'Family Doctors' To Be Restored In New GP Deal

The elderly will be given named doctors in a move aimed at "restoring the ethic of family doctoring", the Health Secretary has said.

Under a new GPs contract all over-75s will have a designated doctor who will be responsible for co-ordinating all of their treatment.

The agreement will see an "enhanced service" for patients with complex health needs to avoid them being unnecessarily admitted to hospital or A&E.

GPs will also take on more responsibility for out-of-hours care, with a commitment to monitor the quality of those services being used by their patients.

Concerns have been raised over the quality of out-of-hours care since Labour's 2004 GP contract enabled family doctors to opt out of night and weekend work by sacrificing £6,000 a year in salary. It also ended the requirement for all patients to have a named family doctor.

Jeremy Hunt has said the personal link between patients and GPs was broken

Jeremy Hunt told Sky News the move that will see those over 75 being given a named GPs was just the beginning of the return to "family doctoring".

He insisted that improving access to GPs for the elderly would not make it more difficult for others to get appointments at their local surgery.

Mr Hunt said: "Frankly if we look after the over-75s better it helps everyone in the NHS because that's where the real pressure point is. People who find it hard to see a GP will find it becomes easier because we are looking after that crucial group of people so much better."

He added: "If you talk to A&E departments across the country and see what the best thing, the one thing that we can do that's going to make life easier for you in the busy period, it's better out-of-hospital care for the over-75s."

Around 30% of those admitted to A&E are aged over 75.

Mr Hunt has also said that GPs, who earned on average £103,000 last year, will be forced to reveal their salaries from next year, which will allow the public to judge if they are getting value for money.

However, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "No amount of spin can hide the fact that David Cameron has made it harder to get a GP appointment.

"This announcement will not put an end to patients phoning the surgery at 9am and finding it impossible to get an appointment - many of whom, not happy with a phone consultation, will still turn to A&E."

The British Medical Association (BMA), which negotiated for doctors, said the changes would cut unnecessary targets, reduce bureaucratic box-ticking and give doctors more time to focus on the needs of their patients.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA's GP committee, said: "We recognise that GPs are facing unprecedented pressures on workload with rising demand and limited resources.

"From the outset of this year's contract talks, the BMA has sought to positively engage with the Government to address the difficult financial and workload pressures facing general practice, in order to find new ways of improving patient care, while at the same time freeing up GPs and practice nurses from pointless bureaucracy.

"Our agreement will deliver real benefit to patients and build on the work already carried out by GPs."

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Illegal Animal Item Seizures Rise By Millions

By Harriet Hadfield, Sky News Reporter

The number of endangered species items seized by the UK Border Force has increased tenfold during the past year.

The number of items confiscated has reached an all-time high

A total of 2.5 million illegal items were seized during the period 2012-13, compared with just under 250,000 in 2011-12.

Criminals can make millions of pounds each year from smuggled items ranging from ivory and rhino horn to trophy animals, birds of prey and species facing extinction.

Organised criminal gangs are believed to be behind the smuggling

In the last year, 3,890kg of medicinal products containing extracts from endangered species were seized, along with 326 items of ivory and 93 live endangered animals.

Other seized items included £4,000 shawls made of Tibetan antelope wool, books bound in elephant hide, a Rolls-Royce upholstered in alligator skin and a piece of artwork featuring a rare £35,000 rock pigeon clutched between the jaws of a human skull.

Senior Officer Grant Miller displays some of the items

The seizures partly reflect a crackdown on large international smuggling organisations - which are responsible for huge shipments, often by courier, of illegal goods.

Rhino horn is widely used in traditional Chinese medicines and carries huge value on the black market.

These marine turtles were among the items

Grant Miller from the UK Border Force said: "Poaching levels are unprecedentedly high, for example we are anticipating 1,000 rhinos will be slaughtered in South Africa alone next year.

"We are seeing ivory being trafficked from Africa and new products are emerging in the health and beauty industry which are using endangered species as an active ingredient in those products."

Laws prevent the trade of goods using endangered species

The penalty for importation can be up to seven years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Live endangered species are sent to zoos, farms and wildlife parks around the country.

Rachel Jones from London Zoo said: "All kinds of animals, there's huge trade in reptiles, tortoises, turtles are often confiscated, and it's extremely difficult trying to find homes for these animals.

Officials say poaching levels are 'unprecedentedly high'

"Organisations like my own become saturated."

The other items, for example furs and stuffed animals, are often donated to educational organisations.

Ivory is often used for medical research but rhino horn holds no value other than on the black market so is often burned by border officials.

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Birmingham 'Needle' Attacks: Suspect Hunted

Detectives have released a CCTV image of a man suspected of attacking women with a hypodermic needle in Birmingham city centre.

It comes after a 30-year-old was stabbed in the thigh. The victim felt a sharp pain, which was later confirmed as a puncture wound.

Police believe a hypodermic needle may have been used in each attack

The attack happened at around 3am on November 3 and was reported to police several days later.

Officers believe it may be linked to similar attacks on a 20-year-old on June 23 and a 28-year-old on October 6.

Detective Inspector Julie Woods said police had received five reports in total over the last year-and-a-half.

She said: "Although the women have not been left with any obvious physical injuries they have had to endure an agonising wait to check that they have not suffered any long-lasting health effects.

"Whilst we have been unable to confirm exactly how the injuries were caused, it is believed that a hypodermic needle may have been used on each occasion, with young women being specifically targeted.

"Due to the nature of the offences, victims have not realised they have been injured until hours or days later, which has resulted in limited lines of enquiry.

"But we now have a particularly clear image of a man we want to identify in connection with the attacks and I would appeal for him, or anyone who knows who he may be, to come forward.

"These are strange offences and the motive at this stage is unclear, which is why it's so important for us to identify the person in this CCTV image as soon as possible."

Police patrols have been stepped up in Broad Street and around the city centre.

Anyone who recognises the suspect can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Roy Harper Faces Child Sex Offence Charges

Singer-songwriter Roy Harper, who has performed with the likes of Pink Floyd, is facing charges in relation to a series of historic sex offences against an underage girl.

The veteran folk and rock performer is due to appear at Hereford Magistrates' Court on Monday, West Mercia Police said.

Harper, 72, who lives in Rossmore, Clonakilty, County Cork, is facing nine sexual offence charges.

A force spokesman said: "The summons relates to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14 and four counts of gross indecency with a girl under 14.

"The charges are in connection with offences alleged to have taken place in Herefordshire between 1975 and 1977 and relate to one victim."

The summons was issued to the musician on October 16, after he was voluntarily interviewed by police at Heathrow Airport on February 22.

The prolific performer, who influenced rock band Led Zeppelin, has produced more than 30 albums during his career, and continues to tour.

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Ella Hysom: Parents Appeal For Safe Return

The parents of a 15-year-old girl who went missing while being treated for depression have appealed for help in finding their "vulnerable" daughter.

Ella Hysom, who was last seen at around 1.15pm on Monday in Ilford, east London, had been receiving treatment at a residential hospital in Goodmayes for six weeks before she vanished.

Her parents Tim and Alison Hysom, both 43, from Colchester in Essex, made an appeal for her return.

Her mother said: "Ella, darling, please get in touch. We love you so much. You are so loved by so many friends and family and we just want you back."

She added: "If anyone has seen her, please get in touch. Although she could easily pass for 18, she is only 15 and is in a weak and vulnerable position.

"She has been suffering from depression for some time and she has been receiving treatment."

Mrs Hysom, training consultant for a management training company, said that her daughter is likely to be showing signs of anxiety.

A keen rower and ballroom dancer, Ella, deputy head girl at her secondary school in Colchester, is described as a well-liked teenager.

Ella's father, a regional director for a facility management company, said: "We are trying to cope and trying to use all the means we have at our disposal to try to find Ella.

"We have been out searching, helping the police to search, using social media to try to spread the news of Ella's disappearance."

Detective Inspector John Delaney said: "We are taking this matter seriously and a lot of resources, including search teams, have been deployed.

"We are concerned for her welfare because she is vulnerable, she is suffering from depression and she is just 15.

"It is out of character and there has been no contact from her since the day she went missing."

She is described as blonde, five feet nine inches tall, and was wearing blue jeans, Ugg boots, a green coat and jumper when she was last seen.

Anyone who sees her or has information can call police 020 8345 2751 or 07979 311259, or the Missing People hotline on 116 000.

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Floods Warning For Winter After Wet October

Parts of England are facing an "increased likelihood" of flooding this winter following a wet October.

The Environment Agency warned that the west of the country was most at risk after "persistent" wet weather had left the ground very wet.

A  strong westerly jet stream is expected to "dominate" through much of November bringing bands of rain, the agency said.

It added that strong winds could increase the risk of flooding, as leaves and branches block drains and rivers.

Officials urged families and businesses to check their flood risk.

Families and businesses were urged to be prepared for flooding

"The most important thing that we can all do to protect ourselves from the devastation that flooding can cause is to be prepared," said David Rooke, director of flood and coastal risk management at the Environment Agency.

"Every £1 spent on protecting communities from flooding saves £8 in repairing damage.

"Over the last three years, we have protected an additional 182,000 homes and businesses with new flood defence schemes."

Meanwhile, homes on low-lying land on the Norfolk and Suffolk coast could be flooded on Thursday night, a spokesman said.

A combination of possible gale force winds, large waves and a moderate coastal surge could lead to localised flooding.

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Cancer Scandal Hospital Put In Special Measures

A hospital trust being investigated for forcing staff to change cancer waiting times information has been put in special measures.

Staff at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust told inspectors they were "pressured or bullied" to change information and make it appear as thought patients were being treated in line with national guidelines.

The Care Quality Commission found that as a result of the doctoring of the data, some patients may not have had the treatment they needed in time and a number of cancer patients suffered "undue delays".

Following an investigation, the health sector regulator, Monitor, has now put the trust in special measures "to ensure all its patients receive good quality care". It found the trust had breached its licence to provide health services.

Under special measures, the trust - which is  at the centre of a police investigation - will be required to "put right the patient quality, safety and governance concerns highlighted by the CQC", Monitor said.

Mackenzie Cackett, who had a brain tumour, died at Colchester Hospital

Adam Cayley, regional director for Monitor said: "Following the urgent actions already taken to safeguard patients at the trust we have stepped in formally to assure the health and wellbeing of patients using the cancer pathway at Colchester.

"The trust has been given an explicit set of actions to improve the service it offers patients. We will be monitoring progress closely and we will not hesitate to take further regulatory action if required.

"The leadership of the trust will be reviewed as part of our scrutiny of the trust's governance arrangements and, if necessary, further regulatory action will be taken."

After news of the scandal broke, one mother demanded "justice" for her son who died at a hospital.

Danielle Uren believes four-year-old Mackenzie Cackett, who suffered a brain tumour, could have still been alive had it not been for mistakes in his diagnosis and treatment at Colchester General Hospital, Essex.

More follows...

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London Cycling Deaths Prompt Calls For Action

There have been fresh calls to make London's roads safer for cyclists after two fatal accidents in 24 hours.

The latest death involved a man who was hit by a double-decker bus at around 11.30pm on Wednesday.

It happened at the junction of Whitechapel Road and Commercial Road in Aldgate, east London.

The man was treated at the roadside by paramedics but died a few hours later in hospital.

No one has been arrested and efforts are being made trace the cyclist's next of kin.

The accident came hours after a woman in her mid-20s was killed in the morning rush-hour.

Police were called to the Bow roundabout in east London shortly before 9am following reports a lorry had collided with a cyclist.

The start of a cycle ride in London calling for safer streets

The cyclist, who had been travelling west along the A11, was apparently hit when she tried to turn south towards the Blackwall Tunnel.

Police said the male driver of the lorry stopped at the scene and there were no arrests.

The two deaths brought the number of cycling fatalities in the capital to five in the last nine days.

A male cyclist who was badly hurt in a collision with a lorry on Millbank in central London on Wednesday morning remains in a critical condition, Scotland Yard said.

London Assembly Green Party member Darren Johnson says more needs to be done to make London safer for cycling.

"In the past decade, the number of cyclists in the capital has almost trebled," he said.

"It is absolutely vital that we continue to invest huge sums of money into improving cycling infrastructure and making it as safe as possible."

Speaking on LBC Radio, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the issue "needs to be taken very seriously", although he was not convinced extra regulation was the answer.

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Straw Admits 'Spectacular' Immigration Mistake

Former home secretary Jack Straw has admitted Labour's decision to drop immigration restrictions on eastern European migrants was a "spectacular mistake".

Mr Straw said that the Home Office had wildly underestimated the number of immigrants that would come to the UK from 2004.

He said research by the department had said the impact would be "relatively small" with the number arriving in the thousands.

In the event net migration reached quarter of a million in 2010.

Mr Straw, who recently announced he would be stepping down as an MP at the next General Election, said handing immediate working rights to Poles and other nationalities who joined the EU in 2004 was a "well-intentioned policy we messed up".

Mr Straw admits he was left embarassed

Writing in the Lancashire Telegraph, he said: "However careful you are, as a minister, in your analysis, many decisions are based upon predictions about the future, where, ultimately, your fate is in the lap of the gods.

"One spectacular mistake in which I participated (not alone) was in lifting the transitional restrictions on the eastern European states like Poland and Hungary which joined the EU in mid-2004.

"Other existing EU members, notably France and Germany, decided to stick to the general rule which prevented migrants from these new states from working until 2011. But we thought that it would be good for Britain if these folk could come and work here from 2004.

"Thorough research by the Home Office suggested that the impact of this benevolence would in any event be 'relatively small, at between 5,000 and 13,000 immigrants per year up to 2010'.

"Events proved these forecasts worthless. Net migration reached close to a quarter of a million at its peak in 2010. Lots of red faces, mine included."

Mr Straw's comments emerged after his successor at the Home Office, David Blunkett, warned of the danger that an influx of Roma migrants into Britain could lead to riots.

Last week a report by the University of London found that immigrants who had moved to the UK since 2000 had contributed £25bn to the country in tax.

It also found that they were less likely to claim benefits or live in social housing than British people.

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A&E Services: NHS Plans Two-Tier Service

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Scores of A&E departments could be downgraded under radical plans to create a two-tier emergency health care system proposed by the NHS medical director.

The plans would see the country's casualty units reclassified as either "emergency centres", which would assess patients and start treatment, and "major emergency centres", which would provide specialist care such as for strokes or heart attacks.

Under the proposals between 70 and 100 hospital A&E departments would offer reduced services as "emergency centres" and between 40 and 70 would be classified as the specialist centres.

It would mean patients in some parts of the country facing longer travel times to receive specialist emergency treatment. However, it is argued that they would be getting the best treatment.

The review would represent the biggest shake-up of A&E services in the NHS in 40 years, according to NHS England officials.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the head of NHS England, insisted the changes were not about closing local A&E departments but abut creating a safe service that could cope with increasing demand.

Sir Bruce said "doing nothing is not an option".

"We are here really because A&E is creaking at the seams. It's not broken but it is struggling.

"In many senses, our A&Es have become victims of their own success because they function as a safety net for people who are worried, frightened, anxious or in pain and therefore have problems that concern them.

"When A&Es become very busy it means other parts of the system are creaking as well, they are under stress.

"It's against that background that there's a feeling this winter will be difficult."

The plans would see the development of specialist emergency care centres

Other significant measures included in Sir Bruce's review include:

:: Paramedics being specially trained to treat 999 patients at home rather than simply transporting them to hospital.

:: Patients with minor problems would be given more support to look after themselves.

:: The roundly criticised 111 phone service would be enhanced with patients speaking directly to doctors and nurses.

:: Seven-day appointments with GPs.

It will be five years before any overhaul is completed, if it goes ahead, but there have been warnings that the NHS is facing its toughest winter ever and critics say that looking into the future will not solve the crisis facing the country now.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "This is an issue affecting every man, woman and child in England and, on the brink of a dangerous winter, it's just not good enough to have a Government acting as a spectator on the sidelines blaming everyone else.

"Ministers said this report would have lessons for the immediate winter as well as the longer term.

"But they are failing to act and their response remains 'crisis, what crisis?'. They are forcing A&Es to go into winter with too few nurses, doctors and beds."

The College of Emergency Medicine said the review looked to the future when "the crisis is here with us now".

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the Commons on Tuesday that the review would not shy away from taking "difficult decisions".

"We all know that the NHS needs to change to meet the needs of an ageing population," he said.

Some A&E departments could end up dealing with less serious injuries

Earlier this week, Downing Street confirmed that Prime Minister David Cameron was getting personally involved in overseeing the NHS's response to the winter pressure on A&E departments.

In 2012/13, more than a quarter of all patients attending major A&E departments were admitted to hospital, up from 19% in 2003/04.

There will now be consultation on the plans and the review team will assess the cost and impact on staffing before producing another report in the spring.

Dr Clare Gerada, head of the Royal College of General Practitioners, gave the plans a cautious welcome.

"Of course it's important that patients get the same quality of service on a Sunday afternoon as a Tuesday morning," she said.

"But it's equally important that in the quest for seven-day working we don't remove resources from where they are best used, which is in general practice, and when patients see us most, which is in the working day."

In some parts of the country specialist paramedics are already in action. The South East Coast Ambulance Service already has some 'paramedic practitioners', who keep 30,000 patients a year out of A&E.

Sky News spoke to 92-year old Gwendolyn Kimpton, who had a badly infected wound dressed by one of the paramedics.

She said she was relieved not to be going to hospital: "I would have been a bit frightened, I must admit."

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Mummifed Boy Hamzah 'Let Down' By Systems

The death of a four-year-old boy who was starved by his mother "could not have been predicted", but systems "let Hamzah down both before and following his death", according to a serious case review (SCR).

Hamzah Khan's mother Amanda Hutton, 43, was jailed for 15 years last month after the boy's decomposed body was found in a cot in her bedroom in Bradford, Yorkshire, nearly two years after he died.

Professor Nick Frost, who chairs the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, said: "The SCR is very clear that Hamzah's death could not have been predicted but finds that systems, many of them national systems, let Hamzah down both before and following his death."

But the Department for Education told Sky News the review is a "rubbish document".

And Children's minister Edward Timpson said he has "deep concerns" because it "fails to explain sufficiently clearly the actions taken, or not taken, by children's social care".

A DfE source said: "It's even more worrying that local agencies don't realise how poor an investigation this is.

Amanda Hutton's kitchen was full of rubbish

"There will have to be a proper investigation to answer the serious questions it raises."

Prof Frost said: "It is my responsibility, as independent chair, to ensure that lessons are learnt.

"Very sadly, I cannot give assurances that a tragedy like this will never happen again in our country - as we can't control or predict the behaviour of all parents, the vast majority of whom are doing their very best to care for their children.

"However, I can assure you that at this stage I am satisfied each agency is responding adequately but this is an ongoing process which requires constant monitoring.

"No child should go through what Hamzah experienced. I am satisfied that systems are in place today that minimise the chance of a situation such as this ever being repeated in Bradford."

Bradford Crown Court heard how alcoholic Hutton was living in "breathtakingly awful" conditions with five of her young children as well as Hamzah's mummified remains when shocked police entered the four-bedroom house in September 2011.

Hamzah's father Aftab Khan

A jury found she had allowed Hamzah to starve to death in December 2009 and left his body in a cot with a teddy.

The remains were only discovered due to a rookie police community support officer's tenacious pursuit of a minor anti-social behaviour complaint because she knew something was wrong.

The family was known to all the main agencies yet Hutton had a history of failing to co-operate with services that could have helped her.

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: "Tragically Hamzah became invisible, slipping off the radar of our entire society the moment he left hospital after birth.

"We have to ask how this could happen in 21st century Britain. His mother made no attempt to register his birth; he missed midwife appointments, health visitor checks, immunisations; and he was never registered for school.

"A red flag must be raised when key appointments are missed so that children cannot disappear.

"It cannot be right that the first time someone took serious steps to track him down was six years after his birth by which time he was already dead."

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Spy In Bag: MI6 Man Probably Locked Himself In

Spy Death: The Evidence Behind The Theories

Updated: 11:31am UK, Wednesday 13 November 2013

Three general theories have been put forward to explain the death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams, with evidence to support each one.

:: Suicide

The theory that Mr Williams' chose to take his own life is perhaps the most prosaic explanation for his death and the inquest has heard evidence that suggested he was unhappy with his work.

He had passed an exam to become fully operational with MI6 just months before his death but his sister said he disliked office culture and the rat race - and had spoken of friction among colleagues.

One common theme throughout the inquest has been Mr Williams' prodigious intelligence, which saw him secure a first-class mathematics degree at the age of 17 before his eventual fast-tracking through the ranks at GCHQ.

Correlations have often been drawn between depression and the high levels of perfectionism evident in Mr Williams - an impression his intense fitness regime and pristinely tidy flat did little to dispel.

Irrespective of his state of mind, however, no-one has been able to fully explain how he would have been able to lock the bag his body was found in from the outside.

Stephen Gale, his boss at GCHQ's Cheltenham base, said Mr Williams stunned fellow intelligence specialists with his codebreaking talents when he landed his first job at 21.

"He was considered something of a prodigy and it was quite remarkable that he had achieved those levels of qualifications at such a young age," he said.

It could be argued that such outstanding achievement at such an early age could lead to the kind of listlessness later in life that can eventually develop into suicidal thoughts.

But Mr Williams' reputation as a "world-class" codebreaker may also give rise to the more outlandish theory that he took his own life while deliberately leaving an apparently inextricable riddle.

:: Accident

Mr Williams' interest in women's clothing - on which receipts showed he spent around £20,000 during 2008 and 2009 - has been among the most prominently-reported details of the case.

His curiosity with drag queen culture has also been a focus for the media, as has his apparent interest in bondage footage.

The inquest heard that in 2007, Mr Williams' landlord and landlady had to rescue him in the middle of the night after he apparently tied his wrists to the headboard of his bed to see if he could "get free".

Such revelations could contribute to a theory that Mr Williams' death was an accident, even the result of a sex game gone-wrong.

However, close friends say he never mentioned cross-dressing and he is only known to have been to see a drag act once.

Detective Constable Simon Warren also moved to quell speculation around the 31-year-old's private life, saying his interest in bondage footage on his computer was "an isolated (incident) among a sea of other data".

And it is not entirely inconceivable that a third party may have manufactured an image of someone with flamboyant personal habits in order to distract from a more sinister truth.

Indeed, this possibility was acknowledged by the coroner in her summing up, when she questioned whether leaks to the media about Mr Williams' cross dressing were attempts to manipulate evidence.

She pointed out that most of the women's clothes found would have been too small for him and said the lack of female underwear was "inconsistent".

Mr Williams was described as a cautious risk assessor by his sister, which the coroner said did not "square" with the suggestion of an interest in bondage.

:: Murder

Despite having no suspects, the police have said from the outset that they believe a third party was involved in Mr Williams' death.

Found naked, curled up in a padlocked North Face holdall in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, central London, bag experts have said that even renowned escapologist Harry Houdini would have struggled to lock himself in the bag.

One even tried and failed to carry out the task more than 300 times before saying they were "unbelievable scenarios".

Lawyers for his family have suggested "dark arts" of the secret services were responsible.

The recent emergence of the news that MI6 failed to hand over nine computer memory sticks from Mr Williams' office to Scotland Yard has done little to confound such claims.

Conspiracy theories are fuelled by the fact that the force's counter-terror SO15 branch, which has specialist security clearance and acted as a conduit between MI6 and the investigation team, only took three items from Mr Williams' office - his phone, some notes and a copy of his birth certificate.

Detective Superintendent Michael Broster, who was the main liaison from SO15, said: "I have seen no information or evidence that someone is involved. I am not saying that a member of SIS is not involved. I don't know."

Poisoning and asphyxiation are the "foremost contenders" in causing Mr Williams' death, pathologists said.

But experts believe there would have been signs of damage to his fingers and hands if he had struggled to get out of the bag within the three minutes it would have taken to suffocate.

The fact that Mr Williams was dead for up to 10 days before his post-mortem examination meant many poisons and/or bruise marks could have disappeared from his body.

Another matter to have attracted suspicion is MI6's failure to report his absence for more than a week after his disappearance.

Forensic experts hope ongoing DNA tests on a green towel discovered in his kitchen may still yield a breakthrough.

But given the assumed capabilities of MI6, the fact that no physical evidence has yet been found to establish the involvement of a third party is unlikely to halt speculation that secret service agents were to blame.

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Terror Suspects To Be Stripped Of UK Passports

British terror suspects would be stripped of their passports and made "stateless", under plans backed by the Home Secretary.

Theresa May wants to amend a clause which means the Government is banned from removing a UK passport if it would effectively leave a person stateless.

She wants the power to take away the passport of a person if they have acted in a way that is "seriously prejudicial to the interests of the UK".

It follows a Supreme Court ruling which ordered Mrs May to return a UK passport to an Iraqi terror suspect accused of plotting to blow up soldiers.

Judges said it was unlawful to remove the passport of Hilal al Jedda because it would have left him stateless.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The government will take all necessary steps to protect the public, including pursuing deprivation of citizenship, where appropriate."

Yvette Cooper wants terror suspects to be relocated across the country

The proposals come after terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, who was subject to a terrorism prevention and investigation measure (Tpim), fled a London mosque in a burka.

Mrs May said at the time his passport had been seized but was later forced to admit she had made a mistake and that police did not have his passport.

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has urged that powers to relocate terror suspects to other parts of the country must be revived in the wake of his disappearance.

Ms Cooper has written to Mrs May saying the powers to forcibly move suspects across the country, which were available under the previous control orders, should be reinstated.

Mohamed was relocated to Ipswich, in Suffolk, when he was subject to a control order but returned to London when the restriction was lifted.

Mohamed fled the London mosque dressed in a burka

Ms Cooper's letter has been published ahead of a Home Affairs Select Committee session with the independent reviewer of terror legislation David Anderson QC and Charles Farr, director general of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism within the Home Office.

In her letter, the shadow home secretary said: "No terror suspect under a relocation order ever managed to abscond.

"Now two terror suspects who were previously relocated and then returned because of your decision have absconded.

"Your decision, against advice and warnings, to end relocations has made it much easier for two dangerous men to disappear."

Ms Cooper asks the Home Secretary to agree to re-introduce the power to relocate terror suspects and pledges "cross party" support.

Ministers are reportedly reviewing the Tpims and are considering whether to stop suspects from visiting mosques suspected of preaching hardline religious views.

Last week, it emerged Mohamed had been twice remanded in custody for allegedly breaching controls imposed on him.

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Breastfeeding: New Mums To Get Shop Vouchers

Vouchers for Matalan, John Lewis, Mothercare or supermarkets are to be dished out to new mothers if they feed their babies with breast milk.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield are examining ways to boost low rates of breastfeeding in parts of the UK.

Mothers will be given shopping vouchers worth up to £120 if their babies receive breast milk until they are six weeks old, and a further £80 if their babies are still breastfed at six months.

If the "feasibility" project is successful, the authors will conduct a national research project into the scheme.

But midwives have warned that financial reward should not be the main motivation for women to breastfeed.

The new study is to be trialled in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire - in areas where breastfeeding uptake rates are low.

The NHS recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies during the first six months.

Despite this, only 34% of UK babies are breastfed at six months, with only 1% exclusively breastfed at this stage, said Dr Clare Relton, senior research fellow at the University of Sheffield.

She said: "Breast milk is perfectly designed for babies and provides all they need for the first six months of their life.

"The scheme offers vouchers to mothers who breastfeed as a way of acknowledging both the value of breastfeeding to babies, mothers and society, and the effort involved in breastfeeding."

The preliminary study will focus on up to 130 mothers who give birth between November and March.

If the mothers breastfeed their children for a full six months they will receive £200 shopping vouchers - half for supermarkets and half for high street stores.

The vouchers will be paid in five instalments of £40 each.

The initiative is being funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative, a group made up of government departments, medical charities and research companies. 

The initiative will not be rigorously policed and will simply require the participating mother and their health visitor or midwife to sign off to say they are breastfeeding.

Dr Relton said the test would not only look at whether or not the payment improves uptake rates, but also at whether women think they are being "bribed or rewarded" after they receive the vouchers.

Janet Fyle, professional policy adviser at the Royal College of Midwives, said: "Whilst we are not against financial incentives for the right reasons, there is a much bigger social and cultural problem here that needs to be tackled instead of offering financial incentives for mothers to breastfeed.

"In many areas, including those in this study, there are generations of women who may not have seen anyone breastfeeding their baby, meaning it is not the cultural norm in many communities.

"The motive for breastfeeding cannot be rooted by offering financial reward.

"It has to be something that a mother wants to do in the interest of the health and well-being of her child."

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Trump Battles Scottish Windfarm In Court

Donald Trump's legal challenge to an offshore windfarm project supported by the Scottish Government is getting under way.

The US businessman opposes the 11-turbine European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre off the Aberdeenshire coast, claiming it will spoil the view from his nearby luxury golf course.

Mr Trump has said he will pull the plug on his own controversial plans to finish his proposed resort with a large hotel, holiday homes and a residential village if the windfarm goes ahead.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Government is committed to the successful and sustainable development of an offshore wind sector. It is not appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on ongoing legal proceedings."

The turbines will be capable of yielding, on average, enough electricity to power 68,000 UK households in a year, according to designers.

A change to the application in August last year increased the proposed height of some turbines to just short of 200m, prompting further anger from Mr Trump.

Donald Trump's own plans for Scotland development are controversial

The long-running application has pitted Mr Trump against First Minister Alex Salmond. The US property tycoon's scheme at Menie Estate, near Balmedie, also caused controversy, not least for building on an area of protected dunes.

The golf resort application was initially rejected by a local authority committee, causing turmoil among councillors, and was called in by the Scottish Government. The First Minister became local MSP for the area in 2007.

Lang Banks, director of environmental group WWF Scotland, said: "It's depressing to think that Donald Trump has nothing better to do than use his vast wealth to try and undermine Scotland's aim of becoming a cleaner, greener, job-creating nation.

"We hope that, in the end, the court agrees that giving the go-ahead to this development was the right decision.

"Scotland is home to a quarter of Europe's offshore wind resource. Studies estimate that Scotland's offshore wind industry could create 28,000 jobs by 2020 and contribute over £7bn of investment to the economy.

"It would be a great pity if Donald Trump was in any way responsible for frustrating Scotland's ambition to generate clean power and green jobs."

The hearing, known as a petition for judicial review, is taking place at the Court of Session in Edinburgh and is expected to last four days.

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Energy Bills: EDF Confirms 3.9% Average Rise

EDF Energy is to raise its average gas and electricity bills by 3.9% from January 3 - by a lower margin than its competitors - in a move that raises pressure on the Government to help bring down rising household costs.

The company - the fifth of the so-called Big Six firms to announce a winter increase - said its decision was conditional on David Cameron delivering on his pledge to "roll back" so-called green levies.

EDF claimed that as a result of its decision, its rise was less than half the size of those announced by British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power and npower to date and meant its new standard variable tariff would rise by just £49 on average.

Only 2.4 million of its household customers will be affected as around a third are on fixed-tariff deals.

Only E.ON is yet to confirm a rise among the major players but reports suggest it is planning to announce later this month an average increase of 6.6% from early 2014.

The company said its limited increase was based on a decision to hold back rising costs - including those from the Government's ECO social and environmental scheme - for now pending a decision on their future expected in the Autumn Statement on December 5. 

Its statement read: "The company has taken action ahead of the outcome of the Government's review of the costs of ECO and other schemes.

EDF chief exec Vincent de Rivaz has challenged the cost of green levies

"If the Government makes bigger changes to the costs of its social and environmental schemes than EDF Energy has anticipated, the company pledges to pass these savings onto customers.

"However, if changes to social and environmental programmes are less than anticipated, the company may have to review its standard variable prices again."

Ministers are examining whether the bulk of the costs - expected to amount to £158 annually for the average dual fuel customer next year - should be taken out of bills and placed under general taxation instead to help bring down bills.

In EDF's statement on Tuesday, its chief executive Vincent de Rivaz said the industry must "challenge the cost and affordability" of Government green schemes.

He added: "I know that price rises are always unwelcome, but we have taken the first step to show what can be done if rising costs are tackled head-on."

Consumer groups gave a cautious reaction to EDF's decision.

Tom Lyon, energy expert at uSwitch.com, said: "Any winter price rise is a blow to consumers as it makes the struggle to afford to stay warm that little bit harder.

"However, EDF Energy is to be applauded for the stance it is taking by factoring in the potential reduction on green levies into its calculations.

"This means that customers will know up front that they will benefit from any step the Government takes to reduce the impact of 'hidden' taxes on bills.

"More importantly it also challenges the Government to put its money where its mouth is and to make good its pledges on affordability."

EDF said its decision meant it would be more difficult for its residential supply business to be profitable next year, but the company believed it was important to limit price increases for hard-pressed customers.

News of the increase came amid a furious debate on energy pricing - prompted by Labour's pledge to freeze bills for 20 months if it wins the 2015 general election.

Ministers are keen to promote greater competition - and the value of switching suppliers - while the Energy Secretary Ed Davey is to warn that customers are not "cash cows" to be squeezed for profits by the shareholders of energy companies.

Sky's City Editor Mark Kleinman learned on Monday that the industry was mounting a fightback under the growing pressure from politicians, with a report demonstrating its value to the UK economy.

The study suggested it contributed more than £100bn in total last year.

:: Watch a day of special coverage on energy costs all day on Sky News - on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad.

There will also be a special programme on the energy industry on Jeff Randall Live this evening at 7pm.

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Terror Suspects Face Controversial Mosque Ban

The Home Office is considering banning terror suspects from visiting controversial mosques, Sky sources say.

Suspects subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (Tpims) would not be allowed to worship at mosques on a Home Office's list, the sources said.

The plan could also clamp down on the amount of time they spent at mosques, the sources said.

The tougher restrictions would form part of a plan to further restrict terror suspects' freedoms after Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed escaped from a London mosque by dressing in a burka earlier this month.

Pressure is mounting on the Government to explain how the al Shabaab-linked suspect managed to escape surveillance despite being the subject of a Tpim.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told Sky's Murnaghan programme that lessons needed to be learned from the case.

"The security services and the police face a huge challenge monitoring very large numbers of potential threat streams and we are acutely conscious that the terrorist only has to get lucky once - we have to get lucky every time," he said.

"Because of the large numbers of potential threats that we are monitoring and managing, it is inevitable that every now and again that one will slip through the net.

"When that happens we have to learn the lessons, we have to tighten the system."

Home Secretary Theresa May has come under fire since Mohamed fled

Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, said her Govermment counterpart Theresa May was "belatedly trying to close the stable door that she herself threw open" with the stricter measures.

"This Home Secretary repeatedly ignored warnings that ditching relocations would increase the risk that terror suspects would abscond," she said.

"After losing two out of the ten suspects she's been forced to admit there's a problem. But her hands are tied by her own legislation.

"If Theresa May has finally realised that she did the wrong thing by weakening terror controls, she should apologise. And David Cameron should take over the crucial decisions on terror suspects as its clear the Home Secretary can't be trusted to get it right."

A hunt involving the Metropolitan Police's counter terrorism command, MI5 and the UK Border Force has so far failed to track down Mohamed.

But he is not the first person to breach a Tpim since they were introduced to replace control orders in early 2012.

CCTV of Mohamed leaving the mosque in a burka

Last December, Ibrahim Magag, who is understood to have attended terrorist training camps in Somalia, absconded from a Tpim notice after ripping off his electronic tag. The police search for him is continuing.

Tpims were introduced in place of controversial control orders that individuals could be placed on indefinitely.

The control orders allowed forced relocation, curfews of up to 18 hours a day, electronic tagging and vetting of visitors.

The Coalition moved to the new system after sustained anger of the system, which some said amounted to virtual home arrest.

Tpims saw forced relocation scrapped, the curfews were replaced with a requirement to stay overnight in a house and they would no longer be indefinite and would instead need renewing every two years.

It has been revealed that before Mohamed escaped he had been twice remanded in custody for allegedly breaching controls imposed on him.

The 27-year-old was released from custody despite facing 20 charges for breaking the restrictions Tpim and the earlier control order.

Mohamed is currently seeking damages from the Government in a human rights legal challenge involving allegations of torture.

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Funeral Appeal After WWII Veteran Dies Alone

Hundreds of people are expected to attend a funeral of a war veteran they never knew after it emerged he died with no close friends or relatives.

Harold Jellicoe Percival served as RAF ground crew and helped with the famous Dambusters raids during the Second World War.

He died last month aged 99 in a nursing home.

Mr Percival's funeral will be held at 11am on Armistice Day at a crematorium in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire.

The veteran never married, had no children and has no close family members able to go to the service.

A request for servicemen first went out in a local newspaper

But after publicity in local newspapers and social media, funeral directors say they are now hoping for a good turnout.

The RAF Association tweeted that its "Northern area will be in attendance" so Mr Percival "won't be alone".

Afghanistan veteran Rick Clement, who lost both legs in 2010, has been using Twitter and Facebook to urge people to turn up to pay their respects.

"Need a big favour from any military or ex serving members. This fallen soldier at 99 years old is having a funeral on Monday," he said.

"It says he has no family to attend in Lytham St Anne's. If your in the area can you give him the send off he deserves." 

He later thanked all those who had supported the appeal, saying: "Harold is going to get an amazing send off."

Comedian Jason Manford has also got behind the campaign.

Mr Percival lived in Penge, south London, before joining the RAF.

He was based in northwest England and became part of the ground crew which helped the Dambusters, the squadron which was initially formed to destroy dams in the Ruhr valley in Nazi Germany.

Mr Percival helped support the Dambusters' daring raid during World War Two

After working in Australia, he later retired to England and lived at a care home in Lytham St Annes.

Matron Janet Wareing said: "Harold was a lovely character, very strong-willed and independent.

"He was quite a private man, and he loved reading his Daily Telegraph every morning.

"We have already been contacted by military veterans who are intending to come, even though they have never met him.

"We've been told one group is looking to bring around 200 people to the service, which would be fantastic."

Mr Percival does have a nephew, David Worsell, but he is not able to attend so his son - Mr Percival's great nephew - will represent the family.

He was a distant relative of former British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, the only PM to have ever been assassinated.

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New Mums 'Left Clueless Amid Midwife Crisis'

Nearly half of new mothers say they are not given enough advice on how to recognise if their baby has a life-threatening illness once they have left hospital, according to a survey.

The survey by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and Netmums also showed that nearly a third (30.8%) felt unsupported and were asked to go home when they were not ready to leave.

Nearly two thirds (60%) of women said they experienced feeling down or depressed after giving birth, and over two-thirds (40%) said they were not given enough information about breastfeeding.

Mothers' concerns have been echoed by midwives. Asked in the survey if they thought they were able to deliver clinical postnatal care to a standard they were pleased with, over half (58%) said they would like to be able to do more or a lot more.

Just over a third (40%) of midwives said that they had enough time and resources to support and inform women about emotional wellbeing.

RCM chief executive Cathy Warwick said: "These surveys confirm some of my fears about the level and quality of postnatal care that midwives are able to provide and that women are receiving.

"We know from a recent survey of heads of midwifery that postnatal care is suffering because of midwife shortages.

"Whilst I recognise that the Government are working hard to increase midwife numbers, the serious shortage that currently exists is having an impact and it is affecting the quality of care for women."

In response to the findings, a Department of Health spokesperson said: "We are doing everything possible to make sure women get the right maternity support.

"There are now over 1,300 more midwives working in the NHS since May 2010, and a record 5,000 more in training who will all qualify in the next three years. We have also increased the number of health visitors and family nurses, who provide vital support for women.

"Most women have good outcomes and positive experiences of maternity care. We know 84% of women now say they have good care, which has gone up from 75% six years ago. But we are determined to do more.

"Last year, we announced a £25m fund to pay for improvements to over 100 maternity wards and birthing units, including nine new midwifery-led units.

"The work we are doing is making a big difference to the experience that mums and families have of NHS maternity services, with more choice and a better environment where women can give birth."

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Remembrance Day Services Honour Veterans

War Graves 'Have Enormous Power To Engage'

Updated: 1:51am UK, Sunday 10 November 2013

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent, in Burma

Just outside the chaos and the buzz of Burma's largest city, Rangoon, is a place of remarkable peace and tranquility.

Set back from the busy highway linking Rangoon to the Burma's new capital city Naypyidaw is the Taukkyan War Cemetery.

Taukkyan is the final resting place for 6,426 soldiers of the Commonwealth who fought and died in one or other of the two world wars.

The headstones are lined up in perfect uniformity. I spot a Private Jones and a Corporal Johnson.

Their names seem oddly incongruous so far from 'home'. It is a reminder of just how global the two world wars were.

As always at war cemeteries, the ages are sobering. Most of those I pause by in Taukkyan are teenagers.

Around the world there are a staggering 23,000 war cemeteries just like Taukkyan.

You will find them in 153 different countries, they hold the remains and bear the names of 1.7 million individuals and they are all managed and beautifully maintained by an organisation called the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

"The CWGC maintains the very fabric upon which remembrance of the war dead is focussed," Peter Francis, from the CWGC, told Sky News.

"Today, the war graves and memorials are perhaps the only physical reminder of the war left. They have an enormous power in my experience to engage the individual in the war and the sacrifices made."

The gravestones that line the fields of Northern France are well-known, but similarly poignant cemeteries can be found in every country where battles of either world war were fought.

From Burma to Libya and from Turkey to Thailand they are all as moving as they are magnificent.

Some are in deserts, some in mountains, some under snow and some lined with palm trees.

Many of the cemeteries are the legacy of an extraordinary pledge made during the two world wars.

These were the days before repatriations of the like we see today. Back then, soldiers were buried where they fell, but admirable efforts were made to record each individual burial location.

When the guns fell silent, as many of the bodies as possible were 'repatriated', not home, but to a central cemetery where they could lie side-by-side.

Mr Francis points out that World War One marked a step-change in how the victims of war were remembered.

"Before the First World War it was unusual to remember the sacrifice of 'ordinary' soldiers," he explained.

"One only has to look around London and see the memorials to Generals, or go to the battlefield at Waterloo (just 100 years before the Great War) to see that there was very little to mark the sacrifice of the soldier. The First World War and the CWGC changed all that.

"It is all too easy, for those of us who have grown up with the two minute silence, the poppy, the war graves, the memorials, to think there was an inevitability about the commemoration of the war dead. That is not the case."

Along with the 6,426 marked graves at Taukkyan is a memorial wall on which are etched the names of a staggering 27,000 others who died during the battles in Burma and who have no known grave.

Burma, now Myanmar, was a battle ground for both wars and has been for many more since.

The upkeep of so many cemeteries, some in countries now the frontline of new wars, is a huge undertaking.

Mr Francis tells me about one cemetery which is a 45 minute boat ride to a remote Scottish Island. Access to another involves a dangerous journey across Libya.

"Every site, every grave is inspected, assessed and maintained by our dedicated workforce - some 1,300 strong worldwide (the vast majority gardeners and stone masons)," he told me.

"Some may stay at one cemetery their entire career, others will move from country to country. Some are even the third generation of their family to work for us - one of the nice things about the organisation is that we do have a sense of 'family'."

While there are cemeteries in unstable counties like Syria, Iraq and Libya, there are challenges even in places like the UK.

"Here in the UK we face a very peculiar challenge," Mr Francis said.

"Most people do not realise that in the UK, the Commission commemorates more than 300,000 Commonwealth servicemen and women who died in the two world wars - their graves and memorials to be found at a staggering 13,000 locations.

"There is little awareness of this. These range from small rural churchyards to large urban civic cemeteries. In essence we have to enter into 13,000 agreements to maintain these sites."

The CWGC, which is well-funded by grants from Commonwealth-member governments, expects that visitor numbers will increase by up to 30% over the next four years.

It has now embarked on a renovation and modernisation programme.

"Our headstone replacement capacity is now at 22,000 headstones a year and we are re-engraving some 19,000 headstones a year in situ - maintaining the very fabric upon which remembrance of the Great War is largely based and keeping alive in stone the names of those who died."

The commission's website now contains an interactive database allowing people to search for a relative who died in a far-away battle.

Initiatives like this help younger people connect to a past with which they no longer have a direct generational link. 

"An increased awareness of, and sense of ownership in, war graves in the UK, will greatly assist the Commission's task of caring and maintaining for these sites, some of which may have been abandoned to nature over the decades," Mr Francis said.

Back at Taukkyan, I watch one of the commission's volunteers, an elderly Burmese man. He rakes away fallen leaves from the pristine grass around the rows of graves.

Two young Burmese boys wander past. I wonder how much they know of their country's troubled history. Hopefully for them, the troubles are history.

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