The News Matrix: Wednesday 22 October 2014

Green Party politician arrested

A senior official from a watchdog that monitors Scotland Yard was arrested yesterday during a peaceful protest outside the Houses of Parliament. Jenny Jones, 64, a Green Party politician and deputy chair of the police and crime committee at the London Assembly, was arrested after she went to the “Occupy London” protest. She was briefly held for “obstructing” police.

Land Girls get their own statue at last

The women who served on land during the First and Second World War providing crucial labour have been commemorated with a statue in Staffordshire. Britain’s Land Girls were honoured yesterday as the 8ft bronze sculpture was unveiled in Alrewas.

Suspect leads police to six other bodies

There are fears that Darren Deon Vann, charged with the death of a 19-year-old woman, may be a serial killer after he led authorities to six other victims in abandoned homes in Indiana, stirring memories of the notorious murderer John Wayne Gacy Jr.

Tories return Russian banker cash

The Conservative party has returned a £28,000 donation from a company thought to be associated with an exiled Russian banker. The party accepted the cash following the auction of a portrait of Margaret Thatcher by the artist Darren Baker at a 2013 summer fundraising ball.

Alleged spies seized near nuclear plant

Iranian security services arrested several suspected spies in the southern province of Bushehr where the country’s first nuclear power plant is located. Iran has repeatedly cited signs of what it calls foreign plots to sabotage its nuclear programme.

Childrens’ remains discovered in locker

The remains of up to four dead infants have been found in a storage locker in Winnipeg. Police were called to the storage company by concerned employees. A police spokesman said the remains were so decomposed it was not clear whether there were three or four bodies.

Hollywood designer De la Renta dies at 82

Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta has died aged 82 at his home in Connecticut. He created red-carpet dresses worn by some of Hollywood’s biggest names and designed Amal Clooney’s wedding gown.

Labour’s leaders ‘losing voters to Ukip’

Labour is losing its working-class supporters to Ukip because the party’s leaders are out of touch. Frank Field accused Ed Miliband of taking the party’s traditional voters for granted and called on the party to commit itself to ending the free movement of labour in the EU.

Timberlake and Biel settle legal action

The pop star Justin Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel have settled legal action against a celebrity magazine after it published a “false and unfounded story” questioning their two-year marriage. Heat magazine has apologised and retracted the story, which featured pictures of the singer at a party.

Musicians stand up for arrested busker

Fellow musicians are rallying around a subway performer whose arrest at a busy New York station was captured on video. Andrew Kalleen, 30, was performing when an officer told him (wrongly) that he must leave the station because he needed a permit. When Kalleen kept singing he was arrested and handcuffed.

Teenager’s tail to tell after scorpion found

The BBC 6 Music presenter Ben Wyatt had to call zoological experts to his London home after discovering a scorpion on his teenage daughter’s bedroom floor. London Zoo said it was probably a yellow-tailed scorpion, a species common on mainland Europe, that had come to the UK in a suitcase.

You got the power – all £1,200 of it

A New Mexico man says he made an error while paying his electric bill, overpaying by more than $2,000 (£1,200). The Public Service Company of New Mexico says it could take weeks to get his money back. Ira Karmiol overpaid a $278 bill online when he inadvertently hit a fourth digit and paid $2,787.

The Chris Huhne story in ceramic

Grayson Perry has created a vase inspired by the former energy secretary Chris Huhne – decorated with images of penises and speed cameras. The Turner Prize-winning artist used the images to portray the former Lib Dem politician’s downfall for a new series to be screened on Channel 4.