British politician slept with Arsenal striker

Brian Coleman, said British politician gay in a post on his blog has made an interesting discovery about the Premier League giants Arsenal, or better to say one of the attackers London team.

In a comment to his Barnet team, Coleman wrote: "For someone less follow football, although a few years ago I was in a match Barnett, and even another time I slept with a striker Arsenal do not care at all what will happen to Barnett, and in which league will play. "

Even though he did not mention the name of the player, and the period when he played for Arsenal, Coleman has 'turned' sports journalists try to understand who they are coming from

Hunt for WWII Spitfires in Burma called off

The sponsor of a British-led team hunting for dozens of rare World War II Spitfires said to have been buried in Burma has abandoned the search, saying stories of the stashed planes are merely "legend".

Rumours that dozens of the iconic single-seat aircraft were buried in 1945 by Britain, the former colonial power in Burma, had excited military history enthusiasts, but surveys at Yangon airport in the Mingaladon district have failed to bear fruit.

The project backer, online game company Wargaming, said the team "now believes, based on clear documentary evidence, as well as the evidence from the fieldwork, that no Spitfires were delivered in crates and buried at RAF Mingaladon during 1945 and 1946".

Lead archaeologist Andy Brockman said the investigation into the stories of buried Spitfires was undertaken in the spirit of US television forensic police series "CSI" (Crime Scene Investigation).

"We followed the clues in the documents, period maps, pictures and air photographs; we talked to surviving witnesses, and visited the 'crime scene' in order to turn our study in the archives into facts on the ground," he said.

"As a result we believe that the legend of the buried Spitfires of Burma is just that: a captivating legend about a beautiful and iconic aircraft." In a statement released late Friday, Wargaming said the search for Spitfires in Myanmar was rooted in persistent rumours that began among servicemen in "the bars and canteens of South East Asia" as early as 1946.

It added that no surviving witnesses had actually seen planes being buried and that its research in British archives had failed to produce any evidence of the arrival of the aircraft in Burma in the latter months of the war.

But a local businessman involved in the project, Htoo Htoo Zaw, on Saturday vowed to continue the planned digs in the northern city of Myitkyina and Yangon airport, signalling a split within the team.

"We haven't started any digging yet. So how can we say for sure whether there are Spitfires or not?" he told AFP.

It was unclear to what extent the excavations would continue and project leader David Cundall - a farmer and aircraft enthusiast who has spent around 17 years chasing the Spitfires - was not immediately reachable for comment.

Dozens of new laws sent to Prince so he could give approval

The Prince of Wales was secretly given a say over new laws to ban hunting and to introduce the Government’s green deal, the Government has revealed.

The Prince was also asked about the Hunting Bill in July 2003 Photo: Rex Features

By Christopher Hope, and Matthew Holehouse

10:00PM GMT 15 Feb 2013

495 Comments

The Prince of Wales was secretly given a say over dozens of new laws, including those to ban hunting and to introduce the Government’s green deal, the Government has revealed.

A Freedom of Information request disclosed that the Prince has been consulted on an average of three laws every year over the past 11 years. Inall he was consulted on 33 laws over past 11 years, far higher than previously disclosed.

The heir to the Throne is allowed under Britain’s constitution to be consulted on legislation that might affect his private interests.

This relates to the Duchy of Cornwall, which controls financial investment portfolio and land totalling 209 square miles, worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

The House of Commons’ Erskine May rule book states the Prince or the Queen must be asked for their consent about laws which affect “the hereditary revenues, personal property or interests of the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster or Duchy of Cornwall”.

The Prince was most recently asked for his consent for the energy bill in September 2011, which passed into law the Government’s green deal which encourages homeowners to take out a loan to make their house more energy-efficient.

He was also asked about the Hunting Bill in July 2003, the same month that MPs voted on a free ballot to ban hunting with dogs in the UK.

However it was not clear last night why the Prince was given the opportunity to comment on some of the legislation such as the the Finance Bill in July 2004, which enacted Chancellor Gordon Brown’s Budget of that year.

He was also asked for his opinion about the Licensing Bill in June 2003, which was criticised for legalising 24 hour drinking after it came into force in November 2005.

The Prince was also asked for his consent on the Communications Bill in March 2003, which set up new regulations to govern the media.

Others include the Health and Social Care Bill (July 2003), Companies Bill (October 2006) as well as the Land Registration Bill (February 2002).

Apart from a couple of exceptions, the Prince was asked for his opinion on the laws at the third reading stage, when the legislation had been debated by MPs.

Last night Labour MPs expressed concern that the Prince had been intervening in the affairs of Parliament on so many occasions.

Paul Flynn MP, a Labour member of the Commons Public Administration Select Committee, said he was worried that the Prince could jeopardise the Monarchy if he attempted to intervene politically when he succeeds to the throne.

He said: “There are doubts about Prince Charles and whether he is persistently intervening on political matters. There must be a grave doubt whether he will remain silent if he should become Monarch.”

Last night a spokesman for Clarence House said the Prince of Wales’s consent was only sought on bills that affected the Duchy of Cornwall.

She said: “The Prince’s Consent is a matter of standard parliamentary procedure and every instance of The Prince’s consent having been sought and given to legislation is a matter of public record.

“In modern times, The Prince of Wales has never refused consent to any bill affecting Duchy of Cornwall interests. If it were to ever happen, he would only do so at the advice of Ministers.”

The Prince of Wales has been dubbed the "meddling prince" because of the way that he has held meetings with ministers and written to them about policy areas that interest him.

Last September, Sir Stephen Lamport, his former private secretary, suggeseted people might question the Prince's "political neutrality" when he becomes King if his private letters to ministers are made public.

The Prince has faced criticism for sending the letters - known as “black spider memos” because of his handwriting - to ministers, marked private and confidential, setting out his views on aspects of government policy.

Sir Stephen said the Prince thought that writing to Government ministers prepares him for when he is made king and will stop the controversial practice when he is crowned.

Woman killed in gang’s car crash to earn insurance cash

A gang who killed a woman in a deliberate car accident was jailed on Friday as a court heard such “cash for crash” fraud costs motorists almost £2  million a day.

Miss Gill was careered into the back of the transit van  Photo: Pixel 8000

By Victoria Ward

10:00PM GMT 15 Feb 2013

Baljinder Kaur Gill, 34, was the victim of a plot orchestrated by four Polish men who caused a crash in a bid to fraudulently claim up to £20,000.

The case was the first of its kind to cause the death of an innocent motorist.

Miss Gill’s family said they would never recover from their loss and said she was an “innocent victim of a cold-blooded and calculated incident”.

Noel Lucas QC, prosecuting, cited figures from the Insurance Fraud Bureau showing premiums are pushed up by such scams. Some 381 false claims are made daily, costing the motor industry £1.7 million.

Radoslaw Bielawski, Jacek Kowalczyk, Andrzez Skowron and Artur Okrutny had carefully planned the crash, Reading Crown Court heard.

^{Top: Radoslaw Bielawski, left, and Jacek Kowalczyk; bottom: Andrzez Skowron, left, and Artur Okrutny}

Two days afterwards, the men, all from London, made insurance claims in a bid to profit from the tragedy.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Sweeney said the men bore equal responsibility for Miss Gill’s death, which was the product of a “joint enterprise”

“This is the first such enterprise to result in a death to come before the courts,” he said. “The fact that it didn’t also lead to you getting any money is no thanks to you but because of the police investigation into this crash.” He said Miss Gill’s death continued to have, “an absolutely devastating effect on her family”, particularly her mother and brother who suffered the loss of her other brother to cancer shortly afterwards.

On June 11, 2011, the four men drove an Audi A3 and a VW Passat in tandem down the A40, remaining in constant contact by telephone as they looked for a vehicle that they could be confident was insured. The plan was to contrive an apparent accident in which it would crash into the back of the Passat and all involved could claim compensation.

A Ford Transit van, being driven in the fast lane at 70mph, was chosen as the target and Kowalczyk positioned the Passat in front of ahead on a stretch of the road near Denham, Buckinghamshire.

The men then staged a crash by swerving the Audi into the outside lane, forcing the Passat to brake hard.

Under cross examination, Bielawski described the manoeuvres as “suicide” and Kowalczyk admitted they were “highly dangerous”.

Miss Gill, who had been driving her Ford Fiesta behind the transit van was careered into the back of it, becoming stranded in the outside lane.

She got out of her car and was reaching into the back seat to get something when she was hit by a Renault van travelling at high speed, driven by Colin Lee, 34. The crash was described by one witness as “an explosion of metal glass and dust”.

Bielawski, 24, and Kowalczyk, 32, were both jailed for 10 years and three months for conspiracy to commit fraud, causing death by dangerous driving and conspiracy to pervert the cause of justice.

Skowron, 25, was jailed for 10 years for conspiracy to commit fraud and causing death by dangerous driving.

Okrutny, 23, who was not present at the crash, was jailed for 12 months for conspiring to pervert the course of justice by providing false driver details after the crash and making a false statement to police about the incident.

Lee, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was jailed for 12 months for causing death by careless driving, having been previously cleared by a jury of causing death by dangerous driving.

Miss Gill’s family said in a statement: “We hope that the result of these court proceedings will prevent any other innocent person being killed or injured on the road through the greed of others.”

Oscar Pistorius 'numb with grief and shock' over Reeva Steenkamp killing

Thousands of Russian emergency workers sent out to clear up the damage from a meteor seen breaking up over Ural mountains have failed to find fragments of the rock, sparking conspiracy theories about secret weapons and acts of God.

Asked about the speculation, an official at the local branch of Russia's Emergencies Ministry simply replied: "Rubbish".

Residents of Chelyabinsk, an industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow, heard an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave that blew out windows and damaged the wall and roof of a zinc plant.

The meteor travelled through the atmosphere at 19 miles per second, according to Russian space agency Roscosmos, leaving a long white trail visible as far as 125 miles away.

NASA estimate the object was around 55 feet across before entering Earth's atmosphere and weighed about 10,000 tons.

It exploded miles above Earth, releasing nearly 500 kilotons of energy - about 30 times the size of the nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in World War Two, NASA added.

"We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years on average," said Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones."

The Chelyabinsk regional governor said the strike caused about 1 billion roubles ($33 million) worth of damage.

Life in the city had largely returned to normal by Saturday although 50 people were still in hospital. Officials said more than 1,200 people were injured, mostly by flying glass.

Repair work had to be done quickly because of the freezing temperatures, which sank close to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) at night.

Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov inspected the damage after President Vladimir Putin sent him to the region.

His ministry is under pressure to clean up fast following criticism over the failure to issue warnings in time before fatal flooding in southern Russia last summer and over its handling of forest fires in 2010.

UK jobs at risk as India acts to cancel Finmeccanica helicopter deal following bribery allegations

India's Ministry of Defence has started action to cancel its $750m (£483.6m) contract with Italian defence group Finmeccanica to buy 12 helicopters following bribery allegations, putting British jobs at risk.

India has frozen payments for the AgustaWestland helicopters pending an inquiry, after Italian police arrested the head of Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi, over allegations he paid bribes to intermediaries to win the Indian contract when he was head of the Somerset operation.

Mr Orsi, who has denied any wrongdoing, formally resigned on Friday.

"[The Ministry of Defence] today issued a formal show cause notice to the AgustaWestland of UK seeking cancellation of contract and taking other actions as per the terms of the contract and the Integrity Pact," an Indian ministry spokesman said in a statement.

"The operation of the contract has been put on hold. The company has been asked to reply to the notice in seven days."

Italian authorities are reported to suspect that the alleged bribes were paid to ensure AgustaWestland won the helicopter contract. A deal was signed in 2010.

On Wednesday, India froze payments to AgustaWestland helicopters pending an inquiry.

The 12 aircraft on order are being built at AgustaWestland’s Yeovil base in Somerset, and this confirmation that it is seeking to cancel its orders could threaten jobs at the site.

On Wednesday, AgustaWestland said in a statement that it was progressing with the order as planned, adding that it had already delivered the first three helicopters to the Indian Air Force, with the remaining due for delivery within 2013.

AgustaWestland UK is Yeovil’s major employer, with 3,200 permanent staff and a further 1,500 sub-contractors.

Cancellation of the deal would be a major blow to the company which has been pinning its ambitions on overseas sales as it loses business from the shrinking defence budget at home.

In the 1980s a previous Congress government, led by then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, collapsed over charges of kickbacks paid to Indian officials by the Swedish group Bofors to clinch a $1.3bn artillery deal

India has since banned middlemen in defence deals following that scandal.

Oscar Pistorius: athlete denies murder of Reeva Steenkamp 'in strongest terms'

In the statement, from his family and his management company, Pistorius also offered his condolences to the victim's family. "All our thoughts today must be with the family and friends of Reeva Steenkamp," the statement said.

Police were called to Pistorius's home in an upscale, gated community outside Pretoria after neighbours reported screams followed by gunshots in the early hours of Feb 14.

Inside the house was the body of Reeva Steenkamp, a 30-year-old model and law graduate, who had been shot four times in the head and hand. A 9mm revolver was recovered nearby, which police confirmed was registered to Pistorius.

The double amputee popularly known as "Blade Runner", who became the first Paralympian to compete in the Olympics in London last year, was arrested yesterday and spent the night in a Pretoria prison.

Earlier today Pistorius broke down in tears as a court charged him with the murder of his girlfriend. The globally renowned athlete sat hunched as the court heard that prosecutors would argue that the murder was premeditated, a charge that could carry a life sentence.

Pistorius, who runs on prosthetic blades made of carbon fibre, was arrested within hours of the shooting yesterday. He was interviewed by detectives and taken to a nearby police station before going on to a hospital for blood tests and to have swab samples taken from his fingernails.

He was originally due to appear in court yesterday, but the hearing was delayed as police gathered more evidence.

As news of the shooting spread yesterday, it was reported that Pistorius, 26, told police that he had mistaken the woman for a burglar. However, Brig Denise Beukes, a police spokesman, said: "There was no sign of forced entry or persons who weren't supposed to be there at this stage. There were only two people on the premises: the resident and the deceased."

She added that police had been called previously to Pistorius's house at Silver Woods Country Estate to handle "allegations of a domestic nature". Some neighbours are reported to have heard an altercation in the hours before the shots were fired, believed to be at around 4am.

^{Pistorius heads to the holding cells at the Boschkop police station, east of Pretoria (Reuters)}

Henke Pistorius, the runner's father, said last night that he was waiting for news. "We are trying to help as much as we can but there's not much we can do at this stage. It's very difficult to accept when this is your child. We just have to wait and see."

In September 2009, Pistorius spent a night in Boschkop police station, where he was held last night, after he allegedly assaulted a 19-year-old woman during a party at his home. He was not charged but received a caution.

Last September, after Pistorius returned from the Paralympics, he was reported to have exchanged threatening text messages with a businessman whom he considered a love rival. A friend of the man claimed that Pistorius had sent him a text message threatening to break his legs. Police said the matter was resolved amicably and no charges were laid.

In November, Samantha Taylor, Pistorius's former girlfriend of a year and a half, told the South African City Press newspaper that the athlete was "certainly not what people think he is".

She also told Rapport, an Afrikaans newspaper, that she was "prepared to reveal what Pistorius made me go through", but she subsequently withdrew this threat in a lawyer's letter. Her lawyer, June Marks, said she had withdrawn her interview offer after a journalist she had been speaking to started harassing her.

Despite living in a high-security compound, Pistorius told an interviewer recently that he slept with a revolver by his bed, a baseball bat behind his door and a machinegun by the window.

He said in November last year that he went into "full combat recon mode" after mistaking the sound of his washing machine for an intruder.

Pistorius once invited an American journalist to interview him at a shooting range, stating that when he could not sleep, he sometimes went there to fire off his 9mm pistol.

Friends and family of Miss Steenkamp's parents gathered at their home in Port Elizabeth. Samantha Sutton, a close family friend, said the couple were "in a bad way".

Sarit Tomlinson, Miss Steenkamp's agent, said: "She was the kindest, sweetest human being; an angel on earth and will be sorely missed."

South Africa's Olympic committee offered "deepest sympathy and condolences" to the families of Pistorius and Miss Steenkamp.

Prince Charles to battle council over closure of historic kipper smokehouse that survived Blitz

Prince Charles is preparing to battle authorities after Britain's oldest working fish smokehouse was shut down after a single resident complained about the smell.

It had survived for more than 130 years and was bombed in the Blitz but Walter Purkis and Sons was told to close by Haringey council following a complaint from a resident in a nearby flat block in Crouch End, North London.

The Purkis family were informed last month the smokehouse was in breach of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Clean Air Act 1993.

However, the Prince of Wales, a strong supporter of traditional and organic foods, has stepped in to help the owner of the business, John Purkis, whose family has been in the fish business for generations.

Last week a female member of the Prince's staff came to see the Purkis family and asked for details about what had happened.

It was explained that the smokehouse won a reprieve and was once again allowed to produce its kippers, smoked salmon and mackerel. However the family were worried the reversal of the ban may only be temporary.

Grammy Awards 2013: Rihanna snuggles with Chris Brown; ring ignites speculation on Internet

Chris Brown and Rihanna look cozy at the Grammy Awards Sunday night.

Rihanna and Chris Brown cozied up at the Grammy Awards Sunday, but it was the bling on her left ring finger that really sparked speculation.
Twitter exploded with conjecture that Rihanna — who performed an emotional rendition of her new single “Stay” at Sunday night’s event — is engaged to the man who beat her up at pre-Grammy party in 2009

.

Not many people were staring at Rihanna's fingers on the red carpet at Sunday's Grammys.

RELATED: RIHANNA BACKS UP CHRIS AT HEARING

Rihanna, 24, dressed in a red gown, snuggled up to Brown, 23, wearing a white suit, as they posed for the cameras while sitting in the audience at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Spotting the glitter on her left ring finger — a large rectangular-shaped bauble with multiple small diamonds — the Daily Mail was quick to write, “Rihanna snuggles Chris Brown and flaunts ‘engagement ring’ at the Grammys.”

The guessing game heated up on Twitter. “Rihanna engaged?!?! Or that's some type of promise ring?” one Twitter user posted. Another asked “Really? Hope that's just an accessory.”

South Korean & U.S. Marines hold joint winter training

U.S. marine soldiers from 1st battalion 3rd marine deployed from Hawaii, and South Korean marine soldiers participate in the U.S. and South Korean Marines joint winter exercise on February 7, 2013 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. The South Korean troops train in temperatures below minus 20 degrees celsius to defend the country against any possible attacks from North Korea.

A call to shut up and listen at State of the Union

One former lawmaker wants State of the Union addresses to stop being exercises in selective applause or hand-sitting "every 15 seconds."

President Obama at this 2012 State of the Union address. One former lawmaker wants members of Congress to just listen, not applaud or sit on their hands at every turn.

It's become a somewhat childish political tradition that when presidents deliver a State of the Union address, half of Congress jumps up and claps at the applause lines while the other half sits on its hands.

One former lawmaker wants everyone to just shut up and listen instead when President Obama delivers his address on Tuesday.

“One of the best things about not being in the Senate anymore is not having to sit in that room and either having to stand up and clap every 15 seconds or sit on your hands for the whole thing,” former Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

“I just wish so much that we would have a moratorium on standing and let everybody listen like the people outside [in] the country are," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson shouldn't hold her breath. The closest to changing that tradition lawmakers have come in recent years is to have members sit next to a colleague in the opposing party — so at least the clappers and the sitters are interspersed.

Leonardo Dicaprio's Miami mystery blond revealed! Meet Aferdita Dreshaj, former Miss Universe Kosovo

Leonardo DiCaprio get cozy in Miami with Miss Universe Kosovo 2011 finalist Aferdita Dreshaj. The pair have been spending time together at a South Beach hotel.

Leonardo Dicaprio had caused a frenzy in the gossip tabloid world this week after he was spotted heating up Miami Beach with a mysterious blonde.

Now the actor's latest gal pal's secret identity has been revealed.

RELATED: MYSTERY BLOND LOCKS LIPS WITH DICAPRIO IN MIAMI

@DRESHAJAFERDITA VIA TWITTER

Miss Universe Kosovo 2011 finalist Aferdita Dreshaj was seen kissing Leonardo DiCaprio over the weekend of February 4, 2013.

Meet Aferdita Dreshaj, aka Miss Universe Kosovo 2011.

"We were all just hanging out as friends," the 26-year-old beauty queen told E! News about her beach rendezvous with the 39-year-old A-lister.

RELATED: DICAPRIO PLANS BREAK FROM ACTING

NACHO DOCE/REUTERS

Miss Kosovo, Aferdita Dreshaj, struts her stuff on the catwalk during the swimsuit competition of the 60th annual Miss Universe beauty pageant in 2011.

She certainly passes the eye test to matchup alongside Dicaprio's past conquests like Giselle Bundchen, Bar Refaeli and recent love interest, Victoria's secret model Erin Heatherton.

Dreshaj was spotted kissing goodbye to the "Django Unchained" star poolside at his hotel Wednesday, and then a day later a shirtless Dicaprio was spotted being affectionate with her on a balcony.

PHOTOS: LEONARDO DICAPRIO GROWS UP ONSCREEN

Miss Kosovo wasn't the only good-looking blond Dicaprio was spending his time with -- he was also spotted earlier in the week chilling out with his buddy, Bradley Cooper in the resort area.

Dicaprio has been in Miami for several weeks and is said to be relaxing after he recently declared he was going to take some time off from acting to focus on environmental activism.

Baftas 2013: Skyfall gives Bond his first major Bafta for 50 years

Skyfall has beaten the bookies’ favourite Les Miserables to win the outstanding British film award at the Baftas — a first major recognition for James Bond in 50 years.

The film, directed by Sam Mendes, beat stiff competition from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Anna Karenina and Seven Psychopaths. Though Casino Royale won a Bafta for Best Sound in 2007, this was the first major award for the 007 franchise since 1963, when it received a nod for cinematography for Ted Moore’s From Russia With Love.

Aside from that, it has received 42 nominations over the past 50 years, largely for technical awards rather than the more glamorous acting or best film categories.

Another big winner on the night was Daniel Day-Lewis, who won the best actor award for his widely acclaimed performance in the title role of Lincoln.

Skyfall also took the award for best original music by Thomas Newman, including the title track performed by Adele. Dame Judi Dench, who played M, leapt up with excitement as Skyfall’s victory was announced.

Michael G Wilson, one of the film’s producers, thanked all those who had worked on the franchise to ensure it was “loved throughout the world”

Newman, thanked the original creators for the “iconic title track which always makes everyone stand up and smile”, as he accepted his composer’s award. The recognition will bring fresh hopes for further success at this year’s Oscars, where a special celebration honouring the Bond franchise is already planned.

Skyfall was nominated for a total of eight awards at the Baftas this year, including Dench, who lost out to Anne Hathaway in the best supporting actress category. It was the first time she had been recognised by Bafta for playing M, and follows her 17-year stint in the role.Hathaway, who is widely expected to win an Oscar for her role in Les Miserables, fought back tears as she accepted the accolade She said: “I share this with the cast and the crew who are the most golden-hearted group of loves whose talent knocks me sideways everyday.”Paying tribute to her co-stars Hugh Jackman and Eddie Redmayne, who was backstage suffering from food poisoning, added: “Get well soon. I would be holding your head back, but, you know …”

Javier Bardem, who played Skyfall’s villain to wide critical acclaim, was also nominated in the hotly contested category of best supporting actor, which was won by Christoph Waltz for his part in Django Unchained.

Waltz paid tribute to the film’s director, Quentin Tarantino, after accepting his award from Jennifer Lawrence.

“It all starts with Quentin Tarantino,” he said. “What touches me the most is your unconditional trust that I will put your creation to its proper use, you silver-penned devil you.”

The best actress award when to Emmanuelle Riva, the 85-year-old French star of the film Amour. The best director award was won by Ben Affleck for the drama Argo.

Earlier this week, Barry Norman, the veteran film critic, told The Daily Telegraph: “Bafta doesn’t like 007 much. Of late, I think a second kind of snobbery has come into play. Bond movies are now overlooked simply because the franchise is so successful – between them the films have grossed around $7 billion (£4.4 billion) at the box office.

“They are extremely popular, and earnest bestowers of film awards certainly don’t want to be seen merely following public opinion.”

The awards were hosted by Stephen Fry at the Royal Opera House in London last night, as stars braved driving rain and snow to walk a slippery red carpet.

Dame Helen Mirren, who was up for best actress for her role in Hitchcock, stopped to tell fans about her newly cropped pink hairstyle — inspired by the television show America’s Next Top Model. “Honestly, I just thought it would be fun,” she said. “You know the British girl who won? Well, I saw she had pink hair and thought she looked really pretty. It’s fun.”

Tarantino won best original screenplay for Django Unchained, while Life of Pi took the Cinematography award.

Les Miserables won technical awards for sound and also make-up and hair.