Labour Badly Bruised By UKIP In Stronghold

Why The Only Way For Essex Is UKIP

Updated: 8:12pm UK, Friday 23 May 2014

By Jason Farrell, Political Correspondent

Standing by the roadside in their purple rosettes are two retired Essex men, Malcolm Elliott and Dave Morrish. They are brothers-in-law, both living in Thurrock.

One is a right-wing Thatcherite - the other a former left-wing activist who emigrated when Margaret Thatcher was in power.

They have never agreed on politics until now. Now they are waiting for their hero of the hour to arrive, Nigel Farage.

As the anticipation builds, Malcolm tells me: "I've been a socialist all my life but not anymore because nobody's listening."

"What do you think of Ed Miliband?" I ask.

"I don't frankly. I don't believe in any of them anymore."

His brother-in-law Dave agrees. "I voted Tory for 47 years. But I feel it doesn't matter if you vote Tory, Labour or the Lib Dems, what you're going to get is the EU and that's what I don't want. Renegotiation is a nonsense. Every European treaty states that it's not negotiable."

In the local elections UKIP has increased its number of seats in Thurrock from one to six, meaning the council is no longer controlled by Labour. Thanks to UKIP the Conservatives also lost control of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point and Southend: Essex man is becoming UKIP man.

As Mr Farage arrives the activists can hardly reach him for the cameras. The UKIP leader tells reporters his success in Essex does not mean he will stand for a seat here.

He also fields a number of questions about why his party failed to make the same impact down the road in London, where they only got 7% of the vote.

"We have a weak voluntary structure in London," he says. "We haven't built it. We haven't developed it. We haven't had the right local leaders. Once we get the right local Leaders we will start having results like this in London."

In previous elections this seat has seesawed from red to blue. The nearby parade of shops tells its own story of a community in decline. A pound shop, a Boots, a butcher's and a Greggs are among a row of otherwise boarded and shuttered facades. The butcher tells me that in the last five years for every shop that has closed, nothing has replaced them.

In Thurrock more than one in five children live in poverty. There has been a 200% increase in the use of food banks in recent months. If Ed Miliband's message about the "cost of living crisis" were to resonate anywhere, you would think it would be here. But instead they are more interested in what Mr Farage has to say about the EU and immigration.

In the local coffee shop I ask a group of pensioners why that is. "In this area we've swung between Labour and the Conservatives," says one man. "And what have either of them done for us? They've put their pay up 11% while our pensions have gone up 1%." There are six of them round the table and they all support UKIP.

The current MP is conservative Jackie Doyle-Price. With a shock of bleach-blonde hair and an upbringing on a Sheffield estate, she is far from fitting the Tories characterisation of Etonian established elite, and she is not someone to trot out the agreed party message.   

"There's been a definite mood on the doorstep of people saying the political classes don't speak to us anymore and if you look at the Westminster debate it's become very managerial, very bland, and along come UKIP with some populist messages and people say to themselves, let's give the main political parties a good kicking, and they have."

The overall mood is that Thurrock feels neglected and ignored by Westminster and therefore easily swept along by a new political wind. It seems, for many in Essex, the only way is UKIP.

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Sex Offenders Face Lie Detector Tests

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Editor

A thousand of the UK's most high-risk sex offenders are to undergo mandatory lie detector tests, under new measures announced by the ministry for justice today.

Probation officers are being trained in how to use polygraph examiners as part of new measures to toughen up the monitoring of convicted paedophiles and reduce the danger they pose to the public.

Don Grubin, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Newcastle University, whose company Behavioural Measures is leading the training, said: "The aim of the testing is to assist offender managers in supervising the offenders.

Dr Grubin says the tests will help the monitoring of offenders

"There is not a specific crime you are investigating, not a specific security breach, it's much more of a general tool to look at how they are behaving under supervision and to see whether there is a need to intervene."

"It's important to emphasise that nobody will be recalled because they failed a test ... polygraph testing both facilitates the disclosure of information and alerts offender managers to possible deception, allowing them to work with offenders in a more focused way."

A group of seven officers will administer the tests to sex offenders deemed at high risk of reoffending or convicted of the most serious offences, in a 12-week training programme administered by polygraph experts from the US, where use of the devices is much more common.

As well as undergoing lie detector tests every six months, the Government has also announced plans to use satellite tags and controversial libido suppressant drugs, also known as "chemical castration".

Sex offenders already have to abide by licence conditions, including signing onto the sex offenders register, adhering to exclusion zones, curfews, internet restrictions and non-contact orders.

Polygraph tests will be used regularly on high-risk sex offenders

But there are hopes that the addition of lie detector tests will help probation services better monitor the risk of reoffending.

Justice minister Jeremy Wright said: "We are determined that Britain has one of hte toughest regimes in the world for managing sex offenders, to stop reoffending and to protect victims."

According to the most recent figures there are 43,664 registered sex offenders in the UK. Reoffending rates have been a persistent cause for concern, with 13% of adults convicted of a sex offence committing further offences.

This is the first time that mandatory lie detector testing will be used by probation services across the UK, but the Government says that a pilot conducted between 2009 and 2011 in the East and West Midlands found that those who took the tests were twice as likely to admit having breached the terms of their licence or having thoughts that suggested they continued to pose a risk.

Two police forces are already are also using lie detectors for people arrested on suspicion of indecent images of children.  

But the use of polygraphs remains controversial, with some concerned about the reliability of the devices.

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Parties Reel From UKIP Election Success

UKIP's haul of seats in the council elections is up to 184 with the main parties now mulling the prospect of four-party politics in next year's general election.

Nigel Farage has said his anti-EU party is a "serious player" for 2015 after they added 167 councillors at the expense of the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats.

UKIP made gains in traditional Labour and Conservative heartlands, including strong showings in Rotherham - where it returned 10 out of 21 councillors.

It also got a big thumbs thumbs up from 'Essex Man' with a strong showing in areas such as Thurrock, Castle Point and Basildon.

However, it still does not have overall control of any council, and fared particularly poorly in London

Nigel Farage claims the 'UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse'

Mr Farage told the leaders of the main parties he would "see them in Westminster" and said the results showed UKIP had the potential to cause an "earthquake" at the general election.

"The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse," he claimed.

"If voters think we are in with a chance of winning next year, then we are."

Sky News projections suggest UKIP would only return one MP next year - its first, but the possibility of it building momentum and wooing more voters over the next year is a major headache for party leaders.

The state of play with just two councils still to announce their results

The Prime Minister conceded the Conservatives had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo.

Critics have also rounded on Labour leader Ed Miliband, saying he failed to mount a serious campaign to tackle UKIP and pointing to a series of PR blunders in the run up to polling day.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the public had grown 'frustrated'

Mr Miliband, who has promised to help families cut living costs through policies such as freezing energy prices, was accused of being out of touch when he underestimated the cost of a weekly food shop.

Labour's election was far from a disaster - it gained control of five more councils in the election - but the gains are thought to be some way from the shot in the arm the party needs to head towards an overall majority in 2015.

Another hung parliament could be on the cards if voters go the same way in 2015, with Sky projections pointing towards Labour falling short by 18 MPs.

Ed Miliband made several PR gaffes in the run-up to the election

The Liberal Democrats also had a dismal election night as voters ensured Nick Clegg's party lost control of councils in Kingston-Upon-Thames and Portsmouth.

Mr Clegg admitted the party had done badly but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

UKIP made gains in areas of Essex such as Southend, where it won five seats

With 159 or 161 councils now declared, Labour have won 3,999 seats, giving it control of 81 councils - an increase of five.

The Conservatives have 2,679 seats overall, controlling 41 councils - down 13; and the Liberal Democrats picked up 882 seats, seeing the number of councils under their control falling from eight to six.

The focus now moves to Sunday night when the count will come in for the European election.

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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Missing Yacht: Life Raft Discovered Unused

The life raft on the missing yacht Cheeki Rafiki has been found unused in its storage space, the US Coast Guard has said.

The search for the missing British sailors ended at 3am UK time after a search of the capsized boat found the only realistic means of survival had not been deployed.

An RAF Hercules plane has also stopped searching after the discovery, the Foreign Office said.

From left: Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin

US Navy divers found a completely flooded cabin with shattered windows, said the Coast Guard.

"A US Navy warship smallboat crew and surface swimmer captured underwater imagery clearly identifying the raft in its storage space [behind the wheel]. The image was shared with and acknowledged by the families," said a statement.

The raft was found stored in the aft of the boat Pic: US Coast Guard

"The crew and swimmer deployed to investigate the overturned boat after a helicopter crew located it 1,000 miles offshore Massachusetts and within the US Coast Guard's search area.

"The Navy surface swimmer determined the boat's cabin was flooded and windows were shattered, contributing to the complete flooding inside."

It had already been announced that the search would be called off in the early hours of Saturday if no signs of possible survival were discovered.

"None of the current developments" indicate the crew are still alive, said the US Coast Guard.

The search effort involved military aircraft and ships

A statement on behalf of Steve Warren's family said it was an "incredibly difficult" time and that the search effort had been "exceptional".

Rafiki after the sad news its hull has been found with the life-raft unused."

The upturned 40ft yacht had been found on Friday, with divers first knocking on the hull to check for signs of life.

The men's familes had campaigned for the search to go on

The families had said they were still hopeful their loved ones would be found despite the search being only hours from ending.

Relatives of Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, said they had been told "endless stories" of people surviving for months at sea.

The vessel ran into difficulties on May 15 and began taking on water while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

The Cheeki Rafiki had been at a regatta in Antigua

Yacht training and charter company Stormforce Coaching said it had been in contact with the skipper at the time, and that the crew were keeping the situation stable.

The original search was halted after 53 hours amid bad weather but resumed on Tuesday after a request from the UK government and a online petition which collected more than 200,000 names.

The hunt included commercial vessels as well as aircraft from the US Coast Guard, US Navy, US Air Force, the Canadian military and the RAF.

Rescuers scoured more than 21,000 square miles of ocean during their second search for the boat.

Experts had agreed it would be impossible for the crew to survive outside of the life raft in cold, rough seas.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My thoughts are with the families of the crew of the Cheeky Rafiki after the sad news its hull has been found with the life-raft unused."

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Richard III's Burial Place Decided By Court

Judges have ruled King Richard III should be buried in Leicester after distant relatives lost their High Court battle over the monarch's final resting place.

The bones of the king, killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, were found under a council car park in the city, and it is planned for them to be reinterred in the cathedral.

And this has now been backed by three judges, who said it was "time for King Richard III to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest".

The council car park in Leicester where Richard III's skeleton was found

They rejected a bid by relatives, who make up the Plantagenet Alliance, to force Justice Secretary Chris Grayling to set up a wide-ranging public consultation to decide where the king's final resting place should be.

It claimed the exhumation licence granted by the Secretary of State to the University of Leicester, which carried out the excavation was legally flawed. 

Following his death, Richard's body was taken to Leicester by supporters of the victorious Henry VII and buried in Greyfriars church, now the site of the council car park.

The alliance indicated it wanted the remains to be buried at York Minster, claiming that was the wish "of the last mediaeval king of England", who was known as Richard of York.

The discovery solved a 500-year-old mystery over where Richard was buried

But their legal counsel said at a recent court hearing the alliance would be satisfied with a consultation exercise, and suggested the Queen should be among those whose views are sought, as well as distant relatives and the public.

Stressing the importance of the issue, Gerard Clarke said the last English king to die in battle ''is not just any old bones''.

But judges at the High Court found there were no legal grounds for intervening over the reburial plans in Leicester.

They said in a joint ruling: "Since Richard III's exhumation on September 5, 2012, passions have been roused and much ink has been spilt.

"Issues relating to his life and death and place of reinterment have been exhaustively examined and debated.

"We agree that it is time for Richard III to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest."

The king's remains will now be reinterred at Leicester Cathedral

Mr Grayling welcomed the court ruling but expressed his anger over the legal action being brought.

He said: "I am, however, frustrated and angry that the Plantagenet Alliance - a group with tenuous claims to being relatives of Richard III - have taken up so much time and public money.

"This case, brought by a shell company set up by the Alliance to avoid paying legal costs, is an example of exactly why the Government is bringing forward a package of reforms to the judicial review process."

The result from the High Court was greeted with applause at Leicester Cathedral.

Bishop of Leicester Tim Stevens said: "We are, of course, delighted. Here in the cathedral, in the diocese, in the city, in the county, we've waited a long time for this."

Plans for the reinterment of the remains which had been put on hold could now move forward, he said.

This is due to take place next spring.

It is not clear if the alliance will seek to appeal.

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Natasha McShane's Attacker Jailed For 90 Years

A man convicted of the attempted murder of UK exchange student Natasha McShane in Chicago four years ago has been jailed for 90 years.

Ms McShane, from Silverbridge, Co Armagh, and her American friend Stacy Jurich, 24, were left bleeding and unconscious during a robbery on April 23, 2010, in Chicago.

Heriberto Viramontes was found guilty in October

Heriberto Viramontes, 34, was found guilty in October.

In sentencing him to 90 years, Cook County Judge Jorge Alonso said Viramontes was motivated by "greed and hate" when he attacked the two young women, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

"You attacked them with all the force you could muster and you left them there to die," Mr Alonso said.

"Their only sin was believing it was safe to walk four or five blocks in the city of Chicago."

Ms McShane, who was 23 at the time of the attack, was beaten with a baseball bat and left with brain damage.

She is no longer able to speak or walk unassisted as a result of her head injuries.

Ms Jurich, 28, told the judge: "In an instant, I went from smiling and laughing to being on my knees dripping with blood wondering if Natasha was alive."

The newspaper reported that Ms Jurich and Ms Mcshane's mother hugged after the sentence was read out, and welcomed the lengthy jail time.

Ms McShane had been studying urban planning at the University of Illinois when the attack occurred.

The case shocked Northern Ireland.

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Fracking: Billions Of Barrels Of Oil In UK

Large reserves of shale oil are expected to be revealed as a new report today highlights the possibility of fracking across southern England.

The long-awaited survey by the British Geological Survey (BGS) is likely to confirm substantial reserves in Conservative strongholds Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire.

It comes as communities affected by fracking will reportedly be offered average payouts of £800,000 to try to win over opponents of the technique.

Prime Minister David Cameron, a supporter of fracking, will announce the extra compensation in addition to a one-off payment of £100,000 and a 1% share of profits, according to The Times.

Anti-fracking protests took place last year in Balcombe, West Sussex

The BGS has already suggested there could be enough shale gas in the north of England to supply Britain for 40 years.

And it now it appears large areas of the south are in line for the controversial extraction technique.

The South Downs National Park lies across much of the area likely to hold reserves totalling several billion barrels of oil.

Supporters believe fracking will lead to lower energy bills and create thousands of jobs.

But critics claim it harms the environment, including potentially causing small earthquakes and polluting water supplies.

Fracking firm Cuadrilla faced fierce protests last year over its exploratory drilling plans at Balcombe, West Sussex, with some activists arrested.

Licences have already been approved for areas such as Lancashire, with further swathes of the country said to have fracking potential.

Fracking involves fracturing underground rocks to release oil and gas

The technique, widely used in the US, involves high pressure liquid being pumped deep underground to split shale rock and release gas and oil supplies.

Ministers are also said to be planning to give energy firms the right to lay pipelines under houses without worrying about trespass laws.

This would mean they would not have to get permission from homeowners.

Business Secretary Vince Cable told Sky News that drilling under houses had been going on for years in the coal industry.

"It's not been any issue," said the Liberal Democrat MP.

"We're talking about activity well, well below ground level - not under people's gardens. Providing that's clearly understood, it creates less of a problem."

Mr Cable said people involved in the fracking debate appeared to be "over-reacting in both directions".

"People are terrified this is going to pollute and compromise the environment - it doesn't have to do that.

"People think it's going to be some great economic bonanza - I doubt that."

Oil and gas in the North Sea is still attracting investment and is a key part of the UK's energy supply, the Business Secretary told Sky.

"There is a danger that people get so obsessed by the long-term possibilities of fracking ... It's a long way to go.

"People think this is some miracle round the corner - it certainly isn't that. Providing there are proper safeguards for the environment, and there have to be proper safeguards, there is no reason why it should create a backlash."

Friends of the Earth's South East regional campaigner, Brenda Pollack said: "These latest estimates will set alarm bells ringing across the South of England where fracking firms seem intent on punching holes in some of Britain's most beautiful countryside in the search for profits."

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Stuart Hall Jailed For Sex Assaults On Girl

Ex-broadcaster Stuart Hall has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for indecently assaulting an underage girl.

The former It's A Knockout presenter had been convicted of carrying out an attack on the youngster by a jury at Preston Crown Court.

He was found guilty last week of assaulting her when she was under 16.

Hall, 84, had earlier pleaded guilty to another indecent assault on the same girl when she was 13.

That involved an incident at a dinner party where he crept into his victim's bedroom and assaulted her.

Passing sentence, Lord Justice Turner said of his offences: "It was an act of vile bravado and horrible betrayal."

The victim sat metres away and began wiping away tears with a handkerchief passed to her, as details of the offences were again mentioned in court.

Last week, he was cleared of 15 counts of rape in relation to that woman and another who claimed they were sexually assaulted by him between 1976 and 1981.

The married father-of-two is currently in prison serving a 30-month term.

He had been jailed after he pleaded guilty last year to indecently assaulting 13 other young girls, aged between nine and 17, over a 20-year period.

The ex-BBC football match commentator had not been due for release from that custodial sentence until September.

Hall will not now be eligible for release until December 2015 as the latest sentence will only begin after the end of his current jail term.

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Patients Discharged At Night: 'It's Sickening'

Sky News viewers have reacted with anger at our investigation that shows the number of patients leaving hospital in England between 11pm and 6am has risen.

Health Correspondent Thomas Moore's report comes despite NHS bosses ordering a crackdown on the practice.

Sarah Louise Matthews-Lang wrote on Facebook: "I'm a care assistant in a brilliant care home and it sickens me if a resident of ours gets sent back to us at 2am, yes that's right 2am.

"It's shocking how they send them back without relatives, so they are very distressed due to this. Yes I do give the hospital hell as this is abuse, and so do the family that doesn't get information from hospital when they should."

Diane Widger wrote: "I worked in a specialist care home and they sent patients back to us very late at night in the cold and looking distressed!!"

Pepper Ferne also wrote on Facebook: "Yes, it happened to me recently from Leeds General Infirmary. Discharged at 1am, still very shaky and ill. Had to go walking the city and pay £10.00 for a hackney cab home."

However Alan Reynolds thinks it is a difficult decision for the hospitals.

He wrote: "Who has the greater need for the bed: the person in A&E needing treatment or the person whose treatment has been completed? Seems obvious to me, and it looks a case of needs must. How this is managed to maximise utilisation of a scarce resource may not be easy to answer."

Alexander Crossley wrote on Twitter: "If a patient is healthy enough to go home at 2am they should do so the hospital can treat others."

Rachel Fedden worte on Facebook: "I was discharged from the maternity unit at 10pm. Had to wait half an hour for hubby to collect me bringing the 7 and 5 yr olds with him. I was back in 2 days later with same problem!"

Kyasurin Pope also wrote on Facebook: "I was discharged at 2am when I had kidney stones.They were prepping me for the wards and put my drip in and things then suddenly had a phone call and told me to go home. Its atrocious."

:: Have your say on Facebook or share your experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #nhsovernight

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Hundreds Discharged From Hospitals Every Night

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Thousands of NHS patients are being discharged from hospitals every year in the middle of the night despite bosses ordering a crackdown on the practice, a Sky News investigation has found.

The number of patients leaving hospital in England between 11pm and 6am has actually risen in the last two years, new figures show.

In almost half of cases, the proportion of patients discharged overnight has increased.

In April 2012 NHS England medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh called on hospitals to cut down on overnight discharges following a series of cases where vulnerable patients had been left to make their own way home.

Dr Mike Smith has said the practice is driven by the need for beds

The NHS was accused of discharging patients overnight to try to free up beds.

However, figures obtained by Sky News following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests show that since Sir Bruce's intervention the practice is still widespread and in many cases rising.

According to the figures more than 300,000 patients have been discharged late at night since 2012 - an average of around 400 a night. Tens of thousands of those patients were over 75.

As only 72 of England's 160 NHS trusts were able to provide full figures for the last three years, the true number is certain to be far higher.

Dr Mike Smith, chair of the Patients Association, said: "They have got people in A&E chomping at the bit, lying in corridors, they have got to be admitted and they have no beds.

The number of patients discharged overnight increased at 41 hospital trusts

"It's for the convenience of staff and the person they are admitting but at the gross detriment to the person they are chucking out."

Experts say that patients often end up in care homes in the middle of the night.

Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Association, said: "They are going back without any relevant information about how their care might have changed, what the diagnosis might have been, their paperwork is not following because people are off duty and often without the relevant medication they need for the following day or even through the night."

Patient Michael Atkinson told Sky News that in March 2013 he was discharged from the Royal Bolton Hospital A&E at 3am, despite being in a confused state.

He was found by police an hour later wandering on a cricket pitch almost a mile away.

He said: "I did not know who I was, where I was. I did not know where I was going. I was just wandering basically. I was in pain."

Michael Atkinson was found wandering after he was discharged overnight

His wife Helen said: "He could have died. He was blue with cold. Something must be done to stop this happening. You are in hospital for a reason - to be looked after."

The hospital said that Mr Atkinson had left before transport could be arranged for him but said that staff had tried to learn lessons from the incident.

Sky News asked 160 NHS trusts in England how many patients had been discharged between 11pm and 6am in the past three years.

Of those, 72 trusts provided figures for all three years. In 41 cases, the number of patients discharged overnight increased.

In 31 cases the proportion of patients discharged between 11pm and 6am increased. In three trusts it remained the same.

Of the 72 trusts that replied, 152,472 patients were discharged between 11pm and 6am in 2011/12, rising to 152,479 in 2013/14.

The figures also reveal that 20,152 were aged over 75 in 2011/12; 19,728 in 2012/13 and 18,548 in 2013/14.

The proportion of patients discharged overnight remained the same at 2.41%.

Some 25 trusts said they did not collect the data or that it would take too much time to find it and the remaining hospitals did not reply to the FOI request.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: "Discharging patients at night without appropriate support is unacceptable, particularly if a patient is vulnerable.

"Where a patient wishes to leave late at night or early in the morning, it should be accommodated only where it is safe and clinically appropriate and with the support of family, friends or carers.

"The decision to do this should always be based on what is best for the patient."

:: Have your say on Facebook or share your experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #nhsovernight

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Missing Yachtsmen Search: Floating Debris Found

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Debris has been found by a vessel searching for the missing yacht that is thought to have capsized with four Britons on board.

The US Coast Guard told Sky News a catamaran, Malisi, had discovered random floating objects within the search area - but could not confirm it was from the missing Cheeki Rafiki.

Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, were on board the 40ft yacht when it ran into difficulties a week ago while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

A spokeswoman for the US Coast Guard said: "I can confirm that we have received reports (of debris) from the sailing vessel Malisi.

"They have found some debris in the search area. We can't tell at this time if they are from the Cheeki Rafiki as there were no identifying marks on them.

Relatives and family members of the four missing yachtsmen

"The debris was a plank of wood and a small piece of floating foam, but there was nothing identifying the Cheeki Rafiki.

"Obviously it is a possibility, and we are definitely treating it very seriously and incorporating that into our search, but I can't say for certain that it was from the Cheeki Rafiki."

She said the report would be used in planning the search effort, but could not say whether vessels or aircraft would be diverted to the area.

The spokeswoman could not say if the debris was in an area already searched.

"A lot of these areas overlap and are searched several times, and it is possible that other vessels had been in the area," she said.

An initial search for the stricken vessel was called off on Sunday amid bad weather in the Atlantic Ocean, but began again on Tuesday after pressure from the men's families.

More than 200,000 people also signed a petition demanding the operation be resumed.

And the families of the four sailors have written to President Barack Obama to thank him for his support.

The letter will be delivered to the US embassy in London later as the search for their missing relatives continues in the Atlantic Ocean.

Arriving for a meeting at the Foreign and Commonwealth office in London the families confirmed they would also visit the US embassy to deliver a letter thanking the American authorities and Mr Obama for continuing with the search.

Gloria Hamlet, the partner of Mr Warren, told Sky News she hoped the debris sighting would aid the search.

She said: "If it can be identified as the Cheeki Rafiki then that means we can use that position to calculate the drift patterns and things like that. We remain hopeful."

And Mr Warren's sister, Kay Coombes, told Sky News: "We're keeping our fingers crossed today for something.

"I heard the captain of the catamaran this morning saying he'd found some debris, so hopefully that can point the coastguard in the right direction now, so maybe they can refine their search a bit.

"Obviously I'm hoping they'll search for as long as they possibly can, but I'm realistic, they can't search forever, we know that.

"They're obviously putting an awful lot of resources into this now - the Canadians, the Americans and the RAF. We're ever-hopeful."

The search, around 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, now involves six ships and four planes - including an RAF Hercules.

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Madeleine Investigation 'Enters Major Phase'

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 12:46pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

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Missing Yachtsmen: Coastguard Steps Up Search

The sister of one of the four sailors missing after their yacht capsized in the Atlantic Ocean believes there is every chance he will be found alive.

Kay Coombes, the sister of Steve Warren, also spoke of her relief that the search for the crew of the Cheeki Rafiki, which was returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua, had resumed after a public campaign.

The US Coast Guard in Boston is coordinating the hunt. Pic: US Coast Guard

She was speaking as the US Coast Guard stepped up the hunt, which now involves four ships and three planes.

A further three vessels and an aircraft are en route to the search area, about 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

An RAF Hercules is also on its way to join the hunt.

Air crews on the scene have scoured a total of 2,878 square miles since the search resumed.

The overturned hull of a yacht spotted by a cargo ship

Speaking from Somerset, Ms Coombes told Sky News: "We are all sticking together at this point. We are amazed by the public support we have had.

"We are very thankful to the US Coast Guard that they have started searching again.

"We are being realistic about what's happening but we are still hopeful at this point.

"Knowing my brother like I do - he's very very strong, physically strong, mentally strong - there's every chance he's still alive.

"We also are realistic. All we can do is hope and pray, and keep everything crossed that we can that we have a positive outcome.

Rear Admiral Dan Abel discusses the search operation. Pic: US Coast Guard

"People are out there now looking for them, so if they are out there there's a good chance they are going to be found now."

Mr Warren's daughter Laura Carpenter said: "Obviously we are so pleased the search is back on again now."

The RAF Hercules plane will begin combing the ocean on Thursday and will be able to search for up to four hours at a time.

Mr Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, were on board the 40ft yacht when it ran into difficulties.

The US Coast Guard called off the search for them last weekend after two days, but the decision was reversed after more than 150,000 people signed an online petition.

A sailor who survived for five days after being shipwrecked in the mid-Atlantic told Sky News he believes the crew are still alive.

Rory Nugent told US Correspondent Amanda Walker: "I was declared dead twice by the US Coast Guard and the US Navy and eventually got apology letters from both.

"I think human nature and these guys' desire to live will keep them alive and keep them going."

Rory Nugent was declared dead twice

The Cheeki Rafiki's crew had sent out locator beacons 1,000 miles east of Massachusetts and the Coast Guard estimated the survival time for the Britons was 20 hours after "the time of distress".

The capsized hull of a yacht was spotted by the crew of cargo ship Maersk Kure, which was assisting in the search.

But they did not attempt to climb down to the stricken vessel and insisted there were no signs of life on board and no life raft.

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'Legal Aid' Fraud Trial Ruling Is Overturned

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent, Court of Appeal

A legal move by the Prime Minister's barrister brother to halt a multimillion-pound fraud trial because of legal aid cuts has been overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Three Appeal Court judges quashed the order, made earlier this month at London's Southwark Crown Court, to throw out the case because the defendants could not find sufficiently experienced barristers to take on their defence.

David Cameron's older brother, Alexander Cameron QC, successfully argued that the accused men would be unable to get a fair trial because of the failure to find barristers of "sufficient competence" to fight for them.

The case is at the centre of a furious row between the Ministry of Justice and the legal profession over deep cuts to the legal aid budget.

Many barristers in England and Wales are refusing to take on complex and long-running court cases because of 30% cuts to their fees.

Delivering their ruling at the Court of Appeal, judge Sir Brian Leveson said the row was standing in the way of justice and he urged Justice Secretary Chris Grayling to work with the legal profession to try to resolve the current stand-off.

Alexander Cameron QC took on the case for free

The trial, which involves the alleged mis-selling of land to members of the public, is classed as a very high-cost case, because of the length of time barristers and their legal teams would have to spend preparing for the case and the expected length of the trial.

The fraud case, known as operation Cotton, included 46,030 pages of evidence and 864,000 lines of spreadsheet data.

Defence solicitors had contacted 69 barrister chambers in their efforts to find suitable representation.

By January 15 just one QC had indicated their willingness to take on the case, but then withdrew the next day.

The trial judge at Southwark Crown Court, Anthony Leonard, halted the case on May 1 and ruled there was no reason to think the defendants would be able to find suitably-qualified barristers to represent them if the case was adjourned,

Judge Leonard's ruling meant other major trials were also at risk of collapsing, including the biggest insider dealing case ever seen in the UK.

The Court of Appeal reversed Judge Leonard's ruling and ordered that "the proceedings on this indictment be resumed in the Crown Court at Southwark".

Sir Brian Leveson said:  "We are not saying that there could not come a time when it may be appropriate to order that this indictment be stayed: that time, however,

remains very much in the future and problems about representation will have to have developed considerably before such an exceptional order could be justified."

After the ruling, a spokesman for the Financial Conduct Authority, which mounted the appeal, said he welcomed the court's decision.

In a statement, he said: "The FCA is committed to pursuing criminal action in appropriate cases and is pleased that this case can now proceed towards trial."

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Met Police Officer Sacked Over Plebgate Affair

Police officer Susan Johnson has been sacked from the Met Police for gross misconduct because of her role in the Plebgate affair.

The officer, who serves on the diplomatic protection squad, was dismissed following a misconduct hearing which found her behaviour had "breached standards of professional behaviour".

More follows...

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Home Secretary Cuts Police Federation Funding

The Home Secretary has said the public can no longer continue to fund the Police Federation when it has vast reserves of its own.

Theresa May told the Police Federation annual conference that funding would be cut from August because it was "not acceptable" for it to continue when the organisation had tens of millions of pounds in its reserves.

Mrs May had already said spending would becut from £320,000 to £190,000 each year but now has said it will be cut completely.

In a bruising speech, Mrs May listed a string of controversies faced by the police, including the Plebgate row, involving misconduct over the investigation into the Downing Street incident involving the former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell, and the Hillsborough report.

She said: "If there's anybody in this hall who doubts that our model of policing is at risk, if there is anybody who underestimates the damage recent events and revelations have done to the relationship between the public and the police, if anybody here questions the need for the police to change, I am here to tell you that it's time to face up to reality."

Mrs May said that if the Police Federation did not accept reforms recommended by Sir David Normington then "we will impose change on you."

Her speech was greeted by silence from officers.

During a question and answer session that followed one officer, who had served for 21 years, told the Home Secretary: "I've never had such an attack and a personal kicking from what you said there."

He added: "You're threatening to bully us."

More follows ...

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SAS Sniper Nightingale Loses Gun Case Appeal

A former SAS sniper has lost his latest battle against his conviction for illegally keeping a gun and ammunition.

Sergeant Danny Nightingale's application to appeal was turned down by three judges at the Court Martial Appeal Court in London.

The 39-year-old was sentenced last July to two years' military detention, suspended for 12 months, by a military court in Bulford, Wiltshire, after being convicted for the second time.

The special forces soldier was found guilty of having a 9mm Glock pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition in the bedroom of his shared Army house.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas dismissed his application for permission to appeal, ruling that there was nothing in the grounds he wished to argue which affected the safety of his conviction.

Sitting with Mr Justice Hickinbottom and Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, Lord Thomas said there was a "considerable amount" of evidence before the court martial which "supported" the conviction.

Guns and ammunition found at Nightingale's house

He said the appeal court could not see "in any way" how his proposed grounds of appeal - the main one relating to expert evidence - would "affect the conviction".

The pistol was found in Nightingale's wardrobe and ammunition was under his bed in a plastic box. He claimed he had no knowledge of them being in his bedroom.

Nightingale, from Crewe, had pleaded not guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm and also denied possession of the ammunition.

He was originally jailed for 18 months in November 2012 for the offences, but had his sentence cut after appeal judges concluded it was too harsh.

It was reduced to 12 months suspended, resulting in his release. His conviction was then quashed in March 2013 by appeal judges and a fresh trial was ordered.

During a military career starting in 1995 he served in the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. He received a medical discharge, remaining in the Army until it commenced in February.

More follows...

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Missing Yachtsmen: 150,000 Call For New Search

More than 150,000 people have signed an online petition, demanding the US Coastguard resume its search for a yacht which is thought to have capsized with four Britons on board.

An air and search for the missing Cheeki Rafiki, which ran into difficulties in the Atlantic Ocean, around 620 miles (1,000km) east of Cape Cod, was called off after 53 hours.

An overturned hull of a yacht matching the description of the vessel was spotted and photographed by a cargo ship assisting the search.

The families of the four yachtsman - Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin - are adamant they would have had time to escape onto a life raft.

If 150,000 sign up to an e-petition it will be sent to the US Coastguard

That is a view shared by Nicola Evans, a friend of Mr Bridge who sailed with him last year, whose e-petition has now been signed more than 154,000 times.

Now it has passed the 150,000 mark, the petition will be sent to both the US Coastguard and the Foreign Secretary William Hague.

"The US Coastguard has done a fantastic job searching for the crew, but we're asking they just give them a bit more time," Ms Evans said.

"Andy is an amazing guy and showed such genuine care for me and all his crew mates. We all consider him a close friend and desperately want him to be found."

The overturned hull thought to be the Cheeki Rafiki. Pic: Maersk Kure

The coastguard called of the hunt - which also involved Canadian aircraft and three merchant vessels - after searching about 4,000 square miles throughout Friday and Saturday.

A spokesman said the search was halted, amid treacherous weather conditions, after no more transmissions were received from the vessel's personal location GPS beacons.

Mr Bridge's father David told Sky News rescue teams "should give them another chance", while Mr Male's dad Graham added: "They were calm, there was no panic, they knew exactly what they were doing.

"We know from the evidence that has been given to us and from what experienced sailors have been saying ... there's a very good chance they're in the life raft."

L-R: Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male, Paul Goslin

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the MP for South West Surrey where Mr Bridge lives, also backed calls for the US Coastguard not to give up.

He tweeted: "Desperate 4 families of missing yachtsman, one from Farnham. I know US Coastguard has done masses but pls don't stop looking. 2 soon 2 give up."

Contact with the Cheeki Rafiki was lost on Friday morning while the yacht was diverting to the Azores.

The capsized hull was spotted by the crew of the Maersk Kure, who did not attempt to climb down to the stricken vessel but insisted there were no signs of life on board and no life raft.

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Joss Stone Murder Plot Pair Have Sentences Cut

Two men who were convicted of plotting to rob and kill the singer Joss Stone have won appeals against the length of their prison sentences.

Junior Bradshaw, 33, had his 18-year sentence cut to 10 years by three Court of Appeal judges in London. 

Kevin Liverpool, 36, who was originally given a life sentence with a minimum term of 10 years and eight months, had his minimum reduced to six-and-a-half years.

The pair, of St Stephen's Close, Longsight, Manchester, were found guilty of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to rob following a trial at Exeter Crown Court last year.

They drove from Manchester to Miss Stone's home in mid-Devon with an arsenal of weapons, including a samurai sword, to rob and kill her.

When the pair were sentenced, Judge Francis Gilbert, the Recorder of Exeter, branded Liverpool a danger to the public and said he targeted Miss Stone to get more than £1m from her.

The car the men used to drive to Devon

He told him: "You intended to rob her and kill her and dump her body in the river, according to your words, and then leave the country with your accomplice, Junior Bradshaw. You had no reason to target her except that she was a wealthy young woman as she was a successful singer."

Liverpool and Bradshaw had scouted Miss Stone's home and were on their way to attack her armed with a sword, three knives, two hammers, masks, gloves and a hosepipe when they were arrested in Cullompton in June 2011.

Giving the ruling of the court, Mr Justice Bean said it had dismissed Liverpool's appeal "insofar as it challenges the imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment".

One of the weapons found in the car

It had been argued on his behalf that the "clumsy and badly-planned" conspiracy was not so serious as to qualify Liverpool for a life sentence.

The judge said the court "cannot accept this submission". It was a conspiracy to murder using an "array of weapons", and was persisted in even after the setback of damage to their car.

He added: "When coupled with the finding that the appellant (Liverpool) poses a high risk of serious harm to the public, it leads to the clear conclusion that a life sentence was justified."

Taking into account the 22 months spent in custody before sentencing, Liverpool becomes eligible to apply for parole in December 2017.

But the judges stressed that "we are not ordering that the appellant be released in December 2017".

Turning to Bradshaw's appeal the judge said he was "of exceptionally low intellectual capacity".

As the trial judge had noted, Liverpool was the instigator and Bradshaw was the foot soldier.

Mr Justice Bean said that had he been more intelligent "he would have realised that the chances of a successful and profitable robbery were so remote as not to be worth attempting".

In light of the reduction made in Liverpool's minimum term, and the trial judge's finding "which was clearly correct", that Bradshaw was to be treated as a foot soldier, "a reduction in his sentences should likewise be made".

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House Prices Up As PM Mulls Help To Buy Future

House prices have risen 8% in the year to March, figures have shown, as David Cameron said he would "consider" changes to the Help To Buy scheme if advised to do so by the Bank of England.

While the increase is down on the 9.2% rise announced in February, according to the Office for National Statistics, the continued strong price growth, particularly in London and the South East, is set to fuel criticism of the Government scheme which underwrites home loans for people without large deposits.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney told Sky News at the weekend that the housing market had "deep, deep" problems.

In an interview with Sky's Murnaghan show, Mr Carney warned rising house prices represented the biggest current risk to the economy.

Mr Cameron says Help To Buy has helped tens of thousands of people

In response, the Prime Minister indicated he was open to rethinking Help To Buy, which critics argue contributes to forcing up house prices by fuelling demand, which far outstrips the supply of available homes.

Asked if he would look at reducing the programme's £600,000 threshold, Mr Cameron said: "Of course, we will consider any changes that are proposed by Mark Carney.

"But, as he said, this is a well-targeted scheme and it's helped tens of thousands of people get on the housing ladder and to have mortgages."

The PM was speaking ahead of the release of the ONS report which said property values continued to increase "strongly across most parts of the UK".

The ONS said annual house price rises in England were being driven by a 17% year-on-year increase in London, a 6.6% hike in the East and a 6.1% rise in the South East.

It has been warned the housing market has reached "boiling point"

The average house price in London has reached £459,000, while the average price in the UK as a whole now stands at £252,000, slightly down on the £253,000 peak in February.

The 0.5% drop marks the first time property values have fallen month-on-month in just over a year.

However, first-time buyers now face having to pay 10% more than they did a year ago, with the average price of a starter home standing at £193,000 in March, according to ONS figures.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said: "These figures are yet more proof that our housing market is reaching boiling point.

"With every rise in house prices leaving more people priced out or stuck in cramped homes, rollercoaster house prices are rapidly losing their feel-good factor."

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Carney signalled he is ready to take action to cool the housing market.

He said the Bank could adopt a range of measures, including imposing a new "affordability test" for borrowers and advising the Government to curb the Help to Buy scheme.

Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: "Help to Buy doesn't change any of those, the qualifying criteria that people need to follow in order to get a mortgage, but what it does do is help to open up the housing market to people who otherwise would be excluded from it.

"I think that's a good policy objective but, of course, if the Bank of England suggest reforms to that we will certainly listen to that in the weeks and months to come."

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Hunt For Killer On Run From Jail For Third Time

Police are hunting a convicted murderer who has gone on the run from prison for the third time.

Arnold Pickering, 44, and armed robber Thomas Moffett, 51, walked out of HMP Kennet in Liverpool at 9.30am on Saturday morning.

The pair were due back at around 4.40pm the same day. Their disappearance was reported to Merseyside Police at about 7pm.

Moffett was arrested around 9pm on Sunday in Blackburn, Lancashire, for being unlawfully at large but Pickering has not been found.

Pickering is serving a life sentence for stabbing to death a 55-year-old man, incorrectly identified as a paedophile, in Oldham, Greater Manchester, in 1990.

He last absconded in December 2009 when he was let out on day release from HMP Kirkham to work on the bins in Manchester city centre.

Moffett armed himself with a nail gun and robbed off-licences

The murderer handed himself in four days later in Motherwell, Scotland.

Pickering had previously gone missing from Strangeways while serving time for a separate conviction but handed himself after six hours.  

The killer is described as around 5ft 11in tall, medium build with blue eyes. He has tattoos on his arms and chest.

Moffett is serving an indeterminate sentence for a string of robberies carried out in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 2006.

He armed himself with a nail gun and then raided six off-licences.

The pair were risk assessed as suitable for temporary release on licence by the Ministry of Justice.

The disappearance comes just two weeks after armed robber Michael Wheatley, known as "Skullcracker", absconded from Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, while on temporary release.

Downing Street said changes to the temporary release regime would be made "as soon as we can".

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We are going to seek to do that as quickly as possible. It is of course important that we get to the bottom of exactly what has happened in each of these cases.

"The changes we want to do in terms of greater restrictions and more robust monitoring and the ending of town leave, all the things the Secretary of State for Justice was talking about today, we will seek to do that as soon as we can."

Asked whether David Cameron regretted not putting the reforms in place sooner, the spokesman said: "He thinks it's right that we have set out the changes that we already have. But in light of recent events is it right to look again, see whether we can do this quicker? Of course it is."

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling told Sky News: "I don't mind the principle of somebody going out to do a day's work to get them back into the employment habit in preparation for release in a few weeks or few months time.

"But the idea that we'd let serious criminals go and walk around town all day is simply unacceptable and that is something we're putting a stop to."

A statement issued by the Prison Officers Association said the current arrangements around open prisons was putting the public at risk.

"The POA has been raising concerns for years claiming that the tick box mentality of the current system was not fit for purpose and was playing Russian roulette with public safety."

The statement said the POA questioned whether measures being outlined by the government could be implemented given the "current prison population and staffing crisis".

Officers are appealing to anyone with information to call Merseyside Police on either 0151 777 3803 or 0151 777 3891, or via 101.

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Labour Wants To Link Minimum Wage To Earnings

Ed Miliband is to commit a Labour government to significantly increasing the national minimum wage over the course of the next Parliament by linking it to average earnings.

In a speech to party activists in the West Midlands, the Labour leader is expected to claim the measure will ensure the lowest-paid do not "left behind" again.

He will say the move to establish a clear link with average earnings will help build on the Labour government's achievements in introducing the minimum wage following Tony Blair's landslide 1997 general election victory.

Business groups are expected to criticise Mr Miliband's announcement

The announcement will be welcomed by those in the party who say Mr Miliband has yet to offer voters a positive vision of what they could expect from Labour government.

But the move is likely to face criticism from the business world and prompt claims it will harm competitiveness.

Mr Miliband will describe Labour's introduction of the minimum wage as "one of the proudest achievements of any British government", but that further action is now needed to raise its value.

"Britain is still one of the lowest paid countries among the world's advanced economies," he will say.

"So we have to go further, we have to write the next chapter in the history of Labour's battle to make work pay.

"That's why today, I am proud to announce that the next Labour government will take new radical action against low pay: a new five-year ambition to restore the link between doing a hard day's work and building a decent life for your family.

"A Labour government will establish a clear link between the level of the minimum wage and the scale of wages paid to other workers in our economy.

"We will say workers on the minimum wage must never be left behind because those who work hard to create our nation's wealth should share in it."

Details of the policy are expected to be scant in today's speech and low pay campaigners will want to see exactly how a Labour government would go about fulfilling its goal.

However, Mr Miliband will publish a report he commissioned from Alan Buckle, the former deputy chairman of KPMG International, with proposals to overhaul the Low Pay Commission.

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Woman Killed, Four Children Hurt In Stabbing

Police have launched a murder investigation after a woman was killed and four children injured in a stabbing attack.

Officers called to a domestic incident in Huddersfield found a 37-year-old woman with a "serious stab injury" and a nine-year-old boy outside the property with an injury to his arm.

The woman was taken to hospital after the attack on Sunday evening, but she later died.

The boy was also taken to hospital for treatment to his injury.

Another nine-year-old boy, a boy of 11 and a six-month-old baby girl, who were also at the address in Reinwood Road, were treated for minor injuries.

Det Chief Insp Ady Taylor said: "A 39-year-old man was detained at the scene and is being treated in hospital for serious injuries.

"We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.

"Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and Neighbourhood Policing Team officers are patrolling the area, offering support and reassurance to local residents."

:: Anyone with information is asked to contact Protective Services Crime on the non emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.

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AstraZeneca Rejects Pfizer's 'Final Offer'

AstraZeneca Rejects Pfizer: Full Statement

Updated: 8:09am UK, Monday 19 May 2014

The Board of AstraZeneca PLC ("AstraZeneca" or the "Company") notes the announcement by Pfizer Inc. ("Pfizer") of its final proposal (the "Final Proposal"), comprising £24.76 in cash (45%) and 1.747 Pfizer shares (55%) per AstraZeneca share, representing a value of £55.00 per AstraZeneca share (based on the closing price of Pfizer shares on 16 May 2014).

This proposal undervalues the Company and its attractive prospects and has been rejected by the Board of AstraZeneca.

Leif Johansson, Chairman of AstraZeneca said: "Pascal Soriot, Marc Dunoyer and I had a lengthy discussion with Pfizer over the weekend about the proposal Pfizer made on Friday evening at a value of £53.50 per share.

"During this discussion, Pfizer said that it could consider only minor improvements in the financial terms of the Friday Proposal. In response, we indicated, even assuming that other key aspects of any proposal had been satisfactory, that the price at which the Board of AstraZeneca would be prepared to provide a recommendation would have to be more than 10% above the level contained in Pfizer's Friday Proposal.

"The Final Proposal is a minor improvement which continues to fall short of the Board's view of value and has been rejected."

"Pfizer's approach throughout its pursuit of AstraZeneca appears to have been fundamentally driven by the corporate financial benefits to its shareholders of cost savings and tax minimisation.

"From our first meeting in January to our latest discussion yesterday, and in the numerous phone calls in between, Pfizer has failed to make a compelling strategic, business or value case.

"The Board is firm in its conviction as to the appropriate terms to recommend to shareholders."

"AstraZeneca has created a culture of innovation, with science at the heart of its operations, which will continue to create significant value for patients, shareholders and all stakeholders of AstraZeneca."

"As an independent company, the entire value of AstraZeneca's pipeline will accrue to our shareholders. Under Pfizer's Final Proposal, this value would be significantly diluted."

"We have rejected Pfizer's Final Proposal because it is inadequate and would present significant risks for shareholders, while also having serious consequences for the Company, our employees and the life-sciences sector in the UK, Sweden and the US."

Background

After the close of business on 16 May 2014, the Board received a letter containing a revised non-binding proposal from Pfizer comprising £21.57 in cash (40%) and 1.845 Pfizer shares (60%) per AstraZeneca share, representing a value of £53.50 per AstraZeneca share (based on the closing price of Pfizer shares on 16 May 2014) (the "Friday Proposal").

Pfizer's letter did not provide detail about other key aspects of its proposal, several of which are of importance to the Board's evaluation.

The Board of AstraZeneca met on 17 May 2014 and concluded that the financial terms of the Friday Proposal substantially undervalued the Company and its attractive prospects. Accordingly, the Friday Proposal was rejected.

The Board wrote to Pfizer on the evening of 17 May 2014 to confirm that the Board had rejected the Friday Proposal.

The Board offered to hold a meeting with Pfizer to explain its views around the substantial shortfall in value of the Friday Proposal.

The Board also offered Pfizer the opportunity to explain the key aspects of its proposal that were not described in Pfizer's letter, in particular four points central to the Board's concerns relating to value for AstraZeneca's shareholders. These are:

· The business operating model and segmentation which would allow AstraZeneca to deliver on its research and development pipeline and prospects; and which would protect and preserve its culture of science and innovation, especially given the likelihood of material cost savings and research and development reductions;

· The details of Pfizer's plans for cost savings, including around research and development, pipeline delivery and employment;

· Transaction execution risks, in particular Pfizer's proposed tax inversion and regulatory clearances; and

· Pfizer's plans for protecting the certainty of delivery of the value of any offer at closing.

Pfizer requested that this meeting be held by conference call. This conference call, between Leif Johansson (Chairman), Pascal Soriot (Chief Executive Officer) and Marc Dunoyer (Chief Financial Officer) of AstraZeneca and Ian Read (Chairman and CEO) and Frank D'Amelio (Chief Financial Officer) of Pfizer, took place on the afternoon of 18 May 2014.

The Chairman of Pfizer said that Pfizer could consider only minor improvements to the financial terms of the Friday Proposal.

The Chairman of AstraZeneca responded that, even if the other key aspects of the Friday Proposal had been satisfactory, the price at which the Board of AstraZeneca would be prepared to provide a recommendation would have to be more than 10% above the level contained in Pfizer's Friday Proposal. Pfizer stated that its Friday Proposal was final and would not be amended.

As a consequence the discussion ended.

The Board of AstraZeneca met on 18 May 2014 after this telephone discussion and reconfirmed its rejection of Pfizer's Friday Proposal.

A few hours later, without prior notice to AstraZeneca and contrary to its previous statement, Pfizer announced its Final Proposal to the market. The Board of AstraZeneca met again and rejected Pfizer's Final Proposal for reasons set out below.

The Board believes Pfizer's proposals fail to recognise the transformation of AstraZeneca and its attractive long term prospects as an independent science-led company

As set out in the presentation to shareholders on 6 May 2014:

· AstraZeneca has a growing and accelerating late stage pipeline, with aggregate risk-adjusted pipeline peak year sales potential of around $23 billion and non risk-adjusted pipeline peak year sales potential of around $63 billion;

· AstraZeneca's five key growth platforms are sustaining near-term growth, AstraZeneca remains confident that 2017 revenues should be broadly in line with 2013;

· AstraZeneca is targeting strong and consistent revenue growth from 2017, leading to annual revenues of greater than $45 billion by 2023; and

· AstraZeneca's core earnings growth is expected to be in excess of revenue growth during the period from 2017 to 2023 as a result of operating leverage.

AstraZeneca has excellent momentum in the delivery of its clearly defined strategy, underpinning the Board's confidence in long term revenue targets and profitability

AstraZeneca continues to demonstrate strong momentum across all elements of its strategy, as evidenced by multiple recent significant pipeline developments in its core therapy areas.

These pipeline developments, announced in 2014 after completion of the Company's 2013 Long Range Plan, underpin the Board's confidence in AstraZeneca's revenue targets due to increased probabilities of success for key oncology and other specialty franchise pipeline assets.

As a result, AstraZeneca's margins are expected to benefit from this improved revenue mix.

Given that AstraZeneca is at a point of inflection, the Board believes that selling AstraZeneca at the final price proposed by Pfizer would deprive shareholders of the value from potential future pipeline success.

Accordingly, the Board believes short term metrics, including premia over historical share prices, as referenced by Pfizer regarding the attractiveness of its proposals are not appropriate bases for assessing the value of AstraZeneca.

Pfizer's Proposals and Business Model Bring Uncertainty and Risk

The majority of the consideration is in Pfizer shares which many AstraZeneca shareholders will be forced to sell. Further, for those AstraZeneca shareholders able to hold Pfizer shares, the Board believes Pfizer's proposals would materially alter the investment case and create risks and uncertainties.

In particular the Board believes:

· Pfizer's proposals are predicated on the delivery of significant cost reductions and imply a meaningful reduction in research and development potential and capabilities;

· The associated integration would risk significant disruption to the delivery and value of AstraZeneca's pipeline;

· Pfizer's previous large scale acquisitions have highlighted the challenges around the negative impact of integration on research and development productivity and output; and

· Pfizer's announced business segmentation, if it were applied to AstraZeneca's business, would likely lead to value destruction.

In the context of the above, AstraZeneca notes the recent decline in Pfizer's share price, which has fallen by 5.3% since the release of Pfizer's Q1 2014 results.

The tax-driven inversion structure remains a key part of Pfizer's proposals. The inversion structure has already been the subject of intense public and governmental scrutiny, particularly in the US, as a result of Pfizer's possible offer for AstraZeneca. The Board believes this structure brings increased uncertainty as regards the delivery of value for AstraZeneca shareholders.

Rejection of the Final Proposal

The Board believes that Pfizer's Final Proposal, in relation to price, form of consideration and the four particular points that are central to the Board's concerns around value, remains inadequate. Accordingly, the Board has rejected the Final Proposal.

This statement is being made by AstraZeneca without prior agreement or approval of Pfizer.

There can be no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made. Shareholders are strongly advised to take no action. 

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Carney: 'House Prices Biggest Risk To Economy'

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

The British housing market has "deep, deep" problems, according to the Governor of the Bank of England.

In an interview with Sky's Murnaghan show to be broadcast in full later this morning, Mark Carney warns that rising house prices represents the biggest current risk to the economy.

And the number of large mortgages being approved to house buyers is on the rise, he adds.

Mr Carney says that the UK is in need of new house building.

He says that compared to his home country of Canada, for example, the UK built half the number of new homes every year despite having twice the population. 

Canada builds around 200,000 new homes a year compared to just 133,000 similar properties that were built in the UK last year.

Mr Carney said: "The issue around the housing market in the UK … is there are not sufficient (numbers of) houses (being) built."

Mark Carney has issued a warning over the UK housing market

Asked if more houses need to be built, Mr Carney replied: "That would help us out.

"We're not going to build a single house at the Bank of England. We can't influence that.

"What we can influence … is whether the banks are strong enough. Do they have enough capital against risk in the housing market?"

Mr Carney said they could also check lending procedures "so people can get mortgages if they can afford them but they won't if they can't".

"By reinforcing both of those we can reduce the risk that comes from a housing market that has deep, deep structural problems," he added.

Mr Carney said there was evidence that large mortgages, where lenders approve loans of more than four times people's salaries, are on the rise again.

"We don't want to build up another big debt overhang that is going to hurt individuals and is very much going to slow the economy in the medium term," he said.

"We'd be concerned if there was a rapid increase in high loan-to-value mortgages across the banks. We've seen that creeping up and it's something we're watching closely."

In an separate interview for Murnaghan David Cameron admitted the Government needed to build more houses and said Mr Carney was "absolutely right".

However, he added: "The building of houses is going up. If you talk to any housing developer at the moment or builder they will tell you that the help to buy scheme the Government has put in place has been hugely helpful in bringing forward more development or house building.

"We are training apprentices in the building trade to make sure that we can deliver on these houses but we do need more, yes."

Last week, Mr Carney surprised many by playing down the chances of an imminent rise in interest rates despite fears of a growing house price bubble.

But he admitted the issue was the biggest current threat to the economy.

"The biggest risk to financial stability, and therefore to the durability of the expansion, centres on the housing market and that's why we're focused on that," he said.

Prices are currently rising at more than 10% a year across the country.

Analysis by Sky News has shown the number of £1m properties has doubled since 2008.

Earlier this month, the OECD think tank called on the Bank of England to impose measures to help quell rising house prices.

Both the coalition and Labour are committed to building hundreds of thousands of new homes.

However, construction still lags behind Government targets.

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Voice Coaches In Demand To Tone Down 'Toffs'

By Gemma Morris, Sky News Reporter

Speaking like the Queen could be losing its status as a desirable accent as a growing number of people are paying voice coaches to help them sound "less posh".

The Tutor Pages, one of the most extensive directories of UK private teachers, says it has seen a year on year increase in enquiries for elocution coaching.

But the interest does not tend to be from those wishing to speak with a cut-glass accent.

Instead, The Tutor Pages says most people want to adapt their voices for success in a variety of contexts - including trying to reduce posh tones.

Roisin Logan, an 18-year-old art student, believes her naturally well-spoken voice has caused others to judge her negatively.

She has been having private lessons to soften it.

"I don't want to sound like I'm pretending to be something I'm not. I just want to maybe tone down a tiny bit of like the posher edges of my voice to sound just a bit more normal."

One in five Brits have altered their accents at some point to 'fit in'

Roisin believes the coaching will make a difference to how she is perceived by others.

"I think I'll get less assumptions that I'm stuck up or that you're not able to talk to me because you think I've had a privileged life."

Voice coach Christine Hubbard said she has received around two requests per month from professionals who "don't want to come over as too posh" at work or while they are job hunting.

"It's also the kind of people such as social workers, policemen, lawyers, barristers, even teachers who do not want their clients to be saying 'Oh I'm not having anything to do with him he's too snooty'."

She believes traditional Received Pronunciation, also known as 'The Queen's English' or 'Oxford English', is starting to go out of fashion.

"Even the Queen has what we call a little bit of Estuary creeping into her voice these days. And certainly even the - shall we dare say - better spoken presenters on television have lost their extremely didactic way of speaking."

Research by www.trulawn.co.uk last year found more than one in five Britons said they had altered their natural accent at some point.

Eight per cent made themselves sound more posh while 4% said they had tried to sound less posh, increasing to 11% among Londoners who apparently said they did not want to sound like "toffs".

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Britain's Richest 1,000 People Now Worth £519bn

Billionaire Britain: Rise Of The Super-Rich

Updated: 7:07am UK, Sunday 11 May 2014

More than 100 billionaires are now living in Britain - the first time the milestone has been reached.

According to this year's Sunday Times Rich List, 104 billionaires with a combined wealth of more than £300bn are now based in the UK - more than triple the number from a decade ago.

Britain has more billionaires per head of population than any other country, while London has more than any other city with 72.

Top of the list are the Indian-born brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja, who have an £11.9bn fortune.

The pair run the global conglomerate Hinduja Group and saw their wealth increase by £1.3bn in the last year.

In second place is Russian business magnate and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov, who fell from the top spot after his fortune decreased to £10.65bn.

The richest Briton is the Duke of Westminster, who is 10th on the list with a fortune of £8.5bn.

Chris Dawson, who owns The Range discount store chain, saw his wealth rise by £695m in the last year to £1.28bn.

Jon Hunt, the founder of estate agents Foxtons, has a fortune of £1.07bn, a rise of £145m from 2013.

Mike Ashley, the founder of Sports Direct, and Virgin businessman Sir Richard Branson are also among the wealthiest 25 billionaires.

Ten years ago, a fortune of £700m was required to be among Britain's 50 wealthiest people.

Now it is £1.7bn - the first time since 2008 the minimum wealth of the top 50 has been more than £1.5bn.

The combined fortune of Britain's richest is now ahead of pre-recession levels of 2008.

Last year there were 88 billionaires, worth a total of more than £245bn.

A decade ago the number was 30, with a combined fortune of £65bn.

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Pig Hearts For Humans 'A Step Closer'

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

Doctors have made a breakthrough in research that could lead to animal organs being transplanted into humans within the next 20 years, according to a leading British scientist.

Experiments in America have proved a pig's heart can be kept alive inside another animal for more than a year using a combination of genetic modification and new drugs.

In controversial research at the US national medical research agency NIH, a team led by Dr Muhammad Mohiuddin transplanted the hearts of genetically engineered pigs into the abdomens of baboons and kept one beating for 600 days.

Anne Higgs says she would accept a pig's heart

Dr Mohiuddin said his research will "instill a new ray of hope for thousands of patients waiting for human donor organs".

Professor Chris Mason, from the department of biochemical engineering at University College London, called the development a big breakthrough.

"It is very early, it is not in man and it's not even in the position of a heart, but it's a huge step forward," he said.

With around 1,000 patients dying in the UK while waiting for an organ transplant, Professor Mason welcomes the prospect of farming pigs to produce organs on demand.

"We are talking 10, 15 or more years away," he explained.

"This is early proof of the concept that shows that a pig heart can be transplanted into a non-human primate and not be rejected."

Heart attack victim Anne Higgs has been waiting for a heart transplant at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for four years and says she would have no qualms about accepting a pig's heart.

"It's another grasp at life," she said.

"Yes I would take it, I would run all the way to the Freeman with that little heart."

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