British Holidaymaker Feared Drowned In Egypt

A British man is feared to have drowned after he failed to surface while scuba diving at a holiday resort in Egypt.

Steve Cracknell was having a routine lesson with his instructor off the coast of Sharm el-Sheikh when the pair went missing.

Mr Cracknell, 46, from Yeovil, Somerset, is thought to have been on holiday with his wife and their two daughters at the time.

He vanished while swimming at the White Knight dive site, a relatively shallow canyon.

Locals have reportedly been searching every day for the pharmaceuticals executive and his instructor, who were diving with a company located at the Savoy Hotel last Saturday.

A friend of Mr Cracknell, who asked not to be named, told The Daily Telegraph: "I am just holding out hope and don't want to think about the accident.

"I can't imagine how his wife and daughters are handling this. My heart goes out to them.

"We are hoping for a good resolution, but we know that the longer they are missing the less likely it is that the result will be good."

Shinji Sato, a Japanese dive instructor living in Sharm el-Sheikh, told the paper: "They've still not found the bodies. This kind of thing is incredibly rare. It never happens.

"Everyone here is very upset. It's so sad."

Mr Cracknell's instructor is understood to be Costantino Di Maria, a veteran diver who has lived in Sharm el-Sheikh for years.

Reports say the plateau which Mr Cracknell was exploring suddenly sheers off into a plummeting mile-deep precipice.

Locals have speculated that one of the two men may have encountered problems during the diving session.

Mr Cracknell's family are thought to have returned to the UK.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a British national is currently missing in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

"We are liaising with the local authorities and we are providing consular assistance to the family."

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Car Insurance Cost Fall 'Will Not Last'

Car insurance premiums are said to have gone into reverse gear by £360 (13.6%) for young drivers - but there are concerns costs could rise dramatically after next month's EU gender ruling.

Insurance comparison site Confused.com has advised 17 to 20-year-old drivers to take advantage of "today's preferential rates" but warned them to avoid 2013's predicted price hikes by "shopping around".

Average comprehensive car insurance prices now stand at £757 as of this year's third quarter, compared to £843 for last year's third quarter - a significant year-on-year fall of £87 (10.3%).

Car insurance prices actually fell for all age groups, particularly young female drivers, but predictions from the Treasury indicate that young female drivers could see rises of up to 24% after the EU gender ruling becomes law on December 12.

After this date women and men cannot be priced differently for insurance meaning women will no longer directly benefit from being statistically less risky drivers as far as insurers are concerned.

This predicted insurance price rise could affect female drivers throughout various age groups, according to the Treasury data.

Sharon Flaherty, editor of Confused.com, told Sky News: "At the moment women pay less than men and statistically this is because on average they are less of a risk on the roads than young male drivers.

"However the bad news is that on December 21 the law change will mean that men and women have to be judged as exactly the same on the roads.

"Women will effectively be charged more because statistically they will no longer be allowed to be rated as safer on the roads."

Women aged 26-30 years are forecast an 18% price hike once the gender directive takes effect. Female drivers aged 31-35 are expected to suffer a 10% price rise.

Smaller price rises are expected for women aged 36-40 who are predicted to experience a 3% rise, and 41 to 45-year-old female drivers are only expected to receive a 1% price rise for their future car insurance policies.

Women on average saw their premiums shrink by 11.7% over all in the third quarter.

For spouses of either gender the average premium cost for a joint insurance policy is a lot less than average costs for solo drivers.

Male drivers insured plus spouse are quoted on average £432, compared to £907 as insured only driver, for women it costs an average of £787 for insured only driver cover, but just £418 for women who have a spouse on their policy.

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End-Of-Life Care: Plan For New Legal Rights

Families will have to be consulted before patients are put on a so-called "pathway to death", it has emerged.

Under reforms being put out for consultation on Monday, hospitals could also be sued and doctors struck off if they do not involve relatives in the decision to start end-of-life treatment.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will make the announcement as part of a raft of changes to the NHS constitution.

The move follows the emergence of cases where patients were placed on the Liverpool Care Pathway - which involves withdrawal of fluids and food - without relatives' knowledge.

Mr Hunt told the Daily Mail: "I want our country to be the best in Europe to grow old.

"End-of-life care decisions affect older, and more vulnerable, people. These patients and their families have a basic right to be involved in discussions and decisions affecting their end-of-life care.

"This new consultation will help to raise awareness of these rights and ensure that there are tough consequences in any cases where standards fall short.

"The NHS is one of this country's greatest achievements. At the same time as we are protecting its budget, we are building an NHS able to meet patients' needs and expectations now and in the future."

A Department of Health source added: "New changes to the NHS Constitution, to be unveiled on Monday, will set out a new legal right for patients to be consulted on end-of-life care decisions. The right will also include family and carers.

"NHS bodies, as well as private and voluntary providers supplying NHS services, are required by law to take account of it in their decisions and actions.

"End-of-life care, like the Liverpool Care Pathway, can give patients dignity and respect in their last days, but recent reports have suggested that there is more the NHS can do to ensure that patients, their family and carers are fully involved in all discussions and decisions."

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Wiggins Withdraws From Tax Avoidance Scheme

Olympic and Tour de France cycling hero Bradley Wiggins has withdrawn from a controversial tax avoidance scheme.

The 32-year-old was criticised last week for investing in a scheme named Twofold First Services, reportedly owned by a company based in the Cayman Islands.

He told The Guardian: "I had a small investment in Twofold, following guidance from my professional advisers.

"I had, however, claimed no tax relief of any amount in regard to this investment. Given the concerns raised about it, I have now instructed my advisers to withdraw me from the scheme with immediate effect."

The tax partnership reportedly took advantage of farming tax credits to create tax relief described as "abusive" and "artificial" by the Treasury.

In an interview with the newspaper, Wiggins went on to describe his frustration over accusations that his performance was fuelled by drug use – in light of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

He said: "The anger is more: I've got to pick up the pieces. He's still a multimillionaire, and he's not here to answer the questions. I can't not answer them because I've got to go and race next year, and I hate talking about it."

The cyclist, who is the strong favourite to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, said there were a number of drawbacks to his success.

He said: "I wouldn't say I wish I hadn't won the Tour, but sometimes, especially with recent events, the Lance Armstrong stuff, I find it hard being the winner of the Tour and everything that goes with it.

"I wanted to be the winner for the challenge of what the sporting event is about and how hard you can train to do that, and I never wanted all the stuff that went with it."

Wiggins also revealed he finds it difficult to cope with being recognised by fans when he is out with his family.

He said: "They ask your wife to take the photo, which is a bit rude. And after a while that becomes tiresome, especially when you're having a pizza with your children, or you have to have a photo with somebody else's kids while yours stand to the side."

He added: "There comes a point when I've got to start getting on with my life. It would be hard to live my life as it is forever."

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Comet Collapse: Gift Vouchers Suspended

Gift vouchers for stricken electrical retailer Comet have been suspended, the chain's administrator said.

Deloitte, which was appointed on Friday, has launched an "urgent" search for a buyer to protect some 6,600 jobs at the 236-outlet chain.

But, as a consequence, a Deloitte spokesman said: "Gift vouchers have been suspended temporarily while they assess the situation."

However, all Comet stores will remain open and the group's staff will continue to be paid in the meantime, according to Deloitte.

The collapse of Comet marks one of the biggest high street casualties since the demise of Woolworths in 2008 and comes a month after the failure of JJB Sports.

Neville Kahn, joint administrator and restructuring services partner at Deloitte, said on appointment: "Our immediate priorities are to stabilise the business, fully assess its financial position, and begin an urgent process to seek a suitable buyer which would also preserve jobs.

"In the meantime, all stores will continue to trade and all employees will continue to be paid.

"We appreciate the co-operation and support from the management, staff, customers, landlords and suppliers at what is clearly a very difficult time."

Deloitte said Comet had been hit by weak high street trading conditions, competition from online rivals and being unable to secure the trade credit insurance needed to safeguard suppliers.

"The inability to obtain supplier credit for the peak Christmas trading period means that the company had no realistic prospect of raising further capital to build up sufficient stock to allow it to continue trading," added Deloitte.

In particular, it was knocked by the lack of first-time home buyers, which had been key customers for Comet.

Its administration comes just months after Comet was taken over by investment firm OpCapita, which bought the chain in February.

The high street electricals market in the UK has come under huge pressure as cash-strapped shoppers put off purchases of big-ticket items such as TVs and large appliances and online rivals take a bigger slice of the sector.

The spokesman said no other changes have been made since Friday, which means that trade is continuing as normal for consumers with outstanding orders and that the group intends to fulfil deliveries of goods which have been paid for.

Extended warranties previously purchased remain unaffected by the administration and remain valid.

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'Onion Bomb' Firework Explodes In Boys' Faces

A 10-year-old boy has suffered "horrific" facial injuries after a firework blew up in his face.

The boy's mother, who has asked not to be identified, has shared a photograph of her son in a hospital bed in a bid to stop other children being hurt in the same way.

The boy suffered serious burns along with his 11-year-old friend after playing with the firework in the street in Salford, Greater Manchester.

Fire crews were called to Cumbrae Gardens at around midday on Thursday, a spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said.

He suffered "horrific injuries", the spokeswoman said.

Vicky Stephenson, the mother of the second boy, said: "Dale was outside a shop doing penny for a guy with his mates when I went to the shops.

"Next thing I knew he was ringing me screaming, saying a firework exploded and he'd burnt his face.

"He was hysterical with the pain and they put him on morphine when we got to the hospital. He's lost his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes and got burns on his hands, his skin is peeling off.

"Fireworks should be banned. They need to stop coming into the country because they are just so dangerous."

The firework involved was an Onion Bomb, which is used in professional displays and is not on general sale to the public.

Fire station manager Dave Hughes said: "We were told they were holding an industrial firework, another child lit it and it blew up in their face.

He added: "An incident like this really brings home how dangerous fireworks are and it's heart-breaking for all those involved.

"We need to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. We need parents to know where their children are and make sure they are not playing with fireworks.

"There are many organised events taking place in Greater Manchester this weekend. Please enjoy fireworks safely by going to one of them."

An investigation is now under way to find out how the firework ended up in the street.

Geoff Harris, head of protection at GMFRS, said: "We are extremely interested in how this firework ended up in a street where children were able to play with it.

"We need to take action and prevent further fireworks from getting into the wrong hands. They are not on general sale for a very good reason and we do not want anybody else getting injured."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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Two Arrested Over NI Prison Officer Murder

Two men are being held by police in connection with the murder of prison officer David Black in Northern Ireland - one of them a well-known republican.

Colin Duffy, 44, and another man, aged 31, were arrested in the Lurgan area early this morning and have been taken to Antrim Serious Crime suite for questioning, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.

Mr Black, 52, was gunned down on the M1 motorway early on Thursday as he drove to work at the top security Maghaberry jail near Lisburn, County Antrim.

The father-of-two's car veered off the road and into a drainage ditch after the shots were fired. He was on a stretch of the motorway between Portadown and Lurgan - a dissident republican stronghold in County Armagh.

A Toyota Camry used in the attack was later found burned out in the Inglewood area of Lurgan.

Police have blamed dissident republicans opposed to the peace process for the ambush. They have been engaged in a long-running campaign against conditions in Maghaberry.

The ambush took place on the M1 motorway

Mr Black, from Cookstown, County Tyrone, had served in the Prison Service for more than 30 years and was considering early retirement.

His wife and children are said to be "absolutely devastated" by the killing.

A long-standing member of the Orange Order, Mr Black was the 30th prison officer to be murdered in Northern Ireland since 1974, although the first for almost 20 years.

He was driving his black Audi A4 when the dark blue Toyota drew up alongside and several shots were fired. Police believe he may have already been dead when his car veered off the road.

All sides in Northern Ireland have condemned the shooting, along with Prime Minister David Cameron.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers made a statement in the House of Commons on the matter on Friday.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers made a statement to MPs

She offered the Government's "profound sympathies" to Mr Black's family and colleagues and said the attack "demonstrated the gravity of the threat that dissident groups continue to pose".

Ms Villiers said the UK remained "vigilant", adding: "The numbers involved in terrorism activities are small but these groupings have the capability and they have lethal intent."

The Northern Ireland Police Service have launched a "meticulous investigation" into the ambush, and officers "will not rest until the attackers have been put behind bars", she told MPs.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said the killing of the prison officer was wrong.

He said: "There is no rationale now for the existence of armed groups or for carrying out armed actions in any part of this country.

"Those involved have no popular support or political strategy."

Earlier in the day the shooting was discussed at a north-south meeting in Armagh involving Enda Kenny, Taoiseach of the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

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MPs' Expenses: Ex-Labour Minister Suspended

Former Labour minister Denis MacShane is being suspended from the Commons over a string of false expenses claims running to thousands of pounds.

The Committee on Standards and Privileges said it would recommend Mr MacShane be suspended as an MP for 12 months after it found he submitted 19 false invoices "plainly intended to deceive" Parliament's expenses authority.

The former minister, who was suspended from the Labour party earlier in the day, said he was "shocked and saddened" that his political career had been destroyed. He is now considering his position as an MP.

Labour declared Mr MacShane's career as a Labour member of parliament to be "effectively over".

The Standards and Privileges Committee said it was impossible to say how much the Rotherham MP claimed "outside the rules", but it "may have been in the order of £7,500".

Chairman Kevin Barron said it was "the gravest case" his committee had considered in its role as Parliament's sleaze watchdog.

Mr MacShane is to be barred from the Commons for a year

Mr MacShane's punishment reflected that his actions were "so far from what would be acceptable in any walk of life", the Standards and Privileges Committee said. He would lose his salary and pension contributions during the period of suspension.

Their recommendation must be approved by the Commons in a what usually amounts to a formality.

Mr MacShane previously had the whip withdrawn by Labour when allegations from the British National Party that he abused his expenses were investigated by Scotland Yard in September 2010. He was reinstated in July when the Met said they were taking no further action.

The committee's report notes that the former minister "has expressed his regret, and repaid the money wrongly claimed".

But it said the "real mischief" of Mr MacShane's conduct was that the "method he adopted of submitting false invoices" allowed him to bypass rules to spend public money as he saw fit.

It said it was "impossible to escape the conclusion" that he claimed in that way to ensure he was not challenged over using taxpayers' cash to fund travel for his work in Europe.

The Labour party has also suspended Mr MacShane

In his statement Mr MacShane said the BNP had won a "three-year campaign to destroy my political career".

He stressed that the police inquiry had found nothing and that the Standards and Privileges Committee "notes that there is no question of personal gain".

"Clearly I deeply regret that the way I chose to be reimbursed for costs related to my work in Europe and in combating anti-semitism, including being the Prime Minister's personal envoy, has been judged so harshly," he said.

Leading media lawyer Mark Stephens defended the former Labour minister.

He said: "I have worked with Dr Denis McShane for over 30 years on campaigns and anti-fascist work.

"This is a huge victory for racists and fascists who have in my opinion abused the parliamentary complaints system to destroy an honourable member of parliament who is a political opponent of the BNP.

" ...the chilling effect of this process will deter principled members of Parliament from rooting out prejudice and fascism wherever it may be found."

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Farrow Jailed For Life Over Double Murder

By Isabel Webster, Bristol Crown Court

An "extremely dangerous" psychopath has been jailed for life for the murder of a vicar and a retired teacher.

Stephen Farrow was told he would die behind bars by a judge at Bristol Crown Court.

He killed Reverend John Suddards at his vicarage in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, between February 12 and 15 this year.

The 48-year-old, of no fixed address, admitted showing no mercy as the vicar cried "I'm dying", to which he replied "F****** die then, hurry up".

Judge Mr Justice Field told Farrow: "I am satisfied that in your case a whole life sentence is an appropriate sentence in each of these dreadful, horrific killings. In my judgement, you acted sadistically.

"To put a knife deep into the body of Betty Yates as she lay helpless on the floor, having arranged her head on the pillow, was an act of absolute sadism.

"You did that because you wanted to. She wasn't threatening you. You put that knife in her to have the pleasure of doing it.

"As for Reverend Suddards, you killed him - having kicked him down, having told him to 'f****** hurry up and die' - with seven deep knife wounds.

"He was helpless. That conduct was clearly sadistic. Accordingly, there is no question in your case of the imposition of a minimum term."

Farrow had pleaded guilty to the clergyman's manslaughter, but denied it was murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He also denied the murder of grandmother Betty Yates at her home in Bewdley, Worcestershire, between January 1 and 5.

In between murders, Farrow burgled a house and left this note

A jury made up of four women and eight men spent almost two days considering the evidence before returning a guilty verdict for both murders.

The court heard that Reverend Suddards, 58, was found in a pool of blood, carefully laid out in his hallway, with pornography, condoms and streamers on and around his body.

The jury were told these items were designed to "humiliate" the clergyman as Farrow had a grudge against the Church.

After the murder, Farrow spent the night at the vicarage, just metres from the body of his victim, watching DVDs and drinking beer.

It was not disputed by the drifter's defence team that he "passed the threshold of psychopathy".

His barrister, Peter Gower QC, argued that although Farrow was not mentally ill at the time of the killing, he was suffering an "abnormality of the mind" which diminished his responsibility for his actions.

But prosecutor Michael Fitton QC told the jury "we do not accept his mental disorder diminishes his responsibility for what he did to entitle him to that defence".

Mr Fitton also rejected Farrow's denial of Mrs Yates' murder, saying: "Our case is that he was there and that he killed her and that he intended to kill her."

Her body was found two days after she was attacked, at the bottom of her stairs, with her head on her pillow and a knife still in her neck.

The 77-year-old widow had been stabbed four times in the head and beaten with an ornate walking stick.

A swab taken from the back of her left hand represented a "one-in-a-billion match" as a mixture of DNA belonging to her and Farrow.

The defendant admitted a separate charge of burgling a cottage in Thornbury, between December 21 last year and January 3 this year.

A note was also found inside the house he burgled, pinned to the kitchen table with knives, that read: "Be thankful you did not come back or I would have killed you, you Christian scum. I f*****g hate God."

Farrow, wearing a blue sweatshirt and blue tracksuit bottoms, showed no emotion as the jury foreman returned the verdicts after eight-and-a-half hours' deliberation.

Hillary Bosworth, the sister of Rev John Suddards, praised police involved in the investigation and said Farrow's sentence was "deserved".

"The deaths of John and Betty raise many questions," she said.

"What could have been done to avert these tragedies. Do we as a country do enough to ensure that psychopaths with a known history of violence and criminal offences are not left roaming around ... ready to attack someone?"

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Freddie Starr Questioned By Police Again

Freddie Starr has returned to a police station to answer further questions over alleged sexual offences, according to Sky sources.

The Metropolitan Police said a man in his 60s from Warwickshire, arrested on Thursday on suspicion of sexual offences in connection with the Jimmy Savile abuse investigation, was being interviewed again today.

Starr, 69, denies any wrongdoing and said at the weekend he was prepared to speak to officers after becoming publicly linked with the Savile scandal.

He appeared with Savile on an episode of BBC show Clunk Click in 1974 alongside Karin Ward, who has since accused him of molesting her.

Ms Ward, who was 14 at the time, was the main interviewee in the ITV documentary which exposed the Savile sex abuse scandal.

Starr denied touching her inappropriately and said he had not appeared on the show.

His lawyer later issued a statement claiming he had been mistaken and that he was on the show.

Publicist Max Clifford, who represented Starr in the 1980s, earlier told Sky News he had received calls from several celebrities who appeared on TV shows with Savile who were concerned they could be embroiled in the investigation.

He said: "In the 1960s and 1970s just about every major pop star appeared on Top Of The Pops, many of them met Jimmy Savile even if it was just to say hello to.

"Many times Jimmy would come up to different stars often with young girls saying 'will you have a picture taken'.

"Now they're asking 'am I suddenly going to be named because there's a picture of me with Jimmy Savile'.

"The problem is if you're a star, just by having your name mentioned in connection with Jimmy Savile or Gary Glitter, you could be damaged."

Starr's arrest followed that of Gary Glitter, who was questioned at a central London police station on Sunday after being detained at his home in the capital.

The former pop star was later released on bail.

Scotland Yard is leading a national investigation into Savile, who died last year at the age of 84.

He is now believed to have been one of the UK's most prolific abusers, with about 300 possible victims.

The BBC has launched an inquiry into the culture and practices at the corporation in the era of Savile's alleged sexual abuse.

It is also looking at the decision-making process which saw a Newsnight investigation into Savile's activities shelved.

The review, led by Nick Pollard, former head of Sky News, will report back on its findings later this month, it was announced earlier.

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Savile 'Molested' Teen During Top Of The Pops

By Katie Stallard, Media & Technology Correspondent

A Top of the Pops audience member has told Sky News she was molested on camera by Jimmy Savile and then laughed at by a member of the crew when she tried to complain.

Sylvia Edwards, who was 18 at the time, says she was told to get lost by a man on the studio floor who said: "That's just Jimmy Savile."

Footage from the programme in 1976 shows the teenager clearly shrieking and jumping up from her seat as she struggles to get away from Savile, who says to a camera: "A fella could get used to all this."

Mrs Edwards told Sky News: "All of a sudden I felt this hand go underneath and I jumped up, I went to go back down again, but I couldn't go anywhere, his hand was still there.

"I was trying to push it away, but he wouldn't move it - I just screeched - I started feeling embarrassed because where could you go?

"I was just getting really flustered and he didn't move, and I just remember trying to get out, but there were too many girls around me."

As soon as it was over she said she tried to tell the nearest member of staff what had happened.

She said: "I just found this man that had some sort of headset on, I don't know what he was doing, next to a camera, and I said: 'He's really filthy, he's putting his hand up my skirt and that', and he said: 'Oh no, don't be so stupid'.

"He said, 'That's just Jimmy Savile, go on get out of the way, out of the way, you're blocking a camera shot' or something.

"I had to move because this camera was coming around and I thought fine, ok, what do you say - once they've told you to get lost, I didn't think that maybe I could go to the police, I just felt embarrassed."

She said she was picked out of the crowd to sit next to Savile and quickly found herself hemmed in by other girls.

"All I could think of was to get his hand away, and my hand was pushing it, but he just seemed to go rigid and keep his hand there, and actually if you watch the tape you can see him moving where I'm trying to push it away and he was having none of it, his hand was going to stay there, and that was it.

"I was trapped, I felt as if I was just stuck and everyone was closing in around me because obviously they all wanted to get in the camera shot and I could feel them all around me. We had to just wait until they said we could move."

Mrs Edwards' case raises more questions for the BBC. She is convinced that some within the corporation must have known what was going on.

"I know that they knew about it because I told them years and years ago and they just brushed it under the carpet.

"That is what annoyed me and prompted me to come forward to say they did know. I don't know how anybody could say they didn't know it was going on."

A spokesperson for the BBC said: "The BBC cannot comment on individual cases. It has asked that anyone with allegations of this nature should report them to the BBC's Investigation Unit or the police directly."

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Chelsea Fan 'Made Racist Gesture Towards Player'

Referee Race Claim: Chelsea Need To Be Sure

Updated: 12:47pm UK, Thursday 01 November 2012

By Jacquie Beltrao, Sports Presenter

This week amid all the controversy, claim and counterclaim about racial abuse some really entertaining football has broken out.

With 12 goals in the Reading-Arsenal League Cup match on Tuesday followed by nine in last night's Chelsea vs Manchester United encounter at the Bridge fans can't say they didn't get value for money.

And yet despite the goal glut we are still talking today about Chelsea's decision to press ahead with their official complaint to the FA that Mark Clattenburg used "inappropriate language" towards John Obi Mikel in their defeat to United at the weekend.

Last night Chelsea confirmed they were dropping the other allegation that the referee used inappropriate language towards Juan Mata in the same match, but they seem certain of the Mikel claims.

It goes without saying that Clattenburg's career is at stake here, not a four-match ban and a fine, but the whole thing - the rest of his life.

Mikel, Ramires (who does not speak good English) and another player are said to have provided written statements that the referee used the racist slur "monkey" in his address to Mikel.

Clattenburg denies saying any such thing and is determined to clear his name.

He is understood to have the support of the two assistant referees and the fourth official at the match.

They were all on the same headsets and could hear what was said with mobile phone clarity.

So Chelsea, a club just emerging from the other side of the John Terry race row, have to be seen to be absolutely 100% sure they are right and they believe they are.

While Clattenburg is said to remain angry and confused.

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Human Remains Found In Missing Vet Search

Human remains have has been recovered by search teams involved in the hunt for missing Irish vet Catherine Gowing.

Ms Gowing, 37, was last seen on the evening of Friday October 12 at a supermarket near her home in New Brighton, Flintshire, north Wales.

Clive Sharp, a 46-year old man from Gwynedd, north Wales, has since been charged with her murder.

A spokesman for North Wales Police said: "Following information received by members of the public, recent searches have focused on fields in Manor Road, Sealand.

"On Wednesday, search team officers discovered human remains in a shallow pool within the field known locally as the Lum.

Ms Gowing was last seen in Queensferry; the remains were found in Sealand

"At this time, those remains have yet to be formally identified as this will require medical as well as forensic examination. A post-mortem is planned for later today."

The spokesman went on: "At this time we are not able to comment further. However, Catherine Gowing's family have been informed of this distressing development and clearly our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time.

"I would ask that they be allowed privacy to come to terms with this news."

Ms Gowing, who is originally from Clonlee, County Offaly, in the Irish Republic, had worked at Evans Veterinary Practice in Mold for the last 18 months.

She was described by her sister Emma as a "beautiful person".

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Pierce renewed his appeal for witnesses to come forward.

He said: "This development came about as the result of information from the local community, for which I am very grateful.

"However, I am once again asking for their assistance. The search for evidence relating to Catherine's disappearance continues and I am very eager to hear of any sightings of her Irish-registered Renault Clio 00D 99970 and Sharp's black Volvo S40 AG58 JHE since Friday October 12 and particularly in the Sealand area.

"In fact, I would like to hear from anyone who saw any suspicious activity in fields in Manor Road, Sealand, to contact police on 101."

Murder suspect Sharp, 46, of no fixed address, was remanded in custody until January 7 when he is due to enter a plea.

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Scary Spice Wins Order Against Oz Snapper

Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown has been granted an interim restraining order against a well-known Australian paparazzo who she claimed threatened her and put her life at risk.

The singer, who is currently appearing as a judge on X Factor Australia and lives for much of the year in Sydney, alleges Jamie Fawcett endangered her while she was in a kayak on Sydney Harbour last week.

At a hearing in court in Sydney, lawyers for Fawcett, Australia's self-styled "Prince of Paparazzi", agreed not to "loiter" within 50 metres (160 feet) and not to contact Brown.

Brown, known in the girl group as Mel B or Scary Spice, attended the hearing in a figure-hugging blue dress.

Fawcett's lawyer Roland Day said his client agreed to the orders on the understanding "that he is still able to be a photographer and do his job", Australian Associated Press reported.

The order will remain in place until November 22 when the case will return to court.

Brown appeared with her fellow Spice Girls this summer when the hit 1990s girl band performed in the closing ceremony of the London Olympics.

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Prison Officer Shot Dead On Motorway In NI

A long-serving prison officer has been murdered in a motorway ambush believed to have been carried out by dissident republicans in Northern Ireland.

David Black, from Cookstown, County Tyrone, had more than 30 years' service in the Prison Service and was approaching retirement.

He was ambushed by a gunman on Northern Ireland's M1 motorway early in the morning as he drove to begin duty at the top security Maghaberry jail near Lisburn, County Antrim.

Politicians on all sides condemned the murder and, even though no organisation has admitted responsibility, security chiefs believe republicans opposed to the peace process were involved.

The extremists have been involved in long-running protests against jail conditions inside Maghaberry.

The attack happened at the M1/M12 turnoff in County Armagh

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Matt Baggott said: "It was a completely senseless attack. It demonstrated the recklessness and ruthlessness and sheer dangerousness of those who oppose peace and are dedicated to taking us back to those dark days of the past.

"This has all the hallmarks of dissident republicans. This was just a brutal attack and we need the public's support to be able to solve it as quickly as possible."

Police said the gunman was in a Toyota Camry with a Dublin registration which drew alongside Mr Black's black Audi. It appeared shots were fired at the prison worker from the vehicle, causing Mr Black's car to veer off the motorway and into a drainage ditch.

He "sustained very serious and probably fatal gunshot wounds," police said.

It is 18 months since renegade republicans claimed the life of police officer Ronan Kerr in Omagh, County Tyrone.

Mr Black had expressed interest in an early retirement scheme but his departure date had not been set, Prison Service director general Sue McAllister said.

Police attending the scene

Mrs McAllister said the Prison Service would not be bowed.

"We will not allow this to derail the efforts that we are making to reform the service but we will do everything we can to support all of our staff in the very difficult days ahead," she added.

A car used in the attack was later found burnt-out in Lurgan, Co Armagh, where supporters of dissidents have backed the jail protest campaign.

Mr Black, who was married with a family, was the 30th prison officer killed in Northern Ireland since 1974.

It is understood his service stretched back as far as the 1981 IRA hunger strike inside the Maze prison, when 10 republicans starved themselves to death.

Finlay Spratt, the head of the Prison Officers' Association, who knew Mr Black and described him as "a very nice fellow to work with", criticised the security provisions offered to prison officers since the Troubles ended.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers condemned the attack

"They have stripped away all the security around prison officers," he said.

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness condemned the murder.

"At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family and we condemn this murder in the strongest possible terms," they said in a joint statement.

The shooting happened at around 7.30am, at the same time as a major security alert further along the motorway at a shopping centre at Sprucefield, near Lisburn, where bomb disposal experts were called in to check a car.

It is believed this vehicle might have been linked to the shooting,

Only a day ago, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers warned that the threat from dissident republicans in Northern Ireland remained severe.

The motorway was closed following the shooting

Ms Villiers described the attack as "cowardly and evil attack".

She said: "The thoughts and deepest sympathy of us all are with the family, friends and colleagues of the murdered prison officer.

"Like his colleagues across the prison service he was dedicated to serving the whole community in Northern Ireland . This is in stark contrast to the people responsible for this despicable crime.

"The British and Irish Governments, the Executive, the PSNI and Garda - and above all the people of Northern Ireland - will continue to work together to ensure that those who pursue their aims by violence will not succeed."

The Republic of Ireland's foreign minister Eamon Gilmore added his words of condemnation.

"I know that I speak for every decent man, woman and child on this island, North and South, in expressing revulsion at this act," he said.

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Sniffer Dog Finds Stowaways In Coffin Truck

Three Africans have been caught trying to enter Britain illegally in a truck loaded with coffins.

The trio, Eritrean nationals, hid among dozens of boxed coffins which were loaded in a van from Bulgaria.

But the human cargo was unearthed by sniffer dog Mitzy.

The discovery was made on Monday when Border Force officers searched the lorry at the port of Dunkirk in northern France.

The truck, which was waiting to board a ferry to the UK, was carrying coffins bound for a funeral director in Hounslow, west London.

The stowaways were handed over to French border police and the vehicle was allowed to continue on its journey.

Paul Morgan, Border Force director for South East and Europe, said: "This was an unusual type of discovery, but in the past we have found people hiding in an array of freight, ranging from dog biscuits, bathtubs and now coffins.

"The incident shows exactly why we base Border Force staff in France - to stop would-be illegal immigrants before they can reach the UK."

He added: "As well as using sniffer dogs, officers also use heartbeat detectors, carbon dioxide probes and physical searches to find people hiding in vehicles."

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Savile 'Took Girls To Leeds Hospital Block Alone'

Jimmy Savile regularly took teenage girls to a private hospital block alone for a few hours at a time, a former porter has told Sky News.

Terry Pratt said the Jim'll Fix It presenter was given a key to the nurses' accommodation building at Leeds General Infirmary during the 1990s.

Unlike doctors at the hospital, who had to be let in by a porter, he was allowed to take the keys himself.

The ex-worker claimed that Savile, who was a volunteer and fundraiser for the hospital, would arrive with the girls in the early hours of the morning and then leave before dawn.

Mr Pratt, who was a porter at the Leeds hospital from 1989 to 2010, said Savile came in with girls, who were often "dressed up to the nines", on three occasions in one week.

It is understood Savile had his own office in the hospital's Welcome Wing for 10 years from about the mid-1990s.

Given to him because of his fundraising activities, he even had his name on the door. The wing closed down a few years ago.

Savile was regularly given a key to the hospital's nurses' block

The hospital issued a statement responding to the latest claims of abuse by the late television star and DJ.

A spokesperson for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We continue to be shocked by each new allegation. It is important that they are investigated properly.

"The Trust is in contact with senior detectives from the Metropolitan Police and we have indicated our intention to help with their enquiries. If there are any issues which need to be addressed following the police investigation then we will take action."

Leeds General Infirmary is one of three hospitals, alongside Broadmoor and Stoke Mandeville, where Savile has been accused of abusing children.

Scotland Yard is currently investigating the Top of the Pops presenter's activities, and he is now believed to have been of the UK's most prolific child sex abusers, with about 300 possible victims.

Detectives are following 400 lines of inquiry as part of the investigation while the BBC has launched an inquiry into the culture and practices at the corporation during the Savile era.

Girls were said to be dazzled by Savile's celebrity status

It is also looking at the decision-making process that saw a Newsnight investigation into his activities shelved.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said "heads will need to roll" at the BBC if it is discovered that abuse was ignored.

"Serious questions need to be asked and if after we find out what's happened, it's clear that people have turned a blind eye or, worse still, connived with it, then of course they're going to have to be held to account and - if that turns out to be the case - heads will need to roll of course," he told ITV's The Agenda.

Earlier this week it emerged Savile was barred from any involvement with the BBC's Children In Need charity.

Sir Roger Jones, a former chairman of the charity, said he had been uncomfortable about allowing Savile to have any association with their work.

Although he had "no evidence" that Savile was up to anything, he said he behaved strangely, adding: "I think we all recognised he was a pretty creepy sort of character."

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Moss Reveals Her Topless Teenage Anguish

Supermodel Kate Moss has used a rare interview to reveal how distressed she was when she was forced to pose topless at the age of 16.

Moss told Vanity Fair magazine that later, while she was still in her teens, she suffered a nervous breakdown during a Calvin Klein campaign.

Now 38, she spoke about the pressures she was under and how for many years she had no-one "to take care of" her, apart from the time she spent dating Hollywood star Johnny Depp.

Moss told Vanity Fair magazine how uncomfortable she felt while working on a shoot for style magazine The Face with photographer Corinne Day which helped to propel her to fame.

"I see a 16-year-old now, and to ask her to take her clothes off would feel really weird," she said.

"But they were like 'If you don't do it, then we're not going to book you again'. So I'd lock myself in the toilet and cry and then come out and do it. I never felt very comfortable about it."

Moss said she was not happy with her "boobs" and insisted that the only man on the photoshoot turn his back while the pictures were being taken.

Moss is now happily married to musician Jamie Hince

The supermodel claimed her mental health suffered while working on a Calvin Klein campaign in the early 1990s.

"I had a nervous breakdown when I was 17 or 18, when I had to go and work with Marky Mark and Herb Ritts," she said.

"It didn't feel like me at all. I felt really bad about straddling this buff guy. I didn't like it. I couldn't get out of bed for two weeks. I thought I was going to die."

She went on: "It was just anxiety. Nobody takes care of you mentally. There's a massive pressure to do what you have to do."

Moss said Depp came to her aid during their four-year relationship, but following their split she said there was "years and years of crying".

She told interviewer James Fox: "I really lost that gauge of somebody I could trust."

Moss married musician Jamie Hince in 2011 and has an 11-year-old daughter, Lila Grace, from a previous relationship.

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Ivan Leach: 100 Reported Sightings Of Fugitive

Some 100 sightings of a fugitive prisoner - suspected of committing a serious sex attack while on the run - have been reported.

Scores of possible sightings of Ivan Leach have been received by police since he went missing from North Sea Camp open prison in Boston, Lincolnshire, having failed to return from day release on October 9.

Leach, also known as Lee Cyrus, 47, is suspected to have committed a serious sex attack in Tayside after this and police have described him as "extremely dangerous and predatory."

The last known sighting of him was in his home town of Preston on October 19. Grampian Police ruled out the latest potential sighting of Leach in Aberdeenshire on Tuesday night.

Police have urged the public not to approach him under any circumstance.

Leach was jailed in 2005 for robbing a 90-year-old woman in her home in Ribbleton, Preston. He was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of five years. Leach also has convictions for burglary, robbery and assault.

Leach is white, around 5ft 11in and stocky. He has a shaved head and hazel eyes. Police also said he has a scar on his top lip and was last seen wearing a black waterproof jacket, dark trousers and carrying a full rucksack.

Crimestoppers are offering up to £3,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Leach.

Grampian Police are also investigating the rape of a young woman in Aberdeen on Saturday morning. Officers said they are keeping an open mind about the identity of the rapist and are not focusing on a specific individual.

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Missing Pierre: Dad Fears Son Lost Forever

By Paul Harrison, News Correspondent

The father of missing 12-year-old Pierre Barnes has told Sky News a "perfect storm" of events means his son is unlikely to be found alive.

Stephen Barnes, a father-of-four, also confirmed the search for his son will be scaled back in the coming days.

"Today, the weather is appalling just like it was the night Pierre disappeared, so the authorities have suspended their search," said Mr Barnes.

"They'll start looking again on Thursday but the number of people will be scaled back," he added.

The Prefect of the Var region of France last night declared search teams had scoured most of the island of Porquerolles but said they had been "let down".

Mr Barnes, his French wife and children arrived on the small Mediterranean island on Saturday for a week's holiday.

Helicopters have been out when the weather has allowed

Just a few hours later, before dark, 12-year-old Pierre took a short cycle ride and has not been seen since.

Shortly after the alarm was raised, the youngster's bike was discovered along with his shoe, which was lying nearby.

"We came to this island because we thought it would be a safe place for the children, but it didn't turn out that way," said Mr Barnes.

"Events on their own like the terrible storm and Pierre's bike breaking down wouldn't have caused a problem, but they happened all at once."

Torrential weather along the southern coast of France has interrupted the search effort on the two-and-a-half mile long island.

"We are having to face the prospect that Pierre will not be found alive," said Mr Barnes. "I accept that when I talk about him, I do so in the past tense."

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UBS Cuts Thousands Of UK Jobs Amid Restructuring

UBS has confirmed it is cutting 10,000 jobs as it looks to drastically shrink its ailing investment bank which has a large presence in London.

Switzerland's biggest bank announced the plans as part of its third-quarter results which revealed a loss of 2.2 billion Swiss francs (£1.43bn) compared to a profit of 1.02 billion (£0.67bn) in the same period last year.

It said the result for the July-September period was damaged by a one-off charge of 3.1 billion Swiss francs (£2bn) linked to the restructuring of its investment banking division and a debt-related charge of 863 million (£574m).

Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said the investment unit, which has been hit by a series of costly blunders in recent years, would "continue to be a significant global player in its core businesses" but there would be "a significant acceleration" in its transformation.

The move will see the lender and wealth manager focus on its private bank and a smaller investment bank, ditching much of the trading business that cost it $50bn (£30bn) in the financial crisis and which had been "rendered uneconomical by changes in regulation and market developments".

UBS wants to concentrate on its traditional strengths in advisory, research, equities, foreign exchange and precious metals.

Of the total job cuts, which represent 15% of the workforce, 2,500 positions would be lost in Switzerland while the rest would be felt in the UK and US.

A spokesperson for the bank's operation in London told Sky News there was currently no confirmed figure for UK losses but said it would be fair to assume it would be in the thousands.

It is reported that dozens of traders were unable to get in to work in the City this morning as their passes did not work.

Mr Ermotti said: "This decision has been a difficult one, particularly in a business such as ours that is all about its people.

"Some reductions will result from natural attrition and we will take whatever measures we can to mitigate the overall effect.

"Throughout the process we will ensure that our people will be supported and treated with care."

UBS shares were trading 6% higher in early trading in Zurich as investors welcomed the transformation plan.

A former UBS banker, Kweku Adoboli, yesterday denied being a rogue trader when he lost the bank £1.4bn.

The 32-year-old is currently on trial at London's Southwark Crown Court, accused of gambling away the money while working for UBS during the global financial crisis.

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Wandsworth Mother Admits Killing Children

A mother suffering from post-natal depression has admitted killing her two young children at the family home.

Felicia Boots wept at the Old Bailey as she pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mason, nine weeks, and Lily, 14 months, on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Boots told the court she killed the children at their house in Wandsworth, south-west London, in May and said she was "eternally sorry".

The 35-year-old, who wore a black suit and white blouse, sent a note to the court which was read by her counsel Kate Bex.

It said: "May 9, 2012, is a day I will be eternally sorry for. It should never have happened. It troubles me more than anyone will ever know.

"Part of me will always be missing. I am a good person. I am a good mum and I never meant any of this to happen. I am truly sorry."

The children's bodies were found by their father, Jeff, an investment banker. Details of their injuries were not given in court, apart from to say they had been asphyxiated.

The Old Bailey heard Boots had suffered post-natal depression after the births of both children but had appeared to be getting better.

She was prescribed antidepressants but had not been taking them after becoming convinced the babies would be taken away from her because of the effects of the drugs on her breast milk.

The couple, who married in 2007 and came to the UK from Canada, had just moved house and were still unpacking when the children died.

"They were a happy family and they were comfortably well-off," Edward Brown QC, prosecuting, said.

On May 9, Mr Boots had gone to work as normal and was sent a picture of Lily by his wife but when he arrived home the house was in darkness.

He found his wife on the stairs, hugging herself and curled up, the court heard.

Mr Brown said: "Mr Boots ran past her and found their two children lying lifeless on the floor of a walk-in cupboard off the main bedroom.

"He very soon returned, very distressed, to his wife. On questioning, she told him she had killed the children at 2pm. She also said she had tried to kill herself."

The court heard that Mr Boots was supporting his wife.

He said: "This plainly is a tragic case. There were signs Mrs Boots had made an attempt on her own life. She had marks to her neck."

Boots was ordered to be detained at a psychiatric unit and the court was told she would be given full support and care if she became pregnant again.

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Breast Cancer: Thousands Are Over-Diagnosed

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Almost 4,000 women a year are having treatment for breast cancer they don't need, according to new research.

An independent panel of doctors called in to assess the UK's breast screening programmes found some women are diagnosed with tumours that would never cause them any problems in their natural life span.

But the doctors say screening also prevents more than 1,300 deaths a year, underlining the benefits of regular mammograms.

Cancer Research UK, which took part in the review, strongly recommends women turn up for screening.

The charity's chief executive Dr Harpal Kumar said: "Screening remains one of the best ways to spot the very early signs of breast cancer, at a stage when treatment is most likely to be successful."

The review was ordered after European researchers had warned that screening may do more harm than good.

The independent panel trawled through 11 studies involving thousands of women, in the hope of settling the controversy.

According to results published in The Lancet medical journal, for every cancer death prevented three women will be over-diagnosed and may have surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy as a result.

National cancer director Professor Sir Mike Richards said leaflets explaining breast screening will be rewritten within four months to reflect the new information.

"We have always said that there are some cancers that can be found that would not have caused problems in a woman's lifetime,"  he said.

"What we can now do is put a number on that, to give an estimate.

"Women can make their individual choices based on good information."

But Dr Deborah Cunningham, clinical director of breast services at Charing Cross Hospital in London, warned that some women could be put off screening.

She told Sky News: "They already have difficult choices to make. This complicates it further. Screening won't work if they don't turn up."

Beverley Angell was diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine screening appointment earlier this summer. She has no doubt that the programme is worthwhile.

"I could not feel the lump and I did not know it was there. It has saved my life."

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Superfast 4G Launched In 10 Cities Across UK

Superfast 4G broadband is made available to millions of consumers in 10 UK cities today, heralding a new era for mobile phone use.

The network EE, which owns Orange and T-Mobile, is launching its range of 4G products and services in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester.

Formerly known as Everything Everywhere, the company is offering speeds up to five times faster than 3G.

The service will be available on the Apple iPhone 5 and devices from HTC, Samsung, Nokia and Huawei.

It comes as EE's 4G pricing plans faces heavy criticism, with additional charges for customers on certain tariffs if they exceed download allowances.

Long queues are expected at shops across the country as consumers rush to sign up to the new service and get their hands on a 4G device.

EE is the sole UK provider of 4G until next year

EE customers in six more cities - Belfast, Derby, Hull, Newcastle, Nottingham and Southampton - will have access to 4G by the end of the year.

The group then plans to roll out the service to further towns, cities and rural areas next year, with population coverage of 70% and rising to 98% in 2014.

Rival operators including Vodafone, O2 owner Telefonica and Three will be able to launch their own 4G services and products from next spring.

The companies had threatened legal action against communications regulator Ofcom over its 4G auction process, which has allowed EE to be the sole UK provider of the superfast services until next year.

Vodafone launched a "4G phone promise" last week, offering customers the chance to bring an eligible phone into any store and have 70% knocked off their remaining contract in exchange for taking on a 4G device.

The services will allow uninterrupted access to the web on the go, high definition films to be downloaded in minutes and television to be streamed without buffering.

The cheapest EE tariff offers just 500mb worth of downloads each month, with customers who want to download more than their allowance forced to pay extra.

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Planned Child Benefit Cuts 'Break EU Laws'

Cutting child benefit for middle-class parents breaks European laws and could be challenged in court, ministers have been told.

In the week that 1.2m letters outlining cuts to Child Benefit are sent out, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has revealed it wrote to ministers earlier in the year warning that European citizens working in Britain will not necessarily have their payments reduced, making the new rules "discriminatory".

The letter described the change in rules as "seriously flawed in principle and in practice" and says it "could be an operational and reputational disaster for the Government and HMRC".

From January next year, Child Benefit will be withdrawn gradually from families where one parent or partner earns more than £50,000 and withdrawn entirely from those where someone earns more than £60,000 a year.

The ICAEW claims that British families who lose out could challenge the Government because they would be at a disadvantage over some EU citizens working in Britain who would continue to receive benefits from their own country – under separate social security systems.

"Two UK-resident high earners working in the same grade of job for the same employer may therefore have different tax liabilities because one is a migrant worker and one is not. This is fundamentally incompatible with the UK's EC Treaty obligations," said the accountancy body.

HM Revenue and Customs has insisted the new rules for British citizens comply with EU laws.

Meanwhile, a think-tank has warned that government reforms intended to encourage job claimants to find work could in fact leave many households worse off.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) questioned whether computer systems at the Department for Work and Pensions would be able to cope with the introduction of the new universal credit, which is due to replace a raft of out-of-work benefits from October 2013.

It warned that the overall effect of Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith's benefit changes would be to add to the complexity of a benefits system which they were supposed to simplify.

The DWP maintained that Universal Credit "will help millions of people by making them better off in work than on benefits".

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New Road Tax Plan For Motorways And A-Roads

Drivers who use motorways could be charged a higher rate of road tax than those who stick to slower routes.

According to reports, motorists face a two-tier road tax under proposals being considered by the Government.

It has been suggested drivers could be offered a lower rate of the tax if they agree not to use the country's trunk road network of motorways and major A-roads.

Those paying a higher rate of vehicle excise duty would be free to use any roads.

Proponents say a network of automatic number-plate recognition cameras could be used to catch any drivers who were using the motorways without paying the higher rate.

A Department For Transport (DFT) said: "The department and Treasury are currently carrying out a feasibility study to review new ownership and financing models for the strategic road network.

"This is looking at how best we can secure investment in the network to increase capacity and boost economic growth."

Governments have long sought to explore revenue generation options for road users.

Sky's Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones said: "The fact is when they look years down the line with people changing their pattern of road use - some people getting electric or hybrid vehicles, or vehicles that have lower emissions - that means they are going to be paying less in vehicle excise duty."

Money-raising concepts raised by previous governments have included expanding toll booths across the motorway network and a system based on mileage.

But a DFT spokesman added: "The Government has made clear it will not implement tolls on existing road capacity and has no plans to replace existing motoring taxes with pay-as-you-go road charging."

The AA said it was opposed to an overhaul of road tax.

"This is the last thing drivers want on top of high fuel prices," said spokesman Paul Watters.

"This would create a two-tier system on Britain's roads, which would push many drivers away from trunk roads and into towns and villages where congestion would increase.

"Governments keep coming back to the idea of charging motorists for the roads they use, but the costs of implementing such a scheme would be huge."

Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said that a scheme could work if the proceeds were used to improve the road network.

He said: "Ministers would go a long way to restoring trust among drivers if the proceeds were ring-fenced and ploughed back into road provision."

Dr Richard Wellings, head of transport at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the road network had been "neglected" by successive governments.

"For too long British drivers have had to pay over the odds for a road network that is simply not up to scratch," he said.

"It is lamentable that this vital area of infrastructure has been neglected by government after government."

Road tax is currently paid based on a sliding scale of 13 bands from zero to more than £1,000 in the first year of registration.

Drivers pay according to how much carbon dioxide their vehicle produces.

Another option is to replace the annual road duty charge on cars with a one-off charge on new vehicles.

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Cash Boost For Nuclear Subs Stokes Trident Row

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has accused the Conservatives of "jumping the gun" on Trident as Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced an additional £350m to design the future generation of British nuclear-armed submarines.

This investment will sustain 1,200 UK jobs and follows the initial £350m of design work announced earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

However, the decision to press ahead with spending on the design for the new submarines has reignited coalition tensions over the replacement for Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent.

The issue divides the Tories and the Liberal Democrats, and as part of their coalition-forming agreement both parties promised to delay the final decision on whether to replace the nuclear deterrent until after the next general election.

The Lib Dems are leading a review into cheaper ways to maintain the nuclear deterrent and also want to see the so-called "Moscow criterion", which recommends Britain retains an arsenal capable of destroying the Russian capital, abandoned.

Mr Clegg dismissed suggestions the additional funding "made clear" the Government's commitment to maintaining the system.

The Lib Dem leader insisted the agreement will not be "undermined or contradicted" and the review into alternatives will continue.

Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg

"The idea of a like for like entirely unchanged replacement of Trident is basically saying we will spend billions and billions of pounds on a nuclear missile system designed with the sole strategic purpose of flattening Moscow at the press of a button," he said.

"The final decision on Trident replacement will not be taken until 2016, however much other people may not like it that way."

Mr Hammond detailed the plans on a visit to the home of the UK's nuclear deterrent at Faslane on the River Clyde in Scotland.

"The Government's position on this is very clear. We are committed to maintaining a continuous deterrent, based on the Trident missile," he said.

Mr Hammond said the review would inform the main investment decision, "but in the meantime, we are pressing ahead with the design and development work".

Commenting on the Scottish independence debate, the Cabinet minister reiterated the Government's commitment to keep the naval base in Scotland.

He said: "We are confident that the Scottish people will choose to remain part of the United Kingdom.

"The Faslane complex is the largest employment site in Scotland with over 6,500 jobs underpinning the local economy.

HMS Vigilant during last week's test launch

"We have no plans to move the nuclear deterrent from the Clyde.

"On the contrary, we intend to move the Astute and Trafalgar Class attack submarines to Faslane, creating a further 1,500 jobs.

"The Scottish Government needs to explain how their policy would benefit Scotland's economy and safeguard Scottish jobs."

The announcement follows the successful firing of an unarmed Trident ballistic missile by HMS Vigilant during a test launch in the Atlantic Ocean last week.

HMS Vigilant is one of four Vanguard Class submarines which maintain the UK's nuclear deterrent.

The Vanguard submarines will be replaced from 2028 by the Successor which is currently being designed by British companies.

As a result of today's announcement, BAE Systems will proceed with an additional £315m worth of work.

A further £38m will be carried out by engineering support services company Babcock.

SNP MSP Bill Kidd attacked the move and accused Mr Hammond of using "fantasy figures" relating to the number of jobs dependent on the nuclear weapons system at Faslane.

He said: "For the UK Government to boast about spending hundreds of millions of pounds on weapons of mass destruction - while at the same time implementing brutal welfare cuts and slashing investment in the economy - is obscene.

"More than that, Philip Hammond's weak attack on the Scottish people's choice in the independence referendum continues to use fantasy figures relating to the number of jobs associated with Trident at Faslane.

"His own Ministry's figures obtained through FoI show that there are not thousands of jobs dependent on the nuclear weapons system but 520 - all of which and more will be taken up by Faslane continuing as the main Scottish naval base."

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Savile 'Was Barred' From Children In Need

Jimmy Savile was barred from any involvement with the Children In Need charity, former BBC governor Sir Roger Jones has claimed.

Despite the late presenter's fundraising efforts, which resulted in millions going to good causes, Sir Roger - a former chairman of the charity - said he had been uncomfortable about allowing Savile to have any association with the charity.

Although he had "no evidence" that Savile was up to anything, he said he found the Jim'll Fix It star's behaviour to be strange.

In an interview with the BBC, he said: "I think we all recognised he was a pretty creepy sort of character.

"When I was with Children In Need, we took the decision that we didn't want him anywhere near to the charity and we just stepped up our child protection policies, which again would have put him at great risk if he tried anything.

Savile's Highland cottage has been vandalised

"So the way that we dealt with it was by beefing up child protection policies."

He said it would have been impossible to make any claims about Savile without hard evidence but, as the charity was trying to protect itself, it did not need evidence.

He went on: "I found his behaviour very strange. I couldn't tell if he was a paedophile. But I didn't have to."

Sir Roger said he did not remember suspicions about Savile being discussed at any meeting of the BBC governors.

Today marks one year since Savile's death. At the time he was saluted for his charity work and long TV career. Now, he has been described a predatory paedophile and one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

Gary Glitter was arrested on Sunday

On Sunday, former pop star Gary Glitter became the first high-profile arrest under Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree, which is looking at child sex abuse allegations against Savile and others.

Police have drawn up a detailed arrest strategy for other suspects, as 30 officers work through 300 claims of abuse.

Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said police and other organisations missed the pattern of Savile's alleged sex offending while he was alive.

Meanwhile, Savile's own great niece told Sky News that too many people turned a blind eye for too long.

"The rewards they got from Jimmy Savile's name and everything else kept them in a lifestyle that they became accustomed to," said Caroline Robinson.

Status Quo's Rick Parfitt (L) has spoken out about Savile

Rick Parfitt, from rock band Status Quo, said he too was unsurprised by the Savile allegations.

"A lot of us, like everybody else, we all kind of knew. We were all kind of suspicious of Jimmy Savile. We all felt 'there's something not right there'," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"But we didn't know what, and it was kind of in the back of our minds. But you could never quite suss him out. We did so many Top of the Pops, so many Jim'll Fix Its."

Parfitt added it was common for young women of 17 or 18 to be found in dressing rooms with famous acts.

"If you watch those early editions of Top of the Pops, all the girls there have got skirts up to their chins. There were a lot of girls knocking around downstairs and people would invite them down to the dressing room."

Monday marks a year since Savile died

Over the weekend, Savile's Highland cottage was been targeted by vandals, with graffiti spray-painted across the outside.

"Jimmy the beast" was written on the wall of the remote holiday home outside the village of Glencoe, and the door was badly damaged.

Former Court of Appeal judge Dame Janet Smith has started the first of two independent inquiries.

It will focus on whether the culture and practises at the BBC allowed Savile to carry out his abuse.

A further review will examine current sexual harassment policies at the corporation.

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Union Supports Clattenburg Over Chelsea Claim

The referees' union says it is "offering full support" to Mark Clattenburg in relation to allegations made against him by Chelsea.

The football club made a formal complaint against the official after accusing him of using "inappropriate language" towards two of their players during a controversial defeat to Manchester United.

The European champions confirmed they have reported the official to the Premier League match delegate following the London team's 3-2 loss at Stamford Bridge.

That complaint is set to be passed on to the Football Association (FA).

It is understood Jon Obi Mikel is one of the two players Chelsea believe "inappropriate language" was directed at.

Mr Clattenburg pictured during the fiery clash at Stamford Bridge

A club spokesman said: "We have lodged a complaint to the Premier League match delegate with regards to inappropriate language used by the referee and directed at two of our players in two separate incidents in today's (Sunday's) match.

"The match delegate will pass the complaint to the Football Association. We will make no further comment at this time."

Mr Clattenburg, 37, has vowed to co-operate with any investigation.

Prospect, the union representing football referees, said it had given its full support to Mr Clattenburg.

"Prospect is committed to helping to eradicate racism in football and in society generally," said national secretary Alan Leighton.

"In the context of that commitment, Prospect is offering full support to Mark Clattenburg in relation to the allegations made against him. It is now important that the allegations are fully investigated through the proper process as quickly as possible."

The hotly-anticipated match between two of the Premier League's top three sides was eventful.

Chelsea had two players controversially sent off, including striker Fernando Torres who was dismissed for a second yellow card after allegedly diving.

Meanwhile, Manchester United were allowed a winning goal that some thought was offside.

All of the referee's conversations during the game would have been audible to his two assistants Michael McDonough and Simon Long as well as the fourth official Michael Jones, who are all connected by audio headsets. However, the audio itself is not recorded.

Mr Clattenburg is regarded by Fifa - the sport's world governing body - as one of the top officials in the game.

At the Olympics, he was chosen to referee the final between Brazil and Mexico, and he is expected to be put forward to be part of the English representation at the 2014 World Cup.

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April Jones: Prayers Held One Month On

Private prayers are being held in Machynlleth in mid Wales to mark a month since the disappearance of schoolgirl April Jones.

The five-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, was abducted on October 1.  Police are continuing to look for her, with 150 experts taking part in the hunt.

So far more than 40,000 man-hours have been spent in trying to find April.

More than 300 areas have been searched including mountains, caves, derelict mines and lakes around the town.

April went missing while playing on her bike on a nearby estate.

Dyfed Powys Police say they will continue to look for April into the New Year if need be.

The child had been playing on her bike with friends on the evening of her disappearance.  She was last seen getting into a car on the estate.

Mark Bridger, 46, was arrested a day later and charged with abduction and murder.

The local community had undertaken symbolic gestures of solidarity to mark previous occasions of April's disappearance, including tying pink ribbons around the town and a procession to the church from the family home.

Mark Bridger has been charged with abduction and murder.

Last week Machynlleth's historic town clock was lit up in pink to mark the tragic disappearance.

In nearby Carmarthen, the county hall building will be lit up in a similar way:

"(We) feel quite helpless but want to demonstrate openly that our thoughts and prayers are with April's family and the community of Machynlleth", said council leader Kevin Madge.

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Gary Glitter Arrested By Savile Police

Former pop star Gary Glitter has been arrested as part of a police investigation sparked by sexual abuse claims against the late Jimmy Savile.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was taken from his central London home by officers early on Sunday morning and then questioned at a police station in the capital.

The ex-glam rock star, who had a string of hit singles in the 1970s, is being held on suspicion of sexual offences.

Gadd, 68, was detained by officers working on Operation Yewtree, which is investigating allegations of child sex abuse against Savile and others.

A police spokesman said: "Officers working on Operation Yewtree have arrested a man in his 60s in connection with the investigation.

"The man, from London, was arrested at approximately 0715 on suspicion of sexual offences, and has been taken into custody at a London police station.

"The individual falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Savile and others'."

Gadd served almost three years in jail in Vietnam after being convicted in March 2006 for child abuse offences.

He had moved to Vietnam to avoid media attention into his private life.

Gadd was deported back to the UK in 2008.

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'Professional' Burglaries On The Rise

By Liz Lane, Sky News Reporter

Burglars are taking an "increasingly professional attitude" towards their crime, according to research.

More than 100 recently reformed burglars were questioned for home security firm ADT.

Almost three-quarters (72%) said they planned a break-in by researching a property beforehand, with many observing from gardens and bushes nearby.

Bob Turney, who gave up stealing from houses three decades ago, said they often work in teams.

"They will pick on an area and they will then three-handed go through a house like a swarm of locusts, and they'll all know what their own little job is, and they know where people hide things, so they just go for the obvious places and they can be in and out in five minutes and gone," he said.

He added that householders who have not secured their property properly are considered "fair game". Particular green lights are valuables in clear view, partially open windows, unlocked sheds and a lack of outside lighting.

Sensored lights are key to deterring burglars, says the report

Mark Shaw, residential director for ADT, said: "There's an element that there's no human victim here - it's just taking property that can just be claimed back on insurance.

"But the reality is there are victims and the feeling of violation that they're left with lasts a lot longer than any insurance claim."

Nubur Gupta's home in Middlesex was broken into last month. The thieves took around £20,000 worth of jewellery, electronics and clothes.

"It's a really big hassle, it's a feeling of unsafety, plus it's all the stress you have to go through, plus the emotional loss.

"So it's hurting, especially now with the baby, I feel unsafe for the baby because he's at home with the child minder so I think they could have come while he's here, they could have hurt him, they could have hurt me."

The survey found burglars are well aware of traditional hiding places many people use - including biscuit tins, cereal packets, fridges, freezers, washing machines, ovens, behind wardrobes, under mattresses, in pillow cases and at the back of sock drawers.

However, key deterrents include gravel driveways, dogs, new-looking doors and locks, sensor lights and CCTV cameras. Some 94% of ex-burglars say a monitored alarm would put them off.

00.35 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nolan Sister Bernie Faces New Cancer Battle

Singer and actress Bernie Nolan has revealed that the cancer she fought two years ago has returned.

The lead singer of sister group The Nolans has vowed to fight the disease once again, although doctors have told her it is incurable.

She told the Sunday Mirror: "I refuse to sit around like I've got a death sentence. I'll fight this forever - it can get stuffed."

Bernie, mother of 13-year-old Erin, recently celebrated her 52nd birthday.

She told the newspaper: "OK, it's not curable. But the doctors have promised me the cancer is treatable, it's containable.

"I'm on medication which is controlling it, and people have lived for 12 years on these drugs. Who knows what new treatments are around the corner?"

The star beat breast cancer in 2010, but now the disease has returned and spread to her brain, lungs, liver and bones.

Bernie in September 2010 when she first fought breast cancer

The first warning sign came in the summer when Bernie spotted a lump on the same side of her chest as she had her mastectomy two years ago.

A biopsy was carried out and a week later she learned the bad news.

Her surgeon told her and her husband, Steve Doneathy, it was likely they would need to remove the lump, and a course of radiotherapy would follow.

She told the newspaper. "I didn't even cry. I think I was in shock a bit, and I was angry."

Bernie, who is touring in the musical Chicago until December, kept the news to herself but an appearance on ITV1's Daybreak earlier this month put her under further pressure to go public.

Now, two weeks after explaining the full situation to her daughter, she felt the time was right to speak.

The singer, who also acted in The Bill and Brookside, will finish her run with Chicago and, after one day off, starts the panto Sleeping Beauty in Eastbourne.

However, a planned tour by The Nolans, due to start early in 2013, has been postponed.

Her sisters Anne and Linda have also suffered breast cancer and each has beaten the disease.

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Jimmy Savile: Thompson's Office 'Was Warned'

The Jimmy Savile child abuse allegations were flagged up to the office of former BBC boss Mark Thompson at least twice, according to new claims.

The then director-general's office was formally alerted by journalist Miles Goslett in May and by an ITV email in September, The Sunday Times reports.

According to the paper, his aides were told on both occasions that the allegations concerned Savile's alleged abuse of minors on BBC premises.

Mr Thompson, who has since left the BBC and is about to start a job as chief executive of The New York Times, denies he was ever personally informed.

Mr Goslett is said to have spoken to Jessica Cecil, the head of Mr Thompson's office and asked to speak to him about allegations that Savile had molested underage girls on BBC premises.

Ms Cecil told Mr Goslett to speak to the press office and said she did not tell Mr Thompson of the allegations.

A BBC spokesman said: "Jessica Cecil's firm recollection of this brief call is she advised the journalist to put their points to the BBC press office. She then informed the BBC's director of communications about the call."

A spokesman for Mr Thompson said: "Mark was not aware of the conversation between Miles Goslett and Jessica Cecil on May 18, 2012. He was on holiday at the time and this brief conversation was not relayed to him, either then or subsequently.

Hundreds have come forward claiming to be Jimmy Savile's victims

On September 7, ITV is reported to have contacted Mr Thompson's office with detailed questions about its findings based on interviews with 10 victims.

A spokesman said: "Mark does not recall being briefed and took no part in the response to the email in early September from ITV relating to its Jimmy Savile documentary. This response was handled by colleagues in BBC Journalism.

"As Mark has made it clear, he had no involvement in the decision not to proceed with the Newsnight investigation into Jimmy Savile."

The former BBC chief has previously said he was neither "notified nor briefed" about details of Newsnight's investigation into the Jim'll Fix It star which was later controversially dropped.

He later told reporters he had "formed the impression it [the Newsnight investigation] was about sex abuse" after a conversation at a party but when he called the news department he was told it had been axed for editorial reasons.

Police have now described Savile, who died in 2011, as a sexual predator who could be one of the worst paedophiles the UK has ever seen.

Hundreds of people have come forward claiming to be his victims. Around 130 have so far been questioned. A further 114 assault claims have been made.

Amid major questions about the culture at the BBC and its decision not to proceed with the Newsnight programme on Savile, the corporation has ordered three inquiries.

The chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, has said he is dedicated to getting to the bottom of the scandal, vowing there would be "no covering our backs".

He wrote in the Mail on Sunday that the broadcaster "must tell the truth and face up to the truth about itself, however terrible".

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles told Sky News that the BBC should take it as a wake-up call to become more open.

"I think it's in all our interests for the BBC to be held in the highest esteem that it deserves and I think the problem at the heart of the BBC is that the organisation is too secretive," he told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan.

"I think it should think now that it should open itself up to Freedom of Information requests. I think it should look towards publishing a lot of its expenditure online... I don't think it can see itself away from the real world."

Childline founder and ex-BBC TV presenter Esther Rantzen told Sky News: "There are so many questions that need to be answered.

"What happened when people witnessed bad things happening when Jimmy Savile was at his height?

"How is it that this pain-staking piece of journalism (Savile investigation) was not transmitted on one of the flagship programmes (Newsnight)?"

She added: "What happened in the last four weeks is too late. I want the right judgements to have been made far earlier."

00.35 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gary Glitter Released From Custody

Former pop star Gary Glitter has been released on bail after he was questioned by police investigating the Jimmy Savile sex abuse claims.

Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, was seen leaving Charing Cross Police Station by the side entrance at around 5pm.

He was bailed to return to the police station in mid-December.

He had been taken from his central London home early on Sunday morning and detained by officers working on Operation Yewtree, which is investigating allegations of child sex abuse against Savile and others.

A police spokesman said: "Officers working on Operation Yewtree arrested a man in his 60s in connection with the investigation.

"The man, from London, was arrested on suspicion of sexual offences, and was taken into custody at a London police station.

"This individual falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Savile and others'."

More follows...

00.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Professional' Burglaries On The Rise

By Liz Lane, Sky News Reporter

Burglars are taking an "increasingly professional attitude" towards their crime, according to research.

More than 100 recently reformed burglars were questioned for home security firm ADT.

Almost three-quarters (72%) said they planned a break-in by researching a property beforehand, with many observing from gardens and bushes nearby.

Bob Turney, who gave up stealing from houses three decades ago, said they often work in teams.

"They will pick on an area and they will then three-handed go through a house like a swarm of locusts, and they'll all know what their own little job is, and they know where people hide things, so they just go for the obvious places and they can be in and out in five minutes and gone," he said.

He added that householders who have not secured their property properly are considered "fair game". Particular green lights are valuables in clear view, partially open windows, unlocked sheds and a lack of outside lighting.

Sensored lights are key to deterring burglars, says the report

Mark Shaw, residential director for ADT, said: "There's an element that there's no human victim here - it's just taking property that can just be claimed back on insurance.

"But the reality is there are victims and the feeling of violation that they're left with lasts a lot longer than any insurance claim."

Nubur Gupta's home in Middlesex was broken into last month. The thieves took around £20,000 worth of jewellery, electronics and clothes.

"It's a really big hassle, it's a feeling of unsafety, plus it's all the stress you have to go through, plus the emotional loss.

"So it's hurting, especially now with the baby, I feel unsafe for the baby because he's at home with the child minder so I think they could have come while he's here, they could have hurt him, they could have hurt me."

The survey found burglars are well aware of traditional hiding places many people use - including biscuit tins, cereal packets, fridges, freezers, washing machines, ovens, behind wardrobes, under mattresses, in pillow cases and at the back of sock drawers.

However, key deterrents include gravel driveways, dogs, new-looking doors and locks, sensor lights and CCTV cameras. Some 94% of ex-burglars say a monitored alarm would put them off.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gary Glitter Arrested By Savile Police

Former pop star Gary Glitter has been arrested as part of a police investigation sparked by sexual abuse claims against the late Jimmy Savile.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was taken from his central London home by officers early on Sunday morning and then questioned at a police station in the capital.

The ex-glam rock star, who had a string of hit singles in the 1970s, is being held on suspicion of sexual offences.

Gadd, 68, was detained by officers working on Operation Yewtree, which is investigating allegations of child sex abuse against Savile and others.

A police spokesman said: "Officers working on Operation Yewtree have arrested a man in his 60s in connection with the investigation.

"The man, from London, was arrested at approximately 0715 on suspicion of sexual offences, and has been taken into custody at a London police station.

"The individual falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Savile and others'."

Gadd served almost three years in jail in Vietnam after being convicted in March 2006 for child abuse offences.

He had moved to Vietnam to avoid media attention into his private life.

Gadd was deported back to the UK in 2008.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nolan Sister Bernie Faces New Cancer Battle

Singer and actress Bernie Nolan has revealed that the cancer she fought two years ago has returned.

The lead singer of sister group The Nolans has vowed to fight the disease once again, although doctors have told her it is incurable.

She told the Sunday Mirror: "I refuse to sit around like I've got a death sentence. I'll fight this for ever - it can get stuffed."

Bernie, mother of 13-year-old Erin, recently celebrated her 52nd birthday.

She told the newspaper: "OK, it's not curable. But the doctors have promised me the cancer is treatable, it's containable.

"I'm on medication which is controlling it, and people have lived for 12 years on these drugs. Who knows what new treatments are around the corner?"

The star beat breast cancer in 2010, but now the disease has returned and spread to her brain, lungs, liver and bones.

Bernie in September 2010 when she first fought breast cancer

The first warning sign came in the summer when Bernie spotted a lump on the same side of her chest as she had her mastectomy two years ago.

A biopsy was carried out and a week later she learned the bad news.

Her surgeon told her and her husband, Steve Doneathy, it was likely they would need to remove the lump, and a course of radiotherapy would follow.

She told the newspaper. "I didn't even cry. I think I was in shock a bit, and I was angry."

Bernie, who is touring in the musical Chicago until December, kept the news to herself but an appearance on ITV1's Daybreak earlier this month put her under further pressure to go public.

Now, two weeks after explaining the full situation to her daughter, she felt the time was right to speak.

The singer, who also acted in The Bill and Brookside, will finish her run with Chicago and, after one day off, starts the panto Sleeping Beauty in Eastbourne.

However, a planned tour by The Nolans, due to start early in 2013, has been postponed.

Her sisters Anne and Linda have also suffered breast cancer and each has beaten the disease.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More