Chris Froome Set For Tour De France Win

Team Sky's Two Remarkable Riders

Updated: 4:42pm UK, Saturday 20 July 2013

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

When Team Sky was founded in 2010, Sir Dave Brailsford's stated ambition of winning the Tour de France within five years was greeted by the sound of people laughing behind their hands.

Some did not even both concealing their mirth.

A Briton, after all, had not won cycling's greatest test at all in its 97 years. Three years later, in the centenary running of Le Tour, a Brailsford Brit is about to win it for the second successive year.

There are many reasons for the British annexation of the Champs Elysees but chief among them is the presence in Sky's black-and-blue ranks of two extraordinary athletes.

The first, Sir Bradley Wiggins, was familiar to the public when he won the race last year having developed within the Olympic track team run by Brailsford.

He secured national treasure status a week later in the 2012 Games.

Chris Froome, who come sunset in Paris on Sunday night will inherit Wiggins's title, is a very different character, but his rise is no less remarkable.

Both men have been shaped by bumpy upbringings outside the UK, and both have lost a parent. But there are few other similarities, beyond the bikes.

Wiggins grew up in Belgium, close to cycling's roots, and endured the absence of his father who left the family having planted the seed of cycling in his son's head.

Froome was schooled in the sport as far from its European epicentre as it is possible to imagine.

Born in Kenya to English parents who separated when he was just 11, he learned the sport riding with a cycling club founded for poor black Africans.

It was an early lesson in self-sufficiency that has served him well throughout his career.

His peers and teachers at boarding school in South Africa talk of Froome's fierce motivation, and hours spent on the rollers in his room hammering out static miles that laid the foundations of the astonishing strength and determination we have seen this last three weeks.

He ploughed a lonely furrow, struggling to find a professional berth in South Africa and then in Europe before his talent and promise was spotted by Brailsford, who signed him up to his formative team.

That came two years after Froome's mother Jane died from cancer.

His formative years did not leave him with the purest technique. While Wiggins's flat back and languid leg strokes seem to eat up the miles, Froome strikes a hunched silhouette.

It may not be pretty but it is just as effective, particularly in the mountains that have punctuated this ferociously tough Tour.

It is arguable that in taking victory in this of all years Froome has demonstrated that in the Grand Tours at least, he is a superior performer to Wiggins.

There was evidence last year, which Froome spent as Wiggins's super-domestique, leading him up the most testing climbs and, notoriously, suggesting at times that he had the team leaders' measure.

This year there has been no argument that Froome is the strongest man in the field, and certainly his own team, which has been a shadow of the devastating black road-train that propelled Wiggins to yellow last year.

His strength in the mountains has left rivals in awe, in part because he has often had to defend the yellow jersey above the tree-line alone.

The defining stage came a week ago on Mont Ventoux, when Froome rode away from the peleton and his rivals with a superlative display of climbing.

It was immediately hailed as one of the great stage wins in 100 years of the Tour, and more immediately consolidated his grip on the yellow jersey.

He has not looked like relinquishing it, not on the double ascent of Alpe D'Huez last week or the final mountain stages on the road back to Paris.

On Sunday he will find the Champs Elysee en fete and ready for a floodlit firework celebration of the world's greatest bike race.

And its champion will be a Briton so good even the most partisan Frenchman will have to applaud.

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Swimmer Susan Taylor's Family 'Upset' By Hoax

The family of tragic cross-Channel swimmer Susan Taylor have said they are "disappointed and upset" after a six-figure donation for the fundraiser's charity efforts turned out to be a hoax.

Mrs Taylor, 34, collapsed just one mile from the French coast as she swam under the guidance of the Channel Swimming Association, which officially authorises attempts, on Sunday.

She was pulled from the water and on to a support boat by her brother David, a paramedic, who battled to save her life before she was taken to hospital in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer, where she was later pronounced dead.

Her death prompted thousands of people to donate to Mrs Taylor's two fundraising pages, in support of Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People and Diabetes UK.

However, it has now emerged that one donation to Rainbows, of £150,000, was a fake - something the charity described as an "appalling act at such a tragic and emotional time".

It is believed a similar hoax pledge was made to Diabetes UK.

Ms Taylor was just a mile off shore when she collapsed

In a statement, Mrs Taylor's family said: "The family were obviously delighted when news of a donation pledge of £300,000 to the two charities was announced. Unfortunately, it would appear that this pledge was bogus since the funds have failed to materialise in the charities' accounts.

"(We) are disappointed and upset that an individual has taken actions which have misled the family and Susan's chosen charities in this way.

"The family wish to emphasise that they are extremely grateful for the support of members of the public and the generosity they have shown in supporting Susan's legacy.

"We do not intend to allow the actions of one person to detract from what Susan has accomplished and the pride we feel for her."

Legitimate donations to Mrs Taylor's fundraising pages have soared to more than £70,000 in the days since her death.

Comedian David Walliams - who swam the Channel in 2006 - is believed to have pledged £1,000 after a donation was made under the name of the Little Britain star with the message: "Sending all my love to Susan's family and friends".

Walliams tweeted later: "Despite the shock & sadness, it's good to see heroic Susan Taylor's charity total rising. Please give what you can ..."

Mrs Taylor had given up her full-time job to carry out charitable work and was working part-time as an accountant, her family said.

Before her solo attempt she told a newspaper that her training had been delayed a little by a shoulder injury and that she had put herself "through hell" training over the last year.

Geoff Ellis, chief executive at the Rainbows charity, condemned the hoax donations. He said: "We are shocked that a person would carry out this appalling act at such a tragic and emotional time.

"Susan devoted her life to Rainbows and since her sad passing, kind-hearted people - many of whom did not know Susan - have honoured her memory by pledging generous donations to her online fundraising page.

"We have relayed the news to the family who are devastated that someone would exploit this heart-breaking situation."

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Frankie Boyle On Hunger Strike For Prisoner

Comedian Frankie Boyle has started a week-long hunger strike to show his support for the last British detainee at Guantanamo Bay.

The 40-year-old Scot is one of several people taking part in a campaign to highlight the plight of Shaker Aamer, who has been held at the detention centre since 2002.

Writing on Twitter, he said the first few hours of his protest had not been "too bad" before joking: "Let's remember who's really suffering - my local pizza shop."

Later, he added: "Day two of hunger strike feels a bit like being drunk. Feel pretty good, but no doubt I'll wake up to find myself in bathroom eating soap."

Boyle takes over from Clive Stafford Smith, the founder of Reprieve, a charity which campaigns for the release of Guantanamo prisoners.

Writing for The Huffington Post, the lawyer, who also went without food for a week, said Aamer was "really taken aback, really grateful" for Boyle's support.

Aamer, who grew up in Saudi Arabia but is a permanent UK resident and married to a British national, was arrested in Afghanistan in 2001.

The 46-year-old has never been charged with a crime and has been abused and subjected to extended isolation while at Guantanamo Bay, according to Reprieve.

More than 110,000 people signed an online petition demanding his urgent return to the UK.

Aamer has been on hunger strike since March, along with an estimated three-quarters of the 166 men still held at the Cuban base.

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Royal Baby: The 'Great Kate Wait' Continues

The Duchess of Cambridge is thought to have returned to London from her family home fuelling speculation the arrival of the royal baby may be imminent.

The Duchess has been dividing her time between her official London residence at Kensington Palace and her parents' home in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

But Sky's Royal Correspondent Paul Harrison says it is widely believed that the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge have travelled back to London.

The Duke is with his wife because he is on annual leave from his job as a search and rescue helicopter pilot. His two-week paternity leave will begin when the baby is born.

However, it is unclear whether the couple have gone straight to the private Lindo wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington where Kate is due to give birth, or back to Kensington Palace to sit out the wait.

Kensington Palace confirmed the Duchess of Cambridge is due to give birth this month, but has never specified an exact due date.

The royal couple have kept their baby's due date under wraps

Only 4% of women give birth on their due date. Most women go into labour one week either side of 40 weeks and statistically women pregnant with girls have shorter pregnancies than those having boys.

Louise Silverton, of the Royal College of Midwives, told Sky News: "One would presume the Duchess of Cambridge would have had a scan early on in her pregnancy and that's a very accurate way of determining the size of the baby at that stage.

"So I suspect they know pretty much when the baby is due  -  theoretically."

Since the start of the month, the world's media have been camped outside St Mary's Hospital waiting for the Duchess to arrive.

Harrison said: "Since disappearing off the scene in mid-June the Duchess of Cambridge has maintained kept a very low profile, keeping her due date a closely-guarded secret.

"In the 'Great Kate Wait' due date debate perhaps the biggest clue lies in where the Duchess is at any one time and the thought is she is back in London."

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Female Genital Mutilation: Campaigners' Rally

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Campaigners against the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) will rally in Trafalgar Square later to highlight the issue of girls being taken abroad to be 'cut' during the summer holidays.

It is estimated that more than 20,000 girls as young as four are at risk of mutilation in Britain. But there is a lack of accurate recent figures.

As many as 66,000 women and girls are thought to be living with the consequences of being ritually cut in England and Wales.

That is a staggering amount considering the latest crime figures suggest only four FGM crimes were detected in the UK last year.

There has never been a prosecution even though FMG is illegal in Britain.

The issue is a taboo subject and has prompted the NSPCC to recently open a new helpline to encourage concerned children to contact them.

The problem appears to be predominantly with children being taken abroad to a parent's cultural homeland for FGM to be carried out.

We went to meet Sarian Kamara. She has four daughters and a son - but it has been a difficult journey to motherhood.

She now lives in London. But as a child in Sierra Leone at the age of 11 she was subjected to female genital mutilation - a cultural practice in which some or all of a girl's external genitals are cut away.

The NSPCC has launched a FGM helpline

She recalls how her family celebrated in her village as the practice was considered normal to mark a girl's transition from childhood to womanhood. But the grim reality was quite different. It is a way of controlling a woman's sexual desires and relationships by men.

She said: "I was lying flat on the floor. This huge woman was sitting on my chest - very big. I was so skinny. My legs were spread apart and I felt a sharp cut - I cannot even explain.

"I am still trying to find the words that would fit the kind of punishment I went through on that day as a child. Nobody should expose their children to this kind of thing.

"It is wrong - it is child abuse. As a parent we should protect our children from harm. You should not subject your child to this kind of harm."

But the desire to protect young girls is complex. 

Efua Dorkenoo is a campaigner with Equality Now with over 30 years' experience in the field. It is a very difficult crime to detect.

She said: "Screening is a very controversial issue for the UK. It's done in France and I think it's been the quick way to detect whether it's happened but in the UK politically it doesn't seem to fly and therefore we should be focusing on soft monitoring in terms of education."

That education involves trying to get the message across, particularly during the school summer holidays. 

Jane Ellison, the Conservative chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Female Genital Mutilation, said: "There's still very widespread ignorance about the fact that the law covers you when you go abroad.

"So actually one of the things we most want to do, particularly at this time of the year, is simply get across to people what the law is - that you can go to jail for 14 years if you are found to commit this on a girl."

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Woolwich Suspect 'Attack': Prison Staff Suspended

Five prison officers have been suspended following allegations that Woolwich murder suspect Michael Adebolajo was assaulted at one of Britain's top-security jails.

Adebolajo, 28, who is accused of killing soldier Lee Rigby, reportedly lost two teeth as he was being restrained at Belmarsh prison in southeast London on Wednesday.

The Prison Service has refused to comment on the detail of what happened, but the Met Police confirmed it was investigating an allegation of assault.

During an investigation of this kind, the suspension of staff is standard practice, the Ministry of Justice said.

Adebolajo is in Belmarsh Prison awaiting trial for the murder of Lee Rigby

The Prison Officers Association (POA) has denied any wrongdoing by the officers and said its members would challenge the allegations made by the prisoner.

"We are aware of an incident that took place on Wednesday July 17, which involved a prisoner being subjected to restraint using approved techniques called Control and Restraint," it said in a statement.

"Our members strenuously deny any wrongdoing and the POA will be supporting them legally and emotionally during this difficult time.

"The use of restraint is only used where necessary when dealing with incidents up and down the country."

It said it will fully co-operate with any police investigation, and expects the officers to be "fully exonerated".

The prison officers' trade union also accused the Ministry of Justice of not doing enough to avoid what they described as "sensationalist reporting" of the alleged assault.

Adebolajo is accused together with Michael Adebowale, 22, of hacking Drummer Rigby to death near Woolwich Barracks in southeast London on May 22.

The pair are due to stand trial at the Old Bailey on November 18.

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Heatwave Causing Rise In Child Sunburn Cases

Hospitals across the UK say they have seen a rise in the number of severe sunburn cases among children, as Britain continues to bask in its longest heatwave for seven years.

Of the 14 hospitals with specialist burns units contacted by Sky News, almost two-thirds said they had seen a rise in the number of admissions.

A four-week-old baby was among 10 children admitted to the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex.

With the hot spell expected to continue well into next week, doctors have warned that prolonged unprotected exposure to the sun could have fatal consequences.

London's Marble Arch fountains provided a respite from the hot weather

Dr David Lloyd said: "We know that children who burn their skin when they are under the age of 12 are much more likely to end up with skin cancer later on in their lives."

Matthew Breydin, 11, was admitted to Birmingham Children's Hospital last Saturday after suffering from severe sunburn during a family trip to Weston-super-Mare.

His mother Caroline said his back started to blister a few days after the outing although he applied sun cream regularly throughout the day.

"You have to make sure they are not in the sun for very long and keep them well covered all the time because the slightest bit of sun to the skin causes so much damage and there's so much pain as well," she said.

Dr Naiem Moiemen, a burns and plastics consultant surgeon at Birmingham Children's Hospital, said: "In the last week or two we've had a surge of small burns but substantial burns in children and sometimes we've see it in very, very small kids and that's really a high concern.

He said it has been unusual for sunburn cases to get this bad.

"We may have been caught by surprise and not taken the normal and sensible precautions," he said.

"We have to go out and enjoy the sun but also we have to use high sun factor cream on all areas, don't miss any part of the body that will be exposed. Hats are very important and white shirts and T-shirts that prevent sunbeams going to the skin."

A firefighter tackles a wildfire in southeast England

The heatwave is believed to have caused up to 760 premature deaths across the country.

Elderly residents are among the most vulnerable, with the British Red Cross opening two call centres in eastern England to ensure patients recently discharged from hospital are coping with the heat.

The Met Office has issued a level three health watch for the South West, the West Midlands and the North West, requiring social and healthcare services to implement specific measures to protect high-risk groups.

This has now been downgraded to level two for most of England, including Western areas, alerting social and healthcare services to be prepared.

Graham Bickler, of the Health Protection Agency, said: "There is considerable evidence that heatwaves are dangerous and can kill.

"In the 2003 heatwave there were 2,000 to 3,000 excess deaths in England. Across Europe, there were round 30,000 excess deaths."

The NHS urged people to consider staying out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, to take cool baths or showers and to drink cold drinks rather than tea, coffee or alcohol.

"Most of the information is common sense," Mr Bickler said. "It's not rocket science but it can have a dramatic effect."

Meanwhile, fire crews in London say they are dealing with twice as many grass fires this summer compared to last year.

More than 120 firefighters were called to one blaze on Wanstead Flats, near Stratford.

Elsewhere, wildfires tore through the south Wales valleys while flames devastated swathes of Tentsmuir Forest in Fife, Scotland.

Sky News weather presenter Sarah Pennock said temperatures "will be a touch cooler today for many, particularly across eastern England", although western Scotland will be hotter.

Forecasters say the mercury could climb to around 33C next week, with 35C possible in some places.

However, temperatures - which reached a 2013 high of 32.2C in London on Wednesday - are unlikely to top the high of 36.5C recorded in Surrey in July 2006.

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Mel Smith: Comedian Dies From Heart Attack

Griff Rhys Jones has led the tributes to his longtime comedy partner Mel Smith who has died from a heart attack at the age of 60.

The pair were most famous for their TV shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones.

Jones, who had been friends with Smith for 35 years, said the comedian was "a force for life" to everybody who met him, adding he was "a gentleman and a scholar, a gambler and a wit".

He also said: "I still can't believe this has happened. We are all in a state of shock. We have lost a very, very dear friend.

"He inspired love and utter loyalty and he gave it in return. I will look back on the days working with him as some of the funniest times that I have ever spent."

Smith began his career as a theatre-director at some of the country's most established venues, but it was his partnership with fellow comedian Jones that made him a household name.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mel and Griff, as they became known, produced and starred in four series of the hit comedy, Not The Nine O'Clock News.

Their success continued with Alas Smith and Jones which was one of the most popular sketch shows in the 1980s.

Mel with Griff Rhys Jones and Elton John in 1987 at the London Palladium

It won an Emmy Award and The British Comedy Award for Top Entertainment Series where Mel and Griff were named Top Entertainment Performer.

The pair founded Talkback, which grew to be one of the UK's largest producers of TV comedy and light entertainment programming.

Smith, who died at his home in north west London, also directed the film The Tall Guy in 1989 and Bean in 1997 and starred in movies including Wilt alongside Jones in 1989. 

Other friends and colleagues have also been paying their respects.

Not the Nine O'Clock News producer John Lloyd said Smith was an "amazingly talented guy" but added that he had not been in good health.

He said: "We did know he was ill. He's been ill for some time.

"So although it is the most awful news - I mean, it's a tragedy, it's a great loss not just as an amazingly talented guy in all sorts of areas but also as a friend.

"I think he was not in good shape, so in some ways we try and put a good spin on it by saying it's a relief for him."

Smith directed the film Bean starring Rowan Atkinson

Actor and fellow funny man Rowan Atkinson, who worked with Smith on both Not the Nine O'Clock News and Bean, the first Mr Bean film, said he was "truly sad" to hear about his death.

Atkinson said: "He had a wonderfully generous and sympathetic presence both on and off screen."

Comedian and author Stephen Fry tweeted: "Terrible news about my old friend Mel Smith, dead today from a heart attack. Mel lived a full life, but was kind, funny & wonderful to know."

Smith was described as having "extraordinary natural talent" by Peter Fincham, director of television at ITV.

Mr Fincham, who was the business partner of Smith and Jones at Talkback Productions as well as their agent, said: "Life was always exciting around Mel.

"He was my friend and business partner for many years and had extraordinary natural talent with the rare gift of wearing it lightly.

"Being funny came naturally to him, so much so that he never seemed to give it a second thought. Mel and Griff were one of the great comedy acts and it's hard to imagine that one of them is no longer with us."

Father Ted writer Graham Linehan said he and writing partner Arthur Mathews had been helped in their career by Smith, with their first sketches being broadcast on Alas Smith and Jones.

He said on Twitter: "Very sad to hear news of Mel Smith's death has been confirmed. He and Griff gave Arthur and I our break. Was always so kind & generous to us."

Actor and comic Peter Serafinowicz also paid tribute on Twitter. He wrote: "Very sad to hear about Mel Smith. He did something very kind for me early in my career even though he hardly knew me. Such a funny man."

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Dubai Pardons Brits Jailed Over Drug Offences

Three Britons who claimed they were tortured after they were arrested over drug offences in Dubai have returned home after being pardoned, according to Sky sources.

Grant Cameron, 25, Suneet Jeerh, 25, and Karl Williams, 26, all from London, were each jailed for four years for possessing synthetic cannabis after being arrested in Dubai in July last year while on holiday.

The men, who denied any wrongdoing, claimed they had signed documents in Arabic, a language none of them understands, following their arrests after they were threatened with guns to their heads.

David Cameron discussed the case with Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Dubai police denied the claims.

After Cameron arrived back in the UK, his mother Tracy said: "After a year of waiting, we are deeply relieved and overjoyed to have Grant back home with us after his terrible ordeal.

"Obviously what Grant has been through has been very distressing for him, and the family as a whole. We'd ask that people give him the time, space and privacy he needs to settle back in.

Tracy Cameron campaigned for her son's freedom

"In the meantime, we'd like to thank everyone who has helped support Grant and his friends throughout their ordeal."

The Britons were pardoned by authorities under a United Arab Emirates amnesty.

Although the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it would not discuss details of specific cases, a spokesman said: "We are aware that the 2013 amnesty list has been announced in the United Arab Emirates and that the local authorities have begun the process of releasing those included.

In May, Prime Minister David Cameron raised the case with Emirati president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and talks have been continuing through other official channels.

Reprieve investigator Kate Higham said: "After everything Grant has been through, his release is welcome but long overdue.

"No one should have to go through what he experienced, and we are glad that he is safely back home. We hope the same will soon be true of his friends Karl and Suneet."

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Tour De France: Team Sky's Remarkable Riders

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

When Team Sky was founded in 2010, Sir Dave Brailsford's stated ambition of winning the Tour de France within five years was greeted by the sound of people laughing behind their hands.

Some did not even both concealing their mirth.

A Briton, after all, had not won cycling's greatest test at all in its 97 years. Three years later, in the centenary running of Le Tour, a Brailsford Brit is about to win it for the second successive year.

There are many reasons for the British annexation of the Champs Elysees but chief among them is the presence in Sky's black-and-blue ranks of two extraordinary athletes.

The first, Sir Bradley Wiggins, was familiar to the public when he won the race last year having developed within the Olympic track team run by Brailsford.

He secured national treasure status a week later in the 2012 Games.

Chris Froome, who come sunset in Paris on Sunday night will inherit Wiggins's title, is a very different character, but his rise is no less remarkable.

Bradley Wiggins won the Tour last year

Both men have been shaped by bumpy upbringings outside the UK, and both have lost a parent. But there are few other similarities, beyond the bikes.

Wiggins grew up in Belgium, close to cycling's roots, and endured the absence of his father who left the family having planted the seed of cycling in his son's head.

Froome was schooled in the sport as far from its European epicentre as it is possible to imagine.

Born in Kenya to English parents who separated when he was just 11, he learned the sport riding with a cycling club founded for poor black Africans.

It was an early lesson in self-sufficiency that has served him well throughout his career.

His peers and teachers at boarding school in South Africa talk of Froome's fierce motivation, and hours spent on the rollers in his room hammering out static miles that laid the foundations of the astonishing strength and determination we have seen this last three weeks.

He ploughed a lonely furrow, struggling to find a professional berth in South Africa and then in Europe before his talent and promise was spotted by Brailsford, who signed him up to his formative team.

That came two years after Froome's mother Jane died from cancer.

Froome sets off on stage 20 of the Tour De France

His formative years did not leave him with the purest technique. While Wiggins's flat back and languid leg strokes seem to eat up the miles, Froome strikes a hunched silhouette.

It may not be pretty but it is just as effective, particularly in the mountains that have punctuated this ferociously tough Tour.

It is arguable that in taking victory in this of all years Froome has demonstrated that in the Grand Tours at least, he is a superior performer to Wiggins.

There was evidence last year, which Froome spent as Wiggins's super-domestique, leading him up the most testing climbs and, notoriously, suggesting at times that he had the team leaders' measure.

This year there has been no argument that Froome is the strongest man in the field, and certainly his own team, which has been a shadow of the devastating black road-train that propelled Wiggins to yellow last year.

His strength in the mountains has left rivals in awe, in part because he has often had to defend the yellow jersey above the tree-line alone.

The defining stage came a week ago on Mont Ventoux, when Froome rode away from the peleton and his rivals with a superlative display of climbing.

It was immediately hailed as one of the great stage wins in 100 years of the Tour, and more immediately consolidated his grip on the yellow jersey.

He has not looked like relinquishing it, not on the double ascent of Alpe D'Huez last week or the final mountain stages on the road back to Paris.

On Sunday he will find the Champs Elysee en fete and ready for a floodlit firework celebration of the world's greatest bike race.

And its champion will be a Briton so good even the most partisan Frenchman will have to applaud.

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