David Davis was clearly staying in the background hoping that Iain would fail Mr Laidlaw told the Financial

“David Davis was clearly staying in the background hoping that Iain would fail,” Mr Laidlaw told the Financial Times.The former chairman, who strenuously denies any allegations of disloyalty, has always maintained that he was smeared by “dark forces” in the Tory hierarchy.Writing in The Spectator, Lord Tebbit criticised Mr Duncan Smith for failing to keep a promise to phone him about claims that he would be expelled from the party.Hedescribed his critics as “a bunch of weirdos” calling themselves the Movement and claimed that newspapers had been briefed last week that he was to be thrown out of the party for being white, male, heterosexual and nasty.”I am not surprised. I was warned weeks ago that a bunch of weirdos – some in high office in the party – have been planning a ‘clause four’-style confrontation to demonstrate that the Conservative Party has embraced ‘cool Britannia’, youth, the gay world and ethnic minorities, and rejected Thatcherism, tax cuts, families and tradition,” he wrote.”Their ‘clause four’ was for IDS to expel me, split the party and then be replaced by a moderniser.”Lord Tebbit said he had been criticised on Sunday by Tim Yeo, the shadow Trade and Industry Secretary. “I suppose I should be angry, but I really can’t manage that Poor Tim He has had a worse week than I Remember, he was sacked by John Major for adultery. That really is unfair.”He said he was told by Mr Duncan Smith’s aide Owen Paterson that the leader was devastated by all this and would telephone after his conference speech. “He did not.” By Sunday, Lord Tebbit said he had still not heard from Mr Duncan Smith. He said his expulsion was raised at a meeting of Tory peers, many of whom said: “If Tebbit goes, I go.”.

The number of people paid less than the minimum wage has surged by almost a third over the last year, fuelling fears that employers are dodging the new higher rate. The survey of low pay by the Office for National Statistics is the first since the minimum was put up by 10 per cent to £4.10 an hour, and £3.50 for those under 22 years old.The latest figures from the Department of Trade and Industry show employers underpaid staff by £5m last year, a rise of £2m over just one year.Alastair Hatchett, a labour expert at the analysts Incomes Data Services, said the rise tallied with government figures showing a rise in non-compliance. He said it could also be due to restaurant staff being paid less than the minimum in the expectation they would make up the difference in tips.John Monks, TUC general secretary, said it was too early to say whether people were being underpaid but added: “There is no cause for complacency and we need to keep up pressure so that there is no hiding place for Scrooge bosses.”The Confederation of British Industry said the law exempted some people who received free accommodation or were apprentices or trainees. John Cridland, its deputy director general, said the figures were “suspiciously high” but insisted business was not complacent.

“Cowboy employers that don’t pay the minimum wage are not doing anyone any favours,” he said.Meanwhile, separate figures showed the pay gap between men and women had risen because of growing inequality in the earnings of City professionals. Women earned 81.1 per cent of what their male counterparts did, compared with 81.5 per cent last year, the ONS said. A narrowing of the pay gap for most workers was offset by a large rise in inequality in the top 2 per cent of the pay scale.. Britain is conducting detailed research into joining the American “son of Star Wars” missile defence programme, Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence, said yesterday. But Mr Hoon confirmed the Government would publish a dossier on the benefits of missile defence and hinted that ministers would agree to hold a debate in the Commons.He insisted that no specific decisions had been taken about missile defence and no formal request made for the use of the Fylingdales base in north Yorkshire.He said: “It is right that we recognise the potential contribution of missile defence to a comprehensive strategy to deal with the threat from ballistic missiles, a strategy that includes non-proliferation and counter-proliferation measures, diplomacy and deterrence.”Jeremy Corbyn, a Labour MP trenchantly opposed tomissile defence, seized on Mr Hoon’s admission. He asked: “Has he just not made a coded statement that Britain is going to take part in missile defence, [that] it is going to support the United States in this costly disaster, this Star Wars in the sky that lines us up ever closer with the United States?”.

Major parties were routed by fringe candidates in two polls for elected mayors with also a strong finish by the far right British National Party at Stoke-on-Trent. His campaign platform included cracking down on litter and graffiti, curbing town centre parking charges and encouraging senior town hall officers to live in the borough they serve.Mr Stevenson, speaking after his defeat at Stoke, hit out at the BNP.He said: “Stoke-on-Trent is not a racist city and we must make sure our message gets out. This city welcomes all people and we must build on its strength of multi-culturalism.”Unemployed Mr Batkin did not stay for the votes declaration.:: Stoke becomes the first council to be run by an executive mayor assisted by a council manager instead of a cabinet.:: Bedford’s count resumes at 10am.. Jeremy Bamber was convicted for the massacre of five members of his family 17 years ago because of a “series of deceits” by police during the investigation, the Court of Appeal was told yesterday,. The farm worker claimed his sister Sheila Caffell, who had schizophrenia, killed their parents, Neville and June, and her six-year-old twin sons before turning the gun on herself.The trial was told that he bragged to his ex-girlfriend about how he was going to kill his parents and a relative found a gun silencer, allegedly with Ms Caffell’s blood on it, suggesting she could not have carried out the killings.Mr Turner said the appeal would be based partly on new DNA tests that raised the prospect that blood on the silencer could instead have come from Mr and Mrs Bamber. But he said police had destroyed all the blood-based exhibits so the answer would never be known.