Leader of council quits after BCCI loss .sx THE LEADER of Western Isles council , which lost pounds23m in the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International , said yesterday he was resigning .sx The Rev Donald Macaulay , convener of the council , said his resignation - which he described as a matter of principle - would take effect next Tuesday .sx He said he would continue on the council as a member for the Uig division .sx Mr Macaulay faced calls for his resignation at public meetings immediately after the BCCI crisis broke in July .sx His leadership was also criticised at the council's last meeting , two weeks ago .sx He says in a letter :sx " Although I had nothing whatsoever to do with the investment of money with the bank , it is a matter of honour that I show my sympathy for the people of the Western Isles in the loss that we all have suffered .sx " .sx Mr Macaulay was elected convener in May last year .sx He had previously served two four-year terms as convener when the council was set up in 1975 .sx Western Isles was one of more than 40 councils which had put money into the bank .sx The funds were deposited at the discretion of Donald Macleod , the finance director .sx An external inquiry by Professor Alan Alexander into the affair is under way .sx Rapist who broke into homes jailed for 20 years .sx A RAPIST who preyed on women in two south-east London suburbs was jailed for 20 years by a judge at the Old Bailey yesterday .sx Ian Smith , 32 , broke into terraced houses in Woolwich and Charlton at night and threatened his victims with knives from their kitchens , or said he would harm their children , before raping them .sx Det Sgt Bernhard Page , who was in charge of the case , told the court that all the victims were rehoused because they could not bear to remain in their homes .sx They still suffered psychological problems and needed counselling .sx He said Smith previously had a string of convictions for burglary .sx Smith , of Marion Road , Charlton , was originally charged with sex attacks on eight women and robbing two more , from 1988 to 1990 .sx He was found guilty of three rapes and admitted one burglary and one robbery , in separate trials .sx He dismissed his counsel and defended himself in two rape trials .sx One victim collapsed in the witness box as he forced her to recount her ordeal .sx After obtaining guilty verdicts in the three trials , the prosecution did not proceed with the others , to spare the women the ordeal of being cross-examined by Smith .sx Judge Bruce Laughland ordered the charges to lie on the file .sx Council accused over sex abuse in children's homes .sx A REPORT into the biggest case of alleged sexual and physical abuse in local authority children's homes is being examined by the Department of Health , writes David Nicholson-Lord .sx The report accuses Leicestershire social services department of inadequate supervision , poor discipline and political involvement over 13 years from 1973 .sx The department said yesterday that it took the allegations " extremely " .sx .sx During an 18-month police inquiry , many former residents of homes alleged that they experienced abuse including buggery , actual bodily harm and gross indecency .sx Some staff also claimed they had been abused .sx The report cites claims that the alleged perpetrators were protected by " friends in high " .sx .sx Three men , former Leicestershire social workers , face court proceedings this month over allegations of child abuse .sx Man blames police for killing drunken cellmate , court told .sx By Heather Mills , Home Affairs Correspondent .sx A RESTAURATEUR accused of kicking and stamping to death his drunken cellmate in a London police station , claimed police carried out the fatal attack , an Old Bailey jury was told yesterday .sx Malcolm Kennedy , 44 , who denies murder , allegedly told another officer that a sergeant had entered the cell and repeatedly kacked his cellmate in the head .sx Patrick Quinn , 56 , was found lying face down in a pool of blood in a cell , known as 'the tank' , at Hammersmith police station on Christmas Eve last year .sx His face was bruised and torn and his ribs fractured .sx The injuries to his chest were consistent with someone jumping on him with both feet , crushing his heart and larynx , it was alleged .sx Mr Quinn , of Hammersmith , west London , had been sharing the cell with Mr Kennedy , who had also been arrested for drunkenness , the court was told .sx Timothy Langdale , for the prosecution , said Mr Kennedy had blood on his hands and trousers and on his shoes , which were on the bench .sx " You may think there can be no other candidate when you have two men locked in a cell together , " he told the jury .sx He said a feature of the case was that the prosecution could not suggest a motive .sx The two men were unknown to each other until placed in the cell .sx However , he said that Mr Kennedy , who had been drinking heavily was " hardly in a normal state " and that could have provoked an " uncontrolled and sudden attack " .sx The court would hear evidence that the blood stains on his shoes and clothing were consistent with him having taken part in the attack .sx But Mr Kennedy , of Stoke Newington , north London , allegedly told officers that he had been splashed with blood when a sergeant had attacked Mr Quinn .sx He said he had got blood on his clothes when he had gone to Mr Quinn's aid and tried to revive him .sx Mr Langdale told the jury :sx " No doubt it will be suggested it was someone else who carried out the attack for some reason or another .sx " You will have to consider the evidence you hear about that and decide is it something which casts doubt that Kennedy was responsible , or is it a sign of a guilty man casting about rather desperately for something to say to avoid the consequences of what he did that evening ?sx " .sx The trial resumes today .sx Ashworth patient " killed by drug " .sx A PATIENT at a high security hospital probably died from an unusually high dose of an anti-psychotic drug , an inquiry was told yesterday .sx Sean Walton , 20 , a sex offender , died on 1 March 1988 in a locked seclusion room at Ashworth Hospital , Merseyside .sx A post-mortem examination failed to find the cause of death .sx Professor Malcolm Lader , of the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London , said the dosage of Pimozide given to Walton had been doubled on 9 February 1988 .sx " When one is using an already substantial dose of anti-psychotic drugs it is cautious to give a slower increase , " he told the Liverpool inquiry investigating complaints procedures at Ashworth .sx He said the dosage was " not usual but it may have been justifiable in view of the rapid deterioration in his behaviour that took place in that time .sx " .sx He said :sx " We now believe that Pimozide is particularly related to cardiac abnormalities - but that is something that has come up in the last two years or so .sx " .sx He put the chances of Pimozide causing Walton's death at 40 per cent , adding :sx " I believe it is the most likely cause .sx " .sx Walton was sent to Ashworth when he was 15 years old after pleading guilty at Chester Crown Court to charges of indecent assault and abduction .sx His sister Lynn , 30 , earlier told the inquiry he lived in fear of the nurses who looked after him and believed people were trying to kill him .sx She said when the body reached the funeral directors they told family members at first it was in too much of a mess for them to see .sx But they were later allowed to see him in the chapel , where he appeared " 100 years old .sx He looked terrible .sx He looked really bad .sx " .sx Miss Walton said :sx " I saw bruising around his head , definitely .sx " .sx Mark Beck , 25 , a patient , said he was on First Ward with Walton on 29 February 1988 , when he saw a nurse tap him three times on the head with a billiard cue .sx " It was like jabbing , " he said .sx The hearing was adjourned until today .sx Sculpture beyond the pail for suspicious US Customs .sx By Steve Boggan .sx THE CUSTOMS officers in Philadelphia could be forgiven for being suspicious of the package presented to them :sx three buckets welded together with a sealed metal lid .sx Was it a bomb ?sx Was contraband inside ?sx There was only one way to find out - to drill holes in the buckets and tear off the lids .sx They discovered the buckets held nothing more sinister than sand .sx But there was nothing harmless about their tampering .sx They had destroyed a pounds12,100 work of art .sx Third Hand by Richard Wentworth had been bought by Gene Locks , a Philadelphia lawyer and gallery owner who had entrusted its safe passage to British Airways .sx When he arrived at the airport to pick up the sculpture , he was less than pleased .sx " I don't know how they could have failed to realise it was a work of art , " he said .sx " It was in a crate , there was a photograph inside and a brochure about it .sx I was devastated .sx " .sx Mr Locks's and BA's versions of how the sculpture came to be rearranged are quite different .sx In a subsequent case before a federal court in Philadelphia , he said the airline had accepted his crate as ordinary baggage and promised to load it on his flight from Britain .sx When he arrived , however , there was no crate .sx " It came the next day , but they didn't call me and they didn't see it safely through Customs , " he said .sx BA says Mr Locks checked in his baggage before his flight and later tried to take the sculpture on board as hand luggage , which was not allowed .sx BA and US Customs successfully defended suits brought against them by Mr Locks .sx But the legal judgment says that BA is liable to pay him the going rate for goods damaged under the Warsaw Convention , which regulates international air travel .sx That states that Mr Locks is entitled to $9 .sx 07 ( pounds5 .sx 87 ) per pound weight in compensation .sx The sculpture weighed 10lb .sx " They say they'll send me $90 .sx 70 , " he said .sx " I told them to keep it .sx " .sx Baby poster 'banned' by advertising watchdog .sx THE ADVERTISING Standards Authority yesterday asked Benetton , the fashion retailer , to withdraw a poster which shows a new-born baby smeared in blood .sx The authority also asked publishers and poster contractors to back the move and said the advert was " effectively banned " .sx Its announcement was coupled with a sharply-worded attack on the clothes company- rare for the authority which operates a code of practice through widespread consent in the industry .sx " Benetton has displayed a conspicuous disregard for the sensitivities of the public , " a statement said .sx The watchdog group said it was reacting to more than 800 complaints about the posters , showing the baby with umbilical cord still attached .sx A Benetton spokeswoman in London said the authority's announcement had been faxed to the company's headquarters in Italy .sx " All I can say is that this poster was part of our advertising , which has long been concerned with human links and human emotions .sx It is a strong , profound image of a fundamental moment in all human life .sx " .sx Caroline Crawford , authority spokeswoman , said the strong language used in its statement was a reaction to Benetton's decision to ignore its advice not to use the poster .sx " In practice what we have announced amounts to a ban on the poster , " she said .sx " We don't have legal powers to prohibit it , but our aim is clearly to have the advertisement withdrawn .sx It is unusual for any advertiser to warrant this level of criticism .sx But normally advertisers who seek our advice don't then ignore it .sx " The authority had every confidence its call for the poster to be withdrawn would be heeded .sx The baby poster - also being used in magazines in Italy and the US - appeared on London hoardings last week , with plans for the campaign to go nationwide this week .sx The authority statement said :sx " Benetton have been severely criticised by the advertising authority for provoking public distress and outrage in their current poster campaign , which they are being asked to withdraw .sx " .sx The advertising agency responsible for buying poster space for the clothes company had been told in July that the advertisement was likely to cause considerable offence if it appeared .sx