Knebworth, the stately home which has rocked to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Oasis, faces a "huge hole" in its finances

Knebworth, the stately home which has rocked to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Oasis, faces a "huge hole" in its finances after the cancellation of a festival to have been headlined by Queen.Martha Lytton-Cobbold, who manages the gothic Hertfordshire mansion which has been home to the Lytton family since 1490, is counting the cost of the decision to axe Sonisphere, a three-day heavy rock event which was due to take place in July. Poor ticket sales contributed to the cancellation of the festival, which was to have been headlined by Queen, with their...

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The security services have issued an unprecedented public warning

The security services have issued an unprecedented public warning that Akhmed Zakayev — an exile who is a friend of Vanessa Redgrave, the actress — is the target of a murder plot.On their advice, the Home Secretary has fought a court battle to remove the man MI5 believe would organise the “hit”, who they say is a danger to “national security”.But The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that judges have allowed him to stay in Britain and fight to remain here.The case raises serious questions about how Britain can be protected from foreign threats.The...

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petrol stations have already put up the price of unleaded petrol by up to 10p a litre after cheaper stocks of fuel ran out.

The AA said it expects a litre of unleaded petrol to rise by a further penny this week, with the average price predicted at about 142.5p. The timing could not be worse for families planning long motoring journeys this Easter.The price rise has been caused by petrol stations being forced to buy in more expensive fuel on the wholesale market and by additional charges for extra deliveries. About one in five garages ran out of fuel last week.In some cases petrol stations have attempted to profiteer from shortages with one garage in the Midlands, according...

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Forced marriage: British girl, 5, could be UK's youngest victim

 A girl aged five is thought to have become Britain's youngest victim of forced marriage. She was one of an astonishing 400 children helped by the Government's Forced Marriage Unit during the last year, it has emerged. The shocking revelations have come to light as a public consultation into criminalising forced marriage draws to a close today. Amy Cumming, joint head of the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), told the BBC that more than a quarter - 29 per cent - of the cases it handled in 2011-12 involved mino...

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Cornish tourist denied 'local' fuel by garage on The Lizard

A holidaymaker trying to return to Eastbourne from Cornwall in her motorhome has been denied fuel at a garage because she was not local. Annie, who would not provide her surname, said Kynance Garage on The Lizard would not allow her any fuel because she was not from the area. Garage owner, Henry Johnson, said he was "forced to ration fuel" for account holders and to £10 for locals. Annie said she would not be returning to the county. 'Locals only' She said: "We were due to go home and the campsite owner told us to go to the garage, but he took...

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Panicking over petrol: The silliest country in the world

PITY Britain's politicians. They spend much of their time being ignored as they try to explain important issues to the public. The repetition involved can be numbing: New Labourites used to complain that the moment they became heartily sick of saying something, and convinced that they sounded like interminable bores, was about the moment ordinary people began to catch on. Just occasionally, though, people do listen to politicians. The consequences can be calamitous.  So it has proved over the past couple of days. On March 28th David Cameron...

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Woman seriously burned decanting petrol at Acomb house

A woman suffered 40% burns when petrol ignited as she was decanting it in her kitchen in York with the cooker on. Diane Hill, 46, was pouring petrol into a glass jug at her home in Moorgate, Acomb, on Thursday evening after her daughter's car ran out of fuel. She was "critical but stable" at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield. A fire service spokesman said: "Her daughter asked her mum for petrol because she had run out. The cooker was on and the fumes ignited." The accident came two days after government minister Francis Maude suggested that...

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Extradition treaty with US needs radical overhaul, say MPs

 An urgent review of the “one-sided” rules is needed because it is easier to extradite Briton to America than vice versa and public confidence in the treaty has been shattered, according to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee. It calls for immediate and dramatic changes, including the introduction of an “evidence test” that would require some of the case against the person to be submitted as part of the extradition bid. The Government should also implement a “forum bar”, which would make it easier for an individual to be tried in their...

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petrol delivery backlog reaches two to three days, warns motor trade union

The Government was accused of presiding over a "shambles" after urging motorists to stockpile fuel and keep tanks two thirds full in anticipation of a walkout. It prompted long queues at filling stations with many forced to close after running dry. Brian Maddison, chairman of the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) Petrol, said sales of unleaded had soared by 170 per cent with diesel up by almost 80 per cent as a result of the warnings from ministers, criticised as premature by some. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he warned the rush for fuel...

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Labour inquest after Galloway win

 Labour denied it had neglected northern voters as the inquest into George Galloway's sensational by-election victory in Bradford West began. Respect candidate Mr Galloway swept to a dramatic win in the poll, securing a 10,000-plus majority in what he called a "massive rejection" of mainstream parties. His party leapt from fifth place at the 2010 general election to a commanding victory for the ex-Labour anti-war campaigner against his former party on a swing of 36.59%. Mr Galloway, who claimed it was "the most sensational result in British...

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Facebook App Lets You Add Enemies Online

 Forget friending. A new Facebook app allows users of the social network to identify and share people, places and things as “enemies” for all to see. The app, called EnemyGraph, lets you list anything with a Facebook presence — ranging from “friends,” to foods, to products, movies or books — as an enemy. Since the app launched March 15, it’s seemed to appeal especially to users with a liberal bent. Some of its most-selected nemeses so far include Rick Santorum, Westboro Baptist Church and Fox News. The app was developed by a professor and...

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socially disruptive narcissists More Facebook Friends You Have, the More Unhappy You Are

 A  study has discovered a direct link between the number of friends you have on Facebook and how much of a “socially disruptive narcissist” you are—giving us one more reason to tone down our Facebook addictions. Researchers at Western Illinois studied 294 college students and found that those with more friends on Facebook tended to score higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory questionnaire. They tended to respond more aggressively to comments, change their profile pictures more often, and updated their news feeds more regularly...

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