Mind yer head," says Stephen Webster, indicating the low-hung chandelier with the giant crystal globes, "Mickey Rourke bashed 'is head on that, an' I thought 'e was done for." We are closeted together in the tiny buyer's boudoir at Webster's flagship store in Mayfair, surrounded by photographs of his devoted clients: Kate, Sienna, Madonna, Sharon, Jennifer... If the plush sofa in here could talk, it would purr for hours about the fabulousness of the celebrities that have perched on it, discussing gems with Mr Webster.

Davidson puts distance between herself and PM as poll shows Scots do not back full independence

A record £300 million haul of cocaine has been seized and six alleged members of an international drugs gang arrested, officials said today.

Seen until now as amorphous and dull, the field of Republicans positioning themselves potentially to take on President Barack Obama in next year's presidential race was exhibiting some electricity yesterday thanks to a bus, some motorbikes and a certain former governor of Alaska.

In the end, Terry Jones saw reason. But just a few hours earlier, his mind had been very far from magnanimous gestures of conciliation.

No matter how hard their coach tries to make it a normal match-day, today is a huge occasion for the ultimate small-town club.

Charlie Hunnam knew what he was letting himself in for. It was all there in the script. Within minutes of appearing on a TV screen in his first major role, playing a 15-year-old schoolboy, he'd be having his naked bum licked by a drug-taking club Lothario. "I was just thrown into this world and it was all so exciting, and I didn't really have any gauge of what was a normal day on a set and what wasn't," the actor says of his appearance in Channel 4's headline-rattling 1999 drama Queer as Folk. "But I was a pretty fearless kid. I was just amazed that I'd been given this opportunity. I jumped in head first."

30 riders arrested after 'DIY' assassination attempts on surveillance officers

Driving a bobsleigh through Whistler's gut-wrenching turns at 90mph was probably not the advice Janis Minins was given by his surgeon after having his appendix removed on the day the Games opened.

As he fights prostate cancer, a vicious battle is already being waged for the millions the actor earned from films such as Easy Rider. Then again, says Guy Adams, this is a hellraiser who was never likely to go quietly

It felt like the stuff of nightmares. There I was, going along on my bike, when I realised I was careering for the edge of a cliff. So I looked down at the handlebars, only to find that there were no brakes.

Almost 35 years after Evel Knievel’s failed attempt to clear 13 London buses on a Harley Davidson ended his career, son Robbie Knievel has announced that he will try to go one better; or three to be exact.

France's veteran rock star hopes to conquer the US at last, writes John Lichfield

It nearly went bust seven years ago, but Pace Technologies could become a world electronics leader, writes Nick Clark