Palace perked by P-Diddy bid talk

The administrator of Crystal Palace has said he would "welcome an approach" by rap star P-Diddy.

The music mogul’s publicist confirmed to BBC London that he is thinking of moving into the football business.

Brendan Guilfoyle, administrator of the bankrupt Championship side, said he "would willingly fly to New York to meet him to discuss a purchase".

P-Diddy, reportedly worth £360m, held talks over investing in the club during a visit to the UK earlier this month.

Mr Guilfoyle, of The P&A Partnership financial firm, said he was "a big hip-hop fan" and would be "delighted if P-Diddy wanted to buy Crystal Palace".

In January Palace had 10 points deducted after going into administration.

They are currently fourth from bottom in the Championship having previously been pushing for a play-off place. </p

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Tube Banksy work regains its halo

A Banksy poster that was censored for use on the Tube has been restored by an unidentified graffiti artist.

Transport for London (TfL) banned the halo dripping with paint on Banksy’s artwork promoting his film Forgive Us Our Trespassing.

The poster was reworked and displayed without the offending drips.

But within days of it going up at London Bridge Tube on 11 March, the golden circle over the kneeling boy’s head was repainted.

The artwork has now been removed by Tube advertising bosses who said it was "defaced".

‘Massive fan’

Benjamin Moore from Art Below, the team behind the poster, part of a programme of art on the Underground, said he did not know who had amended the work but there was a chance it was the artist himself.

"It is either Banksy or one of his people. Or it could be a massive fan who wants the artwork to remain how it originally was," he said.

"In the past he wrote to us and told us there are too many rules and regulations on the Tube."

The work was originally designed as a free poster to go with a promotional pack of flyers produced for students regularly by organisation Don’t Panic.

The poster was free but, now many people are selling it on eBay," said Mr Moore.

Mr Moore said that when the group first started working with artists around five years ago they had approached Banksy but he had turned them down.

A Transport for London spokesperson said: "The artwork in question was accepted for display on one site on the Tube network by CBS Outdoor, our advertising contractor, and was without the halo.

"However the artwork has been removed because it was subsequently defaced."</p

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Customers warned over NT hack

More than 17,500 customers of London’s National Theatre have been advised to reset their online passwords after the organisation’s website was hacked.

A spokeswoman for the theatre said there had been a "security incident" which meant an "unauthorised user" accessed customers’ online accounts.

But financial details of customers were not compromised as that information is encrypted, the spokeswoman said.

The website, which was hacked on 20 February, has since been secured.

In an e-mail to customers, the National Theatre said: "We were notified over the weekend of a security incident that took place on Saturday 20 February which may have led to your National Theatre website account – e-mail, password, name and contact information only – being accessed by an unauthorised user.

"Your payment information is safely encrypted, so no financial or booking details have been viewed.

"The affected system has been secured, however we would ask you to change your password on the National Theatre site."

The 17,500 customers are 3% of the theatre’s registered members. </p

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Tributes to ‘talented’ presenter

Tributes have been paid to BBC television presenter Kristian Digby who was found dead at his flat in east London on Monday morning.

The 32-year-old, who was also a film director, had worked on a number of property shows including BBC One’s To Buy or Not To Buy.

His sudden death has shocked friends, colleagues and fans who said he was "a much-loved presenter".

Police sources said his death was "unexplained" at this stage.

Raised in Devon

Mr Digby was pronounced dead at the scene after ambulance services were called to his flat in Richford Road, Newham, at about 0745 GMT on Monday.

His next of kin have been informed. His parents live in Torquay, Devon, where Mr Digby was raised.

The property expert, who was born into a family of property developers, worked on a number of other shows including Double Agents, Living In The Sun, House Swap and Buy It, Sell It, Bank It.

Dominic Littlewood, who was Mr Digby’s co-presenter on To Buy or Not to Buy, said: "There’s not a bad word I can say about Kristian.

"He appealed to the masses. He was well educated . He made gay acceptable to the middle class and that was a tough thing to do"

Julian Bennett, broadcaster

"He was a lovely fun, nice, jolly, decent person."

Mr Digby’s agent and friend Jo Wander said: "I am devastated by the loss.

"He was a lovely guy and a very talented presenter and director.

"I will miss him hugely and my thoughts at this time are with his family and his many friends. He will be sorely missed."

Mr Digby presented That Gay Show, in 2001, on former BBC digital channel BBC Choice and in 2006 he appeared in Simon Fanshawe’s The Trouble with Gay Men on BBC Three.

‘Energy and warmth’

"He did so much for the gay community," said Julian Bennett, fellow broadcaster and friend of Mr Digby.

"He appealed to the masses. He was well educated . He made gay acceptable to the middle class and that was a tough thing to do," he added.

"Being gay has never been a problem for him. He was a gentleman."

A spokesman for the BBC said: "Kristian was a much-loved and talented presenter for BBC Daytime.

"He brought a real sense of energy and warmth to all the shows he presented for us and will be sorely missed.

"Our thoughts are with his family at this very difficult time."</p

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National Gallery strike planned

Staff at the National Gallery in central London have announced plans to strike next week in a row over pay.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union intend to walk out for two hours on 16 February to protest at their pay rates.

Union members said some of the workers’ pay fell 60p short of London’s so-called "living wage" of £7.60 an hour.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said staff were "sick and tired" of working long hours.

He said: "Staff who protect important artworks and assist the public are sick and tired of working 50 to 60 hour weeks and having to take second jobs to earn a living wage.

"The refusal by management to reopen pay talks and its imposition of the pay award, just days before Christmas, has left staff feeling angry and betrayed."

A National Gallery spokeswoman said: "The gallery will do all it can to keep disruption to the public to a minimum during the industrial action."

"However we are hopeful that the gallery will continue to open."

London Mayor Boris Johnson set the London Living Wage at £7.60 an hour in May 2009.

The scheme recommends the minimum wage employees should be paid in London.

It is nearly £2 higher than the national minimum wage which is set at £5.80 per hour for workers over 22 years old.</p

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