The Queen toured the Lowry before receiving the posy
A man who claims to have handed a bunch of
flowers containing a marijuana plant to the
Queen is to be questioned by the police.
Colin Davies, who has campaigned for the drug
to be legalised, says he handed over a
selection of blooms including the distinctive
green leaves during her trip to Manchester
with the Duke of Edinburgh on Thursday.
The Queen apparently
unwittingly accepted
the illegal substance
from Mr Davies, 43,
outside the Lowry Arts
Centre in Trafford,
which she had just
officially opened.
She then walked with
the bouquet towards
the Royal limousine and
handed it to an
attendant who put it in
the back of the car - but it did not go back to
Buckingham Palace with her.
"It was not on the Royal flight with Her
Majesty," said a palace spokeswoman.
Flowers presented to the Queen during
engagements are normally distributed by police
to local hospitals or old people's homes.
The location of the cannabis-containing
bouquet is unknown.
Mr Davies, who lives in
Stockport and founded
the Medical Marijuana
Co-operative, claims he
grew the plant himself.
"It was a harmless way
of trying to bring to
the notice of Her
Majesty the ludicrous
restrictions on
cannabis," he said.
"We set up the
co-operative to supply sick people who benefit
from the therapeutic value of cannabis."
Detective Chief Inspector David Booth, head of
Greater Manchester Police special branch said:
"There were more important issues for our staff
to be concerned with on what was a highly
successful day.
"However, arrangements will now be made to
speak to Mr Davies about his claims."
The incident comes
soon after the debate
on cannabis was
re-ignited by eight
shadow cabinet
members admitting
they had used it.
Their revelations
followed shadow home
secretary Ann
Widdecombe proposing
a mandatory £100 fine
for possessing even
the smallest amount of drugs or having them in
the bloodstream.
The proposal was quickly condemned not just
by drugs workers and rights groups, but by the
police and some Tory Party members.
~*~
US court quashes Diana lawsuit(BBC News)
A shrine to the couple was erected at Harrods
A court in the United States has rejected a
request by the Egyptian tycoon, Mohamed Al
Fayed, for the release of information relating
to the death of Princess Diana and his son Dodi
Fayed.
The court said it had no powers to force the
Central Intelligence Agency to hand over
classified documents.
It is the latest in a series of legal setbacks for
Harrods owner Mr Fayed, who maintains that
the Paris car crash in which the pair died was
not an accident.
Diana and Dodi were
killed when a Mercedes
driven by Henri Paul,
the deputy head of
security at the Paris
Ritz, ploughed into a
pillar in a Paris road
tunnel on 31 August
1997.
French police found
that Mr Paul, who also
died in the crash, had
been drinking heavily
and was speeding
when the accident happened.
Conspiracy theory
But Mr Fayed believes British intelligence
agents conspired to murder his son and the
Princess.
The CIA has already denied any knowledge of
a plot or that it spied on the pair.
National Security Agency officials
acknowledged in 1998 the agency picked up
some references to her in its monitoring that
were casual and incidental, but maintained she
was never a target of US intelligence efforts.
The decision by the three-judge panel of the
US Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia hinged on whether a government
agency could be defined as a "person" that by
law could be compelled by subpoena to hand
over documents.
The ruling rejecting that idea was written by
US Circuit Judge Stephen F. Williams on behalf
of himself, Judge David B. Sentelle and Judge
Judith W. Rogers.
~*~
Woman broke camerawoman's arm during royal visit(Yahoo: Ananova)
A woman who broke a TV camera operator's arm during the Duke of York's visit to the London Eye
has been ordered to do 80 hours community service and pay £4,000 compensation.
Lilian Coleman, 53, from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was late for a river shuttle to the Millennium Dome
and barged through members of the public and press awaiting the Royal party's arrival. When she
came up against metal barriers, she climbed on to a stepladder in a bid to get past, Inner London
Crown Court heard.
BSkyB camerawoman Debbie Lyall was on the stepladders and was "catapulted" over the barrier and
on to the pavement several feet below. She landed heavily, breaking her right arm and badly damaging
the camera.
Coleman was convicted of one count of assault causing actual bodily harm. She was also found guilty of causing damage of
£6,000 to the camera which had been rented from the Reuters news agency. She was told to pay £2,500 compensation to the
injured camerawoman and £1,500 to Reuters.
Passing sentence, Recorder Michael Tillett QC, told her: "I take the view that although this was a serious offence, it was the
result of a sudden flash of temper."
Mr Edward Lewis, prosecuting, had told the court that Ms Lyall had been frightened of falling off when Coleman first got on to
the stepladder and "sharply" told her to get off.
"Coleman replied aggressively, saying she had tickets ... and wanted to get past. But Ms Lyall told her that the area had been
cordoned off for the arrival of the Royal Family."
No sooner had Ms Lyall turned back to concentrate on her job than the stepladder wobbled once more and she was shoved
in the back, Mr Lewis said. The camerawoman promptly turned round and told Coleman she was a 'silly cow'.
Seconds later Ms Lyall was again shoved in the back, but this time more violently. As a result she was catapulted off the
ladder and over the police barrier.
In evidence, Coleman insisted that while she had been in a hurry she had not knocked Ms Lyall over. She had used the back
of her hand to admonish the camerawoman "as one might rebuke a child", she said.
~*~
Prince Charles could become Coronation Street extra(Yahoo: Ananova)
The Prince of Wales has been invited to appear in Britain's best-loved soap opera as an extra after it
was announced he would be visiting Coronation Street as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations.
Charles will swap the grandeur of the palace for the cobbles of Weatherfield to meet the stars and
makers of the long-running series during a visit to Manchester.
The show is currently enjoying huge viewing figures with 13.6 million people tuning in last night and 13
million watching the hard-hitting supermarket siege storyline unfold on Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for the soap said: "The royal visit is the icing on the cake after what has been a fantastic week. It is great for
everyone involved in the show."
The Prince will visit the set at Granada Studios in Manchester on the eve of the anniversary on December 8.
Granada Media chairman Charles Allen said: "We are delighted that His Royal Highness has chosen to visit Granada Media on
the occasion of Coronation Street's 40th anniversary. The show is the world's longest running programme and Britain's
most-loved drama serial and we are honoured to receive the royal seal of approval."
Street producer Jane Macnaught added: "When you produce Coronation Street you become aware of the enormity of the
programme. It feels like watching over the crown jewels. There can be no greater accolade paid to the show than a visit from
His Royal Highness on our 40th birthday.
"The cast and production team are thrilled that he's going to be here and if His Royal Highness would like to appear as an
extra on the Street we'd be happy to write him in."