'Bedroom Tax' To Hit Thousands Of Families

By Emma Birchley, East Of England Correspondent

Thousands of families living in social housing are facing a cut in their benefits from April because they are seen to have too big a home.

The under-occupation penalty, dubbed "the bedroom tax", aims to encourage households to downsize if they have spare rooms, freeing up their properties for larger families.

But council house tenant Eddie Bird says the policy fails to take into consideration individual cases. His wife Shirley has terminal cancer, and weighing just five-and-a-half stone, needs her own room.

"Any form of movement on the bed and it affects my wife. She's in constant back pain," said Mr Bird. "There's no room for separate beds so I sleep in the box room."

They have been told they will lose nearly £14 a week in benefits.

"It's going to affect my wife's quality of life. We have a Motability car but if we can't afford to put petrol in it, we can't go on any day trips."

The Government hopes the policy will make better use of almost a million rooms that are not used and help reduce the £23bn housing benefit bill.

Eddie Bird says he will lose out despite his wife having terminal cancer

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "We've put a fairly sizeable sum aside to be able to ensure that those kind of cases can be paid for.

"But the general idea that there has to be a limit on the amount of benefit that people receive I think is a correct one.

"And these are exactly the same kind of rules that have existed in the last few years in private rented (accommodation), so we are applying to public housing.

"If it was good enough for private renting, it's got to be good enough for public housing."

But critics question how you can penalise tenants for not moving somewhere smaller when there simply are not enough suitable sized properties available.

It is something the Coast and Country Housing Association has seen in South Teesside. They have 10,000 properties but only two one-bedroom apartments available.

Chief executive Iain Sim said: "We had the pasty tax last year - this is the nasty tax. This is hitting people directly who through no fault of their own are under-occupying the property that they live in.

"The cut in their benefit will range from 14% for one room up to 25% for two rooms. That's a loss in income of between £10 and £22 a week. That's a lot of money to take from people with very limited incomes."

The change is expected to affect 660,000 claimants.

Some households will be exempt if, for example, a non-resident carer for a disabled person helps at the home overnight.

But as Eddie and Shirley Bird are married they will not be eligible for this exemption. Their only hope is that they will qualify for financial assistance from a fund called the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme, but it is not guaranteed.

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Food Bills May Rise Amid Growing Meat Tests

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Consumers are being warned that food bills may rise if high demand for meat testing continues.

Since the start of the horsemeat scandal, laboratories all over the UK have been inundated with requests to test different meat products.

At Worcestershire Scientific Services laboratory staff have been working early mornings, late nights and weekends to keep up with demand.

Even some of the equipment has been unable to keep up with almost continual testing.

Laboratory manager Paul Hancock told Sky News that funding is tight, explaining: "The FSA do support the laboratory to a degree but things are very very difficult.

"If the consumer wants quality food they have to be prepared to pay for a degree of policing that."

Checking a meat sample for DNA from other species takes three days and costs between £75 to £100 per sample.

The number of labs capable of carrying out proper testing though has fallen over recent years due to funding cuts. In April, Somerset County Council will close its lab.

Those that remain open operate as competitive businesses rather than sharing information, equipment and practices with each other.

Mr Hancock added: "Ten or 15 years ago the labs used to work closely together that relationship has broken down because of commercial activity and that makes life a whole lot more difficult as well."

Meanwhile, France's agriculture ministry has confirmed that horse carcasses from the UK containing the drug Phenylbutazone - known as bute - have probably ended up in the human food chain.

A spokesman for the French agriculture ministry said it was alerted by British authorities that six carcasses had been exported to France in January but that the meat had already been processed.

Some of the meat was recalled but the equivalent of three carcasses have "probably" been eaten, according to officials - although they insist the health risk is "minor".

Bute is an anti-inflammatory treatment for horses which is potentially harmful to humans and is banned from the food chain.

The latest Food Standards Agency results showed six positive results for horse DNA out of 1,133 tested beef products, but so far no UK sample has been found to contain bute.

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AAA Credit Rating Lost: Osborne Defiant

George Osborne is coming under pressure over what Labour calls his "catastrophic economic policy failure" after the UK lost its top-grade AAA credit rating.

International agency Moody's downgraded it by one notch to AA1, citing slow growth and a rising debt burden.

The Chancellor said it was a "stark reminder" of the country's debt problems, but said the coalition was determined to stick by its plan for economic recovery.

In the last election, Ms Osborne made safeguarding Britain's credit rating one of his key pledges.

And he has used maintaining the rating for government bonds as one of the main arguments for the Government's austerity programme.

The downgrade is a major blow for Mr Osborne, who has been coming under increasing pressure to take action to stimulate the economy.

He said: "We have a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country - and the clearest possible warning to anyone who thinks we can run away from dealing with those problems.

"We are not going to run away from our problems, we are going to overcome them."

Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News: "They (the Government) are paying the price for an absolute catastrophic failure of economic policy and everybody can see that now pretty much other than the chancellor and the prime minister.

"Until they face up to reality, we're just going to have more of the same."

Moody's said it did not expect Britain's slow recovery to change

Moody's said Britain's recovery was proving to be significantly slower than previous rebounds from recession and it did not expect the situation to change.

"[There's] increasing clarity that, despite considerable structural economic strengths, the UK's economic growth will remain sluggish over the next few years," it said.

Moody's is the first of the major credit rating agencies to knock the UK off of its top rating.

The ratings agency also cut the Bank of England's AAA rating by one notch, also to AA1. The US' top credit rating was downgraded by one notch in 2011.

Sky Economics Editor Ed Conway said: "The fact that Britain has lost its AAA crown for the first time since credit ratings were given to the UK back in the 1970s, it's a really big blow to Britain's reputation.

"It's something of an economic blow, but in a way it's more of a political problem for George Osborne. He made a key part of the Conservative election pledge to safeguard Britain's credit rating."

Moody's said that the British economy is constrained both by the troubled global economy and the drag from businesses and the Government slashing its debt burdens.

"Moreover, while the Government's recent Funding for Lending Scheme has the potential to support a surge in growth, Moody's believes the risks to the growth outlook remain skewed to the downside," it said.

Labour has insisted that withdrawing demand from the economy has put it more at risk by stunting growth.

Mr Balls said: "This credit rating downgrade is a humiliating blow to a prime minister and chancellor who said keeping our AAA rating was the test of their economic and political credibility.

"In the Budget the government must urgently take action to kick-start our flatlining economy and realise that we need growth to get the deficit down. If David Cameron and George Osborne fail to do so and put political pride above the national economic interest we face more long-term damage and pain for businesses and families."

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Italy: Briton Held Over Tour Guide Murder

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

A Briton has been arrested in Italy for the murder of a tour guide and the attempted killing of another man.

Jason Peter Marshall, 24, was held by police early on Saturday after they traced him through his mobile phone signal to a late night bus.

He was arrested after a 55-year-old man was found severely beaten in the bedroom of his apartment in central Rome, following calls to police when neighbours heard screams and calls for help.

When officers arrived on the scene, the victim identified Marshall as his attacker and described how he had been threatened with a gun, badly beaten with a telescopic cosh and smothered with a pillow.

Marshall is said to have fled the apartment with €400 (£348), credit cards and the victim's iPad as he allegedly tried to erase all traces of contact between him and the victim.

Marshall, who is originally from Greenwich, southeast London, is said to have arrived in Italy last month and police in Rome have confirmed he is also the prime suspect in the murder of tour guide Vincenzo Iale.

The 68-year-old was found strangled and stabbed to death in his flat at Torvajanica, on the outskirts of Rome, four weeks ago with his bank card missing.

Police said Marshall was being held in Rome's Regina Coeli jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, kidnap and possessing offensive weapons.

Sources said the victims had been targeted through gay internet chat rooms.

A Rome police source said: "This could easily have been a double murder investigation and the second victim - although badly hurt - can think himself lucky he is not dead."

No one from the British Embassy in Rome was immediately available for comment and Marshall is expected to be questioned further by prosecutors ahead of appearing before an investigating judge.

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Fuel Prices 'Head For Highest Level Ever'

Motorists have been warned that petrol prices may soon reach their highest level ever.

The AA said sterling's slide and market speculation could push prices to record levels by Easter.

The warning comes as tanker drivers at the Grangemouth refinery, which supplies Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, begin a three-day strike in a row over pay and pensions.

On Friday striking drivers manned a picket line outside the big facility, with police officers monitoring events.

After surging 5p a litre over a month, the price of petrol at the pumps has gone up a further 1p in the last five days, the AA said.

It revealed that the average cost of petrol in the UK is now 138.32p per litre, with diesel having risen 4.78p from its mid-January price to stand at an average of 145.10p.

The picket line outside Grangemouth oil refinery on Friday

The latest figures show that petrol has risen 6.24p since early January, adding £3.12 to the cost of refilling a typical 50-litre tank.

The AA said filling up the 70-litre tank of a Ford Mondeo now costs £4.37 more than it did six weeks ago.

A two-car family's monthly petrol cost has risen £13.25 with the current price surge.

It added that drivers have been caught between the pound weakening against the dollar and soaring wholesale prices, both due to stock market speculation.

Regionally, Yorkshire and Humberside and the north of England are the cheapest for petrol at the moment at 137.6p a litre, with prices in London and Scotland at an average of 137.8p. Northern Ireland is the most expensive at 138.7p.

Yorkshire and Humberside remains the cheapest region for diesel, averaging 144.2p, while East Anglia, Northern Ireland and southeast England are the most expensive at 145.2p.

AA president Edmund King said: "This latest surge in fuel prices and its impact on spending indicates that UK drivers and families can't take any more.

Petrol price breakdown over the past decade

"We're no longer talking of the motorist as a cash cow for tax and speculator greed, but a horse slowly but surely being flogged to death.

"This is the third 10p-a-litre wholesale price surge in 11 months, given extra vigour by currency speculators betting against the pound."

Government revenue from fuel duty has also been hit hard as Britons reduce spending by cutting back on non-essential journeys.

HM Revenue and Customs figures showed that January's UK petrol sales fell to the lowest tracked by the Government in 23 years.

Drivers consumed 1.465 billion litres of petrol last month, down 14 million litres on the previous all-time low set in March last year and nearly 100 million litres below December's consumption of 1.564bn litres.

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Jemima Prees: Tribute To Ski Tragedy Schoolgirl

The family of a British schoolgirl who died in a skiing accident in the Austrian Alps has spoken of how she "lived every day as if it might be her last".

Mourners will gather today for the funeral of 10-year-old Jemima Prees, who was killed when she hit a tree at high speed on February 10 while on a half-term holiday with her family.

The schoolgirl, who was wearing a helmet, appeared to lose control and skied into a wooded off-piste area at the Mayrhofen resort near Tyrol, an Austrian police spokesman said.

The 10-year-old was on a half-term skiing holiday with her family

Her brother and father rushed to her side to give first aid before she was airlifted to hospital in Innsbruck, but she died the following day.

Her funeral will be held at the Church of St John The Baptist, in Colerne, near Chippenham, Wiltshire.

Speaking on the eve of the service, Jemima's parents, Tim and Karen, told of the mature attitude to life which belied the girl's tender years.

Mrs Prees said: "She was lovely, she was gorgeous, she was very active. She loved life. She lived every day as if it might be her last.

"Sometimes she used to say, 'Today might be the last day, we must all tell each other that we love each other because we may not come back this evening'.

"She was very wise, wise beyond her years. She had things sewn up that some people never seem to grasp."

Jemima's father described her as "a real ray of sunshine".

Jemima 'touched so many people', her parents say

"She just had the knack of making everybody feel as if they were really important to her," he said.

"And she had a smile for everybody. And I think she genuinely cared about other people, it wasn't just a surface smile."

Police in Mayrhofen - an hour away from Innsbruck and popular with British skiers - said the Prees family were on the last run of the day when Jemima careered into woodland and was knocked unconscious.

Her brother Barnaby spent 40 minutes trying to revive his sister.

Jemima's brother Barnaby attempted to resuscitate her at the scene

Jemima, who went to Calder House School, near Colerne, also has two sisters, Annabel and Olivia, who were not on the family holiday.

The schoolgirl's family have set up a charity in Jemima's memory, named Jemima's Gift, intended to help children make the most of opportunities in the arts, sport and education.

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Hacking: Ex-NOTW Executive Avoids Prosecution

After spending nearly two years on police bail, Mr Wallis has been told he is not being prosecuted because there is insufficient evidence.

He said on Twitter: "After 21 months of hell for my family, CPS have just told my solicitors that there will be no prosecution of me re my phone-hacking arrest."

Prosecutors have said there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against a journalist arrested under Operation Weeting.

Mr Wallis was arrested in July 2011 on suspicion of conspiracy to intercept communications.

In a statement Alison Levitt QC, principal legal adviser to the director of public prosecutions, said prosecutors had been considering whether to bring charges against two journalists over alleged phone hacking.

She said: "The file in relation to one of those two journalists was resubmitted on January 11 2013. Having carefully considered the matter, the Crown Prosecution Service has concluded that there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction in relation to that journalist.

"The other journalist remains under investigation."

So far, 26 people have been arrested as part of Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard's investigation into illegal access to voicemails, and another six as part of a separate line of inquiry that came out of the probe.

Of those, eight are facing charges over alleged phone hacking - ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, former spin doctor Andy Coulson, private detective Glenn Mulcaire and five other former NotW staff.

They are ex-managing editor Stuart Kuttner, former news editor Greg Miskiw, former head of news Ian Edmondson, ex-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and former reporter James Weatherup.

Brooks is also accused along with six other people of perverting the course of justice in relation to Operation Weeting.

This is over an alleged conspiracy to withhold material from police.

Brooks, 44, her husband Charlie, 49, her former personal assistant Cheryl Carter, head of security at News International Mark Hanna, Brooks's chauffeur Paul Edwards and security staff Daryl Jorsling and Lee Sandell are all accused of perverting the course of justice.

They are all due to face trial later in the year.

More follows...

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Birds Eye Ready Meal Recall Over Horse Fears

The owner of Birds Eye is recalling 15 ready meals across western Europe after horsemeat was found in a Belgium-made product.

In the UK and Ireland the products being withdrawn are the brand's traditional spaghetti bolognese 340g, shepherd's pie 400g and beef lasagne 400g.

They are made by supplier Frigilunch NV, which also produces a branded chilli con carne sold in Belgium that has tested positive for traces of horsemeat.

Birds Eye said: "We want to reassure you from the testing we have completed that all Birds Eye beef burgers, beef pies and beef platters do not contain horse DNA.

"Whilst this is not a food safety issue, it is clearly unacceptable. In accordance with our high standards, we are immediately withdrawing this product from sale in Belgium."

Iglo Foods Group, the parent company of Birds Eye, said it was pulling a total of 15 Frigilunch products as a precaution.

In addition to the three product recalls in Britain and the same meals in Ireland, it was withdrawing eight products in Belgium and one in the Netherlands.

A number of UK supermarkets have also recalled products from shelves

The Continental food recall also affects ox tongue, mince, meat balls and hamburgers.

In recent weeks it has emerged European meat supply chains had been contaminated with horsemeat, which forced a number of British supermarkets to recall products.

The France-based Findus food company has also been hit by the scandal.

The Birds Eye revelation comes after it initiated a Europe-wide testing programme for horse DNA of its suppliers and on its finished beef products.

In addition to owning the Birds Eye brand, Iglo also owns the rights to Findus in Italy.

Iglo produces and markets frozen food products in 11 countries and it also distributes food across additional countries in central and eastern Europe.

It said the company has introduced an ongoing DNA test programme to prevent further contamination scandals.

Iglo said: "This will help us ensure that we continue to reach the standards that all our consumers expect from our products.

"We want to apologise to consumers and reassure them that we will keep them fully informed and that we are taking action to deal with this issue."

:: Birds Eye placed a product recall statement on its website for UK and Ireland residents and provided customer care contact telephone numbers for concerned consumers.

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'Prisons Are Run Better By Private Firms'

Private firms are better at running prisons than the public sector and all jails should be subject to open competition, according to a think tank.

The Government would be wrong to limit the role of private companies within prisons to small contracts, such as maintenance and catering, right-wing group Reform said.

Ten out of 12 privately-managed prisons have lower re-offending rates among offenders serving 12 months or more than comparable public sector prisons, a report by the group found.

Researcher Will Tanner, who wrote the report, said: "Twenty years of private prisons have created an effective market which is ready to grow.

"Evidence shows that a greater role for the private sector will advance the 'rehabilitation revolution' which ministers want to deliver."

Private firms have been managing prisons since 1992, but in November last year Justice Secretary Chris Grayling signalled a move away from wholesale privatisation as he decided four prisons, including G4S-run HMP Wolds, should be run by the public sector.

Two contracts to run five prisons - Acklington and Castington, which have since formed Northumberland prison, and three in South Yorkshire - will proceed to the next stage of the competition with an announcement expected next spring.

Mr Grayling said private firms will be brought in to all public prisons to run maintenance, resettlement and catering to save up to £450 million over six years.

Policy groups, including Reform, said the decision amounted to the end of competition for prison management between the public and private sector, although Mr Grayling insisted it did not rule out further prison-by-prison competitions in the future.

The report found 12 out of 12 private jails performed better than the public sector at "resource management and operational effectiveness", while seven out of 12 were better at "reducing reoffending".

However, seven out of 12 public prisons performed better than private jails at "public protection".

Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: "Reoffending rates across the entire prison estate are too high and we are pressing ahead with major reforms to tackle this unacceptable problem.

"And let's be clear, there has been no U-turn on the use of prison competition.

"The cost of running our prisons is too high and must be reduced.

"The recent competition process identified a new approach for reducing costs and improving services aimed at reducing reoffending at a faster rate involving the private sector."

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Abuse Inquiry Uses Posters To Find Victims

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

A state inquiry into historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland has taken the unprecedented step of posting billboards on bus stops to encourage survivors to come forward and give evidence.

To date, 175 people have volunteered to recount their experiences but the team examining alleged mistreatment in residential facilities over a 73-year period believes there are more potential victims.

Northern Ireland's devolved government announced the state inquiry after a series of reports in the Irish Republic revealed a shocking level of abuse in facilities operated by the Catholic Church.

Earlier this week, there were emotional scenes in the Irish parliament when Prime Minister Enda Kenny apologised to women who had been forced to work in the church's Magdalene Laundries.

The Northern Ireland inquiry will cover similar workhouses (if residents were younger than 18) along with children's homes, orphanages, industrial schools, borstals, hospital units and schools for children with disabilities.

It will focus on institutions operated by state, church and voluntary bodies (1922-1995) but its remit does not extend to mainstream schools or to clerical abuse committed outside residential facilities.

The availability and willingness of witnesses will dictate whether or not high profile cases, such as the Kincora Boys' Home abuse scandal of the 1970s, are included in the investigation.

A spokesman for Sir Anthony Hart, the retired judge chairing the inquiry, said: "Sir Anthony wishes to ensure that as many victims and survivors as possible are made aware of the existence of the inquiry, and of the steps which the inquiry is taking to try to address the fears of those who may be worried about lifting the telephone...

"The inquiry appreciates that, for many victims and survivors, recounting their experiences can be very painful and traumatic. We hope our promotional campaign will encourage potential witnesses to come forward."

Potential witnesses will first be invited to recount their experiences in a so-called acknowledgement forum, which is designed to provide a relaxed and private environment for people to unburden themselves.

Application forms can by downloaded from the website www.hiainquiry.org or requested on Freephone 0800 068 4935. 

The inquiry, estimated to cost between £15m and £19m, must report by January 2016.

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'Alien' Invaders Threatening UK's Wildlife

UK wildlife is under threat from a growing number of "alien" species set to reach our shores soon.

The bee-killing yellow-legged hornet is among the non-native species set to arrive in the UK, the Europe-wide study warned.

The Asian hornet, which grows to between 2.5cm and 3cm, preys on native honeybees, wasps and other pollinators, potentially devastating hives and threatening honey and crop production.

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA) report, the Asian tiger mosquito - linked to more than 20 diseases including yellow fever and the dengue-like chikungunya fever - could also make its way to Britain.

The Spanish slug is now found across Britain. Pic: Ekko

The species is prevalent in several southern European countries, such as Italy, and is likely to expand its range north as the climate changes.

Other species already in the UK and causing problems include common ragweed - which came in to Europe from North America in grain mixes intended as bird feed and is a potent trigger for hayfever and other allergies.

The Spanish slug, which reaches up to 15cm in length and is possibly native to the South East, is now found across Britain, and can hit garden planting and horticulture, as they eat plants as well as carrion and even each other.

Well-established invaders include the American mink which has destroyed water vole populations and the grey squirrel, which has driven its native red cousin from most of England.

Zebra mussels are thought to have arrived in the UK in ship ballasts

More recent arrivals include killer shrimps, which feed on other aquatic wildlife and can cause local extinctions of naturally-found species, and zebra mussels, thought to have arrived in ship ballasts and which can damage infrastructure such as water plants and locks.

Other species posing problems to the UK include brook trout, American bullfrogs, rhododendrons, Japanese knotweed, harlequin ladybirds and the horse chestnut leaf-miner moth.

Across Europe, invasive alien species cost around £10bn a year, the EEA report said.

Species are most commonly brought in for horticulture, while other reasons include farming, hunting and fishing or as pets.

Growing tourism and trade in recent decades may have led to increasing numbers of alien invaders, while climate change may also be playing a role in the spread of species, by making areas increasingly suitable for new plants and animals.

Jacqueline McGlade, EEA executive director, said: "In many areas, ecosystems are weakened by pollution, climate change and fragmentation.

"Alien species invasions are a growing pressure on the natural world, which are extremely difficult to reverse."

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Four-Year-Old 'Sexually Assaulted': Teen Held

A 13-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl at a children's play centre in Lancaster.

The girl told her parents the assault happened whilst she was playing at The Zone on Dalton Square between 12.30pm and 1.30pm on February 16, police said.

The boy has been released on bail while detectives continue their investigation.

Lancashire Police have appealed for information.

Detective Inspector Phil Jones, who is leading the investigation, said: "This is a very sensitive investigation and we are seeking the help of the public.

"I would ask the parents or relatives of any children who were at The Zone on Saturday between 12.30pm and 2pm to contact the police."

DI Jones said there was no suggestion that any other children had been victims or were potentially at risk.

"We do believe this to have been an isolated incident. However, we are seeking any witnesses that may have seen something suspicious or out of the ordinary.

"The young girl and her parents are currently being supported by specially trained officers and The Zone is fully cooperating with our investigation."

:: Anybody with any information can contact police on 101, quoting log number LC-20130216-1061, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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New 4G Phone Operators Announced By Ofcom

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom has granted permits for more mobile phone firms to operate faster 4G networks.

The four new winners are Hutchison 3G, a division of BT called Niche Spectrum, Telefonica O2 and Vodafone.

Existing 4G operator Everything Everywhere was also given expanded bandwith.

The auction raised £2.34bn for the taxpayer but the Government had hoped for a total of £3.5bn.

Britain's last big mobile phone spectrum auction was in 2000 for 3G services and it raised £22.5bn.

In real terms, the 3G windfall would be worth more than £30bn today - more than 12 times the revenue raised on 4G.

Ofcom said the purpose of the auction was to "promote strong competition in the 4G mobile market".

It said in a statement: "This is expected to lead to faster mobile broadband speeds, lower prices, greater innovation, new investment and better coverage.

"Almost the whole UK population will be able to receive 4G mobile services by the end of 2017 at the latest."

New entrants in the sector, including Chinese-owned firms, failed in their bids.

The regulator said that was simply because their bids were too low.

Ofcom also revealed that it was "planning now to support the release of further spectrum for possible future '5G' mobile services".

It said that by 2030, demand for mobile data could be 80 times higher than it is in 2013.

Future development of 5G would be needed to meet this demand and avoid a feared "capacity crunch".

Ofcom added: "More mobile spectrum is needed over the long term, together with new technologies to make mobile broadband more efficient."

Initial 4G operator EE has already rolled out coverage to 28 towns and cities, to more than 46% of the population.

Demand for the new services has extended as penetration of smartphones has increased in recent years.

4G can supply data stream feeds typically five times faster than 3G.

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IVF Treatment For Older Women On The NHS

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Women aged 40 to 42 will be allowed one cycle of IVF so long as it is their first attempt, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) says.

Previously Nice only recommended treatment up to the age of 39.

Lesbian couples will also qualify for IVF, as long as they have a diagnosed infertility problem.

People with infectious diseases, such as HIV, or a physical disability that prevents them from having intercourse will also be eligible.

Nice chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon said recent advances in fertility treatment had prompted a review of existing NHS guidelines.

He said: "It is because of these new advances that we have been able to update our guidelines on fertility, ensuring the right support, care and treatment is available to those who will benefit the most."

Same-sex couples have welcomed the change to NHS rules.

Lesbian author Kiki Archer and her civil partner Nicki have two children through private fertility treatment.

She told Sky News the guidelines meant all couples could have children, regardless of income.

"Whenever same-sex couples have children it is carefully thought through," she said.

"This opens another door. It's another option for those families who can't afford fertility clinics."

But there are concerns that the NHS will refuse to implement the guidelines.

It currently funds around 25,000 IVF attempts a year, each costing £3,000.

And a survey in 2011 revealed a postcode lottery, with only a quarter of NHS areas funding the full number of cycles recommended by the existing guidelines.

Dr Sue Avery of the British Fertility Society said: "There is a huge variation in the provision of treatment.

"There are some areas where couples can access three cycles as recommended by Nice. But in other areas couples may get one and some there is no funding at all."

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Uncover The Criminals In Your Family Online

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

Millions of historical criminal records from England and Wales are going online.

Half a million of the records from 1770 to 1934 have been published today by the genealogy website findmypast.co.uk in association with The National Archives.

They can now be accessed by anybody, anywhere in the world - although there will be a small fee to do so.

A further two million records will be going online by the end of the year.

Among the documents are court papers, verdicts, sentences and mugshots.

Many of the photographs show suspects holding their hands to their chests, in case they have an identifying feature like a missing finger.

Web users can go online and find out their ancestors' criminal pasts

Family historian Amy Sell told Sky News: "You may get their age or a description of what they looked like.

"You may even get a photograph as well, which is amazing. Coming face to face with your ancestor is quite rare.

"You will also know what they were convicted of, what the crime was, and also what the punishment was."

Two-and-a-half-million documents are being painstakingly scanned by staff at The National Archives in Kew.

Those interested in tracing their family history can search the files by entering names and keywords.

But the documents also provide a fascinating insight into the criminal justice system at the time, and wider social history.

Records specialist Paul Carter says we do not have much detail about ordinary people's lives in the 18th and 19th centuries.

"What people should be looking for - as well as the murderer or the thief - is the rural poacher, or the early trade unionist at a time when trade unions were illegal," he said.

"You'll get Chartists in here and people who were trying to reform the way society worked. So you are going to get an awful lot of very different people who come through the system, for different reasons."

You can also look up the criminal records for more well-known names like the political activist Emmeline Pankhurst and author Oscar Wilde.

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Jimmy Savile: Ex-Cop 'Acted For Star'

A former police inspector has been accused of acting on behalf of Jimmy Savile by contacting officers before an interview.

The officer was from the West Yorkshire force which has referred the claim to the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

He is accused of contacting Surrey Police before they questioned Savile over alleged sexual offences in 2009.

The IPCC said: "The referral follows a direction from the IPCC to record and refer the conduct of the former inspector, identified in a Surrey Police report as 'Inspector 5'.

The watchdog also said it has asked seven forces including West Yorkshire to review whether there are more conduct issues that should be referred to the watchdog over the Savile investigation.

The other six forces are Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and the Metropolitan police.

The IPCC said: "They have been asked to re-look at all information relating to the late Jimmy Savile. The IPCC has asked that each force provides the relevant documents and, if they decide not to record or refer any matters, the rationale for not doing so."

IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "Having had the opportunity to assess all the information that is available to us I directed West Yorkshire Police to record and refer the conduct of a former inspector.

"Furthermore I believe that all the forces that may have had intelligence concerning the late Jimmy Savile should now go back and consider all the relevant information and materials they possess that may highlight any recordable conduct issues for the IPCC to assess.

"A number of bodies are already working to address the deep rooted public concern in this case and have published reports. It is now for the IPCC to assess thoroughly whether or not there are matters in relation to the conduct of individual officers that require an IPCC investigation.

"This may be of little comfort to victims of crime but I hope that the IPCC can play some part in addressing what many see as a catalogue of institutional failings."

This follows a review by the IPCC of reports by Scotland Yard and the NSPCC, the Crown Prosecution Service and Surrey Police as well as information given by forces in West Yorkshire and Sussex.

The watchdog also looked at details given by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, which is preparing a report for the Home Secretary on what the police knew about Savile.

Prosecutors and police have already been criticised for missing the chance to bring the disgraced entertainer to court over the allegations before he died in 2011.

More follows...

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MPs: Tax Dodgers 'Should Be Named And Shamed'

Tax dodgers should be "named and shamed" to stop celebrities using legal loopholes to cut the amount they pay to the Treasury, MPs say.

The Public Accounts Committee says promoters of tax avoidance schemes are "running rings" around the taxman by taking advantage of the time it takes HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to shut them down.

It wants promoters and those who use their schemes to be listed and called on HMRC to be "more robust in its approach".

Margaret Hodge, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, said: "We have seen how public anger and consumer pressure can influence large companies, such as Starbucks, to behave more responsibly.

"HMRC should publicly name and shame those who sell or use tax avoidance schemes in order to discourage such activity.

"With at least £5bn lost to tax avoidance each year, HMRC has got to get much more robust in its approach."

Margaret Hodge chairs the Public Accounts Committee

Mrs Hodge highlighted the case of comedian Jimmy Carr, who last year admitted making a "terrible error of judgment" after using a complex avoidance scheme to reduce his tax bill.

The K2 scheme he used enabled its members to pay income tax rates as low as 1%.

"Promoters of 'boutique' tax avoidance schemes like the one brought to our attention by the case of Jimmy Carr, are running rings around HMRC," Mrs Hodge said.

"They create schemes which exploit loopholes in legislation or abuse available tax reliefs such as those intended to encourage investment in British films, and then sign up as many clients as possible, knowing that it will take time for HMRC to change the law and shut the scheme down.

"Their clients can then take advantage of this window of opportunity to make a lot of money at the expense of the UK taxpayer, while the promoter simply moves on to a new scheme and repeats the process.

"It is a game of cat and mouse and HMRC is losing."

According to the Public Accounts Committee, some tax avoidance schemes have been shut down because of tax rules that require promoters to notify HMRC of new tactics.

However, it warned officials do not know how many promoters are ignoring the requirement.

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Hilary Mantel: Kate Is A 'Plastic Princess'

Award winning author Hilary Mantel has launched a scathing attack on the Duchess of Cambridge, describing her as "designed by committee", in a lecture at the British Museum.

The 60-year-old author, who won the Man Booker Prize in 2009 and 2012, compared Kate to Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette and Princess Diana during the lecture entitled Undressing Anne Boleyn.

In it, she said: "It's rather that I saw Kate becoming a jointed doll on which certain rags are hung.

"In those days she was a shop-window mannequin, with no personality of her own, entirely defined by what she wore.

"These days she is a mother-to-be, and draped in another set of threadbare attributions ... her only point and purpose being to give birth."

She also described the Duchess as having a "perfect plastic smile" and said her first official portrait, unveiled last month, revealed "her eyes are dead and she wears the strained smile of a woman who really wants to tell the painter to b***** off".

Kate's first official portrait went on display last month

The lecture for the London Review of Books was given on February 4, but the full version of her speech will be published in the latest edition of the review on Thursday.

Mantel, author of Thomas Cromwell novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, said Kate was not like Anne Boleyn who was a "power player, a clever and determined woman".

It comes as the Duchess will show off her baby bump for the first time when she visits a project for women recovering from substance dependence.

The 31-year-old will visit Hope House, a project run by Action On Addiction of which she is a patron; it will be her first solo engagement of 2013.

Charity CEO Nick Barton later came to the Duchess's defence, describing her as an "intelligent" woman who was genuinely interested in the work of his organisation.

Asked for his reaction to Mantel's criticisms, Mr Barton said: "I don't think it's for me to comment on that kind of stuff. I speak of what I know - somebodywho wants to help, is helpful and genuinely interested and is intelligent.

"I can only speak (of) what I know. I've met her several times and I found her to be engaging, I found her very natural, I found her actually genuinely interested in the subject.

"You can tell a lot from people's questions and she asks really good questions. They're not routine stuff, they're questions of someone who wants to learn. I find her very easy to deal with."

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Energy Bills 'Set To Rise' Ofgem Warns

Britain's fossil fuel energy supplies are on a rollercoaster and heading downhill fast, according to the head of industry regulator Ofgem.

Chief executive Alistair Buchanan issued the stark warning to consumers and businesses to prepare for higher prices as power plants close, foreign gas supplies shrink and increasing demand tightens the British energy market.

Mr Buchanan, writing in The Daily Telegraph, said: "We have to face the likelihood that avoiding power shortages will also carry a price.

"If you can imagine a ride on a rollercoaster at a fairground, then this winter we are at the top of the circuit and we head downhill - fast.

"Within three years we will see reserve margin of generation fall from below 14% to below 5% - that is uncomfortably tight."

Mr Buchanan also said that in addition to no new nuclear or clean coal capacity increase, there would be no new "carbon capture" before 2020.

As a result, gas will increase as an energy source for power stations - from 30% now up to a possible 70% in the next seven years.

But he said Ofgem would not let companies take advantage of consumers.

Renewable energy still only makes up a small portion of the UK energy mix

"Just when we need more gas, world demand for gas is set to rise while our own supplies are predicted to fall by another 25% by 2020," Mr Buchanan explained.

The Government said it was acting to prevent any possible "looming energy gap".

But a spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said: "Our energy system faces significant challenges over coming years, including the closure of around one-fifth of our ageing power stations.

"So as Ofgem highlights, we cannot afford to be complacent and may face a looming energy gap.

"The reforms we are making to the electricity market through the Energy Bill and through our gas generation strategy are aimed at plugging this gap in order to keep the lights on.

The DECC spokesman added: "We have legislated to introduce a capacity market that will help guard against blackouts and ensure there is sufficient supply when margins get tight.

"We are opening up the electricity market to incentivise a record £110bn of private sector investment in new clean power generation - in renewables, new gas, nuclear and carbon capture and storage.

"We can't put all our eggs in one basket, we need a diverse energy mix - this is the best solution to guard against high price of wholesale gas which drives up consumer bills."

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Coronavirus Patient Dies In Birmingham

A patient who was being treated for a Sars-like coronavirus at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham has died.

The man, who was already undergoing treatment for a "long-term complex unrelated health condition" before contracting the so-called novel coronavirus, passed away on Sunday morning in the hospital's critical care unit, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said.

He is the sixth person to die from the illness worldwide.

The victim had problems with his immune system and is believed to have contracted the coronavirus from a relative who is being treated for the condition in a Manchester hospital. It was the first case of human-to-human transition of the virus in the UK.

He was one of three people in the same family with the virus, which appeared to have been caught by one of the family members during a recent visit to the Middle East and Pakistan.

Sky News Health Correspondent Thomas Moore described coronavirus as "a family of viruses - at one end it is a relatively mild disease which causes the common cold, but it also causes diseases such as Sars, which is that really nasty respiratory disease that broke out in the Far East a few years back."

"This seems to be much the same kind of serious lung disease, with breathing difficulties, fever and so on," he said.

Moore warned that doctors were "concerned".

He added: "At the moment its origins seem to be largely in the Arabian peninsular and surrounding countries but the fact that it has come back to the UK and spread not only to the man who has died but also another relative in the family, who is in a mild condition and being treated at home with antibiotics and being told not to see other people, (is concerning)."

The Health Protection Agency has said the UK population in general is not at risk from the virus at the moment.

A total of 12 cases of the virus have so far been reported to the World Health Organisation with five previous fatalities - three in Saudi Arabia and two in Jordan.

In 2003 Sars killed about 800 people worldwide.

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Stafford Hospital: Police Probe New Evidence

New evidence about the scandal at Stafford hospital is being examined by police and prosecutors that could lead to criminal charges, according to reports.

Matthew Ellis, the police and crime commissioner for Staffordshire, said detectives were looking at "information not in the public domain" relating to deaths at the hospital.

He said "every single piece of information" - much of which is yet to emerge - would be examined.

He told the Daily Telegraph: "There is more information that is not in the public domain that is going to be used to identify individuals who should be looked at.

Robert Francis QC's report found numerous serious failings

"They will use every single piece of information - published and not published. The police are going to look at absolutely everything, every piece of information it is possible to get."

It is believed that some of the information being considered comes from inquests into deaths at the hospital.

Mr Ellis said he wanted the people responsible for what happened to be held to account and has told the force to act quickly.

The Francis report highlighted the "appalling and unnecessary suffering of hundreds of patients" at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2009.

Patients were left for hours sitting in their own faeces, food and drink was left out of reach, and hygiene was so poor that relatives had to clean toilets themselves.

Prime Minister David Cameron apologised for the "truly dreadful" mistreatment and neglect at the trust.

Speaking in the Commons after the 1,782-page report was released, Mr Cameron announced a raft of changes designed to ensure that any future failures in NHS organisations are detected and dealt with quickly.

The public inquiry was ordered after a separate report revealed that between 400 and 1,200 people more people died than expected at Stafford Hospital over a four-year period.

The inquiry, which sat for 139 days, heard from more than 250 witnesses including victims, their family members, patients' groups, charities, medics, politicians, unions and representatives of some of the royal colleges.

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British Cycling Couple Die In Thailand Crash

A British couple who were more than 18 months into a round-the-world cycling trip have been killed in a crash in Thailand.

Mary Thompson and Peter Root, from Guernsey, had ridden across 23 countries including Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and China since starting out on July 12, 2011.

The pair, both in their mid-thirties, had been documenting their travels across Europe and Central Asia through film and on a blog at www.twoonfourwheels.com.

Police said they were travelling along the hard shoulder of a main road in eastern Chachoengsao province when a pick-up truck veered out of its lane and hit them.

"They were tourists who had travelled through several countries before reaching Thailand," said local police lieutenant Chaiyong Butrwan.

He said the 25-year-old Thai driver, who was arrested at the scene on Wednesday, had reached down to pick up his hat from the floor of the truck causing the vehicle to swerve into the couple.

The couple's blog starts: "We are Mary Thompson and Peter Root. At 17.00 on the 12th July 2011 we took a ferry from Guernsey to France with loads of stuff, two bikes and the intention to cycle east around the World."

They marked their 18th month away with a post from Vietnam, which read: "Bathing: mud and sun stylie The 12th of January marks our 18th month away. It started early, our neighbour the cockrel started his cock-a-do-dul-do karaoke at around 3.30, as his had done every 'morning' since we arrived in the relaxed beach town on Mui Ne."

One of their last posts described their experience of eating a spider in Cambodia's Phnom Penh.

The British Embassy in Bangkok said it was aware of the deaths and that the families had been informed.

"Consular assistance is being provided," a spokeswoman said.

The Thai driver was released on bail. Police said he faces charges of causing death by negligence, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, or a 20,000 baht (£433) fine or both.

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Murder Probe As Teen's Body Found In Salford

A murder investigation has been launched after the body of a 19-year-old man was found in Salford.

The man was found with multiple injuries by police officers who were called to Light Oaks Road shortly after 9.20pm on Sunday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination will take place later today to establish the cause of death.

Detective Superintendent Jon Chadwick said: "A young man has been tragically killed and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.

"I want to stress that we are at the early stages of our enquiries. We have a team of detectives working to establish the full circumstances that led to his death.

"I know residents will be alarmed by this incident, but I want to reassure the community that a thorough investigation is now taking place and there are extra patrols in the area."

Anyone with any information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Wandsworth Tower Block Stabbing: Teen Named

Police have named a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death at a block of flats in south London.

Peter Hagan was discovered in the stairwell after police were called to Albon House in Neville Gille Close, Wandsworth, at 1.30am on Sunday morning.

The boy was found in a stairwell

The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene and a murder investigation is under way.

Nine people have been arrested in connection with the inquiry, eight of which have been bailed.

In an appeal for information, Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola, from the Metropolitan Police's homicide and serious crime command, said: "I believe the victim had attended a party in Albon House.

"I need to trace everyone at that party, and in particular I am appealing for any information about a group of between five and eight males seen running from the scene into the surrounding streets and possibly through King George's Park."

Police said: "Although we await formal identification, we are satisfied the victim was Peter Hagan."

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Teenager Shot Dead In East London

A teenager has died and a man is fighting for his life after being shot in east London.

The pair were shot in Hindrey Road, Clapton, at 8.20pm on Saturday, Scotland Yard said.

Paramedics took them to hospital where the younger victim, 19, later died.

A 32-year-old man was understood to be in a stable condition, police said.

Detectives from Operation Trident, which investigates gang-related crime, are hunting two suspects seen running from the scene.

One is black, police said, while the second is light-skinned, possibly of Asian or Turkish appearance.

They were seen running away from Hindrey Road after the shooting towards the nearby Pembury Estate.

Police said there was as yet no clear motive for the shootings, and no-one has been arrested.

"At this very early stage we must retain an open mind regarding the circumstances of the incident and any motive," the spokesman said.

"Detectives from Trident are leading the inquiry and an incident room will open in the morning."

A post-mortem examination is to be arranged.

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Horsemeat: 'Ministers Were Warned In 2011'

Government ministers were warned in 2011 that horse meat was illegally entering the human food chain, it has been claimed.

John Young, a former manager at the Meat Hygiene Service, now part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), told the Sunday Times he helped draft a letter to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in April that year. 

But he told the paper the letter to former minister Sir Jim Paice on behalf of Britain's largest horse meat exporter, High Peak Meat Exports, which warned that flesh with possible drug residue getting into food could blow up into a scandal, was ignored.

In the letter the company warned the Government that its passport scheme designed to stop meat containing the anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone, known as bute, getting into the food chain was not working, calling it a "debacle".

"Defra gave nearly 80 organisations the authority to produce passports and some of them are little better than children could produce... It's a complete mess," he said.

Sir Jim said he did not remember seeing the warnings, telling the Sunday Times: "If this information was in Defra and was not being acted upon, it warrants further investigation. I would like to know why on earth I was not being told about it."

He admitted the horse passport scheme to stop bute getting into the food chain was not working, saying: "We now know that and we need to know why."

Seven percent of people have stopped eating meat altogether, poll suggests

Meanwhile the boss of one of the country's leading supermarkets warned that consumers could end up paying the price for the horse meat scandal, as ensuring food has the best safety guarantees means it can no longer be regarded as a "cheap commodity".

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mark Price, the managing director of Waitrose, said rising costs of rearing animals could mean that "somewhere along that long supply route, somebody has looked to cheat and take advantage of these circumstances either for their own personal greed or to keep a company afloat".

Waitrose has not been affected by the scandal, which Mr Price puts down to its rigorous verification processes.

On Friday, the Food Standards Agency released test results for possible horse meat contamination.

The watchdog said 2,501 tests were conducted on beef products, with 29 results positive for undeclared horse meat at or above 1%.

The 29 related to seven different products, which have already been reported and withdrawn from sale.

:: Almost a third of voters (31%) have stopped eating ready meals as a result of the scandal, a poll suggested, and as many as one in 14 (7%) have stopped eating meat altogether.

The ComRes survey for the Sunday Mirror and the Independent on Sunday, also found a majority in favour of a ban on all meat imports "until we can be sure of their origin" by 53% to 33%.

There was encouraging news for the Government as well: 44% said it had responded well to the crisis against 30% who disagreed.

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Home Secretary Pledges New Deportation Law

Home Secretary Theresa May is planning a new law to stop foreign criminals avoiding deportation, according to reports.

She told the Sunday Telegraph that the actions of some immigration judges were "not acceptable" and that they were "subverting" British democracy.

A new immigration bill will be published later this year, the newspaper claims, to give full legal weight to ministers' demands that foreign criminals should not routinely be able to dodge deportation by citing Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Article 8 permits the right to a family life which can be a barrier to removal, but ministers and MPs say it should be balanced with the need to protect the public.

The new law is expected to state that Article 8 allows deportations to prevent "disorder or crime", meaning judges will be forced to take that into account when considering appeals by criminals.

The Sunday Telegraph also reported that new restrictions could also be included in the new law on migrants coming to Britain from countries including Romania and Bulgaria.

Last summer the Home Secretary changed immigration rules to make clear that foreign criminals should be deported if they were serious or persistent offenders.

But while the rules were backed by the House of Commons, they do not carry the full weight of law and are often ignored by judges on the Immigration Tribunal.

Ms May told the Sunday Telegraph: "The European Convention on Human Rights is clear - there is a right to a family life, but that right should be balanced with the wider public interest in controlling immigration and protecting the public.

"That's why we introduced new immigration rules last year.

"Those rules were debated in full and passed unanimously by the House of Commons. So it is not acceptable that some immigration judges are denying the democratic and legal validity of them.

"I said at the time that if the courts did not heed the changes to the rules, I would introduce primary legislation to force them to do so. That is exactly what I now intend to do.

"I am determined that Article 8 must not stop us deporting dangerous foreign criminals."

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Ms May said: "The law in this country is made by the elected representatives of the people in Parliament. And our democracy is subverted when judges decide to take on that role for themselves."

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Man Held After Pensioner Dies In Hit-And-Run

A 26-year-old man has been arrested after a pensioner was killed crossing the road in a hit-and-run.

The 80-year-old was mowed down in the street when she was walking in Yardley, Birmingham, on Saturday morning.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said the woman suffered "multiple serious injuries and was in cardiac arrest" when medics arrived.

She was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman's family has been informed but police have not yet to publicly name her.

A large-scale police operation to trace the car and driver started immediately after the crash, after the vehicle sped from the scene.

Hours later, officers found a damaged blue Vauxhall Astra dumped at the roadside about six miles away in Solihull.

Police believe it to be the car involved in the crash.

A police spokesman said: "A 26-year-old visited Stechford police station and has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said medics attempted to resuscitate the woman as soon as they arrived but "despite their best efforts, nothing could be done".

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