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Memorial of Dambusters dog with racist name removed
The headstone of a grave to the Dambusters’ dog – whose name is a racial slur – has been altered. The 617 Squadron, based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, undertook a low-level night attack on German dams in 1943, probably the most famous raid in the history of the force. Wing Commander Guy Gibson used his dog’s name as a code word to say one of the dams had been breached. The labrador retriever was among the casualties on the night of the raid. The headstone at Scampton bearing the dog’s name, N **** r, has been removed, while film versions of The Dam Busters have either edited out the name or given him the moniker “Trigger” instead. A source at the RAF said the gravestone would be stored in a safe location while the Air Historical Branch considers its next steps. A spokesperson for the RAF said: “As part of an ongoing review of its historical assets, the RAF have replaced the gravestone of Guy Gibson’s dog at RAF Scampton. The new gravestone tells the story of Guy Gibson’s dog, but its name has been removed.” PA
Man jailed for offering fake tax refunds in Covid-19 scam
A 20-year-old man has been jailed after offering fake tax refunds during the Covid-19 lockdown. Mohammed Khan sent more than one thousand texts claiming to be from the authorities offering refunds to people as part of the government’s response to the pandemic. The Crown Prosecution Service said that 191 sets of personal details were obtained by Mr Khan, culminating in 49 cases of fraud and collective losses amounting £10,019.17.
After Mr Khan was sentenced to 30 weeks behind bars, the Crown Prosecution Service warned the public to beware of fraudsters exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic. Andrew Penhale, head of the Specialist Fraud Division at the CPS, said: “As law enforcement agencies see a rise in people exploiting the Coronavirus crisis to commit fraud, the CPS continues to evolve its response to the challenges we all face.”
Briton arrested over bomb threat to Ryanair flight
Police were yesterday investigating a bomb threat made against a Ryanair flight that landed in Oslo, authorities said. “The plane has landed safely on the runway,” Norwegian police said in a statement yesterday. They added that the situation was under control and officers had arrested a 51-year-old British man on suspicion of being behind the threat. The man was to be questioned as soon as possible. Police said the plane was evacuated of all passengers and the aircraft was examined by emergency authorities. The plane flew to Oslo Gardermoen airport, the main international airport in Norway, from London’s Stansted airport, according to the Danish Defence Command. Danish F-16 military aircraft scrambled to escort the plane to Norway, the organisation wrote on its Twitter account.
t was the second bomb threat against a Ryanair plane last week after a flight from Krakow to Dublin was forced to land when a note was discovered claiming there were explosives on board. Police said nothing suspicious was found when officers carried out checks on the plane and two men were arrested on suspicion of making threats to endanger an aircraft. The two men, a 26-year-old and 47-year-old, were taken into custody.
Boy, 10, killed after incident at building site
A 10-year-old boy died after an incident at a building site in Drumchapel, Glasgow, Police Scotland has said. Officers, who are not treating the death as suspicious, were called to Glenkirk Drive just before 10pm on Thursday. However, despite the best efforts of emergency services, who raced the boy to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, he was pronounced dead a short time later. Local media reports claimed the child had fallen into a hole at the site, which makes up part of a £5m drainage project in the region. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 9.55pm on Thursday, 16 July, police were called to a report of a boy seriously injured at a works site near Glenkirk Drive, Drumchapel, Glasgow. The Health and Safety Executive has been informed of the incident. Emergency services attended, and the 10-year-old was taken by ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he died a short time later. Enquiries are continuing to establish the exact circumstances surrounding this incident, however the death is not being treated as suspicious”.
Watching pornography linked to erectile problems
A man’s erectile function is linked to the amount of pornography he watches, a study suggests. Researchers said watching pornography is associated with higher levels of dissatisfaction with “normal sex”, with 35 per
cent of survey respondents saying they found pornography more stimulating than sex with a partner. Teams from Belgium, Denmark and the UK said there had been little previous research on the issue despite the rapid uptake in consumption of pornography since it has become widely available over recent decades on the internet. To look into the impact, the researchers set up an online questionnaire advertised mainly to men in Belgium and Denmark through social media, posters and flyers. A total of 3,267 men replied to the 118 questions, which were about masturbation, frequency of pornography watching, and sexual activity with partners. About 23 per cent of men under-35 who responded to the survey said they had some level of erectile dysfunction when having sex with a partner. The study was presented at the European Association of Urology virtual congress 2020.