The son of Susannah York, who died of cancer over the weekend, has paid tribute to her as a talented actress with an eclectic career and a “truly wonderful mother”.
Mrs York became a star of the stage and screen and was best known for her role in 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, for which she won a Bafta and was nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar.
She died at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London at the age of 72 after suffering from bone marrow cancer. Her son, the actor Orlando Wells, said she was admitted to hospital on January 6, three days before her birthday, after suffering pain in her shoulder.
“She was obviously an incredibly brave woman, because she didn’t complain at all,” he said.
He and sister Sasha are in “terrible shock”, but he said of his mother: “From Sasha and my point of view, she was absolutely the centre of our lives. She was a truly, truly wonderful mother.” Mrs York enjoyed a varied career that saw her win acclaim for roles in films including A Man For All Seasons, Battle of Britain and Tom Jones.
Undercover cop’s nightmare
The undercover policeman who controversially posed as an environmental activist has broken his silence to describe how his life has become a “living nightmare”.
Mark Kennedy told The Mail yesterday he has escaped to the United States amid fears for his safety.
His secret role was revealed earlier this week when a trial of six people accused of planning to invade Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station collapsed as prosecutors dropped the charges.
The protestors’ legal team claimed the decision was made after Mr Kennedy, a former Metropolitan Police officer who infiltrated the group in the guise of a long-haired climber called Mark Stone, offered to give evidence on their behalf.
In an extensive interview with the newspaper, Mr Kennedy said he believed tape recordings secretly made by him were withheld from the court by police for fear it would destroy the prosecution’s case.
But the 41-year-old, shown in photographs to have cropped his long hair, denied “going rogue” and siding with the protestors.
“I can’t sleep,” he said. “I have lost weight and am constantly on edge. I barricade the door with chairs at night. I am in genuine fear for my life. I have been told by activists to watch my back as people are out to get me.”
Migrant ship sinks
A ship carrying a reported 263 migrants has sunk west of the island of Corfu and 22 passengers are missing, Greek coastguards said yesterday.
Coastguards said they were alerted last night by a passenger on the Hasan Reis saying that the boat was in danger, but high winds prevented rescue boats immediately taking to the water. Passengers were rescued by a Dutch cargo ship about seven hours after the call that alerted the coastguard. The ship’s captain reported he took 241 people on board and that the Italy-bound Hasan Reis sank.
Barack Obama’s dog trainer dies
Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, the trainer who prepared President Barack Obama’s dog Bo for life as the first dog, has died.
Ms Sylvia-Stasiewicz, 52, died of respiratory failure at a Virginia hospital, her ex-husband Paul Stasiewicz said.
Ms Sylvia-Stasiewicz initially had no idea the Portuguese water dog that arrived at her Virginia home two years ago was destined for life at the White House.
Vicki Kennedy, the wife of the late Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, had contacted Ms Sylvia-Stasiewicz to ask if she would determine if the five-month-old puppy was suitable for a family with children.
The Kennedys had previously trusted Ms Sylvia-Stasiewicz with training their dogs, so the request wasn’t unusual.
When Mrs Kennedy called to check on the puppy a few weeks later, Ms Sylvia-Stasiewicz reported the dog was perfectly suited for a family with children. Mrs Kennedy then confided she and her husband were thinking of giving him to the first family as a gift.
Nightclub stampede
Three young women died in a stampede at a Hungarian nightclub.
Budapest police said thousands of people were caught up in the stampede and the victims may have been trampled by the rushing crowd. The incident occurred late on Saturday at the West-Balkan nightclub in Budapest, housed inside a communist-era shopping mall and office complex. Witnesses told Hungarian media the three-floor disco was overcrowded.
Ten-car pile-up
A car veered into the oncoming lane of the US Pacific Coast Highway, setting off a “very violent” 10-vehicle pile-up that left three people dead and three others injured.
The famed US road was packed with beach traffic on the summer-like on Saturday when two vehicles collided in the initial crash, then eight more became entangled in the wreckage, Newport Beach police Lieutenant Bill Hartford said.
Death sentence
A court in southern Egypt yesterday convicted and sentenced to death a Muslim man for his part in last year’s Christmas drive-by shooting outside a church that left six Christians and a Muslim guard dead. The court will announce its verdict next month for the other two defendants accused in the attack on January 6, 2010.