Because you're awake and there, you blame yourself."Then he left To be honest, at first I thought it was all really funny ... I went to work and told a few people."Later, I said to a friend of mine, I feel awful. He said, have you heard about drug rape, that must have been what happened. When I got home, the penny dropped."She went to a doctor, who confirmed she had been raped, but she did not go to the police until a week later. "I thought, this has to be my fault."Film from a surveillance camera at the hotel showed Ms Richards being led out of the bar by her alleged rapist, and when she returned to her London flat there was a message on her answer machine from a man, saying: "Hi, it's your American attacker ... give me a call." She can remember only patches of the six hours during which she was raped.There was no trace of any drug in her system when she was tested and nobody has been charged because of lack of evidence.Ms Richards spoke out yesterday to warn other women of the dangers of drug-assisted sexual offences and to help launch a report on the issue.The Home Office-funded study, by Detective Chief Inspector Peter Sturman of the Metropolitan Police, examined 123 reported drug rapes in Britain, as well as evidence from abroad.The report states that up to 25 different drugs, mostly types of tranquillisers, sleeping pills and forms of anaesthetic, are being used in the assaults.

The drugs are usually mixed with alcohol in bars and clubs, but soft drinks and hot drinks at people's homes are also used. The drugs make the victims feel sleepy, heavy-limbed, light-headed and out of control.Of the victims who took part in the study, 14 were male, most of whom were heterosexual Of the women, 42 per cent were in their thirties. A fifth of victims were at university at the time of the attack.Two-thirds of victims said they did not report the attack to police because they were too ashamed, or blamed themselves. When they did go to the authorities, more than half felt their treatment at the hands of the police was poor, or very poor.The report calls for a nationwide network of 24-hour sexual assault treatment centres, where victims can receive medical attention and counselling and make a statement to police, all under one roof..

Prosecution lawyers considered charging the co-owner of the Swiss firm alleged to have supplied the timer that triggered the Lockerbie bomb with conspiracy to murder, the court hearing the trial of the alleged bombers was told yesterday. Prosecution lawyers considered charging the co-owner of the Swiss firm alleged to have supplied the timer that triggered the Lockerbie bomb with conspiracy to murder, the court hearing the trial of the alleged bombers was told yesterday. The revelation came from the Crown during legal argument after the defence objected to the line of questioning being taken with a witness, Edwin Bollier. His Zurich-based firm Mebo delivered 20 MST-13 timers, the type alleged to have been used in the bombing, to the Libyan secret service in 1985.A few days before Pan Am flight 103 was blown apart on21 December 1988, Mr Bollier flew to Libya to deliver 40 Olympus timers to his contact Ezzadin Hinshiri, an alleged member of the Libyan Intelligence Services.Alan Turnbull QC, for the prosecution, questioned Mr Bollier, 62, about his movements in Libya at that time. David Burns, for the defence, said he would object to further inquiry along those lines, and to any suggestion that Mr Bollier was a co-conspirator, as the defence had not been given notice of that position.Mr Turnbull told the court: "If we were going to libel him we would have done so, these issues have been considered. The decision not to include him as a co-conspirator is not a recognition that he has nothing to do with the matter."The court was told how Mr Bollier flew to Libya on 18 December 1988 after his firm was asked by the Libyan army for 40 of its own design MST-13 timers earlier that month. His firm could not produce those timers quickly so he took 40 Olympus timers instead.Mr Bollier was giving further evidence in the trial at Camp Zeist, Holland, of two Libyans, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, who are accusing of causing the disaster.

Both deny conspiracy to murder, murder and a breach of the 1982 Aviation Security Act.The trial continues.. The Dutch driver of a lorry found to contain the bodies of 58 illegal Chinese immigrants at Dover is to face 58 charges of manslaughter, Kent Police said tonight. The Dutch driver of a lorry found to contain the bodies of 58 illegal Chinese immigrants at Dover is to face 58 charges of manslaughter, Kent Police said tonight. Perry Wacker, 32, of Rotterdam, Holland, was also charged with one count of facilitating the illegal entry into the UK of two people and one count of attempting to facilitate the illegal entry of 58 people, police said.Two survivors found with 58 dead bodies in a sealed lorry container at Dover on Sunday have been moved to a safe house for their own protection.The two young Chinese men had been under police guard at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, in Canterbury, since Sunday, where they were treated for severe dehydration and the mental trauma of their ordeal.A team of specially-trained police officers yesterday gently started questioning the survivors with the aid of interpreters, and they were deemed fit by medical staff to be moved.A Kent Police spokesman today said: "The survivors have left the hospital and are in what we call 'safe accommodation' under police guard."He would not say where they have been taken due to fears that the people traffickers that sent them to Britain might want to stop them talking.. The taxpayer gave £70,000 for wardrobes in Buckingham Palace last year, the Government's spending watchdog disclosed yesterday. The taxpayer gave £70,000 for wardrobes in Buckingham Palace last year, the Government's spending watchdog disclosed yesterday. The report, the first full examination by the National Audit Office of how the Royal Household allocates its funding, said the money was spent well. Of the £15.8m grant to the royal palaces in 1998-99, £7.2m went on big projects, while £1.5m was for gas, electricity and other utilities, £2m for minor maintenance and £500,000 for porters and cleaners.The NAO examined 14 big projects, and found eight finished over budget, while five were completed for less than estimated. The wardrobes cost £19,000 more than estimated partly because it was found after work started that floor joists needed strengthening and partly because palace officials asked for design changes that cost £9,000.

Decorations to the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle cost £11,000 more than expected because of extra work identified during the project.The NAO said 160 staff had their salaries paid through government grant-in-aid, including 104 in the property section. Of those, 58 were fire surveillance officers, gardeners, telephonists and administrative staff. The remaining 46 included 23 maintenance staff and 18 quantity surveyors.Previously the NAO reported on spending but had not been given direct access to the palaces. Yesterday's report follows pressure from the Public Accounts Committee for the Royal Household's books to be opened directly to the audit office's staff. Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, said he was grateful to the royal household for its full co-operation.David Davis, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said the amount of grant-in-aid had fallen from £29m in 1991 "Today's report ... on the cost of maintaining the royal palaces represents a significant step forward in terms of the transparency of, and parliamentary accountability for, royal expenditure.".