Police Search For Missing Mother And Child

Police are searching for a one-year-old girl who was taken by her mother during a supervised visit in the West Midlands.

Lola Page was in the care of social services and being looked after by foster parents in Walsall.

Her mother Stacey Ball, 18, took the child from an address in Stroud Avenue, Willenhall, at 1pm on Friday.

It is believed they got into a dark-coloured car which then drove away.

Officers said there have been no sightings of the pair and are becoming increasingly concerned for their welfare.

Police have issued this photo of the pair taken on the day Lola disappeared

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Markham said: "We urgently need Stacey to make contact with us or anyone who may know their whereabouts."

Police have issued a photo of the pair taken on the day Lola disappeared.

The child was wearing a white cardigan and a blue polka dot dress.

Her mother was wearing a long black wig, black leggings and a black and tan patterned dress.

:: Anyone with information should call West Midlands Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Childcare Tax Break: Details To Be Unveiled

Details of a planned £1,200 childcare tax break for families is expected to be unveiled in next week's Budget, according to Sky sources.

Help with the expense of childcare is one of the things people have been pressing for said Sky's Political Correspondent Anushka Asthana, and is part of the Government's drive to help families as well as business.

Figures recently revealed the cost to families for part-time childcare is more than the monthly mortgage repayment.

It follows a consultation on tax breaks for families, and will replace the current childcare voucher system which means everybody who is working, including the self-employed, will be able to qualify for it.

The current voucher system depends on whether an employer agreed to it, and at the moment only 5% do.

It came as Chancellor George Osborne warned  of more "difficult decisions" to come in Wednesday's Budget.

Writing in The Sun on Sunday, he confirmed he will use his Commons statement to outline details of the Government's promised cap on welfare payments.

Details of the cap on welfare payments will also be unveiled in the Budget

And he underlined the need to "not waver" from plans to tackle the budget deficit and deal with Britain's debts.

He wrote: "That plan has delivered economic stability and low mortgage rates for families and it has laid the foundations for economic recovery."

But the deficit remained too high, which was why workers in the public sector faced another year of pay restraint and welfare spending would be capped from 2015.

"None of these decisions are easy, but the alternatives are worse," he wrote.

In a sideswipe at his opponents, Mr Osborne said: "Ed Balls and Ed Miliband haven't learned any lessons from the last time they crashed the British economy.

"The question is simple: Why would you give the keys back to the people who crashed the car?"

But Mr Balls, Labour's shadow chancellor, accused Mr Osborne of being "out of touch", and argued ordinary people had yet to see any improvement in their standard of living.

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Claudia Lawrence Case: Mother's 'Nightmare'

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The mother of the missing York woman Claudia Lawrence has praised a new team of detectives investigating her daughter's disappearance and says she constantly thinks of the events she has missed.

Joan Lawrence, 70, says she is confident that the re-launched investigation which began last October is doing all it can to uncover why Claudia, 35, vanished without trace five years ago.

"I think if they don't [solve the case] they will have tried their utmost, and they're working so hard on it," she said.

"I don't think they'll easily give up."

Claudia was reported missing by her father Peter Lawrence, 67, on the morning of March 19 2009 after she failed to turn up for her shift as a cook at the University of York the previous day.

Mother Joan Lawrence is hopeful of the re-launched investigation

Detectives believe she was murdered, but an extensive investigation drew a blank with no trace of her being found and no arrests made.

Mrs Lawrence, who is divorced from Claudia's father, has shown Sky News childhood pictures of Claudia and her older sister Ali in the hope that they might prick the conscience of someone who knows what happened.

"She's missed so much," she said as she looked through photographs showing Claudia as a smiling, dark-haired girl growing up in Malton in North Yorkshire.

"Her best friend has got two children, she missed her wedding, her godmother's died, there's so many things happened in five years," she said.

Claudia mysteriously vanished from her home five years ago

In a briefing to mark the fifth anniversary of the day she was reported missing, detectives are expected to reveal new information about her last-known movements and appeal for information about two vehicles seen in the area at the time. 

Mrs Lawrence, who has never hidden her frustration with the first police investigation, says she hopes the new team led by Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn will be able to solve the mystery.

"One way or the another I have to find out, I can't go on and on and on," she said.

"I need to know and I'll never ever give up hope."

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Vince Cable Wants HS2 Rail Link Built Faster

Vince Cable has called for the controversial HS2 high-speed rail link to be constructed faster, saying it could help close an economic gap between the north and south of England.

In an interview with The Observer the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary said there was clearly a "compelling argument" for speeding up the project.

"Creating jobs outside London, and closing the gap between north and south, has been one of this Government's top priorities," he said.

"On every visit I make to the north of England, I've heard businesses and council leaders make a compelling case for getting to the north more quickly by accelerating parts of the HS2 build.

"That would ensure the economic benefits can be shared sooner by everyone around the country and deserves serious consideration by government."

Mr Cable's comments come a day before HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins will outline his plan for an accelerated construction timetable. He also aims to reduce the cost of the £50-million project to connect London to the Midlands and the North.

He is expected to call for cross-party support for the plan.

Opponents say the scheme will damage the environment

Currently the scheme's first phase, which will see a new line connect London to Birmingham, is set for completion 2026.

The second phase will take the line in a Y-shape to the North West and North East. 

That is due to be completed around 2032/33.

Sir David is expected to suggest that building work on both phases should be started at the same time. 

It is thought he will also propose a brand new station at London Euston.

Longstanding plans to build the new high-speed rail link have proved highly controversial. 

Opposition comes mainly from environmentalists and residents who live on the line's planned route.

Last month judges threw out a Supreme Court challenge brought by objectors who claimed Government ministers had failed to adequately consider possible alternatives.

Some Government ministers have also voiced concerns.

Last week shadow chancellor Ed Balls raised HS2's projected budget, saying Sir David needed to show that costs "have come down markedly."

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Man Held After Woman Stabbed To Death

Police have launched a murder investigation after a woman died after being stabbed.

The 21-year-old victim was attacked at an address in Redditch, Worcestershire, on Saturday and later died in hospital.

A 29-year-old man who was arrested at the scene remains in custody and continues to help police with their inquiries.

A spokesman for the West Mercia force said: "Detectives confirm the investigation into the stabbing of a 21-year-old female in Evesham Road, Redditch, yesterday is now a murder inquiry following the death of the victim this morning."

West Mercia Police say no more details are being released.

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Anger Over Bomb Hurled At Belfast Police Car

An explosive device was thrown at a police vehicle in Belfast, just hours after a separate car bomb was found a few miles away.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesman said the officers targeted had escaped serious injury following the attack near the City Cemetery in the west of the city.

Paramedics treated up to four members of the public for shock but no one was badly hurt.

A PSNI spokesman said: "Police in west Belfast have escaped serious injury tonight after an explosive device detonated close to their vehicle on the Falls Road.

"The incident occurred shortly before 10.30pm close to the entrance of the City Cemetery.

Debris from the explosion. pic: Press Pix / Samuel Severn

"It is believed some form of explosive device was thrown at their vehicle."

SDLP councillor Claire Hanna tweeted: "Hoping no serious injuries following explosion. Throwback (to) terrorists reduced to trying to embarrass Northern Ireland over St Patrick's. Get off our backs."

The City Cemetery, at the junction of Falls Road and Whiterock Road, is one of Belfast's oldest public cemeteries.

Police in Northern Ireland have been urged to tighten personal security measures after a separate under-car bomb was found a relatively short distance away from City Cemetery on Friday morning.

It fell from the vehicle and failed to explode, and even though the target has not been positively identified, the PSNI has not ruled out the possibility it was meant for one of their officers.

The device was discovered at Blacks Road, a busy route close to the M1 not far from Woodbourne police station.

Dissident republicans have been blamed for planting the bomb in what appears to have been a deliberate attempt to embarrass Northern Ireland First Minister

Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, who are in Washington to meet senior members of the Obama administration as part of St Patrick's Day celebrations.

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West Brom Sack Anelka After 'Quenelle' Storm

West Brom say they have terminated Nicolas Anelka's contract for gross misconduct, following his ban for performing the controversial 'quenelle' gesture during a match.

In a statement on their website, the club said their decision was the result the player's conduct while celebrating a goal against West Ham on December 28 and his remarks posted on social media.

"The club considers the conduct of Nicolas Anelka on December 28, coupled with his purported termination on social media this evening, to be gross misconduct," it said.

"As a result the club has tonight written to Nicola Anelka giving him 14 days' notice of termination as required under his contract."

The 35-year-old, whose deal at the Premier League side was due to expire in the summer, had earlier announced he would leave the club over its response to his five-match ban and £80,000 fine from the FA.

He wrote on his Twitter account that he had decided to "put an end" to his contract, saying the club had proposed "certain conditions that I cannot accept".

The Frenchman's tweets on Friday evening

In three posts written in French on Twitter, the player said: "Following talks between the club and me, propositions were made to me in order to reintegrate me into the squad under certain conditions that I cannot accept.

"Wishing to retain my integrity, I have therefore taken the decision to free myself and put an end to the contract linking me with West Bromwich Albion to 2014, with immediate effect."

West Brom previously issued a statement in response, indicating Anelka's words had taken them by surprise.

It said: "The club has received nothing formally regarding the termination of Nicolas Anelka's contract from either him or his advisers.

"The club regards the release of such a statement on social media as highly unprofessional and will make a further statement when appropriate."

It was claimed the quenelle was anti-Semetic, but Anelka says the gesture was merely anti-establishment and made in support of his friend Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, a French comedian who has been convicted seven times of anti-Semitic crimes.

A Football Association commission found it was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper, and that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief.

It accepted there was no intent by Anelka to be anti-Semitic, but banned him for five matches and fined him £80,000. He was subsequently suspended by West Brom.

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Couple Jailed For Lee Rigby YouTube Videos

A man has been sentenced to five years and four months for posting YouTube videos glorifying the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.

Royal Barnes, 23, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, with his wife, Rebekah Dawson, getting a 20-month sentence.

The videos posted by the British Muslim couple were "offensive in the extreme", the court heard.

They published the clips shortly after the brutal murder of Fusilier Rigby in Woolwich last May.

Barnes filmed himself laughing as he passed flowers left for the soldier

The couple, from Hackney in London, made three videos - the first uploaded on the day after the attack, with Barnes calling it a "brilliant day".

It was edited together with pictures of a man holding a decapitated head, a scene from Woolwich, and images of the World Trade Center.

The second clip showed Dawson ranting about how British troops would be killed on London's streets.

Fusilier Rigby, 25, was hacked to death in broad daylight on May 22, 2013

A third video showed Barnes mocking the public's grief at Fusilier Rigby's murder and laughing uncontrollably as he and his wife drove past flowers at the murder scene.

Barnes pleaded guilty last month to inciting murder and three counts of disseminating a terrorist publication.

Dawson, 22, who insisted on wearing a full veil in court, also admitted charges of disseminating a terrorist publication.

Rebekah Dawson's video was posted shortly after the murder

Judge Brian Barker QC said the pair showed "a total and continuing disregard" for the effect it would have on the soldier's family and the wider public.

Fusilier Rigby's killers were jailed last month for the attack, which saw them hack the solider to death on the streets of southeast London.

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

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EuroMillions: Lucky Brit Wins £107.9m Jackpot

A British ticket-holder has scooped £107.9m on the EuroMillions draw, becoming the fourth biggest UK winner in the history of the National Lottery.

The winning ticket belongs to a single player.

Friday's winning numbers were 06, 24, 25, 27 and 30, while the lucky stars were 05 and 9.

A National Lottery spokesman said: "With the weather set fair for the coming week, this UK winner is set fair for the rest of their lives having just become a multimillionaire.

"This single UK ticket-holder will enter the exclusive top five on the National Lottery Rich List - at number four - and we've got the champagne on ice ready for the lucky winner to claim their prize."

Top of the National Lottery Rich List are Colin and Chris Weir, who won a £161m EuroMillions jackpot in July 2011.

The Scottish husband and wife said they were "tickled pink" by their winnings and reportedly bought a fleet of cars for friends, as well as a mansion.

The second largest jackpot of almost £150m was claimed by Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Suffolk, in August 2012.

At the time, Mr Bayford said he would carry on running his music shop in Haverhill. Mrs Bayford, a children's ward healthcare assistant, said she would treat herself to her dream car, an Audi Q7.

However just 15 months after their win, the couple announced they were divorcing following the "irretrievable" breakdown of their marriage.

The third biggest jackpot of £113m was claimed in October 2010, but the lucky ticket-holder decided not to go public.

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Gove Says Number Of PM's Etonians 'Ridiculous'

Education Secretary Michael Gove has criticised the "ridiculous" numbers of Old Etonians in David Cameron's inner circle.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Gove said such a "preposterous" concentration of individuals from the same privileged background at the top of government was unique among developed countries.

Labour said his comments showed the Conservatives were "out of touch" with the concerns of ordinary people in Britain.

Old Etonians around the Prime Minister - himself a former Eton pupil - include his chief of staff, Ed Llewellyn; the head of his policy unit, Jo Johnson; the minister for government policy, Oliver Letwin; and Chancellor George Osborne's chief economic adviser, Rupert Harrison.

The Prime Minister at a Cabinet meeting last year

Mr Gove compared them to the cabinet of Eton-educated Tory prime minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, the Marquess of Salisbury, who was accused of nepotism and cronyism.

"At the beginning of the 20th century, the Conservative cabinet was called Hotel Cecil," he said.

"The phrase 'Bob's your uncle' came about and all the rest of it. It is preposterous.

"It doesn't make me feel personally uncomfortable because I like each of the individuals concerned, but it's ridiculous. I don't know where you can find some such similar situation in a developed economy."

Mr Cameron's inner circle was compared to that of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (R)

Mr Gove, who went to a fee-paying school in Scotland, said the concentration of Old Etonians at the top of the Conservative Party was due to the fact that "more boys from Eton go to Oxford and Cambridge than boys eligible for free school meals".

But shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Ashworth said it was a "reflection of the Conservative Party" under Mr Cameron.

"It's up to David Cameron who he puts into top jobs, and the fact is that the Prime Minister has chosen to surround himself with people just like himself," he said.

"He's leading a Government that's completely out of touch.

"That's why his decisions have helped a privileged few rather than hard-working families, with tax cuts for people earning over £150,000 while wages are down an average £1,600 a year."

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