The Conservatives today expelled a leading young activist from the party after he boasted about dressing up as the missing five-year-old Madeleine McCann at a new year party. Caroline Spelman, the Tory party chair, expelled Matthew Lewis after it emerged that he had discussed plans to wear a blonde wig, "pink pyjamas, a teddy bear and a vial of fake blood" to the event on his Facebook page.Other figures from the organisation left messages on the Facebook paghe, with one responding: "Is this a cunning (Baldrick style) plan to obtain the reward money?"Spelman described the behaviour of Lewis, a member of the party's Conservative Future youth wing, as "completely unacceptable"."This offensive behaviour is not only shocking but intolerable and completely unacceptable," she said. "There is no place for this sort of person in the party."
The Conservatives today expelled a leading young activist from the party after he boasted about dressing up as the missing five-year-old Madeleine McCann at a new year party.
Caroline Spelman, the Tory party chair, expelled Matthew Lewis after it emerged that he had discussed plans to wear a blonde wig, "pink pyjamas, a teddy bear and a vial of fake blood" to the event on his Facebook page.
Other figures from the organisation left messages on the Facebook paghe, with one responding: "Is this a cunning (Baldrick style) plan to obtain the reward money?"
Spelman described the behaviour of Lewis, a member of the party's Conservative Future youth wing, as "completely unacceptable".
"This offensive behaviour is not only shocking but intolerable and completely unacceptable," she said. "There is no place for this sort of person in the party."
Electro-pop singer Little Boots has come top of the BBC's Sound of 2009 list, which aims to highlight the best new music talent for the new year. Little Boots is 24-year-old singer and keyboard player Victoria Hesketh from Blackpool, whose influences include David Bowie, Gary Numan and Kate Bush. The Sound of 2009 list is based on tips from 134 leading UK tastemakers, who named their favourite three new acts. Last year, Adele came top, followed by Duffy, The Ting Tings and Glasvegas.
Electro-pop singer Little Boots has come top of the BBC's Sound of 2009 list, which aims to highlight the best new music talent for the new year.
Little Boots is 24-year-old singer and keyboard player Victoria Hesketh from Blackpool, whose influences include David Bowie, Gary Numan and Kate Bush.
The Sound of 2009 list is based on tips from 134 leading UK tastemakers, who named their favourite three new acts.
Last year, Adele came top, followed by Duffy, The Ting Tings and Glasvegas.
The six acts hoping to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest are facing their biggest test yet. Under the glaring lights of the BBC's main studio at Television Centre in London, the singers are tackling rehearsals for the first live show on Saturday night. The floor is crawling with production staff, the set is lit with the colours of the Union Jack, and the band strikes up with Abba's Eurovision classic Waterloo. The acts run through their group performance of the song with great success, the opener for Your Country Needs You. They may be just getting to grips with working on television, but for one act, the dream will come to an end on Saturday.
The six acts hoping to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest are facing their biggest test yet.
Under the glaring lights of the BBC's main studio at Television Centre in London, the singers are tackling rehearsals for the first live show on Saturday night.
The floor is crawling with production staff, the set is lit with the colours of the Union Jack, and the band strikes up with Abba's Eurovision classic Waterloo.
The acts run through their group performance of the song with great success, the opener for Your Country Needs You.
They may be just getting to grips with working on television, but for one act, the dream will come to an end on Saturday.
