‘No agenda’ in Guardian investigation of Noel Clarke, high court hears

There was “no agenda” in the Guardian’s investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Noel Clarke, the high court has heard.In her second day in the witness box, Lucy Osborne, an investigative correspondent at the Guardian, defended the publication’s reporting in the face of questioning from the former Doctor Who star’s barrister, Philip Williams.Osborne, co-author of the investigation that led to the actor’s libel claim, denied Williams’s assertions that there were “major inconsistencies” in the accounts of alleged victims or that there was a conspiracy to bring down Clarke.She said that if there had been any concerns, she would have flagged them to the Guardian’s head of investigations, Paul Lewis.“There was no agenda,” Osborne told the court on Wednesday

Prudence Skene obituary

In a career that lasted half a century, Prue (Prudence) Skene, who has died aged 81, experienced much change in the role of the arts administrator – from keeping companies going in a rather makeshift manner to a formal career in which fundraising skills and the understanding of governance were crucial. She was an architect of a great deal of this change, becoming one of the best connected figures in the arts network in Britain and one who constantly aimed to improve the lot of arts leaders and practitioners.Her time as chair of the Arts Council of England (ACE) dance panel between 1992 and 1995 proved challenging: the dance scene was changing, with the rise of many smaller companies resulting in the need to axe larger organisations.In 1994 she became the first chair of the ACE lottery panel. This gave her responsibility for the distribution of a considerable amount of ACE funds in the 1990s, making her a key player in the development and rebuilding of theatres including the Royal Opera House and the Royal Court in London, and the Lowry in Manchester

Stephen Colbert on Trump administration’s deportations: ‘It’s goodbye, habeas corpus’

Late-night hosts talk Donald Trump’s alleged “liberation day” of tariffs and the administration’s deportation of people without due process.“I don’t know about you, but I am feeling good about America!” joked Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, AKA April Fools Day. “Speaking of fools, Donald Trump” and his “price-raising, economy-breaking tariffs” on what the president is calling “liberation day”.“Yes, ‘liberation day,’” the Late Show host said. “I’m reminded of the immortal words of Patrick Henry: ‘Give me liberty or charge me an extra $10,000 for a Hyundai Elantra

Yoko by David Sheff review – a queasily one-sided defence

In 1966 a woman sat down at the Destruction in Art Symposium at London’s Africa Centre and invited people to cut off her clothes. It was an era when Yves Klein used naked women as paintbrushes and Allen Jones made sculptures of fetishistically dressed women posed as furniture. But Yoko Ono was in control of her own self-sacrifice. It was the third time she’d performed this paradoxically passive action, and each time it was the audience who exposed themselves as they took scissors to her clothing.This was also the beginning of a sojourn in London for the Japanese-born New York artist that would catapult her from avant garde obscurity to global fame

Post your questions for Ani DiFranco

Ani DiFranco may be the only musician ever to have tired Prince into submission. When they jammed in 1999, he and his band called it quits after four hours while the Buffalo songwriter kept dancing. “After being with her, it dawned on me why she’s like that,” Prince said. “She’s never had a ceiling over her.”DiFranco has been tirelessly doing things to her own beat since 1989

Guardian journalist received large number of leads after Noel Clarke article, court told

A Guardian journalist who has worked on high-profile investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct by men said the volume of fresh leads received after writing about Noel Clarke was the most she had ever witnessed.Lucy Osborne, who, with Sirin Kale, carried out the Guardian’s investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against the Doctor Who actor, told the high court that she was “taken aback” by how many people got in touch after publication of the first article.Clarke, 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over seven articles and a podcast published between April 2021 and March 2022 in which more than 20 women accused him of sexual misconduct.Osborne, who has also worked on investigations about David Copperfield and the former Elite model agency boss Gérald Marie, said in her witness statement: “I remember being taken aback by the number of possible leads we received following the first article.“By way of example, at least 25 new sources came forward between publication of the first article and the fourth article – a 24-hour period