James Brown abused Ben Douglas at the Bafta Television Awards ceremony which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Mr Douglas, 31, wrote in a national newspaper that he was called “nigger” by a fellow guest at the award show but did not name him.
However, Mr Brown, who has his own haircare range and reality television show entitled Great British Hairdresser, has admitted that he was the person in question.
He said: “I’d like to make a public apology to Mr Douglas, to his friends and to Bafta for my offensive and stupid comments. The simple truth is that I had drunk far too much on the evening and my behaviour was totally unacceptable.
“Everyone who knows me knows I am not racist in any way whatsoever but this incident has shown me that my drinking is way out of control and I need to take urgent measures to deal with it. I have been in touch with Mr Douglas and will be writing to him and to the Bafta organisers to apologise personally. I am very sorry and very embarrassed.”

If you are a salad eater in Germany or Spain, beware of the perverse ways by which this 'healthy' food might put you at greater risk when compared to those who consume oily junk.

A salad of locust and mealworm. Marcel Dicke, a food scientist and heal of entomology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, argues that bugs provide a healthier, more economic and green source of protein.


As the e-coli outbreak spreads through organic cucumbers imported from Spain, statistics shows that women are the worst affected. Scientists attribute the healthier eating habits of women as a reason for this unusual trend. Diseases spread through raw food and undercooked food are more likely to affect women, since they tend to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

Under normal circumstances a bowl of salad or raita would be the best thing to eat, but if you happen to be in the e-coli prone area, keep away from raw stuff until the epidemic is contained, advise doctors and scientists. Health officials in the affected areas of Europe have requested the public to refrain from consuming cucumber, tomato and lettuce until the origin and carrier of the malicious e-coli is detected.



In disease affected Hamburg, restaurants have removed cucumber from their salads and other raw dishes while cooked version retained its place in the menu. Restaurants have been notified by authorities to put up warning signs against the consumption of cucumber even though the orders remained to be executed in most of the eating joints. The German public remains ambiguous about the dangers of e-coli even as government officials continued to warn about the risk form the spreading bacteria.

The outbreak has been identified as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), caused by a malicious and contagious strain of e-coli known as Shiga toxin-producing e-coli (STEC). The epidemic is one of the largest outbreaks of HUS in the history of Europe and the largest ever reported in Germany.

Despite the e-coli attack cucumbers continue to be sold in Spain. In countries like France, Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria officials have ordered to withdraw cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines from shelves, which are delivered from Germany and grown in Spain.

The overwhelming number of e-coli affected patients reportedly caught some of the clinics in Germany off guard. Doctors and hospital officials are working round the clock to reassure people scared by real disease or imaginary symptoms.

TV chef outs father-in-law’s secret family

How do you fire your father-in-law and stay married?

Scottish chef Gordon Ramsay, famous for his televised temper and foul mouth, did it by hiring a private eye to find out if his wife’s dad has as many mistresses as Ramsay has shepherd’s pie recipes.

The Daily Mail, like most tabloids across the pond, has been all over the story.

It seems Ramsay, the host of multiple reality TV shows, including “Kitchen Nightmares,” had a falling out with his father-in-law and business partner, Chris Hutcheson, and hired a private eye to figure out how the 62-year-old was spending company time and money.

The F-bombs must have been flying when Ramsay learned Hutcheson had maintained a separate family with another woman, Frances Collins, since 1976.

The information became public this week when a gag order was lifted to show Hutcheson’s “misappropriation of corporate funds.”

The chef waited almost two years to tell his wife, Tana, 36, that she has a 31-year-old half-brother, Christopher, and 29-year-old half-sister, Victoria.

Christopher Hutcheson Jr. allegedly worked at Ramsay’s company without his knowledge, but he now runs a computer company.

Victoria has cooking in her blood; she runs a catering company in Boston. If Ramsay’s TV crew dropped by it might stew up a real kitchen nightmare.

 

Severed head of patron saint of genital disease on sale

The severed head of a man said to be the patron saint of genital disease will go on auction in County Meath on Sunday.

The skull is allegedly that of St Vitalis of Assisi, an Italian Benedictine monk from the 14th century.

It belonged to an Anglo-Irish family from County Louth, and is housed in a Queen Anne case dating from the 17th century.

There has been no official verification of the claim.

St Vitalis was born in Umbria, Italy, and is said to have lived an immoral and licentious youth.

In an attempt to atone for his early sins, he later undertook pilgrimages to shrines throughout Europe, eventually entering the Benedictine monastery at Subiaco.

After leaving the monastery, he lived the remainder of his life as a hermit near Assisi.

It is said that he wore only rags and shunned all material wealth, with the exception of a basket which he used to fetch water from a nearby stream.

He died in 1370, and word of his sanctity soon spread due to reports of numerous miracles performed on those with bladder and genital disorders.

Grand tour
It is unclear exactly how his head may have ended up in Ireland.

Auctioneer Damien Matthews, who is selling the macabre item on Sunday, said that the family think an ancestor brought it back from the grand tour of Europe in the 18th century.

The grand tour was an educational rite of passage for wealthy Europeans from the 17th until the 19th century, intended to provide insight into the great cultural symbols of Europe.

The head sat for many years in the family hall in County Louth, but was recently uncovered in an outhouse.

Mr Matthews said that although he couldn't be certain it was the head of a saint: "It's certainly ancient, and it's certainly the head of somebody."

The Holy Cross Monastery, a Benedictine order in Rostrevor, County Down, did not even know who St Vitalis was, and after an internet search, declined to comment further on the matter of his or anyone else's severed head.

The auction takes place at Annesbrook House in Duleek, County Meath, on 29 May at 1500 BST.

The head, holy or otherwise, is valued at between 800 and 1,200 euros (between £698 and £1,047).

 

Former IMF chief swaps Rikers Island jail for $50,000-a-month apartment in New York's trendy TriBeCa

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was yesterday ensconced in plush new accommodations in a smart lower-Manhattan neighbourhood. But the legal challenges facing him intensified as New York prosecutors beefed up their team, while the hotel maid he is accused of trying to rape enlisted two prominent civil-liberties attorneys ahead of a possible civil lawsuit against him.

The new abode of the former International Monetary Fund chief is a detached four-bedroom townhouse, complete with a gym, home theatre and steam spa bath, for sale at an asking price of $14m (£8.6m) and renting for $50,000 a month.

Mr Strauss-Kahn moved in on Wednesday evening, smiling to reporters as he left the apartment. He was released on bail of $1m on 20 May.

His temporary new home in the Tribeca district – just a short walk from the courthouse where he will appear on 6 June – is a gilded cage, but it is also a very tightly barred one.

Mr Strauss-Kahn is considered a flight risk and his movements are monitored by armed guards and cameras around the clock. Although he is allowed out for court dates, doctors' visits and religious services, he must give prosecutors six hours' notice each time he plans to leave.

The security arrangements are being handled by the same company, Stroz Friedberg, that managed the house arrest of the financier Bernard Madoff, at an estimated cost to Mr Strauss-Kahn of $200,000 a month.

According to one of his lawyers, the former IMF director and one-time French presidential aspirant was "doing fine" under house arrest. But there was "not much he could do" and he was "very bored", William Taylor said .

Mr Strauss-Kahn, who spent several days in jail on Rikers Island after his arrest on 14 May, has been indicted on seven counts, four of them felony charges of criminal sexual acts, attempted rape and sexual abuse, and three misdemeanour offences, including unlawful imprisonment.

But he has denied all wrongdoing, saying in his statement of resignation from the IMF that he rejected "with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me". On 6 June he is expected to plead not guilty, claiming that what occurred in his luxury suite at the Sofitel Hotel, close to Times Square, was consensual.

The court battle is set to be fierce. The Manhattan district attorney's office has assigned two female prosecutors, with experience of high-profile rape and murder trials, to join prosecutor Artie McConnell. They will take on Mr Strauss-Kahn's high-powered defence team of Mr Taylor and Benjamin Brafman.

Under New York law, any civil case by the maid, a 32-year-old immigrant from the West African country of Guinea, has to be filed within a year of the original incident. But it would almost certainly not go ahead until the criminal case was concluded.

Lawyer Jeffrey Shapiro has now been joined by two prominent civil-rights lawyers: Kenneth Thompson, an ex-federal attorney who successfully prosecuted the 1997 Abner Louima police-brutality case, and Norman Siegel, a former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Mr Thompson and Mr Siegel took part in a meeting with the woman and her family on Wednesday afternoon. "They decided that they should have enhanced representation," Mr Shapiro said. One reason for adding the attorneys was to decide whether "there is a civil case going forward".

 

THEIR booze-swilling party lifestyle has turned the spotlight on Tyneside.

But while Geordie Shore has become an overnight reality TV sensation, not everyone has been impressed with the show’s hard-partying style.

The MTV programme features a host of wild characters drinking, flashing and boasting their way into the limelight – and Tuesday night’s first instalment drew a record number of viewers.

Yet the so-called “glamorous lifestyles” of the characters – dubbed “weekend millionaires” – has also prompted a flurry of criticism from anti-alcohol campaigners and others who feel the show is misrepresenting the North East.

The eight cast members, including 21-year-old Sophie Kasaei, who brands herself a “complete slut”, seem set on shocking their audience.

In the first 15 minutes alone, the show’s 320,000 viewers were faced with a staggering 31 sexual references.

Sophie, from South Shields, was shown drunkenly crawling through vomit within hours of entering the house.

The episode, peppered with foul language throughout, then culminates in a vicious club brawl.

Creators of the US version of the reality TV sex show, which sees young women filmed stripping off on camera, are hoping to bring the format to Britain.

UK MPs are opposed to Girls Gone Wild, which 'exploits' drunk women (PA)
However, MPs in the north-east are adamant the show shouldn't come here; fearing Newcastle and other areas with a party-loving reputation could be targeted.
The politicians have approached the Home Office in a bid to ban the filmmakers from operating this side of the pond.
In the States, the Girls Gone Wild phenomenon, created by Mantra Films, has sparked widespread controversy, as drunk women are given merchandise in exchange for flashing for the camera.
MP for Gateshead Ian Mearns has tabled an early day motion which states: 'This House is deeply concerned that US pornography production company Mantra Films Inc is filming Girls Gone Wild in the UK, which approaches young women, many of them intoxicated, in public places, and encourages them to expose their breasts, simulate sex acts and have sex on camera in exchange for Girls Gone Wild merchandise.'
The motion calls the programme a 'form of demeaning, exploitative and casualised prostitution', which should not be brought to the UK.
Mr Mearns' motion comes after the first episode of MTV reality show Geordie Shore aired in the UK this week.
Newcastle residents were said to have been 'embarrassed' by the show, setting up Facebook pages calling for the programme to be axed.

DID CHERYL'S ACCENT SCUPPER HER CHANCES? REACTION FROM HER HOME TOWN OF HEATON

As the shock waves spread over the Cheryl Cole's departure from the US X Factor, reportedly because of her Geordie accent, some are asking: was it a conspiracy?


The singer has not yet commented on the reports of her being fired, but already showbiz experts are looking at what went wrong.
Sky News entertainment editor Jon Bennett believes that it’s likely that the former Girls Aloud singer’s face simply didn’t 'fit' with the show's image.
"It’s easy to see why cynics can argue this is simply yet another publicity stunt," Bennett said.
Read more on the claims the singer was dropped because of her "thick accent".
"But the fact that Cheryl has already been filming for a couple of weeks makes this seem unlikely to me."
The producers now face the difficult task of working out what to do with the footage of auditions with Cole on the judging panel.
PR EXPERT PHIL HALL EXPLAINS CHERYL COLE'S FUTURE

"Do they show that material or do they have to cleverly edit around it?"
"Surely if this was a publicity stunt, Simon Cowell, who is hardly an amateur at media manipulation, would have thought of something less troublesome."
Reports have variously cited Cole's Geordie accent, being homesick for Britain, and image problems for the fickle US market, as the reason for her exit.
PR expert Phil Hall says with so many different explanations being offered there is a smell of the dark arts of showbiz publicity wafting around.

Cheryl Cole is known on X Factor for her compassion
"There is a lot of PR spinning going on out there and i don't think it is necessary," Mr Hall told Sky News.
"I don't think Cheryl needs to play the victim here because she has only been given two weeks."
Mr Hall believes Cole's key charm for British fans has not yet emerged during filming on the American equivalent.
Read what Geordies think of claims the singer's accent is "too thick".
"Everybody knows Cheryl's brand is to be the warm, human shoulder to cry on for contestants and that doesn't happen at the rehearsal stage, it happens as the competition goes on," he said.
Fellow UK judge Dannii Minogue offered her sympathy and tweeted: "Judging roles should come with a life jacket, drop down oxygen and a life raft!"
Meanwhile, Sky's Bennett believes there are possible problems with how Cole appeared to fit in with other judges.

"Shots of Cheryl at public appearances with fellow judge Paula Abdul have seemed to show an uneasy relationship between the pair," Bennett said.
"If that is the case then Cowell needed to act. And if he had to choose between Cheryl - a virtual unknown in the States - and Abdul, who is a huge star and favourite with viewers, then he would have a very easy decision to make.
"I’d bet that this was far more important than any issues over Cheryl’s accent or her supposed homesickness".

The famous singer was married to footballer Ashley Cole
Different perspectives as to what lies behind Cole's departure will always remain. However, the star still has a huge following in her homeland.
"I don't think Cheryl is a loser here, I think she should come back to Britain," Mr Hall said.
"I know that she is being replaced but I'm sure she will bounce straight back."

Thousands of Brits were celebrating last night after the power of their voice unmasked the footballer they had already named on Twitter in connection with the injunction farce.

Thousands of Brits were celebrating last night after the power of their voice unmasked the footballer they had already named on Twitter in connection with the injunction farce.

Site users - including an array of stars - tweeted their views. Chat show host Piers Morgan posted: "RIP super-injunctions, no flowers please."

TV presenter Lizzie Cundy said: "The beauty of Twitter is to be able to say what you feel. So to be told you could be imprisoned for saying a name is crazy.

"This is a farce! 75,000 people have named this footballer on Twitter! Can't imprison them all. World gone mad!"

A fellow user logged on as AndyMcGurk said: "How do you feel now then #Giggs? Trying to silence the press and media isn't on."

A Salvation Army officer was twice stabbed in the back yesterday by a thief who tried to steal his donation tin

A Salvation Army officer was twice stabbed in the back yesterday by a thief who tried to steal his donation tin at Tweed Heads.

The 53-year-old man was leaving the Tweed City Shopping Centre, where he had raised money for the charity’s annual Red Shield Appeal, shortly after 5pm when he was attacked in the carpark.

Police said the volunteer was pushed from behind and then stabbed in the back with a box cutter as he tried to fight off the thief, but he managed to hold on to the donation box.

One of the biggest insurance companies in the world held a party for salesmen where they were rewarded with the services of prostitutes.

Munich Re is the world's biggest re-insurer - in other words, the company acts as an insurance company for other insurance companies.

One of its divisions, Ergo, told the BBC that the party had taken place to reward salesmen in 2007.

A spokesman said the people who organised it had since left.

The gathering was held at a thermal baths in the Hungarian capital Budapest as a reward to particularly successful salesmen.

'Whatever they liked'
There were about 100 guests and 20 prostitutes were hired.

A German business newspaper said the prostitutes had worn colour-coded arm-bands designating their availability, and the women had their arms stamped after each service rendered.

According to Handelsblatt, quoting an unnamed participant, guests were able to take the women to four-poster beds at the spa "and do whatever they liked".


"After each such encounter the women were stamped on the lower arm in order to keep track of how often each woman was frequented," the paper quoted the man as saying.

"The women wore red and yellow wrist bands. One lot were hostesses, the others would fulfil your every wish.

"There were also women with white wrist bands. They were reserved for board members and the very best sales reps."

A spokesman for Ergo told the BBC that the party had happened, but said it was not the usual way of rewarding their employees.

The company said it had introduced a new code of conduct.

"We've taken all the right steps to prevent it happening again," he said. "It was a mistake but we are very sure that it was a unique event.

"The new people of the sales organisation introduced a very personal commitment that these things should not happen again."

Ryan Giggs has been named by an MP in the House of Commons as the person identified on Twitter in the context of injunctions.

Birmingham MP John Hemming used Parliamentary privilege (protection) to name the Premier League star during a debate on the use of injunctions.
Later, an attempt by The Sun newspaper to overturn an injunction protecting a married footballer's identity was rejected for the second time in a day by the High Court.
The injunction bans the naming of a Premier League footballer who is alleged to have had a "sexual relationship" with a reality TV star.
The Sun had first tried to overturn the order following the publication of the footballer's name and photograph in a Scottish newspaper, the Sunday Herald.
It returned to the High Court after the naming of a footballer in the House of Commons.


The original judge, Mr Justice Eady, had left for the day but one of the country's leading privacy judges, Mr Justice Tugendhat, was persuaded to sit for the hearing.
Mr Tugendhat upheld the previous decision not to overturn the injunction, despite the argument by The Sun that the footballer no longer had any privacy left to protect.
The judge said it was not a case about secrecy, but a case about intrusion.
The footballer, referred to as CTB in court documents, is alleged to have had a "sexual relationship" with Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: DNA samples confirm sperm traces on maid's dress

DNA samples taken in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case have confirmed traces of sperm on the maid's dress, according to reports.

Mr Strauss-Kahn has been indicted on seven charges. If he is convicted, he would face up to 25 years in prison 

The New York Police sent the test results to French authorities on Sunday where they allegedly confirmed the trace. The results are expected to be made public shortly.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, who is accused of trying to rape a maid last week in his suite at the Sofitel hotel in New York, was released from Rikers Island jail on Friday.
His lawyer has already indicated he plans to argue that there was consent.
The latest revelations, published on the French website Atlantico.fr, came amid reports the former IMF chief sought the company of two female hotel members of staff after he checked into the Sofitel one day before his alleged sexual assault on the maid on May 14. Both receptionists declined the offer of a drink.
Mr Strauss-Kahn has been indicted on seven charges, including forcing the maid to perform oral sex on him and attempted rape. If he is convicted, he would face up to 25 years in prison.

In a farewell email to IMF staff released yesterday, he said: "I deny in the strongest possible terms the allegations which I now face. I am confident that the truth will come out and I will be exonerated."
The new allegations emerged as his wife, heiress Anne Sinclair, was spotted leaving the New York apartment building where he is under house arrest today.
She put down $1 million (£600,000) to bail her husband out and is paying an estimated $200,000-a-month to cover security costs for his court-ordered home confinement.
Meanwhile, a New York assemblyman has said he wants the state to require hotels to provide their housekeepers with an emergency "panic button" that would help protect them from sexual assaults on the job.
Rory Lancman, a Democrat from Queens, said he intended to introduce the bill on Monday.

A woman who sued a plastic surgeon who "played God" with her life has been awarded more than £6m in damages.

Penny Johnson, 49, claimed Le Roux Fourie carried out experimental surgery during a facelift in August 2003 that caused nerve damage to the right side of her face and led to her financial and IT consultancy business going into administration.

At a trial in February at the high court in London she asked Justice Owen to award her a proportion of the £54m she says was her potential loss, as a 50% shareholder, when her company, Bishop Cavanagh, failed in 2009.

During the hearing, Johnson, of Godstone, Surrey, said: "My face is constantly contracting, I don't sleep and I have a permanent buzzing around my eye, which can be so intense that I can't think about anything."

The judge gave his ruling in the case on Monday and awarded her £6,190,884.92.

Alain Choo Choy QC, defending, accepted liability but put the potential business loss at £9m. He did not accept the surgery had been experimental. The claim that Bishop Cavanagh lost out on a series of lucrative contracts was unrealistic and deluded, he said.

He accepted that her injuries restricted her ability to work but the business had failed for unrelated commercial and economic reasons. The court was told that during her absence the company was run by her husband, Peter, with whom she now owns another business, BC Direct. The bulk of the award relates to lost earnings, both past and future.

In his ruling, the judge said Johnson had been a confident, happy and outstandingly successful woman with a full and rewarding family and social life. But the negligent surgery had serious consequences – both physical and psychological – and resulted in a prolonged adjustment disorder with features of anxiety and depression. As he observed during the trial, the facial twitching she suffered was "virtually constant".

He said it was clear her injuries from the facelift and the replacement of breast implants, which was carried out at the same time, had harmed her relationship with her husband. "Their marriage has survived, but the claimant said in evidence that she is no longer a wife to her husband. He says that she is now a completely different person and that their marriage is not what it used to be."

He awarded £80,000 for the facial disfigurement, the asymmetry and pain caused by the breast surgery and the psychological consequences of the injuries.

Assessing Johnson's claim for loss of earnings, the judge said her projections were the product of her intense disappointment at the "devastating" consequences to the business. "She has understandably become preoccupied by what might have been, which has affected her judgment as to what could and would in reality have been achieved," he added.

As to her residual earning capacity, the judge said Johnson functioned intellectually at a high level and continued to have the potential to deploy her outstanding abilities at work. But account had to be taken of the uncertain prognosis for her psychiatric symptoms. He said: "Unless she makes a full recovery ... recovers some vestige of her former self-confidence, the prospect of engagement in business activities that involve face-to-face contact with others is limited."

Sir Fred Goodwin's mistress promoted twice when he was RBS boss

SHAMED banker Sir Fred Goodwin's high-flying lover was promoted twice while he was Royal Bank of Scotland boss.
The married dad-oftwo had an affair with a senior colleague as the bank lurched towards financial disaster and a £45.5billion bailout funded by taxpayers.
Politicians have called for an urgent probe into whether the relationship breached business guidelines after Goodwin used a gagging order to try to stop details of the affair being published.
Lib Dem MP John Hemming, who revealed Goodwin's injunction to the House of Commons in March, said: "The question about Fred Goodwin's management of RBS is whether it was managed in the stakeholders' interests or run as a personal fiefdom.
"That his mistress was promoted twice while he was chief executive is something the Financial Services Authority need to look at."
Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott used the right of parliamentary privilege to reveal more details of the gagging order on Thursday.
Later that day, Mr Justice Tugendhat, in the High Court, allowed reporting of Goodwin's name but not of relationship details.
The FSA said: "We have contacted RBS in relation to this matter."
RBS said they will "co-operate fully".

 

Lawyers representing 'CTB', a footballer who allegedly had an affair with ex-Big Brother star Imogen Thomas, have clarified they are not suing Twitter

Lawyers at Schillings, representing CTB, confirmed he has obtained a High Court order requesting Twitter to reveal details of users who had divulged his identity in contravention of a super-injunction.
They said the Premiership star was not suing Twitter but had made an application 'to obtain limited information concerning the unlawful use of Twitter by a small number of individuals who may have breached a court order'.
But since news of the disclosure order became public, hundreds of Twitter users have tweeted information revealing the player's identity on the social network.
One message, which has been re-tweeted a number of times on the micro-blogging site, states: 'XXX is suing Twitter. I can't Imogen why'
Twitter has not issued a reaction but hundreds of users have repeated his name on the site in an apparent show of defiance.
The order against Twitter requires the US-based website to disclose the requested information within seven days - or within the appropriate time required by the law in California, where its headquarters are based.
However, many critics have questioned the legal action, including several users of the site.
One tweeted: 'Why XXX gets the right to interrogate Twitter over who releases these tweets is beyond me. It's out. I'd be concentrating on my marriage.'
The latest development comes two weeks after a Twitter user tried to reveal details of privacy injunctions obtained by celebrities.
The Twitter user tried to 'out' a number of UK public figures using an anonymous account.

 

PREMIERSHIP footballer is suing Twitter and several of its users after information that was supposed to be covered by a super-injunction was published on the micro-blogging site.

PREMIERSHIP footballer is suing Twitter and several of its users after information that was supposed to be covered by a super-injunction was published on the micro-blogging site.
The player has lodged papers in the High Court in London against "Twitter Incorporated and persons unknown" in a landmark case that is likely to have massive repercussions for how social networking sites operate.

The footballer, who is referred to as CTB, is also known to be taking action against the Sun newspaper and the ex-Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas, with whom he is alleged to have had an affair.

Last night, Twitter refused to comment about the legal action. However, papers filed in court show that the footballer is taking action to find out the names of individuals behind some Twitter accounts.

Lawyers representing the player will attempt to prove that in publishing details of his gagging order, Twitter and the individual responsible, breached the terms of the injunction and should be punished.

Ultimately, if found guilty of contempt of court, the US-based company and the "persons unknown" could be fined, have their assets seized or could even go to jail.

The footballer was one of a number of celebrities who were identified by an anonymous user on Twitter earlier this month as having obtained super-injunctions to hide alleged affairs. The list of celebrities has since been forwarded to an estimated two million people. Earlier this month, socialite Jemima Khan was at the centre of what she described as a "nightmare" after it was claimed she had been the subject of a gagging order.

A Twitter account user alleged she had a gagging order preventing "intimate photos" of her with Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson being published. But she refuted the claims, saying the they were "untrue and upsetting".

The account was set up claiming to expose celebrities who were involved in superinjunctions obtained through the courts.

The legal action came to light on the same day that eminent legal figures, under the leadership of Lord Neuberger, published a major review into super-injunctions.

Lord Neuberger warned that modern technology was "totally out of control" and society should consider other ways to bring Twitter and other websites into line with the law.

Should the unnamed married sportsman succeed in his legal action then it would have a dramatic knock-on effect for the site that has 200 million users.

Given the site's popularity and the enormous number of posts that Twitter hosts, policing all contributions for potentially defamatory comments would be an impossible undertaking. Communications experts believe this latest legal action could have a profound effect on Twitter.

Richard Hillgrove, a publicist who represents clients including Duncan Bannatyne, said: "They are going to have to introduce a delay mechanism so that stuff can be checked before it goes up. There will have to be a completely different structure, which will be difficult when the whole thing about Twitter is its spontaneity.

• Analysis: There's no legislating for the internet, I'm afraid

"It is a whole new ball game now for Twitter, and it will have to become responsible just like traditional media. The party is over as far as Twitter is concerned."

But there are a number of difficult hurdles to clear before the case can get to that point.

One of the main difficulties lies in the fact that Twitter is based in the United States and is therefore outside of the jurisdiction of the UK courts.

Jennifer McDermott, head of media and public law at Withers LLP, said the case could become a battle between protection of privacy in the UK and America's protection of free speech.

Maybe when President Obama's hors d'oeuvre plate is whisked away he will find a bill for £5.5m

BORIS Johnson is set to go into battle with President Obama - demanding he pays back £5.2MILLION in congestion charge fines owed by the US Embassy.
American diplomats refuse to pay the charge for driving in London claiming they are exempt from local taxes.

But the London Mayor claimed the £10-a-day charge, which rises to £120 if unpaid, is not a tax but a "charge for services".

Several embassies refuse to pay the toll - and the current bill for outstanding fines is a whopping £51MILLION.

Mr Johnson revealed his plans to confront Mr Obama during his visit to London later this month on Vanessa Feltz's BBC London radio show today.

The gaffe-prone politician said: "Maybe when President Obama's hors d'oeuvre plate is whisked away he will find a bill for £5.5m.
He continued that he may be "shepherded away" from the president but added: ""If I get the chance to I will remind him that the US owes us £5.5m in congestion charge.
"I think if they are going to have the representation here in London then they should pay the charge for driving and using our streets. So 'No representation without a congestion charge' is the slogan."

The mayor continued: "It is not a tax, it is a charge for services and I think we should test this in the courts.

"The only way we could do this is if the foreign office gets a grip on the situation and actually takes the American government to court and gets this adjudicated in the international court."

TfL confirmed the US Embassy owes £5.2m in unpaid Congestion Charge.

A US statement said: "The US Embassy in London conscientiously abides by all UK laws, including paying fines for all traffic violations, such as parking and speeding violations.

"Our position on the direct tax established by Transport for London in 2003, more commonly known as the congestion charge, is based on the 1960 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which prohibits the direct taxation of diplomatic missions.

"Our position is wholly in accordance with that agreement to which the United States and the United Kingdom are both signatories, and it is a position shared by many other diplomatic missions in London."

A spokesman for TfL said: "Around two thirds of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels".

Embassies with payments outstanding include the US, Russia, Japan, Germany, Nigeria, India, Sudan, Ghana, Poland and Spain.

Mr Obama will visit the capital, from 24 to 26 May.

Lord Judge, warned that "modern technology was totally out of control" and called for those who "peddle lies" on the internet to be fined.

Attempts to identify a famous footballer hiding behind a privacy injunction have spiralled into an online battle over freedom of speech, as internet users responded to high court action by repeatedly naming him on Twitter.

The high court granted a search order against the US-based microblogging site on Friday as the lord chief justice, Lord Judge, warned that "modern technology was totally out of control" and called for those who "peddle lies" on the internet to be fined. The attempt to compel Twitter to identify those responsible for the breaches comes after a number of its users earlier this month purported to reveal the name of the player who allegedly had an affair with the model Imogen Thomas.

The footballer's legal team began its action in London on Wednesday. There is a suspicion that a media company may be linked to the postings on Twitter, which were put up nearly two weeks ago.

But the name of the footballer was spreading even more rapidly across Twitter in defiance of the court injunction, setting the stage for a confrontation between the judiciary and cyberspace.

Earlier Lord Judge – welcoming a juridical report on superinjunctions – said readers placed greater trust in the content of traditional media than those "who peddle lies" on websites.

He urged that ways be found to curtail the "misuse of modern technology", in the same way that those involved with online child pornography were pursued by the police.

"Are you really going to say that someone who has a true claim for protection perfectly well made has to be at the mercy of modern technology?" he asked.

The lawsuit lists the defendants as "Twitter Inc and persons unknown".

The "persons unknown" are described as those "responsible for the publication of information on the Twitter accounts".

Lawyers have applied for a court order that could force Twitter to hand over the name, email address and IP address of the person behind the account, the Guardian understands.

The orders – known as a Norwich Pharmacal orders – are commonly used in illegal filesharing cases.

The Guardian understands that the claim form, filed to the high court by the footballer's legal team, will not be made public until next week. Earlier this month, an unknown person or individuals published on a Twitter account the names of various people who had allegedly taken out gagging orders to conceal sexual indiscretions.

The account rapidly attracted more than 100,000 followers.

Twitter said: "We are unable to comment." The London-based law firm representing the footballer had also not responded to a request for comment at time of publication.

Twitter and other social networks were accused of making "an ass of the law" by the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and politicians after a number of celebrities with injunctions were allegedly exposed online.

The socialite Jemima Khan was among those alleged on Twitter to have obtained an injunction.

Khan described as a "bloody nightmare" rumours suggesting falsely that she had obtained a gagging order to prevent publication of "intimate photos" of herself and the TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

Twitter has in the past said that it "strive[s] not to remove tweets on the basis of their content", but that it would remove "illegal tweets and spam".

Previous defamation claims against the search engine Google failed on the grounds that it is not a publisher and not responsible for the contents of the blogs and articles listed in its search results.

Richard Hillgrove, the owner of Hillgrove PR, which provides advice to celebrities, said that Twitter needed to be made as accountable as any other medium.

"It has gone from 'the back bedroom' to mainstream medium.

"Celebrities are being held to account if they Tweet commercial interests. It works both ways," he said.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's scheduled animated project 'The Governator' has been cancelled following recent revelations in the Hollywood actor's personal life

Arnold Schwarzenegger's scheduled animated project 'The Governator' has been cancelled following recent revelations in the Hollywood actor's personal life, reports Tmz.com. Arnold Schwarzenegger had been working on the comic book and animated series with Stan Lee, but the project appears to have been binned.
The character of 'The Governator' was inspired by Arnold's role in the 'Terminator' movies and his time spent as Governor of California. The action-hero was tipped to fight crime with the help of his wife and four children. Following Schwarzenegger's highly-publicised infidelity, a representative for the project said, "In light of recent events, A Squared Entertainment, Pow, Stan Lee Comics, and Archie Comics, have chosen to not go forward with the Governator project". The rep did not specify whether the project was completely dead or just postponed until the media frenzy surrounding Arnold's personal issues had blown over. Earlier this week, Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to fathering a child with a member of his household staff 10 years ago. The actor also confirmed that he had split from his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver.
Arnold Schwarzenneger is scheduled to begin filming the forthcoming drama film 'Cry MACho', although it is unclear whether the project will still go ahead.