Hmmm.... Here is the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2589247.stm
Wildly inaccurate? No, not really. Looks like the journo has written most of what he was told, without understanding too much about what he was writing. Oh, and most of it is TRUE.
2lo4zero...
Compulsory retirement at 55? No, not true, but a wish for many, including me.
As far as I recall you can hold an ATCO licence from 18, but no RADAR rating until you are 21. Not sure if this is still the case though.
Rgds BEX