Young Drivers 'Face Passenger Restrictions'

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

Young drivers could be banned from carrying passengers who are not members of their own family in a bid to cut the number of deaths on the roads.

More than 1,500 17 to 24-year-olds in the UK were killed or seriously injured while driving a car last year, according to the Department for Transport.

They accounted for 25% of all car deaths and injuries in 2011.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told the Daily Telegraph he would consider measures put forward by the Association of British Insurers which could cut the number of accidents involving young motorists.

"There is a suggestion as to whether you should look at a restriction whether anyone could carry passengers for six or nine months when they have first passed their test," he said.

"There are suggestions about them only perhaps being allowed to take a family member to drive a car when you are learning, you have to have a qualified driver in the car. So these are all sorts of areas that I think we can look at."

Kelly's sister, Abi (left), and mother, Della

Kelly Phillips, 17, from Surrey, died in 2005 when the car she was a passenger in hit a tree at 80mph.

She had been sitting in a car listening to music with a 17-year-old boy who did not yet have his licence.

The decision to go for a drive on the public road cost them both their lives.

Kelly's mother, Della Phillips, told Sky News: "I try to hide behind this facade of strength. But inside I'm crying all the time, I'm missing her all the time.

"It's like a craving, you're not seeing the memories you expected to see when you have a child."

Ms Phillips is calling for an alternative approach to the measures being considered by the Government.

The Drive IQ campaign

She is backing a free education campaign called Drive IQ - an online education programme that puts pre-drivers and novices through potentially hazardous road scenarios. 

Some 350 schools and 30,000 young people already use the programme but it could be rolled out to thousands more.

She said: "When it comes to young people being safer in cars, lack of knowledge can kill. I know that only too well.

"We want every mum and dad out there to ensure their child and their child's school/college uses Drive IQ straightaway as it addresses attitude and behaviour.

"We have to tackle this issue right now." 

:: Road Safety Week runs from November 19 to November 25. For more information visit www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk.

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Electoral Commission To Probe Police Vote

Low Turnout For Police Commissioner Polls

Updated: 7:33pm UK, Friday 16 November 2012

Dire turnouts have threatened to undermine the first ever police and crime commissioner elections, with as few as 10% of voters casting their ballots in some areas.

The Electoral Reform Society branded the elections a "comedy of errors" after a record low turnout left at least one polling station - in the Newport area - completely unused.

It said it could end up being the lowest voter turnout ever in peacetime history.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the elections for the new commissioners had descended in to a shambles, with many voters taking to Twitter to describe the low turnout at their polling stations.

A UKIP MEP, John Bufton, even called for Home Secretary Theresa May to resign for presiding over a "shamefully low turnout".

In Wiltshire, the first force area to declare, the overall turnout was 15.8% as Tory candidate Angus Macpherson, a magistrate, won after a second round of voting ahead of Labour's Clare Moody.

But in one part of Wiltshire, Devizes, only 10.41% of voters took part.

Polling stations elsewhere across the country appeared to be equally as quiet as many people opted not to vote for the first generation of PCCs, despite about £75m being spent on the campaign.

Newport City Council confirmed to Sky News that no voters attended one of its polling stations, despite it being open for 15 hours from 7am to 10pm on Thursday.

Elsewhere, turnout was 11.42% in Wigan, 12% in Rochdale, 12.59% in Oldham and 12.49% in Manchester. For Greater Manchester as a whole it was 13.46%.

In Essex, just 12.81%% of voters took to the polls.

Even in Humberside, where Lord Prescott's name on the ballot paper raised the profile of the election, turnout was only 19.48%.

Sky's election analyst Michael Thrasher said the low turnout was "hardly surprising" given the elections were held in dark and chilly November "for an office that no-one has heard of" across unfamiliar police authority areas.

He said the numbers raised questions over the legitimacy of the office and those elected.

Mr Thrasher, a professor of politics at Plymouth University, added that it could end up costing as much as £13 per vote that was cast.

"When you work out how much it's going to cost per vote it becomes quite ridiculous," he said.

But policing minister Damian Green defended the turnout, saying it would improve in years to come.

He told Sky News: "I think it's likely with something new coming on that people will take time to get used to it.

"But I'm absolutely sure they will get used to it in the future and the measure of the success will be the difference they make to policing over the next few years."

Prime Minister David Cameron insisted police commissioners would have a mandate despite the low turnout.

He added: "Remember, these police and crime commissioners are replacing organisations that weren't directly elected at all."

Elections for the new office have been held in 41 police areas outside London.

The newly-elected police and crime commissioner will have the power to control budgets, set policing priorities, and hire and fire chief constables.

The Electoral Reform Society had predicted a turnout of 18.5% before the polls began, which would be below the previous record low in a national poll in peacetime - 23% in the 1999 European elections.

The society's chief executive, Katie Ghose, said: "This election has been a comedy of errors from start to finish.

"The Home Office has operated under the assumption that 'if you build it they will come'. Democracy just doesn't work that way.

"There have been avoidable errors at every step, and those responsible should be held to account."

One of the biggest problems has been that people are not prepared to put a cross beside the name of someone they know little, if anything, about.

Glenda Adcock from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk said she always votes, but not this time.

"I know nothing about the candidates or anything really so I'm not bothering," she said,

And while Bernard Jennings had decided he would take part, he agreed the information had been poor.

"I think they could have done a lot more to help people out so you have a better understanding of what everyone stands for," he said.

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Green Deal Cashback Scheme 'In Tatters'

Not a single household has yet signed up for a flagship coalition energy efficiency scheme despite a £1,000 cashback offer ministers said would get it off to a "flying start".

Green Deal is designed to help homeowners make energy saving home improvements to their properties from January.

The scheme covers the upfront costs of improvements such as insulation and new boilers and allows homeowners to pay the money back through savings on bills.

Households have had since October 1 to have their home assessed for improvements.

However, climate change minister Greg Barker has admitted that no home assessments "have yet been lodged on the register".

Labour said the admission meant the Green Deal scheme was in tatters.

But the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) blamed the lack of formal applications on people waiting until nearer January, when building work can actually start, before getting involved.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey announced the first-come-first served £125m cashback offer last month in a bid to persuade people to sign up - with those committing to the most work offered up to £1,000.

He said the scheme would provide an "unprecedented choice" for consumers wanting to make their homes more energy efficient.

"This cashback offer will help get the Green Deal off to a flying start. It really is a great offer - the more work households have done, the more energy they stand to save and the more cash they receive," he said.

In response to a parliamentary question from shadow climate change minister Luciana Berger, Mr Barker said: "While we understand a number of appointments for the in-property assessments have been made, no assessments have yet been lodged on the register."

A DECC spokeswoman insisted the Green Deal was "coming alive" and it was pleased with the progress made so far.

"We understand that assessments are generally being scheduled to take place closer to the date at which a plan can be signed and the work can begin - this makes perfect sense," she said.

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Comet Closing Down Sales As 41 Stores To Shut

The stricken retail chain Comet will close 41 stores by the end of the month unless a buyer can be found, administrators have confirmed.

Redundancies were "inevitable" although administrators Deloitte said they would look to place staff from closing stores into other nearby outlets.

Up to 500 jobs could be under threat at 27 of the stores where closing down sales began today. A further 14 closing down sales will begin early next week.

Chris Farrington, joint administrator, said: "We are very grateful to the company's employees for their professionalism, loyalty and support at this difficult time and all employees will of course continue to be paid for all the work they do while the company is in administration."

Deloitte had already announced 330 redundancies at the company but there have been no job losses among shop staff as yet and all the chain's 236 stores remain open at present.

The bulk of the staff cuts have been made in Comet's head office in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, as well as its site in Hull and call centre in Clevedon, Somerset.

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

The group was hit by weak high street trading conditions, competition from online rivals and being unable to secure the trade credit insurance needed to safeguard suppliers.

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

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

Comet's administration comes just months after it was taken over by investment firm OpCapita, which bought the chain for a nominal £2 in February.

Angry staff at the chain have called for ministers to investigate the retailer's collapse and the way its former private equity owners ran the company.

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Meningitis B Vaccine Set To Be Approved

A lifesaving meningitis B vaccine is set to be licensed for use in the UK in a move that could save thousands of lives.

The disease, which is the most common and deadliest form of meningitis in the country, affects some 1,870 people each year, many of them children, and results in death for one in 10 sufferers.

The approval of the new 4CMenB vaccine, which has been developed by pharmaceutical company Novartis, has been hailed by the charity Meningitis UK as the "biggest leap forward in the field" in three decades.

The vaccine received a "positive opinion" verdict from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday, meaning that the vaccine is considered safe and effective.

It will be the first meningitis B vaccine approved for use in the UK, which has one of the highest incidence rates in the world.

One in four sufferers is left with life changing after-effects, such as brain damage and limb loss, with children under five most at risk from the disease.

The charity said the next stage will be to give the vaccine - which has the trade name Bexsero - a marketing licence. It is expected to receive its UK licence early next year.

Meningitis UK wants the vaccine to be introduced into the Government's routine immunisation schedule as soon as possible, so it will be automatically given to children. The jab is recommended for those aged two months and older.

Meningitis UK founder Steve Dayman, who lost his baby son to meningitis and septicaemia in 1982, said: "This is a landmark moment in the fight against meningitis - I have waited three decades to hear this.

"It is vital that the vaccine is introduced in the UK immunisation schedule as soon as possible. It will save countless lives and prevent many people enduring the suffering caused by this devastating disease.

"We will be campaigning hard to make the Government introduce it."

The decision on whether to introduce the vaccine to the immunisation schedule will be made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), who advise the Government on vaccination.

There are a large number of meningitis B strains in the UK - more than in many other countries - which makes producing a vaccine very difficult. Meningitis B accounts for about 90% of cases in the UK.

The new vaccine is described as a real breakthrough as studies have shown it should protect against 73% of strains which cause the disease in the UK.

Scientists have been attempting to develop a broad-ranging Meningitis B vaccine for years and have used a revolutionary new approach called reverse vaccinology to create it.

This involved sequencing the genome of the bacteria and identifying proteins that provoke an immune response against a broad range of strains.

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Fuel Prices: AA Demands Action For Motorists

The AA has accused ministers of failing drivers and businesses by not clamping down on what is sees as unfair fuel prices.

The motoring group says while average unleaded prices have gone down from 138.95p a litre in mid-October to 135.08p - with diesel dropping from 143.74p to 141.89p - motorists are still being short-changed.

It believes the fall in wholesale petrol prices across Europe should have knocked UK pump prices down by between 10p and 11p a litre instead of by an average 4p.

Despite the signs that the Chancellor is poised to postpone the planned fuel duty rise of 3p a litre due in January, the AA said drivers were facing a series of pressures including a "postcode lottery" in fuel prices.

It found that motorists in one area can be charged as much as 5p a litre more than drivers a few miles away.

AA president Edmund King said: "The Government momentarily had a grip of this monster when the previous Transport Secretary (Justine Greening) called in the industry to agree wholesale price transparency.

"This initiative stalled when the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) called for information on road fuel pricing - to which the industry has responded by pumping up wholesale prices and then not passing on cost savings in a timely fashion.

"The average UK domestic energy bill is £1,252 but the cost of fuel for the average car consuming 1,200 litres a year is over £1,500.

"This week the Government said it was going to tackle high gas and electricity bills, yet lets drivers and businesses down by not reacting swiftly to runaway wholesale and pump prices."

Earlier this week, Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid said the Government understood the pressures facing households and was determined to help with the cost of living.

He said: "The Government is doing all it can to help hard-working families with the cost of living and putting money back into their pockets.

"Action on fuel duty is part of this. Fuel duty is currently 20% lower in real terms compared to its peak in March 2000 and 7% lower compared to May 2010."

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Demoted Christian Wins Facebook Post Ruling

A Christian man demoted for posting his opposition to gay marriage on Facebook has won his breach of contract action against his employers.

Adrian Smith lost his managerial position, had his salary cut by 40%, and was given a final written warning by Trafford Housing Trust (THT) after writing gay weddings in churches were "an equality too far".

The comments were not visible to the general public, and were posted outside work time, but the trust claimed he broke its code of conduct by expressing religious or political views which might upset fellow workers.

Mr Smith brought breach of contract proceedings, saying the trust acted unlawfully in demoting him.

At London's High Court Mr Justice Briggs ruled in his favour, saying the trust did not have a right to demote Mr Smith as his Facebook postings did not amount to misconduct and was a breach of contract.

Justice Briggs concluded: "Mr Smith was taken to task for doing nothing wrong, suspended and subjected to a disciplinary procedure which wrongly found him guilty of gross misconduct.

"(He was) then demoted to a non-managerial post with an eventual 40% reduction in salary. The breach of contract which the Trust thereby committed was serious and repudiatory."

Mr Smith said in a statement: "I'm pleased to have won my case for breach of contract today. The judge exonerated me and made clear that my comments about marriage were in no way 'misconduct'.

"Britain is a free country where people have freedom of speech, and I am pleased that the judge's ruling underlines that important principle.

"But this sad case should never have got this far. Long ago, Trafford Housing Trust should have held their hands up and admitted they made a terrible mistake.

"Had they done this then my life would not have been turned upside down and my family and I would not have had to endure a living nightmare."

The Christian Institute, the group that paid for Mr Smith's legal case, welcomed the ruling.

Spokesman Mike Judge said: "This is a good day for free speech. But would Adrian have won his case if marriage had already been redefined? I don't think so. The Government should stop playing politics with marriage, because it's ordinary people like Adrian who'll get it in the neck."

Matthew Gardiner, chief executive at Trafford Housing Trust said: "We fully accept the court's decision and I have made a full and sincere apology to Adrian.

"At the time we believed we were taking the appropriate action following discussions with our employment solicitors and taking into account his previous disciplinary record.

"This case has highlighted the challenges that businesses face with the increased use of social media and we have reviewed our documentation and procedures to avoid a similar situation arising in the future. Adrian remains employed by the Trust and I am pleased this matter has now concluded."

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Ashdown: Withdraw Troops From Afghanistan Now

British forces must withdraw from Afghanistan as quickly as possible before any more troops are killed, Liberal Democrat former leader Lord Ashdown has said.

In a damning assessment of the campaign in Afghanistan, he said allied forces had failed to build a sustainable state and establish a government which was untainted by corruption.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said British forces will leave the country by the end of 2014 but writing in the Times, Lord Ashdown, a former special-forces officer, said it should be sooner.

He said: "We cannot pretend there is any more to do in Afghanistan. The urgent priority is to get out. It is not worth wasting one more life in Afghanistan.

"All that we can achieve has now been achieved. All that we might have achieved if we had done things differently, has been lost.

"The only rational policy now is to leave quickly, in good order and in the company of our allies. This is the only cause for which further lives should be risked."

Lord Ashdown said the failure to establish a functioning state was not the fault of British troops but of the international community to work with the country's leaders and neighbours.

Former Royal Marine Lord Ashdown wants an immediate exit

He added: "The international community in Afghanistan needed to speak with a single voice in pursuit of a single plan with clear priorities.

"Instead we have been divided, cacophonous, chaotic. We should have concentrated on winning in Afghanistan where it mattered, instead of distracting ourselves with adventures in Iraq.

"We should have engaged Afghanistan's neighbours, instead of going out of our way to make them enemies. Our early military strategy should have been about protecting the people instead of wasting our time chasing the enemy.

"We should have made fighting corruption our first priority instead of becoming the tainted partners of a corrupt Government whose writ, along with ours, has progressively collapsed as that of the Taleban in the south has progressively widened."

His comments come amid an increasing number of green-on-blue attacks where members of the Afghan National Army have turned on allied troops.

On Remembrance Sunday, Captain Walter Barrie was playing in a football match between British and Afghan soldiers at his base in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province when he was shot dead at close range.

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Paedophile Warwick Spinks Traced By Ceops

A paedophile who had been on the run for 15 years has been found in the Czech Republic.

Warwick Spinks was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Thursday after he was tracked down by officers from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop).

The 48-year-old was convicted in 1995 of a series of sexual offences against boys, including serious sexual assault at knifepoint, taking a child without lawful authority and taking indecent images of children.

He was jailed for seven years but this was reduced to a five-year term on appeal.

Spinks went missing in 1997 while released on licence and fled the UK.

He used various aliases while on the run, including Willem Van Wijk and William Spinks.

Ceop chief executive Peter Davies said: "Ceop officers, in conjunction with officers at the Metropolitan Police Service and Soca (Serious Organised Crime Agency), have worked tirelessly over a number of years to locate and trace a high-risk child sexual offender, who believed he could avoid being managed in the UK by travelling overseas.

"I hope this arrest sends a clear message to other missing child sexual offenders that however far you travel to avoid facing the consequences of your actions, we will track you down and bring you to justice."

Spinks now faces serving the remaining 18 months of his sentence.

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Dave Lee Travis Arrest: DJ Denies Wrongdoing

DJ Dave Lee Travis has denied any wrongdoing after being arrested by police investigating the Jimmy Savile sex abuse claims.

Speaking outside his home near Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, the 67-year-old protested his innocence and said he did not want his name associated with "bloody evil" child abuse.

He said: "This is nothing to do with kids, all right? That's the first thing. Because that to me is the most important thing in the world and I do not wish to have my name sullied around something that bloody evil, to be honest.

"The second thing I want is to say, yes, there's a complete denial there, but there's nothing else I can tell you because otherwise I might be stepping on the police's feet and I don't want to do that because it might affect their investigations."

He added: "There's one very important point I want to get across here - when I read the papers this morning I could not believe it.It was like, you know, 'DLT caught in Savile probe' and all this.

"I'm going to make one thing extremely clear to you, and I'd be really obliged if you all make sure that this gets into your articles and gets on to the television and you don't leave this bit out - the Savile probe is nothing to do with things I've been talking to the police about.

Burmese pro-democracy Aung San Suu Kyi listened to DLT's World Service show

"So let's get down to brass tacks here - the first thing is I've been talking to the police about sexual... I can't even remember what the word is now - in the old days it was called 'putting your arm around somebody and giving them a cuddle' but nowadays God knows.

"But anyway, I was accused quote of squeezing the boobs of a couple of women. So the point I want to make here is that none of the things I've been talking to the police about, or have talked to them about, is to do with children.

"I want this completely clear. My name appeared in the paper this morning ... alongside Gary Glitter and Jimmy Savile, so that's not on."

He added: "If you'd like to actually put in your papers that Dave Lee Travis categorically denies that there was anything... oh, that's the problem you see,as soon as you deny something, oh, there must be something to deny.

"Yes, there's an ongoing police investigation about me and two grown women, all right? And this has to be completely clear with all of you.

Dave Lee Travis, pictured in 1982

"Any talk about children is, it's just insensing, all right? I am and always have been completely abhorred by anything to do with children and anything to do with child molestation and anything like that.

"I don't really want to be in a headline where people look and see Savile's name and see my name and think: 'Oh God, is he at it as well?' Not true, all right? You have a categorical denial about children. That is absolutely set in concrete, I promise you."

He went on: "It's a story, it's a big story. But you know, I'm saying I do not wish to be sucked into anything that is talking about paedophilia and that, and this is not just me protesting too much, trust me.

"I've actually said, and if you look into the archives you might find that on my radio shows in the past when there's been a paedophile case, I've said: 'Well, hey, instead of putting them in jail and doing this, send them round to my place and I'll sort them out'. That's how strongly I feel."

He continued: "I think that sometimes, you know, us guys who are a bit older, who are, shall we say, tactile, which is not a terrible thing to be, in the old days you put your arm around somebody and gave them a little kiss or a cuddle.

"Yeah, that's fine. But nowadays, you know, you'd have to stop and think: 'Is this an assault?'

"Now, I'm not saying that I haven't put my arms round people or anything like that, and I'm not saying that any of this is right or wrong at the moment, but I'm just trying to get the facts out."

His comments came after his weekend radio show was taken off air "with immediate effect" by Magic AM following his arrest on Thursday.

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