NewsThe TelegraphExclusive: Prince Andrew's accuser was a prostitute paid off by Jeffrey Epstein, court papers allege
Prince Andrew's chief accuser was a prostitute who lied about her age and was paid "half a million" by the disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, new court papers allege. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 37, who claims to have had sex with the prince three times when she was 17, was "on the game for about a year" before she met Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of sex trafficking her and a number of other young women in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ms Roberts Giuffre has always insisted she was a victim and never a willing participant, accusing her critics of "recycling fantasies of their version of the truth for years". She claims the men who abused her have been using their wealth and influence to keep her quiet, accusing the Queen's son of "hiding behind his mummy's skirt" saying: "I didn't do it." Allegations contained in newly-filed legal documents claim Ms Roberts Giuffre was 16, not 15, when she first met Ms Maxwell in Florida. She is also accused of changing her story about meeting Donald Trump at the last minute and of confusing one of the men she claimed to have been sex trafficked to with another Harvard professor. It is also alleged that she may have doctored an email and was using legal action as a form of "blackmail". Ms Roberts Giuffre has always insisted she is trying to expose the truth, and founded non-profit organisation Victims Refuse Silence in 2015 to help fellow survivors of sex trafficking.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump news - live: Kellyanne Conway latest to say president has lost as Pence starts to distance himself
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NewsThe GuardianPolice move in after Herefordshire river bulldozed and straightened
Police move in after Herefordshire river bulldozed and straightenedWitness describes damage to mile-long stretch of Lugg as egregious act of ‘ecological vandalism’
NewsThe TelegraphMatt Hancock's 'step-grandfather' who died of Covid-19 was his step-father's ex-wife's second husband
Matt Hancock’s “step-grandfather”, who he paid tribute to after he died of coronavirus, was actually his step-father's ex-wife's second husband, it has emerged. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Hancock said the coronavirus figures in Liverpool mattered to him “because last month my step-grandfather Derek caught Covid there and on November 18 he died”. Close to tears, Mr Hancock added: “In my family, as in so many others, we've lost a loving husband, a father, a grandfather to this awful disease. “So from the bottom of my heart I want to say thank you to everyone in Liverpool for getting this awful virus under control.” It has now emerged that Derek Johnston, who died aged 77, was only distantly related to Mr Hancock. Mr Johnston was the second husband of Mr Hancock’s stepfather’s ex-wife, MailOnline reported. The Health Secretary’s complex family tree involves his mother’s third marriage to Robert Carter, who was formerly married to Marjorie Johnston, who then remarried Derek. A representative for Mr Hancock said he had nothing to add to his earlier statement in the Commons, which came at the end of a testy debate on the Government’s tiered lockdown system. Mr Hancock attempted to persuade MPs they should vote for the plans, pointing to how well the fight against the virus was going in Liverpool, where Mr Johnston lived. “It's down by four-fifths in Liverpool, that's what we can do if we work together in a spirit of common humanity,” he said. “We've got to beat this, we've got to beat it together.” When the vote came, 55 Tory MPs rebelled against the Government - the largest insurrection of this Parliament. The measures easily passed after the Labour Party decided to abstain.
NewsYahoo News UKMoment cage fighter lunges at neighbour after stabbing ex-girlfriend to death after sex life row
Andrew Wadsworth stabbed ex-girlfriend Melissa Belshaw to death at her home in Wigan before launching an attack on her neighbour who tried to help.
NewsEvening StandardUK coronavirus LIVE: Latest Covid-19 deaths and cases revealed as London faces Tier 3 warning
Coronavirus infections are dropping across the UK as the latest R rate fell to between 0.8 and 1. Last week, the r value, which indicates levels of Covid-19 transmission, was between 0.9 and 1. The Government’s Sage advisory group, which publishes the data, suggested the second wave of the pandemic is starting to subside across the country, as it found that the number of new infections is shrinking by between one and three per cent every day.
NewsPinkNewsMulti-millionaire senator vowed to donate her salary to charity. She gave thousands to anti-LGBT+ groups
Kelly Loeffler, the wealthiest member of the US Congress currently sparring in the high-stakes Georgia Senate run-off, has donated thousands of dollars to anti-LGBT+ and anti-abortion groups and organisations.
PoliticsThe IndependentGiuliani’s witness at voter fraud hearing just got off probation for computer crime, reports say
It’s the latest twist in a bizarre testimony that instantly went viral on Wednesday
NewsYahoo News UKThe one region in England showing an increase in COVID infections
Cases of coronavirus are thought to have fallen in all regions of England except the north-east over the past week.
NewsThe IndependentCoronavirus: Extra social mixing at Christmas will increase pressure on NHS, chief medics warn
Vaccines will have only ‘marginal’ impact on cases and deaths until April
CelebrityThe IndependentThis Morning: Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford finding being replaced ‘difficult to understand’
Pair are said to be ‘disappointed’ after being dropped from Friday presenting spot
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump news - live: Press chief quits in apparent nod to defeat, as Murdoch appears to turn on president
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PoliticsThe GuardianRepublicans are standing up to Trump. Unfortunately, it's too little, too late
Republicans are standing up to Trump. Unfortunately, it's too little, too lateRepublicans like Gabriel Sterling – who are horrified by the torrent of death threats facing electoral workers – are voicing their outrage very late in the day
ScienceThe GuardianWuhan virologist says more bat coronaviruses capable of crossing over
Wuhan virologist says more bat coronaviruses capable of crossing overClose relatives of Covid-19 virus likely to be circulating in nature beyond China, says Dr Shi Zhengli * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage
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'Greedy' fraudster who claimed £13k disability benefits is caught arm-wrestling and dancing
Four members of the Zarif family, who drove luxury cars while claiming disability payments in Blackburn, Lancashire, were caught after son Sakib, 33, was spotted arm-wrestling, dancing at a wedding and exercising at the gym. (Credit: Blackburn Police)
CelebrityYahoo Celebrity UK'I'm A Celebrity's Giovanna Fletcher crowned Queen of the Castle 2020
Giovanna Fletcher has been crowned Queen of the Castle.
PoliticsThe Independent‘I’ll call him honey’: Kamala confirms her husband will officially be called ‘second gentleman’
Vice president-elect Kamala Harris has confirmed that her husband will use the title “second gentleman” after she is sworn into office in January. In an interview on Thursday, Ms Harris said that Doug Emhoff will take the title, clearing up speculation as to what he would be known as, being the first male to be the spouse of the vice president. The Associated Press has already been referring to Mr Emhoff as second gentleman, but there had been no official word from the Biden-Harris transition team.
HealthThe TelegraphOxford set to tell vaccine trial volunteers if they got a placebo once they are offered jabs by NHS
Volunteers in the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine trial are to be “unblinded” so they can receive potentially life saving Covid vaccinations quickly, the Telegraph has learnt. Tens of thousands of people around the world who have participated in phase three trials of Covid vaccines remain unsure as to whether they received a placebo or the real thing. It has posed a difficult ethical dilemma now the first vaccine has been approved for use, with scientists keen for trials to continue to collect added data, but participants worried that they may be forgoing protection which will soon be available to all. At least one death has been reported among the placebo group of the Moderna phase three vaccine trial in the US, and others will inevitably follow in the months ahead. While deaths were unavoidable at first, now that vaccines have been proved efficacious they are not. Participants in the Oxford-AstraZeneca trial have been told their status will be “unblinded” once they are offered an approved coronavirus vaccine by the NHS, ensuring that they will not be left unprotected for long. “They have said that essentially, once the vaccine comes out into mass circulation, they will unblind everyone,” said Lottie Gross, a 29 year old volunteer.
NewsThe GuardianRishi Sunak's cuts 'risk plunging more than 3 million into poverty'
Rishi Sunak's cuts 'risk plunging more than 3 million into poverty'Fabian Society study outlines threat if chancellor goes ahead with planned cut to welfare payments * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage
CelebrityThe Independent‘Shockingly sad’: Justin Bieber condemns Selena Gomez fan who urged people to bully his wife Hailey
Pop star said that he wanted people to see what he and his partner deal with ‘on a day to day’
NewsSky NewsBrexit: Trade talks put on hold as UK and EU say 'conditions not met' for deal
Brexit trade talks between the UK and the EU have been put on hold after the two sides said "conditions for an agreement are not met". The bloc's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he and Downing Street's David Frost had agreed to "pause" their discussions on a deal while they brief their principals on the state of play of the negotiations. In a joint statement, Lord Frost and Mr Barnier said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson would "discuss the state of play" on Saturday afternoon.
PoliticsThe TelegraphFormer Trump adviser, Kellyanne Conway, admits Joe Biden won the election
Former White House counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, has acknowledged that Joe Biden won last month's presidential election. “If you look at the vote totals in the Electoral College tally, it looks like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will prevail," she said in an interview with The 19th, a non-partisan political website. "I assume the electors will certify that and it will be official. We, as a nation, will move forward, because we always do.” While she defended Mr Trump's right to exhaust "all legal avenues", Ms Conway appealed for a smooth transition. “You always need a peaceful transfer of democracy, no matter whose administration goes into whose administration,” she added. "We want the engines of government to keep going.”
CelebrityYahoo Celebrity UK'I'm A Celebrity's Ant and Dec admit 'We've never spent Christmas together'
The TV presenting duo have been friends for almost 30 years but have never celebrated Christmas together.
NewsThe IndependentIndia summons Canadian ambassador to accuse Trudeau of encouraging ‘extremist activism’
PM’s comments on farmer protests in Delhi risk ‘seriously damaging ties between India and Canada’, says Indian government
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Jailed cage fighter lunges at neighbour with knife after killing ex-girlfriend, 32
Andrew Wadsworth, 37, also stabbed a concerned neighbour who'd heard his attack on beautician Melissa Belshaw in Billinge, Wigan. The professional cage fighter was jailed for life with a minimum 32 years on Thursday 3 December.
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