Temperatures Set To Plunge To All-Winter Low

'I'm Going To Rape You' Message Left On Hotel TV

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 23 Januari 2015 | 22.11

Travelodge is investigating after a woman checked into one of their hotel rooms and found the words "I'm going to rape you" on the TV screen.

The woman was staying at the Whitemare Pool branch near Newcastle on Wednesday when she discovered the message.

She tweeted an image of the screen with the message: "Thanks @TravelodgeUK as a woman staying alone in one of your rooms this is great. Check your TV welcome messages."

The woman - who does not wish to be named - informed staff and was given an apology and a refund. The words were also removed from the screen.

The hotel said an investigation was being carried out but there was a possibility that someone may have used the television manufacturer's code to the change the settings.

A Travelodge spokesman said: "We can confirm that a customer has advised us that an unauthorised message was placed on a television in one of our hotels.

"We have already been in contact with the customer involved and apologised that such a message could appear.

"We take the security of our guests and our systems very seriously and while this is an isolated incident, applicable to only one room, we have consequently launched a full investigation with our television supplier."

The woman has since praised Travelodge on Twitter for the way they handled her complaint.

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TV Debates: Leaders Could Be 'Empty Chaired'

By Darren McCaffrey, Politics Reporter

Broadcasters have suggested they would be prepared to "empty chair" leaders who decline to participate in the TV debates, as they revealed their latest proposals.

Sky News, BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have also proposed holding the debates during the election campaign, on 2, 16 and 30 of April.

The Prime Minister has previously indicated that he does not want the debates to be held in the six-week election campaign.

In a joint statement, the broadcasters said: "The party leaders will be formally invited to take part in these debates.

"In the event that any of the invited party leaders decline to participate, debates will take place with the party leaders who accept the invitation."

The new format idea follows three months of talks between the broadcasters and the political parties.

It includes one debate between David Cameron and Ed Miliband which will be hosted by Sky News and Channel 4.

Two debates between the leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, the SNP, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru will be broadcast on the BBC and ITV.

The broadcasters said: "Over the three months since the original proposal was put forward, the broadcasters have also continued to monitor the electoral landscape, as we promised to do, taking into account the polling evidence, and the expressions of public support for the debates to go ahead and for a wider range of parties to be included in the debates.

"In view of these factors, the broadcasters are now inviting party leaders to take part in the following debates within the official election campaign and approximately two weeks apart."

The plan, which was leaked yesterday, has been welcomed by the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.

The Green Party said: "The decision to include the Greens follows hot on the heels of a remarkable 'Green surge' that has seen the Party's membership rise at an unprecedented rate and outstrip that of the Liberal Democrats and UKIP.  

"The Green Party, which has polled on double digits twice this week, is polling at its highest levels ahead of a General Election for decades."

However, Northern Ireland's DUP leader Peter Robinson reacted angrily, writing to the BBC and ITV to ask why his party has not been included.

In a letter, he warned that the broadcaster's decision lacked "logic and credibility" and that the DUP had more seats that the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.

The fresh initiative has also been criticised by the Liberal Democrats, who argue they should be included in all the debates.

A Lib Dem spokesman said: "We have always been clear that as a party of government, we must be able to defend our record in all the TV debates.

"We will continue to make that case in our discussions with the broadcasters."

A Labour spokesman said: "We will debate anyone the broadcasters choose to invite and we are pleased to see the clear proposal to have three debates all in the general election campaign.

"The broadcasters have obviously made a very significant move to adopt wholesale the Prime Minister's proposals and it surely now not possible for him to maintain his opposition to participating in these debates."

Mr Cameron has yet to react to the latest proposals.

However, a party spokesman said: "Any new proposals will be considered as part of the ongoing debates process."

The PM has previously suggested he would not partake in any debate without the Green Party.

The broadcasters' new plans could mean that, if they are rejected by Mr Cameron, the debates could still take place.

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Burglary Hotspots: Do You Live In One?

The UK's worst burglary hotspot are revealed by new analysis of insurance claims.

Among them are Manchester and West Yorkshire - with concentrations also in Wales and Scotland.

But it is Essex and East London which head the Burglary Claims Tracker list, and Greater London is the burglary capital.

The area with the highest rate of burglary insurance claims last year was the RM8 postcode in the east London suburb of Dagenham, according to the figures compiled by MoneySuperMarket.

Those living in and around the capital are most likely to suffer break-ins, the study found, with 14 of the top 20 postcodes in London and Greater London.

Kevin Pratt, home insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: "The research reveals Dagenham is the UK's top burglary hotspot, with a rate of 55 out of every 1,000 insurance quotes having made a claim in the past two years.

"Burglars often target urban areas where there's more hustle and bustle and so less risk of being caught, but not surprisingly they also follow the money, which is why affluent areas such as Teddington and Temple Newsam in West Yorkshire appear."

Manchester's M21 postcode, on the outskirts of the city, dropped from top spot last year to third position.

Woodford and South Woodford (E18) in east London is the postcode with the fifth highest number of claims, while London's sought-after suburbs of Teddington and Bushy Park (TW11) also feature in the top 10.

Among the areas with the lowest proportion of burglary claims are postcodes in rural Scotland's Dumfries (DG1) and Lochee (DD2), Felixstowe in Suffolk (IP11) and North Wales's university town of Bangor (LL57).

Those living in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis (PO22) can also feel secure, with a rate of 1.63 per 1,000 and Northern Ireland's Londonderry (BT48), with just 1.36 per 1,000 insurance quotes showing a claim.

The top 10 postcodes named in the research are:

1. RM8 - Dagenham, Becontree, Becontree Heath, in Greater London

2. IG2 - Gants Hill, Newbury Park, Aldborough Hatch, in Greater London

3. M21 - Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Barlow Moor, in Manchester

4. DN2 - Intake, Wheatley, Wheatley Hills, in South Yorkshire

5. E18 - Woodford and South Woodford, in London

6. RM11 - Hornchurch, Emerson Park, Ardleigh Green, in Greater London

7. TW11 - Teddington, Fulwell, Bushy Park, in Greater London

8. BD2 - Eccleshill, Five Lane Ends, parts of Undercliffe, Fagley, Wrose, Bolton Woods, Poplars Farm, Swain House, Ashbourne, in West Yorkshire

9. EN4 - Hadley Wood, Cockfosters, East Barnet, New Barnet, in Greater London

10. IG3 - Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Hainault, Chignell, in Greater London

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Missing Student: Police Find Body In River

Police looking for missing student Euan Coulthard, who vanished after a night out, have found a body in the River Wear.

Specialist marine diving units were called in following reports of the sighting of a body not far from where the law student was last seen.

Ambulance staff later wheeled a covered stretcher along the riverbank to a waiting vehicle.

The 19-year-old vanished after going out with friends for a meal in Durham on Wednesday last week.

He then went to the Loveshack nightclub and was seen leaving alone in the early hours of Thursday.

CCTV images showed a figure they believe to be Mr Coulthard, who is from Nottingham, walking through the city centre and crossing Framwellgate Bridge.

Footage then shows the person walking down steps next to the Bishop Langley pub, towards the river.

Fellow students and friends have joined Durham Constabulary police officers in extensive searches of the city centre.

Mr Coulthard was described as 5ft 9ins tall, of average build, with light brown hair.

He was wearing black skinny jeans, a denim jacket and a beige patterned shirt when he was last seen.

A petition to improve riverbank safety has been launched recently because of safety concerns.

In the past 15 months, Sope Peters and Luke Pearce, also students at Durham University, drowned in the river after nights out.

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Pair Jailed Over Christmas Dinner Death Lies

A pub chef and his manager have been jailed for perverting the course of justice after a Christmas dinner left a mother dead.

The meal at the Railway Hotel in Hornchurch, Essex, in December 2012 also left 33 others ill with food poisoning.

And Mehmet Kaya and manager Ann-Marie McSweeney were sentenced to 12 and 18 months respectively after being convicted of falsifying food safety records.

Mitchells & Butlers, the chain which owned the pub, was fined £1.5 million after being found guilty of placing unsafe food on the market.

Della Callagher, 46, died two days after eating the turkey dinner, which a Havering Council investigation found was either not cooked or reheated properly.

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TV Weatherman 'Staged Naked Orgy' On School Trip

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 22 Januari 2015 | 22.11

TV weatherman Fred Talbot staged a naked "orgy" involving 10 drunken schoolboys on a canal barge before going on to sexually abuse one of them, a jury has been told.

The 65-year-old former teacher allegedly asked some of the boys to pretend they were girls and lie on top of each other as photographs were taken.

The alleged incident is said to have happened during a weekend school trip in the 1970s organised by Talbot, who was a biology teacher at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys.

One of five alleged victims giving evidence at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court said Talbot got him to perform a sex act on him as they shared a double bed on the barge.

The jury heard the complainant - thought to have been aged 14 at the time - was "quite drunk" after Talbot, two adult friends and some older boys on the trip had returned from the pub and shared beer with the younger boys.

He said: "He (Talbot) then said, let's pretend we have got some girls back from the pub, and we had an orgy.

"He said we needed to take some photographs so you can pretend there is some girls here.

"We were very drunk. I think they turned the heat up and we took our clothes off.

"One boy would lie on another boy and would pretend the one underneath was a girl. They took a lot of photos.

"We were innocent. We didn't know anything. Basically it was his thing ... he decided when it started and finished."

The complainant said the "orgy" went on for up to two hours before they went to sleep, but that Talbot said he had to stay in his double bed because there were not enough bunk beds for all the schoolboys.

He then alleges that Talbot got him to perform a sex act on him.

The following morning he said that the teacher told him not to speak about the incident or the "orgy".

Talbot, of Bowdon, Greater Manchester, denies 10 counts of indecent assault on five under-age boys between the late 1960s and early 1980s.

The trial continues.

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Plain Cigarette Packaging Law Brought Forward

A tobacco firm has accused the Government of electioneering by planning to bring into force legislation for plain cigarette packaging before voters go to the polls in May.

Health minister Jane Ellison said the regulations would be laid before Parliament in time to be agreed by both Houses before the general election.

She said the current "comprehensive" approach was working well, but insisted it was important not to be complacent.

The ban on smoking in private cars will come into force on 1 October this year, the minister also announced.

During an adjournment debate in the Commons, Ms Ellison said tobacco caused around 80,000 deaths a year and that around 600 children in the UK take up smoking every day.

She said the Government was committed to reducing the numbers of young people who take up smoking, but had been taking its time to consider all relevant evidence, including the possibility of litigation from the tobacco industry.

Ms Ellison told MPs: "We cannot be complacent. We all know the damage smoking does to health.

"This Government is completely committed to protecting children from the harm that tobacco causes.

"That's why I'm announcing today that we will be bringing forward legislation for standardised packaging before the end of this Parliament."

The idea behind plain packaging, used in Australia for several years, is that it would largely remove branding from packets bar a small, simple product name.

Health warning images would dominate boxes instead.

A spokesperson for London-listed British American Tobacco said: "Let's be clear, this is about election politics.

"The UK Government has short-circuited its own consultation process by rushing this announcement out now.

"This is also a serious error of judgment given the clear evidence from Australia that plain packaging has not achieved any of its public health objectives and has increased illicit trade to its highest level in seven years."

Health groups welcomed Ms Ellison's announcement.

Mike Hobday, director of policy at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We are absolutely delighted. The Government has taken another key step towards securing new legislation that will help protect young people from the deadly consequences of smoking."

Dr Hilary Cass, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "This is a significant piece of legislation - and a real positive step from Government to protect the health of current and future generations of children.

"With two thirds of smokers starting before they are 18, and the effects of packaging on young people well-known, it is a simple yet important reform in the battle against smoking-related illness."

But Christopher Snowdon, director of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, condemned the announcement.

He said: "This is a gross infringement of the right of companies to use their trademarks and design their own packaging.

"There is no need to wonder what will happen next, we need only look at Australia where the black market has grown and youth smoking has risen.

"To pursue this grandstanding policy in spite of the Australian experience is sheer negligence."

The values of tobacco firms weakened when share trading began on Thursday.

Imperial Tobacco - behind the Lambert & Butler and Golden Virginia brands - was 1% down in early trading while BAT, which makes Rothmans, was just 0.2% lower.

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Rihanna Wins Topshop T-Shirt Image Battle

Rihanna has won a legal battle with Topshop over a T-shirt which used her image.

The high street store had appealed against a High Court ruling that selling the "tank" sleeveless T-shirt bearing her image without her approval amounts to "passing off", a term used to enforce unregistered trademark rights.

But, in an important ruling on celebrity "image rights", the Court of Appeal upheld a ban on the store selling the item.

Rihanna's lawyers said the image was from an unauthorised photograph taken while the star was filming a video in Northern Ireland for one of her singles in 2011 and Topshop should remain banned from exploiting it.

Geoffrey Hobbs QC, appearing for Topshop, which is part of the Arcadia Group, argued at the hearing that the court was dealing with a "decorated T-shirt" in a tradition of the merchandising of star images over the decades, including those of Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and Prince.

Mr Hobbs submitted Rihanna was in reality using the law wrongly to claim that "only a celebrity may ever market his or her own character".

Rihanna has various lucrative endorsement deals with retailers including Topshop's high-street rival River Island.

Mr Hobbs contended the public had no expectation that clothes bearing an image were authorised by people shown in that image.

He challenged High Court judge Mr Justice Birss's ruling that, although celebrities had no general right to control the reproduction of their image, Topshop's use of RiRi's image did amount to passing off.

The judge had observed the use was damaging to the star's "goodwill" and represented loss of control over her reputation in the "fashion sphere".

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England Captain Targeted In Blackmail Plot

England one-day cricket captain Eoin Morgan has been targeted in a blackmail plot, it has been revealed.

The blackmail attempt relates to a brief relationship the 29-year-old had with an Australian woman five years ago.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it was contacted by a man demanding a five-figure sum – reportedly £35,000 – to be paid before the tri-series match against Australia on Friday.

The man was threatening to tell national newspapers about details of Morgan's relationship with the woman.

The ECB informed Scotland Yard and police tracked him down to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, within 24 hours.

He turned out to be the woman's jealous boyfriend and when confronted, apologised for his actions.

Paul Downton, ECB managing director, said: "We will not allow anyone to disrupt our team's preparation or performance in the tri-series and as we build up to the World Cup.

"I am pleased that this issue has now been brought to a swift conclusion. At this point we'd like to thank the Metropolitan Police for their advice, which assisted us in dealing with this in the swiftest possible manner."

According to the London Evening Standard, the blackmailer found a phone with details including videos of his unnamed partner's relationship with Morgan.

Mr Downton told the newspaper he sent an email to the ECB which was "a fairly deliberate attempt to extort a sum of money".

The man has been named in the Australian media as Nick Emery, a workplace safety consultant.

Mr Emery told the Herald Sun he was in possession of "sexually based'' messages exchanged between his partner and Morgan last year.

He is quoted as saying: "I have got a fair bit of interesting content regarding Eoin Morgan with a woman who isn't his girlfriend ... there's sexual content. It's my partner.''

Mr Emery said he had a meeting with ECB members in Hobart on Wednesday, at which the matter was settled.

He said he had not intended to commit blackmail and was not chasing hush money.

"It's done. It's dealt with. I did the wrong thing in the wrong state of mind. I was in a very angry and bad head space.

"Everything is sorted now. They were very understanding. We came to an agreement.''

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Former Home Secretary Leon Brittan Dies

The Conservative peer and former Cabinet minister Lord Brittan has died at the age of 75.

His family said in a statement the former Home Secretary died last night at his home after a long battle with cancer.

They said: "It is with great regret that we announce the death of Leon Brittan.

"As a family, we should like to pay tribute to him as a beloved husband to Diana and brother to Samuel, and a supportive and loving stepfather to Katharine and Victoria, and step-grandfather to their children.

"We also salute his extraordinary commitment to British public life as a Member of Parliament, Minister, Cabinet Minister, European Commissioner and Peer - together with a distinguished career in law, and latterly in business.

"Leon passed away last night at his home in London after a long battle with cancer. We shall miss him enormously. There will be a private funeral service for family only, and a memorial service to be announced."

Lord Brittan was a key figure in Margaret Thatcher's government and was prominent in the 1984-85 miners' strike for his criticism of the union.

Leon Brittan was elected as MP for Cleveland and Whitby in 1974 and then for Richmond, Yorks in 1983 when he became the youngest Home Secretary since Winston Churchill.

In 1984 he led the Government response to the shooting of police woman Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London because both Mrs Thatcher and Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe were away.

Lord Brittan resigned as Trade and Industry Secretary in 1986 over his handling of the Westland affair.

He went on to become a European Commissioner, spending ten years in the role and rising to vice-president of the Commission between 1989 and 1993. Nick Clegg was a member of his office.

More recently Lord Brittan has returned to the spotlight after claims he was handed a dossier containing details of allegations of a paedophile ring operating in Westminster in the 1980s.

He was accused of failing to act on the evidence passed to him.

Lord Hestletine told Sky News Lord Brittan was a "talented and highly respected minister" and that they had in later years enjoyed a friendship despite the differences that emerged during the Westland affair.

Lord Lamont, former Cabinet Colleague said he had been very "brave and stoical" during his illness and added he was a kind man and one of the "brightest of his generation".

Lord Deben - who served alongside Lord Brittan in Margaret Thatcher's administration as John Gummer - said: "Very sad to see Leon Brittan has died. A good and honourable servant of his country. A decent and lasting friend. He will be sorely missed."

Speaking in the House of Commons as the news was announced William Hague, who replaced Lord Brittan as MP for Richmond, paid tribute and gave his condolences to the family.

More follows...

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Temperatures Set To Plunge To All-Winter Low

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 20 Januari 2015 | 22.11

Temperatures Set To Plunge To All-Winter Low

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Severe weather warnings remain in place for snow and ice across parts of Britain with forecasters predicting temperatures to fall as low as -15C.

The Met Office has issued yellow "be aware" warnings for much of the north east of Scotland, as well as coastal areas in North East England and Yorkshire and Humber.

Residents in parts of Scotland have been warned that temperatures may drop to between -10C and -15C, making it the coldest evening in Britain this winter.

"It only has to get past -9C and we'll have the coldest night for winter," said the Met Office's operational forecaster Calum MacColl.

"As we lead our way into the coming days again, we've got snow warnings out for much of northern and eastern Scotland."

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Gallery: Snow And Ice Hit Parts Of UK

Snow and icy conditions are hitting many parts of the UK - and temperatures are set to plunge well below zero in many areas.

These pictures were taken in Cumbria, one of the areas hit by snowfall

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Northern England and parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to get up to two inches of snow this weekend

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Southern England could see sleet and settling snow in places, mainly over the higher ground

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"It's going to be a pretty cold week all in all," Mr MacColl added.

There have already been snow showers in areas of the North and Midlands, with more snow expected in northern Scotland.

Sky News weather producer Rebecca Yussuf said: "The higher ground of Scotland can expect a further 2-5 cm (up to 2 inches), with perhaps a slight covering at lower levels.

"Southern England may also see some sleet and settling snow in places, mainly over the higher ground. A slight covering is possible, but it is likely to be only temporary.

"It will be cold and frosty everywhere, with widespread ice, bringing some difficult travelling conditions by dawn."

Dr Angie Bone, of Public Health England's extreme events team, earlier urged people to help vulnerable relatives and friends keep warm.

"Cold does kill, even in places where the temperatures aren't at their lowest," she said.

"Most of our advice on keeping warm in cold weather may seem like common sense, but it's important that we make the point that people should think about how cold can affect them.

"Our advice is that when indoors, have plenty of warm food and drinks to stay warm and try to maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18C, particularly if you are not mobile, have long-term illness or are 65 or over."

Heavy snow has already caused disruption on roads, rail and at airports, and police have warned motorists to only to travel if necessary.

In Scotland on Friday, snow up to 5ft deep in parts left drivers stranded overnight on the A9 route to the Highlands.

:: Send your cold snap pictures and video to news@sky.com

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Written By Unknown on Senin, 19 Januari 2015 | 22.11

The parents of a five-year-old boy have been threatened with court action because he missed a schoolfriend's birthday party and left the hosts out of pocket.

Derek Nash, from Torpoint, Cornwall, discovered an invoice for £15.95 had been put into son Alex's schoolbag after he was a "no show" at the ski centre party.

Mr Nash said he originally thought the letter was a joke but now the friend's mother is threatening to take the matter to the small claims court.

The family accepted the invite to the Ski Slope and Snowboard Centre just before the Christmas holidays, forgetting they had a prior family commitment.

Mr Nash said he had already arranged for their daughter to go out with her grandparents.

He said: "She [the mother] saw me and asked if Alex was coming to the party. At this time I agreed and said that Alex was looking forward to it.

"By this time we did not have a contact number, email or an address to let [the mother] know.

"So on the day of the party we asked Alex what he wanted to do - he chose to be with his grandparents."

When the children went back to school in January, Mr Nash's partner tried once more to apologise to the boy's mother but did not see her.

He said: "On January 15 she looked in Alex's school bag and found a brown envelope. It was an invoice for £15.95 for a child's party no show fee.

"I asked Alex's class teacher if [the child's mother] had given anything to her. She said, 'Yes, a brown envelope'.

"I then visited Alex's school headteacher, who couldn't apologise enough that one of the teachers had passed this on. She said she would remind all staff that this was a breach of protocol."

Mr Nash said while he sympathised with the woman, he told her he would not be paying.

She has since threatened to take the case to a small claims court, while the birthday boy will no longer play with Alex at school.

Mr Nash added: "I drive all around the South West for my job and I have talked to quite a few people about this.

"They're all quite incredulous that this has happened. I thought it was a joke to begin with. I am lost for words."

The mother of the birthday boy has not commented on the row.

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Britain Seeks To Wipe Out Tuberculosis

UK health chiefs have launched a £11.5m plan to try to wipe out tuberculosis in Britain, which has the second highest rate of the lung disease among Western European countries.

The plan will see Public Health England work with the NHS to improve access to screening, testing and treatment services as well as outreach programmes such as 'Find and Treat' mobile health units.

Paul Cosford, a PHE director, said: "TB should be consigned to the past, and yet it is occurring in England at higher rates than most of Western Europe."

Bruce Keogh, NHS England's medical director, said: "Our goal is to eliminate TB as a public health problem."

Often thought of as a disease of the past, when it was dubbed "the white plague" for rendering its victims pale and feverish, TB has stubbornly persisted in Britain.

It occurs mainly in areas of poverty and deprivation. The bacterial disease is hard to treat and contagious, passing on via the coughs and sneezes of an infected person.

In 2013, 7,290 TB cases were reported in England, an incidence of 13.5 cases per 100,000 of the population.

TB cases are concentrated in urban "hot spots" including London, Leicester, Birmingham, Luton, Manchester and Coventry.

PHE officials say TB clinics in London manage more cases a year than those in all other western European capitals together.

Drug resistant TB is also an increasing problem, with cases of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB rising from 28 cases in England in 2000, to 68 in 2013.

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7/7 Widow Jailed For Stealing Son's Compensation

A widow of a 7/7 bombing victim has been jailed for two years and eight months for stealing £43,000 from her son's compensation.

Louise Gray, 42, spent £250,000 of her own compensation money before turning to her son Adam's fund, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Gray, 42, from Ipswich, is said to have frittered away the money on cars, clothes and luxury holidays.

She admitted stealing £43,000 between July, 2012, and November, 2013, at an earlier hearing.

Her husband, accountant Richard Gray, 41, was one of 52 people killed in the 2005 London bombings as he commuted to work.

Judge David Goodin told Gray: "The offence you have committed against your son, the trust you betrayed - a second hammer blow following the death of his father - is so serious it can only be met by a custodial sentence."

The judge added: "The theft of £43,000 is one thing. The theft of £43,000 by a parent from a young adult's trust is quite another, when that sum represented most - practically all - the compensation he received for his father's tragic death.

"It's an act of wickedness almost beyond belief.

"He has lost not one parent, but two."

Adam was 11-years-old when his father was killed by suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer on a Circle line Underground train.

The children's money was placed in trust until their 18th birthdays, but Adam gave his cash to his mother to look after when he turned 18.

When he arranged to meet her in November 2013 to ask for the money because he was looking to buy a property, she confessed she had spent it, the court was told.

Adam took civil action to try to recover the cash and his mother was ordered by a county court judge to repay him the £43,000.

He also reported the matter to police and she was prosecuted for theft.

The court heard that Gray had offered to pay her son £10,000 followed by further monthly payments but the offer had been rejected.

Gray was supported in court by her partner, Umar Shamshoom, who is the father of her three-year-old daughter.

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More Freezing Temperatures On The Way

After the coldest night of the winter so far, forecasters have warned there will be no respite from plunging temperatures, which could last until later this week.

The mercury fell as low as minus 11C overnight and into Monday morning in areas of inland Scotland, with temperatures hovering around minus 7C across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

An amber warning - the second highest - for icy conditions across most of England, including the North, the Midlands and East Anglia, has been issued until midday on Thursday by the Met Office.

Sky News Weather Presenter Isobel Lang said: "Today looks set to be a cold dry and bright day for most, although some snow showers are likely, especially in northeast England."

The Met Office said on its website: "Large areas of England will experience colder than average conditions in the coming week, with widespread overnight frosts.

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Gallery: Snow And Ice Hit Parts Of UK

Snow and icy conditions are hitting many parts of the UK - and temperatures are set to plunge well below zero in many areas.

These pictures were taken in Cumbria, one of the areas hit by snowfall

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22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

British Gas Owner Centrica To Cut Bills

British Gas is to cut household gas bills by 5% - an annual average saving of £37.

The energy firm, owned by Centrica, said the move will benefit 6.8 million customers.

The reduction in tariffs, being introduced from 27 February, comes after "Big Six" rival E.On cut the price of gas by 3.5% last week.

British Gas said the cut reflected the recent fall in wholesale gas prices.

Energy suppliers have come under pressure from politicians and regulators to pass on lower costs to customers.

Wholesale gas costs fell 26% between the third quarter of 2013 and the same period in 2014, and have fallen further since.

British Gas said most of the gas currently being used in customers' homes was bought at higher prices over 2013/14, but wholesale costs for 2015 were now coming down to a level where the reduction could be passed on.

It said it would be keeping prices under review "for further movements up or down".

Prime Minister David Cameron said in a message on Twitter: "It's welcome to see British Gas cutting prices.

"We'll continue to encourage energy firms to pass on falls in wholesale prices to customers."

Christine McGurty, director of corporate affairs at British Gas, told Sky News: "We wanted to make a meaningful cut for our customers.

"We have cut our prices more than any other company so far."

She added: "The suggestion our prices don't fall fast enough - the rocket and feather allegation - is simply not true.

"We are doing as much as we can as quickly as we can."

The announcement comes less than a month after Centrica's new chief executive, Iain Conn, took over.

Mr Conn said: "We've been watching the significant moves in the international energy market extremely closely for some time, with the aim of helping customers with a price cut at the earliest possible opportunity."

An Ofgem spokesperson said: "This is a further step in the right direction.

"We have consistently called for suppliers to explain the growing gap between falling wholesale prices and retail prices.

"Cutting prices is an explanation that consumers will understand and in a competitive market we would expect others to follow suit."

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: "This will be welcome news for British Gas customers - and after E.on's price cut last week, customers of other energy companies will be asking when they're going to see savings passed through."

Labour's Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint said: "This shows that Ed Miliband was right to challenge the energy companies to cut their prices and pass on the falls in wholesale costs to consumers."

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May: We Must Do More To Wipe Out Anti-Semitism

The Home Secretary has said more must be done to wipe out anti-Semitism in Britain.

Speaking at an event to commemorate Jewish people who died in the Paris terror attacks, Theresa May said "Britain would not be Britain" without Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians and people of other faiths.

She added she "never thought I would see the day when members of the Jewish community in the United Kingdom would say they were fearful" of staying in this country.

Her comments come after police lobbied to strengthen the protection of Britain's police officers and Jewish communities after the attacks in France.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley has said there is "heightened concern" over the threat to Jewish people - with "continuing anti-Semitic rhetoric" from extremists.

Ms May said: "The dreadful events in Paris are a reminder of the serious terrorist threat that we face.

"The attack on a Jewish supermarket where four people were killed is a chilling reminder of anti-Semitism, not just in France but the recent anti-Semitic prejudice that we sadly have seen in this country.

"I know that many Jewish people in this country are feeling vulnerable and fearful and you're saying that you're anxious for your families, for your children and yourselves."

Speaking on Sky News' Murnaghan programme, former Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks said Jews in Britain were scared to go the shops in the wake of the Paris attacks.

"After what happened in Paris you are beginning to get British Jews asking 'will I be safe going to synagogue or going to a Jewish shop?'" he said.

"Will my children be safe in a Jewish school? And that kind of thing is absolutely inevitable. I hope it will dissipate soon but there can be no doubt that there is an anxiety now among British Jews which is pretty much at a record high within my lifetime."

Four Jewish men were killed at a kosher supermarket in Paris on the third day of the terror attacks in France.

In the wake of the violence, the rabbi of Paris' biggest synagogue told Sky News he believes thousands of Jews will flee France.

Describing it as a "big exodus," Moshe Sebbag, from the Grand Synagogue in the French capital, said: "It's a fact, you can't ignore it."

Ms May said that with "large numbers of Jewish people" emigrating from Europe and others "questioning their future," she wanted to reassure Jewish people they were "an important and integral part" of the UK.

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Ex-MI5 Boss: Terror Laws 'Not Fit For Purpose'

The former head of MI5 has warned that Britain's anti-terror laws are "not fit for purpose".

Lord Evans' comments about the powers of intelligence and security agencies were reported as the Prime Minister said Britain is facing a "very severe threat" from Islamist extremists, including so-called "lone-wolf" terrorists.

Lord Evans told the Sunday Telegraph: "The ability of the police and security agencies to do this important work of protecting our society and its vulnerable people is under threat from changing technology.

"They can only do this if they have the tools to do so - and the tools at their disposal are no longer fit for purpose."

David Cameron is currently pushing for tougher requirements for internet firms to alert authorities to suspicious online exchanges, ban encrypted communications and store data.

Former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown hit out at the push for increased powers, telling Sky's Murnaghan programme: "The whole nation is made a suspect under these proposals."

He added that while he believed Mr Cameron's demand for increased powers was "sincere", it was "connected to the general election", and said the PM was "cavalier" about the protection of civil liberties.

When asked if the message from the US to allies would be to keep up with the changes to anti-terror laws implemented by Washington, the US ambassador to the UK, Matthew Barzun, told the same programme: "Sure, and we work very closely with the UK and other partners around the world to try to achieve that balance."

Mr Cameron earlier spoke to US TV network CBS about measures to tackle extremism at home.

He said: "In Britain's history, we've had some very intense times of terrorist threats.

"Certainly we face a very severe threat.

"That's what we're calling it: severe, because we believe an attack is highly likely.

"But frankly, we've been in this struggle against extremist, Islamist terrorism now for well over a decade and a half, so we know what it takes to win, but it's going to take a lot of perseverance."

He said the terror threat "keeps morphing" over time, "but it's still based on the fundamental problem of a poisonous death cult narrative which is the perversion of one of the world's major religions".

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and his US counterpart John Kerry are set to host talks in London with ministers from around 20 countries, including Arab states, to discuss ways of tackling Islamic State.

Members of the coalition fighting IS extremists in Syria and Iraq will meet for the summit on Thursday.

On Friday Mr Cameron vowed to tackle what he called the "poisonous narrative of Islamist extremism that is turning too many young minds".

He was speaking following two days of talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington where they said a new group would be set up to exchange information and expertise to tackle the terror threat.

There are fears about the spread of terrorism after the Paris attacks that left 17 people dead and the arrest of more than two dozen people in anti-terror raids in Belgium, Germany and France.

On Saturday, an 18-year-old woman who was arrested at Stansted airport in Essex on suspicion of terrorist offences was released on bail.

Anti-terror officers arrested the teenager when she arrived on a flight at around 4pm on Friday.

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Q&A: The "Snoopers' Charter" Explained

There is a growing row over whether Britain's security services have enough powers to monitor terrorists' communications.

The former head of MI5 has warned that Britain's eavesdropping laws are "no longer fit for purpose" because they have fallen behind advances in technology and encryption.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Lord Evans of Weardale said terrorist attacks are increasingly being planned on parts of the internet that are now difficult to police.

:: What powers do intelligence agencies have now?

By law, most if not all communications data such as telephone and email records must be stored for seven years by service providers.

Police and the security services can obtain this data by serving retrospective search warrants on providers that have been signed by the Home Secretary.

:: Why does the Government want extra powers now?

Many online communications are now automatically encrypted, making it impossible for police to monitor them in real time or at all.

Police say this is poses an unacceptable risk to their ability to keep the public safe from terrorist plots.

Encrypted services such as WhatsApp and iMessage were not available 10 years ago, when current eavesdropping laws were drafted.

The Government says the law needs to be updated with new powers to compel service providers to provide police with encryption codes giving them "backdoor" access to these communications.

The Communications Bill or so-called "snoopers' charter" would also give police access to everyone's web browsing history and the content of all social-media communications.

:: Why is there opposition to the plans?

Civil liberties campaigners warn that the line between privacy and keeping the public safe is being eroded.

They believe the Government is using the terrorist attacks in Paris as an excuse to introduce laws which would make it easy to spy on corporations and the public as well as monitor terrorists.

Security experts warn that if the Government was given increased powers to monitor encrypted communications, terrorists would simply stop using them.

Activists in repressive regimes such as Iran and China use encryption to communicate safely. There is fear that if these services become easier to break it will put these people at risk.

Lord Ashdown told Sky News the Bill would turn Britain into a "nation of suspects" and that innocent people should be protected from Government spying.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the Snoopers' Charter plans were "unproven, clunky, resource intensive".

Speaking on BBC's Andrew Marr show Nick Clegg added: "It is not a very British thing to confer or imply guilt on the whole of the nation."

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Fears For Missing Teenage Girls In Scotland

Police are concerned for the safety of two missing teenage girls in Scotland.

Lisa Coleman, 14, and Robyn Quinn, 15, have been missing from the East Kilbride area since 11am on Friday.

Robyn is described as 5ft 4ins, slim, with black collar-length hair. She was last wearing a bottle green parka-style jacket, a white shirt, black trousers and Dr Marten boots.

She was also carrying a black and white check 'Vans' backpack.

Lisa is described as 5ft 2ins, with a slim build and blue collar length hair.

It is not known what clothing she was wearing, but she may possibly be wearing a green parka-style jacket.

Sergeant Stuart Turner said: "We believe the girls are in each others company, however given their age, we are concerned that they haven't been seen since Friday morning."

Anyone who sees the girls is asked to call police on 101, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Fresh Travel Misery After Tunnel Closures

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Eleven Eurostar services have been cancelled due to "power supply problems" - meaning more headaches for stranded passengers.

The electrical problem shut the Channel Tunnel for two hours, just a day after it was closed following a lorry fire.

Eurostar and the Eurotunnel vehicle service are now suffering a second day of major delays, with long queues seen once again at London's St Pancras.

Eurostar said the cancellations hit six trains that were due to leave from London and five leaving from Paris and Brussels.

The company said one of the two tunnels used by its trains has been reopened, although the second, which was affected by the fire, will remain closed all day.

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Gallery: Travel Chaos In London And Paris

This was the scene at St Pancras International station in London as Eurostar services are cancelled in both directions on Saturday

The company said trains would not be running on that day

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Large queues of passengers formed - but they were told they would be unable to travel

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It was a similar scene at Gare du Nord station in Paris - this board shows all services were cancelled

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Passengers had to make alternative arrangements

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"Eurotunnel experienced new power supply problems this morning which meant that both tunnels were again closed for two hours," it said in a statement.

"This closure was a separate incident, unrelated to the problems experienced yesterday."

The trains cancelled from London had been due to depart at 2.04pm, 3.31pm, 5.04pm, 6.04pm, 6.31pm and 8.04pm.

In Paris, the services leaving the French capital at 4.43pm and 6.43pm will not be running, while in Brussels, the 3.56pm, 5.56pm and 6.56pm trains have been cancelled.

Passengers booked onto those trains have been asked to "postpone their travel and rebook for an alternative date".

It advised there were lengthy delays for the remaining services.

Eurotunnel is also running a reduced service, with up to five-and-a half-hour delays from Calais.

There are also three-hour delays from Folkestone with a 30 minute wait to check in.

Thousands of passengers were left stranded on Saturday after Eurostar and Eurotunnel services were stopped for most of the day after the fire on the French side of the tunnel.

Eurotunnel spokesman John O'Keefe said a "smouldering load" was found in the trailer of the lorry.

The alarm was triggered after CO2 detectors were activated in one tunnel, Eurotunnel said. No one was injured.

The incident led to long queues at St Pancras station in London. There were similar scenes in Paris and Brussels.

Eurostar had earlier said it would run a full service today, but only "for passengers who have an existing reservation for this date".

It advised people whose trains were cancelled on Saturday not to arrive at stations unless they had already been re-booked.

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Written By Unknown on Minggu, 18 Januari 2015 | 22.11