Former radio DJ on pornography charge

Chris Denning, a former Radio 1 DJ, was yesterday charged by Czech police investigating an international child pornography ring.

Mr Denning, a member of the original line-up when Radio 1 was launched in 1967, was arrested in Prague yesterday, with three Frenchmen and an American, said a source.

The American was arrested early yesterday when he was found with a group of five young boys, the Czech Interior Ministry said, adding that the other four men were arrested in the afternoon in central Prague.

In London, a Foreign Office spokesman said: "The Foreign Office confirms the arrest of a 56-year-old British man in Prague on 11 November.

The Czech police have told the British Embassy that he has been charged with sexual abuse of young children, but "no date has yet been set for a hearing".

Czech Interior Ministry spokesman Jan Subert said the paedophile ring was closely connected with similar groups in Britain, the United States, the Netherlands, France and Germany.

The five men were allegedly producing child pornography, which was distributed through the Internet, he said.