Mel B `held hostage`

Sun
THE
Saturday, January 24, 2015
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER
thesun.co.uk
SENSATIONAL CLAIM TO POLICE:
Out . . Alicia last night
Douvall
in CBB
eviction
By EMMA GRITT
ALICIA
Douvall
last
night became the second
star to be evicted from
the
Celebrity
Big
Brother house.
The
kiss-and-tell
model, 36, left to a mix
of cheers and boos after
an intense 16 days.
During her stint the
mum of two found herself
mocked
by
the
other
housemates
for
Continued on Page Seven
FA CUP 4th ROUND
CAMBRIDGE...0
MAN UTD.........0
36
PAGES
OF SPORT
INSIDE
Mel B
‘held
hostage’
EXCLUSIVE
By WILL PAYNE and MIKE SULLIVAN
MEL B’s husband Stephen Belafonte is to
be questioned by police over claims she
was held prisoner at their home.
Stephen, who is in Los Angeles, will be
interviewed when he returns to the UK.
X Factor judge Mel was allegedly held
hostage at the couple’s London home the
day before she was rushed to hospital.
Full Story — Pages Two and Three
Facing police
. . . Stephen
with Mel B
‘PRISONER IN OWN HOME’ PROBE
HUBBY STEPHEN FACES COP QUIZ
2
SUN
ABERDEEN
3
4
4
BELFAST
MON
EDINBURGH
GLASGOW
TUE
NEWCASTLE
4
4
LEEDS
LIVERPOOL
DUBLIN
MANCHESTER
NORWICH
BIRMINGHAM
BRISTOL
CARDIFF
PLYMOUTH
6
4
4
LONDON
SOUTHAMPTON
WEATHER
EATHER with
NAZANEEN GHAFFAR
MOST places across the country will start to
warm slightly this weekend following a
chilly week.
But a great deal of low cloud is still possible in many areas, bringing the risk of a
few spots of drizzle or flurries of snow,
mainly to western hills.
England and Wales will stay largely dry
with variable cloud cover.
Top temperature: 6C (43F).
Outlook: Likely to get cool again in most
areas early next week.
On 24 January 1916 in the US town of Browning in Montana
the temperature plunged from 6°C down to -48°C in just under
24 hours.
FOLLOW US ON:
@ twitter.com/thesunnewspaper
LIKE US ON:
@ facebook.com/thesun
CLARIFICATIONS
AND CORRECTIONS
THE Sun aims to have the highest editorial
standards in the paper and on digital.
You can help us by letting us know if we have
made mistakes.
The Sun is a founding member of Ipso, the
Independent Press Standards Organisation.
If you would like to make a complaint to us about
the code it enforces, go to ww.thesun.co.uk/ipso.
Otherwise, you can email us at ombudsman@the-sun.co.uk, or or write to The Sun
Ombudsman, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1
9GF.
We aim to correct significant factual errors as soon
as we can.
WE PAY FOR YOUR STORIES
We are always after good stories - and we pay big money for
them every day. Celebrity, a human interest story, scandal or
anything else that you think the good people of Britain would
want to read about. Just get involved, call our newsdesk and
don’t worry about cost, we’ll call you straight back.
GET INVOLVED
CALL: 020 7782 4100
TEXT: 0742 372 0250
OR OUR MANCHESTER OFFICE: 0161 9355351
EMAIL: EXCLUSIVE@THE-SUN.CO.UK
OR MANCHESTER: SUNMANCHESTER@THE-SUN.CO.UK
For a Sun offer or
promotion query, call
02078601129
10% drop
on fuel is
‘like a big
cut in tax’
By KATE McCANN
Whitehall Correspondent
4
Calls from landlines
charged at local rate, mobiles
charged at normal rates.
1GM
Saturday, January 24, 2015 ...............
EXCLUSIVE: COPS TO QUIZ HUSBAND STEPHEN
TODAY’S
WEATHER
3
5
1GM
FUEL prices plummeted
by nearly ten per cent
last month in a major
win for The Sun’s Down
in the Pumps campaign.
The savings mean a
two-car
family
spends
around £16.30 less per
month than in December
— and £50 a month less
than last July, according
to figures from the AA.
Shoppers also got a
windfall at the tills at
Christmas as average prices fell by 2.2 per cent.
Cheaper petrol and gas
prices could lead to an
£8billion saving for families this year, experts say.
George Buckley, from
Deutsche Bank, told The
Sun: “Petrol prices are
falling, energy bills are
coming down, the interest
rates on two-year mortgages are at record lows
— all this is helping the
consumer.
“It’s like one big tax
cut and this can only
help the Conservatives.”
Salmond
No10 dig
A
NEW
Tory
poster
shows Ed Miliband and
Alex Salmond arm-inarm on the steps of No10.
It comes amid speculation the Labour leader
could do a deal with the
SNP to become PM.
Mr Salmond is running
to become an MP in May
and opinion polls suggest
his party could hold the
balance of power in a
hung Parliament.
A Tory source said: “Ed
Miliband
is
a
weak
leader and Alex Salmond
is a playground bully. Put
them together and Britain
will get complete chaos.”
It comes as a think
tank warns ministers to
stop Scottish MPs having
a say on English matters.
Aid blast
for Cam
A RELATIVE of David
Cameron has hit out at
the UK foreign aid policy.
Viscount
Astor,
the
PM’s
stepfather-in-law,
said it was wrong to
force ministers to send
0.7 per cent of the country’s income overseas.
Supporters want the
UN goal to be made law.
But Lord Astor said in
a Lords debate: “I am
concerned about the way
this
Bill
seeks
to
enshrine this percentage
in legislation.”
LOTTO TONIC
The winning numbers
in last night’s Health
Lottery are 4, 8, 38, 46
and 49.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10
Mel ‘held
captive in
her home’
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14
Back with
bruises on
X Factor
HOW IT
ALL FELL
APART
RINGING
CHANGES
Mel with no wedding
band at X Factor final
and, left, at awards
party on Wednesday
DECEMBER 13: We
reveal Mel has been
rushed to hospital
with serious mystery
illness.
Speculation
she will be too poorly
to appear in that evening’s X Factor.
By WILL PAYNE, Head of TV,
and MIKE SULLIVAN
Crime Editor
X FACTOR judge Mel B was
allegedly kept prisoner in
her home four days before
she appeared on the show
with what appeared to be
bruising on her face.
Police are investigating after
receiving a complaint that Mel,
39, was held hostage on December 10 at the London house
where she lives with husband
Stephen Belafonte.
DECEMBER 15: We
tell how the star
surprised fans by
appearing on X Factor, but she seemed
to make a point of
showing she wasn’t
wearing wedding ring.
The next day the former Spice Girl
was rushed to hospital after suffering
crippling stomach pains. She was
kept in, missing the first part of the
X Factor final on December 13.
The next day she was released
from hospital and appeared in the
second half of the final at Wembley
Arena. Worried fans commented on
the apparent bruising and the fact
she was not wearing a wedding ring.
Police will question Stephen, 39,
about the prisoner claims when he
returns to the UK from Los Angeles.
It is not known whether Mel made
the complaint herself.
The Metropolitan Police said yesterday: “We can confirm police in Kensington and Chelsea borough are
investigating an allegation of false
imprisonment.
“The allegation was reported on
Monday 15 December. We are not
prepared to discuss further.”
DECEMBER 16: Seems
like the marriage is
over.
There
were
rumours
of
rows
before the hospital
dash and Mel’s pals
had begged her to
leave Stephen.
Complaint made after
Stephen left for LA
Stephen did not visit Mel when she
was in hospital. That failure, along
with her decision not to wear her
wedding ring, triggered speculation
about the state of the couple’s sevenyear marriage.
An X Factor source has revealed
that in the week running up to the
show’s final Mel made a series of
urgent calls to Simon Cowell. But the
X Factor boss was busy in meetings
and did not return her calls.
Stephen was last seen in London
on Sunday December 14. He was
loading suitcases into a minivan and
walking to the shops from their
home. He flew to LA later that day.
The complaint was made to police
the following day.
The couple live at the £4million
Kensington
house
with
daughter
Madison, three, and Phoenix Chi, 15,
and Angel, seven — her children from
previous relationships.
The cause of the stomach pains
that led to Mel’s hospital dash are
still unexplained. Mel’s chauffeur took
her to hospital in North London.
Stephen later spoke exclusively to
The Sun — and insisted he had not
assaulted Mel B. He said: “I did not
MEL AND HIM
Couple took family to Paddington premiere in LA
touch Mel. I didn’t hit her. I wasn’t
cheating or anything. There was no
girl involved.
“How long have you been married?
How many arguments do you have? I
find it really sad nobody would like
for Mel, or us, to be happy. I love my
wife. I care about my wife. I’d take a
bullet for her.”
Stephen, who also has a ten-yearold daughter from a previous relationship, denied he went to LA
because of issues with Mel.
He said: “How many times have I
gone somewhere and Mel’s stayed
somewhere else? At the end of the
day, I have children and a wife. I
3
3
2 ............... Saturday, January 24, 2015
SWELL MEL
Stephen and Mel all smiles in Santa Monica last week
protect my wife and my children
with my life. That’s just the way it is.
It doesn’t matter if people think I’m
a good guy or a bad guy.”
Stephen was arrested for drunkenly
attacking his then girlfriend in May
2003 at their LA home.
He was convicted of battery, given
a suspended prison sentence and
ordered to attend a domestic violence
programme for 12 months.
After the revelations about Mel’s
hospital trip, her mum Andrea
claimed she received a “vile abusive”
phone call from Stephen. Mel married film producer Stephen in a
secret Las Vegas ceremony in 2007.
In an interview with Hello! magazine,
published in the week she was allegedly kept prisoner in their home, Mel
sang Stephen’s praises.
She said: “He’s the first man I’ve
ever trusted. He’s my rock and the
beginning and the end of who I am.
“He can irritate the pants off me,
but I love him absolutely and I trust
him with my life.”
However, Mel’s family have said
they wish she would end her relationship with Stephen.
Aunt Diane Cook said : “I hope she
gets away from him.” Uncle Eric
Dixon added: “He is not a very nice
bloke.”
will.payne@the-sun.co.uk
DECEMBER 27: Back
together for a festive
reunion and everyone
seems
happy
—
except Mel’s friends,
who brand her “mad”
for letting Stephen
back into her life.