Amy Winehouse

By INDEPENDENT.IE REPORTERS
Saturday Jul 23 2011

Troubled singer Amy Winehouse (27) was found dead at her London flat today.

Just last month Winehouse axed all scheduled shows and her management said
she would be given “as long as it takes” to sort herself out.

The critically acclaimed star has fought a long battle against drink and drugs.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed this afternoon that her body had been
discovered at her London flat just before 4pm and described her death as
“unexplained”.

She made a disastrous comeback performance in Serbia in June at which
she was booed and jeered at the start of her European tour.

She initially pulled out of two festival shows but then all her gigs were pulled,
her spokesman said.

Amy had a long battle with drink and drugs which has tended to overshadow
her music career.

In the run-up to her live return, she spent a week at the Priory clinic in south
west London. Her stay was said to be at the suggestion of her father, Mitch, over
concerns that she was drinking too much before her live shows.

Mitch Winehouse tried hard to keep his daughter off drink and drugs, even living in
the Carribbean with her to keep her clear of her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil.

The couple, who married in Miami in May 2007 and divorced in 2009, faced turmoil

over Winehouse’s battle with drug addiction and Fielder-Civil’s jail sentence for assault
and perverting justice.

Fielder-Civil was arrested in November 2007 over helping to beat up a pub landlord,

then attempting to buy the victim’s silence.

He was later sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Winehouse has suffered repeated health scares and was shown apparently

taking crack cocaine in footage obtained by ‘The Sun’.

Despite her medical struggles, she won five Grammys for her 2006 album

‘Back to Black’.

The singer’s father, Mitch Winehouse, has openly aired his concerns about her

marriage to Fielder-Civil.

Following the couple’s 2007 arrest in Norway for possession of marijuana, he said:
“She was a complete opponent of hard drugs — she said she couldn’t understand why
people in the music industry took hard drugs and that changed about six months ago
when she got married to Blake. The fact is, the hard drugs coincided with their marriage,
” he said.

In late June her spokesman said: “Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from

all scheduled performances.

“Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to

her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen.”

Amy had been due to appear at Spain’s BBK Live festival in Bilbao, Switzerland’s

Piazza Grande in Locarno, Italy’s Lucca festival, Switzerland’s Paleo Festival in
Nyon, Nova Jazz and Blues Night in Wiesen, Austria, and Poland’s Bydgoszcz Artpop Festival.

Serbian media described Winehouse’s performance at Belgrade’s Fortress

before 20,000 fans on Saturday as a “scandal” and a “disaster”.

- INDEPENDENT.IE REPORTERS

Paul Stephenson

Britain’s most senior police officer sensationally resigned tonight over revelations surrounding the phone hacking scandal.

Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson cited allegations surrounding his association with former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis for his shock announcement.

The bombshell came hours after former editor Rebekah Brooks was arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption.

Sir Paul said: “I have taken this decision as a consequence of the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met’s links with News International at a senior level and in particular in relation to Mr Neil Wallis who as you know was arrested in connection with Operation Weeting last week.”

Sir Paul insisted his integrity was intact despite pressure on him intensifying this weekend after it emerged he accepted thousands of pounds’ worth of free accommodation at a luxury health spa.

The commissioner had already been under fire for hiring Mr Wallis as a PR consultant before the former tabloid executive was arrested for mobile phone interceptions.

But issuing his statement at Scotland Yard, he said: “Let me state clearly, I and the people who know me know that my integrity is completely intact.

“I may wish we had done some things differently, but I will not lose sleep over my personal integrity.”

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said: “It is with great sadness and reluctance that I have tonight accepted the resignation of Sir Paul Stephenson as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

“I would like to stress that I have absolutely no reason to doubt the complete integrity of Sir Paul and I believe him to be a fine, passionate and committed public servant who has done a huge amount of good for our city.

“Sir Paul believes, however, that the phone hacking saga now threatens to become a serious distraction during the run up to the Olympic Games.

“He has persuaded me that someone else should now be allowed to take his work forward so that the focus can return to policing and bringing down crime.

“I should like to pay personal tribute to his outstanding leadership at the Metropolitan Police.

“He has helped to bring crime down by 9% in three years. He has put more officers on the beat, protected safer neighbourhood teams and increased patrols by a million a year on the streets of London.

“It is a mark of his work and determination that crime on public transport has fallen by 30% and that the murder rate is now at its lowest since 1978.

“If there has been any wrongdoing by members of the Metropolitan Police it is vital that this should now be exposed and cleared up in the inquiries under way.

“But it is my strong belief that Sir Paul and the overwhelming majority of police officers have dedicated their careers to the public good and for that we owe him and them our thanks.”

The resignation came as the recently departed News International chief executive Ms Brooks was still being quizzed at a London police station after her “surprise” arrest.

The 43-year-old was held on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption after keeping an appointment at an unnamed London police station.

Sir Paul said he had told Buckingham Palace, Home Secretary Theresa May and London Mayor Boris Johnson about his decision.

Announcing his departure he said he wanted “to put the record straight” over his relationship with Mr Wallis.

He said that when he met Mr Wallis in 2006 he had no knowledge of the original investigation into News of the World hacking that was taking place at the time.

“I have heard suggestions that we must have suspected the alleged involvement of Mr Wallis in phone hacking,” he said.

“Let me say unequivocally that I did not and had no reason to have done so.

“I do not occupy a position in the world of journalism; I had no knowledge of the extent of this disgraceful practice and the repugnant nature of the selection of victims that is now emerging; nor of its apparent reach into senior levels.”

Home Secretary Theresa May is to make a statement to the Commons tomorrow about the relationship between the Metropolitan Police and Chamy Media, Mr Wallis’s PR firm

Sir Paul said he saw no need to inform senior ministers of Scotland Yard’s contract with Mr Wallis, who worked two days a month for Scotland Yard during 2009 and last year, earning £24,000.

Explaining the decision to recruit Mr Wallis for PR services, Sir Paul said: “The contracting of Mr Wallis only became of relevance when his name became linked with the new investigation into phone hacking.

“I recognise that the interests of transparency might have made earlier disclosure of this information desirable.

“However my priority, despite the embarrassment it might cause, has been to maintain the integrity of Operation Weeting. To make it public would have immediately tainted him and potentially compromised any future Operation Weeting action.”

Referring to the “reported displeasure” of the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary, he added: “The reasons for not having told them are two fold.

“Firstly, I repeat my earlier comments of having at the time no reason for considering the contractual relationship to be a matter of concern.”

He went on to say there was “no impropriety” in relation to his use of Champneys luxury spa facilities.

“There has been no impropriety and I am extremely happy with what I did and the reasons for it – to do everything possible to return to running the Met full time, significantly ahead of medical, family and friends’ advice.

“The attempt to represent this in a negative way is both cynical and disappointing.”

Mark Lewis, solicitor for the family of Milly Dowler, told Sky News today was a “significant day”.

“These are very important times, the public are standing up to the three Ps – press, politics and the police.”

When asked if the recent developments meant things were getting out of hand, he said: “It is not in danger of getting out of hand, it was out of hand, it was those unhealthy relationships that existed with the News of the World.

Referring to Mr Wallis, he said: “We almost had a job swap, where someone went from the News of the World to the police.

“[Sir Paul Stephenson] of course might have taken no part in that role but he was the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. He ought to have been aware of what was going on.

“There were investigations in 2006 that did not deal with things, that is someone at the top taking responsibility for what happened beneath him.”

Man and van in W14 West Kensington

______________________________________________________

W14 – LONDON
West Kensington district: West Kensington, Kensington Olympia, Holland Park (part)

Man & Van London Postcodes

Reliable and Affordable

Call us on 07578762659

TEXT: 07578762659

E-MAIL: contact@removalgb.com

Man and Van – Removal – Man with a Van – Removal
Cheap Man and Van – Office Removal.

A group of bendy buses is being taken out of commission
in London by mayor Boris Johnson.

Very Good News For man and van London.

The nine vehicles, operating on Route 507, will be replaced by new
buses after their final day of service.

He pledged to scrap the “much-loathed” buses last year, saying they
were dangerous and enabled fare evasion.

But passenger group London TravelWatch and the London Assembly’s
Labour group said there was no evidence bendy buses caused more accidents.

Removing bendy buses was one of Mr Johnson’s key pledges during last
year’s mayoral election, and he plans to phase them all out by 2011.

‘Writhing whales’

Buses on Route 507, which travels between Waterloo and Victoria, will be
replaced by a new, more frequent single-decker bus on Saturday.

Mr Johnson said: “These writhing whales of the road have swung their hefty
rear ends round our corners for the final time.”

He said the new buses will emit less CO2 than the bendy buses, which will
be sent back “to their spiritual home, an airfield in the Midlands” next week.

Scrapping bendy buses does not represent good value for money Jo deBank, London TravelWatch

Transport for London (TfL) said it would cost an extra £12m per year to
replace the vehicles.

However, a spokeswoman said: “We would expect to see an increase in
revenue of about £5m per annum thanks to a reduction in fare evasion on
these routes.”

Nevertheless London TravelWatch spokeswoman Jo deBank said: “Scrapping
bendy buses does not represent good value for money.”

“The 507 runs on a busy commuter route and we are concerned that replacement
buses won’t have the capacity to carry enough passengers.”

‘Effective job’

And Val Shawcross, Labour’s transport spokeswoman on the London Assembly,
said the mayor “has yet to make a proper case” for the removal of bendy buses.

“They do an effective job of moving lots of people from A to B quickly and
efficiently,” she said.

“Londoners who, unlike Boris, get the bus everyday face longer journeys, longer
waiting times and more over-crowding.”

It depends how big the new buses are – if we can’t all get on it will be a real problem Commuter Bobbi Ingram

Morning commuters waiting to board the 507 at Waterloo on Friday had a mixed
response to the replacement of the bendy bus.

Bobbi Ingram from Kent said: “It depends how big the new buses are – if we can’t all
get on it will be a real problem.”

Susan Hylton-Ebubeh, 32, from Abbey Wood, south-east London, said: “I’ve been
on a bendy bus when there was an accident – the driver turned straight into the side
of a car.

“But it depends on the driver. I don’t think the new buses will make any difference
to my journey.”

David Gott, 42, from Southall, west London, said: “I’m sorry to see the bendy buses
go – they are great for swallowing up people.

“But if passengers avoid paying by getting on halfway down the bus, then that
should be addressed. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Mr Johnson also intends to introduce a new Routemaster bus to London roads
from 2012 but its routes have not yet been decided.