BP PUMPED cement into its blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday, hoping to start sealing it for good a day after it forced a slow torrent of heavy mud down the broken wellhead and pushed the crude back to its underground source.

US federal marshals yesterday intensified their search for an investment manager they believe faked a distress call before parachuting from his plane over Alabama and disappearing on a motorbike he had stashed in advance.

Four men have escaped a jail term after breaking into a holiday home where Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were staying.