News

US President Barack Obama has issued a statement after the death of veteran actor Leonard Nimoy.

Zachary Quinto, who played Mr Spock in the 2009 reboot 'Star Trek' and its 2013 sequel 'Star Trek Into Darkness', has said his "heart is broken" after the news that the original Mr Spock, Leonard Nimoy, died this morning.

Celebrities have been positing tributes on Twitter to actor Leondard Nimoy.

George Takei, known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the television series Star Trek, said he will miss Leonard Nimoy and the world had "lost a great man"

On his official Facebook page Mr Takei said Nimoy was being "returned to the stars".

He also told MSNBC: "You know, the word ‘extraordinary’ is often overused, but I think it’s really appropriate for Leonard.

"He was an extraordinarily talented man, but also a very decent human being. His talent embraced directing as well as acting, and photography.

"He was a very sensitive man and we feel his passing very much. He’d been ill for a long, long time and we miss him very much.”

The man who always promised to live long and prosper started his career in the role that would define him, in 1966 when the first series of Star Trek aired.

Those early series are the ones most strongly associated with Leonard Nimoy in his role as the pointed eared Vulcan. Staring along side William Shatner as Captain Kirk, Spock traveled the universe in the Starship Enterprise as Kirk's right hand man.

Spock gets sprayed by a mystery flower in season one episode 24 - This Side of Paradise (1967).

Spock and Kirk in rare punch-up in This Side of Paradise.

In "Spock's Brain (1968) the Vulcan gets his brain removed in episode 1 season 3.

In The City on the Edge of Forever (1967) Spock and Kirk have a run in with the police.

William Shatner, who played Star Trek's Captain Kirk, said he loved Leonard Nimoy "like a brother".

He added: "We will all miss his humour, his talent, and his capacity to love."

Leonard Nimoy's granddaughter Dani has posted a moving tribute to the 83-year-old actor through his official Twitter account.

She said her grandfather was "an extraordinary man, husband, grandfather, brother, actor, author-the list goes on- and friend. Thank you for the warm condolences. May you all LLAP (Live Long And Prosper)".

Lawyers representing Sir Cliff Richard have accused MPs of damaging the singer by releasing a letter from South Yorkshire Police to the media.

The letter, released earlier this week, said the police investigation had "increased significantly in size" and contained "more than one allegation". Sir Richard's lawyers complain the letter did not need to be published, and its publication "encouraged widespread publicity".

Sir Cliff has previously said the claims against him were "absurd and untrue" and he had "never, in my life, assaulted anyone."

He was interviewed under caution last year by detectives investigating a sex crime involving a young boy in the 1980s, but was not arrested or charged.

The former head of MI6 has labelled claims that UK security services helped radicalise the terrorist known as Jihadi John as "very false and very transparent".

The militant, who was captured on a number of videos showing the beheading of Islamic State captives, has now been identified as former British student Mohammed Emwazi.

Advocacy group Cage has claimed that Emwazi was driven into extremism after being "harrassed" by intelligence agencies who tried to recruit him.

Sir John Sawers, who was head of MI6 from 2009 to 2014, refused to comment on the specific case, but called the argument "very specious".