Madeleine Police Identify New Search Area

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

The renewed search for clues into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is to move to a new area outside of Praia Da Luz, Sky News has learned.

Portuguese police have told Sky News a new dig will begin on land somewhere between Praia Da Luz and the town of Lagos on Wednesday.

The development comes as search teams appear to have discounted parts of the site in Praia Da Luz where digging has been taking place all week.

Several areas of scrubland have been filled in

Officers used shovels and wheelie bins to fill in some of the holes they dug on scrubland as the search entered its sixth day on Saturday.

Some of the small yellow flags that were placed on areas of interest within the site earlier this week were removed.

Sniffer dogs from South Wales Police are again on site with their handlers working in different sections of the scrubland.

The search, not far from the holiday complex where the McCanns were staying in 2007, will continue throughout the weekend.

The search resumed in Praia da Luz on Saturday

Meanwhile, the family of missing Ben Needham have told Sky News their "thoughts and prayers" are with the McCanns as the investigation steps up in Portugal.

Some of the experts involved in the renewed search were also deployed to the island of Kos in Greece in 2012 when South Yorkshire Police led a review into Ben's disappearance.

Ben vanished in 1991 when he was 21 months old, after his mother and grandparents moved there from Sheffield.

Speaking to Sky News, the Needham family said: "Our thoughts are with the McCanns in this search for Madeleine.

Ben Needham (left) and Madeleine McCann (right)

"We ourselves know that this sort of investigation will be a very difficult time for the family.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with them."

Officers have been allowed to continue their work through the weekend in Praia da Luz after the Portuguese authorities granted them extra time.

The resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal

Forensic archaeologists, anthropologists, dog search teams and various specialist police officers from several UK forces have been working on the site.

The Metropolitan Police has not revealed why it has chosen to search the area of scrubland or any details of what it has found so far.

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White Van Woman 'Held Back By Sexism'

By Clare Fallon, Sky News Reporter

Campaigners are calling for more help to encourage women to enter traditionally male professions, including plumbing, building and plastering.

Despite headlines about the rise of the so-called white van woman and claims a record number of females are working in the trades, industry experts say the proportion is still worryingly low. 

According to Women and Manual Trades, a national organisation which offers support to women, only around 1% of people in skilled trade occupations are female. 

Campaigners say part of the problem is sexist abuse still suffered by some women working in male-dominated professions. 

Hattie Hasan set up Stopcocks, an all-woman plumbing company, after working in the profession for more than two decades. 

She says sexist attitudes are still a problem.

"Unfortunately even after my own 25 years in plumbing things haven't changed much ... girls are still not encouraged to get into the trades.

"Firstly they're not encouraged at school. When I was at school, I just wanted the boys to fancy me, I didn't want to be a plumber and I think that's the pressure for most girls.

Hattie Hassan, who set up her own plumbing firm, calls for more role models

"The second thing is that there are not enough role models. The more female plumbers there are the more there will be because the more people see us the more they'll realise it is a possibility for them.

"There are a lot of things that people say women can't do such as carrying heavy things but health and safety rules mean even if you're a bloke you still can't carry over a certain amount of weight.

"Also I think people seem to forget that women carry babies ... and women do that on a regular basis so I don't think there are barriers where heavy things are concerned."

She added: "The barriers for women are that once women have trained where do they go? The opportunities for getting employment in plumbing are not as widespread as they used to be. It's difficult for lads coming out, but it's even more difficult for girls.

"So really the only route for them is self-employment."

However, there are signs things may improve in the future.

Training centres where construction skills are taught report an increase in the number of women enrolling. 

At Access Training in South Wales, women account for one in 10 of those signing up for courses including plastering, plumbing and electrics.

Mary Henderson swapped her admin job for plumbing

Mary Henderson quit her office job to retrain as a plumber, saying she was fed up being patronised by workmen she had hired. 

"I feel like it's a useful thing to have a trade in this competitive, career-driven industry - it just made sense.

"I used to work in admin, from when I left school, and basically I had a lot of trouble with my own bathroom ... I wanted to do something more practical so plumbing just seemed to pop out at me."

She believes there should be more encouragement for women to get into the trades.

"I don't think practical things are pushed at children leaving education  It's not gender specific, it's just something that boys tend to fall into whereas girls are pushed into the first job that comes and then it just rolls into admin.

"I think there should be more focus on school leavers. I think it's a really good thing to have a trade and it should be suggested to students because exams are forced on them and teachers can't afford to have an interest in what they do after that."

Although she is in a minority, Ms Henderson says she is content being a woman in a man's world.

"There is slight banter and it's a little less PC than what you find in an office, but to be honest I find that refreshing rather than threatening."

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Parents To Be Punished For Kids' Bad Behaviour

Parents have been warned by Education Secretary Michael Gove they will face punishments for failing to ensure their children arrive at school "ready to learn and showing respect for their teacher".

Mr Gove has vowed to raise school standards "higher than ever before" as he set out an uncompromising vision to get rid of what he believes is a culture of low expectations.

In a speech to the Policy Exchange think tank, Mr Gove insisted mothers and fathers have to take responsibility for their children's behaviour or face sanctions.

He also hit out at teachers who "set children up to fail" by refusing to think they might be intellectually curious or capable of greatness.

Mr Gove said: "We need to ensure that those parents who don't play their part in ensuring their children attend school, ready to learn and showing respect for their teacher, face up to their responsibilities.

"We will, later this year, be outlining detailed proposals to ensure parents play their full part in guaranteeing good behaviour and outlining stronger sanctions for those who don't."

Mr Gove wants to eradicate what he thinks is a culture of low expectations

Sky's Darren McCaffrey said: "One idea Michael Gove is considering is deducting money from child benefit payments from parents who repeatedly refuse to pay fines imposed through persistent truancy.

"Although initially resisted by the Liberal Democrats, the Education Secretary wants to strengthen sanctions on parents to 'tackle the root causes of truancy and misbehaviour'."

The Education Secretary's approach has seen him clash numerous times with teaching unions, which have accused him of a "personal ideological crusade".

But Mr Gove rejected suggestions his reforms are too demanding, and added his reforming zeal would not diminish.

"I believe we have to embrace reform, lean in to the future, set standards higher than ever before," he said.

Mr Gove said he knew what "real barriers to success look like".

"I spent the first four months of my life in care," he said.

"Both my parents had to leave school at 15.

"My sister spent all her school career set apart from other children who were just as bright as her in a school for children with special needs.

"And I know what setting children up to fail looks like."

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Britain Hit By Torrential Thunderstorms

Most of the UK has been hit by torrential rain and lightning strikes as severe weather warnings are issued for flash flooding.

Thundery rain swept up the country on Saturday morning, with up to 3cm (1.2in) falling in just one hour.

The UK monthly average rainfall for the whole of June is 7.3cm (2.9in).

The Met Office issued yellow "be aware" warnings for heavy rain for most areas of the UK, with only northern Scotland and the extreme Southwest of England expected to escape the downpours.

Water had to be pumped off the surface of the M60 near Stockport

Sky Weather Presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said: "Some torrential downpours are likely, especially across central and southern England and Wales, initially with frequent lightning, then northern England, Northern Ireland and southwest Scotland later.

"The intense downpours are likely to cause localised flooding in places with hail possible and gusty winds.

"Later it should improve across most of England and Wales as the rain clears, therefore becoming drier and brighter across these areas before the end of the day."

Heavy rain is forecast for most of the UK during Saturday

John Curtin, director of incident management at the Environment Agency, said: "There is a low but increased risk of flooding this weekend across the whole of England, as isolated torrential downpours are predicted.

"We are monitoring the situation closely in case things change and will have teams ready to respond 24/7."

Early arrivals at Epsom Downs Racecourse for this year's Derby experienced heavy rain before the racing began.

But despite the rain, temperatures remained warm with highs of 25C in London and the South East.

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Labour: Govt 'Negligent' On School Extremism

Labour has accused the Government of "gross negligence" for failing to address the issue of extremism in schools.

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt will make the claim ahead of the publication of an inquiry into claims that Islamist extremists tried a so-called "Trojan Horse" takeover of more than 20 schools in Birmingham.

And his comments were echoed by shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, who said the affair showed the Government did not have a proper strategy to deal with extremism.

Appearing alongside Michael Gove at an education debate hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank in London on Saturday, Mr Hunt demanded the Education Secretary appear in the House of Commons on Monday to answer questions on why he apparently did not act on warnings over the schools.

Mr Gove has denied there is a Government rift over extremism

"Michael Gove's gross negligence comes at the cost of our children's education," Mr Hunt said.

"For years he has been warned that the lack of local oversight in our school system will damage education standards.

"We are now seeing the results: schooling skewed to prevent a broad and balanced education; gender discrimination amongst staff; children exposed to extremist views.

"Michael Gove was warned of these problems in 2010."

Golden Hillock School in Spark Hill, Birmingham, is one under scrutiny

Ms Cooper said official figures showed spending on the Prevent initiative - set up to counter radicalisation - had fallen from £17m in 2010 to £1.7m last year.

She added that funding for police work tied to initiative had also fallen from £24m to £18.7m over the same period.

She said: "There is a much more serious failure by the whole Government to work seriously on preventing extremism.

"The political blame game between ministers must not be a distraction from getting such serious policies that affect our national security back on track."

Yvette Cooper said the Government has no strategy to deal with extremism

Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered an inquiry into an apparent rift between Mr Gove and Theresa May, which emerged this week after a letter from the Home Secretary was published in which she questioned the Education Secretary's handling of alleged extremism in Birmingham schools.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Extremism anywhere in society is a serious problem and we are working together across government to deal with it.

"There is no difference between the Education Secretary and the Home Secretary who are both working energetically together to tackle the challenge posed by any form of extremism."

Some 21 schools in Birmingham have been the subject of an Ofsted investigation after a letter referred to an alleged plot by hardline Muslims to seize control of governing boards in the city.

Ofsted will publish the findings of its investigation next week, but one of the schools is expected to be found as "inadequate", with its management strongly criticised by inspectors.

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Rape Convictions Boost Bid 'Not Enough'

By Frazer Maude, Sky News Reporter

A new action plan to increase the proportion of successful rape convictions has been announced by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

But it has already been criticised by one rape support group.

Women Against Rape claims not enough is being done to encourage victims to report the crimes against them.

The group said: "We're outraged to see the rape action plan announced in a press release today by the CPS and police given that they are at the same time going after women reporting rape for so-called false allegations, with more vigour and resources than we ever see them go after rapists."

In the past year there has been an overall rise in the number of police referrals, prosecutions and convictions for rape. 

But the proportion of court cases that result in conviction has fallen by 4.2%.

To try to improve conviction rates the CPS's new action plan includes:

:: Updating the joint police and CPS national rape protocol

:: The monitoring of police decisions to take no further action in rape cases

:: New practical guidance for frontline police officers and prosecutors

Announcing the new plans, Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "I am determined to ensure our long-term progress to tackle rape continues, particularly in dispelling the myths and stereotypes surrounding these types of cases.

"The new action plan makes very clear that, as with cases of child sexual abuse, the focus of any investigation and case preparation should not be on the credibility of the victim but on the credibility of the overall allegation, including the actions of the suspect."

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, National Policing Lead on Adult Sex Offences, said: "This is absolutely about helping victims of rape. This is about showing, and continuing to show, our commitment to improving the way we deal with rape."

Some estimates suggest there are as many as 85,000 rapes committed every year in England and Wales, only 10% of which are reported to police. 

One victim told Sky News there are still "myths" surrounding rape.

She said: "But I think the big problem is the prosecutors in court are still allowed to use myths, as are the defendants.

"I actually wrote to Alison Saunders after there were serious flaws in my case and I never got a response.

"I did say to her changes should begin in the justice system before you tackle the myths of the general person in the street."

When asked what she thought of the latest measures, she said: "We've heard it all before.

"I now campaign for Women Against Rape, from their history and the short time I've been there, every year or every so often we see these guidelines are going to be brought out or there's a press release saying we're going to do things better and nothing ever changes."

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Parents Arrested Over Obese 11-Year-Old Son

The parents of an 11-year-old boy who weighs 15 stone have been arrested on suspicion of neglect for allowing their son to become obese.

The man and woman, who have not been named, were interviewed under caution on the grounds of child cruelty.

The child's mother has claimed the family had been trying to get the boy to lose weight by encouraging him to play more active games on his Wii games console.

She also said her family was predisposed to being overweight.

The woman, from King's Lynn in Norfolk, told The Sun newspaper: "The idea they could take away my son scares me so much.

"His weight isn't that much of a big deal.

"I'm chubby and the whole of my husband's side of the family is big. It's genetics - you can be genetically fat."

Police have defended their decision to arrest the parents, saying officers from the child abuse investigation unit worked closely with health and social services to deal with "sensitive issues such as obesity and neglect of a child".

A spokesman said: "While it is inappropriate to comment on this case specifically, it is important to stress that intervention at this level is very rare and will only occur where other attempts to protect the child have been unsuccessful."

It is understood the arrest was made after doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn raised their concerns with officers after treating the boy, who is already known to social services.

The 5ft 1in boy has a body mass index of 41.9, which means he is classified as very overweight or obese.

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IMF Sees Housing Market Threat To Recovery

Osborne Should Heed IMF House Market Warning

Updated: 11:57am UK, Friday 06 June 2014

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

What would you like first: the good news or the bad?

Well, if you're George Osborne, the good news is that the long battle with the International Monetary Fund - the one that began last year when chief economist Olivier Blanchard told Sky News the Chancellor was "playing with fire" on economic policy - is over.

We knew as much in Washington earlier this spring, when Blanchard acknowledged that the Fund's forecasts for Britain had been overly pessimistic.

But today the saga has come to its end, with the Fund also giving the Chancellor's fiscal plans (those precise plans Blanchard had criticised) a ringing endorsement.

"The planned fiscal adjustment this year is appropriate," the IMF says in its annual survey of the UK economy - the so-called Article IV report.

This is a shift from last year, when the Article IV recommended that the Chancellor bring forward spending plans to try to boost the economy. So cause for celebration at the Treasury?

Not altogether, for there is also some bad news. The criticisms of the Treasury's tax-and-spend plans may have dissolved away, but they have been replaced with concerns of another variety: about the housing market.

Such concerns are hardly new: the European Commission already recommended earlier this week that the Government take action to prevent a housing bubble.

However, the Fund is a touch more authoritative - and more specific. Its suggestions are as follows: The Bank of England should leave interest rates on hold for the time being; it should impose limits on how much mortgage companies can lend homebuyers in relation to their incomes; it should also consider outright caps on loan-to-income levels and loan-to-value ratios.

On top of this, the Government should "consider whether [Help to Buy] should be modified or even remains necessary for the full three years of the policy. And as the volume of high-LTV transactions rises, the FPC will need to evaluate if the program is contributing to financial risks."

Like the Commission (and, well, every economist out there), it suggests that Britain needs to build more homes. However, there are no silver bullets in this enterprise, and it acknowledges that all of the above "can only be temporary palliatives to an underlying problem."

The best it can suggest is that the Government reconsider "unnecessary constraints on brownfield and greenfield developments; tax policies that discourage the most economically-efficient use of property; and underdeveloped rental markets with relatively short lease terms."

Some might see the final point as a note of support for the rental reforms recently suggested by Ed Miliband. The problem for politicians of every stripe is that the housing market's structural problems are no secret: but mending them will take many years.

Reforms to the planning system have been desperately needed for decades, but only now are they being implemented; changes to green belt regulations are an economist's dream but a local politician's nightmare – so are unlikely to be implemented before the election, if at all.

However, it is clear that the Chancellor would be foolhardy to ignore the tone of the IMF's report. For there is a growing risk of a housing bubble, and with it the political risk that George Osborne could be remembered not as the austerity Chancellor who got it right, but the man who generated yet another housing market bust.

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D-Day: World Leaders Join Commemorations

David Cameron has said world leaders should set aside their differences on the "incredibly moving" 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

As veterans, politicians and members of the Royal Family gathered in Normandy, the Prime Minister told Sky News that amid ongoing tensions with Russia, the events of June 6, 1944, "show the importance of standing up together ... for freedom and security".

Mr Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both travelled to northern France to remember an event that changed the course of the Second World War.

Normandy veteran Ken Scott, 98, remembers his fallen comrades War veterans arrive for the service at Bayeux Cathedral

They are joining the Queen and a host of other world leaders for a service at Sword Beach in Ouistreham, where the moment 150,000 Allied troops came ashore will be re-enacted in front of around 1,000 Normandy veterans.

Mr Cameron said: "Yes, we have our disagreements with Russia but we should never forget the Soviet Union was an ally of the forces that liberated this continent from the tyranny of Nazism and enabled generations to come to live in democracy, freedom and prosperity.

"Today is all about the magnificent feat of arms that saw young men ... do incredibly brave things to liberate this continent and to give us a chance of peace and democracy. We did that together."

Soldiers landing on Juno Beach in Bernieres-sur-Mer on June 6, 1944

Described by wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill as "undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult (operation) that has ever taken place", D-Day proved to be a pivotal moment of the Second World War.

It marked the start of an 80-day campaign to liberate Normandy, a daunting task that involved three million troops and cost some 250,000 lives.

Services marking their sacrifice are being held at beaches and war cemeteries across the region.

The Queen joined world leaders to mark the 70th anniversary Mr Obama applauds US veterans during the ceremony in Colleville-sur-Mer

In Colleville-sur-Mer, Barack Obama joined his French counterpart Francois Hollande for a service at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, where more than 9,000 soldiers are buried.

"These men waged war so that we might know peace, they sacrificed so that we may be free, they fought in hope of a day that we would no longer need to fight and we are grateful to them," the US President said.

In nearby Bayeux, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, where 4,144 soldiers, 338 of them unidentified, are buried.

Vintage US military vehicles are driven along Gold Beach

An earlier service at the town's cathedral heard from Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the national chaplain of the Royal British Legion, who told the congregation: "We come to remember those who, from the air, in the water and on the beaches, made the supreme sacrifice."

Further along the coast in Arromanches, the Normandy Veterans' Association has organised a day of events.

This anniversary will be the group's last as it plans to disband later this year.

Cemeteries along the French coast are a focal point for the commemorations A British veteran walks past a line of gravestones for fallen soldiers

Commemorations began at midnight when Mr Cameron attended a memorial at Pegasus Bridge, the first strategic landmark to be captured.

At the exact time the first gliders landed, a champagne toast was raised at Cafe Gondree, the restaurant next to the bridge, which became the first house to be liberated in France.

American veterans gathered at dawn on Omaha Beach, where a statue of two soldiers was unveiled.

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D-Day Veteran's Great Escape From Care Home

An 89-year-old veteran has turned up in Normandy for the D-Day commemorations after ignoring a travel ban imposed by his care home.

Police were called to the man's nursing home in Hove, Sussex, on Thursday night when staff realised he had gone out at 10.30am and had not been seen since.

But the pensioner - who left wearing his war medals covered by a grey jacket - had secretly boarded a coach to France.

Police initially searched the Hove area, speaking to bus and taxi companies and checking local hospitals in case something had happened to him.

Then, at 10.30pm - 12 hours after he was last seen - a younger veteran called to say he had met the pensioner on a coach on the way to France.

He said the pair were sitting in a hotel in Ouistreham, Normandy, where world leaders have been mingling with veterans to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The 'missing' veteran is said to be safe and well.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "We have spoken to the veteran who called the home today and are satisfied that the pensioner is fine and that his friends are going to ensure he gets back to Hove safely over the next couple of days, after the D-Day celebrations finish."

Chief Superintendent tweeted: "Love this - 89-year-old veteran reported missing to us by care home who said he can't go to Normandy for D-day remembrance. We've found him there!"

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Rolf Harris Brother: Grope Claims 'Ridiculous'

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

The brother of the veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has labelled as "ridiculous" claims that the star groped a TV make-up artist, a court has heard.

Harris, 84, is said to have put his hands up the woman's shorts and touched her bottom as she applied powder to his face as he prepared for a TV shoot in Australia.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court have already heard how the singer and cartoonist was allegedly described as "the octopus" by some TV production staff because of his wandering hands.

Speaking via video link from Sydney, his brother and manager Bruce Harris said of the claim: "It's ridiculous. I would never have let him do that. He knew I wouldn't have let him do that.

"That's just not possible. I would have shouted at him and made him stop. It never would have happened. It's never something he would have done. I wouldn't have allowed him to do that."

Bruce Harris was also asked when he became aware of the allegations against his brother and he said it was when alleged Australian victim Tonya Lee gave a TV interview in 2013.

He said he then phoned Cathy Henkel, organiser of the 1985 theatre group tour to Britain, where the incident is alleged to have happened, to find out what exactly she knew.

Rolf Harris was accompanied by members of his family

He said that she had told him that she "hadn't seen anything of that kind but it could have happened".

Mr Harris said: "I leaned on her. I said surely you must have seen... they were your group. Surely you would have seen something like that happening. She said she hadn't."

Mr Harris added: "In retrospect I kept on niggling away at her... Tonya's documentary went into great detail about what happened.

"Cathy must have seen something of this. I didn't put any pressure on her."

Under cross-examination from Ms Sasha Wass QC, Mr Harris denied he had known his brother had been questioned by police about sex allegations in November 2012, six months before the TV programme aired.

Asked why he had called Ms Henkel, Mr Harris replied: "I'm protective of my brother. I just didn't believe it. It's not the way I have ever seen him perform."

Mr Harris told the court he would not have gone to the police if he had found the allegation to be true.

Harris, of Bray, Berkshire, denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four women aged between seven or eight and 19 years old between 1968 and 1986.

The trial continues and the jury is expected to retire next week.

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Body Found In Search For Brit Gareth Huntley

Police on Malaysia's Tioman Island have confirmed that a body has been found in the search for British backpacker Gareth Huntley, who went missing after going on a jungle trek.

Local media reports say the body was found less than 100m from the conservation camp where he was working as a volunteer. 

According to Malaysian newspaper The Star, search personnel stumbled across the corpse in a pond close to a kayak storage unit at around 12pm local time.

The 34-year-old disappeared last week after attempting to find a waterfall nearly four miles away from the camp in the jungles of the paradise island.

Mr Huntley's mother has been notified of the discovery

Deputy Superintendent Johari Yahaya told the newspaper he could not confirm whether the body was that of the missing Briton.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Malaysian police have confirmed that a body has been found on Tioman island in Malaysia.

"Foreign Office consular staff on the ground are continuing to work closely with the Malaysian authorities and are investigating with them as a matter of urgency.

"We continue to provide support to the family of Gareth Huntley at this very difficult time."

The area where the body was found. Pic: Thestar.com.my

Mr Huntley's mother, Janet Southwell, and his girlfriend, Kit Natariga, are on the island off Malaysia's east coast to assist the search effort.

Dozens of rescue personnel have been backed by paramilitary commandos, multiple helicopters, speedboats and sniffer dogs in the latter days of the search following initial criticism of the Malaysian authorities' response.

Mr Huntley's girlfriend (pictured) and his mother are both on the island

Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly spoke to Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak after receiving an open letter from Mrs Southwell in which she urged him to seek more resources for the search.

The letter said: "Make one phone call to the Malaysian leader to insist that they deploy real help to find Gareth before time runs out".

The backpacker had been volunteering in a turtle sanctuary on the island

The 34-year-old from Hackney, east London, set off on May 27 telling friends at the Juara Turtle Project where he was volunteering that he would be back by 2pm but failed to return.

Mr Huntley, who was originally from West Yorkshire, was on a sabbatical from his job in the City.

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Madeleine McCann: Radar Used In Ground Search

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 10:22am UK, Monday 02 June 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.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

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Hillsborough Engineer 'Told To Change Statement'

By Mike McCarthy, North of England Correspondent

A retired structural engineer responsible for the design of parts of the Hillsborough stadium has claimed his former boss made him change a statement about the disaster.

John Strange criticised his employer at the inquests into the deaths of 98 spectators, saying that if you challenged him he would "make life very difficult for you".

Mr Strange told jurors that before the disaster in 1989, he tried to raise concerns about the way crowd capacity was calculated at the Leppings Lane end where the fans lost their lives.

The witness worked for a firm called Eastwood and Partners, run by Dr Wilfred Eastwood.

Mr Strange said Dr Eastwood had overruled him when he pointed out the formal capacity on the safety certificate was too high.

Mr Strange said his concerns had been overruled by his boss

Inquest lawyer Jon Hough asked him: "Did you argue your position with him?"

Mr Strange replied: "No sir."

He was then asked: "You were at this time an engineer with nearly 20 years of experience?"

"Yes sir," he said.

"Did you not have the confidence to argue your position on a matter as important as this?" Mr Hough asked.

Mr Strange replied: "No. Not with Dr Eastwood."

Current and former Liverpool players mark the 25th anniversary

The former structural engineer went on to say: "I am just one of his employees. I am just a minion and you do not challenge him at all.

"If you did challenge him, he would make life very difficult for you, primarily because he had a financial hold over you and your family.

"If you did challenge him, you could expect retribution."

The employee was asked by Peter Wilcock, a barrister representing 75 families of those who died: "As a decent human being, you should have been racking your brains to say with the benefit of hindsight you did everything you could have to make this ground safe ... would that be right?"

Mr Strange replied: "If certain steps had been taken, we would not be here today."

Flowers left on the pitch on the anniversary of the disaster

The response prompted murmurs among members of the Hillsborough families listening from the public gallery.

Mr Strange said he was a Sheffield Wednesday fan and, although he had been in the crowd at Hillsborough in 1981 when fans were also crushed in an incident at Leppings Lane, he had noticed nothing unusual.

After being shown video footage of fans at the match moving from the terraces and onto the pitch, he said: "Why I don't remember it I have no idea."

The former engineer said he was asked to write a statement for his employer's solicitors after the disaster in 1989 but Dr Eastwood made him change it.

Dr Eastwood, who is now in his 90s, will not be giving evidence to the inquests, which continue.

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Queen's Speech: Government's Agenda Set Out

A house building drive, pensions reform and a commitment to reform the EU have all been put on the agenda for the coalition in its last year.

The speech put the economic recovery at its centre, opening with a pledge to continue bringing down the deficit and cutting taxes "to increase people's financial security".

With the threat that the Bank of England will increase the base rate before the General Election, there is also a pledge to keep mortgage and interest rates low.

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband listen to the speech

Despite warnings that the Help to Buy scheme is causing a potentially damaging housing bubble, there is a pledge to continue to promote it.

David Cameron had suggested he could amend the scheme after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned in an interview with Sky News that rising house prices were the biggest threat to economic recovery in the UK.

In an attempt to tackle the housing shortage, the Government also announced plans to boost home building.

The Black Rod knocks on the door of the House of Commons before the speech

This includes giving developers powers to push through applications without council approval and allowing the Government to sell off unused land for development.

A new garden city will be built in the Thames estuary at Ebbsfleet in Kent to tackle the housing shortage.

The Prime Minister and his Deputy Nick Clegg claimed the measures laid out in the Queen's Speech were "unashamedly pro-work, pro-business and pro-aspiration".

The Queen leaves the House of Lords after delivering her speech

Just 11 new bills were introduced by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament, which will bolster Labour's claims the coalition is now a "zombie government" which has run out of steam. In last year's speech there were 19 new bills.

The much-heralded pension reforms set out in George Osborne's Budget were also included in the speech. New legislation will mean pensioners will no longer be forced to buy annunities with their savings but can spend them as they like.

The new carriage carrying Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh

However, they will be given advice, which may include death estimates, to help them decide how best to invest that money.

Pensions minister Steve Webb sparked controversy after saying pensioners should be free to buy Lamborghinis if they wanted to following criticism people could fritter their money away on retirement.

Another key measure is the Recall Bill, a 2010 coalition manifesto pledge championed by the Liberal Democrats, which will see voters given the power to sack MPs guilty of "serious misconduct".

The moment a page boy collapsed during the speech

In the wake of disastrous results in the European elections for the two parties,  the coalition pledged to continue to fight for reform of the EU and a better deal for member states.

Other measures include:

:: 5p charge for plastic bags

:: powers to allow fracking firms to dig under private property without asking

:: parents to face jail for emotional cruelty to children in new Cinderella Law

:: pledge to fight to keep Scotland in the union

:: limit to excessive redundancy payouts for public sector workers

:: tougher sentences for people traffickers

:: free school meals for infants

:: fines for employers who don't pay the minimum wage

:: £2,000 childcare vouchers for working parents

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We need action, we need answers, we need a programme for government equal to the scale of the challenge our country faces.

A trumpeter in the Norman Porch of the Palace of Westminster

"We would have a Queen's Speech with legislation which would make work pay, reform our banks, freeze energy bills and build homes again in Britain. A Queen's Speech which signals a new direction for Britain, not one which offers more of the same."

As she delivered her speech, one of the page boys fainted close to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The boy was carried from the chamber but recovered soon after.

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School Bus Crash: Boy Airlifted To Hospital

A schoolboy is being treated for severe facial injuries after two school buses collided, injuring more than 20 passengers.

The boy was flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle after the crash in Stanley, County Durham.

A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance Service said: "The doctor-led trauma team triaged the injured persons and a 12-year-old child was flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary with serious facial injuries."

Two adults and 50 children, aged 11 to 18, were on board the buses at the time of the accident.

Walking wounded were treated at the scene

One of the drivers was trapped for a "prolonged" period inside the bus and was among the injured.

Ken Ball, Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service district commander for Derwentside, said: "When the first crew arrived they confirmed one driver was trapped on the yellow bus going up the hill, multiple casualties involved, the majority of which were walking wounded.

A bus driver was freed after a 'prolonged' effort

"The police did an excellent job along with paramedics to get them treated."

The accident happened at 8.20am on the A693 at the junction with Shield Row Lane close to the Oxhill Youth Centre in Stanley.

The pupils involved were from St Bede's at Lanchester and Tanfield School Comprehensive.

Superintendent Colin Williamson, of Durham Police, said: "There will be some disruption on the roads in this area for some time and I would ask the local community to be patient while we deal with this incident."

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Bitter? Nick Clegg Pulls Vince Cable A Pint

Vince Cable and Nick Clegg shared a pint together in their first public appearance since the Business Secretary was accused of being part of a plot to bring down the Lib Dem leader.

There were claims last week that Dr Cable had been part of a botched coup to trigger a leadership contest after a dismal showing for the Liberal Democrats in the local and European elections.

However, Dr Cable, who was on a business trip to China at the time, denied being any part of the plot and roundly condemned the Liberal Democrat peer behind it.

Lord Oakeshott resigned last week after Dr Cable outed him as the man who had commissioned and leaked a poll which showed Mr Clegg could lose his Sheffield Hallam seat at the General Election.

Pint-drinking photo opportunities are usually the preserve of Nigel Farage

The Tuesday morning outing to the Queen's Head pub in central London was a chance for the Lib Dem pairing to trumpet reform to the pub industry to give landlords more freedom from the big chains.

However, the majority of the press was kept out of the central London pub they chose for the photo opportunity and were reduced to tweeting pictures taken through the window.

It will be one of a number of measured championed by Mr Clegg's party to be officially announced in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday.

The party is keen to make sure the public know they were the prime movers behind policies such as tax-free childcare for working parents and voters' rights to recall corrupt MPs.

Mr Clegg pulled a pint of London Pride for Dr Cable and an Archer Mild Ale for himself, the Deputy Prime Minister didn't finish his, but the Business Secretary did.

Mr Clegg said: "Vince has been very, very clear - he had absolutely no idea what Matthew Oakeshott was getting up to with his polls.

"All I would say is setting personalities aside, we had a really bad result last week.

Dr Cable said: "We work together, I support his leadership. We're going to move on from some very difficult elections. I'm optimistic we are going to turn this corner."

He added: "I haven't been communicating with Lord Oakeshott recently."

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Madeleine McCann: Police Bring In Sniffer Dogs

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 10:22am UK, Monday 02 June 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.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Oxford Circus Octopus Causes Traffic Chaos

A giant octopus has blocked roads and caused traffic chaos during the morning rush hour in Britain's busiest shopping district.

Bemused commuters snapped pictures of the polystyrene beast, which was on the back of a lorry which broke down in the middle of the diagonal crossing at the Oxford Circus junction.

Transport for London (TfL) tweeted a picture of the eight-legged obstruction just after 9am, saying: "A lorry carrying an octopus has broken down at Oxford Circus. Approach with care."

Later, TfL confirmed the lorry had been moved and was blocking a lane on Regent Street.

The octopus caused traffic jams around Oxford Street, one of London's most popular tourist destinations, with more than 200 million visitors per year.

The lorry's owner - transport company Roman Self Drive - also took to Twitter and said: "He's no Paul the Octopus, but he's been causing ripples with the London traffic."

The company said it thought the creature was part of a World Cup related publicity stunt by a betting company.

The driver Ala Miah told Sky News he had been hired to take the octopus from Peckham to Hammersmith.

He said the location of the breakdown was an unfortunate coincidence and he had managed to restart the lorry and carry on with his journey.

He told Sky: "Would I stop the lorry at 8.10am in the middle of Oxford Circus? Are you joking?

"The engine just cut out and then while I was waiting for my breakdown guys to arrive I tried the key in the ignition after 20 minutes and got it going again.

"I'm really sorry to anyone who was inconvenienced this morning."

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Pensioner 'Eaten Alive' By Dog: Women Jailed

Two women have been jailed for 12 months each after 79-year-old Clifford Clarke was "literally eaten alive" by their dog.

Hayley Sulley, 30, and Della Woods, 29, wept in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court as they were handed the sentence.

Judge Mark Brown told the women that Mr Clarke's death had been "entirely avoidable".

"Mr Clarke was literally eaten alive when large amounts of tissue were ingested by the dog and that is a very shocking, appalling and tragic event," the judge said.

"It is very fortunate that nobody else was seriously hurt because the dog was completely out of control and extremely dangerous."

Woods (left) and Sulley (right) pleaded guilty last month

The two women, who are both mothers, pleaded guilty last month to an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act of allowing a dog to enter a place where it was not allowed to be and where it attacked a person.

The court heard that the presa canario cross-breed had not been fed for at least 45 hours before the attack.

The dog, called Charlie, escaped with another of the pair's dogs from their garden in Richard Kelly Close in the Norris Green area of Liverpool in May 2013.

Prosecutor Eric Lamb said a witness described seeing both dogs run up to a house backing on to Mr Clarke's property.

Mr Lamb said: "The dogs were jumping up at the window. Charlie was foaming at the mouth.

"Both of the dogs appeared very hungry."

He said they were seen eating bird food and dirty water from a bowl containing cigarette butts.

A short time later the dogs broke into the garden of the retired hospital porter.

He had opened his back door while cooking a meal.

The court heard how the dog sank its teeth into Mr Clarke's arm and dragged the OAP around the garden as helpless neighbours looked on.

The presa canario cross-breed was similar to this dog. File image

One of his arms was effectively chewed off, while the other was severely wounded, the court heard.

Mr Clarke died of multiple injuries and blood loss.

An armed unit was called to the scene to euthanise the dog after it attacked police officers who were alerted by neighbours.

It was said to have jumped up at the 6ft wooden fence and bitten the end of an officer's rifle.

The dog had to be shot twice before it was killed.

Judge Brown said that many witnesses to the tragedy had suffered psychological trauma.

He also noted that the defendants' garden was in an unkempt state with bottles of alcohol strewn across it.

Both Sulley and Woods wrote a letter to the judge in which they expressed their shame, sadness and "genuine remorse".

The pair were banned from keeping dogs for life, and the women's other dogs have been rehomed.

The judge said the defendants were lucky to have avoided a manslaughter charge.

Since the attack new legislation has been introduced which increases the maximum sentence for fatal dog attacks from two years to 14 years in prison.

The judge said the change did not apply in this case as it could not be used retrospectively.

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Madeleine McCann: UK Cops In Praia Da Luz

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 10:22am UK, Monday 02 June 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.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

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Hodgson In World Cup National Anthem Pledge

Manager Roy Hodgson has promised his England players will belt out the national anthem at the World Cup in Brazil.

England's footballers have been criticised for not singing God Save The Queen with as much passion as their compatriots in other sports, most notably rugby.

Wayne Rooney did not sing the national anthem at the start of his England career while Gary Neville, now an England coach, refused to join in.

He said he preferred "focusing on the match" instead.

Hodgson: 'We're proud to be wearing the England shirt'

But Hodgson, who has been England boss for two years, is adamant all his team should sing the anthem before kick-off.

"You very rarely play an international match against opponents and they haven't got their hands on their hearts and singing their anthem as loud as they can," he said.

"We've made a decision that that's what we're going to do, too, because we are proud, we are happy to be wearing that England shirt."

As his 23-man squad contains 12 players who were not part of Euro 2012, Hodgson will remind them they must sing along this summer.

Wayne Rooney hasn't always sung the national anthem before games

"Perhaps we need to remind them as the squad has changed so much," he said.

"I think we're great until the second verse comes along because we don't really know that."

After warm-up games against Ecuador and Honduras in Miami this week, England will take on Italy in their World Cup opener in Manaus on June 14.

England's departure on Sunday was hit by a moment of farce when comedian Simon Brodkin gatecrashed the party as they arrived at Luton Airport.

Simon Brodkin is escorted away by a security man

Brodkin was pictured attempting to mingle with England's players and staff as they waited for the luggage to be removed from their coach.

Dressed in an identical suit to those worn by the England party, he spent several moments with them before being spotted by captain Steven Gerrard, at which point he was removed by security staff.

Meanwhile, the final test event has been held at the unfinished stadium which will host the World Cup opener between Brazil and Croatia on June 12.

The Itaquerao, also known as the Arena de Sao Paulo

Around 70,000 fans are expected at the Itaquerao in Sao Paulo but just 37,000 attended the trial match between Corinthians and Botafogo on Sunday.

Only one of the temporary stands added for the inaugural World Cup game could be used because of safety concerns.

There were no problems inside or outside the stadium, although the match was briefly interrupted after balloons released by fans made it onto the pitch.

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Stephen Lawrence: Probe Into Officer's Conduct

A police chief is being investigated over claims he met an undercover officer who spied on Stephen Lawrence's family.

The conduct of Metropolitan Police Commander Richard Walton is the focus of the probe by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which said he had been accused of "discreditable conduct and breaches of honesty and integrity".

The police watchdog said it had launched an investigation into allegations that he obtained information about the teenager's family and their supporters "potentially undermining the inquiry (into Stephen's murder) and public confidence".

Mr Walton was temporarily removed from his post as head of the counter-terrorism command SO15 in March following a report into the original Stephen Lawrence murder investigation.

The Ellison report revealed an undercover officer, known only as N81, had been planted among supporters of the Lawrence family at the time of the Macpherson inquiry into racism in the Metropolitan Police.

Doreen Lawrence, Mr Lawrence's mother, and his father Neville

In 1988, Mr Walton, who was then an acting detective inspector working on Scotland Yard's Lawrence review team, responsible for making submissions to the judicial inquiry, met N81, the report found.

The "spy in the camp" fed back information about the Lawrence family to the upper levels of the Metropolitan Police, the report by the barrister Mark Ellison QC concluded.

Allegations of discreditable conduct have also been made against two former officers - then-detective inspector Robert Lambert and Commander Colin Black.

The pair were identified in the review as having played a part in facilitating the meeting with the undercover officer. The IPCC will also be investigating their conduct.

Mr Walton said: "I welcome the decision to investigate this matter independently and the IPCC will have my full support."

Mr Lawrence, 18, was killed by a gang of racists who stabbed him as he waited for a bus in Eltham, southeast London on April 22, 1993.

The police investigation into his death was marred by incompetence and allegations of racism, and it took 19 years to bring any of his murderers to justice.

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Harris Denies 'Deliberate Lie' To Sex Trial

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

Entertainer Rolf Harris has deliberately lied in his sex trial, jurors have been told, after new video evidence was shown to the court.

Harris, 84, said last week he had never been to Cambridge - where an alleged assault took place - until four years ago for an exhibition of his paintings.

But evidence was shown to the court which showed him being in the university city in 1978, taking part in a programme called Star Games.

The trial has heard the alleged victim was around 14 when she claimed Harris touched her bottom when he took part in an It's a Knockout style event held in Cambridge.

In the footage seen by jurors Harris was described as being the captain of the theatre team as it took part in the game show, with prosecutor Sasha Wass QC saying he "was jumping up and down like a kangaroo".

Harris arrives at Southwark Crown Court

His teammates included Dr Who star Colin Baker, actress Rula Lenska and seventies comedian Robin Askwith.

Ms Wass added the video "supported everything the witness had said... apart from the year - she got that wrong".

Ms Wass added: "You told the jury last week with such confidence that you had never been to Cambridge until four years ago. That was a deliberate lie."

Harris replied: "No, it wasn't. I didn't find out it was Cambridge until I saw the video.

"None of the performers knew they were in Cambridge."

The video began with aerial shots of Cambridge and was introduced by Michael Aspel welcoming viewers to he city.

After it was screened, Ms Wass said:"You didn't know you were in Cambridge? Michael Aspel knew."

Harris said: "We all went on a coach and were deposited on a green with changing rooms."

Ms Wass continued: "You deliberately lied to mislead the jury."

Harris said: "I'd forgotten the event."

Ms Wass said: "It was a deliberate lie."

Harris said: "No, a lapse of memory."

He again insisted that all of the women who have given evidence against him had lied.

At one point the judge rebuked Harris after he threw a question back at the prosecution, telling him: "This is not a verbal joust."

The artist's daughter Bindi Nicholls, 50, also gave evidence, telling how she was once "best friends" with the main complainant in the trial.

Mrs Nicholls told the court she had been delighted that the woman went on holiday with her and the Harris family in 1978. 

When asked by defence QC Sonia Woodley if she had ever seen her friend "looking flustered, or any change in her behaviour during the holiday," she replied she had not.

The woman has told the court she was groped by Harris as she stepped out of a shower and when he wrapped her in a towel on the beach during the trip.

Mrs Nicholls said of the alleged beach incident: "That would be weird. You put a towel around little people not a grown teenager, they would dry themselves.

"That would be strange, odd. I can't see that happening at all."

She added:"My dad doesn't like going on the beach. He hates sunbathing. He maybe goes snorkelling."

When asked about claims from the main complainant that her father had performed a sex act on her friend as she was asleep on the next bed, Mrs Nicholls said that was "laughable" and "ridiculous".

She added she had never seen her friend as the depressed and broken woman she had told the court she became after Harris allegedly assaulted her.

Mrs Nicholls said: "She always seemed very happy, jolly, alive."

Earlier Mrs Nicholls had broken down in tears as she described as "devastating" the Harris family south London to Berkshire in 1981, adding that it was like "moving to the moon".

Harris denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four women aged between seven and eight years old and 19 between 1968 and 1986.

The trial continues.

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School 'Failed To Protect Pupils From Extremism'

Sky News has learned a Birmingham school facing claims of an Islamist takeover plot failed to protect children from extremism.

An Ofsted investigation said the school - which cannot be named for legal reasons - is inadequate, and strongly criticised the management of the school.

The report into this specific one school follows allegations of a so-called "Trojan Horse" takeover by Muslim hardliners at more than 20 schools in the Midlands city.

It said the school's "work to keep students safe is inadequate".

The report went on: "Key safeguarding procedures are not followed. Too little is done to keep students safe from the risks associated with extremist views.

"Some staff, including senior leaders, are concerned about a special perceived unfairness and lack of transparency in the recruitment process and the breadth and balance of the curriculum.

"Some female members of staff complained... that at times they are spoken to in a manner which they find intimidating."

It found the school's "policies have been given scant consideration" and its "equalities policy is not fit for purpose".

Sky's Lisa Dowd said: "Other things mentioned in this report is that sex and relationship education is not adequate at the school.

"Students have a scant understanding of other religions, the focus is primarily on Islam.

"And, the school has been slow to engage in the prevent policy - a government strategy funded by the Government to prevent extremism and radicalisation."

The person who leaked the report to Sky News said they felt it was "completely unfair" and that Ofsted had picked up on historic incidents which had already been dealt with and that the education watchdog was "going to get them by hook, or by crook".

They feared they could all be branded Islamists and hardliners and the damning report could spark an exodus of teaching staff.

They insisted standards had been raised at the school in the last few months which was not reflected in the report, which said pupils behaved well and described them as being courteous, respectful and eager to learn.

Dowd added: "Well, because this school has been rated inadequate it is likely to go into special measures.

"That could see the leadership of the school and the governing body being dissolved and replaced.

"And we understand that this won't be the only school that is rated inadequate when Ofsted publishes its findings into the 21 schools later on this week."

Labour MP Khalid Mahmood told Sky News: "There has been grooming, by a particular community, a school of thought within Islam, and would possibly lead to extremism ... not saying that children at school at the moment are extremist, but certainly they have been groomed in a particular way for that to be made easier at a later stage. That's what my concerns have been in Birmingham."

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