Slavery case: man arrested on suspicion of holding three women pictured for the first time

By Alice Philipson

5:18PM GMT 26 Nov 2013

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The first pictures of a man arrested as part of a slavery investigation in South London have emerged.

Aravindan Balakrishnan in 1997 (ITV NEWS)

Comrade Bala, whose real name is Aravindan Balakrishnan, can be seen wearing a brown jacket and blue trousers as he attends the inquest into the death of commune member Sian Davies in 1997.

It comes as a Malaysian family came forward to claim that a woman allegedly held as a slave for 30 years is a relation who disappeared virtually without trace after joining a Maoist sect.

Kamar Mautum, a retired teacher, said she believed her 69-year-old sister, Aishah, was one of the women who had allegedly been held captive by the leaders of a 1970s Communist collective for 30 years.

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She said her disappearance had caused extreme heartache for her family.

Aishah had studied at one of Malaysia’s most elite schools, eventually winning a Commonwealth scholarship to study surveying in London.

A still from the ITV video shows Aravindan Balakrishnan being followed by two women (ITV NEWS)

She moved to Britain in 1968 with her fiancé and dreamed of balancing an exciting career with a family, but was soon involved in extremist politics, eventually giving up everything to follow a Maoist doctrine.

She allegedly fell under the spell of Balakrishnan and his partner Chanda, who were last week arrested on suspicion of holding three women against their will for more than three decades in south London.

Speaking from her home near Kuala Lumpur, Kamar said their mother’s dying wish had been to know what had happened to her daughter, who never returned.

Kamar told The Daily Telegraph: “I have felt so choked without her for years and years. She was so talented, she was the apple of my mother’s eye. She asked for her on her death bed.” She added: “When my mother died she

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Crewe Alexandra footballers arrested on suspicion on sexual assault have case dropped

22 Nov 2013 14:22The arrests of members of Crewe Alexandra FC followed a complaint of serious sexual assault from a woman in her early 20s.

Seven Crewe Alexandra players arrested on suspicion of sexual assault have been released without any action.

The club were on a pre-season training camp in Cornwall when a woman in her early 20s made a complaint of serious sexual assault.

Five men were arrested in Cornwall after the allegation on July 6, while two were later detained in Cheshire.

The men, who were aged between 18 and 35, were later released on bail pending further inquiries.

Devon and Cornwall Police issued a brief statement today saying: "All seven men have been released without any action being taken against them."

The Cheshire football club issued a statement on its website, which said: "After conducting a thorough investigation, Devon and Cornwall Police have today confirmed that no action will be taken against any Crewe Alexandra players in relation to the alleged pre-season incident in Truro."

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BBC presenter Paul Gambaccini arrested on suspicion of sexual offences

By Alice Philipson

8:16PM GMT 01 Nov 2013

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BBC presenter Paul Gambaccini has been arrested on suspicion of historical sexual offences under Operation Yewtree.

The Radio 2 broadcaster, 64, was held at his home in South London earlier this week by Metropolitan police before being released on bail.

The BBC confirmed his identity on their website on Friday evening after refusing to comment on his arrest for two days.

Gambaccini has denied all the allegations.

In a statement, he compared his arrest to that of the Scottsboro Boys, a group of black teenagers falsely accused of rape in the 1930s in the American South.

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He said: “On Monday night, 28 October, I attended an excellent production of the Kander and Ebb musical, the Scottsboro Boys, at the Young Vic theatre.

"It concerned a group of black men in Alabama in the 1930s who were falsely accused of sexual offences.

“Within hours, I was arrested by Operation Yewtree. Nothing had changed, except this time there was no music."

A spokesman for Gambaccini added: "Mr Gambaccini was interviewed by Operation Yewtree officers about historic allegations. He answered their questions and was co-operative. He denied all allegations."

The presenter has decided not to present his regular Saturday night radio 2 show Paul Gambaccini with America’s Greatest Hits, the BBC said.

However, up until Friday afternoon the Corporation refused to suspend the presenter, insisting he would continue to host the programme.

It was only when his identity was revealed by a national newspaper that the BBC announced Gambaccini’s decision.

A BBC spokesman said: “Paul Gambaccini has decided that, in light of today's media attention, he would rather not be on-air at present and we respect that decision. “Therefore, Paul will not be presenting on BBC Radio in coming weeks and replacement programmes for the period will be announced soon.”

The arrest is the 15th made under Operation Yewtree, which was launched in the wake of the revelations about Jimmy Savile's prolific sex abuse.

When asked about his former colleague during last year’s Panorama investigation, Gambaccini said he had heard Savile’s activities discussed in BBC music circles, but never considered notifying authorities.

He told the programme: “So what – I, a junior DJ, am supposed to get up there and say my senior is a perv? They are going to laugh at me. It never occurred to me!”

In an interview with the Telegraph earlier this year he also argued that the Savile scandal was not just “one man offending ceaselessly”.

“Paedophilia was just an exotic word. People didn’t believe it could happen. We were innocent as a society,” he said.

The Metropolitan Police has refused to name Gambaccini.

Several influential figures criticised the decision not to publicise the presenter's identity.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said it was "chilling for officers to refuse to confirm names of those detained or charged".

Tory MP Philip Davies, a member of the Commons culture committee, said people arrested on sex offence charges should be named to "encourage other potential victims to come forward".

Gambaccini, who started broadcasting for the BBC in the 1970s, was arrested along with one other person on Tuesday morning after police raided two addresses in South London.

Scotland Yard has led the Operation Yewtree probe, and separated its inquiries into those involving Savile, those involving Savile and others, and those involving others.

A police spokesman confirmed: "The man was arrested at an address in south London on suspicion of sexual offences and taken into police custody.

"He falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'others'."

Gambaccini has appeared on Radios 1, 2, 3, 4 as well as Classic FM, TV-am, GMTV and a host of documentaries.

Up until August this year he Radio 4’s music quiz Counterpoint on a Monday.

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