by Sam Lennon

Olympic champion Jamie Staff chatted briefly with the Queen when she presented him with his MBE at Buckingham Palace yesterday (Thursday).
Mr Staff, a gold medallist at the Beijing Games, said: “The Queen asked me what major event I had next.
“I said I was training for the Track World Championships and she asked if I did that every year. I said yes, they make you work hard for it and she chuckled.”
Mr Staff believes his meeting with the Queen lasted as little as half a minute as she had almost 90 people to see in two hours for other award presentations.
Mr Staff, originally from Brabourne Leas, had won gold in the men’s team sprint in last summer’s Olympics.
His MBE for services to sport was announced in the New Year Honours List and he travelled to London to receive it with his wife Malia and parents Christine and Alan.