We Need to Talk About Kevin scoops top prize at London film festival

 From time to time, biography is declared dead. Certainly the writer Hilary Spurling said so five years ago when she won the Whitbread book of the year prize for her two-volume life of Matisse. But perhaps she meant the fat literary kind. For in daily life, biography is everything. It is not only the stuff of reality television and gossip magazines and the global appeal of the Daily Mail's gluttonous website: it is also the colour in politicians' speeches and the come-on in popular science and it underlies the invention of the artist as art. Even between hard covers, it still sells. Even a biography of a chief executive. But then we are talking Steve Jobs.

Once upon a time the personal really was personal. Actors were supposed to have rackety private lives but no one needed to know about them. Clement Attlee's irreproachably conservative youth was of no significance to his government's radical agenda, and only a small coterie knew at the time that for 20 years Harold Macmillan's wife Lady Dorothy was in love with and the lover of a Tory colleague. Now it seems everyone lives with their curtains open – and yet the more people reveal, the more people want to know.

Jobs sought out his biographer, Walter Isaacson, on the strength of his earlier life of Benjamin Franklin. He co-operated with him, opening up for the first time about his family, addressing his shocking behaviour in the office, sharing his moments of catastrophe and even selecting photographs in the weeks before he died.

So in a world without secrets, there plainly has to be some other reason to part with the price of a good bottle of wine for the story of a life, and that is all the truer when it is the story the subject has collaborated in telling. A biography that is authorised risks the deathly hand of sanctity, the sense of an authorial hand stayed by the compact between subject and writer.

The only interesting thing Roy Jenkins told me when I interviewed him about his former cabinet colleague Barbara Castle, of whom I was writing an authorised biography and of whom he thought little, was that I must not publish it until she was dead. "It's impossible to write a good biography when your subject is still alive," he admonished. He himself, he declared magisterially, had made his death a precondition of the publication of his biography.

The death of Jobs was the perfect launch-pad for his biography. But it overshadows it, too. In the New York Times, Joe Nocera says the intimacy of the authorised storyteller diminishes the Jobs biography. How, he asks, can you watch a man die and maintain a sense of distance? Sam Leith in the Guardian suggests that it's not the truth-telling so much as the capacity to be selective that's missing. But it would take more than a little criticism to hold down the sales of a book about the "i" in the 21st century.

So Jobs, even though he was just an amazingly gifted CEO, was a sure-fire winner. It is harder to explain why the authorised-but-unauthorised biography of Julian Assange, hero of the world's subversives, has been such a flop, apparently outsold by a collection of Mills and Boon short stories. Maybe the publishers, Canongate, misjudged their market. People who were interested in what made Assange tick would not also buy a book that arguably was a betrayal in itself, published only halfway through its preparation.

But there was more to it than that. For a start, Assange is not a recently dead hero, but an all-too-alive fugitive from rape allegations whose lack of interpersonal skills has yet to be modified by blistering commercial success. His stock-in-trade was not to be difficult but irresistible. It was just to be difficult..

In fact, if you look at biographies that sell, especially those that sell for months and months, it is hard to detect an obvious pattern. Royalty is a winner, especially in US sales, and within that broad category Elizabeth I is a top pick. Hitler or Churchill in the title is always a good wheeze in the Anglophone market. But no one, probably including its author, would have predicted the extraordinary success of Edmund de Waal's family saga, The Hare with Amber Eyes, now heading for a year in the Amazon top 20. And let's face it, the huge success of Tony Blair's memoir A Journey is a sharp lesson of celebrity as commodity. If in doubt, read Jonathan Margolis on his biography of Lenny Henry for a painful discovery of the importance of biographical sales as an expression of personal success.

Pitching the bestseller ratings of Jobs v Assange says a lot about public attitudes to success and subversion, to the cult of personality and the importance of desirability (yes, Jobs definitely understood about that). But the results say much more about the glorious bagginess of biography as a form.

Cristina Kirchner re-elected as Argentina's president in landslide

Argentia has re-elected Cristina Fernandez as president in a landslide result that gave her the widest victory margin in Argentina's history after her government spread the wealth of a booming economy.

Fernandez had 53% of the vote after 58% of polling stations reported. Her nearest challenger got 17%. The interior minister, Florencio Randazzo, predicted the president's share would rise as polls came in from her party's stronghold of densely populated Buenos Aires province.

"Count on me to continue pursuing the project," Fernandez said in her victory speech. "All I want is to keep collaborating ... to keep Argentina growing. I want to keep changing history."

Fernandez is Latin America's first woman to be re-elected as president but the victory was personally bittersweet – the first without her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner, who died of a heart attack on 27 October 2010.

"This is a strange night for me," she said, describing her mix of emotions. "This man who transformed Argentina led us all and gave everything he had and more ... Without him, without his valour and courage, it would have been impossible to get to this point."

Thousands of jubilant, flag-waving people crowded into the capital's historic Plaza de Mayo to watch on a huge TV screen as she spoke from a downtown hotel.

Kircher vowed to protect Argentina from outside threats or special interests. "This woman isn't moved by any interest. The only thing that moves her is profound love for the country. Of that I'm responsible," Fernandez said.

Later she appeared in the plaza as well, giving a rousing, second victory speech in which she called on Argentina's youth to dedicate themselves to social projects.

Fernandez was on track to win a larger share of votes than any president since Argentina's democracy was restored in 1983, when Raul Alfonsin was elected with 52%. Her margin over Hermes Binner and five other candidates was wider even than the 1973 victory margin of her strongman hero, Juan Domingo Peron.

Her political coalition also hoped to regain enough seats in Congress to form new alliances and regain the control it lost in 2009. At play were 130 seats in the lower house and 24 in the senate.

Fernandez suffered high negative ratings early in her presidency but soared in popularity as a widow by softening her usually combative tone and proving her ability to command loyalty or respect from an unruly political elite.

Most voters polled beforehand said they wanted government stability to keep their financial situations improving in what has been one of Argentina's longest spells of economic growth in history.

Fernandez, 58, chose her youthful economy minister, Amado Boudou, as her running mate. They championed Argentina's approach to the global financial crisis: nationalise private pensions, use central bank reserves to increase government spending rather than impose austerity measures, and force investors in foreign debt to suffer before ordinary citizens.

Argentina's world-record debt default in 2001 closed off most international lending but had kept the country booming ever since, with its economy expanding at twice the rate of Brazil's, economist Mark Weisbrot said.

Opposition candidates blamed Fernandez for rising inflation and increasing crime, and accused her of politically manipulating economic data and trying to use government power to quell media criticism.

Former president Eduardo Duhalde, who fell from front-running rival to near-last in the polls, said in a dour closing speech that the country was "dancing on the Titanic", failing to prepare for another global economic crisis.

But Weisbrot said Argentina was in far better shape than most countries in the region to face such problems.

Binner, 68, a doctor and leader of a socialist party, said: "We know how to read the numbers and we congratulate the lady president, but we also tell her that this force is Argentina's second-leading political force."

Ricardo Alfonsin, 59, a lawyer and congressional deputy with the traditional Radical Civic Union party and son of the former president, had 12%; Alberto Rodriguez Saa, 52, an attorney and governor of San Luis province whose brother Adolfo was president for a week, had 8%; Duhalde, who preceded Néstor Kirchner as president, had 6%; leftist former lawmaker Jorge Altamira, 69, and congresswoman Elisa Carrio 54, each had 2%.

Nearly 78% of nearly 29 million registered voters cast ballots in the country of 40 million.

Secret courts to shut down ￡1m 'cashpoint' for terror suspects

Secret hearings will be held in terror compensation cases, in an attempt to stop the taxpayer being used as a ￡1million ‘cashpoint’ for fanatics.
The move is designed to end the dilemma faced by the Cabinet Office when MI5 and MI6 hold classified intelligence on terror suspects who are lodging compensation claims, which under civil court rules must be released to them and their lawyers.
It follows public outrage over payouts of millions of pounds to 16 terror suspects, including former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed, who claimed they had been mistreated by security and intelligence officials.
Currently, the rules covering civil court cases mean claimants and their legal teams can demand access to all of the intelligence held about them.
Officials then face the choice of handing over the information – revealing secret techniques or sensitive intelligence on other live investigations – or caving in and writing a cheque for up to ￡1million.
Government sources say that, under the current rules, there is no option but to write taxpayer-funded cheques to ‘bad men’ even when they are confident there has been no wrongdoing. One said: ‘The danger is that we have become a cashpoint for terrorists.’

Under the new system, which will be unveiled by Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke in Parliament today, parts of the case which involve classified or sensitive material would be heard in secret.
The claimant would be represented by a ‘special advocate’, who would be entitled to see the information but not disclose it to anybody else, even the client.
The proposal is likely to be hotly contested by civil liberties groups, who will argue it goes against the principle of open justice.

Several cases are currently going through the system in addition to the 16 in which payments have been made.
To complicate matters, compensation claims also involve intelligence gathered by the U.S. which it requires Britain not to disclose.
In these instances, officials feel they have little option but to pay out, even when they have grave doubts that the terror suspect is telling the truth.
The Prime Minister has said he is deeply worried by the ‘inability of the security services to defend themselves in civil cases because they cannot compromise national security by revealing sensitive information in open court’.

Thugs kill BBC man in fight outside kebab shop as he celebrated his 32nd birthday

A man who worked on BBC shows including Strictly Come Dancing and Blue Peter was brutally murdered as he celebrated his 32nd birthday at the weekend.
Paul Gunner suffered a fatal head injury when he was punched to the ground by a thug in an unprovoked attack.
Police suspect he was the second victim of a gang of three men hanging around outside a takeaway in Bexley village, South East London.
The respected electrical and lighting expert had taken the weekend off his work at BBC Television Centre to enjoy his birthday.
Shocked colleagues said he was due back tonight to work on a recording of primetime pop quiz Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
Speaking at her home in Erith, Kent, last night, his mother Andrea said his family are struggling to come to terms with their sudden loss.
She said: ‘I’m lost for words. He was my son and now he’s gone.
‘We don’t know any of the detail about what happened but the police are coming round later to speak to us.
‘Paul was a wonderful person, he was a brilliant son. He worked as an electrician at BBC. He worked on the Jools Holland show and he was on Strictly Come Dancing.
‘He also recently worked on some events the Royal Albert Hall. He did very well at his job. This is all such a shock.’
Mr Gunner was the victim of the unprovoked attack after spending the night drinking with one of his brothers and friends in affluent Bexley village.
Eyewitnesses said he was confronted by three men while standing outside The Charcoal Grill kebab shop at 1am yesterday morning.
One of the men punched him, knocking him to the pavement where he smashed his head on the concrete.
His brother Michael, 34, ran out of the takeaway to find him lying unconscious and covered in blood. Mr Gunner was rushed to hospital but died 90 minutes later.
Detectives are hunting a second victim who escaped with minor injuries after being attacked by the gang on the same spot 10 minutes earlier.
Staff at businesses in the street said it has been dogged with alcohol-fuelled violence, with people seriously injured every month.
Mr Gunner was a well-known figure on set at the BBC White City headquarters where he worked alongside his second brother Ray, 36, for in-house company Set and Strike.
His responsibilities included setting up complex lighting and scenery, often working through the night during busy periods.
Tributes to the ‘true gentleman’ flooded in last night as close friends expressed disbelief that his birthday night could have ended in tragedy.
Ray Gunner said the family were ‘completely destroyed by this news’ adding: ‘Happy birthday my beautiful bruv.’
Another friend, Laila Kaidi, said: ‘Paul, a part of me died with you today. I can’t come to terms with the fact that you’re no longer with us.
‘Life won’t be the same without you, but I know you’ll be heaven celebrating your birthday in style.’
Steven Barker, managing director of Set and Strike, described him as a hard working young man with a charming manner.
He said: ‘He was a model employee. The fact that my phone has not stopped ringing all day shows how popular he was.
‘When people start out with us we always put them with Paul because he was such an asset. To be in his position you needed to be at the top of your game. He was one of the best.’
Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Goode, who is leading the inquiry, said: ‘Paul Gunner lost his life on a night which should have been a celebration for him and his family.
‘I would appeal for anyone who witnessed this assault, or the altercation that occurred shortly before, to contact police.
‘I am particularly keen to speak to the victim of the first assault as he may hold vital details which could help us identify the suspects.
‘These are two, apparently, unprovoked assaults. Those who carried out these assaults may not be aware of the tragic consequences of their actions.
‘I would urge them, or anyone who knows their identity, to come forward and do the right thing.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘We are shocked and saddened to hear of this death. Our thoughts are with his friends and family.’

Hope you like guacamole: The avocado that's the size of a melon

For fans of guacamole, it is one giant piece of good news.
Waitrose has launched a supersized avocado with 10 times as much flesh as standard varieties.
It is the same size as a small melon and weighs 3lb 5oz.
The soft-fleshed fruit, which follows onions and pumpkins as the supermarket’s latest bulked up offering, stays on trees in Peru’s Chincha valley for up to one year to achieve its hefty size.
Regular avocados cost 99p at Waitrose, meaning the ￡4.99 giant version offers much better value.
The store decided to sell the new variety as a result of the growing popularity of the salad ingredient.
It has been dubbed a superfood thanks to its generous servings of vitamin B6, which helps protect the immune system, and monounsaturated fat, which can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
It is also a good source of lutein – a powerful antioxidant which protects arteries from hardening and the eyes from developing cataracts.
The new avocado is called the ‘Linda’, which means beautiful in Spanish.
Richard Bickerton, salads buying manager at Waitrose, said the variety ‘has a superb creamy texture with a very intense and slightly nutty avocado flavour’.
Waitrose recently also launched onions the size of grapefruits, grown near Valencia in Spain.
And in preparation for Halloween later this month, the store has stocked up on Sumo pumpkins, which weigh more than six stone.
The Linda avocado is on sale in Waitrose at Bluewater, Kent, as well as the Oxford Street, Finchley Road and Canary Wharf stores in London.

THE INTERVIEWS AND FILM DEALS THAT WILL MAKE MILLIONS FOR AMANDA KNOX

ADDED together there must be offers worth more than ￡30million piled high on the sweeping U-shaped desk. They come in crisp, slender envelopes and in thick packages stuffed with contracts.
There are stacks of them waiting to be reviewed: bids to make feature films with promises of A-list stars, TV offers of courtroom thrillers, jailhouse dramas and murder mysteries.

There are letters from publishers and literary agents desperate to produce a tell-all book. Best-selling crime author John Grisham has reportedly offered to pen the definitive tale. Offers abound for inspirational books on the inner fortitude that kept the accused going.

This heaving desk in an office on the 29th floor with views across down-town Seattle belongs to David Marriott, the PR guru fielding the host of lucrative offers flooding in for Amanda Knox, who on Monday was released from jail in Italy after four years behind bars, acquitted on appeal for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher.

“The offers are piled up on my desk,” says Marriott, shaking his head. “Frankly it’s a bit of a mess. The number has increased since her release.”
Now Amanda needs time to reconnect with her family and adjust to life after prison
PR guru David Marriott
There are the messages from America’s top TV news anchors, all begging to be the first to talk to Knox on camera.

Celebrity magazines offer to turn her into a glamorous cover girl, bidding up to $1million (￡650,000) for the first print interview and photos back home with her family.

Added to them are offers for personal appearances, endorsements and licensing America’s biggest porn movie company Vivid entertainment has asked her to be a celebrity spokeswoman, assuring her: “This would involve no nudity.” Seattle radio station MOViN 92.5 offered her a ￡6,500-a-week job as a morning DJ.

“But these offers have not been seriously considered because the family’s focus has been on the appeal trial,” says Marriott. “Now Amanda needs time to reconnect with her family and adjust to life after prison.”
Hammering at his door are the US TV networks, offering million-dollar deals for an exclusive.

“Every American network is aggressively pursuing that story with the greatest determination,” confirms ABC TV news spokesman Jeffrey Schneider. ABC, NBC and CBS all sent their top anchors to Italy last week hoping to snare the interview of the year.

One American news organisation was even rumoured to have a private jet waiting in Perugia to spirit Knox away from Italy though she ultimately flew home on a BA flight.

Marriott confirms: “We have certainly received a large number of requests for her interview, not only from the American media but also from the UK and Italy.”

The Kercher family, dignified throughout their ordeal, point out that the attention lavished on Knox has overshadowed the real victim: their murdered daughter.

Judge Claudio Hellmann, who presided over Knox’s appeal trial, this week admitted that Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito may have been guilty of murder but the evidence was insufficient to convict.

“They could have been responsible,” said Hellman, “but there is no proof. Perhaps they knew what happened that night. We do not know.”

Knox’s acquittal, said the judge, “is the truth in court, not the real truth. And that could be different.”

In the US a massive PR campaign portrayed Knox as the tragic victim of a dysfunctional Italian judicial system, incompetent police, anti-American sentiment and Latin chauvinism.

Her good looks and youth made her a star in America’s glossy celebrity magazines, transforming her into a gossip-page pin-up. even after her conviction for murder most Americans saw her as a victim of injustice.

“She’s beautiful, sexy and has the aura of a femme fatale,” says a Hollywood insider. “She’s the stuff that blockbuster movies are made of.”

Knox was jailed for 26 years in 2009 for Kercher’s murder. Rudy Guede, a career criminal who was with Kercher on the night of the slaying, in a separate trial was sentenced to 16 years, though prosecutors insist he could not have killed Kercher by himself.

Prurient Italians found it easy to condemn the promiscuous, drug-abusing American girl who styled herself in online chats as Foxy Knoxy, shopped for a G-string after the slaying, kept a sex toy in her shared bathroom and was branded a “she-devil” by prosecutors.

But on appeal Knox’s lawyers threw doubt on evidence against her. A knife found with her DNA on the handle and Kercher’s DNA on the blade did not match the size and shape of Kercher’s wounds.

Kercher’s bra clasp bearing the DNA of Knox’s boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was contaminated, left at the crime scene for six weeks before being picked up as evidence. Video revealed investigators not wearing gloves or hair covering and prodding fingers into Kercher’s wounds.

Knox’s “confession” was thrown out after it was shown detectives had asked her merely to imagine what might have happened on the night of the murder.

Her global PR campaign erased the image of salacious American, instead repositioning her as a studious girl reading Dostoevsky in her cell and becoming fluent in Italian. This has not prevented a flood of hate mail and calls being received by Knox and her family since her return to the US.

Knox flew home to Seattle to be greeted at the airport by throngs of fans and a media army. Overcome with emotion she thanked everyone for their support but saved further comments for those willing to pay for them.

Yet Knox will probably not put off deals for long. She needs to pay legal bills and the cost of her family’s trips to Italy, which may top ￡650,000. Her divorced parents Curt and Edda mortgaged their homes to fight for Knox’s freedom, as did her grandmother Elizabeth Huff.

A lucrative TV interview is expected to be first on Knox’s “to do” list and a series of books is likely to follow. Knox has kept a memoir of her ordeal since her arrest and her stepfather Chris Mellas assures that her story will be written “because that’s her way of dealing with things”.

Even before her acquittal Knox generated a firestorm of media activity. At least nine books about the murder and original trial have already been published. The Lifetime network screened a TV movie about Knox starring Hayden Panettiere.

A new ending is being filmed this week and the updated version will be released worldwide. And Knox’s dramatic acquittal now makes a new TV movie – or two – inevitable. A feature film touching on Knox’s trial which could star Oscar-winner Colin Firth is also said to be in the pipeline, as are other movie plans.

But Knox will have to work hard to win over sceptical British audiences. “She has a long way to go to win over the hearts and minds of the public,” says Max Clifford, a veteran of packaging British celebrities in media deals.

Back with her family in Seattle an “overwhelmed” Knox is “running on adrenaline right now,” says father Curt. “I think she’s so joyful to be around her family.” As for her plans he admits: “It’s going to take some time before we figure out what the new normal will be.”

The “new normal” is likely to include Knox’s signature on a slew of contracts and a life – or at least her version of it – played out in a glare of publicity.

Will Meredith Kercher's family get any money?

Sephanie Kercher has already told a press conference that her murdered sister Meredith, pictured below, has been “hugely forgotten” in the media frenzy surrounding Amanda Knox. “it has,” she said, “been very difficult to keep her memory alive in all of this.”

Many calls have already been made for Knox to donate some or all of the money she will now earn from book or tV deals to Meredith’s mourning family, who have spent thousands of pounds travelling to Italy to follow the trial and subsequent appeal of Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, hoping to see justice done.

Now the move has been endorsed by Knox’s grandmother Elisabeth Huff who has labelled a donation to the Kercher family “a good idea” but only after settling all the debts the Knox family have accrued in financing their daughter’s appeal – believed to be about ￡650,000. She also suggested reimbursing supporters who donated money to help Knox prove her innocence.

Asked whether a donation should be made to the Kerchers, Mrs Huff, 74, from south-west Seattle, said: “it’s a good idea. First we need to pay our bills. We have had donations from people all over the world. We haven’t discussed money any further than seeing what we can pay the lawyers and the experts who helped. i don’t want to talk for the others. You have to remember we have felt for the Kerchers long before we have felt for Amanda.”

TAX BREAKS PLAN TO CUT COST OF CHILDCARE

An announcement of a scheme to enable parents to write off some childcare bills against tax could be made within weeks.
And Chancellor George Osborne is said to be keen to go even further and make all the costs fully tax-deductible, if it can be proved workable and affordable.
That would mean a family spending ￡20,000 a year on a nanny could reduce the proportion of their earnings on which they paid tax by the same amount.
The Tory Treasury team are said to be eager to find a way to make the numbers add up before the next election.
The moves are being discussed amid increasing concern that women voters are deserting the Conservatives. Tory sources believe a dramatic tax cut could be a “game-changer” in their appeal to women.
Austerity measures have already reduced support given through tax credits for childcare from 80 to only 70 per cent of costs.
Tax relief has been cut for higher rate taxpayers making use of employers’ childcare voucher schemes.
But the new Universal Credit simplified benefit scheme will include a childcare element. Mr Osborne’s tax deductible aspirations appear more ambitious.
Childcare costs in the UK are among the most expensive in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, at an average ￡97 a week for 25 hours.

Grinning Amanda Knox flies back to a new life in the US

IT was an astonishing tale of differing fortunes for two -families yesterday as Amanda Knox flew home after her acquittal in Italy.

The smiles, hugs and look of sheer joy on the faces of the American and her relatives were in stark contrast to the overwhelming sense of despair felt by the loved ones of Meredith Kercher, the student she was cleared of murdering.

As 24-year-old “Foxy Knoxy” left Rome in the first class cabin of a British Airways jet bound for London, Meredith’s family said they were -struggling to accept the -decision to quash her conviction.

And Italian prosecutors vowed to appeal, describing the acquittal as a “massive mistake” – although the Kerchers accept there is little likelihood of Knox ever being -extradited from the US to face another hearing.

Meredith’s brother Lyle said: “We are still trying to understand how a -decision that was so certain four years ago has been so emphatically overturned.”

Sister Stephanie, sat next to mum Arline at a press conference in Perugia, added: “It was a bit of a shock. It’s very -upsetting. We still have no answers.”

Knox was upgraded to first class by British Airways staff who feared the safety of other passengers would be at risk in the scrum to get a glimpse of her in the economy cabin.

She arrives back in America knowing a lucrative TV and book deal could land her millions of dollars. But her delighted family had last night put that to one side to concentrate on a -homecoming -celebration party. As Knox boarded her plane at Rome with her relatives, she had a massive grin on her face.

Her lawyer Dalla Vedova said: “She was calm, serene and looking forward to going home and just spending time with her friends and family.

“She wants to get on with her life.

“She is a clever and -intelligent girl who has been through a lot. One day in prison is bad enough but four years is even worse.”

Knox’s friend Giulia Alagna added: “She just couldn’t wait to get on that plane.

“She told me that, even though she wasn’t yet on the plane, she felt like she was already flying.”

Corrado Maria Daclon of the Italy-USA Foundation, which has supported Knox throughout her appeal, said: “Amanda is really very exhausted after four years in prison.

“We hugged each other warmly as she was let out.”

Before boarding the jet, the freed student hugged an unidentified man.

After the flight touched down at 1.20pm in Heathrow – 20 miles from the Kercher family home in Coulsdon, Surrey – Knox and her party were collected on the runway in a black people carrier and driven to the VIP Windsor Suite at Terminal 5.

The lounge is usually reserved for members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries. After staying for over an hour, the group was then driven in a fleet of black BMWs to gate B39 for flight BA49 to Seattle – 5,600 miles from Perugia.

It is believed they were the first -passengers to board the 747 and staff took them straight to the first class cabin upstairs. BA last night confirmed the family had been upgraded. But a -spokeswoman rejected claims she had been treated like a VIP.

She said: “We have a duty of care to all our -passengers and took the decision it would be safer to remove Amanda Knox to process her privately.

“I think it’s unfair the inference is being made that we gave her VIP treatment, when in fact we were being a responsible airport operator and putting our duty of care to all our passengers first.”

Knox’s release followed an impressive million dollar PR campaign on both sides of the Atlantic that appeared to pile -pressure on the Italian authorities.

Seattle PR guru David Marriot, hired by the family, repeatedly plugged the line: “Amanda will get out, it’s a done deal.”

He also helped organise appearances for her divorced parents – marketing executive Curt Knox and maths teacher Edda Mellas – on all the main US TV networks.

Shortly after Knox’s plane left Italy, public prosecutor Giuliano Mignini announced his intention to take her case to a third and final appeal.

Later, he spoke of his disbelief at the verdict yesterday.

The lawyer said: “Let’s wait and we will see who was right. The first court or the appeal court.

“This hearing was done under -unacceptable media pressure.

“The decision was almost already announced. This is not normal.” Some observers have claimed the case had been handled -differently in Italy, so as not to offend the US.

The judge who freed her, Claudio Pratillo Hellman, will write a report within the next 90 days on why he and the jury came to their decision.

This will be pored over by -prosecutors to see on what grounds they can launch their appeal which is unlikely to be heard until next year. The panel of judges in Rome will then look at paperwork from the case and decide if there were any mistakes in the -application of the law and if it
should be reopened. If so it will be heard in -Florence.

However, Knox is not obliged to attend any retrial and even though Italy could ask for her extradition, it is thought unlikely that the US would hand her over.

Leeds University language student Meredith, 21, was murdered in 2007 at the flat she shared with Knox in Perugia.

Her semi-naked body was found soaked in blood after her throat had been cut.

She had only been in Italy two months before she was butchered.

The American and her then boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were accused of killing her during a botched sex game.

Both were found guilty at a trial in 2009. She was jailed for 26 years and he got 25 years. Italian Sollecito, 27, was also cleared on Monday of any involvement in the murder and freed.

Drug dealer Rudy Guede, 21 – originally from the Ivory Coast – was convicted of Meredith’s murder in a -separate trial and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. That was later reduced to 16 years on appeal.

Sollecito yesterday arrived back to his family home near Bari.

Dad Francesco said: “He is trying to recover himself. He is going around touching things as if he is a child who needs to take back the things of his life, to acquire forgotten elements.”

Knox and Sollecito were freed after delivering impassioned pleas of innocence on Monday morning before the decision to free them was announced.

She told the court: “I did not kill, I did not rape, I did not steal. I was not there.”

After Knox’s acquittal, Meredith’s family told how she had been the “forgotten one” of the whole tragic episode during the appeal hearing.

Dad John had branded the appeal -decision “ludicrous”. He said: “How could they ignore all the evidence.”