Cowell quits as weekly UK judge

18 April 2011 Last updated at 08:21 GMT Cowell would continue to be "an enormous presence backstage", ITV said Simon Cowell will not appear as a weekly judge on the forthcoming series of the UK version of The X Factor.

ITV confirmed he would not split his time between the UK and the new US versions of the show saying it was "completely comfortable" with that.

The broadcaster said it was "talking about ways in which he can have an on-screen presence later in the series".

Cowell will lead the judges on the US X Factor. Other judges for both versions of the show have yet to be announced.

The US show is due to start screening in September while the UK show traditionally begins in August.

ITV said Cowell would continue to be "an enormous presence backstage" on the UK programme and that it would be in constant discussions with him to ensure the show "continues to evolve".

The broadcaster' s director of television ­Peter Fincham said speculation that it had pleaded with Cowell to stay as a full-time judge "makes me smile".

"I constantly hear we are in crisis but in reality we have an amazingly ­constructive relationship with Simon and are very much reading from the same page," he added.

Newspapers have speculated that Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh will return to the UK panel and that Cheryl Cole will move to the US show.

Music mogul LA Reid, former chairman of the Island Def Jam record label, has already been confirmed as a US judge alongside Cowell.

Lily Allen, Gary Barlow, Melanie B and Ozzy Osbourne have all been linked to the UK programme.

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Judge warns of human rights clash

21 February 2011 Last updated at 10:22 GMT Lord Woolf said it would be hard to adhere to two separate conventions on human rights An ex-Law Lord has warned of conflicts between the European Convention on Human Rights and the government's proposed British Bill of Rights.

Lord Woolf said the UK faced a "stark choice" between accepting European court rulings or leaving the system.

The government is looking at a Bill of Rights following rows with Europe over prisoner voting and sex offenders.

It insists this will not undermine the European Convention but Lord Woolf warned of "complication".

The comments by Lord Woolf, Lord Chief Justice from 2000 to 2005, follow an outcry over the European Court of Human Rights' ruling that serving prisoners should be allowed to vote.

The House of Commons voted to keep the ban on prisoners voting earlier this month - although the vote is not binding.

The UK Supreme Court has also recently ruled that sex offenders in England and Wales can appeal against having to register with the police for life, arguing that this has to be the case under the European Convention on Human Rights.

'Virtually impossible'

At prime minister's questions last week, David Cameron called this decision "offensive" and confirmed that a commission looking into a British Bill of Rights - which was in the coalition agreement - would be set up soon.

On Sunday, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said the UK government would continue to adhere to rulings from the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights.

But he said he would seek to kick-start reform to balance its relations with national courts when the UK takes over the chairmanship of the Council of Europe in November.

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We have a Bill of Rights in this country. It's called the Human Rights Act and is thoroughly British, European and universal in its values”

End Quote Shami Chakrabarti Liberty Lord Woolf told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have got a stark option: either we accept the European Convention, or we don't accept it and decide to leave the Council of Europe.

"It's very difficult to do what Mr Clarke indicated he would like to do when he's chairman of the relevant body, because there are 47 signatories in Europe which are signatories to the European Convention as well as ourselves. To try and amend that is a virtually impossible task."

He also said: "If you have a further convention - a British convention [the Bill of Rights] - there's going to be a complication in the position, because you're going to have two conventions to which the courts are going to have a regard."

The commission on a British Bill of Rights will be jointly chaired by Mr Clarke and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Lord Woolf said: "I don't see any problem about the commission that is being set up and I was very relieved Mr Clarke indicated there would be no question of us withdrawing form the European Council and the European Convention on Human Rights."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human rights group Liberty, said: "We have a Bill of Rights in this country. It's called the Human Rights Act and is thoroughly British, European and universal in its values.

"It protects all of us from the whims of politicians and, when the current frenzy of misinformation has died down, voters will worry about MPs who seek to put themselves above the law."

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