Drilling has begun beneath a German city by a team of Indiana Jones pensioners who believe they are on the trail of the fabled Amber Room of the Tsars. The OAP treasure hunters are digging beneath the streets of the old industrial city of Wuppertal. The Amber Room - valued at around £250million in today's money - was looted from the palace of Peter the Great in Soviet Russia by invading Nazi troops in 1941. It is without doubt the single greatest piece of missing stolen art from World War Two never to be found and has captivated treasure hunters ever since it was first plundered. Some say the panels were destroyed by Soviet artillery fire on the Prussian city of Koenigsberg, others that they were dumped in an Alpine lake by the SS in the closing days of the war. But Karl-Heinz Kleine, 68, and his bowling club pals, say they have proof it was entombed by the Nazis beneath the streets of Wuppertal. Scroll down for video . Digging for treasure: A team of Indiana Jones pensioners being drilling under the German city of Wuppertal, where they are convinced the Amber Room is hidden after it was looted by the Nazis from Russia in 1941 . Lost art: The Amber Room seen in all its glory in 1930 before it was stolen from the Catherine Palace . The city is riddled with subterranean bunkers and tunnels dug by the Nazis. It is here, said Kleine, that he has received information that the crates arrived from Koenigsberg early in 1945 to be hidden. He said: 'Erich Koch, the Nazi gauleiter of East Prussia who died in a Polish prison in 1986, came from Wuppertal. 'As the Red Army closed in on Koenigsberg, he ordered the treasure to be packed up and brought back to his hometown. We have studied records and spoken to people from the time. 'He did not want to leave the world's greatest treasure in a region with an unknown political future; rather he brought it to a place he knew where he had a good chance of accessing it in the future. In his own backyard.' In search of lost treasure: A group of bowling club friends say they have proof the Amber Room was entombed by the Nazis beneath Wuppertal . Following the scent: The group claim to have received information that the crates arrived from Koenigsberg early in 1945 to be hidden in the German city of Wuppertal . Opulent: A complete restoration of the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg, the original of which was plundered by the Nazis in World War Two, but has since disappeared . The £250million room, consisting of panels containing six tonnes of amber resin, took ten years to complete. It is without doubt the single greatest piece of missing stolen art from World War Two never to be found . The local authority have given Karl-Heinz and his four friends permission to dig in the Nazi structures and a local building firm has loaned them some heavy drilling equipment. 'I can't reveal who our sources are, but we are not doing this for fun,' he added. 'We will find the Amber Room here.' Others have been just as certain in the past. The Maigret author Georges Simenon founded the Amber Room Club after World War Two to track it down once and for all. Everyone had a different theory of what might have befallen the work. Plundered: The remains of the Amber Room after it was seized by the Nazis, who packed the amber panels in 27 crates and shipped them to Germany, where they vanished never to be seen again . Stripped bare: Some say the panels were destroyed by Soviet artillery fire on the East Prussian city of Koenigsberg, while others claim they were dumped in an Alpine lake by the SS in the closing days of the war . Destroyed: Peter the Great received the room as a gift from the King of Prussia in 1716 and brought it to his new capital, St Petersburg. Here it is seen before restoriation . The Amber Room consists of panels containing six tonnes of amber resin, took ten years to complete and is valued at some £250million in today's money. Peter the Great received the room as a gift from the King of Prussia in 1716 and brought it to his new capital, St Petersburg. The 16-feet of jigsaw-puzzle style panels were constructed of more than 100,000 perfectly fitted pieces of amber. In 1755, it was moved to the Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo, 17 miles south of the Imperial Russian capital. In 1941, the approaching Nazi army surrounded the city, then known by its Soviet name of Leningrad. Tsarkoe Selo was one of the outlying areas occupied by the Germans. They packed the amber panels in 27 crates and shipped them to Germany, where they vanished. Dozens of theories have been put forward for their whereabouts and in some cases, millions spent trying to unearth the treasure, but as yet nothing has been found. In 2006 an American team spent £7million diving into the glacial waters of Lake Toplitz in Austria. Norman Scott, the founder of Global Explorations, said he had a witness who he says specifically counted 27 crates going to the waters of the lake in April 1945, one month before the capitulation of Nazi Germany. Paperwork from the RHSA - the Reich Main Security Office of the SS in wartime - shows the Amber Room was packed into precisely 27 crates before it was taken away by the Germans from Russia. The team also say the Cyrillic lettering on the remains of a wooden crate they found, bearing the words 'fragile' and numbered could mean it once contained a piece of the Amber Room jigsaw. Lake Toplitz was used by Hitler's forces in the last two years of the war for secret underwater experiments using dynamite and rockets. It later turned it into a dumping ground for anything the Nazis wanted to hide from the advancing Allies. But the lake has yielded little since WW2, except for forged £5 notes which were printed by the Nazis and intended to cause chaos for the British economy. In 2011, a book published in Germany claimed the room lies hidden in old mine workings in a forest in east Germany. 'The Puzzle of Poppen Wood' by Mario Ulbrich unleashed a fresh wave of treasure hunters who arrived at weekends with shovels, metals detectors and vast reserves of optimism to scour for the artwork. Casualties of war: Inhabitants of Leningrad (now St Petersburg) flee after a German bomb attack in the winter of 1941 when the Nazis seized the Amber Room during their assault on the city . The Catherine Palace in St Petersburg (as seen in 2010) where the Amber Room is housed . Ulbrich interviewed foresters, policemen, miners and old Nazis for his work which chronicles two decades of largely unreported quarrying in the wood near Zwickau. Matthias Gluba, a civil engineer and hobby historian on WW2, has triggered another Amber Room frenzy after researching wartime records of the town of Auerswalde near Chemnitz. Auerswalde was the place where Hitler built the two biggest guns in history - Dora and Gustav - both mighty railway mounted monsters capable of hurling shells weighing tons. As he probed into the history of the cannons he discovered plans for secret underground workings. Then he found details of a clandestine shipment from the city of Koenigsberg - now Kaliningrad and part of Russia but in 1945 the main city of Germany's province of East Prussia - which was the last known storage place of the Amber Room before it fell to the Red Army. Art haul: The room was plundered by Adolf Hitler's Nazis during the Second World War . Prussian count Sommes Laubach, the Germans' 'art protection officer' and holder of a degree in art history, supervised the room's transport to Koenigsberg Castle from the Soviet Union. In January 1945, after air raids and a savage ground assault on the city, the room was lost. Gluba found documents about an air raid on the marshalling yards of Breslau - then German, now the Polish city of Wroclaw - on 4 February 1945. The army report stated that 40 wagons from Koneigsberg, which had fallen days earlier to the Red Army, were undamaged in the attack and were moving down to Auerswalde 'under conditions of the greatest secrecy.' Gunter Richter, now 80, is an Auerswalde resident who told Glube that, as a child, he remembered in the Muna Forest outside the town a massive shelter built for munitions works employees that he went into as a boy. It vanished off of maps after the war but in March 2011 he and Gluba managed to find a ventilation shaft that leads down into a subterranean structure they believe is the old shelter. They, and others, have still not managed to access it. Many Amber Room purists believe the treasure lies in the Jonas Valley in what was the former German Democrat Republic. It is the most dangerous of the hunting grounds and draws scores of illegal searchers every weekend. The centre of the Jonas Valley is at Ohrdruf and was the site of the S-IIIFuhrer headquarters. It is a tunnel system many miles in length with thousands of caves, bunkers and storerooms. It was intended to be the Alamo of the Third Reich leadership. Americans liberated it and US authorities have since classified all 1945 documents relating to Ohrdruf for a minimum of 100 years. 'Like no other place in Germany this wild canyon has ignited the fantasies of an international league of conspiracy theorists and treasure hunters, 'wrote Der Spiegel, Germany's top news magazine. Both above and below ground, the area is littered with shells and bombs big enough to destroy a city block. At weekends authorities play cat-and-mouse with the treasure hunters who enter the sealed-off area illegally in ones and twos - and sometimes in mini-bus groups - armed with metal detectors and a belief in the stories. Fortune hunter Martin Stade, author of 'Amber Rooms In Thuringia And Other Hollow Spaces,' likes to guide treasure seekers through the Jonas Valley. Stade believes that Hitler had UFO-like flying saucers developed in bunkers at the site - as well as using one of the chambers as a repository for the Amber Room.

£250m room was looted from palace of Peter the Great by the Nazis in 1941 . Consists of six tonnes of amber resin which took ten years to complete . Amber packed into 27 crates and shipped  to Germany where they vanished . Its fate has captivated treasure hunters ever since it was first plundered . Now team of OAPs claim to have proof it is hidden under city of Wuppertal .

 Magdeburg to unearth a vast underground labyrinth of tunnels, sewers, bunkers, mines and water storage tanks believed to stretch for miles beneath their feet.
Their quest is being driven by a belief that the tunnels that have been built into the city are a modern version of a secret war-time system of escape tunnels built beneath the cities of Europe by Hitler during the Second World War – only in this case the team believe their tunnels might hold the remnants of 18th century treasure looted from the Russians by Prussian aristocracy.
A group called “Millionaire’s Diggers” is spending two weeks a year exploring the tunnels under the historic centre of the city in search of a priceless trove of jewels, gold and other rare artifacts.
The search is funded by a German businessman and the team is paying experts, including a local mine expert who is helping to guide their efforts, to chart and plan the complex network of tunnels which they believe date back to the first half of the 18th century, possibly built during the reign of King Frederick the Great.
They are certain that the city’s wealth of 18th century houses, churches and monasteries are built over the labyrinth of passages which led the Prussian nobility to build them to get away from Russia’s troops.
The group is searching for a tunnel system believed to be connected with the famous Amber Room, a collection of 18th century Russian artefacts, which is said to have been hidden under the city before it was plundered by the Nazis in 1941.
However, one of the biggest clues to a link between the tunnels and the Amber Room was the huge amount of timber used in the tunnels. Experts have found in the soil they have dug up that the tunnels contained up to three thousand cubic metres of oak wood – enough to build the Amber Room 50 times over.
The tunnels are said to be up to seven metres deep and 30 metres wide and have been built into a network of cellars, vaults, tunnels, bunkers, storage rooms and even some with the original wooden planks. It is a city within a city, which has been dug out over generations and is now spread more than a mile from its original edge.
The team has been using metal detectors and modern technology to help them in their quest, which they believe could be “the last big treasure hunt”.
“It must have been a really big task for the builders to dig this huge network


Bafetimbi Gomis was given a clean bill of health on Thursday after revealing his shocking mid-game collapse was caused by the stress of his father’s ill health. The Frenchman was discharged from hospital in London in the morning having fainted eight minutes into Swansea’s 3-2 defeat against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. There were distressing echoes of Fabrice Muamba’s collapse at the same ground three years ago, with Spurs’ substitute goalkeeper Brad Friedel admitting he ‘feared the worst’ as he watched the striker slump to the ground. Bafetimbi Gomis lies face down on the pitch after collapsing during  Swansea's game with Tottenham . Medical staff attended to the France international for four minutes before he regained consciousness . Concerned Tottenham players look on as the Swansea forward is attended to my medical staff . But hospital tests through the night have found no deeper cause for concern beyond the 29-year-old’s vasovagal condition, which the Welsh club insist they have been aware of since before they signed the player from Lyon last summer. A senior club source told Sportsmail that knowledge of at least three previous episodes involving Gomis in France meant they were ‘extra rigorous’ in testing him during his medical and cardiology exams. A source close to the player confirmed those tests took place in a specialist facility in Cardiff ahead of Gomis’s Bosman move to south Wales. The Frenchman tweeted to insist he was feeling better, claiming he fainted because of the anxiety caused by his father’s illness. He said: ‘I wanted to reassure you concerning my health. It actually looks much scarier than it is physically dangerous, and I am feeling well now. Gomis, who has a history of blacking out, is taken off the field on a stretcher at White Hart Lane . Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb (right) holds his head in his hands as Gomis is taken off on a stretcher . Players from both sides appear shocked as referee Michael Oliver prepares to restart the game . ‘I have been under a great deal of stress and fatigue due to my father’s health, which requires me to go back and forth from France. ‘I was disappointed that I couldn’t help my team tonight (Wednesday), but now everything is back in order. I also want to thank everyone for their support and get well messages.’ The striker will not return to training until Tuesday, though the time off was agreed for the whole squad ahead of Wednesday’s incident, with Swansea not playing again until Monday week’s clash against Liverpool. He is expected to return to France imminently. Club officials were adamant on Wednesday night that Gomis has suffered no previous issues with fainting since his arrival at the Liberty Stadium, though the dressing room had been made aware of a condition that is understood to have first affected the striker when he was 14. A vasovagal syncope, which is what Bafetimbi Gomis suffered on Wednesday night, is caused by a sudden decrease in blood pressure or heart-rate, triggered by emotional or physical factors. Reduced blood flow to the brain makes a person faint. It can be prompted by extreme exertion or anxiety. On the physical side, there are numerous tests that can be done when a player has a medical and it appears Swansea knew all about Gomis’s history. They will have checked the flow through his blood vessels under exercise stress, though emotional triggers are harder to quantify. It is a rare condition for a professional sportsman and is more common in older people. It is not something I have encountered in any other footballer. Thankfully, it is not an especially dangerous condition in isolation. The risks are low beyond what happens when you fall. You could hit your head or suffer trauma damage to another part of the body on landing. Often there is a stimulus that the person will recognise and they can act, by sitting down. Most sufferers feel fine in a matter of moments. Gomis has a history of fainting and can be seen here collapsing during France national team training in 2009 . It has been reported in France that Gomis previously fainted during a friendly for Lyon against Deportivo La Coruna in August 2009, before this episode in training . Gomis is helped by French goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso after the collapse in Guincamp . The French striker is understood to have resumed playing within 10 to 15 minutes of the episode . It has been reported in France that he previously fainted during a friendly for Lyon against Deportivo La Coruna in August 2009, before it happened again in training for the France national team two months later. On each occasion he is understood to have resumed playing within 10 to 15 minutes of the episode. Gomis is believed to have collapsed a third time in a Ligue 1 match for Lyon against Monaco in August 2010. Such episodes are caused by low blood pressure to the brain, usually brought on by emotional or physical distress. Medical experts told Sportsmail that the main risks associated with the condition would come from falling, though Swansea claim Gomis is able to detect when a problem occurring and acts accordingly. AUGUST 2, 2009 - LYON 2-2 DEPORTIVO . WHAT HAPPENED? In one of his first games for Lyon, Gomis both scores and faints in a pre-season friendly. However his new club are not overly concerned. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Club doctor Emmanuel Ohrant said: ‘Since 14-years-old, Bafe has been the subject of such vasovagal episodes, comparable to a drop in blood pressure. At St Etienne, he used to faint. We got his whole medical file, and I can testify very exhaustive medical examinations have been . OCTOBER 7, 2009 - FRANCE TRAINING . WHAT HAPPENED? After meeting up with the French squad, a training session was dramatically halted after Gomis collapsed to the ground. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Gomis regained consciousness within a matter of minutes. Incredibly, after just 15 minutes on the sidelines, the striker was able to re-join his team-mates for training. AUGUST 7 2010 - LYON 0-0 MONACO . WHAT HAPPENED? Gomis collapsed early in Lyon’s Ligue 1 home game against Monaco, just metres away from the home dugout. The striker was seen on the ground with his eyes rolled back before club doctor Emmanuel Orhant intervened. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? However, Gomis quickly regained consciousness and continued playing until he was subbed off in the 76th minute. He later said: ‘I had an [incident] early in the game. I often do early in the season. I have immediately felt good after that. I think it was related to stress.' The 29-year-old is helped by a member of the French national team's medical staff after he collapsed . Players and staff call for help after then-Lyon striker Gomis collapses during a match in 2010 . Gomis also collapsed in a friendly match between Lyon and Deportivo La Coruna in August 2009 . Friedel was in the stands when Muamba collapsed with a cardiac arrest and said: ‘Anyone who was at that game probably thought the worst immediately. 'It's not normal for someone to be standing there and collapse and you know it's going to be something serious. 'But after a minute or so the word got back, so that's why you didn't see the panic on the players' faces because everyone knew he was all right. 'It was something that had to be dealt with, of course, but it was nothing in the stratosphere of what went on with Fabrice.’

Bafetimbi Gomis collapsed during first half of Swansea's match at Spurs . The Swansea striker wanted to play on but was carried off on a stretcher . Gomis said his father's ill-health was one cause for the collapse . This has happened to Gomis three times before (with Lyon and France) Incident brought back memories of Fabrice Muamba's collapse .

 been taken there a day earlier after complaining of a lack of energy and vomiting on his France Under-21 debut against Italy at Wembley on Tuesday.
And Gomis, who was one of the few bright spots for the visitors, has said he has been left feeling more depressed than ever by the ordeal.
"I feel a bit sad. I got some results back from my medicals, from the test results taken yesterday [Wednesday]. I was taken to hospital because I felt a bit weak," he said.
"This has definitely made things worse for me, because I'm now getting the results back and it's not that good.
"It's been quite difficult. It's been very tough for me, as you can imagine - and I'm more than down."
Arsenal's Theo Walcott made his first start for club or country since being told he would need to quit playing football.
The 18-year-old scored the 81st-minute winner, capitalising on an Arsenal break. Walcott has recovered from the knee injury which put his place at this World Cup in doubt.
France Under-21 coach Alain Perrin left no doubt that Gomis, who had been named in his original 26-man squad for next month's finals, would not be featuring in Brazil.
He said: "Bafetimbi is someone I had always said was my number one striker for the Under-21s and I still think he is even better than that now. But we can't use players if they are not fit.
"He's had a serious shock, he's not even left the hotel and he has an upset stomach which is caused by extreme tension.
"I know what he is like and that he is a man of great faith, but we were worried about how he was doing.
"We just did not have time for him, we just don't have time for a big number two. He's a great player and I wish he was in the squad, but he's not.
"Theo Walcott is a big player for us, he is someone who always does well when he plays for the Under-21s, and he has played well again tonight. But there are other great players here in the squad as well."
Theo Walcott has been recalled to the squad for the second World Cup game in two days - and Perrin


Two single beds side by side, canes hanging from coat hooks and retro British food tins on a gingham-covered countertop - these are the poignant images that capture the lives of two elderly sisters in their family home. Jean and Joy Taylor were born in the house in Ryde, Isle of Wight, in 1916 and 1922, never married and even shared a bedroom in their family home for 27 years until Jean's death in 2008. Now their quiet, old fashioned life together has been documented by a photographer Zoe Barker, with her picture series, The House Of Two Sisters. Scroll down for video . The sisters' guest room is decorated with pink candlewick bedspreads, an electric fire and family pictures on the mantelpiece. Jean's picture is in the centre, to  the right is their brother Jim in his Royal Artillery Uniform . The new owners have kept the enamelled pots and pans and other vintage pieces of kitchenware and continue to use a 'cool cupbord' with perforated metal door and sides for storing cheese, butter and eggs . Jean Taylor (left) was born, lived and died in her home in Ryde, Isle of Wight; after the loss of her sister in 2008,  Joy, now 99, (right) sold the house in 2013 to move into a care home . Barker's pictures are as much a document of the sisters' lives together and of a glimpse of a vanishing Britain. Her images  record an immaculately kept house with vintage features such as antimacassars on the armchairs, tins of treacle in the kitchen, a dressing table and highly-patterned carpets. There are no computers cluttering up surfaces, or plugs, wires and cables wending around furniture  and only a few black and white photographs  decorate on the walls. The women were born into a well-known local family, which originally set up a successful coaching business in the town in the 1840s. They also had two brothers James and John. Barker said: 'Very much a family home in the early days, the sisters shared the house with their mother and their Aunt Edie until both mother and aunt passed away. This was Jean's home all her life.' Aged 23 and 17 respectively when the Second World War broke out, the Taylor sisters came of age in an era of thrift, rationing and self-sacrifice. And their wartime experiences are evident throughout the house. The  dressing table in the twin bedroom that Jean and Joy shared. Their beds are seen reflected in the mirror . The new owners have kept the old Electrolux hoover along with the carpet that remains in this room . Jean and Joy shared a bedroom from the 1950s until Jean's death. The  picture on the wall is of their family friend and Spitfire pilot George Gribble who was never found after bailing out over the sea near Dunkirk . Both of their brothers survived the war and there is a picture of James, who served in North Africa and Italy while John fought in the jungles of Burma, on the guest bedroom mantelpiece. In their neat, almost spartan, room is a black and white photo of their family friend and Spitfire pilot George Gribble who victory-rolled over the house whenever he flew over the island. On 4 June, 1941, he was seen to bail out over the sea near Dunkirk but was never found. The smaller photograph in the corner of the same frame is Bill Tudhope, a bomber pilot who was engaged to one of their cousins. He failed to return from a bombing mission over Germany in 1940. Barker said: 'In 1957 Joy left to live in London, though returned to the house almost every weekend. On retiring in 1981 she returned to live with her sister and they remained there together until Jean's death. 'Neither of them ever married. Despite being a large house the sisters shared a bedroom right up until Jean passed away.' These plastic flowers were given to the sisters by the grandmother of the woman who delivered their lunches in the last two years of Jean's life. Niece Gill remembers how impractical these armchair 'tables' were andmugs of tea would slip off unless held on to tightly . Joy Taylor sold the house in 2013 but her coat still hangs on the coat rack along with the sisters' canes (left); the women hung their Sunday best dresses on the back of the bedroom door (right). Their niece Gill, who says her aunts were always smart dressers, remembers Jean wearing this two-piece on warm summer days . The Isle of Wight-based photographer was asked to take her camera around the house  by the new owners after Joy - the last of the Taylor family in Ryde - sold her house in 2013 to move into a care home. She said: 'The new owners are lovely - a middle-aged couple with a teenage daughter. They are all massive appreciators of old things so it couldn't be in better hands. 'They've kept a lot of the sisters' furniture and objects, selected from the things that the sisters' family didn't want, many of which are currently in storage, but they plan to display them around the house once the decorating is completed. 'They invited me to come and document the house precisely because they appreciated it all so much - they really wanted a record of how it was. I presented them with an album of photographs at the end of the project.' The pictures took first place in the Documentary Series Category at the British Life Photography Awards this month. The new owners of the house have kept this Fowler's Treacle tin and many other old containers including over-the-counter medicines and salves, with a view to displaying them in the house in future . The sisters  had an identical much-loved chair and even Joy isn't sure whether this one was hers or Jean's . Barker documented the interior before it was renovated. She said: 'Little had changed for many years and the house was full of wonderfully dated features. But the house won't be entirely transformed. 'They're keeping the essentials of the house the same - lots of paint required and a few new curtains and carpets, but pretty minimal really as they want the house to retain its wonderful character,' she said. 'For example, keeping the woodchip wallpaper, just giving it a lick of paint, and holding on to some of those amazingly dated carpets. Even the old hoover has been kept as it's working perfectly. 'The biggest change is the kitchen - it was absolutely tiny, a galley kitchen really: the kitchen pans photograph was only just about doable with a wide angle lens and the camera right against the opposite wall. So the old sitting room is now a wonderfully spacious kitchen with window out on to the garden.' The rug was made by Aunt Edie's long-term boyfriend 'Uncle Bert'. The pair stepped out every Wednesday afternoon until he passed away but they never married. The blue china dog also belonged to Aunt Edie .

Photographer shot preserved house of two elderly sisters on Isle of Wight . Jean and Joy Taylor shared the family home and a bedroom for 34 years . New owners wanted to capture their old fashioned vintage home . Jean died in 2008 and Joy, now 99, has moved to a care home .

 among the last British women in the world to be forcibly sterilised because of their low intelligence in 1958 when the law permitted eugenic sterilisation without parental consent and without a criminal offence. After it was abolished in 2004, the sisters were finally told they had been victimised by the government of the day.
A new book by journalist Jane Johnson on the Taylors, Sterilised for Her Protection: The Taylors and the Law, tells their story, which she first heard about almost 20 years ago in an interview for the BBC. "I remember that first interview vividly," says Johnson. "It was a real shock to find such a big secret, because their parents were still alive and there was no suggestion that it had happened to them. I said to them that you can't talk about your father or your brother because the 70-year secrecy rule hasn't expired yet but one of them said, 'Why not?' and I got the big shock of my life. It was something they hadn't told even their closest relatives about. That gave me the determination to write the book."
The sisters were 27 and 29 when they were sterilised at Birmingham's Bull Street hospital in October 1958. Johnson traces their ordeal back a century to when their father, Joseph Taylor, was committed to a lunatic asylum for his mental incapacity in 1906. "All these people were locked up and then sterilised," she says. "It was a time when eugenics was considered a very rational solution. It was being practised by every country in the world, including the United States and even Nazi Germany. But the British version was especially brutal."
The government's sterilisation campaign in Birmingham was one of its earliest trials for its controversial Eugenic (Sterilisation of Imbeciles) Act. It was based on the idea that society's good could only be attained by getting rid of people who were considered of lower intelligence. The Taylors had been born to a couple from the poor Jewish community of Birmingham and from early childhood had been subjected to years of mistreatment and abuse. Aged four Joy had been sexually abused by a neighbour and when she was 11 her mother died. The two girls went to live with a sister. As they grew, their father went to prison for forging the sister's name on a cheque for £50.
"There is a whole catalogue of abuses against these


She weighs in at an impressive 100,000 tons and is longer than The Shard is tall. And today the mammoth USS Theodore Roosevelt was anchored just off the coast of Hampshire because she was simply 'too big' to sail into the Royal Navy's historic Portsmouth dockyard. Thousands of stunned spectators jammed roads and lined the banks of the River Solent to welcome the 1,092ft-long floating city as it arrived for a five-day visit to the UK on the first stop of a global deployment. Scroll down for video . Thousands of spectators lined the banks of the River Solent in Hampshire today to welcome the 1,092ft-long USS Theodore Roosevelt as it arrived for a five-day visit to the UK. The U.S. aircraft carrier, which measures 1,092ft in length, docked off Stokes Bay in Gosport, Hampshire . The 100,000-tonne U.S. aircraft carrier was forced to anchor off Stokes Bay in Gosport because it was 'too big' to sail into the Royal Navy's historic Portsmouth dockyard. More than 5,000 sailors are set to swamp Portsmouth during the five-day visit, giving a boost to the economy . The carrier measures 1,092ft in length, which is the equivalent to 30 London buses, and displaces up to 100,000 tons of water at full load . The mighty ship, which is making its first port of call during a round-the-world deployment, is much larger than the Royal Navy's next generation of carriers, The Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth, which weigh in at 65,000 tonnes when they finally become operational . Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: 'The USS Theodore Roosevelt's visit shows yet again that UK/U.S. relations are as close as ever' The Royal Navy’s First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, said today: ‘It is excellent to see US Navy carrier steel in Portsmouth' While a debate rages in the UK over the Government's failure to commit to the Nato target of spending two per cent of GPD on defence, the Roosevelt is a potent symbol of American military might. With 90 aircraft on board, the ship can operate for up to 25 years at over unlimited distances, projecting US air power around the globe. She can go three months without resupply and her two giant nuclear reactor generate enough power for a small city. One social media user wrote: 'Most ships get measures in metres, this one comes in acres!' Another joked in reference to recent increased tensions between the West and Russia: 'Wonder if any Russian bombers will fly up the Channel this week?' Brian and Jacqui Rodgers, who travelled from Dorset to see the 30-year-old carrier arrive at Stokes Bay, said they were 'very impressed' by the ship. Mr Rodgers told The News local paper: 'It's a slumbering giant. I guess it's one of the biggest carriers in the world. 'It's a bit like watching a floating town arrive off the coast.' Mrs Rodgers added: 'It's massive. When you see a sailing boat by go by the side of it you realise how huge it is.' American sailors have disembarked from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for shore leave while it is moored in Stokes Bay, Gosport . The American crew of more than 5,600 includes 3,200 sailors and 2,480 airmen, a number which is expected to have a huge impact on the area . The city's bars, clubs, restaurants and visitor attractions are bracing themselves for a massive footfall when the sailors hit dry land . The arrival of the thousands of sailors is set to boost local economy by an estimated £1.5million during the ship's five-day visit . The U.S. aircraft carrier was named after the 26th President of the United States . And with more than 5,000 American sailors due to disembark from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for shore leave while it is moored in Stokes Bay, Gosport, the local economy is set for an estimated £1.5million boost. The city's bars, clubs, restaurants and visitor attractions are bracing themselves for a massive footfall when the sailors hit dry land during their ship's five-day visit. Nightclub Tiger Tiger located on the banks of Portsmouth Harbour is opening its doors at 9am during the week to put on English breakfasts. The mighty ship, which is making its first port of call during a round-the-world deployment, is much larger than the Royal Navy's next generation of carriers, The Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth, which weigh in at 65,000 tonnes when they finally become operational. Among Roosevelt's crew are six Royal Navy aircraft handlers who are honing their skills before serving aboard the new Royal Navy carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, which enters service in 2017. The carrier's escort ship, the guided missile destroyer Winston S Churchill, was able to dock at Portsmouth. She traditionally carries a UK navigator to honour the ship's British connection with the post currently held by 27-year-old Lieutenant Lynsey Sewell. Welcoming the U.S. ship, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said last night: 'The USS Theodore Roosevelt's visit shows yet again that UK/US relations are as close as ever. Ten days ago, I was the first of his counterparts to meet incoming Defence Secretary Ash Carter. 'Having the Roosevelt in Portsmouth today is yet another example of the world's broadest, deepest and most enduring defence relationship at work. I'm thrilled to be going aboard today to welcome the crew personally.' The USS Theodore Roosevelt was accompanied into Hampshire by its escort ship, the destroyer Winston S Churchill, which traditionally has a UK navigator on board to honour the ship's British connection and the post is currently being held by 27-year-old Lieutenant Lynsey Sewell . The giant aircraft carrier was named after Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, and is nicknamed the 'Big Stick' Following its visit to the UK, USS Roosevelt will make its way to the Middle East where it is expected to take part in airstrikes against ISIS . More than 5,000 American sailors are due to disembark from the aircraft carrier while it is moored in  Gosport, over the next five days, giving local businesses an estimated £1.5million boost. Donna Jones, leader of Portsmouth council, said: 'This is great news for Portsmouth' Spectators were keen to take photographs and 'selfies' of the ship as it made its way in to Hampshire today before docking in Gosport . Among Roosevelt's crew are six Royal Navy aircraft handlers who are honing their skills before serving aboard the new HMS Queen Elizabeth . The Royal Navy's First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, added: 'It is excellent to see US Navy carrier steel in Portsmouth. And in barely two years we will see UK carrier steel here too. 'We warmly welcome the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group - a reflection of the close partnership between our nations and navies, and the value of credible seapower in support of our shared national interests.' Senior officers aboard the American ship will visit Royal Navy officials to discuss recent global operations and get an update on the UK's carrier programme. Donna Jones, leader of Portsmouth council, said: 'This is great news for Portsmouth because it means money spent in local businesses, restaurants, cafes and shops, as well as strengthening the ties between the British and American Navy.'

USS Theodore Roosevelt anchored off coast of Hampshire because it was 'too big' to dock at Portsmouth dockyard . Giant U.S. aircraft carrier, which measures 1,092ft in length, docked off Stokes Bay in Gosport for five-day UK vist . Thousands of spectators lined banks of River Solent to welcome the aircraft carrier before it heads to Middle East .

 Solent
- USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Southsea, Hampshire, today ahead of the Portsmouth Military Wartime Weekend (May 17-19)
- The aircraft carrier had to anchor in the sea 30 miles out because the Portsmouth Harbour and Solent were too small for her to enter
- USS Theodore Roosevelt can carry more than 6,000 people at 60mph
- She is 4.5 miles long, 16 storeys tall, and 257 feet wide
- The ship also requires 16 'big' and 5 'little' tugs to tow her across the seas, the little tugs only being used to make her port
Huge.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt, a massive American aircraft carrier has arrived in the Solent today.
The ship was originally due to enter the Solent on Friday, but had to anchor off Hayling Island.
The massive 100,000-tonne vessel was being sailed from the US to the UK for the Portsmouth Military Wartime Weekend
The Solent, which stretches between the Isle of Wight and the mainland of the United Kingdom, is simply too small for the aircraft carrier to enter.
It was also too narrow for the 4.5-mile-long vessel to sail up the Portsmouth Harbour, and the 256-foot-wide bridge is not able to allow the massive ship to sail between the Solent's rocks.
The aircraft carrier is named after the 26th president of the USA, and has 6,000 crew, 16 storeys, and carries helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and amphibious vehicles.
'We needed to reposition the US Navy's largest asset,' said Rear Admiral Kenneth Floyd, Deputy Commander, Carrier Strike Group 11, in a statement.
'We know that this is one of the most important and largest naval events on the eastern seaboard and we wanted the Roosevelt to make an impact on every corner of the city, but the Solent is simply too narrow to allow us to transit.
'The Portsmouth Military Wartime Weekend is an important event for the city and we look forward to joining the city in celebration of the nation's history, heritage and people.'
USS Theodore Roosevelt is currently the only US aircraft carrier in operation. The ship is 100ft longer than the Shard is tall, is four and half miles long and has 16 storeys.
It also requires 16 'big


(CNN)I am atheist -- and I am black. Yes, we exist -- even if many in the media sometimes don't notice us. In a CNN special that aired on Tuesday, for example, people of color were not as well-represented as American atheism's more familiar face: You know, white males. In fact, African-American atheists represent a still small -- though growing -- segment of American atheists at large. Does this mean that blacks and other minorities generally just don't gravitate towards nonbelief, or are there other factors which keep us hidden? There is a harsh truth to face here. Most blacks identify as religious. Belief in God is touted with pride, and the church is intricately tied to tradition, history and culture. It is not uncommon to assume that I attend services as a black woman. The question often isn't if I go to church -- it's where. And even if one doesn't go to church, surely they still have faith -- because our people have endured and overcome so much hardship that it had to be the work of a god. All of this makes the words "black" and "atheist" hard for many to imagine in the same sentence. It can be extremely difficult to discuss religion objectively in the black community. Many have social, emotional and financial stakes invested in this institution, so for one to even say they have doubts is like committing treason. To openly identify as an atheist in the midst of heavy religious influence can be next to impossible, and good luck finding other blacks who also don't believe. It is very important to note however, that the Internet has made it easier for black atheists to find each other, and there is a large community of us online. Though I was raised secular -- a rarity in my community -- I've had to endure ostracism from family and friends as a result of openly identifying as an atheist. However, my journey is far from tragic. In founding my organization, Black Nonbelievers, in 2011, I have been fortunate to connect with others who were either raised secular like myself, or who were brought up extremely religious and left it behind. And they have done so bravely, defying the perception and expectation that all blacks blindly accept religion. The Friendly Atheists Next Door . My experience in the secular community as a black atheist has ranged from feeling totally welcome to feeling totally isolated, and even ignored. On the one hand, there is common ground shared -- our nonbelief and even discontent with religion unites us. On the other hand, there is a notion that since we share this common ground that there are no other issues to address. The lack of people of color at secular events is a problem -- partly because there is unawareness of such events existing, but also because there is limited effort placed in accommodation and care. We are sometimes treated as if we are invisible, or even as an afterthought -- which does not make the few persons of color feel welcome. Fortunately, all is not lost. Progress has been made. There are now a number of secular groups that have helped to bring about more diverse representation for people of color, women and children. There is a more concentrated focus on support for the LGBT demographic, as well for others who come from marginalized and disfranchised backgrounds. There are support systems for people who have lost loved ones, yet they have no religious affiliation. Moreover, there is a tremendous amount of literary and artistic talent. Such representation is now reflected at organized events, in leadership, as well as in media coverage. While the number of visible minority atheists is still small, we are here and we're here to stay. We will continue to grow, in both the black and secular communities. We can lead the charge for this change. The more we make our presence known, the better our chances of working together to turn around the disparities we face, and bolster the recognition we so rightly deserve. We are not alone.

African-American atheists represent a small but growing segment of American atheists at large . Most blacks, though, identify as religious, and the church is intricately tied to tradition, history and culture .

 heavily-represented in some of the featured subjects as one might assume. Notable examples of this lack of diversity included a young black male, who was profiled in a feature about the importance of fatherhood.
And that's just the type of news, in my view, that people who look like me and share my beliefs need to hear: stories that acknowledge the black reality of America.
So often, we are told that being a black atheist is like "black not being black enough." Or, some of us can't be real Christians. Why? Because we are black, and our views are not mainstream.
I can't tell you how many times I've been told that just because I was born into the Christian faith, I couldn't be a real Christian, because real Christians are "white" -- and I'm black. I think to myself, I'm living in a world of privilege, but I don't see it that way.
For the record, I am proud to be a black atheist. I am proud to be a non-believer. I am proud of the views I have, and stand by them.
We are not all alike
In many ways, religion has done a wonderful job in breaking down the barriers of segregation. Still, one does not have to look very far to see that religion's history in the United States was built on hatred, segregation and oppression.
What I see as a result of Christianity is a division between whites and blacks. Black and white churches were and are still built on separate foundations, with one for whites and one for blacks. Today, I still walk into a white church, and people still ask, "Who are you here for?" and often get a little upset if they don't immediately know your answer.
I have had countless experiences over the years in the black church, where people didn't welcome me or treat me as if they cared at all about my personal well-being. I have had a very rough experience in the black church and I've also had very good experiences.
I am a product of the Civil Rights movement, and my experiences as a black atheist have led me to see just how separate white Christians and black Christians are in America. Just like with other races, there is a racial division in the black church today.
There's a difference
To me, the difference in black and white church is one of theology. Some of these theological


Sir Philip Green, pictured with his daughter Chloe, has sold the loss-making BHS department chain for just £1 to a little-known investment firm . Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has sold struggling BHS for just one pound – a fraction of the £200million he paid for it almost 15 years ago. The billionaire had failed to turn the loss-making department store chain around due to fierce competition from rivals. It was bought yesterday by a little-known investment firm called Retail Acquisitions, raising fears for the jobs of 11,000 staff in 171 BHS stores across the country. When asked if their roles were safe, Sir Philip said: ‘I’m a retailer, not a clairvoyant.’ The entrepreneur bought the chain in 2000 when it was called British Home Stores. It joined Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Burton as part of his Arcadia Group. But its furniture and fashion – aimed at older customers – struggled to sell well enough to keep up with rivals. Recent attempts to breathe new life into the chain included introducing food halls in some stores, opening new cafes and selling clothes from some of Arcadia’s other brands. But this failed to kick-start growth, and BHS continued to lose customers to cheaper rivals such as IKEA, as well as more upmarket competitors including John Lewis. Sir Philip said the chain made a cash loss of £45million last year. Analysts estimate that it lost 800,000 shoppers over the past five years. The businessman said he had not been able to give BHS as much attention as he would have liked because of the other brands he owns. ‘I don’t think anything went wrong,’ he said. ‘You try being involved in six businesses. ‘I’m not blaming anybody, but when you are in and out of the business you tend to drift. You can’t be an absentee landlord. It is a challenging marketplace and BHS is in the middle of the market at a time when everyone is discounting.’ He said the business is being handed over in a sound financial position with ‘significant’ cash balances and no debt. Sir Philip put BHS up for sale in January. He refused to confirm the sale price yesterday, but this was widely reported as being £1. He also declined to say whether he had secured an agreement that existing stores and jobs would be safeguarded. ‘I don’t want some article saying they will close them,’ he said. ‘I’m a retailer, not a clairvoyant. People buy companies and people sell companies. They are buying the business to run it as a going concern.’ Fears have been expressed over the job security of more than 11,000 staff employed by BHS . Retail Acquisitions is a new business set up by five directors with little experience in the sector. Chairman Keith Smith, 76, is a former stockbroker. Two other directors are lawyers – one specialising in privacy, who has advised Mike Tyson, Ulrika Jonsson and Hugh Grant. Of the firm’s remaining two directors, one is an unknown Swede and the other appears to be a former racing driver. Mr Smith said: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity to breathe new life into this iconic British high street brand. ‘We are convinced that with strategic and focused support we will return BHS to profitability and safeguard the workforce.’ However, analysts believe the firm may be forced to cut staff. Neil Saunders, a director of research firm Conlumino, said: ‘On the positive side, it is likely the brand will be reinvigorated and see some investment. ‘On the negative side, some restructuring [job cuts] is likely and over the medium term further store closures will likely be required.’

Sir Philip Green has sold BHS for just £1 to Retail Acquisitions . Fears have been expressed over the job security of BHS' 11,000 workers . When asked about the jobs, Green replied: 'I'm a retailer, not a clairvoyant' The chain was put up for sale in January and the price is believed to be £1 . Scroll down for video .

 but analysts believe the billionaire could have got far more.
The department store, which went into administration last year and is losing £1 million every day, was put up for sale after the company collapsed into administration with £571 million in debt in April 2016. At the time, Mr Green was reported to be considering buying back the chain for as little as a pound.
Despite a dramatic improvement in its trading performance since, analysts believe the businessman could still have achieved more by taking on one of Britain’s most famous department store brands as it was rescued – and will be keen to see if he returns with a bid in the coming months.
What’s happening to BHS?
The company collapsed less than a year ago, following a dramatic fall in its value to just £1 after years of poor trading and a major pensions crisis. At the time of its collapse, Sir Philip was also locked in a court battle over how much he was liable for – a claim which could be “£500m to £700m”, he said in a statement.
The company, which had more than 1,000 stores across the UK, was hit by falling sales and falling profits in recent years. Analysts believe it could now be worth three to four times more, and is likely to be sold for a similar price to Sports Direct.
In April last year, Sports Direct paid £5.4m for another failed British department store, House of Fraser.
Is the chain safe?
Despite being thrown back into administration last April, BHS has managed to stay open over the holiday season and Christmas was its most successful one in a decade – an achievement which has raised the prospect of the chain being sold.
Analysts say there is a “reasonable prospect” the company will be rescued. However, they added: “We believe Mr Green will only sell the brand if he is unable to secure a return in excess of a pound.”
It is also thought a buyer might try to break-up the business, selling off key areas of the brand, such as its supply chain, to other retailers.
Will the staff get paid?
The company has a pension deficit of around £571 million, and is believed to be facing claims from more than 20,000 workers, including 14,000 former staff members, for holiday pay, pension contributions and other entitlements.
A £20 million pension scheme for the retailer’s 10,000 former employees is set


In the closing stages of the RBS 6 Nations’ greatest day, Ben Youngs played like a true champion. But that status eluded him once again — and he knew exactly why. England’s scrum-half had tormented France during the gloriously, bewilderingly compelling match which provided a pulsating finale to Super Saturday. But a fourth successive year as runners-up left the national team shattered, with their gallant role in epic sporting drama serving as meagre consolation. England fell just six points short of being crowned Six Nations champions . A 55-35 victory over France was not enough for England to overhaul Ireland at the top of the standings . And though Youngs had been the catalyst for a daring charge towards the unlikely target of a 26-point winning margin with his two tries, countless line-breaks and dashing creativity, collective disappointment eclipsed any personal pride. As participants and observers alike tried to make sense of a 90-point, 12-try edition of ‘Le Crunch’ which often defied logic, the devastated man of the match pinpointed why there were no medals around English necks. ‘I don’t think the Six Nations title was lost today, it was lost last week, when we missed too many chances,’ he said, in reference to the 25-13 victory over Scotland seven days earlier. ‘We should have been way ahead on points difference going into this game.’ Ben Youngs believes England lost the Six Nations title last week when they only beat Scotland 25-13 . England had many chances to beat Scotland by a bigger margin last weekend at Twickenham . Correct. It would have deprived a captivated audience of an absorbing spectacle spanning three high-octane games, but England could have made Saturday’s fixtures in Rome and Edinburgh all but irrelevant if they hadn’t squandered a raft of try-scoring openings in round four. If Stuart Lancaster’s men had merely needed to win, they would not have scorched the earth as they did time and again in front of a fervent crowd, but it is highly likely they would have secured their prize. Instead, they ran amok to amass a record total against their cross-Channel rivals, only to be left six points short and inches from glory as a rolling maul at the end threatened to bring the house down until referee Nigel Owens penalised the hosts to signal the dying of the light. After familiar English dejection and an outpouring of Irish euphoria as Joe Schmidt’s team retained their title on points difference, the inquests began at Twickenham. George North's inspired performance helped Wales to a 61-20 win over Italy to put them in with a shout . Ireland thrashed Scotland 40-10 at Murrayfield to overhaul Wales, and England fell  short in their response . Circumstances demanded an adventurous streak and the upshot was seven tries against opponents who had conceded just two in their previous four games. A torrent of quick lineouts and tapped penalties, heads-up running and off-loading made for a stirring sight but, while the real damage had been done a week before, there were also fresh faults. For all his evident pride, backs coach Andy Farrell will not have been amused to see England concede five tries at home, even though they had to go for broke. When Vincent Debaty rounded off a stunning French raid on the hour, Youngs wore a thunderous look. ‘They took their tries well but we’ve got to be better than that,’ he said. ‘It was one step forward, one step back. For every good thing we did, we weren’t able to keep backing it up. If we can be a bit smarter in defence, that is the way for us to play.’ England’s expansive approach was certainly effective and pleasing to the eye, but there was a period in the first half when they became too frantic, when a composed outlook would have told them to build a score patiently. Stuart Lancaster has seen his side finish as runners-up in the Six Nations for four years in a row . Still, criticism must be tempered in the context of a 20-point thumping of a French team which bore no resemblance to the rabble of previous weekends. For Youngs, there was irritation that their opponents had fought hard while Scotland and Italy had presented limited resistance to the other title challengers. ‘France turned up — I don’t know what happened to Italy or Scotland,’ he said. ‘We knew we were going to be chasing it and we did that. But it was shame those other teams weren’t a bit more resilient.’ France’s resilience brought out the best in several England players besides Youngs. Captain Chris Robshaw strove to carry the ball and the team heroically while James Haskell was in the sin bin for a rash trip in the second half. Billy Vunipola completed another 80 minutes of surging intensity and out wide, Jack Nowell had been peripheral early on but by the end he was rampant and had another two tries. England started their campaign with a morale-boosting win over World Cup Group A rivals Wales . English thoughts of ‘if only’ have become an annual routine and this year they have cause to lament the failure to cope with an aerial barrage in Dublin and their profligacy against Scotland. The second-half efforts against Wales and France represented their peaks and as Courtney Lawes noted, with the World Cup in mind they will take heart from recent wins over Pool A rivals Wales and Australia. Twickenham was loud and proud on Saturday evening and with five consecutive victories there, Lancaster’s side are enjoying a spell of home rule at just the right time. The performances of George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Nowell have generated optimism, and while inside centre remains a problem position, in most areas there are now multiple options. The likes of Manu Tuilagi, Joe Launchbury and Alex Corbisiero face a battle to reclaim lost places. As they stood in their post-match huddle, England were no doubt exhausted and demoralised. Finishing second again suggests they are stuck on a plateau but, in certain respects, this performance represented telling and timely progress.

England missed out on winning the Six Nations title by six points . A 20-point victory over France  was not enough to clinch championship . Stuart Lancaster's side finished runners-up for the fourth straight year . Ben Youngs says championship was lost against Scotland last week . England's performance provides plenty of optimism for World Cup .

 for 80 minutes and in doing so had become a hero at Twickenham.
But he was aware that the honour was not all he would cherish, because a World Cup was still not on the horizon.
“It is a huge buzz, but at the same time there is the disappointment that comes with it,” Youngs said. “I am desperate to be in the World Cup squad, I am playing some good rugby and I have done a lot of work on my game.
“It is frustrating because I know I am in the right position. You are in a strong competition with other players and you want to have your own pathway. It is frustrating, but I am just looking forward to getting back out on the field again and hopefully showing everybody that I can be at the World Cup.”
That is the kind of selflessness that has turned Youngs into one of the most revered of England players, and it was on display again at half-time last Sunday when England were down by three points to a French team that many predicted would win the title.
With a week to go until the final Test against Wales, England coach Stuart Lancaster called Youngs and Alex Corbisiero to his office. They were not summoned as understudies, but as the team’s most wanted stars. Lancaster told them that he could play both of them as scrum-halves in Sunday’s game if circumstances demanded.
It was the first time Youngs had been named among the substitutes in a Test. But it was a position he had often found himself in: the bench as a youngster at Leicester; a second-row forward at Gloucester and Nottingham during England’s recent Six Nations and during the November internationals; and, of course, after the opening game of the Championship against France, when Lancaster had asked him to come on.
His response to each was the same: “If you need me, I am prepared to put on the shirt.” And his willingness is remarkable considering he is only 23. “I have been a part of a big squad where you are either a starter or a sub,” he explained. “And if you are a sub you are only there for a reason, so I have always known if you are not a starter then you are not playing for that reason.”
Youngs believes that that sort of humility is what enabled him to earn his spot as a starter in Paris. “The squad are all good lads, but sometimes I think when the ball comes


Beer is one of the world's most ancient brews and has played an essential role in society - both for its nutritional and ritual importance - for millennia. Now, 5,000-year-old fragments of pottery used by ancient Egyptians to make beer, have been discovered on a building site in Tel Aviv, Israel. The pottery shards come from large ceramic basins, which were used to prepare fruity beer that was left to ferment under the sun. Scroll down for video . ‘Among the hundreds of pottery shards (pictured) that characterise the local culture, a number of fragments of large ceramic basins were discovered that were made in an Egyptian tradition and were used to prepare beer,’ Dr Barkan said . Diego Barkan, of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, said that 17 pits were found that had been used to store produce in the Early Bronze Age, from 3,500 to 3,000 BC. Beer was the favourite drink of humans and gods in ancient Egypt. It was also drank by rich and poor, adults and children. This was because it was cleaner than water, which came from a river or canal and was often polluted. Beer was considered as staple, along with bread, Reshafim.org reported. Workers were paid with bread, oil, beer and vegetables by their employers. The standard ration was two jars containing three-and-a-half pints (two litres) of beer. Just like today, the Egyptians liked their beer cooled and kept jars in water. ‘Among the hundreds of pottery shards that characterise the local culture, a number of fragments of large ceramic basins were discovered that were made in an Egyptian tradition and were used to prepare beer,’ he said in a statement. The vessels were made with ‘straw temper’ and other organic material to strengthen them – a method which was not in local potteries. The excavation is the first to offer evidence of an ‘Egyptian occupation’ in the centre of Tel Aviv 5,000 years ago. As well as the basins, a bronze dagger and 6,000-year-old flint tools were uncovered. Dr Barken said: ‘This is also the northernmost evidence we have of an Egyptian presence in the early Bronze Age. ‘Until now we were only aware of an Egyptian presence in the northern Negev and southern coastal plain, whereby the northernmost point of Egyptian occupation occurred in Azor. Fragments of pottery that are around 5,000 years old and were used by ancient Egyptians to make beer, have been discovered on a building site in Tel Aviv. Here, Diego Barkan holds the basin parts . Employees of the Israel Antiquities Authority(pictured) work at the site in Tel Aviv where fragments of pottery used by ancient Egyptians have been discovered. A total of 17 pits have revealed finds . As well as the basins, which were pulled from pits in the centre of Tel Aviv (pictured left) a bronze dagger and 6,000-year-old flint tools were uncovered. A flint blade is pictured right . Last year, the tomb of a leading ancient Egyptian beer brewer was discovered. The tomb of Khonso Em Heb, who lived 3,200 years ago, was found by a Japanese team and has been been described as 'one of the most important discoveries' made at the Thebes necropolic site in the city of Luxor. Egypt's antiquities minister Mohamed Ibrahim described Khonso Em Heb as the chief ‘maker of beer for gods of the dead'. He was thought to be the head of a warehouse and judging by the decorations in his tomb was an important and wealthy man. The walls of the tomb contain paintings showing everyday life and rituals. ‘Now we know that they also appreciated what the Tel Aviv region had to offer and that they too knew how to enjoy a glass of beer, just as Tel Avivians do today’. According to the antiquities authority, ‘beer was the Egyptian national drink and was a staple along with bread.’ It said beer was consumed by the entire population of Egypt, regardless of age, gender or status. ‘It was made from a mixture of barley and water that was partially baked and then left to ferment in the sun. ‘Various fruit concentrates were added to this mixture in order to flavour the beer.’ The mixture was filtered in special vessels before serving. Previous excavations carried out in Egypt's Delta region uncovered breweries that indicate beer was already being produced in the mid-fourth millennium BC, the Israeli authority said. The fragments were discovered in pits on Ha-Masger Street in central Tel Aviv (marked on the map). Excavations are taking place before the construction of an office building . The vessels (pictured) were made with ‘straw temper’ and other organic material to strengthen them – a method which was not in local potteries. This one dates to the Early Bronze Age I (3,500 BC) Dr Barken said: ‘This is also the northernmost evidence we have of an Egyptian presence in the early Bronze Age. Here, a worker for the Israel Antiquities Authority cleans findings at the site .

Fragments from ceramic basins were pulled from 17 pits in Tel Aviv, Israel . Basins were used 5,000 years ago to make fruity beer, which was a staple . Beer was made from part baked barley and water, with added fruits . Finds are first to prove an Egyptian occupation in Tel Aviv 5,000 years ago .

 prehistoric brewing families have been identified in an archaeological site in Egypt.
The find marks the earliest evidence for beer consumption outside of Europe, reports ScienceDaily.com. In the study, the team - led by researchers from the Department of Antiquities (DOA) and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands - found that, not only was beer brewed in the region from 5,300 years ago, but brewing was an important activity for the people who lived there.
"This is one of the few archaeological sites where we can study early beer drinking in the Near East as it was happening, and the material culture of this ancient beverage production technology is extremely rich," said co-senior study author Mark Altaweel, from the DOA. "The evidence for beer production in Egypt is the most solid evidence for beer drinking. It's not just beer production but beer-drinking. This discovery reveals that beer-drinking in Egypt happened long before the rise of agriculture. Furthermore, it is part of a tradition of a brewing community that has lasted almost 4,000 years and continues until the present day."
To date, archaeologists have found evidence for beer-drinking dating to as far back as 4,000 years ago in Sumer, but not in Europe. The newly-discovered remains are located at a site in the Egyptian Nile delta, and include pottery fragments and small bone pieces. The researchers believe this evidence shows that people of the time were eating beer-based food, and it was an important way for them to get their daily nutrition.
The fragments included what the team describe as the earliest-known beermat, or drinking platform, that has been discovered so far. Beermats - the wooden or plastic supports - have long been used for drinking beer by the glass, and are often found to be 2,000 years old or more.
According to the researchers, the earliest brewing was probably a primitive, natural process, involving malting - the process of fermenting grains - but that more sophisticated methods were developed later. However, until now, they had never found direct evidence for this process in the Near East.
Researchers believe that this could have taken place around 4,000 to 3,000 years ago, and have proposed a theory that grain was harvested in the dry season, then maligned under the scorching sun, to produce malt.
To confirm the findings, researchers also analysed the bones of livestock that had been


A 16-year-old schoolboy hanged himself in a ‘horrible mistake’ as he experimented to see how Hollywood legend Robin Williams died, an inquest has heard. Temidayo Joseph died in his bedroom in August last year just hours after collecting his GCSE results. The talented footballer, known to his friends as Temi, was found hanged in his bedroom by his mother Kate Ibok. Temidayo Joseph, 16, was found hanged in his bedroom by his mother hours after collecting his GCSE results . An inquest at Essex Coroner’s Court today heard that in the days leading up to the teenager’s death, the ‘lively and popular’ youngster had spoken with a cousin in Nigeria about the actor. The court heard no suicide note was found and a police report concluded that the youngster had no intention of killing himself. Essex Coroner Eleanor McGann said: ‘There was a conversation which took place about big news in the media about the death of Robin Williams. ‘Temi had said ‘I don’t understand why somebody would do this to themself’.. ‘It’s perfectly possible that he did not have any idea how easy it is to hang yourself by mistake.’ She added: ‘That would seem to fit with this happy little boy with an enquiring mind who has made a horrible mistake. An inquest at Essex Coroner’s Court today heard that in the days leading up to the teenager’s death, the ‘lively and popular’ youngster had spoken with a cousin in Nigeria about the death of actor Robin Williams (pictured) Detective Sergeant Tara Barnes told the inquest she had concluded her report into the death by saying: ‘I had no information that his intention was to kill himself.’ Tragically, a fellow student at his school - The Ockendon Academy in Thurrock, Essex – was found dead in South Ockenden just two weeks ago. An inquest into the death of Toni Connell, which was opened and adjourned today, heard that the 15-year-old was also found hanged. Her mother Amanda Connell, 46, has blamed exam pressure for the death of her daughter. She said last week: ‘I have lost a big part of my life and I put it down to the school putting so much stress on my daughter.’ But the coroner today ruled out the same reason as the cause of Temi’s death. Although he had gained just three C grades, the inquest heard that academy staff had taken steps to warn Temi, who dreamed about becoming a professional footballer, about what kind of grades he would be getting. Essex Coroner Eleanor McGann recorded a verdict of accidental death and said the teenager had 'everything to live for'. Pictured, Temi as a child (left) and with his mother Kate Ibok (right) His family said he had been looking forward to enrolling at college. Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mrs McGann said: ‘It is very easy to jump to the conclusion someone has got their GCSE results and think he has hanged himself. ‘That conclusion, in this case, would be wrong. ‘He got the results he expected to get - he knew what pathway he would follow.’ She added: ‘There was no evidence at all that Temi wanted to kill himself - quite the contrary this was a young man with everything to live for. Temidayo's father Vincent Joseph (pictured today) said his son was a 'lovely young man' ‘He had a loving and sound extended family, lots of support and was very popular at school, not just with pupils but teachers as well. ‘Why on earth would he intend to kill himself? ‘I am not satisfied, so that I am sure, that he intended to kill himself that day and therefore I am not returning a verdict of suicide. She added that although he had discussed the death of Robin Williams, ‘there is nothing to show he intended to die’. She concluded it was a ‘tragic accident of a young boy simply trying to work out how something has been done and it went horribly wrong.’ After the verdict, Temi’s devastated father Vincent, 54, from Waterloo in London, wept as he described his ‘talented son’. He said: ‘I did not know about the link to Robin Williams before we went into the inquest. ‘Temidayo was a lovely young man and a great character. ‘He did not intend to kill himself - he was a very talented boy and lived for his football - that’s all he wanted to do. ‘I was so happy when I stood by him to hear him call me father. I have lost a good friend.’ Temi’s mother, who was not present at today’s inquest, has temporarily moved back to Nigeria with his 12-year-old sister, Christiana, 12, to cope with her grief. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org .

Talented footballer was found hanged in his bedroom by his mother . Essex Coroner’s Court heard youngster had discussed actor's death . Coroner Eleanor McGann recorded a verdict of accidental death . She concluded it was a ‘tragic accident of a young boy simply trying to work out how something has been done and it went horribly wrong’

, four months after the “comedic genius” killed himself in 2014. An inquest into his death was held at Birmingham Coroners Court yesterday (5 September).
His brother and mother both gave emotional testimony about his death and the impact it has had. His brother, Joseph Owolabi, said he had been “completely shocked” when he saw the teenager. He said: “I was completely shocked and disgusted. I couldn’t believe it. He was a good kid and this was a horrible mistake. He made a horrible mistake and didn’t live up to what he could be in life.
He added: “To see him in that state will stay with me for a very long time. I will never forget it, it was something I could not live with. I will never get over it.” The inquest was told how he had suffered with depression, low self-esteem, anxiety and low mood and had started to use Facebook and a messaging app to experiment with how a Hollywood movie star killed himself.
READ: Facebook And WhatsApp Are Testing A New App That Lets Users Share Their Location
He was also self-harming and had been prescribed anti-depressants, but had been taking them irregularly. After his death, the family found a note he had written on a scrap of paper that said: “This is to do with Robin Williams and I would like you to look out for me because I am thinking about ending my life. Please help.” Birmingham Coroner’s Court assistant deputy coroner Sarah Laming-Cooper said: “He was not taking his anti-depressants regularly and it had been at least a couple of weeks before his death and he was showing signs of self-harming.”
She said the teenager had experimented with cutting his arm and scratching it so he could compare it to Robin Williams’s suicide. She added: “It is very clear he used his phone and an online messaging app to look at Robin Williams’s suicide. He described it as a ‘horrible mistake’ and a ‘horrible thing’ and a ‘horrible way’ to take his life.
READ: Robin Williams Cause Of Death Released As Cause of Death Confirmed
“What is clear is that he had looked at Robin Williams’s suicide and that caused him to self-harm, and he was seen as suicidal by staff at school and his family, who took him into A&E in


The world's greatest private collection of coins is expected to sell for $220million (£150million) in a record-breaking series of seven auctions at Sotherby's and Stack's Bowers Galleries. Gathered over more than 30 years by Texas property developer A. Mack Pogue and his son, D. Brent Pogue, the collection contains coins from the early years of the American republic, from 1792 to the 1830s. These are the most sought-after U.S. coins in existence, as the crude production techniques of the period meant that the coins were fragile, making surviving high-quality examples are extremely rare. Scroll down for video . A treasure trove: An extraordinary 1822 five dollar gold coin, worth $8million, is up for auction. Pictured heads (left) and tails (right) Intricate: An 1804 silver dollar piece, pictured heads (left) and tails (right), the most famous American coin in the world, is worth $8 to $10million . Exquisite: A rare 1796 quarter dollar coin, shown heads (left) and tails (right), is expected to fetch up to $1million . Valuable: This 1797 half dollar coin is worth up to $1.75million. Pictured heads (left) and tails (right) Gathered over more than 30 years by Texas property developer A. Mack Pogue and his son, D. Brent, this is considered the most valuable collection of federal American coins dating from the 1790s to the late 1830s in private hands. An 1822 Half Eagle five-dollar gold piece, one of only three known to exist, and an 1804 Silver Dollar dubbed the 'King of American Coins' are expected to be among the top lots when the collection is sold in a series of auctions in New York beginning in May and continuing into 2017. 'These two coins in particular, we think, have a possibility of being up around that $10 million mark,' said Brian Kendrella, the president of Stack's Bowers Galleries. The rare coin and currency auctioneer, which is handling the sales with Sotheby's, believes the coins could shatter the $10 million record set in 2013 for a 1794 Silver Dollar. The Pogue collection includes two examples of the coveted 1804 silver dollar, considered to be the most famous coin in America, which is known as 'the pinnacle of coin collecting'. One of these is valued at $9.8million (£6.7million). Notably, it was presented to the Sultan of Muscat in 1835. D. Brent Pogue, from Dallas, Texas, has now decided to 'cash in his cash' by auctioning off more than 650 individual coins at a number of Sotheby's and Stack's Bowers Galleries sales over the next two years. Experts expect the collection to sell for almost $220million (£150million), more than any other series of rare coins. On Friday, Sotheby's showed off the jaw-dropping collection at its saleroom in New Bond Street, London. David Redden, Sotheby's vice chairman, said: 'To have the world's most valuable private coin collection available for viewing and sale in our galleries is a huge privilege and a great responsibility. 'Sotheby's and Stacks Bowers have worked fruitfully together in the past, notably on the sales of the 1933 Gold Double Eagle for $7.6 million and the Dallas Bank Collection. 'The D. Brent Pogue Collection will be a thrilling addition to that auction history.' A highlight of the collection is a $5 gold piece, known as the 1822 Gold Eagle, which is thought to be one of three in existence, and the only one in private hands. Considered the most desirable US gold coin outside of public collections, it is expected to sell for around $8.8million (£6 million). The 1797 Half Dollar, considered the most beautiful and best-preserved example of a design used for only two years, is the most valuable half dollar in existence. It is anticipated to sell for $1.5million (£1million). And the 1808 Quarter Eagle, which is a $2.50 coin, is also expected to sell for around $1.5million (£1million), which is 500,000 times its face value.The coin was previously owned by the Maryland banker Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr, and the early 20th Century beer magnate Virgil M. Brand, according to Catholic Online. Half Eagle coins have been widely collected over the years by notable figures including the banker J.P. Morgan. Handle with care: A Sotheby's employee holds a selection of American coins including a 1822 Half Eagle, or Five Dollar Gold Piece, and an 1804 silver dollar, both estimated to be worth between $8 and $10 million. The coins are part of the most valuable collection in the world, that is being sold in a series of auctions ending in May 2017 . Precious: This 1804 silver dollar, left and right, is estimated to be worth between $8 and $10million. D. Brent Pogue, who assembled the collection with his father, described selling his collection as 'bittersweet' Most of the coins were made during a time when small mintages and crude production facilities at the Philadelphia Mint made the survival of any high-quality coins unlikely. Each steel die used to strike coins in the early 1800s was painstakingly produced by hand, creating variations that are prized by collectors. The first sale, by Sotheby's and Stack's Bowers Galleries, will be on 19 May and there will be six further auctions with the final sale in May 2017. D. Brent Pogue, who assembled the collection with the help of his property developer father, described the sale as 'bittersweet'. He said: 'I feel now is the time to pass the torch to a new generation of custodians, who can appreciate the legacy of these great American coins. 'These coins conjure up many fond memories, and I hope the new owners will enjoy them as much as I have.' Coin sales are driven by the economy, but Brian Kendrella, the president of Stack's Bowers Galleries, said investors and collectors are also lured by the rarity, uniqueness, condition and historical significance of coins. 'They are artefacts that speak to what was going on in the United States at the time these coins were made,' he said. 'That's one of the main draws.' Perfection: This 1795 Eagle ten dollar gold piece (left and right) is one of the most perfectly preserved 18th Century U.S. gold coins in the world . In awe: A Sotheby's employee holds an American 1804 silver dollar, estimated to be worth between $8 and $10million, which is part of the famous Pogue coin collection, the most valuable private collection of coins in the world, that is currently being auctioned off in sections . With a dozen coins selling for $1 million or more in 2014, and the first gold coin struck for the United States fetching $4.5 million, the nonprofit Professional Numismatists Guild estimates the overall U.S. rare coin market to be worth about $5 billion. Walter Husak, a retired aerospace entrepreneur based in California, knows just how lucrative it can be. A collection of 301 rare penny coins dating from 1793 to 1814, which he gathered over more than 13 years, sold in 2008 for $10.7 million - about double what he invested in it. 'I never thought it would go up that much,' he said. 'There are a lot of people getting involved in coins.' Barry Stuppler, secretary of the Professional Numismatists Guild, has seen plenty of changes in his 52 years in the coin business. He says that the market has been booming in recent years. 'It is a combination of the economy coming back,' he said, 'and the fact that interest rates are very low.' The internet, he said, also has been 'a tremendous, tremendous source of new buyers and sellers of coins that we didn't have 20 years ago.' Demand for rare, investment-quality coins, graded and certified by the guild and the Florida-based Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, is high and supply is low. 'The rarities do the best, particularly gold and silver coins,' said Stuppler. 'The Pogue Collection is extraordinary.' Enticing: Two stars of the collection. The1822 Five Dollar gold piece (left), the only example in private hands, is anticipated to sell for up to $10million The 1804 silver dollar (right), originally presented to the Sultan of Muscat in 1835, is anticipated to fetch up to $10million .

The collection of 650 coins was built up over 35 years by Texas property developer A. Mack Pogue and his son, D. Brent Pogue . It includes a coveted 1804 silver dollar worth $9.8million, which is known as the 'pinnacle' of coin collecting . Each steel die used to strike coins in the early 1800s was painstakingly produced by hand, creating variations that are prized by collectors . It will be sold in a series of seven auctions in New York and London, beginning on 19 May and culminating in a final sale in May 2017 .

 three generations, the collection features a dazzling array of world rarities and rarified rarities. The collection has been assembled by a connoisseur of all manner of numismatic oddities who passed on earlier this month and now its treasures will be showcased in New York before being sold in a series of New York auctions.
A rare 1933 Double Eagle from the San Francisco Mint - the largest example known to exist - will be offered as part of Stack's Bowers Galleries' world coin auction in New York on October 6. The piece, which was discovered in a Pennsylvania farmer's cornfield in 1933, was originally offered for sale in Sotheby's Important Coins sale in 1980, when it became the most expensive coin ever sold at auction - fetching $7.59million (£4.98million) to a telephone bidder. It later went to a private collection but will return to the public at the October sale, where it is expected to sell for $22million-$26million.
"For collectors, the highlight of Stack's Bowers' World Coin Auction will undoubtedly be the incredible 1933 Double Eagle offered from this extraordinary private collection," said Tom Vindex, president of Stack's Bowers Galleries. "It is one of the most sought-after coins among numismatists of all types, and is being offered for the first time in more than 30 years."
The coin was acquired by the seller's father in the early 1930s as part of a large quantity of double eagles acquired at a private home in Pennsylvania for $1 per piece, when they were worth $20 each in silver. The sale of the Double Eagle will include a complete letter of provenance, detailing its discovery and sale to the auction house.
A complete Liberty Head nickel, featuring a rare "Barber" die, will also be on offer. It is the single finest known example of this piece, and is described as the finest proof specimen in private hands. Estimated to sell for $6.5million to $8million, it will be one of the lead lots of the Stack's Bowers sale, which also includes a Liberty Head dime from 1936, estimated to fetch up to $2.4million. A coin which could go some way towards beating the world record for a single specimen is the 1854-S eagle, which is being


Human rights lawyers smeared British soldiers with false accusations of the torture and murder or innocent Iraqis, a government dossier claims. A report drawn up on the Prime Minister's orders claims Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) pursued claims against soldiers despite realising the allegations of abuse might have been 'untrue'. It comes after a public inquiry spent £31million exonerating British soldiers of claims they went they went on a killing and torture spree following a fierce battle in southern Iraq in 2004. Scroll down for video . 'False claims': The government may take legal action against Public Interest Lawyers and its chief lawyer, Phil Shiner, left, over allegations the firm smeared British soldiers with false allegations of torture and murder. Right is a picture of the aftermath of the Battle of Danny Boy shown to the five-year Al-Sweady inquiry . After five years of investigations, the Al-Sweady inquiry in December concluded there were some breaches of the Geneva convention following the battle. But it also ruled allegations of murder and torture were based on 'deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility'. Now the government is gearing up to sue law firms for millions of pounds in legal costs and calling for the PIL's chief lawyer, Phil Shiner, to be struck off. The MoD's dossier, seen by at least two Sunday newspapers, accuses PIL and another law firm, Leigh Day, of continuing to pursue the case even after evidence emerged that the allegations may be untrue. It suggests PIL had doubts about the credibility of its clients' evidence as early as March 2013 but failed to withdraw the allegations for another 12 months, Tim Ross of the Sunday Telegraph reported. That led investigators to take evidence from around 100 further witnesses, costing taxpayers an extra £780,000, the paper reported the Government's dossier as saying. It is also alleged that PIL used a local 'agent' to trawl Basra for potential victims, a breach of a ban on solicitors touting for business that brought hundreds of extra claims against the Army. The Birmingham-based law firm even continued to represent one claimant in a separate judicial review after he admitted to Al-Sweady investigators he had lied about his sister dying on the battlefield, the dossier alleges. Leigh Day are accused of failing to disclose a key document for six years, according to the Sun on Sunday. Thorough investigation: British soldiers with an Iraqi detainee following the Battle of Danny Boy in May 2004. Claims troops rounded up civilians for a killing and torture spree following the battle were dismissed . The claims came after the Battle of Danny Boy on May 14 2004, a fierce firefight which erupted when insurgents from the Mahdi Army ambushed a patrol of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Their reinforcements, the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, were also ambushed and after three hours of fighting 28 Iraqi fighters had been killed. Claims which subsequently emerged that enraged British soldiers had tortured and executed innocent local people in the aftermath of the battle were dismissed by the Al-Sweady inquiry, which was named for an alleged teenage victim. Former 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment corporal Brian Wood has previously told the Daily Mail he felt he and his colleagues who fought in thad 'done the right thing'. Mr Wood, 34, who was awarded the Military Cross for his role in the battle, according to the paper, said: 'We have been dragged through five years of hell. That in my view is a betrayal of our service. 'We did what we had to do as soldiers and we did the right thing.' Ann Hoolin, 50, the mother of soldier Scott Hoolin, told the paper her son was 'upset and disturbed' following the inquiry. 'To be accused of wrongdoing in the aftermath of what happened is disgraceful,' she said. Battlegroud: The Danny Boy checkpoint, near where insurgents from the Mahdi Army ambushed a patrol of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, then their reinforcements, leading to a fierce firefight . Sir Thayne Forbes, the retired judge who led the Al-Sweady inquiry, did find that there had been instances of ill-treatment during 'tactical questioning' of the detainees at Camp Abu Naji, near Majar-al-Kabir in southern Iraq, on the night of May 14/15. These included depriving the prisoners of sight, food and sleep, and using threatening interrogation techniques contrary to the Geneva Convention. It amounted to ill-treatment and fell below the high standard to be expected of the British Army, Sir Thayne said. After Sir Thayne's report, Public Interest Lawyers insisted the inquiry had been 'legally necessary, morally justified and politically required'. Responding to a request for comment on the allegations against PIL and Leigh Day, an MoD spokesman told MailOnline: 'The MoD is assisting the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which is investigating issues that came to light as a result of the Al-Sweady Inquiry.' PIL said last night in a statement seen by the Sunday Telegraph: 'The Al-Sweady inquiry thoroughly investigated the subject of these matters during which no criticisms were made of Public Interest Lawyers or Phil Shiner by the chair.' 'It is not appropriate to comment any further while SRA proceedings are ongoing. 'PIL and Mr Shiner are confident that they have acted in accordance with their professional obligations.'

Al-Sweady inquiry spent £31million probing the claims against soldiers . Government claims lawyers pursued claims they knew were made up . Dossier alleges they used local 'agent' to trawl Basra for new claimants . As a result the inquiry was prolonged for an extra year, the MoD claims . Government lawyers may sue law firms for millions in legal costs .

 being aware their clients are innocent or have not been charged with any offence.
PIL has already been accused of helping to create an Abu Ghraib - style climate inside Britain's top army barracks.
The government investigation also accuses PIL of working in concert with the Quakers, Britain's most prominent peace organisation.
The Labour Government dossier reveals the extent to which PIL was involved in the trial of British private soldiers in Iraq, using false accusations to build cases against members of the Special Air Service (SAS).
The dossier says that when the SAS were involved in a gun battle with Iraqi police in January 2004, two PIL barristers acted as agents of one of the Iraqi policemen.
In a letter to the Special Air Services' commanding officer, the two accused soldiers were charged with false imprisonment, aggravated assault and destruction of official property. They pleaded not guilty.
The Iraqis' lawyer demanded they be granted bail.
PIL and the Quakers "worked to undermine the judicial process as part of a well-organised campaign of political protest", says the Government dossier which also accuses the two organisations of trying to persuade lawyers to join the defence team.
The inquiry report says: "A concerted campaign was mounted by a number of PILs to persuade lawyers not to join a defence team led by the Quakers."
It adds: "PIL's lawyers - and to a lesser extent the Quakers - had an established pattern of acting for those accused of human rights abuses in relation to the armed forces. The pattern of PIL in particular involved the pursuit of such cases without regard to the character of the charges. It was this pattern of approach, in particular, that led the Chief Constable to recommend their exclusion from the defence team."
PIL's links with Quakers are revealed in a report prepared by the former Solicitor General, Sir Edward Garnier, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence on the request of Chief Constable of Surrey Police, Paul Prior.
A month after the lawyers were excluded from the case, the report concluded: "In the view of the Chief Constable the evidence is conclusive that PIL's approach, which the Chief Constable believes they adopted in relation to other cases against British soldiers and Special Forces personnel, has resulted in the undermining of the British military forces' efforts in Iraq. He concluded that it was also likely that PIL had acted against the will