Mr Blackstone, whose wife, Sarah, was in court with him, told the jury the article was “vicious” and “grotesquely wrong”. The only reason the story was used was because his sister was a minister. At the time he and his wife were having marital difficulties.”There must be hundreds and thousands of arguments between husband and wife,” he said. “Do they get into the newspaper? I think the answer is no.”He said his reputation was important to him and the article had caused him a “great deal of grief”.Mr Blackstone, who told the jury he had never been charged with anything arising out of the incident, said he believed the article was a gross invasion of his privacy. “All I demand is equal rights to any other citizen under the law.”The hearing was adjourned to today and is expected to last another two days..

The Government will consider extending postal balloting to all local elections in an attempt to boost turn-out, ministers said yesterday. The Government will consider extending postal balloting to all local elections in an attempt to boost turn-out, ministers said yesterday.
Michael O’Brien, a Home Office minister, said during question time there was a “strong case” for the scheme amid falling turn-out in recent elections. In some areas, such as Liverpool, the turn-out was as low as 11 per cent.The Home Office has already tried to boost turn-out under the Representation of People Act, which allows for weekend and electronic voting.Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, is also looking at proposals put forward by the Fabian Society, the centre-left think-tank, to make voting compulsory. Under the radical plans, which have the support of Sir Ken Jackson, head of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union, the Home Office could fine voters £10 if they fail to make it to the ballot box.Another option under discussion is to provide small discounts on council tax bills for those who vote.Mr O’Brien revealed that the number of ballot papers spoilt in the top-up list for Greater London Authority elections totalled 161,972 (9.27 per cent). MPs expressed regret at the high proportion.He said 88,142 (5 per cent) were spoilt in the other elections to the Greater London Authority, and there were 38,130 (2.18 per cent) spoilt papers in the mayoral election.. The mass murder case against the two Libyans charged with the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has suffered another apparent blow, with a key witness casting doubt on prosecutors’ claim that a suitcase traced to the two men blew up Pan Am Flight 103. The mass murder case against the two Libyans charged with the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has suffered another apparent blow, with a key witness casting doubt on prosecutors’ claim that a suitcase traced to the two men blew up Pan Am Flight 103.
The trial of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah was resuming Tuesday after a 1 1/2 week adjournment to let prosecutors prepare for the next phase of their case, on the investigation into the cause of the disaster.The alleged Libyan intelligence agents are charged with planting a bomb inside the New York-bound airliner, which exploded on Dec.

21, 1988, over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people in the air and on the ground – including 189 Americans.The resumption of the trial also follows the disclosure Monday of details of a report submitted to prosecutors by the Swiss manufacturer of the detonation device, a key piece of evidence in the trial.Edwin Bollier of MEBO AG in Zurich said the plastic explosive that blew a hole in the side of the aircraft must have been attached to the inner wall and not inside the suitcase that has been traced to the defendants. Investigators have established that the suitcase was located 63.5 centimeters (25 inches) from the aircraft skin.”It is absolutely not possible from this distance to make such a big hole in the aircraft,” Bollier, who is scheduled to testify later in the trial, said in an interview Monday.Prosecutors refused to comment on the report. However, a Scottish Crown Office statement said claims in Scottish newspapers that the report was a factor in prosecutors’ request for adjournment were “inaccurate and misleading.”Al-Megrahi and Fhimah are charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and endangering aircraft safety. If found guilty, they face a maximum life sentence in a Scottish prison.The defendants have blamed Palestinian factions based in Syria for the attack.The trial before Scottish judges, which began May 3, is expected to last up to a year at a former U.S air base in the Netherlands..