The nifty 250

BIRKENHEAD MP Frank Field is the bookies' joint-favourite to become the next Speaker of the House of Commons after Michael Martin quit amid the mire of the MPs expenses scandal.

Ladbrokes quoted odds of 4-1 against Mr Field, the Birkenhead MP and former welfare reform minister,the same as for current deputy Speaker Sir Alan Haselhurst. A secret ballot to decide will be held on June 22.

AN AMERICAN radio DJ has been forced to apologise to Liverpool fans for comments he made on air about the Hillsborough tragedy.

Los Angeles-based talkshow host Steven Cohen had suggested fans were partly responsible for the 1989 disaster, sparking a boycott of his station by supporters.

THREE people arrested over attacks against two Sefton businessmen have been bailed.

Property developer Terry Riley, founder of the Crosby-based Ascot Group, has had his house shot at twice and seen his family and businesses targeted by arsonists since the start of the year. John Ball, his associate, has also come under fire.

A 15-year-old girl was raped four times during an attack by a gang of four teenagers in Norris Green.

The girl was walking across a disused railway bridge in Norris Green when she was pushed down the embankment and attacked under a bridge. Her ordeal, last Friday, lasted nearly three hours and her mobile phone was stolen. The attackers are aged between 15 and 17 and police are reminding women not to walk in isolated areas alone.