DJ Neil Fox trial: Colleague 'lost job' after complaint

An ex-colleague of DJ Neil Fox was made redundant after complaining about his "sleazy" behaviour, Westminster Magistrates Court has heard.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the DJ tickled her and put his hand up her top while a record was playing in the studio.

"I asked him to get off me but he found it funny," she claimed.

Mr Fox, 54, from south-west London, denies eight indecent assaults and two sexual assaults between 1988 and 2014.

In a police statement made last year, he said he had never had "a problem with girls", he was in a loving marriage and had never hugged a woman to "have a sneaky feel", the court heard.

"I've not committed any of these crimes," he told the police.

"In radio, there is lots of fun, lots of high jinks, lots of horseplay, lots of banter. But I know where the line is, and I have not crossed the line."

His female colleague said she had been reluctant to make a complaint because Mr Fox was the "money maker" at Magic radio station and his was the "number one breakfast show in London" at the time.

"I felt uncomfortable and found Neil sleazy," she said.

She eventually reported him and also accused him of making a racist comment, the trial heard.

The court heard the woman was offered a new job with a drop in pay, which she declined, and was then offered redundancy, which she accepted.

'Sexual' banter

During the alleged 45-second assault, Mr Fox got off his chair and began tickling her, the court heard.

"I was wearing an off-the-shoulder top. He put his hand up my top to my waist and was tickling."

She said Mr Fox manoeuvred her on to the sofa and began "simulating thrusting" over her, while a male colleague took pictures on his phone.

She said she told Mr Fox to get off three times before he eventually did.

Defence counsel Jonathan Caplan QC said Mr Fox did not have "a specific recollection" of the alleged assault.

Asked if the comments could be considered part of sexual "banter" that she also participated in from time to time, the woman said: "Yeah, OK."

'Not like that'

Mr Fox is also accused of fondling a colleague's breasts while hugging her from behind at Capital FM radio station, where he worked until 2005.

In a police interview on the day of his arrest last year, Mr Fox denied the incident, saying he was "extremely happy and in love" with his wife.

He said: "It (hugging) is never a sexual thing or anything weird like that. It's all very matey.

"I could have easily hugged [the complainant] at some point. It may have been a brilliant show, or a good interview, or 'happy Christmas' or 'happy birthday'", he said, in the interview that was read out in court.

"But I don't hug trying to have a sneaky feel. I'm not like that."

Bare shoulder

He also denied accusations that he bullied or intimidated women.

"I've never had a problem with girls or girls doing well or girls getting on - quite the opposite, actually," he said, in his statement.

"To say I was intimidating [a complainant] ... I find that quite sad because it is not in my nature."

Mr Fox said he had no recollection of another incident in which he is alleged to have kissed a colleague's bare shoulder from behind in a communal kitchen.

"I could have touched her back, it's a tiny kitchen. But I can't imagine kissing [the complainant] on the shoulder."

'Crazy fans'

In another statement given to police last year, Mr Fox said details of allegations that he forced his tongue into the mouth of a 15-year-old girl at a Capital Radio roadshow in 1996 were "incredulous".

He said he might have given fans a peck on the cheek "if they asked for it - but not on the lips".

"Maybe it was them [fans] kissing us. We all used to see it - they used to get quite crazy," he added.

Mr Fox, who uses the nicknames Dr Fox and Foxy, became well known for presenting the chart show on Capital Radio, and was a judge on the ITV show Pop Idol between 2001 and 2003 alongside Simon Cowell.

He joined Magic 105.4 in 2005, where he presents the breakfast show, Foxy in the Morning. He is currently not hosting the show.

The trial continues.

Bloody Sunday: Ex-soldier arrested over Londonderry shootings

A former soldier has been arrested by detectives investigating the events of Bloody Sunday in Londonderry.

Thirteen people were killed when British paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march through the city in January 1972. A fourteenth died later.

The 66-year-old is a former member of the Parachute Regiment.

It is understood he is being questioned over the deaths of William Nash, Michael McDaid and John Young.

The man is the first person to be arrested as part of the Bloody Sunday investigation.

He is being interviewed at a police station in Belfast after being detained in County Antrim on Tuesday morning.

Kate Nash, whose 19-year-old brother, William, was killed on Bloody Sunday, said she welcomed the news.

"I had a call this morning from the police liaison officer that deals with our family," said Ms Nash.

"She said that they had arrested a soldier and that he was being questioned. She said she wanted the family to know first before it went out on the news.

"She said he was being questioned in relation to the death of my brother, William and two others: Michael McDaid, John Young and the attempted murder of my father.

"I started to shake. I couldn't believe it. I became very emotional.

"To see a soldier even being questioned has truly shocked me. I never thought it would get to this.

"There is a flicker of hope. It's a very positive step."

The officer leading the investigation, Det Ch Insp Ian Harrison, said the arrest "marked a new phase in the overall investigation which would continue for some time".

'No warning'

A Ministry of Defence (MOD) spokesperson said: "We are aware an ex-soldier has been arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in connection with their investigation into the events of Bloody Sunday.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further on an ongoing criminal investigation at this stage."

The Northern Ireland Office said: "Criminal investigations and prosecutions are a matter for the police and prosecuting authorities who act independently of government and politicians. The government cannot therefore comment on an individual case."

Speaking at Stormont on Tuesday, DUP MP Gregory Campbell said that the question for investigators is whether they are "extending their investigation beyond those who were serving in the police or army on that day".

He said his party are "totally unhappy" that the arrested soldier, if convicted, could "serve a much more lengthy sentence" than paramilitaries found guilty of Troubles-era crimes because of the Good Friday Agreement's early release scheme.

Bloody Sunday was one of the most controversial days in Northern Ireland's history.

In 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron apologised to the Bloody Sunday victims on behalf of the state, after a long-running public inquiry unequivocally blamed the Army for the civilian deaths.

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The inquiry, led by Lord Saville, took 12 years to complete and exonerated those who died.

It concluded that soldiers fired the first shot and gave no warning before opening fire on the civilian marchers.

The Saville Report also found that some of those killed or injured were clearly fleeing or going to help the injured and dying.

Accepting the findings of the 2010 inquiry, Mr Cameron described the killings as "unjustified and unjustifiable" and said he was ".

The arrest was made by the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Legacy Investigation Branch.

The specialist police team was set up to re-investigate unsolved murder cases, dating from the beginning of the Troubles in the late 1960s, up to 2004.

The Legacy Investigation Branch replaced the Historical Enquiries Team (HET), shortly after an inspection report criticised the HET for treating state killings with "less rigour" than others.

The branch began work in January this year, taking over the Bloody Sunday investigation along with other HET cases.

Asda to shun Black Friday sales

Supermarket Asda says it will not take part in the shopping discount day known as Black Friday, which it helped to bring to the UK just two years ago.

The supermarket says "shopper fatigue" has set in "around flash sales on big-ticket, non-essential items at Christmas".

The event marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US.

Black Friday is not universally popular with retailers but experts were divided over whether others would follow Asda.

Last year, police were called in to supermarkets as scuffles broke out among shoppers vying to get the best deal.

Asda's owner, Walmart, is a big player in the Black Friday sales in the US and it helped to introduce the event to the UK in 2013.

"The decision to step away from Black Friday is not about the event itself," said Asda's chief executive Andy Clarke.

"Over the last two years we've developed an organised, well-executed plan, but this year customers have told us loud and clear that they don't want to be held hostage to a day or two of sales."

It says that instead of investing in one-off sales, it will invest £26m in savings across the seasonal shopping period.

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Analysis: Emma Simpson, BBC business reporter

Asda has dramatically changed tack. This US-owned supermarket, along with Amazon, led the way in introducing this American phenomenon to UK shoppers.

So big was its effect last year, the event completely distorted Christmas spending, pulling forward sales, right at the most crucial time of the year when retailers should be selling their goods at full price.

Three years on, Asda is effectively trying to put the genie back in the bottle.

Asda cites customer fatigue, saying it reckons its customers want better savings across everyday Christmas items. But the move is not without commercial risk.

Read Emma's analysis in full

'Bigger than ever'

Retailer John Lewis has previously warned that UK firms would have to reconsider the heavy discounting of Black Friday, even though last year it brought the company its biggest trading week on record.

Earlier this year, managing director Andy Street said it was "more challenging profitability-wise" and questioned whether it was "right to concentrate trade so much in that one period".

"My personal hope is that this is the high water mark for Black Friday. I don't think we can put the genie back in the bottle but do we need to stoke that fire anymore? I personally hope not," he told the BBC at the time.

But John Lewis recently confirmed it would still take part this year.

"John Lewis has no choice. We are part of this whether we want to be or not," said commercial director Paula Nickolds.

"We are absolutely committed to our Never Knowingly Undersold pledge and this means we are part of this event.

"We are anticipating that Black Friday will be bigger than ever this year."

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'Brave move'

Retail analyst Nick Bubb said Asda's decision did not mean the end of the discount day.

"Despite the general recognition that too much discounting ruins Christmas trading prospects, it's not the end of Black Friday, because online players, such as Amazon, are fully committed to it, as well as stores like Currys and PC World.

"But Asda were clearly sensitive to the embarrassing scenes last year of people fighting over cheap TV sets in their supermarkets and wanted to avoid any risk of reputational damage," he said.

Russell Craig, an Asda executive, said that he found the footage of people fighting over televisions "uncomfortable", but stressed that this was about how people wanted to spend their money at Christmas.

He told BBC Radio 5 live: "We underestimated the response customers would have. There is some extraordinary and uncomfortable footage of that time. Last year we had one store in Wembley, where we had well documented incidents, but in the rest of the chain it was very orderly and we managed it in the right way."

Greg Bromley, analyst at the retail research firm Conlumino, said the move was "risky" but could mean that Asda wins the retail battle over Christmas if the move allowed it to sell cheaper food, while other firms fought over electrical sales.

"It's quite a brave move. They're probably hoping that other retailers will follow their move," he said.

He added that there had been evidence to suggest that interest has been waning in the US as well.

'Disappointing month'

Separately, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) attributed "disappointing" retail sales in October to customers delaying purchases in anticipation of Black Friday, which this year is due to take place on 27 November.

It said the total value of retail sales between 4 October and 31 October was 0.9% higher than a year earlier, down from a 3.9% increase in September.

"October was a somewhat disappointing month overall for retailers," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.

"A number of categories which we'd typically expect to be popular on Black Friday saw a slowdown in October, suggesting that some shoppers may be holding out in the hope of some great deals at the end of November."

Sunday trading law proposals put 'on hold'

Government plans to relax Sunday trading laws in England and Wales have been put on hold, after SNP opposition meant it faced defeat in the Commons.

The SNP had said it would vote against the changes amid fears it could drive down Scottish workers' wages.

With other opposition MPs expected to join forces with some 20 Tory rebels, the plans would have struggled to pass.

The BBC's James Landale said the idea had been parked while talks continue with opposition parties.

'No U-turn'

Angus Robertson, the SNP's Westminster leader, welcomed the government's "U-turn".

He told the BBC the party supported Sunday trading but not "on the back of often lower-paid shop staff", and said it would be "open to discussions" on how to ensure safeguards.

Downing Street said there had been "absolutely" no U-turn on the policy.

The prime minister's official spokeswoman said the next steps would await analysis of the results of a consultation and be made clear "in due course".

Chancellor George Osborne promised in the Budget earlier this year that councils and mayors would get the power to set Sunday trading laws in their areas.

Large stores and supermarkets can currently open for only six hours every Sunday.

'No pay safeguards'

Although the legislation affects only England and Wales, the SNP had been convinced by shopworkers' union Usdaw that retailers would pay for the extra hours by cutting wages across the UK - including those of Scottish workers currently being paid premium wages for Sunday work.

Mr Robertson said the government would have to go away and think again about its proposals.

"We want safeguards, we want guarantees, we want to make sure that shop workers in Scotland and the rest of the UK are not worse off," he told the BBC News Channel.

The government launched a consultation over the summer to look at the changes which are designed to support High Streets and shopping centres by allowing them to stay open for longer at weekends and compete with internet shopping.

Shops in Scotland already have more freedom because the Sunday Trading Act does not apply north of the border.

Government sources pointed out that Scotland already controls its Sunday trading rules and the SNP was once again trying to block something that had no impact on their constituents. They said the SNP move once again made the case for the government's recent changes to parliamentary rules that gave English and Welsh MPs greater control over laws that affect only their constituencies.