News Winnow: 09/01/2009

26 September 2009
The Independent
Pete Jenson

Excerpt:
They're all talking about...a Galacticos theme park

THE REAL Madrid president, Florentino Perez, came clean this week over plans to turn the club's training ground into a theme park and Barcelona were involved in a spying scandal.
Perez admitted that he will look to dedicate 110 hectares of land on the Valdebebas training complex to a Disney-style tourist attraction with work starting as early as 2010 and other similar projects in Asia and the US to follow.

Meanwhile Barcelona fans had altogether more sinister things on their minds. Four of the club's vice-presidents have been spied on ahead of elections at the end of the season, though Barcelona insist the current president, Joan Laporta, was not the man who instructed private firm Metodo 3 to investigate Rafael Yuste, Jaume Ferrer, Joan Boix and Joan Franquesa.

Labels: 2009, Brian Kennedy, Metodo3

15 September 2009
The Independent
Mark Hughes
They've solved nine out of 10 murders in half the normal time, but not all police officers are happy.

In the briefing room on the first floor of Chadderton Police Station, Lancashire, Andy Tattersall addresses his murder squad. The team of 23 sits patiently as "Tat" works through each of the open cases. "Is that expert witness going to testify?" he asks. "Have we got the forensic results back on the murder weapon in your case?" he demands. Finally, with a look of grave concern, he asks no-one in particular: "Who is sorting out the Christmas party?" It is a scene replicated across Britain's murder investigation teams every morning, but the difference with Mr Tattersall's team is that it has no detectives: the entire squad is staffed by civilians.