Russian Woman's Boyfriend Charged With Murder

The boyfriend of a 23-year-old Russian woman who was found dead in her flat has been charged with her murder, police have said.

Felipe Lopes, 27, was arrested on the street in the Farnborough area of Bromley on Wednesday morning after police discovered the body of Anastasia Voykina in a house in Streatham at around 2am on Monday.

A post-mortem examination found she died as a result of multiple fractures to the face, head and neck.

Lopes will appear at Bromley Magistrates' Court today, Scotland Yard said.

A missing person report for Ms Voykina was made on Sunday after friends became concerned.

Officers attended a maisonette in James Boswell Close, Streatham, where they found her body.

Formal identification has not yet taken place, but detectives are confident the deceased is the missing Russian. Next of kin has been informed.

Police said she made a phone call to her family on December 30, which was the last known contact with her.

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Northern Ireland Clashes: Four Officers Injured

Four police officers have been injured after more than 30 petrol bombs and other missiles were hurled at them in another night of Union flag demonstrations in Northern Ireland.

The most serious disorder was in Carrickfergus and the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey, on the northern outskirts of Belfast.

A bus was also set on fire during the disorder. Police deployed water cannon in an attempt to restore calm and two people were arrested.

A small viable pipe bomb was found on the Westlink dual carriageway in Belfast, but it was unclear whether it was linked to the loyalist disorder.

There were widespread and mostly peaceful protests across Northern Ireland on Friday night in co-ordinated action dubbed Operation Standstill by organisers.

Many roads were blocked off between 6pm and 8pm as loyalist protesters again took to the streets to voice their opposition to Belfast City Council's decision to limit the number of days the Union flag flies at City Hall.

Rugby fans travelling to Ravenhill, in east Belfast, for Ulster's crunch Heineken Cup game against Glasgow faced major disruption due to the pickets.

Protesters carry the Union flag in Newtownabbey

But the city centre was not as empty as might have been expected after an online campaign urged people to defy the protests.

They were called on to stage an "Operation sit-in" in cafes, pubs and restaurants to give businesses hit by the six-week campaign of street action a much-needed boost.

Restaurateur Michael Deane told Sky News the crisis has been a blow to his business but that he refused to give up.

"Belfast is a fabulous city," he said.

"Whether I would come to visit Belfast, looking from outside (at) what you see on the television, no, I probably wouldn't.

"But let's hope this all goes away very quickly."

As loyalists called people onto the streets to protest, young church leaders called them to prayer.

Andrew Masters, from the Christian organisation called What Now?, told Sky News: "We're asking people to pray at 11:11 every day and for two real simple prayers: that peace would come and hope would come and that things that have been lost - the finance, the business, the hope - would be returned."

Around 70 police officers have been injured and more than 100 people arrested in six weeks of trouble since Belfast City Council's ruling on the Union flag.

The Democratic Unionist Party and Progressive Unionist Party have challenged the council over the decision, claiming it contravenes its equality policy.

A Belfast City Council spokeswoman said the flag policy was introduced after a democratic decision elected members.

She said: "The council has taken legal advice throughout this process and the decision is in keeping with the outcome of the equality impact assessment that was undertaken in line with the advice of the Equality Commission.

"The designated days agreed are in keeping with those notified by the UK Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport."

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Savile Sex Abuse Victims To Seek Compensation

Jimmy Savile Abuse Report: Timeline

Updated: 11:45am UK, Friday 11 January 2013

The police and NSPCC report on the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal follows a lengthy investgation sparked by a television documentary.

This is how the case unfolded:

October 29, 2011

:: Veteran DJ and broadcaster Jimmy Savile is found dead in his home in Roundhay, Leeds, after a spell in hospital with a suspected bout of pneumonia. He was 84.

September 30, 2012

:: It emerges allegations about Savile will be made in a new ITV documentary due to be aired on October 3.

October 1

:: Surrey Police confirm Savile was interviewed in 2007 over allegations dating back to the 1970s but was released without charge.

October 2

:: An historic rape allegation made against Savile is referred to Scotland Yard. It is also revealed that Jersey and Surrey police investigated accusations about alleged abuse in two children's homes, but decided there was not enough evidence to proceed.

:: The BBC says it will make direct contact with police to provide full support over the "disturbing allegations".

:: Newsnight editor Peter Rippon says the show dropped a story about allegations against Savile because it "had not established any institutional failure" on behalf of the police or Crown Prosecution Service. Mr Rippon writes on a BBC blog it was "totally untrue" he came under any pressure to drop the story.

October 3

:: Sussex Police confirm that in 2008 a woman reported she had been indecently assaulted by Savile in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1970, but did not want to co-operate with any inquiry or prosecution.

:: Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile is shown on ITV1. In it, five women claim they were indecently assaulted by him when they were schoolgirls in the late 1960s and 1970s.

October 9

:: Comedian Freddie Starr denies any wrongdoing in relation to claims he groped a teenager following the recording of one of Savile's shows.

:: Scotland Yard reveals it is looking at 120 lines of inquiry and as many as 25 victims. Commander Peter Spindler says allegations span four decades and abuse was on a "national scale". He says the inquiry, dubbed Operation Yewtree, will only become a criminal investigation if there is evidence against living individuals.

October 11

:: Allegations emerge that Savile abused children at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire and Leeds General Hospital.

October 12

:: BBC director general George Entwistle offers a "profound and heartfelt apology" to alleged victims as he announces two inquiries - one into potential failings over the handling of the abandoned Newsnight investigation, and a second into the "culture and practices of the BBC during the years Savile worked here".

October 13

:: The Department of Health says it will carry out an investigation into how Savile was appointed to lead a "taskforce" at Broadmoor in 1988.

:: Police say Savile's alleged catalogue of abuse could have spanned six decades and included around 60 victims.

October 19

:: A leaked internal email casts doubt on the BBC's stated reason for cancelling a Newsnight investigation into sexual abuse by Savile, The Times says.

:: Scotland Yard announces that Operation Yewtree is now a formal criminal investigation involving other living people.

October 22

:: The BBC announces that Newsnight editor Peter Rippon has stepped aside "with immediate effect". It says his explanation as to why the show dropped its investigation was "inaccurate or incomplete in some respects".

:: The Crown Prosecution Service say Surrey Police passed a file to them in 2009 based on a complaint made by "a woman who said she had witnessed an indecent assault by Jimmy Savile in the 1970s".

The force found evidence of "three further potential offences" by Savile but evidence showed none of the alleged victims would support a prosecution.

October 25

:: Scotland Yard says it is investigating in excess of 400 lines of inquiry involving 300 victims, of whom all except two are women. Commander Peter Spindler says Savile is one of the most prolific sex offenders in recent history and the inquiry into his abuse will be a "watershed" investigation into sex crime.

October 26

:: It emerges that seven alleged victims of Savile made complaints to four separate police forces - Surrey, London, Sussex and Jersey - while the disgraced television presenter was alive, but it was decided no further action should be taken.

October 28

:: Former pop star Gary Glitter is arrested by officers working on Operation Yewtree. He is bailed to return in mid-December.

November 1

:: Comedian Freddie Starr is arrested in connection with the Savile abuse investigation. He is released on bail.

November 2

:: Freddie Starr returns for further questioning and is later bailed again.

November 11

:: Former BBC producer Wilfred De'ath is arrested at an address in Cambridge but later insists he was the victim of mistaken identity.

:: BBC director general George Entwistle resigns after an "unacceptable" Newsnight broadcast into child abuse in North Wales wrongly implicates a former senior Conservative politician.

November 15

:: Former Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis is arrested on suspicion of sexual offences. Police say the allegations do not directly involve Savile, and are classed under the strand of their investigation termed "others". Mr Travis denies any wrongdoing, saying: "This is nothing to do with kids."

November 29

:: A man in his 80s, from Berkshire, is arrested and questioned by detectives investigating the Savile abuse scandal after attending police premises in south London by appointment. Scotland Yard says he is being treated as part of the investigation that does not directly relate to Savile.

December 6

:: PR guru Max Clifford is arrested at his Surrey home on suspicion of sexual offences and taken to Belgravia police station in central London for questioning. Clifford tells reporters: "These allegations are damaging and totally untrue."

December 10

:: A man in his 60s, from London, is arrested on suspicion of sexual offences and taken to a south London police station. Scotland Yard says he falls under the strand of the investigation termed "others". He is later bailed until January.

December 12

:: Scotland Yard says 31 rape allegations have been made against Savile - out of a total of 450 complaints. It adds 589 people have come forward with information relating to the scandal.

December 19

:: Former BBC radio producer Ted Beston, 76, is arrested in London on suspicion of sexual offences and vehemently denies the allegations the following day.

January 2, 2013

:: Former TV presenter Jim Davidson is arrested but "vigorously denies" allegations of sexual offences made against him by two women. A 53-year-old man is also arrested. Police say the allegations are not directly related to Savile and both men are bailed until March.

January 11

:: The police and NSPCC report on the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal is published.

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Gay Marriage: Catholic Priests Raise Fears

More than 1,000 Roman Catholic priests have signed a letter expressing fears that same-sex marriage legislation would threaten their religious freedoms.

In the letter sent to The Daily Telegraph, the priests said the proposed law would limit their ability to teach about marriage in Catholic schools and other institutions.

The Equal Marriage Bill, allowing couples of the same sex to marry, is due to be published this month.

The letter was signed by 1,054 priests and 13 bishops.

"Legislation for same-sex marriage, should it be enacted, will have many legal consequences, severely restricting the ability of Catholics to teach the truth about marriage in their schools, charitable institutions or places of worship," it said.

"It is meaningless to argue that Catholics and others may still teach their beliefs about marriage in schools and other arenas if they are also expected to uphold the opposite view at the same time."

The letter said the legislation could threaten freedoms in a way that was last seen during "centuries of persecution" of Catholics in England.

It even compared the Prime Minister's proposed changes to the meaning of marriage to those of Henry VIII, who sought to divorce Catherine of Aragon and eventually established himself as the head of the Church of England breaking away from Rome.

David Cameron backs the plan despite opposition from within his own party

Catholic teaching opposes divorce and same-sex marriage, maintaining families should only be based on marriage between a man and woman.

The Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Philip Egan, one of the signatories, told The Daily Telegraph he fears that when preaching or teaching in schools about marriage, "we could be arrested for being bigots or homophobes".

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "We have been very clear that our plans for equal marriage will fully protect the freedom of religions bodies to preach, teach and put into practice their beliefs about marriage."

The Government says it will not force religious bodies to carry out services and that the new law will make it illegal for the Church of England and its counterpart in Wales to offer ceremonies.

Still, the plan has proven divisive, with many Tory MPs openly opposing it.

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Cameron Rejects Making Age Of Consent 14

David Cameron has rejected as "repulsive" a suggestion by officials that the age of sexual consent in Britain might be relaxed from 16 to 14.

The change was among ideas floated by the Number 10 policy unit after being asked to come up with new ways of giving the public more personal freedoms in everyday life.

Among other recommendations was a relaxation of laws against nudity, but a Downing Street spokesman denied claims that was being considered.

He insisted there were no plans to lower the age of consent.

"The Prime Minister finds the idea repulsive and the idea was shot down outright," the spokesman said.

Asked about reforms to nudity laws, he added: "It's not something that the Prime Minister is considering."

Monday's mid-term review of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition said the Government would take further steps to "limit the scope" of the state "and extend our freedoms".

The age of consent has been 16 since 1875, but there have been calls for it to be lowered because a growing number of teenagers are becoming sexually active at a younger age.

Sky correspondent Alistair Bunkall said: "The thinking behind that is that anyone below the age of 16 is in effect criminalised if they engage in a sexual act with another person, and therefore it is harder to teach them sex education.

"As is the way often when you are trying to brainstorm, all sorts goes onto the table, a lot of it will never make it further than that.

"The Prime Minister described it as 'offensive' to at least one media organisation. To us, the prime minister's spokesman described it as being 'repulsive', so I think we can take from that it is not going to go anywhere."

Campaigners suggest criminalising young people makes it harder to advise them on issues such as contraception and pregnancy, and that safeguards could be included to ensure it only applied to youngsters of a similar age.

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Glock 17 Pistol Issued To Armed Forces

The Ministry of Defence has signed a £9m contract to provide the Armed Forces with more than 25,000 of the new Glock 17 Gen 4 pistols.

They replace the Browning which has been used for more than 40 years but is said to have become increasingly expensive to maintain.

Soldiers in Afghanistan will be among the first to use the new Glock pistols.

The new sidearm is lighter than its predecessor, as well as more accurate and capable of carrying more bullets.

It has a magazine capacity of 17 9mm rounds, compared to 13 for the Browning.

Members of all three services will start receiving the Glock 17s in the coming weeks.

The contract to supply them, with Viking Arms Ltd of Harrogate, Yorkshire, also includes more than 25,000 holsters.

The new pistols will be used by UK troops in Afghanistan

The MoD said the contract for a replacement pistol was put out to tender two years ago and is not in response to any specific or increased threat.

Warrant Officer 1 Mark Anderson, Royal Marines, from Exeter in Devon, trialled the new weapon before the contract was awarded.

He said the Glock was "reliable, light and easy to carry ... inspires confidence and performs exceptionally well".

Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne said: "We are determined to provide our troops with the best possible personal kit available and these new Glock 17s will give them greater firepower and accuracy on operations.

"Now that we have balanced the budget we can invest with confidence in the equipment our Armed Forces need for the future.

"I have seen this pistol demonstrated in target ranges and am impressed that  his new lighter, safer generation of pistol provides both better value for money for the MoD and will complement the wide range of weapons already available to front line troops."

The Glock pistol, which is made in Austria, will be used alongside a range of existing weapons including SA80A2 assault rifles, light machine guns and sharpshooter rifles.

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Alan Greaves Murder Case: Accused In Court

Two men have appeared in court charged with the murder of pensioner Alan Greaves, who was attacked as he walked to church in Sheffield.

Mr Greaves, an organist and lay preacher, was assaulted just a few hundred metres from his home as he walked to St Saviour's Church at High Green, for midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

The father-of-four died from the severe head injuries he suffered three days later.

Ashley Foster, 21, of Wesley Road, High Green, and Jonathan Bowling, 22, of Carwood Way, Pitmoor, have both been charged with his murder.

The pair were remanded in custody when they appeared before magistrates in Sheffield.

There were no applications for bail and they were told they will appear at Sheffield Crown Court on January 18.

Mr Greave's widow, Maureen, attended the short court hearing.

Asked if her faith was helping her through this difficult time as she left the proceedings, she replied: "Immensely.

"The support of the congregation and the police has been outstanding."

South Yorkshire Police have made four arrests in connection with the 68-year-old's death.

Two other men, one in his 20s and one in his 40s, were arrested last month and have been bailed pending further inquiries.

Mr Greaves' death shocked the community where he lived and more than 50 police officers were drafted in to help with the investigation.

An inquest into Mr Greaves' death has been opened and adjourned by Sheffield Coroner Chris Dorries.

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Honda Job Losses: 800 Swindon Staff To Go

Honda plans to cut 800 jobs at its Swindon plant due to "low demand" for its vehicles across Europe.

The surprise move - which marks the first time the Japanese carmaker has made UK redundancies - comes after the company hired 500 workers last year and invested £267m in its Swindon factory.

But Honda, which has 3,500 UK employees, said the expected increase in demand had not happened, with sales of cars in Europe, including Spain, Italy and Greece, falling by a million over the past year.

The company's European vice president Ken Keir told Sky News it was a "tough day" for its workers in Swindon.

"While the UK market is stable and there's opportunity for growth, we don't see the same opportunity in mainland Europe for growth," he said.

But Mr Keir insisted the UK "still is" the cornerstone of Honda's European operation.

"Quite categorically, we have a future at Swindon and producing cars in Europe for Europe, regardless of this decision," he said.

"We've got to realign our business with the opportunity in Europe."

The company said it would hold discussions with workers in Swindon and would seek to avoid compulsory redundancies.

Last year, a third of the 150,000 cars built at the Swindon factory were sold in the UK, with the rest exported to 26 countries, mainly in Europe.

The Jazz, Civic and CR-V Honda models are built at the plant, which has an annual capacity of 250,000.

A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesman said: "This will be a bitter blow to the workforce and the local area and we will be working with local partners to minimise the impact of the job losses."

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Six Prisons Shut As Super Jail Project Begins

Six prisons in England are being closed as work begins on plans to create Britain's biggest jail in a move to drive down costs.

Some 2,600 offenders are held at the prisons targeted for closure. Another three sites will be partially shut down.

The prisons shutting are Bullwood Hall in Essex, Canterbury, Gloucester, Kingston in Portsmouth, Shepton Mallet in Somerset and Shrewsbury.

Facilities in Chelmsford, Hull and the Isle of Wight will also see some accommodation reduced.

The new "super prison" will be built in either London, the north west or north Wales and could hold more than 2,000 criminals.

A feasibility study on the project is now set to start, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced.

The programme is part of a move to replace older jails and cut prison costs. The Government claims it will save £63m-a-year.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: "We have to bring down the cost of our prison system, much of which is old and expensive.

"But I never want the courts to be in a position where they cannot send a criminal to prison because there is no place available.

"So we have to move as fast as we can to replace the older parts of our prison system."

Mr Grayling's stance contrasts with his predecessor Ken Clarke, who wanted more community sentences to ease the pressure on the prison system.

HM Prison in Kingston, Portsmouth is one of six due to close

As well as the super-prison, there are plans for four new mini-prisons known as houseblocks which could hold up to 1,260 prisoners.

These are due to be built at existing prisons in Parc in South Wales, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, the Mount in Hertfordshire, and Thameside in London.

The young offenders institution at HMP Ashfield is being converted into a full adult prison and some 200 contractually crowded places are private prisons will be decommissioned.

The announcements follow the opening of the new G4S-run HMP Oakwood near Wolverhampton last year, which has a normal capacity of 1,600 prisoners.

The MoJ average cost there is £13,200 per place, less than half the average cost of existing prison places, particularly in older facilities - some of which date back to the 18th century.

Some 83,632 inmates were behind bars as of last Friday, down from the record high of 88,179 after the summer's riots in 2011. MoJ forecasts show the population could hit 90,900 by 2018.

Plans to build a new super-prison are likely to draw comparisons to Labour's £2.9bn proposal for three 2,500-capacity "Titan" jails, which was scrapped in 2009.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said shutting prisons and cutting prison numbers offered "major social and economic gains".

But she warned it would be a "gigantic mistake to revive the discredited idea of titans and pour taxpayers' money down the prison-building drain".

She urged the coalition to invest in crime prevention, healthcare and community solutions to crime instead.

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Moira 'Killer' Abused On 'Same Scale As Savile'

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

The daughter of a paedophile suspected of killing an 11-year-old more than 50 years ago has said she thinks her father abused children on the same scale as Jimmy Savile.

Sandra Brown told Sky News that she thought Moira Anderson was not the only girl to meet an unpleasant fate at the hands of her father, Alex Gartshore.

She said she suspected her father, who died in 2006, was part of a paedophile ring operating in the central belt of Scotland.

Forensic scientists are exhuming a grave at Old Monkland cemetery, in Lanarkshire, where they suspect Gartshore concealed the body of Moira in the open grave of someone he knew.

Moira Anderson went missing 1957

Radar tests on the grave of Sinclair Upton in 2007 showed an anomaly which indicated the body of a child could also be buried there.

The family of Moira, who went missing in 1957, applied to have the grave exhumed.

Visiting the grave, Gartshore's daughter, told Sky News: "My father was every bit a paedophile as Jimmy Savile ever was and my sad conclusion is that Moira's not the only child in the central belt of Scotland who suffered this fate.

"I believe there really was an active paedophile ring that was operating in this part of the world.

Forensic scientists are exhuming the grave of Sinclair Upton

"Who knows if it's still the case that it is.

"But it's my belief that in the fifties, sixties and seventies certainly, there were other victims and they are very likely to have come from care homes and those would be kids who would be labelled, unfortunately, runaways, troubled teenagers.

"Sadly, they would possibly not even be reported in the media at the time."

She added: "Whether we find Moira or not, we know we've looked, I hope we see results in the next few days.

"My belief is that it's been a very difficult road but there are reasons why we are here, we've not just put a pin into a haystack, so I really hope we will have favourable outcomes.

"It's very much the end of the road if Moira's not here."

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Teen Computer Gamer Drives Into Record Book

A Cardiff teenager who trained himself to become an international racing driver by playing a computer game in his bedroom has entered the record books.

Jann Mardenborough had always wanted to be a racing driver and was told by the owner of his local kart circuit that he was a natural at the age of 11.

But when the circuit closed down, he could no longer afford to pursue his dream on the track so instead started taking part in virtual races on the videogame Gran Turismo.

His years of playing the game paid off when in the middle of 2011, Jann, whose father Steve was a professional footballer, beat 90,000 other gamers to win the European round of GT Academy.

Jann Mardenborough played his way to the top on Gran Turismo 5

The competition was set up by Sony and Nissan to find the fastest player on Gran Turismo 5 and see if it was possible to transform them into a real racing car driver.

It was, and after six months of driver and fitness training at Silverstone, Jann went on to finish third in class at last year's Dubai 24 Hour race.

He described his achievement, at the age of just 19, as the "weekend of my life".

With his victory, he also cemented his name in the Guinness World Records Gamers Edition 2013 as the Youngest Gran Turismo Academy Winner Turned Pro Racing Driver.

His talents also won him a place driving for Nissan in the Blancpain endurance Series.

Jacob Gaby has taken the record of the highest score on FIFA

Another British entry featured in the Guinness World Records Gamers Edition 2013 is 15-year-old Jacob Gaby from Bushey, Hertfordshire.

He has taken the title as the Highest Score on FIFA after scoring 189 goals in one game – nearly five goals a minute.

He was playing as Barcelona against Fulham.

Jacob, who spends seven hours a week playing FIFA, said: "It's incredible to have the record but I can't let it go to my head – I've got my school exams coming up."

The record for the Largest Collection of Videogame Memorabilia went to Brett Martin, 31, from Colorado in the US, who has amassed more than 8,000 items.

Mark Slevinsky, 30, a computer engineer from Alberta, Canada, took the record for the Smallest Arcade Machine for his device which is smaller than an iPhone.

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MoD Overspends Equipment Budget By £6.5bn

By David Bowden, Defence Correspondent

The Ministry of Defence has overspent its equipment budget by £6.5bn and some of its major orders are likely to be delivered 39 years late.

The 16 most costly projects should have taken 159 years to deliver between them and cost a total of £56.5bn.

But the National Audit Office (NAO), in its latest report into the MoD's spending, reveals they are now set to take a total of 195 years and cost £61.1bn.

Report author Tim Banfield said defence buyers could do a lot better.

"What we see is too much turbulence in the projects, there's too much change, so if you look at the 16 projects this year that we are covering, 14 of them have got some change in cost or times cales in the last year," he said.

"If you are the MoD trying to budget well, getting that kind of uncertainty and movement makes it very difficult to plan in the long term."

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the huge "blackhole" is a legacy of the MoD ordering during the last Labour government.

He described a "conspiracy of optimism" between the MoD and contractors in the past and is adamant the current plans are "fully funded".

Mr Hammond likens balancing the defence budget to "turning round a supertanker".

"These are huge projects often delivered over periods of five, 10 even 15 years, often they've got legacies of poor management and financial control and getting this straight is a big task, but it's happening," he said.

The real big ticket items include £17bn for more Typhoon fighter jets, £12bn for transport aircraft, including refuelling tankers and £5.3bn for the two new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

The NAO says that delivery delays in air refuelling aircraft means there are likely to be too few to go around in the next three years.

However, Mr Hammond has said he was already taking steps to prolong the life of the current air tankers by another six months to plug the gap.

The NAO has acknowledged that the lead time for some of these projects is so great and the costs difficult to accurately assess, but nevertheless thinks the MoD could get better at it.

It cites one smaller project for a communications system designed for troops in Afghanistan, which costs £32m but will not be ready until all UK forces are back home.

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Cyber Attack Threat: UK Armed Forces Warned

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The UK's armed forces are now so dependent on information and communication technology that they could be "fatally compromised" by sustained cyber attacks.

The Defence Select Committee has produced a report that questions the military's contingency plans and urges the Government to do more to address the threat.

"It is our view that cyber security is a sufficiently urgent, significant and complex activity to warrant increased ministerial attention," said committee chairman James Arbuthnot MP.

"The Government needs to put in place - as it has not yet done - mechanisms, people, education, skills, thinking and policies which take into account both the opportunities and the vulnerabilities which cyberspace presents."

Cabinet Secretary Francis Maude is the minister responsible for cyber security, but the report recommends that more ministers should engage and take on responsibility.

"Unless we have a really vigorous approach to defending against the sort of cyber attacks that are developing at a rather quick rate day by day, minute by minute, second by second, unless we have a really vigorous approach we are at risk of our armed forces as well as the whole of the rest of the government infrastructure being compromised," Mr Arbuthnot told Sky News.

GCHQ is considered a world leader

Dr Andrew Murrison, the Minister for International Security Strategy, has defended the Government's efforts.

He said: "There's no complacency and we will continue in a very rapidly evolving field to make sure we do absolutely everything to reduce the chance of there being a significant attack here."

GCHQ, the Government's communications headquarters, is considered a world leader.

Under the Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010, £650m was allocated to a new cyber security programme.

It showed significant recognition of the threat, but in truth no budget can ever be big enough. According to the Boston Consulting Group, the UK is the best prepared country to face a cyber attack.

But countries like Israel, China and the United States are well advanced, and are bettering their systems at a quicker pace.

Major General Jonathan Shaw, the former head of the Defence Cyber Security Programme, told Sky News that the UK competes favourably.

He said: "The way that British government is organised and the security side is actually extremely effective at coping with threats.

"It's a very collegiate atmosphere and the ability of GCHQ to spread their knowledge across government actually gives us a real advantage over someone like the United States which has a much more stovepipe government system."

What is not known is how offensive the UK's strategy is. The Government is clear about the threat it faces, but declines to speak about any aggressive action it takes against states regarded as hostile.

The Defence Select Committee's report should be seen as an attempt to reinvigorate the military and Government's efforts - not as an outright criticism of what has been done.

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Sainsbury's Reveals Record-Breaking Xmas

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's has revealed a record-breaking Christmas trading period, with total sales (excluding fuel) up 3.3% in the third quarter.

The retailer, which sits in third position behind Tesco and Asda, said Christmas was the 32nd consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth.

It said stores open over a year saw sales rise 0.9% (excluding fuel), in the 14 weeks to January 5.

Sainsbury's said it served a record number of customers over the festive period, with the week before December 25 its busiest ever.

£16m of sales were achieved in one hour alone, between 12pm and 1pm on Sunday, December 23.

In total it said rang up more than £100m in sales on Christmas Eve.

However sales growth slowed on the 1.9% reported the previous quarter and against last year's 2.1% rise over the Christmas period.

But the performance confirms the pressure on smaller rival Morrisons, which disclosed a 2.5% slide in Christmas sales earlier this week.

Sainsbury's was the only one of the so-called big four players to increase its market share in the run up to Christmas, to 17.1% from 17% a year earlier, while Morrisons saw its share slip to 12%, according to Kantar Worldpanel.

Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury's, said the group delivered good sales growth in "challenging" conditions.

"We expect the challenging economic backdrop to persist, with customers looking to re-balance their household budget after the festivities and so spending cautiously in the first few months of 2013," he said.

But the group said plans to continue its money-off coupon Brand Match scheme would help ensure it was "positioned to perform well over the next quarter".

Meanwhile, it saw its online business grow by over 15% in the three months and small electricals grew by 25%.

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Council Parking Charge Profits Attacked By IAM

Councils are making huge profits from parking charges while cutting road safety spending, according to new figures.

Councils in England took more than £411m in parking charges in 2011/12 - an increase of almost 15% on 2010/11, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) said.

Yet at the same time, the amount spent by councils on road safety, education and safe routes to schools, decreased by 18% to £105m, the IAM said.

It added that overall revenue spending on highways and transport reduced by 6% between 2010/11 and 2011/12, while capital expenditure (on construction, tarmac etc) reduced by an estimated 13%.

Peter Box, a councillor and chairman of the Local Government Association's economy and transport board, said: "With the number of cars on our roads increasing, it's more crucial than ever that parking is properly managed.

"Councils spend billions of pounds a year on transport services and are currently facing general budget cuts of up to 33% and a £442m reduction in their highways maintenance budget.

"This means they have far less to spend on roads and transport initiatives."

Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis said: "The analysis by the Institute is wrong.

"Income from on-street and off-street parking only rose by 3.7% in the last year, which is lower than the prevailing rate of inflation.

"The Institute have failed to adjust for the fact that councils have cut costs through efficiency savings."

Westminster Council said the £37.1m surplus was all spent transport improvements in 2011-12 .

"Even if these figures were right, which they are not, Westminster's parking surplus is spent entirely on improving roads, transport and infrastructure – for motorists that this group claims to represent," Cllr Daniel Astaire said.

"Westminster must manage the kerb space properly so that it is accessible to residents, visitors and businesses, all of whom have competing needs to park in one of the busiest cities in the world."

The IAM said the top council "earners" from parking in 2011/12, all in London, were:

:: Westminster - up 8.7% from 2010/11 to £38m

:: Kensington and Chelsea - up 31% to £27.5m

:: Camden - up 18% to £25m

Outside London the biggest earners were:

:: Brighton and Hove - up 18.9% to £13.7m

:: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire - up 9.3% to £6.5m

:: Newcastle upon Tyne - up 51% to £6.2m

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Pensions 'Plunge Over £3,000 In Five Years'

People planning to retire this year expect to be living off the lowest average incomes recorded in six years, it is claimed.

This year's retirees expect to have a typical annual income of £15,300, making them around £3,400 a year worse off than workers who retired in 2008, according to the Prudential.

The gap becomes much worse when taking into account the effects of inflation's erosion of people's household budgets.

Someone who retired last year would have needed an annual income of £21,400 to have the same spending power as an average person who entered retirement in 2008 on a typical income of £18,700, the Prudential said.

However, the average amount private employees retired on last year was £15,500, leaving them £5,900 worse off in real terms than workers who retired in 2008.

Across Britain there is also a £5,700-a-year difference between the regions with the highest and the lowest anticipated incomes for people retiring this year.

Londoners expect to retire on an annual income of around £18,200 this year, while retirees in the West Midlands have the lowest anticipated incomes, at £12,500.

Post-financial crash, annuity rates have dropped 33% and wiped thousands of pounds off retirees' incomes in recent years, while pensioners have faced a perfect storm of high living costs and low returns on their savings.

Pensioners face high living costs and low returns on their savings

Experts also warned that possible changes to the way that Retail Price Index (RPI) is worked out could lead to more people being forced to put their retirement on hold due to the squeeze on their incomes.

Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "For people approaching retirement, that is a huge blow to their expectations at a time when it is probably too late for them to do anything about it."

Hargreaves Lansdown said that a 65-year-old man with a £100,000 pension pot could have secured an annual income of £7,855 by buying an annuity in the summer of 2008 but if he was doing so in December 2012, that figure would have fallen to £5,338.

Quantitative easing (QE) has been blamed for pushing down annuity rates which set the size of someone's retirement income for life.

QE makes it cheaper for companies to borrow by pushing down the yield on government bonds, but annuity incomes are also based on these yields, meaning that new pensioners see their incomes reduced.

The Office for National Statistics has also been consulting on changes to the RPI and the recommendations from this will be announced on Thursday.

This trend downward is set to continue as baby boomers pass the age of 65, with 55% of 55 to 64-year-olds drawing a salary, compared with 41% in February 2010, Aviva has said.

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Online Sales Boost A 'Sluggish' December

By Ursula Errington, Business Reporter

Strong online sales in December have buoyed what has been described as an "underwhelming and sluggish" Christmas on the high street.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said retail sales for the month were up just 1.5% compared to the Christmas period in 2011.

However Internet sales rose by almost 18%.

If the online contribution to total year-on-year sales growth is stripped out, it shows that high street trading stagnated compared to last Christmas.

"Online retail still accounts for a relatively small part of total sales," said BRC director general, Helen Dickinson.

The outlook for British retailers for 2013 year is 'subdued'

"But in December it played a disproportionately larger role in driving non-food sales.

"Shoppers took advantage of the investment many retailers have made in making their websites easier to use across multiple devices, in flexibility of delivery options as click-and-collect came of age, and in security - they now feel much more comfortable putting their credit card numbers into their mobile phones."     

Pimlico-based florist, Rosemary Watkins, knew it would be a tough December for the shop she has worked in for three years but it was worse than she imagined.

They closed early on December 24 and in the run-up to Christmas they hardly saw what could be termed as Christmas trade.

"We had the shop ready from the first week in December," she told Sky News. "But what we anticipated would happen, didn't happen.

"We were lucky to sell what we did. We had to stop buying stock as it's perishable; you can't hold onto it. If it's this bad here in SW1 I can't imagine what it's like in other parts of the country."   

The survey reveals shoppers are increasingly confident buying good online

Footfall was down considerably on last year largely because of bad weather and consumers buying more in one go, thereby reducing the opportunity to browse and be tempted to buy.

But perhaps the most influential factor was the shift towards the internet. It appears fewer shoppers were searching in stores first, before going online.

Pharmacy owner Nishma Hirani is just a few doors down from Rosemary's florist. She has decided to focus on internet sales of perfume and her higher-end health and beauty products for Christmas 2013.

She also intends to modify how much stock she carries in the run up to next Christmas. The BRC survey showed that generally, retailers bought in less stock and held off offering heavy discounts in order to keep their margins up.

But optimistic Nishma did not do that. Buoyed by solid sales in last year's difficult climate, she bought a lot of stock and is now stuck with it.

Surrounded by perfumes bearing sale stickers she explained: "Last year people were buying four or five bottles of perfume at a time but this year they only bought one or two - not bulk buying.

"We kept our stock quite high but we just didn't find it was moving as quick as we would have liked it too."

Overall, the BRCs outlook for this year is subdued. They have said their members expect the hard times to continue but not worsen, with this "bumping along the bottom" effect to continue for perhaps years to come.

KPMG's head of retail, David McCorquodale, said: "While consumer confidence remains low, shoppers will tighten their belts and rein in their spending, making life difficult for the average UK retailer.

"There will be no boom and it's likely more than a few will go bust".

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Texting Driver Susan Noble Jailed Over Death

Police are again warning drivers not to use mobile phones while on the road, after a woman was jailed for three years for causing the death of a man while texting.

Susan Noble, 29, of Armthorpe, Doncaster, was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court for causing the death by dangerous driving of Alexandru Braninski, 25, in December 2011. She had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

Mr Braninski, a Romanian, suffered traumatic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene on the northbound carriageway of the A19 near Northallerton.

The car in which he was travelling was stationary because of a puncture at the time of the crash and Mr Braninski was standing behind it while the wheel was being changed.

Noble's car crashed into him, pushing the stationary car into a field at the side of the road.

It was found that she had been texting a friend at the time of the crash.

As well as receiving three years' imprisonment, Noble was also disqualified from driving for six years and will have to take an extended driving test.

Traffic Sergeant John Lumbard, of North Yorkshire Police's roads policing group, said: "Susan Noble has fully accepted that she is responsible for the tragic death of Mr Braninski due to a serious error of judgment.

"I want this tragedy to send a very clear message to drivers that using mobile phones whilst driving can and does lead to horrific consequences.

"Research from around the world has shown time and time again that this behaviour does cause drivers to lose concentration on the road ahead.

"Ideally you should turn phones off while you are driving so that you are not distracted by an unexpected call. However, if you must use a phone while on the move, it is essential that you use a hands-free kit.

"As well as leaving one man dead, the collision has left a family grieving for their loss and a young woman with the knowledge that she is responsible for his untimely death."

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Moira Anderson Police Dig Up Grave In Search

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

A grave is being exhumed in an effort to solve a 56-year murder mystery.

A forensic team pumped water from the lair at Old Monkland Cemetery in Lanarkshire as a first step in the operation to establish whether or not 11 year-old Moira Anderson is buried there.

Wet, sodden ground is an added complication to the delicate dig, which is being conducted with small shovels and trowels.

The team is investigating suspicions that Moira was abducted and killed when she went missing in 1957 and her body concealed within a grave that lay open at the time.

Her family now believe her killer may have dumped her body in the grave of one of his friends, Sinclair Upton, who died around the time of Moira's disappearance.

They have sought permission through the courts to have the grave exhumed. Mr Upton's family has agreed to the request.

The exhumation may take days to complete

The prime suspect behind Moira's disappearance is convicted paedophile Alexander Gartshore, who died in 2006.

The young girl disappeared after taking a trip on a bus that he drove.

Underground radar checks on the grave in 2007 indicated an anomaly consistent with the presence of the remains of a child.

The exhumation is being conducted under the direction of forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black.

Police believe the burial plot has three layers and there may be up to eight people interred there.

Chief Inspector Kenny McLeod, of Strathclyde Police, said: "There may be no necessity to exhume all eight human remains but that does remain a possibility.

"The site does present significant problems and challenges, not only in terms of ground conditions but also record-keeping as you can imagine, going back to 1908, it may not detail every person in the burial plot."

Officers in overalls went in and out of the tents as work started on Tuesday morning.

Mr McLeod said: "There was a petition before Airdrie Sheriff Court last year from the Moira Anderson Foundation and the Crown Office then instructed Strathclyde Police to facilitate the excavation.

"It comes from new information presented to the court.

"Operations like this are not taken lightly as we remain sensitive to Moira Anderson's family and also the families who have relatives buried elsewhere in the cemetery."

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Stranded Squirrel: Firefighters To The Rescue

At least five firefighters ended up saving the day for a grey squirrel that found itself stuck in a pond.

The soaking squirrel became stranded on an island of reeds in the pond in Watford town centre in Hertfordshire.

The fire service said it would have left the rescue to the RSPCA, but they had been told people needed help too.

"The first call we received about this indicated that people were in the water," a Hertfordshire Fire And Rescue Service spokesperson said.

"The Fire and Rescue Service was concerned about their safety so sent the necessary crews to assist with what we understood to be a water rescue."

But when the three fire engine crews turned up to the scene, it became clear no-one was in the pond - except the waterlogged rodent.

A specialist water crew, which has five firefighters, stuck around to carry out the rescue.

A spokesperson said it took about 15 minutes to retrieve the squirrel, which scurried off as soon as it was back on dry land.

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Police Pursuit Crash Leaves Teenage Girl Dead

A teenage girl has died in a crash involving a car being pursued by police in southeast London.

The 13-year-old was travelling with her mother, father and brother when their Volkswagen Polo and a Peugeot 308 being chased by a marked police car collided.

The girl was in the rear of the Polo and died at the scene from her injuries, Scotland Yard said. Her parents and brother were taken to hospital. Their injuries were not thought to be serious.

The site of the fatal crash on Ilderton Road

The crash happened just before 6.30pm in Ilderton Road, between New Cross and South Bermondsey, on Sunday.

The male driver of the Peugeot was arrested and taken into custody. A female passenger was taken to hospital suffering from minor injuries.

The Metropolitan Police said the police car involved had its blue lights and sirens on when the collision happened.

Commander Tony Eastaugh said: "An innocent family are now dealing with the tragic loss of a loved one.

Debris lies beside the road

"The Metropolitan Police has now begun a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this terrible incident. The thoughts of our staff and officers are with the family at this time."

Traffic police and officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards are now investigating, the force said.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has also been informed and an investigator was at the scene assessing the circumstances of the collision.

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Food's 'Hidden Nasties' To Fill Whole Ad Break

Government-backed television adverts to expose the "hidden nasties" in everyday foods will be broadcast for the first time later today.

Graphic new advertising from Change4Life shows there are 17 sugar cubes in a bottle of cola and more than a wine glass of fat in a large pizza.

The adverts have been made by Wallace and Gromit creators Aardman and will feature in the first health-focused ad break on ITV.

It will air during prime-time in Coronation Street and feature ads from Asda, Quorn, Uncle Ben's, the Co-Op and Cravendale.

The slot is the centrepiece of a New Year campaign to encourage the public to think about the amount of salt, fat and sugar in their diets.

People will be shown hundreds of offers on healthier products and recipe ideas for lower calorie dishes such as turkey stir fry and vegetarian chilli.

The move is aimed at tackling the growing problem of obesity in the UK, which costs the NHS £5bn every year.

Some 40,000 people die annually from conditions linked to being overweight and the latest figures show the number of children who are overweight or obese doubles in primary school.

Public Health Minister Anna Soubry said: "This new Change4Life campaign offers families free healthy recipes and money off those much-needed cupboard essentials to encourage everyone to try healthy alternatives.

"Thanks to the continuing success of Change4Life, a million mums have changed their behaviour.

"But England has one of the highest rates of obesity in Europe with over 60% of adults and a third of 10 and 11-year-olds overweight or obese.

"We want to make it easy for everyone to keep track of what they eat and make healthier choices.

"That is why we are also developing a simple and clear system for front of pack labelling that everyone can use."

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Nick Clegg Signs Up To LBC Radio Phone-In

With the Liberal Democrats struggling in the polls, leader Nick Clegg has taken a drastic step to try to reconnect with voters.

The Deputy Prime Minister has agreed to hold a weekly radio phone-in, in a highly unusual move for a member of the Government.

Mr Clegg will take calls from listeners to London's LBC 97.3 radio station with presenter Nick Ferrari for 30 minutes every Thursday morning.

"I'm doing this because I don't think politicians get to hear enough from people directly," Mr Clegg said.

"You can't do the right thing in Government unless you keep in touch with how people are thinking and feeling."

The programme will launch this Thursday and listeners will be able to call, email, text or tweet the Deputy PM directly with questions.

Richard Park, director of broadcasting at LBC owner Global Radio, said: "No other station offers its listeners such unique access to a senior member of Government. This will be must-listen radio."

Mr Clegg appears to be calculating that he can win back some support by being candid with voters who contact him.

He will hope he can resurrect some of the popularity he gained during the television debates in the run-up to the 2010 General Election.

But the phone-in creates the inevitable risk that he could be harangued by voters on a weekly basis over unpopular policy moves.

The decision comes months after his attempt to say sorry for the Lib Dem U-turn on tuition fees backfired when a video apology was turned into a song which went viral.

Supporters have shunned the party since it joined the Tories in coalition and now UKIP appears to be becoming the new home of the protest vote.

The latest YouGov poll, in The Sunday Times this weekend, put the Lib Dems on 10% just 1% ahead of UKIP on 9% with Labour far ahead on 43% and the Tories on 32%.

:: LBC 97.3 broadcasts in Greater London but is available online across the UK.

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Northern Ireland Police Chief's Riot Warning

Northern Ireland's police chief has warned officers will continue to deal with loyalist violence firmly and called for protesters to take a step back after more rioting in Belfast.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott warned that a lack of organisation in official protests was spilling over into violence on the streets.

He told a news conference in Belfast: "I want to raise some concerns that although much of the protest has been peaceful, many have been ill-disciplined, lacking in organisation and lacking in control.

"That has led in certain cases to a rapid movement into extreme violence.

The disturbances occurred after protesters headed home

"Fifty two of my colleagues have been injured, fortunately none of them seriously. But that is a price that I am not prepared to accept.

"I also have concerns that in parts of East Belfast these protests are being exploited. I am concerned that senior members of the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) in East Belfast as individuals have been increasingly orchestrating some of this violence.

"That is utterly unacceptable and is being done for their own selfish motives. There is no excuse whatsoever for violence and we will be investigating that and taking appropriate action."

Mr Baggott said 96 people had been arrested over the violence since the start of December.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott said children as young as 10 have been charged

He added that of the 47 people have already been charged, a significant proportion were young people aged from 10 to 15.

Loyalist violence erupted over a decision to restrict the flying of the Union flag at Belfast City Hall.

On Sunday, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers came under attack again when a mob hurled steel barriers, bricks, fireworks and bottles in Castlereagh Street.

Disorder was also reported on Mountpottinger Road and Beersbridge Road, where a car was set ablaze.

A 38-year-old man is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court later today charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, riotous behaviour and failing to remove a disguise when requested by a constable.

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Nepali Army Officer Faces Torture Charges

A Nepali army officer has been in remanded in custody charged with two counts of torture after being arrested in the UK.

Colonel Kumar Lama, 46, of St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, is accused of inflicting severe pain or suffering when he was acting in an official capacity.

The offences are said to have taken place between April 15, 2005 and May 1, 2005, and April 15, 2005 and October 31, 2005 at the Gorusinghe Army Barracks at Kapilvastu, Nepal.

The offences are alleged to have taken place as the then-government fought a decade-long Maoist insurgency.

Lama was arrested under a law which allows the prosecution of suspected torturers, even if the alleged offence has no connection to the UK.

At Westminster Magistrates Court, Judge Quentin Purdy ruled that Lama would be held in custody as there was risk he would leave the country if released.He will appear at the Old Bailey on January 24.

Lama is serving as a military observer with the UN Mission in South Sudan but had been spending Christmas in Britain when he was arrested, the court heard.

His wife and two children, aged 21 and 17, live in the UK.

The British ambassador in Kathmandu was summoned by Nepal's government in protest over the officer's arrest.

Nepal's deputy prime minister Narayankaji Shrestha said the government had demanded the immediate release of Col Lama and had instructed its embassy in London to submit a protest note to the British government.

Two diplomats from the Nepalese embassy were in court for the short hearing.

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NI Clashes: 'Several Shots Fired' At Police

Frontline police officers in Belfast have reportedly come under gunfire as fresh violence erupts over the flying of the Union flag.

A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after gunshots were reportedly fired during clashes between loyalist and nationalist protesters.

Sky sources revealed that pictures from a PSNI helicopter prompted the detention of the suspect.

The PSNI said last night around 100 loyalists pelted officers with rocks, fireworks and fire bombs in the Newtownards Road, Albertbridge Road and Castlereagh Street and Templemore Avenue areas of the city.

One officer was said to have been injured.

A PSNI spokesman said they were investigating reports from their own officers that a number of shots were fired at police lines.

Conall McDevitt, policing spokesman for the nationalist SDLP, said the firing of shots at police officers ended any claim to legitimacy by protest organisers.

Police used water cannon to extinguish the fires

"Whatever grievance some people may have had, it is totally lost when they allow people to use these protests as cover for attempted murder," said the South Belfast MLA.

"There is only one response possible - and that's a firm policing response against everyone involved in illegal protests and anyone seeking to organise or encourage illegal or violent demonstrations."

The violence followed a tense but peaceful march on Saturday by around 1,000 loyalists.

There was a heavy police presence, including officers in riot gear with dogs stationed within the historic civic building itself and on surrounding side streets.

But as the flag-waving crowds dispersed, ugly scenes flared again.

Loyalist violence on Friday night saw 18 people arrested and nine police officers injured.

More than 30 petrol bombs, along with fireworks, ball bearings and masonry were hurled at officers during a sustained attack in the east of the city. Up to 300 people were involved in the disturbances.

None of the police injuries are life threatening, however one female officer required medical treatment at the scene by an ambulance.

The disturbances occurred after protesters headed home

The PSNI said it would be seeking further arrests in the coming days in relation to the disorder and have appealed for witnesses.

On Thursday 10 police officers were injured during a demonstration in east Belfast.

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson said violence against the police was a "disgrace" and those behind days of unrest were playing into the hands of dissident republicans.

Street protests have been going on for more than a month now against the decision to reduce the number of days the Union flag is flown from City Hall. There have also been death threats to politicians.

Mr Robinson said: "The violence and destruction visited on the PSNI is a disgrace, criminally wrong and cannot be justified.

"Those responsible are doing a grave disservice to the cause they claim to espouse and are playing into the hands of those dissident groups who would seek to exploit every opportunity to further their  terror aims."

Sky's Ireland Correspondent David Blevins said: "There is the potential for the violence to intensify, and the gunshots from with the loyalist area is a very worrying development.

"The clashes between police and loyalists came after the officers were accused of brutality after the march."

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Police Officer Dies Driving To 999 Call

A police officer has died in a road accident while answering an emergency call near Ripon in North Yorkshire.

The officer was killed when his patrol car hit a tree in the village of West Tanfield at 7pm on Saturday, police said.

He was the only person in the vehicle when it crashed and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Temporary Chief Constable Tim Madgwick said: "This is terrible and tragic news and the thoughts of everyone at North Yorkshire Police are with the officer's family at this sad and very difficult time.

"The officer's immediate family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

"Everyone is shocked and saddened by the news of his death and I speak for every member of the force in extending our heartfelt sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues."

The road was closed for several hours as investigators examined the scene.

The Health and Safety Executive has also been informed and an investigation will be carried out into the cause of the crash, police said.

Anyone who was in the area at the time and saw the vehicle or witnessed the collision is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101.

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David Cameron Defends Child Benefit Cuts

David Cameron has defended controversial cuts to child benefit payments that come into effect at midnight, insisting the reforms were "fundamentally fair".

The Prime Minister insisted the move - which will see families with one earner on more than £50,000 lose some or all of the payment while households with two parents with salaries just under the trigger keep theirs - was the "right approach".

"I'm not saying those people are rich but I think it is right that they make a contribution," he told BBC 1's Andrew Marr Show.

"This will raise £2bn a year. If we don't raise that £2bn from that group of people, the better off 15% in the country, we would have to find someone else to take it from."

He added: "I think people see it as fundamentally fair that if there is someone in the household earning over £60,000 you don't get child benefit."

The Prime Minister: Cuts are 'fundamentally fair'

It is "full steam ahead" for the coalition, Mr Cameron said as he insisted the Government had a packed agenda.

And he told Marr that he had no intention of stepping aside.

He said: "I want to fight the next election as the leader of the Conservative Party, I want to win a Conservative majority and I want to serve."

Mr Marr interrupted: "And stay as Prime Minister for five years?"

Mr Cameron replied: "That's exactly what I have said."

On Monday, Mr Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will publish a mid-term review of progress the Coalition government has made since 2010 and set out its top priorities for the rest of their term.

Mr Cameron said: "What you are going to see tomorrow is a coalition Government with a full tank of gas, it's full steam ahead.

"We have travelled a long way down the road we need to travel but there is a lot more we need to do.

"Far from running out of ideas, we have got a packed agenda, which concerns things like how do we build roads in Britain to make sure our economy keeps moving, how do we pay for the care for the elderly, how do we have a pension system that encourages saving - big things that our going to equip our country for the next decade."

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