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Teapot bought for £15 sells for £575,000
A broken teapot bought for £15 has sold at auction for £575,000, after it was discovered to be one of the first ever made in America. A private collector from the south-west of England bought the teapot, which had a broken handle and was missing its lid, at a general auction in the Midlands in 2016.
It was thought to be Isleworth pottery, which was made in a factory in Middlesex between 1766 and 1800, but the buyer had doubts. He took the piece to Clare Dunham, an expert at Woolley and Wallis auctioneers in Salisbury, who identified the vessel’s distinctive blue and white palm tree design as the work of Staffordshire potter John Bartlam.
Experts said it was the seventh recorded piece of Bartlam porcelain to come to market and the only known Bartlam teapot, making it the earliest American-manufactured teapot to have been discovered. It was offered for sale with a starting price of £10,000 and was expected to reach as much as £50,000. But the
hammer came down at £460,000 and with fees added on, the teapot was sold for £575,000.
Two young brothers killed in hit-and-run
Two people were arrested yesterday after a two-year-old boy and his six-year-old brother died yesterday after a hit-and-run crash in Coventry. The children were rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries but the younger boy died shortly after arriving. His elder brother died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital a short time later.
A black Ford Focus was found abandoned after the crash and two people, a 22-year-old man and a 41-yearold woman, were arrested. Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from the West Midlands Police collision investigation unit, said: “We are still trying to establish how this tragic incident has happened and anyone who has not yet spoken to an officer should call us on 101.”
Ex-Save the Children boss resigns from Unicef after allegations of inappropriate behaviour
A former chief executive of Save the Children has resigned from his role at Unicef following allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Justin Forsyth said he was stepping down “with [a] heavy heart”, not because of his past mistakes, but “because of the danger of damaging both Unicef and Save the Children”.
He has previously admitted making “some personal mistakes” during his time at Save the Children. Mr Forsyth was twice subject to investigation at the charity after concerns were raised about his conduct in 2011 and again in 2015 involving three women. He has since apologised to the female employees and admitted their claims were not properly dealt with at the time.
Mr Forsyth said in a statement: “With heavy heart, I am today tendering my resignation to Unicef as Deputy Executive Director. I want to make clear I am not resigning from Unicef because of the mistakes I made at Save the Children. They were dealt with through a proper process many years ago. I apologised unreservedly at the time and face to face. I apologise again.”
Eight died in ‘avoidable collision’ on M1, court told
A collision on the M1 last year that left eight people dead was “entirely avoidable”, a court was told yesterday. One lorry driver was twice the drink drive limit and another had his vehicle on cruise control and was on a hands-free call when the incident took place, jurors were told.
Polish national Ryszard Masierak, 32, allegedly stopped for 12 minutes in the slow lane in the early hours of 26 August 2017, despite there being miles of hard shoulder available. His lorry caused an obstruction on the motorway forcing others to slow before moving around him, the court was told.
As minibus driver Cyriac Joseph waited with his hazard lights on for a chance to go around the heavy goods vehicle, a second lorry driven by Briton David Wagstaff, 54, smashed into the back of the van, forcing it into and under Mr Masierak’s lorry, jurors heard.
Opening the case, prosecutor Oliver Saxby told Reading Crown Court it was “an entirely avoidable collision, with the most catastrophic and tragic of consequences”. Addressing jurors he said it was “caused by the dangerous driving of these two defendants”. The trial continues.
Boris under fire for waiving £6,000 Brexit event fee
Boris Johnson is facing questions over the decision to waive the £6,000 fee for hosting the launch event of a hard-Brexit think tank at the Foreign Office. The Foreign Secretary told Parliament on Tuesday that the launch event for the Institute for Free Trade (IFT) – which is run by Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan, a prominent Brexiteer – was held as “no cost to the public purse” in one of the Government’s most prestigious venues.
Yet internal government emails, obtained by Greenpeace, revealed that Mr Johnson allowed the think tank to use an FCO suite for free for the event in September, which meant waiving the £6,000 commercial fee to hire the venue.
It also emerged that Sue Gray, the government’s head of ethics, raised concerns two days after the event and said the IFT should pay “the full commercial rate” for using the Map Room, which, as state property, should only be used for official government business. Despite her concerns, the Foreign Office did not subsequently ask the IFT to pay for the room.
Man arrested after body found on M20
A man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of murder after a body was found on the M20 near Ashford, Kent Police have said. The London-bound M20 was closed for more than 20 hours after the body was found just after 6pm on Tuesday. The person was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers investigating the death had been searching for a silver Nissan Qashqai and a man attended a Kent Police station on Wednesday evening with the vehicle, police said. The man was formally arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody, a police spokesperson said.