British Couple Cleared of Sex Allegations

L O N D O N, Aug. 29 -- Police have dropped the investigation into a former government minister and his wife, who had been accused in an alleged sexual assault on a woman, reports The Guardian.

Neil and Christine Hamilton were accused of performing lewd sexual acts on Nadine Milroy-Sloan, 28, while she was allegedly being raped by another man in an apartment in Essex, England. Although alleged sexual assault victims are not usually identified in the press, Milroy-Sloan earlier waived her right to anonymity.

After four months of investigation by Scotland Yard and a veritable media circus, police dropped the case Tuesday, saying the Hamiltons' alibis checked out, The Guardian said.

For the moment the Hamiltons are celebrating. They now say they are pursuing libel action against Milroy-Sloan and seeking legal action against the police for wrongful arrest.

Posh's Lip Synch

Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice from the former girl group Spice Girls, revealed today that her much-publicized lip ring was in fact a fake, writes The Sun.

Fans and critics are not pleased with Beckham as she told them she had pierced her lip just minutes before she was going to take the stage at a concert in Birmingham, where her former bandmate Gerri Halliwell, ex-Ginger Spice, and another archrival were scheduled to perform on Tuesday.

Some wannabe Poshes who copied their idol's false fashion accessory appear to be outraged, if not in pain, over the publicity stunt.

More Money to the Civil Servants

Hundreds of civil servants are in line to be about $290,000 richer, thanks to Prime Minister Tony Blair, writes The Times.

In an attempt to attract private-sector recruits and keep the most-qualified employees, the Senior Salaries Review Body will propose higher salaries for 3,000 senior civil servants.

Many officials now earning between $67,000 and $203,000 are likely to get big increases in basic salary as well as bonus payments worth thousands of dollars next April.

Not surprisingly, the new pay package is expected to be opposed by public-sector workers such as teachers, nurses and doctors, who themselves saw a pay raise averaging 3.7 percent in the last year.