British Runaway 'Feared Kidnapped In Spain'

A British man who fled to Spain is believed to have been kidnapped by men posing as police officers.

Francis Brennan left the UK ahead of a sentencing date last October for an assault he committed in the Thames Valley area in 2012.

He was last seen in Alicante on January 24. He was in a friend's car when it was stopped by several men who posed as police officers.

The 25-year-old's parents, Carl and Janet, have appealed for information about his disappearance.

"We got a call from one of his friends and his girlfriend back in January to say that Francis had been arrested on January 24 but we later learnt from the Spanish authorities that this was not the case and that he had been taken against his will," they said.

"This has come as an awful shock to us as Francis is our only son and we can still remember him as a fun-loving child who was football-mad in a football-mad family who loved nothing more than playing out with his friends."

They said they pleaded with their son not to leave the country, but he did not listen.

"He told us not to worry and that he would be home after Christmas," they said.

Mr Brennan went missing in Alicante

Mr Brennan's girlfriend, Sophie Staunton, went to Alicante in December to try to persuade him to return home.

"Francis met Sophie, his lovely girlfriend, in 2012 and he seemed to start to grow up and they seemed very settled and happy," Mr Brennan's parents said.

"Sophie went out to Javea in December to try and persuade him to come home but then last month he disappeared and none of us know where. This whole thing has devastated all of us."

Detective Superintendent Richie Carr, from Merseyside Police, said: "Francis's disappearance is completely out of character and because of this, as well as his associations and lifestyle, ourselves and the Spanish police are extremely concerned for his safety.

"We do however believe he has been taken against his will and we and his family are hopeful that someone in the criminal fraternity here in Merseyside has information that could help bring about the safe return of Francis."

:: Anybody with information should call Merseyside Police on 0151 777 8520 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Floods Fund: £2m To Support Tourism Firms

Tourism businesses affected by the recent flooding are to get a £2m boost from the Government.

Culture Secretary Maria Miller says the money will fund experts who will visit affected areas and offer practical advice to tourism firms such as how to access business support measures.

The advice sessions will be hosted by VisitEngland and run throughout March.

The fund comes on top of  the £10m set aside by Prime Minister David Cameron last month to help flood-hit businesses generally.

Ms Miller said: "We want to help all those tourism businesses that have been affected by the horrendous floods get back on their feet as quickly as possible.

"Experts will be put on the ground to help small businesses with practical advice and communications while a bespoke Easter marketing will bring people back to the areas hit."

Welcoming the funding, VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford said: "Our message to customers is 'Business as usual'.

"Despite many areas having been affected by bad weather and some travel disruption, the tourism infrastructure is largely unaffected."

VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe said: "International tourism is worth around £1.5bn to the economies of south west England and Wales.

"We are already getting out the message that it is a great time to travel to Britain and will be intensifying that activity over the coming months."

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:: Watch Sky News' special programme 'Battered Britain: From The Air' about the effect of the recent storms on the UK's landscape on Sunday, March 2, at 4pm.

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Free Bus Services For Elderly 'Under Threat'

Free bus services for the elderly and disabled people are under threat as councils struggle to fund the services.

Funding for free, off-peak travel has fallen by 39% since 2010, according to the Local Government Association.

Councils are now being forced to subsidise free travel at the cost of other essential services, the LGA added.

Among the county councils forced to cut back on the services due to funding shortages are Buckinghamshire, Cumbria and Somerset.

Peter Box, the LGA's economy and transport board chairman, said: "The concessionary fares scheme provides a lifeline for our most vulnerable residents to go shopping, pick up medication, attend doctor appointments or socialise with friends. However, it is now under real threat.

"Years of underfunding of the scheme forces councils to spend millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to subsidise the scheme.

"This is now impossible with councils having to make savings while struggling to protect vital services like adult social care, protecting children, filling potholes and collecting bins."

A Government spokeswoman said: "We know that bus services are vital for many older and disabled people.

"That is why the right to free travel is enshrined in law and government provides funding to meet the cost of subsidising off-peak travel for these groups.

"In addition, the Department for Transport provides funding to bus operators to help more services run and keep ticket prices down.

"The current level of this funding is protected until 2015/16."

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Moazzam Begg Remanded Over Terror Charges

Ex-Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg has appeared in court charged with providing terrorist training and funding terrorism overseas.

The 45-year-old British citizen, from Hall Green, Birmingham, was one of four people arrested earlier this week on suspicion of terrorism offences linked to the Syria conflict.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court today alongside a woman, Gerrie Tahari, 44, of Sparkbrook, Birmingham, who also denied funding terrorism overseas.

Begg was remanded in custody and will next appear at the Old Bailey on March 14.

Both were arrested on Tuesday with two other men held on suspicion of facilitating terrorism overseas.

Begg was released from Guantanamo Bay in January 2005

The pair - a 36-year-old man from Shirley, Solihull, and a 20-year-old man from Sparkhill, Birmingham, who is the son of Tahari - remain in police custody.

Begg was held by the US government at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba for nearly three years after being arrested in Pakistan in February 2002.

He was detained on suspicion of being a member of al Qaeda before being released without charge in January 2005.

He was allowed to return to the UK where he was arrested by police before being released without charge.

Begg is a director of Cage - which campaigns "against the War on Terror" - and has always maintained that he has never been involved in any kind of terrorist activity.

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Police Investigate Leytonstone Double Murder

Police are investigating a double murder after two men were found dead in a car in east London.

Police were called to a road in Leytonstone just before 1am by London Ambulance Service after reports of two injured men in the area.

Met Police officers and paramedics found the pair, believed to be in their twenties, in a vehicle and they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Scotland Yard said an incident room has been set up in Barking and officers are working to identify the victims and inform their families.

Post-mortem examinations are due to take place on Saturday afternoon at Walthamstow mortuary.

There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.

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Triple Killer Joanne Dennehy Being Sentenced

Ditch Killer: Man Guilty Of Helping Dennehy

Updated: 6:03pm UK, Wednesday 12 February 2014

By Rachel Younger, Sky Correspondent

Two men have been found guilty of helping a female serial killer cover her tracks after three murders in Cambridgeshire.

Gary Stretch and Leslie Layton both faced a number of charges after helping Joanna Dennehy dispose of the bodies of three men she killed in Peterborough.

Stretch was also convicted of helping her try to murder two others during a 10-day killing spree last year.

The court heard both Stretch and Layton helped her to move bodies to remote parts of Fenland countryside and cover up the killings by destroying evidence.

But their defence lawyers argued they had acted under duress, out of fear that they may be killed next.

But the jury at Cambridge Crown court decided that Stretch - a friend of Dennehy who towers over her at 7ft 3 - was guilty of three charges of preventing a lawful and decent burial.

They also found Stretch - who changed his surname from Richards by deed poll in recognition of his stature - guilty of two counts of attempted murder.

Layton, who lived in the flat above Dennehy, had been charged with preventing the lawful and decent burial of two men and perverting the course of justice. The jury found him guilty on all counts.

After the verdicts, Chris McCann from the CPS said: "Joanna Dennehy is a sadistic serial killer with a fearsome personality. 

"Her accomplices not only fuelled her violence but also assisted her in these cruel crimes, by helping her dump their bodies."

In November last year, Dennehy surprised even her own defence barrister by pleading guilty to murdering three men in Peterborough and attempting to kill two other men in Hereford.

Her victims were Lucasz Slaboszewski, 31, John Chapman, 56, who lived in the same flats as Dennehy, and Kevin Lee, 48, her landlord and lover.

They had all been stabbed in the chest.

Mr Lee's body was the first to be found in a ditch by the A16 near Newborough.

The father-of-two's family said after the verdicts: "This has been an incomprehensibly difficult time for all the family as we try and come to terms with what has happened to Kevin.

"Nothing is the same now. This tragedy has shaken our lives to the core and we are devastated about how Kevin's life came to an end."

The bodies of Mr Slaboszewski and Mr Chapman were discovered four days after Mr Lee's. They were dumped in a field in Thorney outside Peterborough.

Dennehy also admitted the attempted murders of Robin Bereza and John Rogers, who she randomly selected and stabbed in the street in Hereford as they were out walking their dogs.

Both survived, despite horrific stab wounds.

Stretch was accused of helping her to choose her victims as they drove around Hereford while on the run from police.

During the three-week trial the jury was shown shocking "selfie" photos taken as Dennehy prepared to find more victims.

In one she is seen brandishing a large jagged knife, in another she is standing in a provocative pose while showing off the self-harm scars on her stomach.

The court heard how Dennehy had refused to answer any questions from police.

However psychiatric tests found that Dennehy suffers from paraphilia sadomasochism, or gaining sexual gratification from harming others.

She is currently being held at Bronzefield Prison in Surrey. The 31-year-old had boasted to friends that she had carried out the murders, called Stretch and said "oops, I've done it again" and jumped around in delight at seeing her face on the news.

She also compared herself and Stretch to Bonnie and Clyde, the notorious American crime couple.

A third man Robert Moore, 56, of Peterborough, has already admitted assisting an offender, by providing Dennehy with somewhere to stay. All four are likely to be sentenced later this month.

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Broadcaster Stuart Hall Denies 15 Rapes

Veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall has denied 15 counts of rape and five indecent assaults at Preston Crown Court.

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Warning First Class Stamp Could Cost £1

First class stamps could soon cost £1 each, according to a new campaign group that opposes Royal Mail privatisation.

Save Our Royal Mail (SORM), set up by groups representing the countryside, the elderly, small firms and the blind, has urged the Government not to "rush headlong" into a sell-off.

It fears a spiralling of prices if stamps are no longer regulated and became eligible for VAT.

SORM has also warned that privatising the Royal Mail could lead to fewer deliveries in the countryside and "rocketing" costs to small businesses.

The claims come a day after Sky's City Editor Mark Kleinman revealed Mark Russell would take the helm of the stepped-up plans of the £4bn privatisation of the Royal Mail.

The campaigners warned that free postal services for the blind would also be under threat, a freepost service to British forces could be scrapped and the Royal Mail's iconic red pillar boxes could be lost.

Campaign Director Mario Dunn said: "Save Our Royal Mail is a broad-based and growing campaign.

"We want to take our message to the politicians - do not rush headlong into a sell-off if you cannot guarantee a privatised Royal Mail will constrain its prices and provide these services at their current level."

Sorm has warned of a risk to the iconic red mail box

However, a Royal Mail spokesman downplayed concerns of change and said: "Stamp prices, whether set under public or private ownership, are subject to significant competitive pressures.

"Customers have many alternatives to the post and there are now many postal providers. It is pure speculation to suggest that stamp prices could reach £1 in the next few years - in fact in 2013 there was no increase in the price of first class or second class stamps."

"Clearly, the rules governing the implementation of VAT are a matter for HMRC, not Royal Mail.

He added: "VAT exemptions for core postal service delivery products such as stamps, by universal service providers (USP), are in place in the vast majority of EU countries under the European VAT Directive.

"Under the Postal Services Act 2011 Royal Mail is the USP in the UK. The VAT exemption would apply regardless of whether Royal Mail was in public or private ownership.

"Similar VAT exemptions are in place for universal service providers in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. In each country the USP is privately owned."

A Department for Business spokesman added: "Royal Mail will continue to be the designated universal service provider regardless of its ownership.

"An ownership change would not, therefore, trigger a change in the current VAT exemption which applies to first and second class stamps as part of the one price, anywhere service."

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'Boiler Room Fraud' Smashed In Police Raids

Suspected fraudsters who led extravagant lifestyles like Leonardo DiCaprio's character in hit film The Wolf Of Wall Street by conning victims out of millions of pounds have been targeted in an international clampdown.

Police swooped in a series of raids stretching from London and Barcelona to the US and Serbia in a move to smash the so-called boiler room fraud, where investors are duped into buying worthless or non-existent shares.

A total of 110 alleged fraudsters were held in what was one of the biggest anti-fraud operations ever staged.

To date, 850 British victims, many of them pensioners and one of whom killed themselves after being defrauded, have been identified.

They lost a total of around £15m - ranging from between £2,000 and £500,000 per person - but police believe this figure is only "the tip of the iceberg" and suspect thousands more people may have been duped.

A suspect's lavish home in Marbella, Spain. Pic: City of London Police

The operation, which was two years in the making, saw 40 officers from City of London Police join 300 of their Spanish counterparts from the Policia Nacional to target a number of organised crime gangs.

It aimed to take out criminal kingpins, as well as scores of conmen who work for them, including lawyers, money launderers and financiers.

The alleged fraudsters spent their ill-gotten gains on sports cars, designer watches, drugs and prostitutes.

One of the suspects was believed to have been paying £40,000 per month to rent an apartment.

An Aston Martin and Ferrari were among the cars seized by police, along with various watches and £500,000 in cash.

One suspect wrapped watches around his slippers

The raids took place earlier this week, but can only now be revealed after a reporting ban was lifted by a Spanish judge.

Speaking near the site of one of the searches in Barcelona on Tuesday, City of London Police Commander Steve Head said: "You see real victims in real communities whose lives have been devastated. Savings that they thought they could rely on in their old age have gone in a heartbeat."

He added: "These people have no conscience in terms of what they do to people's lives. This is not at all a victimless crime. We've seen lives that have been utterly devastated.

"We have dismantled an international network of fraudsters. Make no mistake, this will make a difference to the ability of fraudsters to operate at this level.

"This network has been dismantled, hopefully we have sent a message to those who think that it's an easy crime that it doesn't matter where you are, we will come after you."

Expensive cars including a Ferrari and an Aston Martin were confiscated

In total, the international team executed 35 warrants on offices from where the fraud is said to have been run, as well as the alleged criminals' luxury homes.

The operation closed down 14 boiler rooms in Spain, two in the UK and one in Serbia.

As well as the fraud, the gangs were also allegedly involved in drug dealing, money laundering and gun crime.

Most of the suspects targeted are British and a main group is expected to be extradited back to the UK to face trial.

Commissioner Jose Luis Andre Vega from the Spanish national police, said: "This sort of crime knows no frontiers or boundaries. It's important to investigate this sort of organised crime on an international level."

Of the 110 arrests, there were 84 in Spain, 20 in the UK, two in the United States and four in Serbia, with most of the suspects arrested on suspicion of money laundering and fraud offences.

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IRA Letter Scheme A 'Murky Deal', Says Robinson

Northern Ireland's First Minister has labelled the Government's handling of so-called on-the-run Republican terror suspects as a "murky deal" with Sinn Fein.

Peter Robinson's comments come amid a row over whether letters sent to nearly 200 alleged IRA fugitives as part of the ongoing peace process provided them with immunity.

The writing of state-sanctioned letters, which effectively granted immunity from arrest, led to the collapse of the trial of John Downey, who was suspected of involvement in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing.

The scene of the 1982 Hyde Park bombing

Addressing the Northern Ireland Assembly which has been recalled to debate the controversy, he said: "Let me make it clear that this British government and Sinn Fein scheme is and was wrong.

"Many people considered it had the impact in the Downey case of providing an effective amnesty."

Mr Robinson said the "secret letters" scheme exposed to the full glare of public attention a process that had been agreed well over a decade ago between Sinn Fein and the British government.

He said he believed only Sinn Fein was aware of an "administrative process and a provision of letters of comfort" to on-the-runs.

And in response to claims by Sinn Fein that the Democratic Unionist Party had "manufactured" a crisis, he told the Stormont assembly the "outrage" was "not synthetic".

"It was on outrage felt by victims, by those within the political process, that they had been bypassed by the British Government and Sinn Fein," he said.

Hyde Park bomb suspect John Downey

In reference to Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement on Thursday of a judge-led inquiry into the arrangement, Mr Robinson said the full investigation could not be "a paper exercise".

He said it needed to "get at the truth of all that went on" in order to restore public confidence  - which he said had been "seriously damaged by this murky deal".

Mr Robinson said the issue raised a number of fundamental issues which demanded answers.

"We want to find out who knew what and when about letters being made available to on-the-runs," he said.

"We want to know what happened in the Downey case, never happens again.

"We want to be sure that those who are the recipients of these letters cannot rely on them to avoid questioning or prosecution, or on the basis of information or evidence that is now or may later become available."

Mr Cameron has said the independent judge appointed to oversea the inquiry will have "full access to Government files and officials" and would report by May.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers

Earlier, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers conceded there was "grave concern" about the way the scheme, created by the previous government, was operated.

But she reiterated her pledge that the so-called "amnesty" letters would not prevent suspects from being "questioned or prosecuted".

She told Sky News: "The reason why the judge decided that the trial couldn't go ahead in John Downey's case is that he was sent a letter that was misleading.

"The letter said that police in Northern Ireland didn't believe that Mr Downey was wanted for offences in Northern Ireland or anywhere else in the UK. Unfortunately it turned out at the time that they knew he was wanted by the Metropolitan Police in relation to the Hyde Park bombing.

"It was that inaccuracy in the letter that went out which caused the problem with the trial.

"But the letters themselves do not confirm immunity and that is what I have made very clear."

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Net Migration To UK Rises By 60,000 In A Year

An extra 60,000 long-term migrants arrived in the UK last year compared to the previous year, new immigration figures have revealed.

The data shows net migration - the difference between migrants leaving and coming to the UK - rose to 212,000 in the year to September 2013, from 154,000 during the preceding 12 months.

It comes as a blow to Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May's hopes to bring the figure down below 100,000 by the 2015 general election.

The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed some 24,000 Romanians and Bulgarians came to Britain during the same period - nearly three times the 9,000 the previous year.

Of these, around 70% came to work, while 30% came to study.

Some 24,000 Romanians and Bulgarians arrived last year

The surge is expected to spark fresh fears of an influx after restrictions barring residents from the two EU countries from coming to the UK for work expired on January 1. They are also entitled to claim benefits like other EU citizens.

Some 65,000 citizens of so-called EU15 countries - pre-2004 members of the European Union - arrived to work in the UK in the year to September, an increase of 23,000 when compared to the previous year.

However, the number of people arriving from non-EU states fell significantly to 244,000 in the period, down from 269,000 the previous year.

The ONS said this was due to fewer New Commonwealth citizens - such as those from India - migrating to the UK for formal study.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire conceded there had been a significant rise in migrant numbers from within the EU, but insisted "successes" had been achieved in terms of migration from outside the EU.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire

He said: "Uncontrolled, mass immigration makes it difficult to maintain social cohesion, puts pressure on our public services and forces down wages for people on low incomes.

"Our reforms have cut non-EU migration to its lowest level since 1998 and there are now 82,000 fewer people arriving annually from outside the EU than when this Government came to power.

"The Government is ensuring that our controls on accessing benefits and services, including the NHS and social housing, are among the tightest in Europe.

"We cannot impose formal immigration controls on EU migrants, so we are focusing on cutting out the abuse of free movement between EU member states and seeking to address the factors that drive European immigration to Britain.

"We are building an immigration system that is fair to British citizens and legitimate migrants, that is tough on those who abuse the system or flout the law, and that ensures people come to the UK for the right reasons - to work hard and contribute to our economy and society."

He told Sky News the European Commission was now recognising there were "issues of abuse" and that the Government would continue with other EU partners to "make that case for reform".

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Organist Alan Greaves: Killer's Appeal Denied

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

A man who battered a church organist to death has had his application to appeal against his sentence dismissed.

Jonathan Bowling, 23, admitted bludgeoning Alan Greaves to death with a pickaxe handle close to St Saviour's church in High Green, Sheffield, on Christmas Eve 2012.

Mr Greaves, 68, had been on his way to play the organ at Midnight Mass when he was randomly attacked by Bowling and accomplice Ashley Foster.

Foster was sentenced to nine years for manslaughter but it is Bowling who appealed his minimum term of 25 years in prison for murder.

Jonathan Bowling (L) and Ashley Foster

Bowling has written a letter to Mr Greaves' family expressing his remorse and his legal team argued that that should form part of his grounds for appeal.

However, a panel of three judges dismissed the application and Bowling will still serve a minimum of 25 years.

The Lord Chief Justice said the original sentence was "entirely appropriate".

Mr Greaves' widow, Maureen, who showed great dignity and forgiveness following the killing, said after the original sentencing last summer: "To think that Jonathan's got 25 minimum and to think he'll probably never come out, I really am wonderfully pleased with the result."

Mrs Greaves gave a moving eulogy at her husband's funeral in which she said: "I was determined to turn aside from hatred, vengeance, unforgiveness and speaking evil towards those who had killed him."

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Rigby's Mum 'Collapsed' After Killers Brawl

Lee Rigby's mother collapsed and needed medical treatment after the dramatic sentencing hearing that saw her son's raging killers bundled out of court by guards.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale exploded with anger after judge Mr Justice Sweeney said they had betrayed Islam when they hacked the soldier to death near Woolwich barracks.

The pair were taken to their cells where they continued screaming, and the judge sentenced them in their absence.

Afterwards, Mrs Rigby said her legs "went from underneath me", and an ambulance was called.

Paramedics checked her blood pressure, before deciding she was well enough to return home.

The 47-year-old told The Sun newspaper: "This was the final insult to Lee. It was like they were jumping all over his grave.

"As they started fighting all I could think was that was how it must have been as they hacked and killed my son. I tried to block out the noises and shouting by covering my ears.

"There was so much banging and chaos. I felt so ill I thought I was going to die. I screamed out and the police rushed to protect me and my family.

"I was terrified the glass screen around the dock was going to smash and I couldn't even breathe properly.

"Even when they were dragged downstairs I could still hear them screaming.

"I don't think I have ever felt so frightened. But I was determined to see it through to the end for Lee."

Adebolajo, 29, was given a whole-life term, and Adebowale, 22, was jailed for at least 45 years.

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Doctor's Family Want Syria Death Murder Probe

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

The family of a British doctor who died while in Syrian custody say they were told unofficially that he did not commit suicide.

Dr Abbas Khan, from London, died after spending 13-months in a Syrian prison on "terrorism charges".

The Syrian regime says he hanged himself in his cell on December 16 last year.

It was just days before he was due to be released and travel home to his wife and two children with his mother, who believes he was murdered.

At a pre-inquest hearing on Thursday, Fatima Khan and her children implored the Metropolitan Police - who are investigating the death – to treat it as a murder.

Dr Khan's mother Fatima

She says the family were told off-the-record by many Syrians at the recent Geneva peace talks that Dr Khan did not commit suicide.

The hearing also revealed that investigations are partly being held up by the Syrian regime, which has so far not responded to requests from the Met Police for photographs of the scene where Dr Khan is said to have hanged himself.

Speaking to Sky News after the hearing, Dr Khan's sister Sarah said of the investigation into her brother's death: "It's clearly got a long way to go until all the evidence is collected from all parties.

"I was at the Geneva talks and spoke to many Syrians who said my brother had not killed himself."

The inquest has been adjourned until May, when another pre-hearing is scheduled to take place.

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PM Announces IRA 'Amnesty' Letters Inquiry

David Cameron has announced an inquiry into so-called "amnesty" letters sent to IRA suspects which triggered a political crisis.

The letters, which effectively granted immunity from arrest, led to the collapse of the trial of John Downey, who was suspected of involvement in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing.

The Prime Minister said there would be a judge-led inquiry into the arrangement that led to nearly 200 letters being sent to Republican paramilitaries as part of the on-going peace process.

Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson threatened to resign on Wednesday if Mr Cameron did not announce an inquiry saying he had been "kept in the dark" about a deal.

Some 187 letters have been sent out as part of the peace process - 38 have been sent since the coalition came to power in 2010 - although the applications were received before then, and the last was in December 2012.

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Co-op Hits 6,500 Staff With Job Uncertainty

The Co-operative Group has confirmed it may sell its pharmacy business, employing 6,500 staff, as part of its strategic review.

It is also looking to offload 15 farms it owns, which have an estimated land value of £49m.

The review - ordered in the wake of the financial crisis at its bank - is yet to be completed.

But a short statement on Wednesday said: "As part of the wider strategic review of all of its businesses, The Co-operative Group has decided that its farms are non-core and has started a process that is expected to lead to a sale of the business.

"In addition, it is exploring options for the future of the pharmacy business; this could include the sale in whole or part of the business."

The Co-op's Blairgowrie farm is one of 15 sites

The Co-op operates 15 farms, three in Scotland and the rest in England, covering 50,000 acres in total with an estimated land value of hundreds of millions of pounds.

The division also owns three packing sites.

They are seen as surplus to requirements because the cereals and vegetables they produce only make up a small proportion of produce for Co-op supermarkets.

The chemists business, which operates out of 750 outlets, has suffered in recent times amid Government attempts to reduce its prescription costs.

The group ordered the strategic review after a huge £1.5bn capital black hole emerged in its banking arm, resulting in control passing to bondholders including US hedge funds.

The problems at the bank are currently subject to a number of inquiries.

The scandal also brought the appointment of Paul Flowers, now ex-chairman of the bank, into the spotlight amid questions about his lack of banking experience.

Just nine days ago the Co-op Group launched an online poll to help shape its future, admitting the mutual had lost touch with its customers and members.

Group chief executive Euan Sutherland said it would listen to suggestions and the results would feed into the strategic review.

The Co-op operates a wide variety of businesses, including supermarkets and funeral services.

Its 2013 results - due to be released in late March - are expected to confirm growing losses.

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Attorney General Looks Into Punch Jail Sentence

The Attorney General is considering referring to the Court of Appeal a jail sentence over a punch which left a man dead.

The four-and-a-half-year sentence, handed down to Lewis Gill, 20, from Bournemouth, may have been unduly lenient, Attorney General Dominic Grieve's office said, after receiving complaints.

Only one complaint is required to trigger the process.

Mr Grieve has until March 21 to decide whether or not to refer the case.

Lewis Gill, from Sutton, Surrey, pleaded guilty to manslaughter

Andrew Young, 40, died after falling to the ground when he was punched by Gill in November last year.

Gill was an acquaintance of the cyclist to whom Mr Young spoke about riding on the pavement.

CCTV cameras recorded the attack outside a Tesco Metro store, with the footage showing Mr Young talking to the cyclist and then being punched by Gill as the cyclist walked away.

Mr Young, who suffered from Asperger's syndrome, died the next day in hospital.

The victim's family have described the sentence as an "absolute joke".

Mr Young's mother, Pamela, told the Dorset Daily Echo that her son's illness affected his social skills.

"He was very precise and particular because of his Asperger's, and he wouldn't have liked seeing someone riding a bicycle on the pavement because it was dangerous," she said.

She wished the "awful man" had pleaded not guilty so he could have faced a longer sentence after a trial, she added.

Detective Inspector Marcus Hester, of Dorset Police Major Crime Team, said: "This was a violent attack on an innocent man which had a tragic outcome.

"This case shows that violence does not resolve anything and can have far-reaching consequences not imagined at the time.

"Criminal behaviour such as this will not be tolerated and we are committed to bringing offenders to justice." 

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Cameron Criticised On Flood Defence Spending

The boss of the country's biggest insurance firm, Legal & General, has told Sky News he is concerned about a lack of spending on flood defences.

As the industry faces Government pressure to pay out quickly on the costs of the winter storms, Nigel Wilson also spoke out against policy on home building in flood-prone areas.

He said: "We've had a housing policy that has encouraged too much building in flood plains area. And we've been on and on about this.

"There's an issue in the UK. We're not building enough and where we're building them is in the wrong place.

"So we've got a multi-phased approach in actually increasing housing supply.

L&G is facing a multi-million pound flood bill

"The Government needs to focus much more attention on housing supply and where that supply is."

He was speaking hours after David Cameron's boast that flood defence spending will increase under his leadership was contradicted by the UK's statistics watchdog, which claimed the budget had actually been cut by £250m.

Sir Andrew Dilnot, head of the UK Statistics Authority, called on the Government to publish its real-term figures "in the public interest."

Mr Cameron claimed at Prime Minister's Questions that spending between 2011 and 2015 would be higher than in the previous four years under Labour.

The results of the wettest winter on Met Office records

But Labour leader Ed Miliband accused him of using "phoney figures".

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson went further, saying the Government is "providing more than any previous government in this spending review".

The discrepancy stems from the Government including money spent by private firms and other third parties in its figures.

Flood defence spending was £2.37bn between 2007 and 2011, according to House of Commons library figures.

The Army was called in to help tackle the rising waters

Between 2011 and 2015 it will be £2.34bn - a £247m cut in real terms.

Sir Andrew believes the House of Commons numbers are more credible than those being stated by Mr Cameron and his colleagues.

He said: "We agree with their finding that, as of January 2014, government funding for flood defences was expected to be lower in both nominal and real terms during the current spending period than during the last spending period.

"Our analysis also supports the conclusion that the statement 'over the current spending review period, more is being spent than ever before' is supported by the statistics if the comparison is made in nominal terms and includes external funding, but is not supported by the statistics if the comparison is made in real terms or if external funding is excluded."

Labour and Friends of the Earth say the cuts contributed to the damage endured across swathes of the country this winter - and the issue will be debated by MPs on Wednesday.

Mr Paterson has already apologised for "any offence" caused by his flood defence spending claims, but denied there had been any "manipulation of figures".

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Figures on flood defence spending are published. The Government is spending £2.4bn on flood management and protection from coastal erosion which is more than ever before.

"The Prime Minister also recently announced £130m extra for flood defence repairs following the extreme weather."

All this comes as the Institution of Civil Engineers called on Chancellor George Osborne to use next month's  Budget to return spending on flood risk management to pre-2010 levels.

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Woolwich: Lee Rigby Murderers Being Sentenced

The two men who murdered soldier Lee Rigby are being sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, ran the soldier down before hacking him to death in Woolwich last year.

The pair were convicted of the murder in December, but Mr Justice Sweeney delayed sentencing until after a key appeal court ruling last month that whole-life tariffs can be used by UK judges.

As sentencing began, Adebolajo refused to stand as his name was read out and Adebowale remained seated to confirm name.

Fusilier Lee Rigby was murdered last May

Victim impact statements were read out to the court, including one from Lee's widow. Rebecca Rigby.

"I was also suddenly living in the public gaze," she said.

"I couldn't go anywhere or do anything. I felt like I didn't want to go on. I saw people nudging and looking at me if i walked down the street.

"I know my son will grow up and see images of his dad that no son should have to endure and there's nothing I can do to change this."

Adebolajo's barrister, David Gottlieb, told the court: "However shocking and terrifying a crime, a whole-life term can never be justified when the full circumstances of the offence known at the time ... show that the offender is not so deprived of all human dignity that he has no possibility of atonement in the future."

He compared Adebolajo's extremist views to "alcoholism" or a severe "psychiatric"  illness

"Whatever his expressed views or wishes, he's not somebody who's incapable of change," he added.

Heated protests took place outside the court, with one group heard chanting: "There's only one Lee Rigby."

During their trial, Adebowale, from Greenwich, south-east London, offered no evidence in his defence, but Adebolajo, from Romford, Essex, gave a rambling testimony during which he told the jury he loved al Qaeda.

He claimed the pair were "soldiers of Allah" and had carried out the killing as revenge for abuse of Muslims abroad.

More follows...

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Mid Staffs NHS Trust To Be Dissolved, Says Hunt

The NHS trust where hundreds of patients were found to have died needlessly will be dissolved, the Health Secretary has said.

Jeremy Hunt has announced that Stafford and Cannock Chase Hospitals would retain 90% of patient visits but they would now be operated by neighbouring NHS trusts.

In a partial victory for campaigners supporting Stafford Hospital, Mr Hunt suggested the hospital could keep its consultant-led maternity service depending on an NHS England review.

It had initially been recommended the maternity unit should be closed and then that it should be downgrade it to a midwife-led unit.

Up to 1,200 people were found to have died unnecessarily at Stafford Hospital between 2005 and 2008 in one of the biggest NHS scandals.

An inquiry into the number of deaths at the hospital carried out by Robert Francis QC last year found there had been "appalling and unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people".

Frank Robinson's son John died after misdiagnosis at Stafford Hospital

Patients there were found to have been left in their own faeces, given the wrong medication and were so thirsty then drank water from flower vases.

The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust has been in administration since April and administrators had recommended to Mr Hunt that it was neither clinically nor financially viable.

In his statement Mr Hunt said: "Local people suffered too much for too long under a system which ignored appalling failures of care in their local hospital.

"They now deserve to know that same system has learned the lessons and is guaranteeing high-quality, safe services for local people. The proposals I am accepting today will provide just this."

The statement said: "I want Stafford to be a proper district hospital that continues to meet the needs of patients nearby, including for emergency care and births."

Stafford Hospital will now be under the control of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and Cannock will be run by the Royal Wolverhampton Trust.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt

Sue Hawkins, of campaign group Support Stafford Hospital, said of the proposal to keep consultant-led maternity services: "Well, it's something - it's a start.

"What I would say is that you can apply equally the same argument of patient safety used to justify that re-think to paediatric care, so we would ask for the downgrade of paediatrics to be re-considered as well."

She said that because of the scrutiny in the wake of the scandal, Stafford Hospital had now become one of the safest and best in the country.

Heath union chiefs said it was vital that neighbouring trusts were given the finances to deal with the new responsibilities to provide care at the hospitals.

Christina McAnea, head of health for Unison, said: "It is bitterly disappointing for the local community who have campaigned for local services and have rallied behind the hospital, as well as for staff who have worked hard to turn the trust around.

"The facts show that patient care has improved massively and the staff survey, released only yesterday, showed that 73% would now be happy with the standard of care at the hospital if a friend or relative needed treatment - higher than the 65% national average."

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