The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (April 2010)

An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing specific acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions. In some cases, breaches of injunctions are considered serious criminal offenses that merit arrest and possible prison sentences.

The term interdict is used in Scots law.^[1]

Rationale and reasons for injunctions[link]

This injunctive power to restore the status quo ante; that is, to make whole again someone whose rights have been violated, is essential to the concept of fairness (equity). For example, money damages would be of scant benefit to a land owner who wished simply to prevent someone from repeatedly trespassing on his land.

These are some common reasons for injunctions:

• stalking
• domestic violence
• harassment
• discrimination
• bullying (in some cases)
• physical or sexual abuse
• the wrongful transfer of real property, also called fraudulent conveyance
• the disclosure of sensitive information in line with the Official Secrets Act 1989 (UK only)
• trade dress infringement
• trademark infringement
• copyright infringement
• patent infringement
• trade secret disclosure
• tortious interference of contract
• criminal contempt
• civil contempt
• unauthorized practice of law

Gag orders (many countries)[link]

A gag order is an order by a court or government restricting information or comment from being made public.

American injunctions[link]

Temporary restraining orders[link]

A temporary restraining order (TRO) may be issued for short term. A TRO usually lasts while a motion for preliminary injunction is being decided, and the court decides whether to drop the order or to issue a preliminary injunction.

A TRO may be granted ex parte, without informing in advance the party to whom the TRO is directed. Usually, a party moves ex parte to prevent an adversary from having notice of one's intentions. The TRO is granted to prevent the adversary from acting to frustrate the purpose of the action, for example, by wasting or hiding assets (as often occurs in divorce) or disclosing a trade secret that had been the subject of a non-disclosure agreement.

To obtain a TRO, a plaintiff must prove four elements: (1) likelihood of success on the merits; (2) the extent to which the plaintiff is being irreparably harmed by the defendant's conduct; (3) the extent to which the defendant will suffer irreparable harm if the TRO issues; and (4) the public interest.^[2]

Other kinds of restraining orders[link]

Many states have injunction laws that are written specifically to stop domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault or harassment and these are commonly called restraining orders, orders of protection, abuse prevention orders, or protective orders.

Injunctions in US labor law context[link]

After the United States government successfully used an injunction to outlaw the Pullman boycott in 1894 in In re Debs, employers found that they could obtain federal court injunctions to ban strikes and organizing activities of all kinds by unions. These injunctions were often extremely broad; one injunction issued by a federal court in the 1920s effectively barred the United Mine Workers of America from talking to workers who had signed yellow dog contracts with their employers.

Unable to limit what they called "government by injunction" in the courts, labor and its allies persuaded the Congress of the United States in 1932 to pass the Norris-LaGuardia Act, which imposed so many procedural and substantive limits on the federal courts' power to issue injunctions that it was an effective prohibition on federal court injunctions in cases arising out of labor disputes. A number of states followed suit and enacted "Little Norris-LaGuardia Acts" that imposed similar limitations on state courts' powers. The courts have since recognized a limited exception to the Norris-LaGuardia Act's strict limitations in those cases in which a party seeks injunctive relief to enforce the grievance arbitration provisions of a collective bargaining agreement.

Employment discrimination[link]

Differing from most other cases, where equitable relief is given very rarely, in discrimination cases, injunctive relief is actually the preferred method of remedy.^[3] However, if there is evidence that there is now a hostile relationship between the employer and employee, the court may order a reasonable amount of "front pay"^[4] along with the back pay (back pay: The amount of lost wages and benefits that an employee lost ever since he was terminated, up to the point that the judgment is entered^[5]).

Australian apprehended violence orders[link]

A court may grant an apprehended violence order (AVO) to a person who fears violence, harassment, abuse, or stalking.^[6] A court may issue an AVO if it believes, on the balance of probabilities, that a person has reasonable grounds to fear personal violence, harassing conduct, molestation, intimidation, or stalking. A defendant's non-compliance with the order may result in the imposition of a fine, imprisonment, or both.

[edit] UK superinjunctions

It has been suggested that Hyper-injunctions in English law be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2012.

In England and Wales, injunctions whose existence and details may not be legally reported, in addition to facts or allegations which may not be disclosed, have been issued; they have been given the informal name of superinjunctions (or super-injunctions).^[7][8]

An example was the superinjunction raised in September 2009 by Carter-Ruck solicitors on behalf of oil trader Trafigura, prohibiting the reporting of an internal Trafigura report into the 2006 Côte d'Ivoire toxic waste dump scandal. The existence of the superinjunction was revealed only when it was referred to in a parliamentary question that was subsequently circulated on the Internet (parliamentary privilege protects statements which would otherwise be held to be in contempt of court). Before it could be challenged in court, the injunction was then varied to permit reporting of the question.^[9] By long legal tradition, parliamentary proceedings may be reported without restriction.^[10] Parliamentary proceedings are only covered by qualified privilege. Another example of the use of a superinjunction was in a libel case in which a plaintiff who claimed he was defamed by family members in a dispute over a multimillion pound family trust obtained anonymity for himself and for his relatives.^[11]

Roy Greenslade credits the editor of The Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, with coining the word "super-injunction" in an article about the Trafigura affair in September 2009.^[12]

The term "hyper-injunction" has also been used to describe an injunction similar to a superinjunction but also including an order that the injunction must not be discussed with members of Parliament, journalists or lawyers. One known hyper-injunction was obtained at the High Court in 2006, preventing its subject from saying that paint used in water tanks on passenger ships can break down and release potentially toxic chemicals.^[13][14] This example became public knowledge in Parliament under parliamentary privilege.^[15]

By May 2011, Private Eye claimed to be aware of 53 super-injunctions and anonymised privacy injunctions,^[16] though Lord Neuberger's report into the usage of super-injunctions revealed that only two super-injunctions had been granted since January 2010. Many media sources were wrongly stating that all gagging orders were super-injunctions.^[17]

See also[link]

• Anti-Social Behaviour Order (UK)
• Anti-suit injunction
• Anti-Injunction Act
• Burden of proof
• Civil litigation
• Interim order
• Cross-border injunction
• Declaratory judgment
• Equity (law)
• Equity court
• Gang injunction
• Lawburrows (Scotland)
• Lawsuit
• Mareva injunction
• Petition for stay
• Peace bond
• Protection From Abuse
• Quia timet
• Standing

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up injunction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• On the Difference Between Lawsuit, a Restraining Order, and an Injunction

Dan Bull
Dan Bull at the Digital Economy Bill demonstrations in London, 24 March 2010
Background information
Birth name	Daniel Bull
Also known as	Douglby, Dan Bull
Born	(1986-03-27) March 27, 1986 (age 26) Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Origin	Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Unsigned
Website	itsdanbull.com

Dan Bull is an English rapper and songwriter known for his politically orientated lyrics and specific addressing of high profile figures in his music. His music has been featured in the British press as part of attempts to save BBC Radio 6,^[1][2] campaign against the Digital Economy Bill,^[3] and protest in favour of filesharing.^[4]

Musical career[link]

[edit] 2006 - Present: Other Work (Youtube)

Dan Bull has released songs on subjects such as digital rights, the music industry, and gaming.^[5][6][7] Bull's actions have gained attention, specifically from the TalkTalk Group who requested to team up with him against the Digital Economy Bill.^[8]

Gaming Raps

Dan has acquired many of his fans through the creation of gaming raps. He has created songs about Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, Assassin's Creed, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, League of Legends, and Skyrim. The Epic Skyrim Rap is his most popular video, with over 4.5 million views.

[edit] 2009: Safe

Safe tells the story of a young man who attempts suicide at the same time as a global thermonuclear holocaust and awakens in a new, ambiguous nirvana. Along the way, Dan Bull covers such topics as summer sunshine, friendship, love and loss, alienation, politics, death, religion, suicide and insanity.^{[9][unreliable source?]}

[edit] 2011: Face

Bull announced via his blog that the upcoming album would be available in early 2011. Stating that: "It’s going to be a continuation of the narrative of my first album, but will have a very different feel and mood overall."^[10] The album focuses on topics such as medical recovery, war, love, Asperger's syndrome, alcoholism, and pride. Face was released in December 2011. The 12-track album includes ten brand new songs as well as the 2010 tracks America and John Lennon.

[edit] 2012: Sharing is caring

Dan Bull announced via his website that he was aiming to get into the UK and Global charts with his new track "Sharing is caring." He offered it on iTunes, Play.com, Amazon and on torrent via The Pirate Bay. To people who bought all 10 versions of his track, they would be thanked in a music video of his, given that they notify him with sufficient proof. The lyrical content in the different versions of his track were targeted at popular social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter. and Google+. He also offered the instrumental by itself, voice only versions, and remixes of each track.^[11] The Animal Circus remix reached the top of the Reggae charts on Amazon UK, and second place in the World category.^[12]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Safe (2009)
• Face (2011)

Videos[link]

• Dear Lily (2009)
• Doorways (2009)
• Free Gary (2009)
• Generation Gaming (2009)
• Dear Andy (2010)
• Dear Mandy (2010)
• Death of ACTA (2010)
• Dear Auntie (2010)
• SOPA Cabana (2011)
• Bye Bye BPI (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• YouTube

Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs in November 2009
Personal information
Full name	Ryan Joseph Giggs[1]
Date of birth	(1973-11-29) 29 November 1973 (age 38)
Place of birth	Cardiff, Wales
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Manchester United
Number	11
Youth career
1985–1987	Manchester City
1987–1991	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–	Manchester United	638	(112)
National team
1989	England U16	1	(1)
1989	Wales U18	3	(0)
1990	Wales U21	2	(0)
1991–2007	Wales	64	(12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:26, 13 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals).

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE^[3] (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973) is a Welsh footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season. He established himself as a left winger during the 1990s, and continuing in this position well into the 2000s, though he has been increasingly used in a deeper playmaking role in his latter years. Giggs is known for his tireless running, ball possession and ability to create goalscoring opportunities for those around him.^[4]

Giggs is the most decorated player in English football history.^[5] He also holds the club record for competitive appearances.^[6] During his time at United, he has won 12 Premier League winner's medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, three League Cup winner's medals and two Champions League winner's medals. He has two runner-up medals from the Champions League, three FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of the team five times when it finished second in the Premier League. In recent years, Giggs has captained the team on numerous occasions, particularly in the 2007–08 season when regular captain Gary Neville was ruled out with various injuries.

Giggs has a number of personal achievements. He was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993), though he did not win the PFA Player of the Year award until 2009. He is the only player to have played and scored in every season of the Premier League.^[7][8] He has been elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007,^[9] the Premier League Team of the Decade, in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century. Giggs holds the record for the most assists in Premier League history, with 271.^[10]

At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player to ever represent his country.

In addition to the many honours Giggs has received within football such as being named in the Football League 100 Legends (the last active player in the list), he was appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005, for his services to English Football. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009.^[11] On 31 January 2011, Giggs was named Manchester United's greatest ever player by a worldwide poll conducted by United's official magazine and website.^[12] On 10 October 2011, Giggs was honoured with the 2011 Golden Foot Award.

Early years[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011)

Born as Ryan Joseph Wilson^[13] (he later adopted his mother's maiden name as his professional surname) at St David's Hospital in Canton, Cardiff, to Danny Wilson, at the time a rugby union player for Cardiff RFC who would go on to become a Wales international representative in rugby league, and Lynne Giggs (now Lynne Johnson). As a child Giggs grew up in Ely, a suburb of western Cardiff. His younger brother, Rhodri, manages non-league Salford City.

He spent much time with his mother's parents and playing football on the roads outside their house in Pentrebane. In 1980, when Giggs was six years old, his father switched rugby codes and signed for Swinton RLFC, forcing the whole family to move north to Swinton, a town in Salford, Greater Manchester. The move was a traumatic one, as Giggs was very close to his grandparents in Cardiff, but he would often return there with his family at weekends or on school holidays. Giggs is mixed race – his paternal grandfather is from Sierra Leone – and has spoken of the racism he faced as a child.^[14]

After moving to Salford, Giggs appeared for the local team, Deans FC, who were coached by Manchester City scout Dennis Schofield. Schofield recommended Giggs to Manchester City, and he was signed up to their School of Excellence. Meanwhile, Giggs continued to play for Salford Boys, who went on to reach the final of the Granada Schools Cup competition at Anfield in 1987. Giggs captained the Salford team to victory over their Blackburn counterparts, and the trophy was presented to him by Liverpool chief scout Ron Yeats.

While playing for Deans, Giggs was observed regularly by local newsagent and Old Trafford steward Harold Wood. Wood spoke personally to Alex Ferguson who sent a scout, and Giggs was eventually offered a trial over the 1986 Christmas period. Giggs played in a match for Salford Boys against a United Under-15s side at The Cliff and scored a hat trick, with Ferguson watching from his office window. On 29 November 1987 (his 14th birthday), Ferguson turned up at Giggs's house with United scout Joe Brown and offered him two years on associate schoolboy forms. They offered to waive YTS forms, and persuaded Giggs to sign by offering the opportunity to turn professional in three years. Using the name Ryan Wilson, Giggs captained England at schoolboy level, playing at Wembley Stadium against Germany in 1989.^[15] He changed his surname at the age of 16, when his mother remarried. His parents had separated two years earlier.^[16]

Manchester United first team[link]

1990-1995: Debut and early career[link]

Giggs was offered his first professional contract on 29 November 1990 (his 17th birthday). He accepted the contract and became a professional two days later (1 December 1990).

At this time, United had recently won the FA Cup – their first major trophy since the appointment of Alex Ferguson as manager in November 1986. After two seasons in the league where they had finished mid table, they were finally starting to threaten the dominance of Liverpool and Arsenal, though they only managed to finish sixth that season. Ferguson's quest for a successful left winger had not been an easy one since the departure of Jesper Olsen two years earlier; he had initially signed Ralph Milne, but the player was not a success at United and lasted just one season in the first team before Ferguson secured the Southampton winger Danny Wallace in September 1989. Wallace had failed to shine at Old Trafford, and by the time Giggs turned professional Wallace was contending with 19-year-old Lee Sharpe for the role of first choice left winger.^{[citation needed]}

Giggs made his League debut against Everton at Old Trafford on 2 March 1991, as a substitute for the injured full-back Denis Irwin in a 2–0 defeat. In his first full start, Giggs was credited with his first ever goal in a 1–0 win in the Manchester derby on 4 May 1991, though it appeared to be a Colin Hendry own goal. However, he was not included in the squad of 16 that defeated Barcelona in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final 11 days later. Lee Sharpe, who had won the race to displace Danny Wallace, took to the field as United's left winger, while Wallace was selected as a substitute. Giggs became a first-team regular early in the 1991–92 season, yet remained active with the youth system and captained the team, made up of many of "Fergie's Fledglings", to an FA Youth Cup triumph in 1992.^{[citation needed]}

Giggs broke into the first team even though he was still aged only 17, and paved the way as the first of many Manchester United youth players to rise into the first team under Ferguson. As the youngest member of the United first team squad, Giggs looked to the older players such as Bryan Robson for advice. Robson recommended that Giggs sign up with Harry Swales, the agent that he himself had inherited from Kevin Keegan.^[17]

That season, Giggs played in the team that finished as runners-up to Leeds United in the final year of the old First Division before the advent of the Premier League. United had led the table for much of the season before a run of dismal results in April saw them overtaken by the West Yorkshire side. Giggs collected his first piece of silverware on 12 April 1992 as United defeated Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Final, after Giggs had set up Brian McClair to score the only goal of the game. At the end of the season, he was voted PFA Young Player of the Year – the award which had been credited to his colleague Lee Sharpe a year earlier.^{[citation needed]}

By the start of the 1992–93 season, the first season of the newly formed Premier League, Giggs had ousted Sharpe to become United's first-choice left winger. He was recognised one of English football's two best emerging young wingers, alongside Steve McManaman,^[18] who were notable for being a throwback to the Stanley Matthews era of the 1950s' wingers.^[19] Giggs helped United to their first top division title win for 26 years.

Giggs playing for United.

His emergence and the arrival of Eric Cantona heralded the dominance of United in the Premier League. Ferguson was protective of him, refusing to allow Giggs to be interviewed until he turned 20, eventually granting the first interview to the BBC's Des Lynam for Match of the Day in the 1993–94 season. United won the double that season, and Giggs was one of their key players alongside the likes of Eric Cantona, Paul Ince and Mark Hughes. Giggs also played for United in the Football League Cup final, where they lost 3–1 to Aston Villa.

Off the pitch, newspapers claimed Giggs had "single-handedly revolutionised football's image" when he appeared as teenager "with pace to burn, a bramble patch of black hair bouncing around his puppy popstar face, and a dazzling, gluey relationship between his impossibly fleet left foot and a football."^[20] As a result of this, he was afforded many opportunities not normally offered to footballers at his young age, such as hosting his own television show, Ryan Giggs' Soccer Skills, which aired in 1994, and also had a book based on the series. Giggs was part of the Premier League's attempt to market itself globally, and he featured on countless football and lad mag covers, becoming a household name and fuelling the era where footballers started to become celebrity idols on a par with pop stars,^[21] in and around the mid to late 1990s. Despite his aversion to attention, Giggs also became a teenage pin-up and was once described as the "Premiership's First Poster Boy",^[22] and the "boy wonder",.^[23] He was hailed as the first football star to capture the public imagination in a way unseen since the days of George Best;^[24] the irony was that Best and Bobby Charlton used to describe Giggs as their favourite young player, turning up at The Cliff training ground just to watch him. Best once quipped, "One day they might even say that I was another Ryan Giggs."^[24]

At the end of the 1993–94 season, Giggs won a second title in a row, and became the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards, a feat equalled by Robbie Fowler and Wayne Rooney.^[25]

Giggs proved to be a scorer of great goals, with many of them being shortlisted for various Goal of the Season awards. Widely regarded as among his best were those against Queens Park Rangers in 1993, Tottenham in 1994, Everton in 1995, Coventry in 1996, and his solo-goal against Arsenal in the replay of the 1999 FA Cup semi-final. During extra time, Giggs picked up possession after Patrick Vieira gave the ball away, then ran from the half-way line, dribbled past the whole Arsenal back line, including Tony Adams, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown before launching his left-footed strike just under David Seaman's bar and beyond his reach. He famously whipped off his shirt as he ran to celebrate with his teammates. It also has the distinction of being the last ever goal scored in an FA Cup semi-final replay as, from the following season, the FA Cup semi-finals are decided in a single game, with extra time and a penalty shootout if required.^{[citation needed]}

1995-2000[link]

1994–95 saw Giggs restricted through injury to 29 Premier League games and only 1 goal. Later in the season he recovered his form and fitness, though it was too late to help United to any major trophies. A failure to beat West Ham United on the final day of the season saw them lose the Premier League title to Blackburn Rovers. A week later, Giggs came on as a substitute in the FA Cup final against Everton, but United lost 1–0.

On a more positive side in the 1994–95 season, Giggs did get on the scoresheet twice in the opening Champions League game against IFK Gothenburg (a 4–2 win, although United ultimately failed to progress to the quarter-finals) and also managed a goal in the FA Cup fourth around victory over Wrexham, meaning that he had managed four goals in all competitions that season.

In 1995–96 Giggs returned to full form and played a vital part in United's unique second double, with his goal against Everton at Goodison Park on 9 September 1995 being shortlisted for the "goal of the season" award, though it was eventually beaten by a goal by Manchester City's Georgi Kinkladze. In November that season, Giggs scored two goals in a Premier League match against Southampton, where United won 4–1 to keep up the pressure on a Newcastle United side who actually went 10 points clear on 23 December but were finally overhauled by United in mid March. Giggs was also in the side for United's FA Cup final win over Liverpool on 11 May 1996, though Eric Cantona scored the only goal of the game. By now, Giggs had several new key colleagues in youngsters Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. Beckham took over from Andrei Kanchelskis on the right wing and Butt succeeded Paul Ince in central midfield to complete a new look United midfield along with Giggs and Roy Keane.^{[citation needed]}

The following season, Giggs had his first real chance to shine in Europe. Having played a key role in United winning their third league title in four seasons, he helped them reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, the first United side in 28 years to achieve this. However, their hopes of European glory were ended by Borussia Dortmund, who edged them out by winning each leg of the semi-final 1–0. At the end of this season, Juventus' Alessandro Del Piero told Italian media that Giggs was one of his two favourite players, and gave the following memorable quote:"This is embarrassing to say but I have cried twice in my life watching a football player; the first one was Roberto Baggio and the second was Ryan Giggs."^[26]

In 1997–98, United were pipped to the Premier League title by Arsenal, following a dismal run of form in March and early April, leaving them without a trophy for only the second time since 1989. The following season, Giggs missed a lot of games through injury, but when he was fit his form was excellent and he played in both of United's cup finals that season. Memorable moments were his extra-time goal in the FA Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Arsenal giving United a 2–1 win, and his 90th minute equaliser in the home leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Juventus.

The highpoint in the 1998–99 season was when Giggs set up the equalising goal scored by Teddy Sheringham in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final that set United on their way to the Treble.

Giggs was also the Man of the Match as United beat Palmeiras 1–0 to claim the Intercontinental Cup later that year.^[27]

2000–2005[link]

Ryan Giggs, 2006

Giggs became United's longest serving player when Denis Irwin left in May 2002, and he became a pivotal part of the club, despite still being in his twenties. Giggs continued to excel in the four years that followed the Treble triumph of 1999. United were Premier League champions in three of the four seasons following the treble, as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals three times and the semi-finals once. He celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Old Trafford with a testimonial match against Celtic at the start of the 2001–02 campaign. However, this was one of the most disappointing seasons United had endured since Giggs made his debut for them, as a dismal run of form in early winter ultimately cost them the league title and they were surprisingly knocked out of the Champions League on away goals in the semi finals by German underdogs Bayer Leverkusen. A year later, in the autumn of 2002, he bagged his 100th career goal in a draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.^{[citation needed]}

He played in his fourth FA Cup triumph on 22 May 2004, making him one of only two players (the other being Roy Keane) to have won the trophy four times while playing for Manchester United. He has also finished with a runners-up medal three times (1995, 2005 and 2007). His participation in the victory over Liverpool in September 2004 made him the third player to play 600 games for United, alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game.

2005-present[link]

Giggs signed a two-year contract extension with United when chief executive David Gill relented on his normal policy of not signing players over 30 to contracts longer than one year. Giggs benefited from being largely injury-free aside from a series of hamstring problems.

On 6 May 2007, with Chelsea only able to manage a 1–1 draw with London rivals Arsenal, Manchester United became the champions of England. In doing so, Giggs set a new record of nine league titles, beating the previous record of eight he shared with Alan Hansen and Phil Neal (who won all of their titles with Liverpool). Giggs played a starring role in United's 2007 Charity Shield victory after netting in the first half to bring the game to a 1–1 draw, which led to penalty triumph for the Red Devils after keeper Edwin van der Sar saved all of Chelsea's first three penalties.

In the 2007–08 season, Alex Ferguson adopted a rotation system between Giggs and newcomers Nani and Anderson.

Giggs after the match against Manchester City in February 2008

Giggs scored his 100th league goal for United against Derby County on 8 December 2007, which United won 4–1.^[28] More landmarks have been achieved: on 20 February 2008 he made his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League in a game against Lyon^[29] and on 11 May 2008 he came on as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung to equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for United.^[30] Giggs scored the second goal in that match, sealing his, and United's, tenth Premier League title. Ten days later, on 21 May 2008, Giggs broke Bobby Charlton's appearance record for United when coming on as an 87th minute substitute for Paul Scholes in the Champions League Final against Chelsea. United won the final, defeating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra time, with Giggs converting the winning penalty in sudden-death.

At the start of Manchester United's 2008–09 campaign, Sir Alex Ferguson began placing Giggs at central midfield, behind the forwards, instead of his favoured wing position. Sir Alex Ferguson said in an interview, "(Giggs) is a very valuable player, he will be 35 this November but at 35, he can be United's key player. At 25, Ryan would shatter defenders with his run down the flank, but at 35, he will play deeper."^[31] Giggs has begun taking his coaching badges and Ferguson has hinted that he would like Giggs to serve as his coaching staff after retirement like Ole Gunnar Solskjær did.^[32]

Following speculation earlier in the year,^[33] in February 2009, Giggs signed a one-year extension to his current contract – which was due to expire in June 2009.^[34] After a successful season, Giggs was short-listed along with four other Manchester United team mates for the PFA Player of the Year.^[35] On 26 April 2009, Giggs received the award, despite having started just twelve games throughout the 08/09 season (at the time of receiving the trophy). This was the first time in his career that Giggs had received the award.^[36] Prior to the awards ceremony, Alex Ferguson had given his backing for Giggs to win the award and stated that it would be fitting, given Giggs' long term contribution to the game.^[37] Giggs made his 800th appearance for Manchester United on 29 April 2009, in the 1–0 semi-final win over Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League.^[38] On 16 May 2009, Manchester United won the Premier League after a 0–0 draw against Arsenal, both United's and Giggs' 11th Premier League titles.

Giggs scored his first Manchester United hat-trick in a pre-season friendly against Hangzhou Greentown after coming on as a second-half substitute.^[39]

Giggs in a match against MLS All-Stars on 29 July 2010

On 12 September 2009, Giggs made his 700th start for United.^[40] Giggs scored his 150th goal for United, only the ninth player to do so for the club, against Wolfsburg in his first Champions League game of the season. On 28 November 2009, the eve of his 36th birthday, Giggs scored his 100th Premier League goal – all for Manchester United – scoring the final goal in a 4–1 victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park, and becoming only the 17th player to reach the milestone in the Premier League.^[41]

On 30 November 2009, the day after his 36th birthday, it was reported that Giggs would be offered an additional one-year contract which would run until the end of the 2010–11 season and see him past the 20th anniversary of his first game and first goal for United.^[42] On the same day, Giggs was nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009, which he subsequently won.^[43] On 12 December 2009, Giggs' surpassed countryman Gary Speed's outfield record of 535 Premier League games. On 18 December 2009, Giggs signed a one-year contract extension with United, keeping him at the club until June 2011, taking him past the 20th anniversary of his first professional contract and that of his first team debut – a rare occurrence of a player reaching the 20-year mark with the same club and with unbroken service.^[44] On 31 December 2009, Giggs was named the Manchester United Player of the Decade.^[45] On 24 April 2010, Giggs scored the first ever league penalties of his career, netting two penalties in a 3–1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur.^[46][47]

On 16 August 2010, Giggs kept up his record of scoring in every Premier League season since its inception as he netted United's third in their 3–0 home victory over Newcastle United in their opening fixture of the new campaign. As he found the net in the final two seasons of the old Football League First Division, he has now scored in 21 successive top division campaigns.^[48] On 17 January 2011, Giggs reached 600 league appearances (all for Manchester United), as he played in their goalless draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.^[49] Giggs signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester United on 18 February, keeping him at the club until June 2012.^[50] On 6 March 2011, Giggs surpassed the Manchester United league appearance record of Bobby Charlton by playing his 607th game against Liverpool. On 26 April, against Schalke 04 in the Champions League Semi-Final First Leg, Giggs scored the first goal from a Wayne Rooney pass, also making himself the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history to date.^[51] Giggs also played in the 2011 Champions League final, where Manchester United were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona.^[52]

Giggs made his first start of the 2011–12 season in the UEFA Champions League away at Benfica. He scored United's equalising goal in a 1–1 draw at the Estádio da Luz, in the process breaking his own record for the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history. He also became the first man ever to score in 16 different Champions League campaigns, moving clear of Raúl who was tied with Giggs on 15 seasons.Raúl though holds the record for scoring in 14 consecutive Champions league seasons. On 19 November, Giggs played in a league game in his home country of Wales for the first time in his distinguished career against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium in a United 1–0 win. Giggs maintained his record of scoring in each of the past 22 top-flight seasons by scoring United's third goal against Fulham at Craven Cottage in a 5-0 win on 21 December, his first of the season in the league. On 10 February 2012, Giggs signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester United.^[53]

On 26 February 2012, Giggs made his 900th appearance for Manchester United, in a 2-1 away win against Norwich City. He marked the occasion by scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute, scoring from a cross by Ashley Young.^[54] After the match, Alex Ferguson told BBC Sport he believed that a player playing in 900 games for one club "won't be done again".^[55] Ryan Giggs has since played with 140 different players in the first team.^[56]

International career[link]

Giggs captaining Wales in the friendly against Brazil in September 2006

Born in Cardiff to Welsh parents, Giggs represented Wales at international level. As a youngster, Giggs captained England Schoolboys. Contrary to popular belief, he was never eligible for the full England team (eligibility at the schoolboy level depends solely upon the location of the school, in Giggs' case Moorside High School in Salford).^[57] He has stated that he would have chosen to play for Wales anyway.

When Giggs made his international debut in 1991, he broke the record as the youngest debutant for Wales and held it for some seven years when it was broken by Ryan Green in June 1998.^[58] He went on to win 64 caps, and scored twelve goals for the Welsh national team between 1991 and 2007. He was appointed captain of Wales in 2004.

His first senior goal for Wales came on 31 March 1993 in a 3–0 win over Belgium in Cardiff in a World Cup qualifying game, the same game in which Ian Rush scored for Wales for a record 24th time.^[59]

After his international debut in 1991 against Germany, Giggs did not attend a friendly international until some nine years later, after which he missed a further 18 consecutive friendly games. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had a policy of refusing to release the player for friendly games.^[60]

In a qualifier against England for the 2006 FIFA World Cup at Old Trafford where Wales lost 2-0, Giggs played against some present and former Manchester United teammates including David Beckham, Gary Neville, and Wayne Rooney.^[61][62][63] During a 2006 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on 12 October 2005, Giggs scored a rare double in a 2–0 win but Wales failed to reach the play-offs.^[64]

In September 2006, he played in a friendly against Brazil at White Hart Lane where Wales lost 2-0. Brazil coach Dunga complimented Gigg's performance by stating he would not look out of place playing for the five-time world champions alongside stars such as Kaká and Ronaldinho.^[65]

Giggs announced his retirement from international football on Wednesday, 30 May 2007, at a press conference held at The Vale of Glamorgan Hotel, drawing the curtain on a 16-year international career.^[32] He cited concentrating on his United career as the main reason for stepping down. His final game for Wales, and as captain, was the Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic on 2 June at Cardiff. He earned his 64th cap in this game and won the Man of the Match award as Wales drew 0–0.^[66] In November, he was one of three players in the final nomination by the FAW for the Wales Player of the Year award, which was ultimately won by Craig Bellamy.^[67]

In an interview with the Western Mail on 26 March 2010, Giggs hinted that he might be tempted to come out of international retirement for his country's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, in order to cover for the injured Aaron Ramsey.^[68] He later clarified his position to BBC Radio Manchester, saying that he would only return to Wales duty in an emergency.^[69]

International goals[link]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	31 March 1993	Cardiff, Wales	Belgium	2–0	Win	1994 FIFA World Cup Qual.
2	8 September 1993	Cardiff, Wales	Czech Republic	2–2	Draw	1994 FIFA World Cup Qual.
3	7 September 1994	Cardiff, Wales	Albania	2–0	Win	UEFA Euro 1996 Qual.
4	2 June 1996	Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	5–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup Qual.
5	11 November 1997	Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	2–3	Loss	1998 FIFA World Cup Qual.
6	4 September 1999	Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	2–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 Qual.
7	29 March 2000	Cardiff, Wales	Finland	1–2	Loss	Friendly
8	29 March 2003	Cardiff, Wales	Azerbaijan	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
9	8 October 2005	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	3–2	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
10	12 October 2005	Cardiff, Wales	Azerbaijan	2–0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
11
12	21 May 2006	Bilbao, Spain	Basque Country	1–0	Win	Non-FIFA representative friendly
13	28 March 2007	Cardiff, Wales	San Marino	3–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.

Discipline[link]

Giggs has never been sent off when playing for Manchester United and only once when playing for Wales, on 5 September 2001 in a World Cup qualifier against Norway;^[70] Giggs received a second yellow card in the 86th minute.^[71] In November 2003, he was found guilty of improper conduct by the FA due to his behaviour during the Battle of Old Trafford game against Arsenal (one of two United and six Arsenal players charged over the incident);^[72] Giggs received a £7,500 fine but avoided suspension.^[73] In the same week, Giggs received a two-match suspension from international football for deliberately elbowing Russian player Vadim Evseev in the face during the first leg of the Euro 2004 play-offs.^[74] The offence was missed by referee Lucílio Batista, but Giggs was later charged using video evidence.^[74]

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of 22:26, 13 May 2012.^[75]

International[link]

^[66][76]

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Manchester United

• Premier League (12): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
• FA Cup (4): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
• Football League Cup (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
• FA Community Shield (8): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010
• UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08
• UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999
• FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual[link]

• PFA Young Player of the Year (2): 1991–92, 1992–93
• PFA Team of the Year (6): 1992–93, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2008–09
• PFA Team of the Century (1): 1997–2007^[77]
• PFA Players' Player of the Year (1): 2008–09
• FWA Tribute Award: 2007
• Bravo Award (1): 1993
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year (1): 2009
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year (2): 1996, 2009
• GQ Sportsman of the Year (1): 2010^[78]
• Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year (1): 1997–98
• Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year (2): 1990–91, 1991–92
• Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02): Overall Team of the Decade
• Premier League 20 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2011–12): Most Player Appearances (596)
• UEFA Champions League 10 Seasons Dream Team (1992 to 2002): 2002
• Wales Player of the Year Award (2): 1996, 2006
• Premier League Player of the Month (3): September 1993, August 2006, February 2007
• Goal of the Season (1): 1998–99
• English Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 2005
• Golden Foot: 2011

Orders and special awards[link]

• OBE for services to football: 2007^[3]
• Honorary Master of Arts degree from Salford University for contributions to football and charity work in developing countries: 2008^[79]
• Freedom of the City of Salford: 7 January 2010.^[80] He is the 22nd person to receive the Freedom of the City of Salford.^[80]

Records[link]

Ryan Giggs with the Premier League trophy

• Has won a record 12 top division English league titles as a player, and only Manchester United player to have winner's medals from all 12 Premier League title wins.
• Most Premier League appearances for a player, with 588.^[81]
• Most Premier League assists (accurate records are only available from 2002 onwards).^[82]
• Only player to have played and scored in every Premier League campaign.
• Only player to have scored in sixteen different Champions League tournaments. (Includes eleven consecutive tournaments, 1996–97 to 2006–07; only Raúl has a better record with 14.)
• Most goals by a British player in the Champions League/European Cup proper history, and 14th overall (not including preliminary rounds).^[83]
• Most appearances by a Manchester United player.
• Most starts by a Manchester United player, started in 757 games.
• First player to score 100 Premier League goals for Manchester United.
• Second midfielder to have scored 100 goals in the Premier League for a single club (first being Matt Le Tissier).
• One of four Manchester United players to win two Champions League Medals (others are Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Wes Brown).
• Oldest (37 years, 289 days) player to score in the Champions League, when he scored against Benfica on 14 September 2011.^[51]
• One of two Manchester United Players to win at least 10 Top division medals (the other one is Paul Scholes.)

Endorsements and public image[link]

Giggs has been featured in adverts for Reebok, Sovil Titus, Citizen Watches, Givenchy, Fuji, Patek Phillipe, Quorn Burgers, ITV Digital and Celcom.^{[citation needed]}

According to an article by BBC Sport: "In the early 1990s, Giggs was David Beckham before Beckham was even holding down a place in the United first team. If you put his face on the cover of a football magazine, it guaranteed you the biggest sales of the year. Why? Men would buy it to read about 'the new Best' and girls bought it because they wanted his face all over their bedroom walls. Giggs had the million-pound boot deal (Reebok), the lucrative sponsorship deals in the Far East (Fuji) and the celebrity girlfriends (Dani Behr, Davinia Taylor) at a time when Beckham was being sent on loan to Preston North End."^[84]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Giggs married his longtime partner, Stacey Cooke, in a private ceremony on 7 September 2007.^[85] They have two children, both born in Salford: Liberty Beau (known as Libby, born 2003) and Zachary Joseph (known as Zach, born 2006),^[86][87] and live in Worsley, Salford, Greater Manchester.^[88]

Activism[link]

In August 2006 Giggs became an Ambassador for UNICEF UK, in recognition for his work with Manchester United's 'United for UNICEF' partnership with the children's organisation.^[89] Giggs visited UNICEF projects in Thailand and told the BBC: "As a footballer I can't imagine life without the use of one of my legs... Sadly this is exactly what happens to thousands of children every year when they accidentally step on a landmine."^[90]

Post-playing career[link]

In October 2010, Giggs said he would "probably finish [his] career here [Old Trafford]", and that he could not see himself "dropping down leagues and playing at a lesser level." He said he wanted to go into coaching, calling managing Manchester United or Wales "the two ultimate jobs", and that he was halfway through his UEFA 'A' coaching licence.^[91]

Gagging order[link]

In May 2011, it was reported in non-UK media sources that Giggs was the identity of CTB in CTB v News Group Newspapers,^[92] a footballer who had obtained an anonymised gagging order in relation to an alleged extra-marital affair with model Imogen Thomas. Giggs took legal action against the social networking site Twitter after he was named by a user in a list of identities of individuals who had allegedly taken out so-called "super-injunctions".^[93] A blogger for Forbes magazine remarked that Giggs had "not heard of the Streisand effect", observing that mentions of his name had increased significantly after the case against Twitter had been reported.^[94]

On 22 May 2011, the Sunday Herald, a Scottish newspaper, published a thinly disguised photograph of Giggs on its front page, with the word "CENSORED" covering his eyes.^[95][96] Sunday Herald editor Richard Walker stated that the London High Court ruling had no force in Scotland, unless copies of the paper were sold in England or Wales.^[97]

On 23 May 2011, the gagging order set off a political controversy, with Prime Minister David Cameron commenting that the law should be reviewed to "catch up with how people consume media today".^[98] On the same day, Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to name Giggs as CTB.^[99]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ryan Giggs

• Photos & statistics at www.sporting-heroes.net
• Ryan Giggs – FIFA competition record
• Ryan Giggs career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile at ManUtd.com
• The National Football Museum Hall of Fame
• Ryan Giggs at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Ryan Giggs in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Ryan Giggs profile, Chris Whyatt, BBC News, 23 May 2011, stats
• Ryan Giggs collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Ryan Giggs at the Notable Names Database
• Ryan Giggs on Playerhistory.com
• BBC Your Paintings portrait by Peter Edwards

  Awards   Awards Preceded by Neville Southall Shane Williams BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 1996 2009 Succeeded by Scott Gibbs Gareth Bale Preceded by Gary Neville Manchester United F.C. vice-captain 2005– Succeeded by Incumbent v t e Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year 1988: McClair 1989: Robson 1990: Pallister 1991: Hughes 1992: McClair 1993: Ince 1994: Cantona 1995: Kanchelskis 1996: Cantona 1997: Beckham 1998: Giggs 1999: Keane 2000: Keane 2001: Sheringham 2002: Van Nistelrooy 2003: Van Nistelrooy 2004: Ronaldo 2005: Heinze 2006: Rooney 2007: Ronaldo 2008: Ronaldo 2009: Vidić 2010: Rooney 2011: Hernández 2012: Valencia v t e PFA Players' Player of the Year 1974: Hunter 1975: Todd 1976: Jennings 1977: Gray 1978: Shilton 1979: Brady 1980: McDermott 1981: Wark 1982: Keegan 1983: Dalglish 1984: Rush 1985: Reid 1986: Lineker 1987: Allen 1988: Barnes 1989: Hughes 1990: Platt 1991: Hughes 1992: Pallister 1993: McGrath 1994: Cantona 1995: Shearer 1996: Ferdinand 1997: Shearer 1998: Bergkamp 1999: Ginola 2000: Keane 2001: Sheringham 2002: Van Nistelrooy 2003: Henry 2004: Henry 2005: Terry 2006: Gerrard 2007: C. Ronaldo 2008: C. Ronaldo 2009: Giggs 2010: Rooney 2011: Bale 2012: van Persie

  v t e PFA Young Player of the Year 1974: Beattie 1975: Day 1976: Barnes 1977: Gray 1978: Woodcock 1979: Regis 1980: Hoddle 1981: Shaw 1982: Moran 1983: Rush 1984: Walsh 1985: Hughes 1986: Cottee 1987: Adams 1988: Gascoigne 1989: Merson 1990: Le Tissier 1991: Sharpe 1992: Giggs 1993: Giggs 1994: Cole 1995: Fowler 1996: Fowler 1997: Beckham 1998: Owen 1999: Anelka 2000: Kewell 2001: Gerrard 2002: Bellamy 2003: Jenas 2004: Parker 2005: Rooney 2006: Rooney 2007: C. Ronaldo 2008: Fàbregas 2009: Young 2010: Milner 2011: Wilshere 2012: Walker

Louise Daphne Mensch (née Bagshawe; born 28 June 1971) is an English Conservative Party MP. She was elected MP for Corby at the 2010 general election. Under the name Louise Bagshawe she is an author of chick lit fiction.

Biography[link]

Louise Daphne Bagshawe, born on 28 June 1971 in London, England, is the daughter of Nicholas Wilfrid and Daphne Margaret Bagshawe née Triggs.^[2] Her father comes from a family of Roman Catholic gentry;^[3] his grandfather was the marine artist Joseph Richard Bagshawe, who was himself grandson of one of the 19th century's most renowned marine artists Clarkson Stanfield,^[4] and a nephew of Edward Gilpin Bagshawe, Roman Catholic Bishop of Nottingham. Her paternal grandmother Mary Frideswide Bagshawe was the daughter of Charles Robertson, a stockbroker and benefactor of St Philip's Priory, Begbroke and one of the co-founders of Westminster Cathedral.^[5] She is the sister of Tilly Bagshawe, a freelance journalist and author, and also has a younger sister Alice and a brother, James.^[6]

Her family moved to the countryside when she was seven. She was educated at Beechwood Sacred Heart School in Tunbridge Wells,^[7] and Woldingham School, a Roman Catholic girls' boarding school in Surrey, and was named "Young Poet of the Year" in 1989 at the age of 18.^[8] After reading English Language and Literature at Christ Church, Oxford,^[9] and following a six month internship at MTV Europe she worked as a press officer with EMI Records (a position from which she was formally dismissed),^[10] and then as a marketing official for Sony.

Louise Bagshawe married Anthony LoCicero, a property speculator, and they had three children, but after nine years the marriage ended in divorce.^[11][12] In June 2011, she married Peter Mensch, the manager of Metallica, Jimmy Page and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.^[13]

Writing career[link]

Her first novel, Career Girls, was published in 1995 and has been followed by 13 subsequent works in the chick lit genre aimed at young women. She has defended chick-lit against allegations, specifically by psychologist Susan Quilliam, that the books cause irrationally high expectations which "ruin readers' lives" by saying that such books merely make readers raise their standards.^[14]

Politics[link]

By the age of 14 she had joined the Conservative Party, inspired by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,^[11] but in 1996 she briefly switched to the Labour Party saying she believed Tony Blair to be "socially liberal but an economic Tory".^[15] By 1997 she had returned to the Conservatives and helped her mother, Daphne, win a seat in East Sussex County Council from the Liberal Democrats.^[11] In 2001, Mensch co-founded the Oxonian Society with Joseph Pascal and Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan.^[16]

Political career[link]

Mensch was placed on the A-List of Conservative candidates in 2006. This move was criticised by David Burrowes, from the socially conservative Cornerstone Group of Tory MPs, as favouring "minor celebrities", such as Mensch, over local candidates when selecting prospective parliamentary candidates.^[17] In October 2006 she was selected to stand in Corby.^[18] As part of her campaigning for the 2010 election, she appeared on Question Time^[8] and BBC One's The Big Questions.^[19] She believes the foxhunting ban should be repealed, on civil liberties grounds, and that its debate and implementation was a waste of Parliamentary time.^[20]

In the 2010 general election Mensch won the seat of Corby with a majority of 1,951, defeating Labour incumbent Phil Hope, and in June 2010 she was elected by other Conservative MPs to serve on the Select Committee for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.^[21]

Phone Hacking Scandal[link]

On 19 July 2011, in the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Mensch took part in the questioning of James and Rupert Murdoch over the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

Political blogger Bagehot in the The Economist, whilst admitting he had not previously been impressed, named Mensch as the "surprise star" of the hearing saying her "sharp, precise, coolly scornful questions" contrasted with her "waffling, pompous" fellow committee members.^[22] Mensch later faced criticism for incorrectly claiming during the committee that Piers Morgan had written in his autobiography about conducting phone hacking while he was the editor of the Daily Mirror.^[23] When challenged on CNN by Morgan, Mensch cited the protection of parliamentary privilege and refused to withdraw the allegation. However, she also refused to repeat it outside parliament, as it would leave her vulnerable to unlimited civil damages from Morgan.^[24] She later apologised to Morgan, admitting that she had misread a newspaper report about the book.^[25]

Three days later Mensch received an email alleging that she had taken a controlled substance with Nigel Kennedy at Ronnie Scott's club in Birmingham in the 1990s while working as a press officer for the EMI record company.^[26] Mensch publicly released the email and admitted the allegations were "highly probable", but said she would not be deterred from asking further questions about phone hacking. She subsequently admitted using cocaine and other class A drugs in the March issue of GQ magazine.^{[10][27]
[28]}

She has also criticised media outlets for repeated questions about whether she has had plastic surgery.^[29][30][31]

Control of social networking during riots[link]

Following the 2011 England riots Mensch called for social media services Twitter and Facebook to be shut down or to "take an hour off" during disturbances to stop the spread of false rumours wasting police resources.^[32] She compared the action with brief interruptions to road and rail networks during emergencies.^[32] However other Twitter users compared such action to Iran and China whilst Sussex police said they had used Twitter to stop rumours.^[32]

National Health Service reforms[link]

In March 2012, a group of 240 doctors, including 30 professors, wrote to the The Independent describing the NHS reforms as an "embarrassment to democracy" which had no support from professional healthcare organisations.^[33] They blamed the Bill’s supporters for putting the Coalition survival “above professional opinion, patient safety and the will of the citizens of this country”. They pledged to stand as candidates against MPs who backed it and as "an A list, successful author and vocal new MP" Mensch was mentioned as a likely target despite her lack of promotion.^[33]

Bibliography as Louise Bagshawe[link]

Single novels[link]

Publications[link]

Anthology[link]

• Five Romantic Reads (2005) (with Donna Hay, Laura Wolf, Jane Elizabeth Varley and Stella Chaplin)

References[link]