When Michael Jackson made his last public appearance, announcing his planned comeback gigs at the O2 Arena in London in March, the fans who there were adamant - he was still the King of Pop.

Asked why they loved him, the same answer came back. He was the complete entertainer - an exceptional songwriter, a dazzling dancer and performer, a perfectionist and a passionate singer.

But it was more than that. His fans cared deeply about him, and believed that he felt the same way about them. To the brilliant music was added an emotional bond that inspired greater devotion that any other artist has enjoyed.

It is no exaggeration to say he was the biggest pop star of his generation.

All music-lovers will recognise his musical gift, everyone has a favourite Michael Jackson song, millions upon millions have his LPs or CDs on their shelves.

For 20 years, from his start as the precocious child in the Jackson 5 to the world’s biggest-selling album Thriller in 1982 throughout his continued hits in the 1980s, he was at the pinnacle of the musical world.

The personal problems and eccentric behaviour may have clouded the myth.

Mesmerising figure

But Michael Jackson will be remembered as the slim, smiling figure, in jewelled glove and sparkling jacket, who could barely hold a record eight Grammy Awards in his arms in 1984.

He will be remembered as the man who millions of fans flocked to get a glimpse of in every corner of the globe as he toured the world between 1987 and ‘89.

He will be remembered as the exciting figure who defined pop music with a slick, mesmerising mixture of soul, disco and polished rock.

And he has been an absolutely huge inspiration for the artists that followed.

Pop stars like Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Ne-Yo and Usher are direct descendents, but his influence spreads far wider - from boy bands to rappers to rock bands - who have taken on elements of songwriting, singing style and smooth performance and production.

New album

He was said to have been working on a new album with the likes of current R&B and soul singers like John Legend, Akon and will.i.am - all of whom revered him as a legend.

He had not released music for eight years, but the clamour to see him at the O2 Arena proved that massive numbers of people were desperate to see him perform his hits once again.

Many fans at that launch had been following him for decades, but some were barely born when he had his last significant chart success.

His music continued to inspire devotion among new generations, and he will be hugely missed by music fans around the world.

Soaring numbers of Hounslow residents are seeking debt advice, with many reporting they are on average about £20,000 in the red.

Hounslow would be one of the worst affected boroughs if free help with managing debt was no longer available, the report out today revealed.

It warned that London is facing a debt crisis without Government action. The “Up to our neck in it” report was presented at the capital’s first ever debt summit at City Hall today, organised by charity Capitalise and the Mayor of London.

Capitalise, which provides free debt advice, said Hounslow residents that have contacted them have an average debt of £19,898, which they have to manage on an average monthly income of £866 - about a third of the UK average, and just over a quarter of the London average income.

Graham Fisher, chief executive officer of Toynbee Hall which is leading the Capitalise partnership, said: “Our advisers report that creditors are reacting to the debt crisis by passing on more cases to debt collection agencies and resorting to court actions or bailiffs.

“We’re calling for an integrated approach between local and central government and the voluntary sector in order to tackle the increase in personal debt caused by the recession, and more intervention where creditors are acting unreasonably.

“Employers also have an important role to play in preparing their workforce for potential redundancy and helping them to take preventative measures to stop them sliding into debt.”

Spitting does not spread TB
I READ with interest the article ‘TB rates four times higher in Hounslow’ dated May 13, 2009, and letter ‘No excuse for inaction over TB’ dated May 29, 2009. I am responding to balance some of the claims.

Firstly, let me reassure all Hounslow residents that TB cannot be caught from spit on the street (or touching or sharing cutlery). Transmission is airborne and close prolonged contact is usually necessary.

Secondly, most immigrants do not have active TB when they enter the country, they develop it after living here for some time. I can confirm there are checks on immigrants from parts of the World where TB is endemic. For example chest xrays are used at Heathrow and Gatwick airports to screen those staying here for more than six months who are from countries with a rate of more than 40 per 100,000.

Thirdly, I can confirm that Hounslow is not the only London Borough to have higher than the average TB rates.

Fourthly, our work to address TB in Hounslow includes a ‘Targeting TB’ partnership initiative, which aims to raise awareness of the disease locally.

The partnership was created in 2006. The initiative brings together West Middlesex University Hospital and the London Borough of Hounslow and NHS Hounslow together with community groups. It seeks to provide greater support for existing TB patients and raise understanding of the disease, while breaking down the stigma sometimes associated with it.

The partnership has enabled us to fund a TB outreach worker who acts as an advocate for local TB patients, to promote understanding of the disease and its symptoms and emphasise the key message that TB is curable.

Dr Mike Robinson,

Joint Director of Public Health/Medical Director

NHS Hounslow/London Borough of Hounslow

Manchester United have accepted a world record offer of £80m from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.

“United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player,” said a statement from the English club.

It added that the decision came at Ronaldo’s request after he “again expressed his desire to leave”.

United described the offer for the 24-year-old forward as unconditional and added that they expected the matter to be concluded by 30 June.

It is understood that the transfer fee would be made available for manager Sir Alex Ferguson to invest in the transfer market.

Madrid signed Brazilian Kaka for a reported £56m earlier in the week, surpassing the previous world record fee of £45.6m Real paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.

That deal was sealed by the ambition of returning Real president Florentino Perez, who previously led the Spanish club from 2000 to 2006 - during the famous galacticos era.

And Perez had earlier made it clear that he would do “everything possible” to sign Ronaldo.

Madrid have also been linked with Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso, Valencia’s David Villa and Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery since Perez’s unopposed election signalled the return of their vast spending.

“This was one that was never ever going to go away,” said BBC Radio 5 Live chief football correspondent Mike Ingham.

“After the Champions League final he criticised Sir Alex Ferguson’s tactics, he threw his toys out of the pram in the derby with Manchester City after he was substituted. He’s been very high maintenance. And £80m is hard to resist.

“Personally I’m very sorry to see him leave but it’s absolutely inevitable. If hadn’t been this summer it would have been next summer.

“This could mean they might be able to keep Carlos Tevez, maybe Wayne Rooney can be liberated.”

Ronaldo, who joined United in 2003 from Sporting Lisbon for £12.2m, was strongly linked with a move to the Spanish capital last summer.

United lodged a complaint with world governing body Fifa last June over what they believed was a deliberate attempt by Real to unsettle the winger.

After a long drawn out saga that ran through the summer months the Portugal international remained at United for the 2008-09 season.

“Now I understand I made the best decision,” Ronaldo told Spanish sports paper Marca at the end of last summer. “I am with Manchester in body and soul.

But the speculation soured relations between the clubs and last December United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said that he would not “sell that mob a virus”.

And despite Ronaldo’s claim that he wanted to remain at Old Trafford he was the subject of constant speculation during the 2008-09 season and often gave mixed messages about his future.

Towards the end of the season he said: “I’m happy at this club, I think this is the club for me.”

If Ronaldo does sign for Madrid his last appearance for United would have been in the Champions League final that the Premier League champions lost 2-0 to Barcelona in Rome.

SINGER Susan Boyle faces the axe from tomorrow’s final of Britain’s Got Talent amid fears she is cracking up under the pressure.
The Scottish spinster, 48, has alarmed bosses with her erratic behaviour - including swearing at cops.

A source said: “The last thing producers want is a meltdown on national TV. It’s been made clear that if she’s not right mentally, she won’t appear in the final.”

The troubled star has been given a secret bolt-hole as bosses whisked her away from the limelight’s glare.

The singer’s increasingly strange behaviour has sparked fears that she may suffer a breakdown - or be axed from tomorrow’s final.

So favourite Susan was driven away from the Wembley Plaza Hotel in North London and taken to a hideaway.
A source said: “Show bosses told us to get Susan’s mind right because there are genuine concerns about her health. She desperately needs breathing space.

“The idea is to get into a place where her privacy is better managed than at a hotel. She’ll be totally shielded from people other than her closest advisors.”

The spinster - whose first performance has had 286 million hits on YouTube - has lived a sheltered life in the village of Blackburn, West Lothian.

On Wednesday she packed her bags and threatened to QUIT the show because of the pressures of her new-found fame but was persuaded to carry on.

Yesterday she was interviewed by police over a tearful tantrum at the hotel in which she swore at officers after claiming two strangers tried to “wind her up”.

Hours earlier she screamed “f*** off” and flicked a V-sign at the TV in the hotel bar as she watched judge Piers Morgan tell Shaheen Jafargholi, 12, he had given the “best singing performance so far”.

Last night Piers said: “Yesterday she was actually going to leave the show, packed her bags to go because she couldn’t see the point in going on.”

Writing on his blog, Piers said: “Susan is finding it very difficult to cope, and to stay calm. She has been in tears many times during the last few days, and even felt like quitting altogether and fleeing all the attention.”

Eccentric

He added: “Susan Boyle is a very kind, generous-hearted, lady who has had a pretty tough life. But she’s always, according to people who knew her well, been a fun-loving woman who would do anything to help others.

“I’m not saying she’s a saint. But I am saying that before all this fuss, Susan was generally considered to be a genuinely lovely person - albeit, one with a lively, feisty character, and a wonderfully eccentric sense of humour.”

Susan’s family believe show bosses should have acted sooner.

Brother John, 59, said: “She has been constantly hounded by fans for the past seven weeks. Like anyone she has a breaking point - she is only human after all.

“If I were in Simon Cowell’s shoes I would tell Susan she wouldn’t be allowed on the show unless she got her act together.

“Celebrities have professional people who insulate them from these stresses but she hasn’t had this protection. The show’s producers should have been looking after her more.”

Susan is dubbed Rambo in her home town because of her fiery temper, but John insisted the abuse she gave police was out of character.

He said: “Susan used to get picked on and bullied when she was younger. She never reacted.

“This is a completely one-off incident and won’t affect Susan in the slightest.”

Bookies William Hill last night said punters were easing off backing Susan after her hotel outburst.

They also offered odds of 10/1 that she SWEARS during the live final. She is still 5/6 to win, but Shaheen’s odds were cut to 6/1.

Meanwhile it emerged Susan had made a secret dash home between rehearsals - because she was missing her cat Pebbles.

She visited the ten-year-old moggy on Monday, then flew back to London the same day.

Source: The Sun

Around seven million people in the UK are involved in illegal downloads, costing the economy tens of billions of pounds, government advisors say.

Researchers found 1.3m people using one file-sharing network on one weekday and estimated that over a year they had free access to material worth £120bn.

The Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property (SABIP) warned it may be hard to change attitudes.

The government says work must be done internationally to tackle the problem.

Intellectual Property Minister David Lammy said the report put into context the impact illegal downloads had on copyright industries and the UK economy as a whole.

But he added: “This is not an issue confined by national boundaries and I am sure that other [EU] member states and their copyright industries will find this report of use in the development of policy.”
An alliance of nine UK bodies representing the creative industries recently joined trades unions in calling on the government to force internet service providers to cut off persistent illegal file-sharers.

They said more than half of net traffic in the UK was illegal content.

Copyright confusion

Internet service providers say it is not their job to police the web.

The latest report for the SABIP, said the new generation of broadband access at 50Mbps could deliver 200 MP3 files in five minutes, a DVD in three and the complete digitised works of Charles Dickens in less than 10.

It said the seven million people who access files illegally could not all be students and that many of them were uncertain about what was illegal.

The fact that so much on the internet is free only added to the confusion, it said.

Dame Lynne Brindley, SABIP Board member, said: “This report gives us some baseline evidence from which we can develop a clear research strategy to support policy development in this fast moving area.”

SOCCER Wag DANIELLE LLOYD writhes in agony outside a nightspot yesterday — tended by fellow clubbers splattered with HER blood after a savage brawl.
Spurs star JAMIE O’HARA’s girlfriend — notoriously caught up in the SHILPA SHETTY race row on Celebrity Big Brother — was left needing emergency plastic surgery.

A spokesman for Danielle today revealed the extent of her injuries and confirmed surgery had been a success.

He said: “Danielle sustained a serious wound to her back which required stitches upon arrival at hospital.

“She went in theatre yesterday afternoon and stayed in hospital over night.

“The operation on her leg was successful.”

Danielle was pictured leaving hospital, right, on crutches this afternoon with O’Hara and the seriousness of her injuries was clear due to the seepage of blood from her leg wound.

The model screamed and sobbed as she bled on the pavement before an ambulance rushed her to casualty.

Last night Danielle — whose string of footballer lovers include ex-England star TEDDY SHERINGHAM, Spurs ace JERMAIN DEFOE and Birmingham’s MARCUS BENT — was recovering in hospital.

Cops arrested two women in their 20s for allegedly attacking her as she partied with £9,000-a-week Jamie, 22.

The couple had been to a wedding before heading to the Crystal club in London’s West End — arriving hand-in-hand at 11pm.

Jamie was also left dripping in Danielle’s blood after she was allegedly hurled through a glass table in a vicious 2am catfight — sparked by two girls dancing on the back of a VIP sofa she was sitting on.

A witness said: “I think one kicked Danielle — it may have been an accident. She got up to remonstrate.

“I saw her in a tangle with at least one other woman. Punches and slaps were being thrown.

“Danielle came falling backward off the sofa and landed on a table. She cut her leg pretty badly. Jamie and some guy who may have been the other girl’s boyfriend were being held apart by bouncers who threw Jamie out.”

As she lay on the pavement, Danielle was heard shrieking: “My leg, my leg.” She needed stitches to a “serious” back wound as well as cosmetic surgery on her limb.

Scotland Yard confirmed they were investigating.

Source: The Sun

The amount of credit for “buy now, pay later” deals has risen during the economic downturn, according to industry figures.

In-store credit, often for items such as settees and electrical goods, was up 24% in March compared with the same month a year earlier.

The figures from the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) show that the availability of loans remains tight.

One charity said there was a debt risk for people in socially deprived areas.

Chris Tapp, of Credit Action, said that the final cost of a hire purchase deal was often much higher than buying a product outright.

Deal-seekers

The FLA said that £5.1bn was lent by its members in the UK - such as credit card and motor finance providers - in total in March, down 12% on the same month a year earlier.

With the wholesale lending markets still squeezed, loans, typically secured on borrowers’ homes, fell by 76% over the same period. However, in-store credit deals leapt by 24%.

These deals allow shoppers to put down relatively small or no money upfront while taking their new television or sound system home. They pay off the lump sum with interest in instalments over subsequent months.

“With a depressed housing market, many people are choosing to improve their homes and replace furnishings rather than move house,” said Geraldine Kikelly, head of research at the FLA.

“Retailers and lenders have been offering attractive interest-free credit and deferred payment deals on store instalment credit.

“We have seen a similar trend in recent months in the motor market. The proportion of car sales represented by instalment-type credit available in the dealerships has grown from 48% to 54% over the last year. This is mainly a response to competitive pricing and reduced availability of other sources of credit.”

Debt concerns

The risk for borrowers is that if they fail to keep up with payments, the provider of the credit can take the product back. This would mean they would have been paying for something they no longer had.

The FLA said that the relatively small cost of items such as sofas meant that the default risks were lower than for bigger loans, even during a downturn.

But Mr Tapp said that those in socially-deprived areas could still be hamstrung by the regular payments.

“It is no surprise that this is an area which is growing during the credit crunch, but it can be more costly in the long run,” he said.

The FLA figures showed that unsecured loans dipped by more than a third year-on-year in March, and credit card lending also fell slightly.

Debt charities advise people in financial trouble to prioritise their repayments, paying utility bills and council tax bills first. Hire-purchase payments are slightly lower on the list, but are higher than credit card repayments.

However, anyone fearing they might miss payments should contact their lender to come to an agreement.

David Cameron has pledged to bring “big change” to politics, including looking at introducing fixed term Parliaments.

A Tory government would restore “real people power” through a “radical” redistribution of power from Westminster, he said in a speech.

But he ruled out a switch from the current first-past-the-post electoral system to proportional representation.

Minister Jack Straw welcomed the speech but said a lot had been done, the Lib Dems said it did not go far enough.

As the main parties try to shift focus away from the expenses revelations, in a speech in Milton Keynes Mr Cameron said he would reduce prime ministerial power and boost the role of Parliament.

Fixed term Parliaments

“I believe there is only one way out of the national crisis that we face, we need a massive, sweeping, radical redistribution of power,” he said.

“I’m making clear that big change and a new politics is exactly what people can expect from a Conservative government. We will begin a massive redistribution of power in our country, from the powerful to the powerless, from the political elite to the man and the woman in the street.”

He said a Conservative government would “seriously consider” the possibility of fixed-term parliaments: “If we want Parliament to be a real engine of accountability we need to show it’s not just the creature of the executive to be dissolved on the whim of a prime minister.”

But he said he would not consider a move towards proportional representation because he said that meant party managers - as opposed to voters - would end up choosing a government “on the basis of secret backroom deals”.

He pledged an end to policies “dreamt up on the sofa at Number 10 Downing Street”, more transparency by limiting the number of special advisers and to strengthen the independence of the civil service.

Armchair auditors

A Conservative government would ask the Boundary Commission to look at reducing the House of Commons by, initially 10% and make sure constituencies were the same size, he said.

And he said the expenses of all public servants paid more than £150,000 a year would be put online - as would all public spending over £25,000.

“Just imagine the effect that an army of armchair auditors is going to have on those expense claims,” he said.

“Indeed, the promise of public scrutiny is going to have a powerful effect on over-spending of any variety. ”

Other issues the party will look at include possible curbs on the whipping of votes - when MPs come under pressure to toe the party line - in considering bills line-by-line at the committee stage.

Among Mr Cameron’s proposals are:

Considering fixed-term Parliaments - ending the right of Downing Street to control the timing of general elections
Boosting the role of Parliament by giving MPs free votes when bills are considered at committee stage. MPs would also be handed the power of deciding the timetabling of bills
Increasing the power of backbenchers by allowing them to choose the chairmen and members of select committees
Limiting the use of the royal prerogative which allows the prime minister, in the name of the monarch, to make major decisions without the backing of Parliament
Strengthening local government by allowing councils to reverse Whitehall decisions to close popular services, such as a local post office. They would be given the power to raise money to keep them open.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw welcomed Mr Cameron’s comments but said many of the ideas had been around “for some time” and there was always a gap between rhetoric on the need for constitutional reform and what politicians could actually deliver.

“What’s important is that there is now a growing consensus in favour of many sensible changes,” he said.

Labour’s achievements included the introduction of the Human Rights and Freedom of Information Acts, he said, as well as progress on reform of party funding and a proposed bill of rights.

“For constitutional reformers this is a glass three-quarters full, not a quarter empty,” Mr Straw added.

“It is good to see the Conservatives catching up at last.”

‘Nip and tuck’

However, Mr Straw distanced himself from the idea of a referendum on the electoral system at the next election - a plan floated by Cabinet colleague Alan Johnson - saying it should not be “confused” with the wider issues at stake at the election.

While there should be a debate on the issue, Mr Straw also warned that electoral reform would not be a solution in itself, for the damaged reputation of Parliament.

The Liberal Democrats, who favour proportional representation, said Mr Cameron’s plans did not go far enough.

Party leader Nick Clegg said they were a “nip and tuck” solution which fell short of his own proposal to sack MPs if they are proved to have done something wrong.

“I think David Cameron’s ideas are fine as far as they go but they don’t go far enough,” he told GMTV.

“They are saying nothing about sacking individual MPs. They are saying nothing about the scandal of having an unelected House of Lords who can make the laws of the land for us and they are not accountable to us.

“It says nothing about the fact that under our electoral system we give huge amounts of power, huge amounts of money, to the government of the day even though they only get a tiny minority of the eligible votes.”

The US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay is a “misguided experiment” and a “mess” that must be cleaned up, US President Barack Obama has said.

Mr Obama said it had weakened national security and rallied enemies of the US, but he was determined to close it by January 2010 whilst respecting US law.

He was speaking at the US National Archives, where the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights are kept.

The US Congress has rejected Mr Obama’s move to fund the closure.

Speaking in a riposte to Mr Obama after his speech, former Vice-President Dick Cheney defended the security strategies of the Bush White House.

He recalled the experience of being in a White House bunker during the 9/11 attacks and said this shaped the way he viewed his responsibilities.

And he defended the “enhanced interrogation” authorised by the Bush administration to extract information from terror suspects as “legal, essential, justified and successful”.

Transfer concern

Mr Obama’s speech on Guantanamo was made against a backdrop of rising concern in the US Congress at the president’s plan to close the camp by January 2010.

As well as funding plans being blocked, proposals to transfer other inmates from the camp to facilities on the US mainland were also voted down by the Senate on Wednesday.

And in a separate development, Ahmed Ghailani, an al-Qaeda suspect, is to become the first inmate at the Guantanamo Bay camp to stand trial in a US civilian court.

The issue of transferring Guantanamo Bay inmates to the US has caused alarm among many members in Congress.

Mr Obama said the administration was reviewing every one of the 240 detainees still held at Guantanamo and considering what to do with them.

“We are treating these cases with the care and attention that the law requires and our security demands,” he said, describing the Bush-era approach as “poorly-planned, [and] haphazard”.

Explaining the basis of his administration’s approach to terrorist suspects and Guantanamo Bay, Mr Obama said the existence of the prison camp probably “created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained”.

He conceded that following through on his pledge to close Guantanamo would be “difficult and complex”, but insisted it was possible.

“As president, I refuse to allow this problem to fester. Our security interests won’t permit it. Our courts won’t allow it.”

But he offered a direct answer to critics who have said his plans would release potentially dangerous people onto the streets of the US.

“We are not going to release anyone if it would endanger our national security, nor will we release detainees within the United States who endanger the American people.”

Cheney riposte

Mr Obama’s keynote speech was followed by remarks of a very different tone by former Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Mr Cheney, who has emerged as a strong critic of the Obama White House, addressed a Washington think-tank to lay out the “strategic thinking” behind the Bush administration’s actions.

He began by saying that Mr Obama deserved cross-party support for wise decisions, but added that: “When he mischaracterises the decisions we made, he deserves an answer.”

Mr Cheney recalled the dangerous hours on 11 September 2001 as he was shepherded to a White House bunker as hijacked airliners hit New York and the Pentagon.

He said the experience deeply affected him, and said the Bush administration’s policies were dedicated to making sure no attacks of that kind could ever happen again.