Paris Attack 'Challenges' British Values

David Cameron has reiterated his support for the French people as an emergency government meeting was held to discuss the implications of an attack on a French magazine for the UK.

Speaking in Manchester, where he has talking to business leaders, the Prime Minister said: "Everyone's thoughts will be with the French people. These events are a challenge to our security. But also a challenge to our values."

Soon after the Cobra meeting got under way, 24 hours after the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in France on Wednesday, police in London and other force areas held a minute's silence.

Theresa May is chairing the Government's emergency Cobra committee

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey was among a number of officers who held a tribute outside Scotland Yard to those who had died.

"Today was about remembering our colleagues in France and remembering the terrible events of yesterday," he said.

Video: Paris Attack: Brothers On The Run

"Our thoughts are with both the French people and our colleagues in the French police and security service for what they are doing at the moment."

Officers in Leicestershire, Greater Manchester, West Mercia, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and Durham also held similar tributes.

ACPO vice president and Greater Manchester chief constable Sir Peter Fahy said: "All members of the British police forces are shocked at the savagery of this attack.

"In any democratic society it is the role of the police to protect basic human rights and our two French colleagues died protecting free speech. We stand in solidarity."

Video: Cameron: We Stand With France

Members of the security services and police attended the meeting chaired Home Secretary Theresa May.

Shortly afterwards it was announced security at Britain's ports and train stations had been tightened.

Earlier, Labour leader Ed Miliband had earlier tweeted: "We stand in solidarity with France against this evil attack by terrorists intent on attacking our democratic way of life & freedom of speech."

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg told his radio show on LBC on Thursday that the Cobra meeting was to double check that all the necessary measures to ensure UK security were in place.

Video: Cartoonists Back Je Suis Charlie

He wrote on his twitter page in French on Wednesday night, saying: "British people are in solidarity with the French people. These acts of terror will never shake our commitment to freedom of expression."

Nigel Farage appeared on Channel 4 News and said: "(The attacks) are truly horrific with obviously some very worrying implications for our civilisation."

He added that he believed the free movement of people across European borders did not aid the fight against attacks like those that happened in Paris.

Mr Clegg used his radio programme to criticise Mr Farage for making political capital out of the tragic events in France and implying British Muslims are "part of the problem".

Video: Vigils Held Across France

MPs, peers, parliamentary staff and journalists gathered in Westminster Hall at noon to mark events by holding pens in the air.

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Tesco To Cut Stores and Jobs In Revival Plan

Tesco has confirmed it is to close 43 unprofitable UK stores and halt construction on almost 50 others as part of a plan to revive its fortunes.

In the wake of four profit warnings last year and the accounting scandal which saw group chief executive Dave Lewis take charge of the UK business, Tesco said it had enjoyed a good Christmas.

Like-for-like sales fell just 0.3% in the six weeks over Christmas - better than analysts predicted - although like-for-like sales in its third quarter were down 2.9%.

But Tesco's sales woes - a result of a lack of focus on its core store offering in the past and the strong challenge from discounters - are only part of the problem for Mr Lewis.

He used the trading update to confirm a number of changes in order to ensure no repeat of the £263m profit over-statement - including new guidelines for supplier negotiations - and outlined plans to streamline the business.

Video: Tesco Cuts: An Expert's Verdict

Its head office in Cheshunt is to close in 2016 while it confirmed the sale of Tesco Broadband and Blinkbox, the video steaming service, to TalkTalk.

Options were being explored for Dunnhumby, the unit which manages its Clubcard loyalty scheme, signalling a likely sale process which could value it at up to £2bn.

Tesco did not disclose the locations of the 43 stores to close but Mr Lewis revealed that a "significant proportion" would be Tesco Express convenience shops.

Changes to store management and working-hour flexibility structures would deliver savings of £230m annually but result in a one-off cost of £300m, Tesco said.

It also plans to close its final salary pension scheme but said colleagues would soon be offered turnaround-based bonuses.

Tesco confirmed too that it had poached Halfords boss Matt Davies to run the UK business but he would not be able to start work until 1 June.

The announcements were cheered by investors, with Tesco's share price - having taken a battering last year - up almost 14% on the FTSE 100 in early afternoon trading.

Sainsbury's and Morrisons also saw their values shoot up but Halfords lost more than 5% on news of Mr Davies' departure.

On the shop floor, Tesco joined the New Year price war with major rivals by cutting prices from today on hundreds of branded products.

It said the move, resulting in average savings of 25% on brands such as Hovis, Coca-Cola, Marmite and Tetley, was a response to "demands from customers for simpler, lower and more stable prices."

Video: TalkTalk: Blinkbox About The Future

Commenting on the Christmas sales performance, Mr Lewis said: "We are seeing the benefits of listening to our customers.

"In difficult circumstances the team has begun the challenging task of reinvigorating our business. There is more to do but we have taken the first important steps in the right direction.

"Our recent performance gives us confidence that when we pull together and put the customer first we can deliver the right results."

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Unleaded Petrol Price Hits Five-Year Low

The average cost of unleaded petrol has tumbled below the 110p-per-litre mark for the first time in five years.

Drivers have been benefiting from lower prices at UK pumps as the cost of oil plummets on world markets - the result of a glut in supply and fears for global economic growth.

Figures released on Thursday by Experian Catalist showed the average cost of unleaded on Wednesday fell to 109.8p - a drop of more than half 1p in a day.

Sources suggested that falls in average petrol costs of more than 2p in a day last month had not been seen in 15 years.

Petrol prices fell by 10p-a-litre in December alone - from 121.44p at the start of the month.

Video: Why Has The Price Of Oil Plummeted?

Experian Catalist said the last time unleaded stood below 110p was on 3 January 2010.

Diesel also continued to fall but more slowly, with the average on Wednesday at 117p-per-litre.

Fuel experts have suggested that the dramatic fall in oil costs is likely to result in unleaded petrol prices going below 100p-per-litre in the coming months.

The chief executive of Sainsbury's which, along with its major supermarket competitors, has led the way in passing on petrol price cuts to motorists, told Sky News on Wednesday he believed such a price was possible.

The Government has ordered an investigation to ensure petrol retailers, energy firms and airlines are charging customers fairly.

Brent crude oil was trading at $51-per-barrel on Friday having lost more than half its value since June.

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UK's Borders Tightened After Paris Attacks

Security at ports and train stations that act as a border into the UK has been tightened up in the wake of the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, the government has said.

The Prime Minister's spokesman told journalists that there had been no change to the UK's terrorism threat level but the government had decided to take extra measures.

Sky sources said a visible extra security presence was expected to be in place both at British and French ports and stations which serve destinations in the UK.

It is believed that passengers using stations serving Eurostar and Le Shuttle and ports that serve ferries to and from France will be among those affected.

Passengers, cars and freight trains at places like Calais and the Gard du Nord in Paris could be subject to extra checks.

Video: Gunmen Spotted At Petrol Station

The sources said that the decision to boost security was not based on any specific intelligence, but rather was "an appropriate" response to the events on Wednesday that left 12 people dead after an attack on a French satirical magazine.

The current threat level remains at severe, the Home Office said.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "The cowardly attacks that took place in Paris yesterday have shocked and sickened people in the UK and around the world.

"In deliberately targeting and murdering journalists, the terrorists were attacking freedom and democracy. And in murdering police officers, they attacked the people who risk their own safety every day to protect us and our way of life."

The sources added that there was no evidence of a link between Britain and the attacks in France, or indeed the suspects and Britain.

Video: Notre Dame Rings Out For The Dead

There has also been no intelligence to suggest that any copy cat type attacks may happen in the UK.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is in the process of updating advice to British travellers to France.

Earlier, the FCO described Wednesday's attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris and the latest in Montrouge on its website and told visitors: "You should take extra care at this time and follow the security advice issued by the French authorities."

The department said an additional counter terrism officer from the Metropolitan Police will be based at the British Embassy in Paris.

It has emerged that on Wednesday, Mr Cameron, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande had a joint phone call.

Video: Sky News Debate: Freedom Of Speech

Earlier, Mrs Merkel and the Prime Minister had been given a joint briefing by British intelligence services - a move that Downing Street described as unusual.

Meanwhile, an extract of a speech that the Director General of MI5, Andrew Parker, is due to give has been released.

In it, he says: "It is too early for us to come to judgements about the precise details or origin of the attack but it is a terrible reminder of the intentions of those who wish to do us harm.

"As you would expect, we are offering our French colleagues our full support as they respond."

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Ched Evans' Oldham Deal Off After Threats

Oldham Athletic's deal to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans is off after board members and their families were threatened, a club director has said.

The football club had come under increasing pressure to turn its back on Evans with tens of thousands of people signing an online petition, local police and politicians voicing their concerns and the club's main sponsor ZenOffice threatening to pull out if they signed him.

"The board of directors has been keen to pursue this deal despite the criticism so this has come as a test of their resolve", Sky's sports correspondent Paul Kelso said.

"Evans may have to go further down the football pyramid to get back into the game."

After the deal fell apart, the former Wales international issued an apology "for the effects that night in Rhyl has had on many people, not least the woman concerned".

Video: 4 Jan - What Do Fans Think?

However, he maintained he had consensual sex with the 19-year-old in a hotel room in 2011.

"Finally, it has been claimed that those using social media in an abusive and vindictive way towards this woman are supporters of mine," he added.

"I wish to make it clear that these people are not my supporters and I condemn their actions entirely and will continue to do so."

The victim has reportedly changed her identity and moved house a number of times after abuse on social media.

Video: 21 Nov: U-Turn 'Right Decision'

Oldham's joint owner Simon Corney had said on Wednesday that there was an "80%" chance of the 26-year-old being signed after talks over several days.

But the deal collapsed amid reports that at least one staff member was told a named relative would be raped if the deal was not stopped.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP), however, said the force was not aware of any threats.

Evans has been unable to find a team since being released from prison in October having served half of a five-year sentence.

Video: 22 Oct: Evans Wants To Clear Name

The Professional Footballers' Association denied it was "driving any deal".

"We fully recognise that this is a delicate and emotive case and entirely respect that there are opposing views," it said in a statement.

He had trained with his previous employers Sheffield United after leaving jail but any hopes of him rejoining them were dashed by fierce opposition from influential figures including Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill.

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Your First-Hand Experiences Of A&E Wards

Overwhelming patient demand has seen accident and emergency waiting times plunge to their worst levels in a decade and several hospitals implement major incident plans to cope.

Health professionals estimate nearly a third of people going to A&E are not emergency cases, while a lack of community healthcare has also been blamed for adding to the problem.

In response to the crisis, many viewers have contacted Sky News via email to relate their personal experiences of A&E.

Here are some of them:

:: Alan Pitts

Video: Why Are A&E Wards Struggling?

"My 92-old-mother spent just over 24 hours in the A&E department in December. They ran out of blankets pillows, chairs and beds.

"The hospital was like a third world country. The general manager of the hospital advised me that the hospital was operating in an unsafe condition."

:: Barry Fryer

"My 96-year-old mother recently had a bad fall and had to wait on a trolley in a corridor for three hours whilst the staff dealt with more serious patients.

"There was no room on the wards and there were 10 patients on trollies in the corridor. Some were bleeding from cuts and wounds.

"The more serious patients turned out to be aggressive drunks which ended up in security staff and the police being called.

"My mother was 'seen' within the four-hour period but that was only someone taking details of the problems. She was not treated or seen by a doctor for more than seven hours.

"Why should drunks take over A&E departments and why shouldn't they be made to pay for the costs of their self-inflicted problems clogging up A&E?"

:: Wendy McKenzie - her mother, who died last August, had been a patient at two hospitals

Video: A&E: Where Is Problem Most Acute?

"Both hospitals have large A&E departments and in all instances my mum was treated very well. Even if there was a wait someone kept checking on her.

"The last incident could have been very traumatic as she had taken a bad fall.

"The ambulance service were great, ensuring that mum suffered as little discomfort as possible and stayed with her until they could officially hand her over to the medics in A&E.

"The team there again were great.

"Yes, we had to wait even though this was late at night, but nurses continually checked on her and she was treated well.

"Sadly she did not survive, passing away two days later due to a massive haemorrhage. I cannot speak more highly of how she was treated."

:: Shona Wedderburn

"I was in A&E three weeks ago and I was seen within half-an-hour for an X-ray and I was taken into the nurse within an hour of that for my details tombs confirmed.

"I did have to wait nearly four hours to see the doctors but that was due to six ambulances coming in with emergencies, two of which were for resuscitation so to say that 92.6% is bad is wrong."

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1. Gallery: When Should You Go To A&E?

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Ministers Reject Call For A&E 'Crisis' Summit

The Government has rejected Labour's calls for an emergency summit to discuss ways of easing the growing pressure on accident and emergency (A&E) departments.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham had called for health, social care, council and emergency services to meet after the worst A&E admissions figures in a decade.

More than a dozen hospitals including Addenbrooke's in Cambridge have declared major incidents because of a surge in demand.

Hospitals in England and Wales which have declared 'major incidents'

London's Fire Brigades' Union has also protested about the knock-on effect, saying vehicles have been pressed into service as makeshift ambulances.

But a Department of Health spokeswoman said: "The Secretary of State (Jeremy Hunt) has been holding weekly meetings about A&E pressures since March last year.

Video: A&E Departments Struggling To Cope

"Alongside colleagues across government and the NHS nationally, we continue to work with the local NHS to help support them through the winter."

:: Click here for the In The Margins console 

David Cameron has admitted the NHS is under pressure following the release of figures showing waiting times at A&E in England have hit their worst level in 10 years.

However, he dismissed claims the service is on the brink of disaster.

Mr Burnham has published a letter accusing Mr Hunt of failing to anticipate the current problems.

Reports of fire engines and police cars being increasingly used as ambulances raised "major patient and public safety concerns", he wrote.

Video: Why Are A&E Wards Struggling?

Mr Burnham said any summit needed to include representatives from the police, fire and ambulance services as well as NHS professionals.

The latest figures on A&E waiting times showed just 92.6% of patients were treated within the four-hour time limit against a target of 95%

The figure is much worse in Wales, where Labour is in charge, but Mr Burnham told Sky News the statistics are not the most important thing.

He said: "What really matters is that there are thousands of people today waiting on a trolley in hospital corridors, held in the back of ambulances outside A&E, people who cannot get the care they need in a very serious situation.

"The emergency services are not functioning as they should be. That's a serious issue. It requires urgent action and constructive suggestions."

The British Medical Association says there are now "unprecedented levels of pressure" on the health service, while the Royal College of Nursing said the system was in "crisis".

Video: More People And Harder To Discharge

Mr Cameron said there was a "short-term pressure issue which we need to meet with resources and management".

He added: "A lot of the pressure on A&E is coming from frail, elderly people, often with many different health conditions and the best place for them, frankly, is not A&E.

"They should be being looked after by the family doctor or in other health settings and I think the long term challenge is to make sure those sorts of settings are more available."

The hospitals that have declared major incidents are:

:: The Royal Bolton Hospital
:: Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge
:: Scarborough Hospital In Yorkshire
:: Royal Stoke University Hospital
:: Peterborough City in Cambridgeshire
:: Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
:: Cheltenham General Hospitals
:: Walsall Manor in the West Midlands
:: Croydon Hospital in south London
:: Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals
:: Ashford and St Peter's hospitals in Surrey
:: Stafford's County Hospital
:: Leicester General, Glenfield and Leicester Royal hospitals

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Scores Offer To Adopt Dog Left At Station

More than 100 people have offered a new home to a dog left a railway station with a suitcase containing his belongings.

The Scottish SPCA had calls from people as far away as California and Tennessee after the story of shar-pei crossbreed Kai being abandoned at Ayr station in South Ayrshire made the papers all over the world.

The animal welfare charity hopes to rehome Kai once he has had surgery to his eyelids, which are curled under meaning his eyelashes touch his eyeballs.

"He needs surgery which is quite a common procedure. He won't be able to leave till he has had that so he will be with us for the next three to four weeks," a spokeswoman for the charity, which is based in Glasgow, said.

Kai, who is aged between two and three, was found tied to a railing outside the station with the case containing items including a pillow, toy, food and a bowl.

Video: Can You Help Find This Dog A Home?

Alan Grant, a senior animal care assistant at the Glasgow centre, said: "It would certainly have been very distressing for him at the time he was abandoned.

"He has been tied up to a fence and watched his owners walk away and leave him, and that's distressing for any dog, even if you just tie your dog up outside the shop and go into the shop, most dogs will panic so it must have been very, very distressing for him watching his owners walk away.

"He's settled into the centre not bad and he seems very people-orientated, but it's certainly not the right manner to leave any animal in."

Video: Puppy Saves Man From Burning House

The charity said abandoning an animal is an offence under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 and anyone found guilty of doing so can expect to be banned from keeping animals for a fixed period or life.

The dog was sold on the Gumtree website in 2013 and the charity is appealing for information to help trace whoever bought him.

Video: Puppy Smuggling: A Booming Trade

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Migraine Patient Claims Doctor Fondled Her

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

A woman told a jury how consultant paediatrician Michael Salmon fondled her breasts "to check for breast cancer" when she visited him as a 15-year-old with migraines.

She said he sent a nurse out of the consulting room, then told her to remove her top and bra before examining her.

She said: "I was stunned. I didn't understand what was going on. I have buried this stuff for a long, long time."

She told Reading Crown Court how she felt at the time: "He's a doctor, I'm a child trying to believe him that what he is doing is right."

The woman, who is now 48, said she did not report it to police, but did tell her school friends.

"I spoke to school friends at the time because we were all being touched at school. We were 'here's another one'."

She reported Salmon to police in 2013 when her mother read his name in a newspaper.

She said she had earlier had seven months of counselling over alleged abuse by another man connected to her boarding school. She did not mention Salmon during the counselling sessions.

That suspect was never charged because he was old and suffering from dementia, the court was told.

Defence barrister Sarah Jones suggested the witness had reported Salmon only because she was frustrated by the lack of prosecution against the other man.

The witness said that was not true. She had not mentioned Salmon during counselling because she was concerned with the abuser at her school.

She said: "I'm not out for punishment. I'm speaking today because I didn't speak out when I was 15."

Salmon, 79, from Salisbury, was struck off the medical register in 1991 after admitting indecently assaulting three young patients.

In the current trial he denies 16 charges involving young female patients: three rapes, 11 indecent assaults and two of arranging abortions.

The alleged offences were committed in the 1970s and 80s.

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Sponsor Warns Oldham: Don't Sign Ched Evans

A major sponsor has threatened to withdraw its support from Oldham Athletic Football Club if they sign convicted rapist Ched Evans.

ZenOffice made the threat after reports the 26-year-old had agreed personal terms and could be in the squad for Saturday's game against Doncaster.

The company said in a statement it had sponsored League One Oldham for five years and the relationship was based on "mutual respect" and the fact they shared the same "family and community" values.

But it warned: "ZenOffice do not agree that the current path OAFC are embarking on espouses these values.

"Therefore it is with much regret that ZenOffice would like to confirm that we will end our association with Oldham if the move goes ahead to sign Ched Evans."

Video: 5 Jan - No Decision From Oldham

According to Sky sources Oldham were on the verge of signing Evans after canvassing opinion among fans and sponsors including ZenOffice.

Sky Sports News reporter James Cooper said: "There has been a split among fans and sponsors but one of the major sponsors ZenOffice have assured them they will remain a key part of the club.

"If Evans completes the switch he'll be attending a medical and the staff will be ready to carry that out. It looks like three days of waiting for a resolution is almost over."

Video: 4 Jan - What Do Fans Think?

Secondary shirt sponsors, Carter Moore Solicitors, have apparently told Oldham they will continue to back them whether they sign Evans or not.

But the club have come under increasing pressure to turn their back on Evans with tens of thousands of people signing an online petition and local police and politicians voicing their concerns.

The Wales international has been unable to find a team since being released from prison in October after serving half of a five-year sentence for rape.

Video: Evans Has 'Served His Time'

He had trained with his previous employers Sheffield United after leaving prison but any hopes of him rejoining them were dashed by fierce opposition from influential figures including Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Reports that Evans had been offered a contract by a leading Maltese club were denied by his spokesman.

Oldham are currently 14th in League One.

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