David Cameron Returns To Italian Bar Where He Failed To Tip… And Makes Amends With Waitress

Prime minister David Cameron today returned to an Italian bar where he had failed to leave a tip and made amends with the waitress who worked there by leaving one this time.

Mr Cameron, 45, made headlines across the world when it emerged he had paid for a 3.10 Euro bill with a 50 Euro banknote and failed to leave any small change, as is customary in Italian bars.

Last week waitress Francesca Ariani, 27, failed to recognise the Number 10 resident when he walked in with his wife Samantha, 40, and ordered two cappuccinos asking for them to be brought to an outside table.

Tipped: David Cameron puts his arm round waitress Francesca Ariani, who he initially failed to tip during his Italian holiday.

But Francesca had told him she was too busy making coffees to bring them out and to serve himself.

On Sunday Mr Cameron returned with his daughter Nancy to clear up the misunderstanding at the Dolcenero bar in Monetvarchi near Arezzo.

This time he ordered a beer for himself and a soft drink for Nancy – paying the 5.10 Euro tip with a 10 Euro note and telling her to keep the change as she served him at a table.

Francesca even offered the Prime Minister a cocktail she created the ‘Cameron Tuscan Dream’ – with the ingredients being local Vin Santo (sweet wine), coffee and cream.

Mr Cameron, who is in the final week of a fortnight break at a nearby villa, where he is on holiday with friends, was even happy to pose for a picture with Francesca.

Self service: Waitress Francesca Ariani, 27, who failed to recognise David Cameron when he called in for coffee.

Foot loose: David Cameron and his wife Samantha at the cafe in Montevarchi where it was noticed he was not wearing socks.

She said: ‘I was so surprised when he came back to the bar after what had happened last week. I said I was sorry for not recognising him and not serving him and he said it was not a problem.

‘He said he was sorry for any fuss that had been created and he was very nice, very friendly. He ordered a beer and a Sprite for his daughter Nancy and I took them out to the same table as where he was sat last time.

‘I had no idea he was coming into the bar and it was a real surprise. I even offered him a cocktail my boyfriend and I invented and dedicated to him called the Cameron Tuscan Dream.

‘He tried it and he said it was very nice. The bill came to 5.10 Euro and he left me a tip this time. He paid with a ten Euro note and said to keep the change.’

The 16-bedroom villa where the Camerons are staying is on the Petrolo wine estate and besides the main house there are four other smaller houses – one of which has been taken by Mr Cameron’s security team.

It is close to the hamlet of Bucine in the Tuscany region known as Chianti which is popular with British holidaymakers, many of who have homes in ther area – Sting and his wife Trudie Styler are close by.

Chef Jamie Oliver is also a close friend of Petrolo’s owner Luca Sanjust and visits every year with a team of his students to watch the olives being pressed and turned into oil.

The villa is no stranger to celebrities with actor Jason Flemying tying the knot there with his wife Elly Fairman in 2008. Oliver cooked their lavish wedding breakfast and model Claudia Schiffer was among the guests.

Arno Valley: The wine-growing estate where Prime Minister is spending his holiday.

The 300-year-old property has its own private garden, swimming pool and tennis court and is surrounded by high walls and tall cypress trees ensuring total security.

It is surrounded by lush working vineyards and olive groves, as well as oak woods which contain wild boar, and there are also fishing lakes on the estate.

Other members of the Cameron Downing Street entourage, as well as security personnel, have checked into a four star hotel in Montevarchi having driven across Europe in a van.

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Saline Deaths: Freed Nurse ‘Was A Scapegoat’

A nurse who spent more than six weeks in custody after being accused of tampering with saline drips at a Stockport hospital was made a “scapegoat”, according to her lawyer.

The hospital says heightened security measures will remain in place.

On Friday, police announced they were releasing Rebecca Leighton and dropping all charges in connection with deaths on two wards at Stepping Hill Hospital.

Her solicitor Carl Richmond said he felt police had “jumped the gun” in arresting Miss Leighton.

He said: “I got the feeling there had to be a scapegoat because there was absolute chaos at the hospital and it could not function because of all the speculation.

“I was imploring the police to bail her while they continued their inquiries but the decision was made to charge,” Mr Richmond said.

Miss Leighton was first arrested on suspicion of murder and then formally accused of causing criminal damage with intent to endanger life.

Rebecca Leighton could sue for as much as £1m, according to newspaper reports.

The alarm was raised when a higher than normal number of patients were reported to have “unexplained” low blood sugar levels amid fears saline solution had been contaminated with insulin.

After reports in some newspapers that Miss Leighton could sue police for as much as £1m, Mr Richmond told Sky News such speculation was “premature”.

He said the 27-year-old nurse would probably meet with her legal team later this week in order to discuss the options available, but had not yet decided whether legal action was appropriate.

Miss Leighton will not immediately be able to return to work.

Mr Richmond said, with her family’s support, Miss Leighton was “bearing up reasonably well” after what had been a very stressful period in custody.

The nurse has said she felt she was “living in hell” since her arrest.

She will not be able to return to work as an interim order suspending her from the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s register remains in place.

Meanwhile, police have vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in their investigation into the deaths of seven patients.

They have said they are planning to interview at least another 500 witnesses – including staff, patients and visitors.

It is thought more than 700 people could have had access to the area where the bags of saline were being kept.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said tight security measures remain in place and would continue for the foreseeable future.

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Priorities Questioned Over Defence Cuts

Nearly 2,000 armed services personnel are learning that their jobs are to disappear today.

At least half of the 920 Army jobs and 930 RAF roles are expected to face compulsory redundancies in the first round of defence cuts.

RAF pilots prepare for a mission over Libya.

The Gurkhas face the heaviest cuts, with 140 soldiers facing redundancy. No service personnel currently receiving the operational allowance will be forced to leave, however.

“Just as many RAF personnel will be thinking about returning home having performed heroics in Libya, ministers are drawing up their P45s,” shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said.

“People will be shocked and will wonder whether the government have got their priorities straight.”

The defence cuts follow an eight per cent overall reduction in the MoD’s budget in the comprehensive spending review.

Broader financial problems have forced defence secretary Liam Fox to seek a more fundamental rationalising of his department, leading to plans for over 22,000 jobs to go in total by 2015.

“The tough measures will bring the budget largely into balance for the first time in a generation,” Mr Fox said.

“Extra money allocated for the equipment budget from 2015 will allow capability to grow in the second half of the decade.”

The slow-burning nature of the cuts makes them politically sensitive, however. Around 1,600 redundancies in the Royal Navy are expected to be announced next month.

“This underlines the scale of the government’s cuts in manpower. The frontline cannot be protected from cuts this deep,” Mr Murphy added.

“Savings must be made, but in a world of uncertainty to many this will seem a worrying loss of important capability.”

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Murdered Teenager Rebecca Aylward’s Mother Called For Return Of Death Penalty

The mother of a murdered teenager called for the return of capital punishment after her daughter’s killer was sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in prison.

Murderer Joshua Davies was branded “devious, calculating and controlling” by a judge who said he would serve a decade and a half before being considered for parole.

Davies lured his ex-girlfriend Rebecca Aylward, 15, into woods at Aberkenfig, near Bridgend, and smashed her skull with a rock last October.

He left her face-down in the rain wearing the new clothes she had just bought.

After his sentencing at Swansea Crown Court yesterday, Rebecca’s mother, Sonia Oatley, said: “It was her dream to become a barrister, a dream cruelly erased by calculated killer Joshua Davies – a young man she trusted and loved.

“Rebecca was destined for greatness. Joshua Davies robbed us of watching our precious and perfect little girl flourish into a successful young woman.

“We will never forgive him for tearing our world apart so brutally and I would welcome the return of capital punishment for the likes of Joshua Davies, who forfeited his human rights when he chose to take my daughter’s life.”

During his trial, the court heard how Davies had been bet a full cooked breakfast by friends if he carried out his threat to murder popular Becca, from Maesteg.

A jury found him guilty by a 10-2 majority in July after deliberating for four days.

Yesterday, Judge Justice Lloyd Jones labelled Davies “devious, calculating and controlling”, adding: “You showed no remorse.”

He told the 16-year-old, who was impassive as the sentence was handed down: “Her death will leave a permanent shadow over her family.

“The effects of what you have done are devastating.”

Speaking outside court, Ms Oatley said she was satisfied with the 14-year minimum sentence.

“I would have liked it to be longer but that is a minimum sentence and if he ever wants to be free he’ll have to show some sort of remorse,” she said.

“In my opinion, he will never admit to what he’s done.”

But she said she would never understand why none of Davies’ friends alerted anyone to his repeated threats to kill her.

“I find it hard to believe that nobody came to me and said that he was making those threats,” she said.

“I can’t believe someone didn’t mention it to anybody.

“You can’t help but think that it could have been prevented. Maybe we could have stopped her going that day.”

But the judge told the court nobody could have expected the defendant to carry out his claims.

Ms Oatley added: “The truth is, I’m still looking for answers. I just wish he would explain to me why he did it and what exactly happened.”

Taking into account the time Davies has already spent in custody, he will have to serve a minimum of 13 years and 53 days before he is considered for parole.

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EDL Protest In East London Sees 60 Arrested

Sixty people have been arrested after English Defence League (EDL) members clashed with police in east London.

EDL demonstrators were led along Tower Bridge as police tried to disperse them.

Police said 16 arrests were made during a demonstration by the group, while 44 people on a coach were held later on suspicion of violent disorder.

The protest went ahead despite a ban on marches in the area, with police estimating 1,000 EDL supporters and 1,500 counter-protesters had gathered.

Missiles were thrown by activists as 3,000 police tried to maintain control.

The supporters of the EDL, which says it is protesting against Islamic extremism in the UK, assembled near Aldgate Tube station, with the counter-protesters gathering in nearby Whitechapel Road.

‘Altercation with locals’

The EDL protesters were later led to Tower Bridge by police to disperse.

The 16 arrests during the demonstration were for offences including assault on a police officer, common assault, drunk and disorderly and affray.

The later arrests came after a coach taking EDL supporters away following the protest broke down outside Stepney Green Tube station, at about 18:30 BST.

Police said there had already been one altercation with local youths after the vehicle stopped in Whitechapel Road and some passengers got off the coach.

There were clashes between police and protesters.

When the coach broke down outside the station there was a further disturbance, the Metropolitan Police said, and all the passengers were arrested.

Officers from London were joined in patrolling the protests by colleagues from around the UK. Vans from forces as far away as Cumbria, Lancashire and Grampian were in action, with riot police, mounted officers and dogs also employed.

EDL founder Stephen Lennon, 28, breached his bail conditions by attending the protest in Aldgate, but was not one of those arrested.

He stood to address the crowd disguised in a wide-brimmed hat and fake beard before revealing his identity.

He said: “I’m meant to sign on at a police station on a Saturday, I’m not doing that.

“I’m not allowed to go to a demonstration, I’m not doing that.

“The credible outcome is I will be put on remand in prison for my democratic right.”

‘Wrong message’



Lennon was convicted in July of leading a street brawl with 100 football fans in August last year.

Home Secretary Theresa May had imposed a ban on marching in Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Islington, Hackney and the City of London.

The EDL had claimed the ban on marching sent out “completely the wrong message” and insisted a static demonstration would go ahead.

The activists were supposedly prevented from chanting or waving their flags while walking as that would constitute a march.

The protest was moved however, at the behest of police, as the EDL protesters were led towards Tower Bridge by mounted and riot police. They were held on the bridge for about 40 minutes before being allowed to disperse.

Police had not requested powers to stop marches in London since the Brixton riots 30 years ago.

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Racist Thugs Shall Not Pass

Thousands of anti-fascists took to the streets of east London on Saturday to oppose a planned demonstration by the racist English Defence League in one of the capital’s most diverse areas.

In the wake of last month’s disturbances the EDL had cynically attempted to exploit the riot, claiming it was defending the streets of the capital.

But on the streets of east London on Saturday the message was loud and clear as a community united in opposition to the ultra right-wing group. Some in the crowd chanting: “They shall not pass,” making reference to the Battle of Cable Street against Oswald Mosley’s fascists in 1936.

A proposed march by the EDL down Whitechapel Road and past the east London mosque had been banned by the Home Secretary so only a static demonstration could take place.

But in an attempt to bypass the ban hundreds of EDL members arrived in different areas of the capital to march to the site of the static protest near Aldgate Tube station.

The racists and fascists of the EDL had bragged that they were coming to the heart of Tower Hamlets – “marching into the lion’s den” in the multiracial, multicultural borough.

In the event the day was very much won by the anti-fascists and the people of Whitechapel who overwhelmingly rejected the EDL’s hate-filled message.

EDL chants of “whose streets? Our streets.” could not have been more ironic.

Only around 600 – police estimate 1,000 – EDL members made it to their final rally point – at Aldgate, outside the Tower Hamlets borough boundary.

The largely incoherent rabble chanted anti-Muslim slogans and attempted to sing God Save the Queen but apparently, did not know the words to the national anthem. Most appeared drunk.

At one point one skin-headed member began to abuse and push a young Asian man who had found himself within the police cordon.

But on the whole a massive policing operation had effectively isolated the group from all but a few bemused passers by.

A total of 60 EDL protesters were arrested as scuffles broke out and bottles and firecrackers were thrown as more than 3,000 riot police and mounted police tried to maintain control.

Further skirmishes broke out during the afternoon as EDL leader Stephen Lennon addressed a crowd, telling them he had broken his bail conditions to be at the protest. He was not one of those arrested.

On Whitechapel Road thousands of anti-fascists – police estimated 1,500 – trade-unionist and religious groups congregated in a carnival atmosphere.

The counter-demonstration organised by Unite Against Fascism and the United East End Coalition was addressed by CWU deputy general secretary Tony Kearns, East London Mosque’s Dilowar Khan, veteran local anti-fascist Phil Maxwell and other local trade union and community representatives.

Former mayor of London Ken Livingstone sent a message of support, saying: “This is a fitting response to those who peddle hatred and fear.”

Speaking on Saturday evening UAF national officer Martin Smith said: “Today we have won. We haven’t had anybody arrested. We have stopped the EDL coming into this borough.

“We have marched on the streets today, the EDL have gone and we have won.”

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David Cameron’s Holiday Boost

Pity the poor Cameron family. The received wisdom suggests that August should be a quiet month in British politics. Not so for David Cameron this year. Twice in the space of a few weeks, the prime minister was summoned away from wife and children to take charge back in Downing Street.

First, the worst rioting in decades brought him home from Tuscany; then the assault on Tripoli meant quitting the beaches of England’s southwest. That’s tough on a leader badly in need of a break after a pasting from the press over his suspiciously close ties to the Murdoch media empire revealed by the phone-hacking scandal.

But the broken holiday has useful consolations. Cameron’s approval ratings now stand at around 40 percent; much the same as before the summer’s traumas. Better still, the Conservatives are slowly regaining some of the ground lost to Labour in recent months. The latest YouGov polls suggest that the party is trailing by just five points at 37 percent.

Some explanations are easy enough. The riots allowed Cameron to show off the kind of calm and competence that the public expects of a leader at a moment of crisis. And the approach of total victory in Libya has converted many of the skeptics, with support for Britain’s involvement in the campaign–now 43 percent–rising with every advance.

No less important, the summer’s troubles have provided useful political distraction from other pressing national woes. The latest growth figures show a British economy that’s more or less flat-lining. Unemployment and inflation are both rising while manufacturing output–seen as crucial to recovery–fell sharply last month.

That’s bad for the Conservatives, with the polls indicating that they are still seen as the party of the rich out of sympathy with the poor or the squeezed middle classes. Voters accept the need for austerity measures if Britain is to escape the fate of other European nations, but the mood is grim. “You need another story if you want to keep them happy,” says Neil O’Brien of the Conservative think tank Policy Exchange.

The riots provide just such a story. Cameron, long accused of lacking a distinctive cause, now has a clear purpose and goal: repairing what he has called “Broken Britain.”

And he can’t be accused of any sudden conversion. For Cameron, the issue of how to tackle the problems of Britain’s poor and alienated youth is familiar ground. His concern for “Broken Britain” was a recurring theme in his attempts to give the Conservative Party a more caring image in the run-up to last year’s elections.

Politically, it’s an issue that demands all Cameron’s PR deftness. On the one hand, he knows that the public takes a tougher line than both main parties when it comes to questions of law and order. He knows too that plenty of right-wing Tory MPs–their numbers strengthened at the election–are still suspicious of their leader’s attempts to edge the party onto the center ground of politics.

On the other, he can’t disown the talk of compassionate conservatism that he’s deployed in the past, and Labour yearns for a slip-up that will allow him to be portrayed as an old-style Conservative more interested in punishment than seeking to understand the causes behind the riots.

Language is crucial. Whatever their reaction to the riots, the public doesn’t like the harsh rhetoric of retribution. “Much of it is tonal,” says Neil O’Brien. “If you get it wrong, it sounds like you’re off the golf course.”

So far, Cameron has managed to sidestep the pitfalls, moderating his language to match the voters’ cooling temper. The initial talk of the looters’ “sheer criminality” and his apparent endorsement of harsh sentences have given way to a more nuanced stance. In a BBC interview Friday, he was advocating “tough love” as well as tough justice.

Not that Cameron can risk complacency. Next month he must address his party’s annual conference in Manchester, always a testing experience for a Conservative leader, and he’ll need policies to match his words. One recent survey showed a clear majority believed that neither party was capable of mending “Broken Britain.”

And if Cameron’s ratings have yet to slump, nor have they markedly improved since he took power. Voters may be awaiting results before they come to a firm conclusion on his premiership, says Rick Nye of pollsters Populus. “You have seen the hacking, the riots, and Libya, but they are not really game-changers when it comes to their fundamental assessment.”

Even if the streets of London and Tripoli stay calm, for Cameron the coming months will be no holiday.

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City Chiefs ‘Won’t Ask For Any More Trams Funding’

City chiefs today pledged to take Edinburgh’s trams to St Andrew Square without having to find more money – as calls grow for an immediate public inquiry into the troubled project.

Council chief executive Sue Bruce insisted that the £776 million estimate of the cost includes a “sufficiently large” risk allowance – and said she does not expect to come back to councillors and ask them to approve more funding.

But she stopped short of giving a guarantee that they would definitely not require more money.

Labour councillors called for the Scottish Government to start a public inquiry into the whole project immediately.

The move came after councillors agreed to reverse last week’s shock decision to only take the tram to Haymarket and instead take it as far as St Andrew Square.

Mrs Bruce told the Evening News: “We know there is nervousness and uncertainty because, although we have done all of the things you would expect us to do, when you dig up roads you can find things you don’t expect, so we have left an enormous risk pot to cover that.”

The estimate includes a 0.8 per cent, or £1.1m, “risk contingency” for off-street work between the airport and Haymarket, as well as a 71.8 per cent, or £30m, risk allowance for the on-street work from Haymarket to York Place.

When asked if members of the public should be confident that more money will not be needed for the project, she said: “They should have faith that £776m is our estimate of the project to St Andrew Square.

“We do not expect to have to come back to ask for more money. We think it is the best estimate we can come to for completing the work.”

After the decision was approved, councillors urged the Scottish Government to get on with a public inquiry.

A spokesman for First Minister Alex Salmond said last week that it would happen “once there is greater clarity about the direction of the project”.

Cllr Andrew Burns, leader of the Labour group, said: “I do not see why a public inquiry cannot start right away and I would urge the Scottish Government to get on with that.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We recognise the complexities and difficult circumstances that the council has faced as it seeks to make the right decisions for the people of Edinburgh.

“It is appropriate that ministers now give full consideration to all of the factors before making any further decisions.”

The Liberal Democrats won support from their SNP coalition partners to get the project nodded through, despite the Tories calling for the contract to be cancelled.

City leader Jenny Dawe hit out at Labour and Conservative councillors, who came together last week to force through the shock decision to stop the tram line at Haymarket.

She said: “To play political football with the citizens of this city shows irresponsibility of a level never before seen in this Chamber.

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RAF Flies £140m Unfrozen Cash Assets To Libya

The RAF has flown £140m of Libyan banknotes (280m Libyan dinars) to Libya after an assets freeze aimed at Col Muammar Gaddafi was lifted.

People rushed to get cash from their accounts after the Libyan banks reopened on Tuesday.

The cash, printed in the UK, is the first tranche of £950m that will be handed to Libya’s Central Bank.

A Whitehall official said the money should be available for cash machines and banks in Libya very quickly.

Meanwhile, the BBC has learned that David Cameron set up a unit to block fuel supplies to Col Gaddafi’s forces.

The secret “Libya oil cell” also ensured that petrol and diesel continued to get through to the rebels in the east, BBC deputy political editor James Landale said.

The Whitehall-based unit was made up of a handful of civil servants, ministers and military figures.

“If you didn’t have the fuel, you couldn’t win the war”

Whitehall source

It played a crucial role in starving the regime’s war effort of fuel while making sure that the rebels could continue taking the fight to Gaddafi, Whitehall officials told our correspondent.

Our correspondent said the unit was the idea of International Development Minister Alan Duncan. He was unavailable for comment on Wednesday evening.

The former oil trader convinced the Mr Cameron in April that part of the solution to the conflict lay in oil, our correspondent said.

One Whitehall source said: “If you didn’t have the fuel, you couldn’t win the war. So our aim was to starve the west of fuel and make sure the rebels could keep going.

“Gaddafi had lots of crude but he couldn’t refine it. So he had to rely on imported fuel. And we turned off that tap.”

The unit was established in the Foreign Office and was initially headed by a senior admiral, and later by a senior government official.

The operation gathered intelligence about oil and fuel movements, and information was passed to the government and Nato.

‘Britain’s commitment’

The release of the Libyan currency came following a decision by the United Nations sanctions committee in New York.

The official said the cash delivery, worth $1.55bn, should make it possible to pay many public sector workers, including nurses, doctors, teachers and police officers, over the Eid holiday.

Many of those dependent on government salaries have not been paid for a number of months.

The money will also be used to provide aid for refugees displaced by the conflict and to pay for medicine and food supplies.

The funds were frozen in February when the uprising in Libya started.

The move comes on the eve of a major international conference on the future of Libya to be held in Paris on Thursday, chaired jointly by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the UK prime minister.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was “delighted” the delivery to the Central Bank in Benghazi had been completed.

“Returning money to the Libyan people is part of our commitment to help the National Transitional Council rebuild Libya and help create a country where the legitimate needs and aspirations of the Libyan people can be met,” said Mr Hague.

He added further deliveries of the remaining funds would be made shortly.

Ship held

Germany has also asked for agreement to release about 1bn euros (£900m) in seized assets, while France wants to unfreeze about 5bn euros (£4.4bn) to help pay for humanitarian aid and keep essential services going in Libya.

Last week, the UN agreed to a US request to unblock $1.5bn (£1bn) in frozen Libyan assets.

In March, a ship carrying Libyan currency worth £100m was impounded.

The Home Office said the ship was intercepted by UK authorities after heading back to British waters following an aborted attempt to dock at Libya’s capital, Tripoli.

The money, which was printed in north-east England, was held at Harwich, Essex.

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Green Groups Urge Planning Reform Rethink

Conservationists and green campaigners urged ministers today to rethink planning reforms which they warned would see “damaging, free-for-all” developments spread.

The call came as Planning Minister Greg Clark said that he was willing to meet the National Trust and others over fears of a “development free-for-all” under the new National Planning Policy framework.

Chief among the minister’s controversial shake-ups is a “presumption in favour of sustainable development at the heart of the planning system.

“Local planning authorities should plan positively for new development and approve all individual proposals wherever possible,” it said.

But environmental and heritage groups have criticised the proposals, saying the presumption would undermine the government’s own creed of “localism” and make major projects – such as incinerators and factory farms – all but impossible to refuse.

Mr Clark said today he was happy to discuss the “wording” of the policy, but ruled out any U-turn. His critics had “the wrong end of the stick” – sustainability meant the developers had taken into account their effect on the community and environment, he said.

“The consequences would be to continue the position we are in where we are not building enough homes for the people needing them for the first time. We are contributing to homelessness, to overcrowding, to poverty.”

But Friends of the Earth campaigns director Craig Bennett was unmoved. The proposals still threatened the countryside while doing little to curb climate change or carbon emissions, he said.

“It’s essential that we develop the UK’s huge green energy potential and build more fuel efficient and affordable homes.

“Ministers must think again or risk having another fiasco like the outcry over forests on their hands,” he said.

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