Labour Badly Bruised By UKIP In Stronghold

Why The Only Way For Essex Is UKIP

Updated: 8:12pm UK, Friday 23 May 2014

By Jason Farrell, Political Correspondent

Standing by the roadside in their purple rosettes are two retired Essex men, Malcolm Elliott and Dave Morrish. They are brothers-in-law, both living in Thurrock.

One is a right-wing Thatcherite - the other a former left-wing activist who emigrated when Margaret Thatcher was in power.

They have never agreed on politics until now. Now they are waiting for their hero of the hour to arrive, Nigel Farage.

As the anticipation builds, Malcolm tells me: "I've been a socialist all my life but not anymore because nobody's listening."

"What do you think of Ed Miliband?" I ask.

"I don't frankly. I don't believe in any of them anymore."

His brother-in-law Dave agrees. "I voted Tory for 47 years. But I feel it doesn't matter if you vote Tory, Labour or the Lib Dems, what you're going to get is the EU and that's what I don't want. Renegotiation is a nonsense. Every European treaty states that it's not negotiable."

In the local elections UKIP has increased its number of seats in Thurrock from one to six, meaning the council is no longer controlled by Labour. Thanks to UKIP the Conservatives also lost control of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point and Southend: Essex man is becoming UKIP man.

As Mr Farage arrives the activists can hardly reach him for the cameras. The UKIP leader tells reporters his success in Essex does not mean he will stand for a seat here.

He also fields a number of questions about why his party failed to make the same impact down the road in London, where they only got 7% of the vote.

"We have a weak voluntary structure in London," he says. "We haven't built it. We haven't developed it. We haven't had the right local leaders. Once we get the right local Leaders we will start having results like this in London."

In previous elections this seat has seesawed from red to blue. The nearby parade of shops tells its own story of a community in decline. A pound shop, a Boots, a butcher's and a Greggs are among a row of otherwise boarded and shuttered facades. The butcher tells me that in the last five years for every shop that has closed, nothing has replaced them.

In Thurrock more than one in five children live in poverty. There has been a 200% increase in the use of food banks in recent months. If Ed Miliband's message about the "cost of living crisis" were to resonate anywhere, you would think it would be here. But instead they are more interested in what Mr Farage has to say about the EU and immigration.

In the local coffee shop I ask a group of pensioners why that is. "In this area we've swung between Labour and the Conservatives," says one man. "And what have either of them done for us? They've put their pay up 11% while our pensions have gone up 1%." There are six of them round the table and they all support UKIP.

The current MP is conservative Jackie Doyle-Price. With a shock of bleach-blonde hair and an upbringing on a Sheffield estate, she is far from fitting the Tories characterisation of Etonian established elite, and she is not someone to trot out the agreed party message.   

"There's been a definite mood on the doorstep of people saying the political classes don't speak to us anymore and if you look at the Westminster debate it's become very managerial, very bland, and along come UKIP with some populist messages and people say to themselves, let's give the main political parties a good kicking, and they have."

The overall mood is that Thurrock feels neglected and ignored by Westminster and therefore easily swept along by a new political wind. It seems, for many in Essex, the only way is UKIP.

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Sex Offenders Face Lie Detector Tests

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Editor

A thousand of the UK's most high-risk sex offenders are to undergo mandatory lie detector tests, under new measures announced by the ministry for justice today.

Probation officers are being trained in how to use polygraph examiners as part of new measures to toughen up the monitoring of convicted paedophiles and reduce the danger they pose to the public.

Don Grubin, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Newcastle University, whose company Behavioural Measures is leading the training, said: "The aim of the testing is to assist offender managers in supervising the offenders.

Dr Grubin says the tests will help the monitoring of offenders

"There is not a specific crime you are investigating, not a specific security breach, it's much more of a general tool to look at how they are behaving under supervision and to see whether there is a need to intervene."

"It's important to emphasise that nobody will be recalled because they failed a test ... polygraph testing both facilitates the disclosure of information and alerts offender managers to possible deception, allowing them to work with offenders in a more focused way."

A group of seven officers will administer the tests to sex offenders deemed at high risk of reoffending or convicted of the most serious offences, in a 12-week training programme administered by polygraph experts from the US, where use of the devices is much more common.

As well as undergoing lie detector tests every six months, the Government has also announced plans to use satellite tags and controversial libido suppressant drugs, also known as "chemical castration".

Sex offenders already have to abide by licence conditions, including signing onto the sex offenders register, adhering to exclusion zones, curfews, internet restrictions and non-contact orders.

Polygraph tests will be used regularly on high-risk sex offenders

But there are hopes that the addition of lie detector tests will help probation services better monitor the risk of reoffending.

Justice minister Jeremy Wright said: "We are determined that Britain has one of hte toughest regimes in the world for managing sex offenders, to stop reoffending and to protect victims."

According to the most recent figures there are 43,664 registered sex offenders in the UK. Reoffending rates have been a persistent cause for concern, with 13% of adults convicted of a sex offence committing further offences.

This is the first time that mandatory lie detector testing will be used by probation services across the UK, but the Government says that a pilot conducted between 2009 and 2011 in the East and West Midlands found that those who took the tests were twice as likely to admit having breached the terms of their licence or having thoughts that suggested they continued to pose a risk.

Two police forces are already are also using lie detectors for people arrested on suspicion of indecent images of children.  

But the use of polygraphs remains controversial, with some concerned about the reliability of the devices.

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Tragic Sailors: Skipper 'Dearly Missed'

The family of yachtsman Andrew Bridge say they are "deeply saddened" by the discovery of the upturned hull of the missing boat Cheeki Rafiki.

The search for the four British sailors ended at 3am UK time after a search of the capsized vessel found the only realistic means of survival had not been deployed.

Mr Bridge, the yacht skipper, was one of four men on board the boat which got into trouble on May 15.

From left: Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin

The family statement said: "Andrew will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families of the rest of the crew on the Cheeki Rafiki.

"We would like to thank everyone who's helped in the search for Andrew including the US Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard, the RAF, Merchant vessels, the yachting community and the British and American Governments."

The raft was found stored in the aft of the boat Pic: US Coast Guard

It added that they had been "overwhelmed" by public support.

US Navy divers found the boat with a missing keel and a completely flooded cabin with shattered windows, said the Coast Guard.

"A US Navy warship smallboat crew and surface swimmer captured underwater imagery clearly identifying the raft in its storage space [behind the wheel]. The image was shared with and acknowledged by the families," said a statement.

"The crew and swimmer deployed to investigate the overturned boat after a helicopter crew located it 1,000 miles offshore Massachusetts and within the US Coast Guard's search area.

The search effort involved military aircraft and ships

It had already been announced that the search would be called off in the early hours of Saturday if no signs of possible survival were discovered.

"None of the current developments" indicate the crew are still alive, said the US Coast Guard.

The upturned 40ft yacht had been found on Friday, with divers first knocking on the hull to check for signs of life.

The men's familes had campaigned for the search to go on

The families had said they were still hopeful their loved ones would be found.

Relatives of Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, said they had been told "endless stories" of people surviving for months at sea.

A statement on behalf of Steve Warren's family said it was an "incredibly difficult" time and that the search effort had been "exceptional".

The Cheeki Rafiki had been at a regatta in Antigua

The vessel ran into difficulties on May 15 and began taking on water while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

Yacht training and charter company Stormforce Coaching said it had been in contact with the skipper at the time, and that the crew were keeping the situation stable.

The original search was halted after 53 hours amid bad weather but resumed on Tuesday after a request from the UK government and a online petition which collected more than 200,000 names.

Rescuers scoured more than 21,000 square miles of ocean during their second search for the boat.

Experts had agreed it would be impossible for the crew to survive outside of the life raft in cold, rough seas for more than 20 hours.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My thoughts are with the families of the crew of the Cheeky Rafiki after the sad news its hull has been found with the life-raft unused."

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Parties Reel From UKIP Election Success

UKIP's haul of seats in the council elections is up to 184 with the main parties now mulling the prospect of four-party politics in next year's general election.

Nigel Farage has said his anti-EU party is a "serious player" for 2015 after they added 167 councillors at the expense of the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats.

UKIP made gains in traditional Labour and Conservative heartlands, including strong showings in Rotherham - where it returned 10 out of 21 councillors.

It also got a big thumbs thumbs up from 'Essex Man' with a strong showing in areas such as Thurrock, Castle Point and Basildon.

However, it still does not have overall control of any council, and fared particularly poorly in London

Nigel Farage claims the 'UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse'

Mr Farage told the leaders of the main parties he would "see them in Westminster" and said the results showed UKIP had the potential to cause an "earthquake" at the general election.

"The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse," he claimed.

"If voters think we are in with a chance of winning next year, then we are."

Sky News projections suggest UKIP would only return one MP next year - its first, but the possibility of it building momentum and wooing more voters over the next year is a major headache for party leaders.

The state of play with just two councils still to announce their results

The Prime Minister conceded the Conservatives had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo.

Critics have also rounded on Labour leader Ed Miliband, saying he failed to mount a serious campaign to tackle UKIP and pointing to a series of PR blunders in the run up to polling day.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the public had grown 'frustrated'

Mr Miliband, who has promised to help families cut living costs through policies such as freezing energy prices, was accused of being out of touch when he underestimated the cost of a weekly food shop.

Labour's election was far from a disaster - it gained control of five more councils in the election - but the gains are thought to be some way from the shot in the arm the party needs to head towards an overall majority in 2015.

Another hung parliament could be on the cards if voters go the same way in 2015, with Sky projections pointing towards Labour falling short by 18 MPs.

Ed Miliband made several PR gaffes in the run-up to the election

The Liberal Democrats also had a dismal election night as voters ensured Nick Clegg's party lost control of councils in Kingston-Upon-Thames and Portsmouth.

Mr Clegg admitted the party had done badly but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

UKIP made gains in areas of Essex such as Southend, where it won five seats

With 159 or 161 councils now declared, Labour have won 3,999 seats, giving it control of 81 councils - an increase of five.

The Conservatives have 2,679 seats overall, controlling 41 councils - down 13; and the Liberal Democrats picked up 882 seats, seeing the number of councils under their control falling from eight to six.

The focus now moves to Sunday night when the count will come in for the European election.

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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Putin Brands Charles Hitler Slur 'Unacceptable'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has branded the Prince of Wales' comparing of him to Hitler: "Not what monarchs do".

Mr Putin said Prince Charles' reported comments were "unacceptable" and "wrong".

The president was talking to leading global news agencies in St Petersburg including the British Press Association ahead of elections in Ukraine on Sunday.

It is claimed the Prince made his comments in a private conversation with a Jewish museum volunteer whose family fled Nazi Germany during the war during a Royal tour of Canada.

He had been visiting the Museum of Immigration in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, to pay tribute to Second World War veterans.

Marienne Ferguson, 78, said that after telling Charles the story of how her family fled the Nazis he replied: "Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler."

When asked by the Press Association's chief executive what he thought of what the Prince was reported to have said, Mr Putin replied: "It reminds me of a good proverb: 'You are angry. That means you are wrong."'

He added: "Give my words to Prince Charles.

"He has been to our country more than once, if he made such a comparison, it is unacceptable and I am sure he understands that as a man of manners."

More follows...

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Missing Yachtsmen: 'Still Hope' As Search Ends

The families of four British sailors missing in the Atlantic say they "still hold out much hope" their loved ones will be found despite the search being only hours from ending.

Relatives of Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, said they have received strong support from the public and have been told "endless stories" of people surviving for months at sea.

They spoke out after the US Coast Guard said the hunt will be called off if the seamen are not found by midnight on Friday - 5am on Saturday UK time.

Captain Anthony Popiel said he had phoned the men's families to tell them the news.

Family members of the missing men outside the Foreign Office on Thursday

He added: "It is only after deepest consideration that we suspend active search efforts."

A statement issued by the Foreign Office on behalf of the families said they "still hold out much hope that their loved ones will be found soon".

It added: "They have received so much support from the public and the yachting community, hearing endless stories of people that have survived many weeks and months in different circumstances at sea and have drawn much strength from this.

Captain Popiel says he has informed the men's families

"They were obviously saddened to hear that the US Coast Guard will be suspending the search. But, they were prepared for the fact that this would have to happen."

Debris was found in the search area on Thursday, but Captain Popiel said none of the objects located so far match the missing yacht.

The four men were on board a 40ft yacht when it ran into difficulties a week ago while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

An initial search for the stricken vessel was called off on Sunday amid bad weather in the Atlantic Ocean, but began again on Tuesday after pressure from the men's families.

More than 200,000 people signed a petition demanding the operation be resumed and the families of the four sailors have written to US President Barack Obama to thank him for his support.

The search, around 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, includes commercial vessels as well as aircraft from the US Coast Guard, the US Air Force, the Canadian military and the RAF.

More than 17,500 square miles of ocean have been covered since the search resumed three days ago.

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Stuart Hall Jailed For Sex Assaults On Girl

Ex-broadcaster Stuart Hall has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for indecently assaulting an underage girl.

The former It's A Knockout presenter had been convicted of carrying out an attack on the youngster by a jury at Preston Crown Court.

He was found guilty last week of assaulting her when she was under 16.

Hall, 84, had earlier pleaded guilty to another indecent assault on the same girl when she was 13.

That involved an incident at a dinner party where he crept into his victim's bedroom and assaulted her.

Passing sentence, Lord Justice Turner said of his offences: "It was an act of vile bravado and horrible betrayal."

The victim sat metres away and began wiping away tears with a handkerchief passed to her, as details of the offences were again mentioned in court.

Hall was sentenced to 12 months for the offence he admitted and was given an additional 18 months for the indecent assault of which he was convicted by the jury.

Last week, he was cleared of 15 counts of rape in relation to that woman and another who claimed they were sexually assaulted by him between 1976 and 1981.

The married father-of-two is currently in prison serving a 30-month term.

He had been jailed after he pleaded guilty last year to indecently assaulting 13 other young girls, aged between nine and 17, over a 20-year period.

The ex-BBC football match commentator had not been due for release from that custodial sentence until September.

Hall will not now be eligible for release until December 2015 as the latest sentence will only begin after the end of his current jail term.

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RBS And NatWest Hit By Mobile Banking Glitch

Mobile banking services for RBS and NatWest have been hit by an IT glitch, along with an unconnected problem that affected some Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland online users.

In a statement given to Sky News, a spokesperson for RBS Group said: "Some customers may have had trouble getting into mobile banking today between 8.40am and 2.30pm.

"All services are back up and running as normal.  We apologise for any inconvenience this caused."

A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group said there was a temporary issue on Friday morning that affected mobile and online services for a small number of customers who were trying to set up payments at Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland.

The apology seen by NatWest smartphones users

A Lloyds spokesman said: "We are aware that a small number of customers experienced issues accessing payments this morning.

"The issue has now been rectified and we are working with those customers who were affected."

The RBS Group has been hit be a sequence of system-wide IT failures in the past, which affected RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank.

More recently, it has suffered 'pay day problems'  in the past, when workers expect to see funds enter their accounts.

Branch and cash machines are believed to be unaffected by the latest woes.

In its last annual results, the group said it was investing heavily in computer infrastructure to modernise its systems.

A number of banks were affected in February when workers expected funds to be deposited.

According to the British Bankers' Association, the use of mobile devices for banking services has doubled in the past 12 months.

RBS saw more than 17 million log ins in one week, through its mobile app, earlier this month.

In late December the group was hit by its fourth IT failure, after a cyber attack left online users unable to access accounts.

That followed an outage in early December, on one of the year's busiest shopping days.

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Local Elections: UKIP Makes Significant Gains

Nigel Farage has claimed his party is a "serious player" for 2015 after UKIP made significant gains in the local elections, leaving main party leaders admitting the public was voicing its discontent.

The Prime Minister conceded his party had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo.

Mr Farage forecast his party would win double the 80 seats predicted leading to claims the elections had ushered in an era of four-party politics.

A ballot box is emptied at Trinity School in Croydon

UKIP took seats off both Labour and the Conservatives in their heartlands, which was particularly damaging to Ed Miliband, who has been accused by his own party of running an "unforgivably unprofessional" campaign.

David Cameron said: "People want us to deliver. The economy is growing, we are creating jobs, but we have got to work harder and we have got to really deliver on issues that are frustrating people and frustrating me, like welfare reform and immigration and making sure people really benefit from this recovery.

"We will be working flat out to demonstrate that we do have the answers to help hard working people."

Labour lost its grip in the north and, in a serious blow, the party lost control of Thurrock, a key marginal for the General Election in 2015, to no overall control, losing two seats to UKIP.

Mr Farage said UKIP would now be "serious players" in the General Election and said the party was expecting to win double the 80 seats that had been predicted.

He said: "The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse" and added: "The idea the UKIP vote just hurts the Tories is going to be blown away by this election." 

Joey Essex may have supported Ed Miliband but Essex man voted UKIP

However, Mr Farage, who has consistently warned the local and European elections would deliver a UKIP "earthquake", admitted that the party was unlikely to be successful in London.

Ed Miliband defended the party's campaign and said people were turning to UKIP to express their discontent with the way the country is run.

He told Sky News: "I think we ran a good campaign."

He said: "I think in some parts of the country we have had discontent building up for decades about the way the country has been run and about the way our economy works and people feeling that the country just does not work for them and so what you are seeing in some parts of the country is people turning to UKIP as an expression of that discontent and that desire for change."

Mr Farage casts his vote in Cudham, Kent

Mr Miliband added that Labour would be able to provide the answer to the discontent by the 2015 vote.

UKIP made its greatest gains in Essex, where Margaret Thatcher once identified the "Essex Man", a man who moved out of London, once voted Labour but switched to the Tories.

UKIP took seats from Labour in Hartlepool, won 10 seats in Rotherham and polled more than a third of the vote in wards in big cities, such as Sunderland, Birmingham and Hull, where it previously had little or no presence.

The Camerons and the Milibands cast their votes

According to the latest Sky News projection, the results so far would give a hung parliament at the 2015 General Election, with Labour holding the largest number of MPs.

Sky's election analyst Professor Michael Thrasher said UKIP's success suggested the party would claim at least one seat in the House of Commons next year

As predicted, the Liberal Democrats suffered significant losses, particularly in Kingston-Upon-Thames where it lost control of the council after 12 years to its coaltion partners. In Portsmouth it lost control with UKIP gaining six seats.

However, the party managed to hold on in Eastleigh, where UKIP came second last year in a by-election.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg admitted the party had had a bad night but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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Glasgow's Mackintosh Building In Flames

Firefighters are tackling a serious blaze at a historic art school building in Glasgow city centre.

Crews were called to reports of a fire at Glasgow School of Art's Charles Rennie Mackintosh building at about 12.30pm, and were on the scene within four minutes according to the brigade.

Flames could be seen through the windows and smoke billowing from the roof of the building on the corner of Renfrew Street and Scott Street.

Flames can clearly be seen coming from the windows. Pic: @xdxxnx/Twitter

The surrounding area has been cordoned off.

Six fire engines are involved in the effort to bring the blaze under control, and an aerial platform is being used to try and douse the flames with a water jet.

Broadcaster Muriel Gray, a former student and current chairwoman of the school, burst into tears as she arrived and saw the building in flames.

A post on Twitter from the School of Art said: "The Mackintosh building is on fire, all have been evacuated & we will post updates as we get them. Currently setting up an incident number."

Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop tweeted: "Serious concern about fire at Glasgow School of Art."

Firefighters arrived in minutes to find the building well alight

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who is an MSP for the Glasgow region, said the blaze was "dreadful news", describing the art school building as "one of Glasgow's finest".

The listed building, designed by the famous Scottish architect and dating from 1897, is a tourist attraction in its own right.

It attracts around 20,000 visitors a year, with tours given of the building.

As well as renowned artists, former students include members of the bands Travis and Franz Ferdinand, and actors Peter Capaldi and Robbie Coltrane.

Hugh Thornhill, a second year student, said: "I was helping one of the fourth years set up their exhibit and suddenly the alarm went off. We didn't think it was anything but we had to go out and then we saw smoke coming out and realised that it was really bad.

"It got to the point where flames were coming out of the top floor.

"All that effort is gone, everyone's work on that side of the building is ruined. Even if it didn't catch fire it will be damaged extensively.

"The degree show next month is pretty much a bust now, it's sad."

Staff are arranging for locksmiths and services for students who left personal belongings and keys in the building.

Second year student Clare Reilly said: "It's not about that (keys and personal belongings), four years of work is gone for all those students, the deadline was at 5pm today.

"Even the archive and library in there will be gone.

"There's so much work and history in the building and it's gone. I've got two years to go but we might not be allowed back in."

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David Moyes Investigated Over 'Wine Bar Assault'

Former Manchester United manager David Moyes is being investigated over claims he assaulted a man in a wine bar.

The alleged altercation between Moyes, 51, and a 23-year-old man is said to have happened in Clitheroe, Lancashire, at around 10pm on Wednesday.

Moyes was having a drink with a friend in the Emporium wine bar when a "minor scuffle" allegedly took place, said Sky's Nick Martin.

Police said no one had been arrested and there are differing accounts of what happened.

The alleged incident is said to have taken place at the Emporium wine bar

They said officers were called to the venue after reports a local man had been assaulted by a 51-year-old man.

The alleged victim did not require hospital treatment, Lancashire Police said.

A spokesman for the Emporium said: "There was an incident outside the building.

"However, it did not affect any of our customers or staff and has been dealt with by the police."

The town centre bar describes itself as "half coffee shop, wine bar and brasserie; half interior design superstore", offering a "unique, intoxicating lifestyle experience".

Moyes was sacked from Old Trafford last month after a disastrous season.

He has been linked to the vacant manager's chair at Celtic and an immediate return to Champions League football.

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Madeleine Investigation 'Enters Major Phase'

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 12:46pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

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Rolf Harris 'Assaulted Mum And Daughter'

By Alex Rossi, Southwark Crown Court

A mother and daughter have told a court they were sexual assaulted by a "touchy touchy" Rolf Harris at a hardware store in Australia in 1991.

The witnesses - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - claim the indecent assaults happened at a promotion for British paint, where Rolf Harris was appearing as a star guest.

The daughter told Southwark Crown Court he first asked her for a hug and then touched her left breast and bottom before laughing out loud.

She claimed the incident left her shocked and she later refused to draw with the celebrity.

And she said the alleged assault was: "Extremely unacceptable, by a man old enough to be my grandfather."

The court was told the witness, who was 15 or 16 at the time, was taken to the store by her mother because she was interested in art and had grown up watching Rolf Harris on television.

Her mother claimed Harris also assaulted her by rubbing himself up against her buttocks as photos were taken.

She told the court she looked him in the eye and called him a "disgusting creature" before deliberately standing on his foot to make him stop.

The pair both appeared by video link from Australia. They were called as character witnesses for the prosecution.

Rolf Harris denies 12 counts of indecent assault. The trial continues.

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Cricket Match-Fixing Charges For Two Players

Two cricket players are to be charged by the ECB with match-fixing offences in relation to a county game, it is understood.

Sky sources confirmed Lou Vincent and his former Sussex teammate Naved Arif will be charged with fixing the outcome of a county match.

The alleged offences occurred in a 40-over match between Sussex and Kent at Hove in August 2011.

The pair, neither of whom still play in England, face lifetime worldwide bans if the charges are proven.

Lou Vincent is already under investigation by the International Cricket Council for alleged match-fixing but this would be an England & Wales Cricket Board charge and the first case of an ECB match being fixed.

According to the Daily Telegraph, a total of more than £12m was gambled on the match through one website alone, the highest total for any match of its kind in the past three years.

The betting patterns drew suspicion at the time but were cleared by the ICC's anti-corruption unit.

There is no suggestion that any other player from either Sussex or Kent was involved.

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Ex-BBC DJ Denning Faces 41 Sex Attack Charges

Ex-Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning will be charged with 41 alleged sex attacks on boys aged between nine and 16, prosecutors have said.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Thursday that the alleged offences, which include 34 counts of indecent assault, related to 22 alleged victims between 1967 and 1985.

Baljit Ubhey, chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said: "We have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Denning to be charged with 41 offences, including 34 counts of indecent assault.

"These date from between 1967 and 1985, and relate to 22 male complainants aged between nine and 16 at the time of the alleged offending."

Denning, 73, was initially arrested in June last year as part of Operation Yewtree - the police investigation sparked by the Jimmy Savile abuse claims.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Denning was one of Radio 1's launch team in 1967 after working as an announcer on BBC2 and as a music producer.

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Home Secretary Cuts Police Federation Funding

The Home Secretary has said the public can no longer continue to fund the Police Federation when it has vast reserves of its own.

Theresa May told the Police Federation annual conference that funding would be cut from August because it was "not acceptable" for it to continue when the organisation had tens of millions of pounds in its reserves.

Mrs May had already said spending would be reduced from £320,000 to £190,000 each year but has now said it will be cut completely.

In a bruising speech, Mrs May listed a string of controversies faced by the police, including the Plebgate row, involving misconduct over the investigation into the Downing Street incident involving the former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell, and the Hillsborough report.

She said: "If there's anybody in this hall who doubts that our model of policing is at risk, if there is anybody who underestimates the damage recent events and revelations have done to the relationship between the public and the police, if anybody here questions the need for the police to change, I am here to tell you that it's time to face up to reality."

The Plebgate affair has damaged the police, said Mrs May

Mrs May said that if the Police Federation did not accept reforms recommended by Sir David Normington then "we will impose change on you."

Her speech was greeted by silence from officers.

During a question and answer session that followed one officer, who had served for 21 years, told the Home Secretary: "I've never had such an attack and a personal kicking from what you said there.

"You're threatening to bully us."

Mrs May told the Federation a third of the public no longer trusted officers to tell the truth as a result of a number of high-profile scandals.

She added that it was "not enough to mouth platitudes about a few bad apples".

In January, a report commissioned by the former chief civil servant at the Home Office, Sir David Normington, found the organisation was riven by deep divisions between leaders.

It also found there was "a culture of secrecy" over finances with £64.5m held in reserve and a number of local branches refusing to give details of accounts where funds were held.

Police Federation chairman Steve Williams

The report warned that the organisation, which represents 124,000 rank and file officers, must reform.

As well as cutting funding, Mrs May said officers would no longer automatically become members of the Police Federation but would now have to actively opt in.

Outgoing chairman of the Police Federation Steve Williams blamed the media for the increasing hostility to the Police Federation, saying there had been "negative story after negative story".

He told officers: "And while the good deeds of our members are occasionally rightly reflected in the local media, a focus on your efforts and the efforts of Fed reps across the country has become difficult in the haze of negativity and media furore."

Mr Williams also called for a guarantee that police killers would be given whole-life sentences.

He also warned about the falling number of officers next to the increasing number of those employed by police watchdogs and added: "If this trend continues we will have more people watching those policing, than those actually doing it."

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Met Police Officer Sacked Over Plebgate Affair

Police officer Susan Johnson has been sacked from the Met Police for gross misconduct because of her role in the Plebgate affair.

The officer, who serves on the diplomatic protection squad, was dismissed following a misconduct hearing which found she had "breached standards of professional behaviour".

The investigation into the altercation between the former Conservative Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell and a police officer at the gates of Downing Street found Pc Johnson had been involved in the leaking of information about the incident to The Sun newspaper.

Pc Johnson, who was not on duty at the time of the argument over cycling along Downing Street, was found to have been exchanging text messages and a phone call with someone who had then contacted the newspaper.

Andrew Mitchell at the gates of Downing Street

Mr Mitchell resigned after details of his altercation with Pc Toby Rowland on September 19, 2012 emerged in which he was accused of using the phrase "f***ing pleb", a claim he has always denied.

The Conservative MP has always claimed the Police Federation used the incident to take revenge for police cuts and had orchestrated a "stitch-up".

Deborah Glass, of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, said earlier this year: "The patchwork of evidence from emails, text messages and telephone calls does not suggest an organised conspiracy to bring down a cabinet minister.

"But there was clearly collusion between certain officers to, as they saw it, blow the whistle on bad behaviour toward one of their own, which ultimately had the same effect."

Pc Keith Wallis was jailed for lying about the Plebgate affair

Pc Keith Wallis, another diplomatic protection officer, was jailed in February for lying about witnessing the heated exchange.

Pc Gillian Weatherley, who was on duty on the day of the incident, was sacked last month for leaking information to the press. She sent a picture of an email sent by Pc Rowland to his bosses to The Sun.

Following the jailing of Pc Wallis, Met Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe apologised to Mr Mitchell and to the public for the officer's behaviour.

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Rolf Harris 'Victim' Gets Timeline Wrong

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

A woman who claims she was indecently assaulted by entertainer Rolf Harris in a pub has told a court she got her "timeline wrong".

Tonya Lee, 43, had said the veteran entertainer molested her twice just hours after she arrived in Britain on a youth theatre tour from Australia.

She claimed the incident happened in a London pub in 1986 on her first day in the country when she was 15, but defence barrister Sonia Woodley QC produced an itinerary that suggested she was wrong.

Ms Woodley read out to Southwark Crown Court details of the tour which started in London and went on to Birmingham, Liverpool and Scotland.

She added that at the end of the tour there was a "celebration" dinner with Harris in a Greenwich pub just before the party returned to Australia.

Ms Woodley said the itinerary proved Ms Lee was wrong in saying she had been assaulted by him in the pub at the start of her six-week visit.

The alleged victim, a mother of three, responded: "I know the incident happened. This happened almost 28 years ago. There is fault about my timeline but what happened, happened.

"My dates are wrong but I know what happened."

She added the incidents remained "clear" in her mind.

A photo of Tonya Lee released by the Metropolitan Police

Ms Woodley asked her how she could have said in her evidence the tour was "tainted" by what she claimed took place and that she "threw up for the rest of the trip".

After a long pause Ms Lee, 43, said: "I don't know, maybe I was nervous about being away from home."

Ms Woodley suggested that she was ill and lost weight because she "didn't like English food".

The witness also admitted that at the time she sold her story to the Australian media for $60,000 (£33,000), she owed $10,000 (£5,500) to the tax authorities.

But she insisted "money was not the motivating factor", adding she just wanted to tell police what she claimed happened to her with Harris.

She denied prosecution suggestions that she "spiced up" her story in order to secure a more lucrative deal with Australian media.

Finally, Ms Lee was asked why she had given evidence and said she was "forever grateful for the opportunity" to speak.

In tears, she added: "It takes people like myself to speak out, to help others that have suffered, to give strength to others.

"What I do know is that nobody has a right, no matter who they are, to subject something to somebody that is unlawful, wrong. There is an age of consent for a reason."

Harris, 84, is accused of three indecent assault charges against Ms Lee and nine other allegations, all of which he denies.

As she gave evidence Harris, who lives in Bray, Berkshire, listened and occasionally passed notes to his defence team.

Harris has had a 50-year career in entertainment and was again supported in the public gallery by his wife Alwen and other family and friends.

The trial continues.

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Missing Yachtsmen: Coastguard Steps Up Search

The sister of one of the four sailors missing after their yacht capsized in the Atlantic Ocean believes there is every chance he will be found alive.

Kay Coombes, the sister of Steve Warren, also spoke of her relief that the search for the crew of the Cheeki Rafiki, which was returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua, had resumed after a public campaign.

The US Coast Guard in Boston is coordinating the hunt. Pic: US Coast Guard

She was speaking as the US Coast Guard stepped up the hunt, which now involves four ships and three planes.

A further three vessels and an aircraft are en route to the search area, about 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

An RAF Hercules is also on its way to join the hunt.

Air crews on the scene have scoured a total of 2,878 square miles since the search resumed.

The overturned hull of a yacht spotted by a cargo ship

Speaking from Somerset, Ms Coombes told Sky News: "We are all sticking together at this point. We are amazed by the public support we have had.

"We are very thankful to the US Coast Guard that they have started searching again.

"We are being realistic about what's happening but we are still hopeful at this point.

"Knowing my brother like I do - he's very very strong, physically strong, mentally strong - there's every chance he's still alive.

"We also are realistic. All we can do is hope and pray, and keep everything crossed that we can that we have a positive outcome.

Rear Admiral Dan Abel discusses the search operation. Pic: US Coast Guard

"People are out there now looking for them, so if they are out there there's a good chance they are going to be found now."

Mr Warren's daughter Laura Carpenter said: "Obviously we are so pleased the search is back on again now."

The RAF Hercules plane will begin combing the ocean on Thursday and will be able to search for up to four hours at a time.

Mr Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, were on board the 40ft yacht when it ran into difficulties.

The US Coast Guard called off the search for them last weekend after two days, but the decision was reversed after more than 150,000 people signed an online petition.

A sailor who survived for five days after being shipwrecked in the mid-Atlantic told Sky News he believes the crew are still alive.

Rory Nugent told US Correspondent Amanda Walker: "I was declared dead twice by the US Coast Guard and the US Navy and eventually got apology letters from both.

"I think human nature and these guys' desire to live will keep them alive and keep them going."

Rory Nugent was declared dead twice

The Cheeki Rafiki's crew had sent out locator beacons 1,000 miles east of Massachusetts and the Coast Guard estimated the survival time for the Britons was 20 hours after "the time of distress".

The capsized hull of a yacht was spotted by the crew of cargo ship Maersk Kure, which was assisting in the search.

But they did not attempt to climb down to the stricken vessel and insisted there were no signs of life on board and no life raft.

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Hunt For Two More On-The-Run Prisoners

Police are hunting two inmates, including a robber, who have fled from an open jail in Warrington, Cheshire.

There has been a series of embarrassing incidents in recent days where prisoners have absconded from custody.

In the latest case, Anthony Peloe and John Arnold, both from the Liverpool area, were reported missing around 10.30am on Tuesday by staff at Thorn Cross prison.

Police are warning the public not to approach the pair but to call ring 999 if they see them.

Arnold, 30, was convicted of robbery in May 2006. He was jailed for two years.

He is described as a white, around 5ft 11in tall, and slim in build.

He has brown hair and brown eyes and may be wearing prison issue green trousers.

Dean Jackson (L) and Damien Burns also absconded this week

Peloe, 43, was convicted of possession of firearms with intent to commit harm in December 2005.

He was sentenced to three years in jail.

He is described as white, 5ft 8in, and of proportionate build. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He may also be wearing green prison issue trousers.

Superintendant Martin Cleworth of Warrington Police said: "Cheshire Police are making every effort to locate these two men including liaising with colleagues in other forces.

"They may be travelling together or separately."

On Tuesday, it emerged that an armed robber had absconded from an open prison in Doncaster along with another inmate.

Both Michael Wheatley (L) and Thomas Moffett are back in custody

Police are warning the public not to approach Damien Burns or Dean Jackson, who went missing from Hatfield Prison in South Yorkshire on Monday evening.

Burns, 39, originally from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, was serving an indeterminate sentence for knifepoint robbery handed to him in 2007.

Jackson, 27, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was on remand awaiting sentencing for what police described as "a theft-related matter".

The incident came a day after a murderer who stabbed a blind man to death was arrested after going on the run from prison.

Arnold Pickering has also been arrested after going on the run

Arnold Pickering, 44, who was jailed for life in 1991 for killing a man he wrongly thought to be a paedophile, was tracked down to an address in Oldham.

The 44-year-old had failed to return to HMP Kennet in Merseyside after leaving the Category C jail on day release on Saturday.

Another inmate, swastika-tattooed Thomas Moffett, 51, who is serving an indeterminate sentence for a number of robberies, also failed to return from day release on Saturday but was arrested on Monday night.

The series of escapes comes weeks after notorious armed robber Michael Wheatley - known as the Skullcracker - absconded from Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, while on temporary release.

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World Cup Warning To Fans Over Argentine Gangs

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

England fans travelling to the World Cup have been warned to avoid protests and beware the threat of gangs of Argentine hooligans which are thought to be targeting the tournament.

The estimated 5,000 England fans who are expected to travel to Brazil will be accompanied by a small team of British police officers who will advise the local authorities.

The UK Football Policing Unit has identified several areas of concern, including the possible presence of gangs of Argentine fans at the tournament.

The Brazilian authorities also view the gangs as a threat and British officers will try to ensure there is no overlap between them and England fans.

Deputy Chief Constable Andy Holt, of South Yorkshire Police, said: "The Brazilians are quite worried about groups and gangs coming across from Argentina, and that some of those engaged in disorder who follow Argentine football might come across.

"We'll be mindful of any crossover between troublesome Argentine supporters (and England fans) because the last thing we want is any confrontation ... given our shared history.

Belgian riot police prepare for possible clashes ahead of an Euro 2000 game

"It might be an area for some issues."

When British police first started attending overseas tournaments it was to help combat hooligans.

Improvements in the atmosphere around the England team means the focus is now on ensuring fans come home safely.

The tasks facing the six-strong team of British officers will be to ensure England fans avoid trouble and are policed "on their current behaviour, rather than on their reputation of 20 years ago".

Crime, the significant Brazilian protest movement and the threat of road traffic accidents are among the areas police say fans should be aware of.

Four officers in uniform will act as "spotters" at England games, helping interpret the behaviour of fans for the Brazilian authorities.

They will have no statutory powers, although DCC Holt said they can be a reassuring presence for supporters.

Police hope to avoid a repeat of the ugly clashes of previous tournaments

"We'll be a sort of 'cultural interpreter' for the local police," he said.

"We can say that just because our fans are jumping up and down and getting excited, it doesn't mean it's a precursor to a riot.

"Conversely, if fans are getting rowdy in a bar, perhaps we can send a couple of officers over to calm them down.

"We tend to be well received abroad if we're helping them avoid a night in the cells.

"My personal experience is that England fans abroad are appreciative of seeing a British police officer."

Police will also mount a domestic operation, with more than 2,300 people convicted of football disorder required to hand in their passports for the duration of the tournament.

Local forces will be on alert for disorder around England's games and will also take account of overseas communities that might be marking their teams' games in the World Cup.

During Euro 2012, Lincolnshire Police were caught by surprise by issues arising from the local Polish community celebrating their team's matches and officers are keen to avoid a repeat.

DCC Holt also warned domestic violence can increase during major football tournaments.

He wants forces to ensure they are able to offer an appropriate response.

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Joss Stone Murder Plot Pair Have Sentences Cut

Two men who were convicted of plotting to rob and kill the singer Joss Stone have won appeals against the length of their prison sentences.

Junior Bradshaw, 33, had his 18-year sentence cut to 10 years by three Court of Appeal judges in London. 

Kevin Liverpool, 36, who was originally given a life sentence with a minimum term of 10 years and eight months, had his minimum reduced to six-and-a-half years.

The pair, of St Stephen's Close, Longsight, Manchester, were found guilty of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to rob following a trial at Exeter Crown Court last year.

They drove from Manchester to Miss Stone's home in mid-Devon with an arsenal of weapons, including a samurai sword, to rob and kill her.

When the pair were sentenced, Judge Francis Gilbert, the Recorder of Exeter, branded Liverpool a danger to the public and said he targeted Miss Stone to get more than £1m from her.

The car the men used to drive to Devon

He told him: "You intended to rob her and kill her and dump her body in the river, according to your words, and then leave the country with your accomplice, Junior Bradshaw. You had no reason to target her except that she was a wealthy young woman as she was a successful singer."

Liverpool and Bradshaw had scouted Miss Stone's home and were on their way to attack her armed with a sword, three knives, two hammers, masks, gloves and a hosepipe when they were arrested in Cullompton in June 2011.

Giving the ruling of the court, Mr Justice Bean said it had dismissed Liverpool's appeal "insofar as it challenges the imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment".

One of the weapons found in the car

It had been argued on his behalf that the "clumsy and badly-planned" conspiracy was not so serious as to qualify Liverpool for a life sentence.

The judge said the court "cannot accept this submission". It was a conspiracy to murder using an "array of weapons", and was persisted in even after the setback of damage to their car.

He added: "When coupled with the finding that the appellant (Liverpool) poses a high risk of serious harm to the public, it leads to the clear conclusion that a life sentence was justified."

Taking into account the 22 months spent in custody before sentencing, Liverpool becomes eligible to apply for parole in December 2017.

But the judges stressed that "we are not ordering that the appellant be released in December 2017".

Turning to Bradshaw's appeal the judge said he was "of exceptionally low intellectual capacity".

As the trial judge had noted, Liverpool was the instigator and Bradshaw was the foot soldier.

Mr Justice Bean said that had he been more intelligent "he would have realised that the chances of a successful and profitable robbery were so remote as not to be worth attempting".

In light of the reduction made in Liverpool's minimum term, and the trial judge's finding "which was clearly correct", that Bradshaw was to be treated as a foot soldier, "a reduction in his sentences should likewise be made".

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SAS Sniper Nightingale Loses Gun Case Appeal

A former SAS sniper has lost his latest battle against his conviction for illegally keeping a gun and ammunition.

Sergeant Danny Nightingale's application to appeal was turned down by three judges at the Court Martial Appeal Court in London.

The 39-year-old was sentenced last July to two years' military detention, suspended for 12 months, by a military court in Bulford, Wiltshire, after being convicted for the second time.

The special forces soldier was found guilty of having a 9mm Glock pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition in the bedroom of his shared Army house.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas dismissed his application for permission to appeal, ruling that there was nothing in the grounds he wished to argue which affected the safety of his conviction.

Sitting with Mr Justice Hickinbottom and Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, Lord Thomas said there was a "considerable amount" of evidence before the court martial which "supported" the conviction.

Guns and ammunition found at Nightingale's house

He said the appeal court could not see "in any way" how his proposed grounds of appeal - the main one relating to expert evidence - would "affect the conviction".

The pistol was found in Nightingale's wardrobe and ammunition was under his bed in a plastic box. He claimed he had no knowledge of them being in his bedroom.

Nightingale, from Crewe, had pleaded not guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm and also denied possession of the ammunition.

He was originally jailed for 18 months in November 2012 for the offences, but had his sentence cut after appeal judges concluded it was too harsh.

It was reduced to 12 months suspended, resulting in his release. His conviction was then quashed in March 2013 by appeal judges and a fresh trial was ordered.

During a military career starting in 1995 he served in the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. He received a medical discharge, remaining in the Army until it commenced in February.

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Rolf Harris 'Groped Girl As She Sat On His Lap'

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Producer, at Southwark Crown Court

Rolf Harris allegedly indecently assaulted a teenage girl in a pub just hours after she arrived in Britain on a theatre tour, a court has heard.

Tonya Lee, 43, who waived her right to anonymity described how the entertainer groped her under her skirt in front of unsuspecting members of the party in the packed venue.

She described how Harris began to molest her after he had asked her to sit on his lap and tell him about herself.

Mrs Lee, who gave evidence from behind a screen despite waiving her anonymity, said she felt "petrified" and "frozen in fear" after Harris groped her again by a pub toilet.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard Mrs Lee describe how she had arrived in London in 1986, aged 15, with the theatre group as part of a tour and had met Harris at Heathrow.

Later that same day they went for dinner in a London pub where he invited her to sit on his lap, with Mrs Lee saying he said: "Come over here Tonya tell me about yourself."

She said: "One hand started to pat me on the thigh. It started on the outer thigh and he began to move his hand up my inner thigh.

"I started to panic. I was wondering what to do, how to get out of it I was confused."

Rolf Harris denies 12 indecent assault charges

Mrs Lee said she then fled to the toilet in shock and when she came back out found Harris waiting for her.

"I felt intimidated, it felt uncomfortable ... he went to give me a hug. I just wanted to get out of the situation. It was big bear hug, all encompassing, she said.

"It felt very uncomfortable and quite surreal. Things happened so quickly. He then put his hand down my shirt and made contact with my breast."

Mrs Lee added she waned to escape but was unable as he continued to grope her.

Prosecutor Ms Sasha Wass QC asked her how she felt and Mrs Lee replied: "I wanted to burst into tears. I just wanted to run. I was gobsmacked, in complete disbelief."

Mrs Lee, who also told the court she was abused by a relative when she was around four years old, said that as a result of what happened she lost her appetite and later developed bulimia.

Three of the 12 indecent assault charges that Harris, of Bray, Berkshire, faces relate to Mrs Lee and as she testified he listened carefully from the dock.

The veteran entertainer denies the charges, which date between 1968 and 1986, against four women aged between seven and 19 years old.

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Missing Yachtsmen: Coastguard In New Search

The US Coastguard has resumed the search for a yacht that is thought to have capsized with four Britons on board.

News emerged of the decision after more than 150,000 people signed an online petition, demanding the hunt was relaunched.

The search for the missing Cheeki Rafiki, which ran into difficulties in the Atlantic Ocean, around 620 miles (1,000km) east of Cape Cod, was called off after 53 hours.

An overturned hull of a yacht matching the description of the vessel was spotted and photographed by a cargo ship assisting the search.

And the families of the four yachtsmen - Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin - insist they would have had time to escape onto a life raft.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "My thanks to the US Coastguard, which has resumed its search for our missing yachtsmen."

It has also been confirmed that Foreign Office minister Hugh Robertson and representatives of the US Coastguard are due to meet relatives of the four men.

Mr Warren's sister, Kay Coombes, told Sky News: "I was on the phone to the US Coastguard and I was quite firm with them and asked to speak to somebody that could help me (and who I could ask) why they weren't searching.

"I was put on hold for a few minutes and they came back to say they had decided to start searching again.

"They said to me a plane would be in the air within the hour and also that they were also talking to the air force and the Canadians to see what resources they could spare.

"People-power has been amazing. We've moved a mountain today."

Mr Bridge's grandmother, Valerie, said: "We are delighted. It is at least something and that is all we were asking for, all we wanted was another search.

"It might not come to anything but people want them to do it and they are trying. It seemed too quick, just two days and we were saying 'if only they could do it (search) for a bit longer'. You never know what could happen."

More follows...

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Rolf Harris 'Tongue-Kissed Poorly 11-Year-Old'

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Rolf Harris kissed a girl of 11 or 12 while she was off school "so he could be her first," a court has heard.

The woman, who is now in her fifties and cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was left "frozen" and "repulsed" by what happened.

She added that as a result she still felt "frazzled" whenever she was kissed, saying it caused her "panic attacks".

The woman, from the Northern Territory, was the first Australian witness to give evidence on day six of the trial at Southwark Crown Court.

There is no charge against entertainer Harris, 84, regarding the woman and her evidence is being used to support the prosecution's case.

The woman told the court she was assaulted in 1969 and was staying with friends when she woke up, came downstairs in her pyjamas and found Harris polishing wood.

She told the court: "He asked me how old I was and he said he wanted to be the first one to introduce me to a tongue kiss.

"I stood there. I didn't think anything. I just froze. I didn't think he was being serious. Then he walked up towards me."

Rolf Harris photographed outside court

She said Harris ran his hands up her body, bent down and kissed her.

"I was scared. It seemed to last forever but it must have been very quick. He put his tongue inside my mouth," she said.

When asked how she felt afterwards the woman replied: "I was quite repulsed, absolutely. He just stopped and then said 'look at what I have been doing'."

The woman, who has been married three times, told the court the alleged incident had repercussions in her adult life as she found it difficult to tongue kiss.

She said she went to police after reports of the investigation against him emerged.

Meanwhile, a woman allegedly groped by Harris broke down in tears as she described how Harris molested her on a dance floor.

The witness, who is in her fifties and cannot be named, said he put his hand up her skirt during a wine launch event in New Zealand's North Island in 1970 or 1971 when she was 16 or 17 years old.

Sobbing heavily the woman told the court: ''I saw the dark side of a man who I thought could be trusted. It was in a public place."

She said the day after the alleged incident she told her mother what happened and described Harris as a ''disgusting, vile, repulsive man, who had taken away any trust in the fact that he was a celebrity.''

She added: ''He violated my trust, I never thought he was somebody who could not be trusted.''

Harris, from Bray, Berkshire, listened to proceedings from the glass-fronted dock, dressed in a black suit, striped shirt and tie.

His wife Alwen was in the public gallery along with other friends and relatives.

Harris denies 12 counts of indecent assault allegedly carried out between 1968 and 1986. The trial continues.

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Woman Killed, Four Children Hurt In Stabbing

Police have launched a murder investigation after a woman was killed and four children injured in a stabbing attack.

Officers called to a domestic incident in Huddersfield found a 37-year-old woman with a "serious stab injury" and a nine-year-old boy outside the property with an injury to his arm.

The woman was taken to hospital after the attack on Sunday evening, but she later died.

The boy was also taken to hospital for treatment to his injury.

Another nine-year-old boy, a boy of 11 and a six-month-old baby girl, who were also at the address in Reinwood Road, were treated for minor injuries.

Det Chief Insp Ady Taylor said: "A 39-year-old man was detained at the scene and is being treated in hospital for serious injuries.

"We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.

"Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and Neighbourhood Policing Team officers are patrolling the area, offering support and reassurance to local residents."

:: Anyone with information is asked to contact Protective Services Crime on the non emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.

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Arnold Pickering: Killer On The Run Arrested

A convicted murderer who absconded from prison while on day release has been arrested in Greater Manchester.

It was the third time Arnold Pickering, 44, had gone on the run.

He and armed robber Thomas Moffett, 51, had left HMP Kennet in Liverpool at 9.30am on Saturday morning and were due back at around 4.40pm the same day.

Swastika-tattooed Moffett was arrested around 9pm on Sunday in Blackburn, Lancashire, for being unlawfully at large.

 Merseyside Police say Pickering was arrested at an address in Oldham at around 11.45am on Monday.

Pickering is serving a life sentence for stabbing to death a 55-year-old man, wrongly identified as a paedophile, in Oldham in 1990.

He had absconded twice earlier during his sentence, but later handed himself in again on both occasions.

Moffett had also gone missing but was arrested on Sunday

His disappearance came just two weeks after armed robber Michael Wheatley, known as "Skullcracker", absconded from Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, while on temporary release.

Michael Alcock was released from HMP Kennet after serving a two-a-half-year prison sentence. He said Pickering was asked by fellow inmates if he would abscond.

He told Sky News: "When he was asked by certain individuals, if he was going to come back he just shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

"Some of these lads don't want to be released from jail. Life is good to them in jail they don't want to be released back into the community with bills, worries and stress. They are institutionalised.

"Some people can't cope with the outside world and I personally think that's what's happened with this man."

Mr Alcock said Justice Minister Chris Grayling would be wrong to radically reform the current system because of some high-profile absconders.

"Temporary release for some people means making ties back with your family, finding work, finding re housing, resettling back into the community. 

"I've just been released today and the world is just going a million miles an hour."

Mr Grayling and the Prime Minister's official spokesman both said changes to the temporary release regime would be made "as soon as we can".

Mr Grayling told Sky News: "I don't mind the principle of somebody going out to do a day's work to get them back into the employment habit in preparation for release in a few weeks or few months' time.

"But the idea that we'd let serious criminals go and walk around town all day is simply unacceptable and that is something we're putting a stop to."

A statement issued by the Prison Officers Association said the current arrangements around open prisons involved "playing Russian roulette with public safety."

Open prisons house around 6,400 inmates, roughly 7.6% of the UK's total prison population. Figures show that of the 204 prisoners who absconded last year, 194 were being held in open prisons.

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Van Gaal 'Has Big Ambitions' As Man Utd Boss

Can Van Gaal Follow The Irreplaceable One?

Updated: 3:54pm UK, Monday 19 May 2014

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

Sir Alex Ferguson may be irreplaceable, but on the evidence of the last week, Louis van Gaal is going to give it a good try.

It remains to be seen what the man currently preparing Holland for the World Cup has planned on the field.

But in his dealings with the media, the second front for any manager, he shows all the signs of being a worthy successor.

British reporters dispatched to try and elicit a comment on United before his formal confirmation as manager found van Gaal by turns charming, evasive, astute, irascible, and downright rude.

In short, many of the qualities that made Ferguson a formidable interviewee, and an even more impressive manager.

Plenty more of this will follow when van Gaal takes up his post later in the summer, though United's owners and fans will be far more interested in his plans for the players than the press corps.

Van Gaal's record over two decades at some of Europe's leading clubs suggest he has the personality to succeed in a job which, as David Moyes found, can cow even the most confident individual.

He is a manager who expects to wield total authority and is seldom troubled by self-doubt.

Uli Hoeness, the former president of Bayern Munich, where van Gaal spent two seasons from 2009, said he thinks of himself as "God's very own father".

Hoeness, since jailed for tax evasion, may not be the best character witness, but there is no doubting Van Gaal's self-confidence.

It is built on two decades of success at the highest level.

He's won the league at every club he has managed, and shown himself capable of dealing with the world's best players.

Van Gaal's coaching career began at Ajax, where he oversaw perhaps the last great team to emerge from the Dutch giants.

The side that won the 1995 European Cup included Edwin van de Sar, Frank and Ronald  De Boer, Frank Rijkaard, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars and had Patrick Kluivert on the bench,

It is perhaps the finest crop of young players produced at any single club in the last 20 years, United's Class of '92 included.

From there he went to Barcelona, where in his first spell he twice won La Liga, but left under a cloud after falling out with, you guessed, the media.

His first spell as Dutch national coach proved his biggest failure to date.

The team did not qualify for the 2002 World Cup, unthinkable in Holland, and a disastrous second spell at Barcelona followed, after which he retreated home to rebuild his career at AZ Alkmaar before joining Bayern.

There he won the Bundesliga but that feat has been eclipsed by the achievements of the managers who followed him, Juup Heynckes and Pep Guardiola.

Van Gaal has said he serves credit for laying the foundations of Bayern's current domination. Deserved or not, no-one at United will complain if he does something similar at Old Trafford.

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Twitter User Retweeted Rape Threats To MP

A man retweeted menacing messages threatening to rape an MP after she supported a campaign to feature Jane Austen on the £10 note, a court has heard.

Peter Nunn allegedly bombarded Labour MP Stella Creasy with abuse during a campaign of "hatred", branding her a "witch".

Ms Creasy had backed a high-profile campaign launched by feminist Caroline Criado-Perez to keep a woman on a British bank note, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.

Alison Morgan, prosecuting, told the court that Nunn "embarked on a campaign of hatred in various different forms towards both women" last summer when the campaign was at the centre of media reports.

The prosecution said he began leaving offensive posts on July 29 - five days after the Bank of England revealed Austen would be the new face of the £10 note.

Stella Creasy (L) and Caroline Criado-Perez

He allegedly retweeted a message sent to Ms Creasy which read: "You better watch your back, I'm going to rape your **** at 8pm and put the video all over."

Ms Morgan said: "It is not alleged that he created the text and the threat, but for whatever reason he chose to retweet it and it is a message that is menacing in character."

Over the next day he sent a barrage of other offensive messages to the London MP using the Twitter account @protectys, it is claimed.

Later that evening he allegedly posted: "If you can't threaten to rape a celebrity, what is the point in having them?"

At 10pm that night, half an hour before Ms Criado-Perez and Ms Creasy were due to appear on the BBC show Newsnight to talk about the Twitter abuse they had endured, Nunn left another tweet branding the MP an "evil witch".

The court also heard that Ms Criado-Perez received a barrage of abuse on Twitter.

Ms Morgan said: "It is right to say that beyond the confines of this particular case, Ms Criado-Perez received a significant number of offensive tweets to her Twitter account from many different users, but including the accounts attributed to this defendant."

Nunn was arrested at his home Emersons Green, Bristol, on August 7 after Ms Creasy and Ms Criado-Perez reported his abuse.

When questioned by police he admitted retweeting messages that were violent, but said he did "to further debate".

He denies sending a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character by a public electronic network between July 28 and August 5 last year.

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Hunt For Murderer And Robber Freed From Jail

Police are hunting two men - one convicted of murder - who failed to return to prison after being let out on day release.

Arnold Pickering and Thomas Moffett walked out of HMP Kennet in Maghull, Liverpool, at around 9.30am on Saturday morning and were due back around 4.40pm the same day.

At about 7pm their disappearance was reported to Merseyside Police, who are now trying to find the pair.

Pickering, 44, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of a murder in Oldham, Greater Manchester, in 1990.

He is described as around 5ft 11in tall, medium build with blue eyes. He has tattoos on his arms and chest.

Moffett, 51, is serving an indeterminate sentence for a number of robberies carried out in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 2006.

He is described as around 5ft 10in tall, also of medium build, with brown eyes.

He has a scar on his right knee and tattoos of swastikas on his arms.

Officers say it is believed both men could be in the Southport area.

The prisoners have both been risk assessed as suitable for temporary release on licence by the Ministry of Justice, according to the Merseyside force.

Police warned the public not to approach them.

Officers are appealing to anyone with information to call Merseyside Police on either 0151 777 3803 or 0151 777 3891, or via 101.

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Nigeria Kidnappings: British Jet Deployed

The RAF has sent a state-of-the-art reconnaissance aircraft to help find the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria.

The Sentinel aircraft has a crew of five and is capable of flying for long periods at high altitude.

It is fitted with radar able to locate moving targets and offer radar imagery.

Departing from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, the plane is initially bound for the Ghanaian capital of Accra, west of Nigeria where Islamist terror group Boko Haram and their captives are in hiding.

The jet will then join US aircraft in attempting to locate the girls, who were seized from a school dormitory in the north-east of the country on April 15.

Rich Barrow, RAF Waddington's station commander, said: "The Sentinel with its wide area search capability and long endurance is perfect for this task.

"UK personnel will help to analyse the information gathered to improve the intelligence picture for the Nigerian authorities."

Foreign Secretary William Hague urged west African nations to come together to defeat Boko Haram during international crisis talks in Paris on Saturday.

And he said that in the long term, the UK and other countries would need to do more to support development in areas where Boko Haram is active.

"More will need to be done in the north of Nigeria in terms of clean water, healthcare, education and so on," he said.

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