Two policemen involved in an alleged attack on an autistic man in Luton, have now been suspended.

In an open letter to residents, Chief Constable Colette Paul said new information received from the investigation team had meant the officers, who were on restricted duty, have now been suspended.

“Without judging the outcome of this investigation, this restriction has now been changed, and the officers involved have been suspended from all Police duties. Mr Ali’s family have been informed and I have reassured them that if at the end of the investigation wrong doing is identified I will deal with it. No inference of wrongdoing can be drawn until the conclusion of this independent enquiry supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission”, she said.

Ms Paul also met with the family of Mr Ali, of Whitby Road, Luton, to discuss the incident on february 20 this year.

Mr Ali’s family claim he was attacked while he put the bins out at the family home.

“I do not fear, for you are with me. All those who defied me, shall be ashamed and disgraced. Those who wage war against me, shall perish. I will find strength, find guidance, and I will triumph.”

You’re right, that’s a paraphrase of Isaiah from the Good Book – and I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting it to feature as the ‘driving’ motivation in this movie inspired by the best selling Electronic Arts video game – the latest of which on the PS4 looks almost as good as this movie visually.

So here we have the tale of young hotshot car mechanic Tobey Marshall (Aaron ‘Breaking Bad’ Paul) who likes to indulge in a spot of illegal street racing.

But when he gets in over his head and one of his friends is killed Tobey is framed and jailed by love rival Dino Brewster (a swaggering Dominic ‘Captain America’ Cooper).

Burning for revenge upon release he teams up with sexy British car enthusiast Julia Maddon (Imogen ‘28 Weeks Later’ Poots) and enters a winner takes all cross country race with a view to bring down Brewster.

What follows is a mixture of insane adrenaline-fuelled car action, made so much better by the lack of CGI silliness which mars films like the Fast & Furious franchise.

Need for Speed is a turbo-powered full speed pedal to the metal race-em-up that only stalls when the cast stop driving and try to act.

For sheers balls-to-the-wall auto-thrills, director and former stunt man Scott ‘Act of Valor’ Waugh brings his A game, but if you’re looking for credible characterisation, believable dialogue and/or any semblance of a thought-provoking plot you’re looking much further down the alphabet.

The cars are the real stars here, and if you’re a Top Gear fan or have played and enjoyed any of the Need For Speed games, then there is much to make you shout ‘OOOhhhh that’s cool’ here. In fact for maximum enjoyment you should try to zone out during the non-driving bits and just enjoy the feast of four-wheel frolics.

The car chases are some of the best ever committed to film and boast the kind of stunts that the Ryan Gosling’s Driver performs when not doing getaways. Old school, high danger crashes, jumps and a kinetic sense of speed are actually for once enhanced by the 3D.

Faster and more furious than certain other automobile action flicks – if you feel the need, the need for speed should be priority viewing!

A man was threatened by a group of between 12 and 14 men armed with weapons in Waleys Close at 7pm on Saturday.

The man was approached by the gang, several of whom were armed with weapons, before he managed to break free and run away before an assault took place.

Police officers have interviewed a number of witnesses and have reviewed CCTV footage of the incident, but are still searching for anybody who may have seen the affray.

Detective Sergeant Andrew Greenacre, who is investigating, is appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time or who may have witnessed the incident.

DS Greenacre is also looking to speak to anyone who may have seen the group of men, who are all described as being black, before or after the incident.

If you have information on the incident contact DS Greenacre in confidence on 01582 394085, or by calling the non-emergency number 101.

Alternatively contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org

Could you join a youth leadership programme here in Bedfordshire?

Uprising Bedfordshire, the pioneering leadership scheme, is holding two workshop taster sessions at the University of Bedfordshire open to anybody interested in the programme for October 2014.

It’s a chance for potential participants to find out more about the scheme and what they get to do if they join the course.

It is open to anyone aged 19 to 25.

The Bedford Workshop is on Tuesday, March 25 at the University of Bedfordshire, Bedford campus, Room P2.29, between 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

The Luton Workshop is on Thursday, March 27 at the University of Bedfordshire, Luton campus, Room PM03 in the PG centre between 2.30-3.30pm

There is a chance to find out more about the UpRising Leadership Programme and talk to people who are already involved in the programme - you do not have to commit to anything at the workshop.

To find out more about the scheme visit {http://www.uprising.org.uk|www.uprising.co.uk}

Mrs Dee is, as I know only too well, a remarkable woman.

Or is she a woman at all? She loves a gossip and a glass of rose and she can’t get enough of Call The Midwife, so those boxes are ticked.

But while she is known to savour a nice long sudsy soak, candles optional, get this – she hates shopping, can’t be bothered with cosmetics and the last time she tried to wear heels the poor dear nearly crippled herself.

And the biggest question mark over her membership of the fairer sex has to be this: like a Dyson, she’s very handy around the house – and oh, how I am going to pay for that – but she is pretty much bagless.

She just doesn’t hold with handbags – keys and some cards are all she needs close to hand, she reckons, and they go in her pockets.

She’s got the odd little haversack for special occasions, and bigger bags when there is serious transporting to be done, but day to day she turns her back on toting a huge sack of stuff around with her.

Yet a survey now reveals how weird she is – your average woman owns eight handbags, it says here, but three per cent own more than 100.

The thing I have never really got my head around in this area, and you’ll appreciate that I don’t have the chance to carry out much in the way of field research due to Mrs Dee’s lightness of load – is how it’s supposed to work.

I’ve never been entirely sure whether the idea is to have a starter pack of essentials – tissues, bits of make-up, pack of mints, comb, whatever – in every bag you own, and then just add in the everyday items like purse and phone when you have made your choice, or whether all the contents get transferred from bag to bag in a life-long game of pass the parcel.

And seeing as bags vary greatly in size, how do you decide what really is essential if you are downsizing into a clutch bag for a flash evening out? It’s all a mystery to me.

It has to be said that there are pitfalls in being linked to one who frowns on lugging bags around on a daily basis.

She regularly mislays keys, and more worryingly bank cards, and instead of going through a collection of bags has to rifle through the pockets of sundry jackets, and let me tell you she does not stint herself on the jacket front.

That means we waste just as much time hunting down mislaid items as we would in bag choice and transfer.

I suppose one answer would be for me to grit my teeth and go with a man bag, and keep whatever stuff she needs in there.

But please, the woman already sees herself as some sort of minor royal. She won’t carry cash if we’re together, she’ll expect me to field phone calls and texts for her as well.

If I started toting a bag I might as well walk five paces behind her and call myself an equerry, so let’s not go there.

A 15-year-old was threatened with a knife on Sunday night in Rockley Road, Luton.

His mobile phone was stolen by a chubby black teenager, around 17, 5ft 10in tall and wearing a blue hooded top and dark jeans.

Investigating officer DC Dave Brecknock would like to hear from anyone in the area at the time of the attack.

He can be contacted in confidence on 01582 394499 or non-emergency number 101. Or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Not many people know that Luton is blessed with its own Poet Laureate.

Her name is Mary Emeji and she’s a qualified lawyer whose passion for poetry led to her being awarded the title by former Luton mayor Syd Knight in 2012.

Now the woman who not only founded Luton Poetry Society but who’s also penned five books – including Royal Luminosity, a celebration of the marriage of Prince William, and Timeless Date, allegedly in collaboration with that other great dramatist, William Shakespeare – has scored again.

She’s hosting Bedfordshire Lord Lieutenant Helen Nellis at the group’s next meeting on Saturday, March 29.

Mary, 31, said: “I met her at one of my engagements at the Town Hall and she is such a special lady – and a lover of poetry too.

“Our members are really looking forward to performing before a great luminary.”

The theme of the event is ‘Colours’ and will consist of poetry recitals and live classical music.

Mary, who lives in Cambridge Street and originally came from Nigeria, has been penning love poems since she was a young girl.

She has an affinity with the Bard and dips into Shakespeare’s Sonnets every day.

The mother-of-two explained: “He’s always been my favourite poet and our writing is very similar.

“I feel really really close to him even though there are four centuries between us. We both write about love and he also talks about it as his muse, his inspiration.

“So I decided to do a book with him. Each section contains poems by me and poems from him. They’re timeless stories, there’s one duet between us where I use sentences from his sonnets alongside my own.

“Timeless Date is an opportunity to discover the mind of William, through the mind of Mary – his mother’s namesake.”

Mary was also moved to write Royal Luminosity in 2011 with poet Alan Rainer.

She said: “It reflects the themes of royal love, marriage, happiness, contemplation and the deep realities of life.

“I sent a copy to the Queen and received an acknowledgement from Her Majesty and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.”

Mary holds two law degrees from the University of Bedfordshire although she’s never practised.

“I’m a full time poet,” she said. “There’s so much talent in Luton and there’s always so much to do, from organising events to giving performances.

“People attending our meetings always say ‘Wow! Everyone is so welcoming and it’s like a breath of fresh air.’”

> For more details visit www.lutonpoetrysociety.com

South West Bedfordshire MP Andrew Selous has welcomed reforms to the school funding system which will see Central Bedfordshire children receiving an extra £3.8 million of funding in 2015/16.

At the moment pupils in Central Bedfordshire receive a funding of £4,144 each. This will now rise to £4,253 for each pupil.

Mr Selous said: “I really welcome this move to a fairer school funding system. For many years children in Central Bedfordshire have not received as much funding as in other areas and this money will make a difference. In a school with 1,000 children there would be an additional £109,000 added to the school budget.”

Tomorrow (March 20) is Child Contact Day, aimed at encouraging access for families torn apart by divorce and custody issues.

Family law solicitor Siobhan Rooney said: “A split can be particularly heartbreaking for the children.”

You can spot the American credentials of Labor Day without having to check in the dictionary to wonder where the missing vowel went.

The Color Purple, Pearl Harbor – big budget movies that insist on the Stateside spelling are nothing new.

In this tangled tale Kate Winslet goes all traumatised and dishevelled as the sad sack single mum of a teenage son, left high and dry by her hubby giving her the heave-ho.

What she needs to do is meet a nice chap, but Josh Brolin’s menacing escaped convict hardly fits the bill.

Even if they did click, there’s no future in it, what with him being on the run and a convicted murderer to boot.

But after being forced to give him a lift, she offers him a haven and over a long weekend they begin to bond.

It’s from a Joyce Maynard novel and directed by Jason Reitman, the man behind Juno and Up In The Air. It’s all a bit overwrought, but it has a certain melodramatic meat to it.

More tongue in cheek is A Long Way Down, in which Pierce Brosnan continues to prove that there is life after Bond in a movie version of the Nick Hornby book about a mismatched quartet of would-be suicides who meet up by accident at the top of a skyscraper where they all plan to end it all, find there’s something of a queue and eventually agree not to do the dread deed just yet, and look out for each other in the weeks ahead.

Imogen Poots and Aaron Paul, both seen only the other week in Need For Speed, also feature, as do the ever watchable Toni Collette andSam Neill.

A Luton teenager took her own life less than a month before turning 18, an inquest heard yesterday.

Leigha Edwards was found hanged in her wardrobe by her sister at their home in Wedgewood Road less than two weeks before Christmas.

Beds Coroner Tom Osborne said that Leigha had no history of mental illness, but had been encouraged to visit the doctors by her boyfriend where she complained of feeling anxious and depressed –emotions caused by a difficult relationship with her previous boyfriend. However, the teenager, who worked as a care assistant, denied having any suicidal thoughts.

After the inquest, when asked what she would say to others with suicidal thoughts, Leigha’s mum, Paula Embleton, said: “They just need to speak to their mum. She kept all that stuff very secret.”

Recording a verdict of suicide, Mr Osborne told Leigha’s family: “I would like to express my condolences for these sad and tragic circumstances.

“Unfortunately there appears to be something in the mind of young people when there’s almost a failure to realise if you’re dead today, you’re dead tomorrow. But here, Leigha thought this was a solution, and a quick solution.

“Tomorrow when you wake up, try to remember all the happier memories you have.”

A man suffered serious head injuries in a collision between a car and pedestrian in Barton last night.

A team from Magpas anaesthetised the man in his 50’s, who suffered serious head and pelvic injuries.

He was then taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital were he was reported to be in a critical but stable condition.

We were told that the new adaptation of Stephen King’s first published novel would go back to the basics of the book.

The promise was made by director Kimberly Peirce, but horror remake CARRIE (15: Sony) is a pale imitation and more of a homage to Brian De Palma’s 1976 horror classic.

While the core scary fairy tale remains, the film is less emotionally engaging than the orginal.

Repressed teenager Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) is tormented at school by bullies and at home by her fanatically religious mother (Julianne Moore).

She starts to develop psychic powers and when her prom night results in one final humiliation, she snaps and unleashes full telekinetic revenge on everyone who has made her life a misery.

Thrown into the mix are social media thrills (Carrie’s shower humiliation is put on YouTube), silly visual nods to The Exorcist and excessive gore in the bloody massacre finale.

There’s nothing wrong with the performances, but they’re not in the same class as those of Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie 38 years ago.

> The full Disney princess treatment is given to Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen in dazzling fairy tale adventure FROZEN (PG: Walt Disney).

Animation is given an injection of Broadway talent, with Tony Award-winning Idina Menzel voicing Elsa, the princess whose magical frostiness is so dangerous that she is separated from younger sister Anna (Kristen Bell).

After becoming queen, Elsa reveals her chilling powers in a jealous rage, causing her kingdom to suffer continuous winter, and flees to the mountains.

Anna sets off to find her and reverse the magic, together with a handsome swain, his trusty reindeer and an optimistic snowman.

Vivid action, solid drama and surprising twists in the third act combine with some superb show-tune songs.

> HOMEFRONT (15: Lionsgate) is another by-the-numbers thriller off the Jason Statham production line, although the star displays a tender side rarely seen in his previous action work.

Statham is Phil Broker, a federal agent who quits his job after his wife’s death and moves to the Deep South to start a new life with his ten-year-old daughter.

But the natives are less than friendly and when sleazy local crime lord Gator (James Franco) tries to use Broker’s past as a drug enforcement agent to aid his meth operation, the stage is set for a fight-to-the-end battle.

Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay and it ticks all the boxes for a good-versus-evil clash, but pedestrian direction robs the story of any real momentum.

> Robert De Niro does further damage to his reputation in Goodfellas-style comedy action movie THE FAMILY (15: Momentum).

Chaos ensues when a mafia boss turned supergrass and his kin are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection programme.

Despite the best efforts of Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Fred Manzoni (De Niro), his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) and their children can’t help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems “the family way”.

You would expect more from a film directed by Luc Besson, while De Niro should know better than to add this turkey to his CV.

A convicted murderer was one of a number of interviewees featured in a hard hitting documentary which was acclaimed at a national awards ceremony on Wednesday.

Knife Sentence, put together by a group of 16-25 year-olds on the Luton Prince’s Trust teen programme, delved into the ripple effect caused by knife crime- from immediate victims to the wider implications on the entire community.

The 20 minute documentary featured two stab victims from the town as well as a convicted murderer who served 20 years in jail.

Following its completion it was submitted for the National Crimebeat Awards and the team behind it were honoured for their efforts at a ceremony in London on Wednesday.

The group received a prize for best presentation on the day, while the film came third in its category.

Programme team leader Kayleigh Jean said: “Completing the project has given everyone a lot of confidence, 90 per cent of that group of 16 are now in education, employment or training.

“Once hard copies of the film are on disc it will be shown to teenagers in schools and community groups across the town. The aim is to educate on the grave results of knife crime for everybody.”

Shortfallings with fire safety equipment at a pre-school could have had “serious consequences”, a report has revealed.

Butely Road Pre-School was visited by Ofsted inspectors after a tip off that fire equipment was not up to an acceptable standard- meaning that children were not evacuated when the fire alarm for adjoining Pirton Hill Infant School sounded.

The fault has since been fixed by the manager of the pre-school but inspectors have issued a grave warning over the incident, which “put children and staff at immediate risk and could have had serious consequences in different circumstances.”

An Ofsted report raised fears that this situation had presented itself previously.

It read: “The provider failed to check that sufficient action was taken following previous examples when the fire alarm bell was difficult to hear.

“The pre-school has not fully developed a shared understanding and responsibility of how to protect children with the host school.”

Inspectors added that this was in breach of legal requirements set by the Childcare Register, urging the pre-school to “ensure premises and equipment used for the purposes of the childcare are safe and suitable for that childcare”.

A Luton Borough Council spokesperson said: “During a recent activation of the fire alarm at 4.30pm, one of the alarm sounders in one room of the Pre School stopped working - although the visual alarm in the room was flashing, and bells were sounding in all the other areas of the building and could be heard in the Pre School.

“The bell was fixed within two hours and the issue was self-referred to Ofsted by the Pre School.”

Firefighters from Stopsley, Luton and Dunstable stations put out a fire at a first floor flat on Hitchin road on Thursday morning.

A man in his 40’s was treated by ambulance staff for smoke inhalation.

Turn on the television, and you’ll see in 60 second ad-breaks, the familiar format - a starving child and an ask for £3 a month. It’s easy to assume that no progress on international development has been made. Perhaps that’s why British people think we spend nearly 20% of our national wealth each year on overseas aid to developing nations, when the reality is far smaller - just 0.7%.

What does that get us? In 2000, the world came together to agree a deal to tackle poverty in the developing world - the ‘Millennium Development Goals’. Before that there was no coordinated framework, and it showed. Inequality and poverty both rose.

Since the goals were put in place, we’ve halved the number of people living in absolute poverty around the world.

Today 9-out-of-10 of people in the world have enough food to eat and lead healthy lives - and that trend is upwards. 54 million more children started going to school in the poorest region of Africa between 1999 and 2011. And people are getting healthier. Since 2001, the rate of new HIV infections has decreased by more than 50% in 25 countries around the world.

These policies have led to the number of women dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth halving between 1990 and 2010. Since 2000, 6 million child deaths were averted through immunisations.

And we all did this. We did it without picking up the phone, or pledging. We did it through our government, making a small contribution, and a big difference.

I am responsible for leading in the Labour party the process of negotiations for the successor deal to the Millennium Development Goals. Next year we may find ourselves in government, landing that deal. And I’m determined to make sure that we are proud of our successes in saving lives and making change.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) has passed its most recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which confirms that everyone helped by the Charity receives care of the highest quality.

The EAAA, which provides the air ambulance service across Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Norfolk and Suffolk, operates from bases at Cambridge and Norwich. It has to be inspected regularly by the CQC, the independent regulator of health and social care services in England, to ensure that its personnel and facilities meet a range of standards relating to overall quality and safety of care. The EAAA’s most recent inspections took place in February. The subsequent reports confirmed that each base was meeting the standards required in all categories inspected.

These recent CQC reports have been welcomed by the Charity’s Chief Executive, Tim Page: He said: “The CQC gave us a thorough inspection and we are very pleased with the results. We aim to be a leader in pre-hospital emergency medicine and the Commission has recognised the efforts we are making to achieve this. There is always more work to do, of course, and we are already aiming to exceed these high standards, but our dedicated operations and clinical staff should feel very proud that they helped the Charity to achieve such a positive report.”

Anna Price, Clinical Governance Manager at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) which tasks the EAAA’s aircraft, added: “The CQC’s reports are great news and we congratulate the EAAA. It is very impressive to see that the Charity has maintained such high standards of care and we are delighted to be working so closely with them. Patients should know that, should they ever need the air ambulance, they will be treated by a team focused on providing the best possible care, based on the highest professional clinical standards and practice.”

The inspections were conducted during visits to both bases, through interviews with staff and detailed inspections of the premises, facilities and equipment, including the aircraft.

At the Cambridge base, inspectors noted that the staff they spoke to ‘showed a high level of motivation and commitment to their work’, and that one paramedic commented, “Everyone that works here, wants to work here and do their best, we are genuinely motivated people”. Inspectors also commented how much EAAA staff valued the open culture of the Charity and that staff were fully consulted and involved in all major decisions affecting the organisation.

The inspection also covered areas including:

· Requirements relating to workers

· Respecting and involving people who use the service

· Cooperating with other providers

· Cleanliness and infection control

· Supporting workers· The safety, availability and suitability of equipment

For more information on the work of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, visit www.eaaa.org.uk or call 08450 669 999. You can also follow us on Twitter at @EastAngliAirAmb or ‘like’ our Facebook page – East Anglian Air Ambulance Charity.

The newest building to grace Luton’s skyline has been nominated for a prestigious award.

The TOKKO Youth Space on Gordon Street, (right) has been shortlisted by the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) for its RIBA East of England awards – one of only 18 buildings to make the list.

Andy Calvert, executive manager at TOKKO, said: “The management team and the young people at TOKKO are very excited and proud that the building has been put forward for a national award. The young people worked alongside the architects to come up with this unique design, even doing their work experience at the architects’ offices, and have been included in all the decisions throughout the build and are still developing projects in the building.

“We all feel we have a building fit for purpose and a place where the community and especially young people can develop skills and have a safe place to meet with friends. A place that young people have ownership and want to be.

All shortlisted buildings will be assessed by a regional jury early this month, with the winners of an RIBA East Award being announced during the evening of Thursday, April 10 at a celebratory event at Downing College, Cambridge.

egional winners will then go forward to be considered for a highly-coveted RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, which will be announced in June.

The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning buildings later in the year.

Grab the baby oil and strike out the spandex – this week’s big screen heroes come lean and mean.

In the red, white and blue corner we have period superhero Captain America back for another battle against the beastly Nazis, while blockbuster fans who want to head deeper into history can sign on with legendary he-man Hercules.

In the Cap’s crew we have Chris Evans back centre stage while other familiar faces including Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, Dominic Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones, not to mention Robert Redford, flesh out the cast.

The first outing for the comic book captain back in 2011 was considered a big hit, with just the right combination of special effects and period charm.

And there’s no intention of varying that formula as he goes into action again in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Watch out for Dominic Cooper as engineer Howard Stark – yes, Iron Man Tony’s dad.

Hercules is helmed by action expert Renny Harlin, who has hits like Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger in his back catalogue, while the title role is handed to a relative unknown – Kellan Lutz will be known to fans of the Twilight series but this is a step up for him.

He’s obviously spent a fair bit of time in the Ancient Greek gym to buff up for the role, and if you like your myths big and brainless and can follow all the complicated names and shifting loyalties you should go home reasonably happy.

Also out this week, and perhaps screened at a multiplex near you, is Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, about the largely anonymous backing singers who played bit parts in some of the biggest pop hits of all time.