a pressure cooker.' Other FBI agents on Tuesday described how some 3,000 pieces of evidence, including shrapnel and body parts, were retrieved from the blast sites near the marathon finish line, some on surrounding rooftops as high as four stories. Empty: The jury was shown a picture of the deserted courtyard behind MIT's Koch Institute. Officer Collier was gunned down as he pulled up next to the space. The city was put on lockdown in the wake of the attacks . Layout: A diagram presented by prosecutors depicts where Officer Collier's car was parked when he was shot in the head. CCTV footage shows two suspects fleeing the scene in the aftermath . Route: A wider drawing shows the area surrounding the scene of the deadly shooting. The two people scene running on camera headed towards the intersection between Main Street and Ames Street in the aftermath . FBI agent Sarah DeLair showed the court on Wednesday a piece of wire collected amid the wreckage on Boylston Street on April 15, 2013. 'It's the part of the bomb that would make it go off,' DeLair said . A blood-soaked zipper, nail and ball bearings found inside the pressure-cooker bomb which exploded at the marathon finish line. A survivor told the court earlier this week that the victims' injuries were difficult to heal and became infected because of the 'dirty' nature of the bomb . Two men in hazardous materials suits put numbers on the shattered glass and debris as they investigate the scene at the first bombing on Boylston Street in Boston in 2013 . Prosecutors also presented shredded pieces of a black and white backpack that they contend 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, used to carry their homemade bombs. The FBI agent also told the court that investigators found shrapnel along with ball bearings, a zipper, shards of metal, small nails and duct tape in the aftermath of the explosion. A bombing survivor told the court earlier this week that the victims' injuries were difficult to heal and became infected because of the 'dirty' nature of the bombs packed with small pieces of metal. DeLair showed  a piece of wire collected amid the wreckage on Boylston Street on April 15, 2013. The wire, she testified in U.S. District Court in Boston, was part of one of the bomb's detonators. 'It's the part of the bomb that would make it go off,' DeLair said. She took pictures of the . dead and coordinated efforts to recover 'everything from human . remains to bomb components to parts of backpacks,' she said on Wednesday. Prosecutors resumed questioning the FBI agent on Wednesday, the . fifth day of the high-profile trial. Tsarnaev, 21, is accused of killing three people and . injuring 264 with a pair of homemade bombs, as well as fatally . shooting a police officer three days later as he and his brother . tried to flee the city. His attorneys opened the trial by admitting he committed the . crimes of which he is accused, but are seeking to spare him the . death penalty by demonstrating he was following the lead of his . older brother Tamerlan, who died four days after the bombing . after a gun battle with police. Some 3,000 pieces of evidence, including shrapnel and body parts, were retrieved from the blast sites near the marathon finish line, some on surrounding rooftops as high as four stories . Federal prosecutors contend Tsarnaev, who emigrated with his . family from Chechnya, was driven by an extremist view of Islam . and a desire to strike back at the United States in revenge for . military campaigns in Muslim-dominated countries. On Tuesday, jurors were presented with photographs of the . blood-stained message that prosecutors say Tsarnaev wrote inside . the hull of a boat in which he was hiding in Watertown, outside . Boston, moments before his violent capture. The note accuses the United States government of killing . Muslims and says 'I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished'. It adds: 'I don't like killing innocent people it is forbidden in . Islam but due to said (...) it is allowed.' Words were missing . from the note due to bullet holes. Jurors were also presented with Tsarnaev's Twitter posts, . which ranged from jokes about girls, food, and homework, to . musings about Islam and a reference to the Sept. 11, 2001, . attacks on New York and Washington. After opening with three days of emotional and graphic testimony by witnesses including nine people injured in the attack, Tsarnaev's trial has moved into to a more technical phase as prosecutors show evidence about the bombs and communication between the two brothers. Despite the admission that opened the trial, Tsarnaev's not guilty plea stands, leaving it to the federal government to prove his guilt before the trial moves into a second phase, when the jury will determine whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Boston bombers are seen moving through the crowds at the 2013 marathon. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial saw evidence on Wednesday including shreds of a backpack one brother was allegedly carrying .

Prosecutors say Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or his brother killed MIT officer Sean Collier, 27, days after the bombing in a failed attempt to steal his gun . Jurors were  shown CCTV footage of two suspects fleeing the scene . A photo of Collier's bloodied gun and holster was also presented in court . Sergeant Clarence Henniger testified to finding Collier shot and gurgling blood in his cruiser on April 18 in 2013 . Grad student Nathan Harman, 24, said that he saw Dzhokhar near the scene . In the fifth day of testimony, the jury was also shown remnants of the homemade bomb and a piece of a tattered black and white backpack .

 his accomplices in the hours after the bombing at the Boston Marathon, the FBI said, in this undated handout photo released Wednesday, June 12, 2013. (AP)
The suspect in last week's Boston Marathon bombings allegedly used his brother to obtain the ingredients for making explosive devices and is believed to have told his friend to steal a bike to get rid of evidence, according to a federal affidavit.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and is suspected of playing a role in the bombs that went off at the finish line of Monday's marathon.
Investigators said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told them that his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev made the bombs and the younger Tsarnaev watched the older brother's video to learn how to make the devices.
Authorities said in the affidavit that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his friend Azamat Tazhayakov had a conversation about the marathon on April 18, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was allegedly using Tazhayakov's computer to watch the videos about bomb-making..
The affidavit said that Tazhayakov allegedly told investigators he was at the apartment once a week with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and they "would watch videos on YouTube of home-made bombs and other bomb making."
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is accused of stealing a bike from a friend to get rid of evidence.
Federal prosecutors told a judge Wednesday, June 12, that the suspect had no right to bail and did not want to be tried in a civilian court.
The suspect is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction. He faces up to "life in prison without parole, or possibly the death penalty," said a statement from the Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors said in the court documents that the suspect and his brother were motivated to conduct the bombing "in an effort to express their support for the Islamic Jihad movement and to retaliate for the deaths of Muslims by Western forces in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Investigators said they do not believe the attack was the result of an al-Qaida plot.
The documents also say investigators believe the older brother came to the United States in 2003, a year after the U.S. invaded Iraq.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared in court Friday, June 7. He's scheduled to have another hearing on


Researchers have uncovered the mystery of Mercury's 'stealth' colour scheme. The say a steady dusting of carbon from passing comets has slowly painted Mercury black over billions of years. It solves the mystery of Mercury's unusual colouring - which has baffled scientists. The say a steady dusting of carbon from passing comets has slowly painted Mercury with a dark 'stealth' coating over billions of years. Cometary dust is composed of as much as 25 percent carbon by weight, so Mercury would be exposed to a steady bombardment of carbon from these crumbling comets. Using a model of impact delivery and a known estimate of micrometeorite flux at Mercury, researchers calculated suggest that after billions of years of bombardment, Mercury's surface should be anywhere from 3 to 6 percent carbon. 'It's long been hypothesized that there's a mystery darkening agent that's contributing to Mercury's low reflectance,' said Megan Bruck Syal, a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who performed this research while a graduate student at Brown University. 'One thing that hadn't been considered was that Mercury gets dumped on by a lot of material derived from comets.' On average, Mercury is much darker than its closest airless neighbour, our Moon. Airless bodies are known to be darkened by micrometeorite impacts and bombardment of solar wind, processes that create a thin coating of dark iron nanoparticles on the surface. But spectral data from Mercury suggests its surface contains very little nanophase iron, certainly not enough to account for its dim appearance. As comets approach Mercury's neighborhood near the sun, they often start to break apart. Cometary dust is composed of as much as 25 percent carbon by weight, so Mercury would be exposed to a steady bombardment of carbon from these crumbling comets. Using a model of impact delivery and a known estimate of micrometeorite flux at Mercury, Bruck Syal was able to estimate how often cometary material would impact Mercury, how much carbon would stick to Mercury's surface, and how much would be thrown back into space. Her calculations suggest that after billions of years of bombardment, Mercury's surface should be anywhere from 3 to 6 percent carbon. The next part of the work was to find out how much darkening could be expected from all that impacting carbon. For that, the researchers turned to the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range. The 14-foot canon simulates celestial impacts by firing projectiles at up to 16,000 miles per hour. Experiments show that impact material is significantly darkened when impacts occur in the presence of complex organics - shown here on the right . For this study, the team launched projectiles in the presence of sugar, a complex organic compound that mimics the organics in comet material. The heat of an impact burns the sugar up, releasing carbon. Projectiles were fired into a material that mimics lunar basalt, the rock that makes up the dark patches on the nearside of the Moon. 'We used the lunar basalt model because we wanted to start with something dark already and see if we could darken it further,' said Peter Schultz, professor emeritus of geological sciences at Brown and a co-author of the new research. The experiments showed that tiny carbon particles become deeply embedded in the impact melted material. The process reduced the amount of light reflected by the target material to less than 5 percent -- about the same as the darkest parts of Mercury. Importantly, spectroscopic analysis of the impact samples revealed no distinctive spectral fingerprints, again similar to flat spectral signatures from Mercury. 'We show that carbon acts like a stealth darkening agent,' Schultz said. 'From the standpoint of spectral analysis, it's like an invisible paint.' And that paint has been building up on Mercury's surface for billions of years. 'We think this is a scenario that needs to be considered,' Schultz said. 'It appears that Mercury may well be a painted planet.'

Dusting of carbon from passing comets has made Mercury darker . Mercury's surface is anywhere from 3 to 6 percent carbon . Has given the planet an almost black appearance .

which has puzzled astronomers for decades. Mercury is often referred to as the 'little brother of the Sun'. The planet's proximity to the Sun gives it the most direct exposure to solar radiation of any other planet or moon in our Solar System. Mercury's surface temperature is a sweltering 442C (863F). Mercury is just 3,032km (1,926mi) across, about a third of the size of Earth's Moon. It is so close to the Sun that it takes just 88 Earth days to orbit the Sun and in that time it races over the Solar System surface. In other words, Mercury goes "through" the plane of the Solar System, and it takes approximately two years before it returns to the same part of the sky. However, the planet's interior - 1,900km (1,180mi) deep - is quite different. The interior contains the densest composition in the Solar System, and the centre of the planet appears to be an unusually massive iron metal core. The planet's magnetic field is one of the strongest in the Solar System. On Earth, the magnetic field deflects some of the high-energy protons that bombard the atmosphere from the Sun. Because Mercury has no internal magnetic field to protect its environment from the constant barrage of high-energy particles coming from the Sun, the planet's surface atmosphere and even its surface water has been exposed directly to the Sun's radiation. The intense heating has changed Mercury's composition from silicate to carbon. The process of turning silicate to carbon is called 'carbonisation' and it can also occur on Earth in volcanoes and on the Sun's surface as a result of its solar flares. Carbon has a black hue and a high reflective index. In the past, this would have reflected so much radiation away from Mercury that it might have been invisible to observers on Earth - or at least the parts of the planet that were facing the Sun. But now that Mercury has lost its silicate and has a carbon base, it is now visible to Earth-based telescopes and reflects more solar radiation. The material that coats Mercury could well have been blasted off Earth by our own Sun - or even by other planets that have been sucked into the Sun's gravity in the distant past. The discovery means that much of the information we have on Mercury has been gained in error, and the scientists think that the process of carbonisation has probably


A mother has allegedly confessed to the murder of her two children after the bodies of a boy and girl were found stuffed in a freezer at the family home, according to a police source. The woman, named locally as Mitchelle Blair, 35, was arrested after the frozen bodies of a boy, approximately 11-years-old, and a girl, around 14-years, were discovered inside a plastic bag. It is believed the pair had been dead for more than a year when the grim discovery was made by bailiffs carrying out an eviction at the Martin Luther King apartments on Tuesday morning. It has been claimed that Blair allegedly confessed to strangling her son in May 2012, according to WXYZ, who are quoting a police source. She is also said to have admitted torturing her daughter to death just nine months later,  the news channel reported. Scroll down for video . Neighbors say the mother police currently have in custody is Michelle Blair, 35, and that she goes by Angel . Inside the home where the bodies of two children, aged approximately 11 and 14 years old, had been inside a Detroit freezer for more than a year . Police said the bodies appeared to a male aged approximately 11 years old and a female who was approximately 14 years old. They were found inside a plastic bag and appeared to be 'frozen' Blair, who has two other children - 11-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter - has not been charged and is said to be a person of interest in the police investigation. Police were called in by the bailiffs after they discovered the girl's body in the chest freezer next to the front door. Her siblings corpse was found later. Detroit Police Chief James Craig said the mother was taken into custody after an apartment resident informed officers she was staying with someone at a different home inside the complex, according to the Detroit News. Craig said the mother, who was handcuffed when the was taken into custody. Neighbors say Blair and that she goes by Angel,WXYZ Detroit reported. Blair describes herself as 'Loyal to my babies' on her Facebook page. Blair posted a photo with a message in January . On January 30, the posted a photo with a message. It read: 'There is no greater blessing than being called MOM.' Before she was taken into custody, the mother reportedly said her son was raped and that the sexual assault had been carried out by his siblings. Police have not confirmed that is the case and it is unclear if she was talking about the boy who was found in the freezer. She filed a paternity suit in 1999 which resulted in a man being ordered to pay child support. Blair filed another suit in 2007 against another man which had the same result. She had not been charged as of Tuesday evening. Her brother Marlon Blair said: 'It's too early to even say what this could be, or to make any judgments. 'She didn't have any emotional problems from what I'm aware of. I don't know what to say about this.' Assistant Chief Steve Dolunt said it appeared the bodies had been in the freezer for 'over a year' and that the mother had been living in the apartment 'with other children while the bodies were in the freezer'. 'This is a terrible situation,' he said. According to Craig, Blair has two other children, aged 11 and 17, who are unharmed and currently in 'protective custody'. No weapons were discovered after the apartment was searched and police do not yet have a motive. Neighbor Shanetria Lanier, 21, said Blair home-schooled her children and 'that's why no schools were wondering where they were'. There is no record of the children attending classes, according to a Detroit Public Schools official. People did notice that two of her children seemed to disappear about a year ago. Lanier said: 'When people asked her where her other two kids are, she said they were at their aunt's house. 'Or sometimes she'd tell people they stayed inside because they didn't like to be around people.' Craig said the police are still 'trying to determine what happened'. The cause of death won't be known until after autopsies are conducted. Tori Childs, who also lives in the complex, told the Detroit News she often saw the children and sometimes gave them clothes or food. She said they were 'the nicest kids' who were 'so respectable'. 'This is just wrong,' she said in tears. Childs said she saw two bodies on the floor after police arrived at the home. 'It was a little girl and a little boy,' she said. 'The little girl had on a pink jacket.' A neighbor, Tori Childs (center), was led away from the scene as law enforcement investigated on Tuesday . Police said the mother was taken into custody and is a person of interest. Her two other children, aged 11 and 17, are unharmed and in protective custody. No weapons were found when the apartment was searched . Shanetria Lanier, another neighbor in the complex, said her sister received a phone call around 6am on Tuesday from a woman who lives inside the apartment. The woman asked to stay at Lanier's sister's home with her two children that day, according to Lanier, and was there when the bodies were found. Police initially reported that they had a discovered a single body in the freezer.

Police said the bodies appeared to be a male aged approximately 11 years old and a female aged approximately 14 years old . The 'frozen' bodies were discovered while officers were carrying out an eviction at the Martin Luther King Apartments in Detroit . Mother has been taken into custody and is a person of interest . She has allegedly confessed to the murder of two of her children . Neighbors say she is Mitchelle Blair, 35, and that she goes by Angel . She describes herself as 'Loyal to my babies' on her Facebook page . Her two other children, aged 11 and 17, are unharmed and currently in protective custody . Blair reportedly said her son had been sexually assaulted by his siblings . They were all staying with a resident at another apartment in the complex when the bodies were discovered .

 is said to have told detectives she killed one-year-old Jeremiah and seven-month-old Sherin because she was sick of caring for them.
The mother has been described as being emotionally fragile and struggling to cope with a mental illness. She is said to have told officers that she killed the children on 6 July but waited four days to bury the girl. “She said the boy had a bruise on his face and she thought he’d suffered a blow to the head,” said the source.
Blair and her husband are reported to have been separated but they had planned to get remarried. It was not clear last night what their relationship was.
The couple were living in Houston, Texas, in an “extremely large” ranch house surrounded by tall fences. The mother and father had taken the children, which included their 10-year-old daughter, to a barbecue held by the Texas Army National Guard at nearby Bush International Airport on the day they went missing.
Sherin, said to be suffering from a medical condition, and her sibling had been last seen by their father and stepmother on Wednesday, according to the family lawyer.
Officers were called to their house just after 11pm on Friday to investigate after the father noticed that both the front and back doors to the house were ajar.
Officers found the bodies of the children in a black trash bag wrapped in blankets inside the family freezer. A police source said that both children had “been dead for a number of days” before being found.
The couple are believed to be the prime suspects for the deaths. The pair have been arrested and charged with two counts of abandoning or endangering a child and were being held in separate Texas jail. It is understood their daughter is safe and with relatives.
Neighbours said the couple had been a good family until recently. They had moved to Houston, Texas, from India only a year ago.
“They seemed like normal people. They seemed like great people,” said one neighbour.
“They were really friendly with their neighbours. They seemed like a normal family.
“Nobody would ever think they’d harm their kids.”
On the day the children were reported missing the father went to work and the mother dropped him off at a nearby airport. He had been scheduled to fly to Texas from Oklahoma City with the children.
But when the flight didn’t leave on time he and another passenger who had been stranded in Houston drove back with the


As the dust starts to settle following the hotly anticipated release of Fifty Shades Of Grey, the film's protagonist has responded to criticism that it glorifies and romanticises abuse against women. Speaking in a video interview with  Kjersti Flaa for TV2 about criticism that Christian’s treatment of her character is abusive, Dakota Johnson, who plays Anastasia Steele, said: 'I think that is an uneducated opinion. 'Maybe because I know more about the BDSM world, so it makes sense to me, but everything that these characters do, they make the decision to do it.' Scroll down for video . Dakota Johnson, who plays Anastasia Steele, retaliated to criticism that Christian Grey's treatment of her character is abusive in a new video interview . Domestic violence campaigners in America and the UK called for a boycott of the film when it was released last month because they believed it 'glorified' and 'romanticised' abuse against women. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation  launched a campaign titled Fifty Shades Is Abuse, which urged people to donate to local women's shelters instead of buying movie tickets. In London, feminist campaigners, Fifty Shades Is Domestic Abuse, said the novel dangerously romanticises the idea that women can fix broken men. Dakota, left, with Jamie Dornan in the film, and, right, at the Academy Awards, said: 'Maybe because I know more about the BDSM world, so it makes sense to me, but everything that these characters do, they make the decision to do it' A handful of men and women stood outside the central London premiere in Leicester Square when it was released on Valentine's Day, unfurling a banner calling Christian Grey 'a rapist' as stars made their way along the red carpet. Defending the film, she added: 'Christian doesn’t abuse Ana. She’s not a victim. She’s not a sad, weak-minded, passive person. 'She’s strong and confident and is exploring her body and her sexuality in a private environment with somebody that she loves. And, you know, it’s a movie.' Ahead of the release of the controversial film, activists called on the public to consider whether they should endorse the movie. Defending the film, Dakota added: 'Christian doesn't abuse Ana. She's not a victim. She’s not a sad, weak-minded, passive person' In London, feminist campaigners, Fifty Shades Is Domestic Abuse, said the novel dangerously romanticises the idea that women can fix broken men and protested at the premier . Natalie Collins, who runs campaign group Fifty Shades Is Domestic Abuse, said the story portrays an abusive relationship. She said that if readers consider Christian Grey's behaviour out of context, it would appear extremely alarming rather than alluring. She said: 'Is it romantic when somebody tracks your phone, when somebody knows where you live before you tell them, sells your only means of transport, or buys the company you work for? 'How can you marry that with being romantic?' Ms Collins, who is a consultant working to end the abuse of women, said that after reading all three books, she was left 'deeply concerned about the amount of domestic violence that was being romanticised and celebrated'. She added: 'The thing that I would say to people who are reading the books, who are going to see it, is, if he wasn't rich and very attractive, would this behaviour be normal?' Domestic violence campaigners in America and the UK called for a boycott of the film when it was released last month because they believed it 'glorified' and 'romanticised' abuse against women . The books, written by EL James, follow the sado-masochistic sexual relationship between the two protagonists, Seattle billionaire Christian Grey and demure student Anastasia Steele. Ms Collins said the campaign group were not against the sexual nature of the book but there were other far more worrying themes in the novel . 'We are not against BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism), it is the other issues in the books and films which we say glamorise domestic violence. 'I have spoken to people who have said that he (Christian Grey) was abused as a child and that is why he is the way he is. 'It is also very dangerous to suggest that people abuse because of their childhood and that women can fix broken men with enough love.'

Dakota was speaking in response to campaigners against the film . Campaigners believed it 'glorified' and 'romanticised' abuse against women . Dakota said Ana is 'exploring her sexuality in a private environment'

aa, 34, who has spent years researching the dynamics of "power and control" relationships and has helped educate police on how to spot warning signs of domestic violence, has been working with the actor's production company, Universal Pictures, on an educational toolkit for schools.
"For a young girl who hasn't been sexually abused to watch the movie and think it was a really fun movie or think it was cool – I would love for them to do that. But for a woman who's been sexually abused, or a man, to watch the movie and think, I need help," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "And I feel like for somebody who's watching the movie and not been in an abusive relationship, it will make them realise it could happen to them. The signs are so, so important."
Fifty Shades Of Grey is based on E L James's erotic novel, a semi-autobiographical account of the sexual awakening of a 22-year-old college graduate, who is introduced to kinky pleasures by a billionaire and his former school friend. (Not to mention a wardrobe of exquisite designer clothing, lingerie and jewellery.) As one of the novel's most iconic scenes – Christian Grey's sexual reawakening as he beats the heroine Anastasia Steele – unfolds on screen, Flaa says she hopes the film will help educate viewers about such an unusual form of abuse.
"People will feel less alone, and it will motivate them to help someone, as well as [promoting] the dialogue about what power and control is," she said, adding that a 25-minute DVD has been prepared on behalf of the production company to help teach viewers how to "identify, assess and intervene" in such cases. "It's an amazing opportunity, for the movie to be so prominent. But also the media to do all the education."
Though Flaa is working in collaboration with Universal, she believes the "vast majority" of the film's production team have been more "aware of the problem of domestic violence" than the public are. "I don't think there's been a film like this, and I don't think there's been a book like this, that focuses on power and control in relationships," she said. "I think it's an amazing opportunity to educate people. And Universal have been very much committed to that goal – which you don't


Britain's foreign aid budget is to be protected by law following a historic vote last night – but ministers still refused to protect funding for the armed forces. The House of Lords voted to commit future governments to spending at least 0.7 per cent of national wealth – currently around £12billion a year – on overseas development. The new law will come into force within the next few weeks, after it receives royal assent from the Queen. Legislation forcing Britain to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid is set to become law tonight . Last night Tories lined up to lambast the move, saying it is wrong for aid spending to be protected when savage cuts to defence are expected after the election. A defence think tank has warned that up to 30,000 members of the forces face redundancy over the next parliament. David Cameron has repeatedly refused to pledge that funding for the military will be kept above the Nato target of at least 2 per cent of GDP. The 2013/14 defence budget was £34.3billion – just over this 2 per cent target and down from £35.9billion in 2010/11, when the coalition took over. By contrast, the aid budget has soared from £8.5billion in 2010 to £11.5billion in 2013 – the year that the 0.7 per cent of gross national income was reached for the first time. When Margaret Thatcher left office, just 0.27 per cent of GNI went on aid. Legislation to set the aid target in stone was passed by the Lords despite opposition from Tory grandees including former Chancellor Lord Lawson, who has described the measure as ‘gesture politics’. Sir Gerald Howarth, the former Conservative defence minister, said aid spending should be cut to allow an increase in the defence budget – because Russia is increasing spending on arms and the Middle East is in flames. Foreign aid spending rose to more than £11billion in 2013 as ministers moved to hit the 0.7% target . ‘This is a dangerous world,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One. ‘This is not a time to be cutting our defence in any case. If you ask me where you make the savings – you make them in overseas aid.’ More than 300 Tory backbenchers are expected to rebel on Thursday by forcing a Commons vote on enshrining the 2 per cent defence target in law. Tory MP Peter Bone said: ‘Most of my constituents would think ensuring the safety of this country is of greater importance than meeting the overseas aid budget. ‘If the Government is prepared to accept that a percentage of gross national income should go toward a specific priority, it seems crazy that we can do this for overseas aid but not for defence. ‘We should be putting the 2 per cent Nato target into law.’ The pledge to introduce the law was part of the coalition agreement of 2010 – but opposition from many Conservative backbenchers meant it never saw the light of day as an official government bill. It had to be piloted through parliament by Liberal Democrat MP Michael Moore. It was approved in the Commons earlier this year and yesterday was given an unopposed third reading in the Lords. n SACKED cabinet minister Andrew Lansley suffered fresh humiliation yesterday after being rejected for a top UN role that David Cameron is said to have promised him. The former health secretary, who was demoted two years ago after his NHS reforms ran into trouble, was tipped to become the UN aid chief. But the job has gone to fellow Tory MP Stephen O’Brien, an ex-minister who will replace Valerie Amos as under-secretary for humanitarian affairs.

House of Lords votes in favour of law which has been backed by MPs . Bill taken through parliament by former Lib Dem minister Michael Moore . 0.7% target foreign aid has been backed by all the main parties . Some Tories say it is 'idiotic' at a time when cuts are needed elsewhere .

% of gross national income on international development for the "foreseeable future" yesterday, as MPs voted against a Labour attempt to change the law to protect overseas aid.
The Guardian reveals that David Cameron's government has set up a committee to decide where the extra money should be spent. It says the UK has now joined just four other countries in committing to spend at least 0.7% of GDP – including America, Canada, France and Germany – with more than a dozen others committed to 0.7% or more.
According to the Guardian, the extra money will be used to build hospitals in India, to provide clean water to developing countries and support to reduce maternal mortality in developing countries. However, the government insists that it will not mean any cuts to defence spending.
The Department for International Development (DfID) was today under attack from a cross-party group of senior MPs, who accused it of being wasteful and poorly managed, a year after it was awarded the contract to run the aid budget.
Andrew Mitchell, the international development secretary, said it would be wrong – because of the scale of Britain's commitments elsewhere in the world – to add more money to the UK's aid programme at a time when domestic spending cuts are to be made.
Mitchell told the BBC: "There is an unambiguous commitment to meet that target [of spending 0.7%]. The debate is about what you want to spend. We're committed to spending 0.7%, so the argument that you've got to protect 0.7% is overplayed."
However the UK, with its economy one of the biggest in the world, would be in a strong position to play its part in supporting the world's poorest people, Mitchell argued.
Asked whether there had been a battle for control between the Treasury, where Mitchell served as chief secretary before becoming international development secretary, and the Foreign Office, he said: "I think the Department of International Development is a government department of the future."
He said the £11bn the UK was spending on international development was "an extraordinary contribution to global stability, global poverty, global peace and global health". He also said the money would be protected for the forseeable future. "There are no cuts. We're not doing anything different.
"One billion pounds for the next budget – I would have thought that would have been the headline,