Posted September 5, 200717 yr http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/9392/image1iy7.jpg SEPTEMBER 05, 2007 GIRLS ALOUD star NICOLA ROBERTS is an unlikely political commentator. But the singer has been left incensed by the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones and believes our politicians are indirectly to blame. Nicola, 21, is from Runcorn, just outside Liverpool, the home city of the murdered Everton fan. She also has a young brother almost the same age as Rhys. Speaking to The Sun as part of a series of exclusive interviews to mark Girls Aloud’s big comeback, Nicola says: “I can’t believe what happened to that little boy. “I’ve got an 11-year-old brother and it just makes my blood go cold thinking about it. "It could have been anywhere, in any city. I’m disgusted by it and just pray they can catch whoever did it. “And I blame TONY BLAIR and GORDON BROWN. We don’t have tough enough laws — the people that did this to Rhys need to be locked up. “They are bound to have committed other crimes but no one can do anything about it because the laws aren’t in place to get them put away. "We should lock up more people. I know the prisons are full, just build more! “Young criminals now think they can get away with committing crimes. I can’t believe the state of this country. “I can understand some people are in a vicious circle, coming from a difficult background, but they don’t have to become criminals. “You have got to look at the parents too — how are they bringing up their children?” Nicola believes youngsters should be taught about politics at school so they learn how important it is in their lives. She explains: “I was never taught anything about politics. I don’t think young people are being educated about it so they don’t bother voting. “They don’t think it will affect their lives but it does — and it could make all the difference if they knew more.” Nicola s*** to fame aged just 16 after being voted into Girls Aloud by viewers of ITV1 talent show Popstars: The Rivals. She joined CHERYL COLE, SARAH HARDING, KIMBERLEY WALSH and NADINE COYLE in forming the five piece, who went on to enjoy a string of Top Ten hits including Christmas No1 Sound Of The Underground. She has tended to retreat into the background when the girls are interviewed, leaving Cheryl and Sarah to do all the talking. But chatting alone she is actually as outspoken and mouthy as her bandmates and has strong opinions on everything from politics to the Spice Girls. Nicola admits she struggled to cope with fame when she first was picked to be in the band. She found it hard being under public scrutiny at such a young age and, sadly, some of her old school friends turned on her. As a result of her experiences, she believes it is wrong that X Factor bosses have this year reduced the lower age limit for contestants to 14 — because she feels they would be too young to cope with what lies ahead. She says: “Shows such as The X Factor can be very damaging for young children. I don’t think 14-year-olds should be allowed on them. “It is too young to take that amount of criticism and the knockbacks. “It was bad enough for me at 16. But 14 is just too young. I wish I would have been able to know myself a bit better before having to grow up in the public eye. "Fourteen is far too young to be having a finger pointed at you. At that age it’s hard to take rejection.” Nicola says she felt so down at one stage that she tried to make herself feel better through retail therapy. But she adds: “I feel like I’ve changed in the last year. I can see where I went wrong — how I wasn’t dealing with things the right way. "I didn’t know what I was doing. I found things difficult. I was trying to still be a girl from Runcorn yet I was in this girl band. “I was struggling with trying to be two different people really. It sent me a bit weird for a while. "Some people at home were jealous – and I soon realised some weren’t really my friends. “I also found it hard dealing with the guilt I felt that my family were still back home in Runcorn working hard while I was having this celebrity lifestyle. “I went out and did loads of retail therapy for a while — I went crazy buying loads of pairs of shoes.” These days Nicola is happily settled with boyfriend Carl Davis, who is also from Runcorn. And rather than wasting her hard-earned cash on shoes, she has turned to property instead. Nicola says: “I feel much more settled and confident now. I’m spending my money on houses rather than wasting it on silly things. "When I was first in the band I didn’t even know what the word mortgage meant.” The thing Nicola is now most looking forward to is seeing the SPICE GIRLS back on tour. She was a huge fan first time around. She says: “We’ve all registered for tickets. We were the Spice Girls generation and I can’t believe that I’m now in the same industry as them. "I loved them so much when I was younger that I used to go to Spice Girl parties — my nan used to make my costumes. “GERI HALLIWELL was my favourite because she had red hair like me.” The modest star adds: “Maybe young girls will look at a bad picture of me sometimes in a magazine and feel they can relate to me. I’m normal, I’m just like everyone else.” http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2007410310,00.html
