French minister's boasts of sex with young boys come back to haunt him

Roman Polanski lost the first round yesterday in his battle to avoid extradition to the US for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

Susan Atkins, who has died aged 61, was characterised by the former assistant Los Angeles district attorney Stephen Kay as "the scariest of the Manson girls", who as members of Charles Manson's "family" committed the Tate-LaBianca murders, traumatising Los Angeles and shocking the world. The image of Atkins, an X carved in her forehead in imitation of Manson, telling the sentencing judge, "you'd best lock your doors and watch your own kids" was the most chilling of a trial which brought to an end the short-lived hippie era of the Sixties.

Vanessa, Colin and Angela: they sound like inoffensive neighbours whom you might invite round for a drink. In fact, they're three of the worst paedophiles ever convicted in this country.

If Labour wants to retain power, it should back the singalong rather than fret about the press. Plus, Polanski's ridiculous friends, football's foulers, and the death of Lucy Vodden, inspiration to John Lennon

Decision day on retirement age must come soon

A blurb published in yesterday's Arts and Books section displayed a rare example of a common type of confusion: "After a four-year break from film, the actress who emanates a misfit's primal energy is back."

The Roman Polanski case offers an insight into the strange world of Hollywood in the Seventies. Just how shocking was the behaviour of directors and producers when so many classic films were being made? Geoffrey Macnab looks behind closed doors

Film director's appeal over conviction may be put in jeopardy by revelation

How horrific abuse can be nobody's problem

It's a shocking way to treat a man who went through the Holocaust and his wife's murder

The film director has been treated with extraordinary indulgence

Foreign minister demands answers from US as Hollywood stars plead for release of director held over sex with 13-year-old

In the end, Google succeeded where three decades of detective work and diplomatic endeavour failed, and LA's District Attorney's Office was finally able to nab the self-confessed child sex offender who'd been cocking a snook at them for so long.