D-Day: World Leaders Join Commemorations

David Cameron has said world leaders should set aside their differences on the "incredibly moving" 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

As veterans, politicians and members of the Royal Family gathered in Normandy, the Prime Minister told Sky News that amid ongoing tensions with Russia, the events of June 6, 1944, "show the importance of standing up together ... for freedom and security".

Mr Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both travelled to northern France to remember an event that changed the course of the Second World War.

Soldiers landing on Juno Beach in Bernieres-sur-Mer on June 6, 1944

They will join the Queen and a host of other world leaders for a service at Sword Beach in Ouistreham, where the moment 150,000 Allied troops came ashore will be re-enacted.

Mr Cameron said: "Yes, we have our disagreements with Russia but we should never forget the Soviet Union was an ally of the forces that liberated this continent from the tyranny of Nazism and enabled generations to come to live in democracy, freedom and prosperity," he said.

"Today is all about the magnificent feat of arms that saw young men ... do incredibly brave things to liberate this continent and to give us a chance of peace and democracy. We did that together."

War veterans arrive for the service at Bayeux Cathedral

Described by wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill as "undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult (operation) that has ever taken place", D-Day proved to be a pivotal moment of the Second World War.

It marked the start of an 80-day campaign to liberate Normandy, a daunting task that involved three million troops and cost some 250,000 lives.

Services marking their sacrifice are being held at beaches and war cemeteries across the region.

In Colleville-sur-Mer, Barack Obama joined his French counterpart Francois Hollande for a service at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, where more than 9,000 soldiers are buried.

The Queen joined world leaders to mark the 70th anniversary

"These men waged war so that we might know peace, they sacrificed so that we may be free, they fought in hope of a day that we would no longer need to fight and we are grateful to them," the US President said.

"We don't just commemorate victory, as proud of victory as we are. We don't just honour sacrifice, as grateful as the world is. We come to remember why America and our allies gave so much ... and remember the stories of the men and women of the war."

In nearby Bayeux, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, where 4,144 soldiers, 338 of them unidentified, are buried.

Cemeteries along the French coast are a focal point for the commemorations

An earlier service at the town's cathedral heard from Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the national chaplain of the Royal British Legion, who told the congregation: "We come to remember those who, from the air, in the water and on the beaches, made the supreme sacrifice."

Further along the coast in Arromanches, the Normandy Veterans' Association has organised a day of events.

This anniversary will be the group's last as it plans to disband later this year.

Commemorations began at midnight when Mr Cameron attended a memorial at Pegasus Bridge, the first strategic landmark to be captured.

D-Day veteran Jock Hutton is met by Prince Charles after his parachute jump

At the exact time the first gliders landed, a champagne toast was raised at Cafe Gondree, the restaurant next to the bridge, which became the first house to be liberated in France.

American veterans gathered at dawn on Omaha Beach, where a statue of two soldiers was unveiled.

On Thursday, a commemorative parachute jump honoured the soldiers who dropped into France in the early hours of June 6 as part of the crucial airborne invasion.

D-Day veteran Jock Hutton, aged 89, jumped with The Red Devils, the Paratroop Regiment's free-fall display team.

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Rape Convictions Boost Bid 'Not Enough'

By Frazer Maude, Sky News Reporter

A new action plan to increase the proportion of successful rape convictions has been announced by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

But it has already been criticised by one rape support group.

Women Against Rape claims not enough is being done to encourage victims to report the crimes against them.

The group said: "We're outraged to see the rape action plan announced in a press release today by the CPS and police given that they are at the same time going after women reporting rape for so-called false allegations, with more vigour and resources than we ever see them go after rapists."

In the past year there has been an overall rise in the number of police referrals, prosecutions and convictions for rape. 

But the proportion of court cases that result in conviction has fallen by 4.2%.

To try to improve conviction rates the CPS's new action plan includes:

:: Updating the joint police and CPS national rape protocol

:: The monitoring of police decisions to take no further action in rape cases

:: New practical guidance for frontline police officers and prosecutors

Announcing the new plans, Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "I am determined to ensure our long-term progress to tackle rape continues, particularly in dispelling the myths and stereotypes surrounding these types of cases.

"The new action plan makes very clear that, as with cases of child sexual abuse, the focus of any investigation and case preparation should not be on the credibility of the victim but on the credibility of the overall allegation, including the actions of the suspect."

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, National Policing Lead on Adult Sex Offences, said: "This is absolutely about helping victims of rape. This is about showing, and continuing to show, our commitment to improving the way we deal with rape."

Some estimates suggest there are as many as 85,000 rapes committed every year in England and Wales, only 10% of which are reported to police. 

One victim told Sky News there are still "myths" surrounding rape.

She said: "But I think the big problem is the prosecutors in court are still allowed to use myths, as are the defendants.

"I actually wrote to Alison Saunders after there were serious flaws in my case and I never got a response.

"I did say to her changes should begin in the justice system before you tackle the myths of the general person in the street."

When asked what she thought of the latest measures, she said: "We've heard it all before.

"I now campaign for Women Against Rape, from their history and the short time I've been there, every year or every so often we see these guidelines are going to be brought out or there's a press release saying we're going to do things better and nothing ever changes."

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Conservatives Hold Newark In By-Election

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

David Cameron is celebrating after the Tories' massive effort in the Newark by-election was rewarded with a comfortable victory over UKIP and a majority of nearly 7,500.

The Prime Minister said the result was "very good" for the party but it had work to do before the General Election to win voters back from UKIP, who managed to halve the Tory majority.

Speaking in Bayeux, ahead of the D-Day commemoration, he said: "We need to work between now and the next election to say very clearly we have got a long-term plan, we are getting Britain back to work, we are cutting people's taxes, we are helping hard-working people.

"The job isn't finished yet but we are on the right track, let's stick at it."

Conservative candidate Robert Jenrick held the seat with 17,431 and 45% of the vote, with UKIP's Roger Helmer second with 10,028 and 26%. Nigel Farage's party finished fifth in 2010 with just 1,954 votes.

UKIP's candidate, Roger Helmer

Speaking after the result, Mr Farage said: "I think there'll be an awful lot of Conservatives with a majority of less than 10,000 who will look upon this result in sheer horror."

Labour's Michael Payne finished in third place with 6,842 votes, 18% of ballots cast.

But in yet another dismal result for the Liberal Democrats, their candidate David Watts came sixth, polling just 1,004 votes and 2.5%, and was beaten by an independent and the Green Party candidate.

Business Secretary Vince Cable acknowledged it was a bad result but said he thought that people would realised the Liberal Democrats' contribution to the achievements of the Government by the time of the General Election.

He repeated there was no leadership issue and said he did not think the poor show was due to the row over the leaking of an anti-Nick Clegg poll by the former party peer Lord Oakeshott.

Although they failed to capture the seat, UKIP will be delighted at the big increase in its support, leapfrogging from fourth to second place and almost polling as highly as the party did in Eastleigh, where it came second to the Lib Dems.

The candidates on stage at the count

Mr Helmer said the result was a "great sign" for the future of his party.

"We stood in this election hoping to win and planning to win and we have not won but we are encouraged by the fact that we have increased our share of the vote since the general election by a factor of six and we have halved the Conservative majority."

Labour's Mr Payne said he was "extremely proud" of the campaign his party fought and added: "Labour has listened to the people of Newark, campaigning throughout on the issues that matter, especially the future of Newark hospital and the local NHS."

The turnout was a respectable 52.7%, down from 71.5% at the general election, considerably higher than the 2010 average.

Nigel Farage at the count

The seat was previously held with a majority of 16,152 by the Tory MP and former Army officer Patrick Mercer, who quit after being exposed in a cash-for-questions scandal.

Faced with a UKIP surge, the Conservatives threw everything into the by-election campaign.

Mr Cameron visited the constituency four times during the campaign and Tory MPs - including the most senior Cabinet ministers - were ordered to make at least three visits

Right up to the very last minute, the Tories left nothing to chance.

Led by party co-chairs Grant Shapps and Lord Feldman, up to 100 MPs and 1,000 activists were in Newark on polling day in an all-out effort to stop UKIP winning its first Parliamentary seat.

UKIP found itself heavily outgunned, with only around 200 volunteers rallying support on polling day.

Mr Helmer was not helped by Mr Farage keeping a relatively low profile during the campaign, visiting just once, last Saturday.

On Wednesday he was in Malta speaking at a conference organised by the Institute of Travel and Tourism of the UK in Malta, and did not arrive in Newark until Thursday afternoon.

:: Political Editor Adam Boulton has taken a look at the state of the parties as they gear up for the general election next year. You can find his analysis on the Sky News Catch Up Service, which is free for TV customers with Sky+ HD boxes connected to broadband.

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IMF Sees Housing Market Threat To Recovery

Osborne Should Heed IMF House Market Warning

Updated: 11:57am UK, Friday 06 June 2014

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

What would you like first: the good news or the bad?

Well, if you're George Osborne, the good news is that the long battle with the International Monetary Fund - the one that began last year when chief economist Olivier Blanchard told Sky News the Chancellor was "playing with fire" on economic policy - is over.

We knew as much in Washington earlier this spring, when Blanchard acknowledged that the Fund's forecasts for Britain had been overly pessimistic.

But today the saga has come to its end, with the Fund also giving the Chancellor's fiscal plans (those precise plans Blanchard had criticised) a ringing endorsement.

"The planned fiscal adjustment this year is appropriate," the IMF says in its annual survey of the UK economy - the so-called Article IV report.

This is a shift from last year, when the Article IV recommended that the Chancellor bring forward spending plans to try to boost the economy. So cause for celebration at the Treasury?

Not altogether, for there is also some bad news. The criticisms of the Treasury's tax-and-spend plans may have dissolved away, but they have been replaced with concerns of another variety: about the housing market.

Such concerns are hardly new: the European Commission already recommended earlier this week that the Government take action to prevent a housing bubble.

However, the Fund is a touch more authoritative - and more specific. Its suggestions are as follows: The Bank of England should leave interest rates on hold for the time being; it should impose limits on how much mortgage companies can lend homebuyers in relation to their incomes; it should also consider outright caps on loan-to-income levels and loan-to-value ratios.

On top of this, the Government should "consider whether [Help to Buy] should be modified or even remains necessary for the full three years of the policy. And as the volume of high-LTV transactions rises, the FPC will need to evaluate if the program is contributing to financial risks."

Like the Commission (and, well, every economist out there), it suggests that Britain needs to build more homes. However, there are no silver bullets in this enterprise, and it acknowledges that all of the above "can only be temporary palliatives to an underlying problem."

The best it can suggest is that the Government reconsider "unnecessary constraints on brownfield and greenfield developments; tax policies that discourage the most economically-efficient use of property; and underdeveloped rental markets with relatively short lease terms."

Some might see the final point as a note of support for the rental reforms recently suggested by Ed Miliband. The problem for politicians of every stripe is that the housing market's structural problems are no secret: but mending them will take many years.

Reforms to the planning system have been desperately needed for decades, but only now are they being implemented; changes to green belt regulations are an economist's dream but a local politician's nightmare – so are unlikely to be implemented before the election, if at all.

However, it is clear that the Chancellor would be foolhardy to ignore the tone of the IMF's report. For there is a growing risk of a housing bubble, and with it the political risk that George Osborne could be remembered not as the austerity Chancellor who got it right, but the man who generated yet another housing market bust.

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Rolf Harris Was 'Extracted' From Female Fans

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter, at Southwark Crown Court

A former tour manager of Rolf Harris has told a court he had to "extract" the entertainer from female fans when they threw themselves at him.

Ken Jeacle, giving evidence by video link from Australia, described how women would "put their arms" around Harris, who is on trial accused of a series of indecent assaults.

"I would have to gently intervene," he said.

"I would have to be careful (because) it would destroy the admiration of the admirer if I took the wrong attitude.

"I would say, 'Don't forget we're on our way to that radio interview' and keep him moving to extract him from situations."

Mr Jeacle said that in the years he toured Australia with Harris, he had never seen him act inappropriately and described him as a "gentleman".

Under cross-examination from Sasha Wass QC, he was asked what he knew of Harris' private life and his extramarital affairs.

He replied: "If he had extramarital affairs that's none of my business.

"I can't speak and will not speak of that because it is none of my concern."

Broadcaster and TV presenter Sue Cook also testified for the defence at Southwark Crown Court, describing how she had been watching a report of the proceedings on Sky News.

Ms Cook, a former presenter of Crimewatch and Children in Need, said she took to Twitter after seeing footage of Harris in a 1978 episode of Star Games filmed in Cambridge.

Harris is alleged to have groped a waitress in the city between 1975 and 1979 at an It's A Knockout-style event.

Last week he insisted he had never been to Cambridge until four years ago for an exhibition of his paintings.

Ms Cook said she had taken part in two or possibly three episodes of Star Games but she did not appear in the footage of the Harris episode shown in court earlier this week.

Ms Cook said: "I said to my husband, 'Gosh, that's unfair. I was in that show and I wouldn't have remembered it all. I wouldn't have known it was Cambridge either'.

"Where it was was irrelevant. We were part of a team game and bussed to a recreation ground where the location was. I don't remember where any of them were."

Ms Cook said she could not remember being on the same episode as Harris, adding it was 36 years ago and she had attended hundreds of similar events.

She told the court she was often not able to remember them all, saying she had forgotten presenting a gala performance at the Royal Opera House and interviewing stars until recently when a relative gave her a DVD of the programme.

Harris, dressed in a suit and tie, listened to proceedings from the dock with his friends and family in the public gallery.

The 84-year-old entertainer, of Bray, Berkshire, denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four women aged between seven or eight years old and 19 years old between 1968 and 1986.

The trial continues.

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Newborn Dies As NHS Drips 'Poison 15 Babies'

An investigation is under way after a baby being treated in intensive care died from blood poisoning through an infection caught from a suspected contaminated drip.

Public Health England (PHE) said it is examining 14 other cases of septicaemia in babies at a total of six hospitals in England.

The infant who died was being treated at St Thomas' Hospital in central London.

The baby died on June 1 and the other two children who fell ill at the same neonatal unit are "responding well" to antibiotics, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.

"All babies on the unit are being screened for the bacterium as a precaution and enhanced infection control measures have been put in place to prevent any further cases," she said.

Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, where four children suffered infections

PHE said the 15 cases have been "strongly linked" with a number of batches of a liquid called parenteral nutrition, which was fed to the babies through intravenous drips.

The bacteria that caused the infection is called bacillus cereus, which is found widely in the environment in dust, soil and vegetation.

As well as St Thomas' Hospital, babies have fallen ill in neonatal intensive care units at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust (four cases), Whittington Hospital (one case), Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (three cases), CUH Addenbrookes (two cases) and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital (two cases).

Professor Mike Catchpole, PHE's incident director, said: "We have acted quickly to investigate this issue ... and we have taken action to ensure that the affected batches and any remaining stock of this medicine is not being used in hospitals."

Parenteral nutrition is usually produced under sterilised conditions to cut the risk of the use of the product resulting in infections.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a Class 1 Drug Alert over the suspected batch of contaminated liquid.

Class 1 is the most critical alert and requires immediate recall.

PHE said London-based ITH Pharma Limited, which makes the batch in question, had already issued a recall notice.

Two babies fell ill at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital

The company's managing director, Karen Hamling, said the firm was "very saddened" by the baby's death and is co-operating fully with the investigation.

Sky's Health Correspondent Thomas Moore said premature and seriously sick children were particularly vulnerable to infections.

He said: "(Officials) believe there's probably nothing left of these batches in the supply chain.

"There's been a precautionary note to doctors and nurses asking them to check batch numbers.

"They believe this has been contained, that it's been identified swiftly, although sadly not swiftly enough for this one baby."

PHE said investigations with the company had identified an incident that might have caused the contamination. 

It said most surfaces would test positive for the presence of the bacteria, which produces hardy spores that, in the right conditions, produce a toxin which causes illness.

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Sniffer Dogs Resume Madeleine McCann Search

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 10:22am UK, Monday 02 June 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.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

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Firefighters Investigating Smoke At The Shard

About 900 people have been evacuated from London skyscraper The Shard after smoke was discovered in the basement.

Firefighters are now investigating what caused the smoke at the 1,004ft-high building - the tallest in Western Europe.

The mass evacuation came after a fire alarm went off.

But a spokesman for The Shard said there had not been a fire.

A tweet from @TheShardLondon said: "Emergency services are responding to a fire alarm at The Shard.

"Evacuation procedures have been followed & we are ready to assist as needed."

The London Fire Brigade said there was no evidence of a fire in the building.

Firefighters outside the entrance to The Shard

The Shard, near London Bridge, is the tallest building in Western Europe at 1,004ft.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "Firefighters are investigating reports of smoke in the basement of the Shard. There is no suggestion at this stage that there is a fire.

"As a precaution the building is being evacuated.

"No injuries have been reported."

In a statement the Metropolitan Police said: "Police were called at 11:09hrs on Thursday 5 June to The Shard, St Thomas Street, SE1 after London Fire Brigade were called to reports of a fire at the premises.

"Police, London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service attended the fire which is beleived to be in the basement of The Shard.

"A full evacuation is now underway.

"No reported injuries at this time. No arrests. Enquries re cause of fire are ongoing."

Sam Bradley, who works for the Foresight Group on the 17th floor, said workers were told to evacuate the building by a message over the tannoy system.

He said: "It was all really well organised. We had four or five marshals who made sure everyone was calmly removed from the building.

"We have been told and trained how to get out of the building and so everyone was very calm.

"Everyone knew what was going on and what to do."

Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the 87-storey skyscraper was begun in 2009 and completed in 2012.

It replaced the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt as the tallest building in the EU and replaced Canary Wharf as the tallest in the UK.

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Body Found In Search For Brit Gareth Huntley

Police on Malaysia's Tioman Island have confirmed that a body has been found in the search for British backpacker Gareth Huntley, who went missing after going on a jungle trek.

Local media reports say the body was found less than 100m from the conservation camp where he was working as a volunteer. 

According to Malaysian newspaper The Star, search personnel stumbled across the corpse in a pond close to a kayak storage unit at around 12pm local time.

The 34-year-old disappeared last week after attempting to find a waterfall nearly four miles away from the camp in the jungles of the paradise island.

Mr Huntley's mother has been notified of the discovery

Deputy Superintendent Johari Yahaya told the newspaper he could not confirm whether the body was that of the missing Briton.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Malaysian police have confirmed that a body has been found on Tioman island in Malaysia.

"Foreign Office consular staff on the ground are continuing to work closely with the Malaysian authorities and are investigating with them as a matter of urgency.

"We continue to provide support to the family of Gareth Huntley at this very difficult time."

Mr Huntley's girlfriend (pictured) and his mother are both on the island

Mr Huntley's mother, Janet Southwell, and his girlfriend, Kit Natariga, are on the island off Malaysia's east coast to assist the search effort.

Dozens of rescue personnel have been backed by paramilitary commandos, multiple helicopters, speedboats and sniffer dogs in the latter days of the search following initial criticism of the Malaysian authorities' response.

Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly spoke to Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak after receiving an open letter from Mrs Southwell in which she urged him to seek more resources for the search.

The backpacker had been volunteering in a turtle sanctuary on the island

The letter said: "Make one phone call to the Malaysian leader to insist that they deploy real help to find Gareth before time runs out".

The 34-year-old from Hackney, east London, set off on May 27 telling friends at the Juara Turtle Project where he was volunteering that he would be back by 2pm but failed to return.

Mr Huntley, who was originally from West Yorkshire, was on a sabbatical from his job in the City.

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Rihanna Ad Ruled 'Too Provocative' For Kids

A poster advertising Rihanna's perfume has been banned from areas where children are likely to see it because of its "sexually suggestive" nature.

The advertising campaign for the pop star's fragrance, called Rogue, shows Rihanna sitting on the floor, apparently naked, leaning against a wall with her legs raised against the bottle.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled the advert is inappropriate to be shown in places where there is the possibility of children seeing it.

"While we did not consider the image to be overtly sexual, we considered that Rihanna's pose, with her legs raised in the air, was provocative," an ASA spokesman said.

"Because of this, and the fact that Rihanna appeared to be naked except for high heels, we concluded the ad was sexually suggestive and should have been given a placement restriction to reduce the possibility of it being seen by children."

The singer often wears revealing clothing

A spokesman for Parlux Fragrances said Rihanna is known for her provocative songs and the advert tried to capture her persona without being "suggesting" or "offensive".

The Barbadian singer wore a revealing, sheer dress covered in thousands of diamonds to a fashion event in New York on Monday.

Parlux claimed most women would see her pose in the poster campaign as empowering rather than demeaning.

The ASA noted Rihanna was mostly covered in the poster and was seen looking directly at the viewer with "defiance rather than vulnerability".

However, one person complained the advert was offensive because it was overly sexual and so the "sexualised and provocative" image should have a placement restriction.

Following the complaint, the ASA ruled the poster must not appear without a placement restriction in order to reduce the chance of children seeing it.

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Queen's Speech: Housing And Pensions On Agenda

A house building drive, pensions reform and a commitment to reform the EU have all been put on the agenda for the coalition in its last year.

The speech put the economic recovery at its centre, opening with a pledge to continue bringing down the deficit and cutting taxes "to increase people's financial security".

With the threat that the Bank of England will increase the base rate before the General Election, there is also a pledge to keep mortgage and interest rates low.

Despite warnings the Help to Buy scheme was causing a potentially damaging housing bubble, there is a pledge ministers will continue to promote it.

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband

David Cameron had suggested he could amend the scheme after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned in an interview with Sky News that rising house prices were the biggest threat to economic recovery in the UK.

In an attempt to tackle the housing shortage, the Government also announced plans to boost home building.

This includes giving developers powers to push through applications without council approval and allowing the Government to sell off unused land for development.

Black Rod

A new garden city will be built in the Thames estuary at Ebbsfleet in Kent to tackle the housing shortage.

The Prime Minister and his Deputy Nick Clegg claimed the measures laid out in the Queen's Speech were "unashamedly pro-work, pro-business and pro-aspiration".

Just 11 new bills were introduced by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament, which will bolster Labour's claims the coalition is now a "zombie government" which has run out of steam. In last year's speech there were 19 new bills.

The much-heralded pension reforms set out in George Osborne's Budget were also included in the speech. New legislation will mean pensioners will no longer be forced to buy annunities with their savings but can spend them as they like.

However, they will be given advice, which may include death estimates, to help them decide how best to invest that money.

The Queen delivers her speech

Pensions minister Steve Webb sparked controversy after saying pensioners should be free to buy Lamborghinis if they wanted to following criticism people could fritter their money away on retirement.

Another key measure is the Recall Bill, a 2010 coalition manifesto pledge championed by the Liberal Democrats, which will see voters given the power to sack MPs guilty of "serious misconduct".

In the wake of disastrous results in the European elections for the two parties,  the coalition pledged to continue to fight for reform of the EU and a better deal for member states.

Other measures include:

:: 5p charge for plastic bags

:: powers to allow fracking firms to dig under private property without asking

:: parents to face jail for emotional cruelty to children in new Cinderella Law

:: pledge to fight to keep Scotland in the union

:: limit to excessive redundancy payouts for public sector workers

:: tougher sentences for people traffickers

:: free school meals for infants

:: fines for employers who don't pay the minimum wage

:: £2,000 childcare vouchers for working parents

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We need action, we need answers, we need a programme for government equal to the scale of the challenge our country faces.

"We would have a Queen's Speech with legislation which would make work pay, reform our banks, freeze energy bills and build homes again in Britain. A Queen's Speech which signals a new direction for Britain, not one which offers more of the same."

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Rolf Harris Brother: Grope Claims 'Ridiculous'

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter, at Southwark Crown Court

The brother of the veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has labelled as "ridiculous" claims that the star groped a TV make-up artist, a court has heard.

Harris, 84, is said to have put his hands up the woman's shorts and touched her bottom as she applied powder to his face as he prepared for a TV shoot in Australia.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court have already heard how the singer and cartoonist was allegedly described as "the octopus" by some TV production staff because of his wandering hands.

Speaking via video link from Sydney, his brother and manager Bruce Harris said of the claim: "It's ridiculous. I would never have let him do that. He knew I wouldn't have let him do that.

"That's just not possible. I would have shouted at him and made him stop. It never would have happened. It's never something he would have done. I wouldn't have allowed him to do that."

Bruce Harris was also asked when he became aware of the allegations against his brother and he said it was when alleged Australian victim Tonya Lee gave a TV interview in 2013.

He said he then phoned Cathy Henkel, organiser of the 1985 theatre group tour to Britain, where the incident is alleged to have happened, to find out what exactly she knew.

Rolf Harris was accompanied by members of his family

He said that she had told him that she "hadn't seen anything of that kind but it could have happened".

Mr Harris said: "I leaned on her. I said surely you must have seen... they were your group. Surely you would have seen something like that happening. She said she hadn't."

Mr Harris added: "In retrospect I kept on niggling away at her... Tonya's documentary went into great detail about what happened.

"Cathy must have seen something of this. I didn't put any pressure on her."

Under cross-examination from Ms Sasha Wass QC, Mr Harris denied he had known his brother had been questioned by police about sex allegations in November 2012, six months before the TV programme aired.

Asked why he had called Ms Henkel, Mr Harris replied: "I'm protective of my brother. I just didn't believe it. It's not the way I have ever seen him perform."

Mr Harris told the court he would not have gone to the police if he had found the allegation to be true.

Harris, of Bray, Berkshire, denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four women aged between seven or eight and 19 years old between 1968 and 1986.

The trial continues and the jury is expected to retire next week.

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Essex Park Stabbing: Two Men Arrested

Two men are being held in connection with the death of a vulnerable man found in a park in Essex.

James Attfield, 33, who had a brain injury after being hit by a car four years ago, was found dead near Castle Park in Colchester in the early hours of the morning on March 29.

A post-mortem examination found he had been stabbed more than 100 times.

The victim, known as Jim to his family, had wounds on his arms, hands, back, neck and head, police revealed.

Mr Attfield had been seen at a local pub, the River Lodge, in the hours before his death.

Mr Attfield on CCTV in a pub in the hours before his death

The two men, both aged 33, being held in connection with Mr Attfield's death have also been arrested on suspicion of involvement in another attack on a footpath in Colchester at around 2am on Saturday.

Mr Attfield, a father-of-five, was described by his mother, Julie Finch, as a "bit of a loner" who was "in the process of rebuilding his life" when he died.

She said the effects of the traffic accident had left her son "with a weakness to the left side of his body which in turn affected his balance".

"His speech was also slightly affected and he suffered short-term memory loss, and these things obviously made him very vulnerable," she said.

"Jim was very aware of his disabilities and avoided crowded places and situations where he could get injured again."

She added: "Jim was well-liked and polite - everyone always had a good word to say about him."

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School Bus Crash: Boy Airlifted To Hospital

A 12-year-old boy suffered severe facial injuries when two school buses collided in Stanley, County Durham.

The boy was flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle, an air ambulance spokesman said.

Fifty children and two adults were on board the buses at the time of the accident.

Another child was taken to the RVI with injuries, Durham Police said, while others were treated for shock at the scene.

A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance Service said: "The doctor-led trauma team triaged the injured persons and a 12-year-old child was flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary with serious facial injuries."

The accident happened at 8.20am on the A693 at the junction with Shield Row Lane close to the Oxhill Youth Centre in Stanley.

The pupils involved are from St Bede's at Lanchester and Tanfield School Comprehensive. They are aged between 11 and 18.

Superintendent Colin Williamson, of Durham Police, said: "We are currently working closely with other agencies to respond to this incident.

"The safety of those injured in the collision is our primary concern along with supporting their families.

"There will be some disruption on the roads in this area for some time and I would ask the local community to be patient while we deal with this incident."

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Madeleine McCann: Police Bring In Sniffer Dogs

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 10:22am UK, Monday 02 June 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.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

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Oxford Circus Octopus Causes Traffic Chaos

A giant octopus has blocked roads and caused traffic chaos during the morning rush hour in Britain's busiest shopping district.

Bemused commuters snapped pictures of the polystyrene beast, which was on the back of a lorry which broke down in the middle of the diagonal crossing at the Oxford Circus junction.

Transport for London (TfL) tweeted a picture of the eight-legged obstruction just after 9am, saying: "A lorry carrying an octopus has broken down at Oxford Circus. Approach with care."

Later, TfL confirmed the lorry had been moved and was blocking a lane on Regent Street.

The octopus caused traffic jams around Oxford Street, one of London's most popular tourist destinations, with more than 200 million visitors per year.

The lorry's owner - transport company Roman Self Drive - also took to Twitter and said: "He's no Paul the Octopus, but he's been causing ripples with the London traffic."

The company said it thought the creature was part of a World Cup related publicity stunt by a betting company.

The driver Ala Miah told Sky News he had been hired to take the octopus from Peckham to Hammersmith.

He said the location of the breakdown was an unfortunate coincidence and he had managed to restart the lorry and carry on with his journey.

He told Sky: "Would I stop the lorry at 8.10am in the middle of Oxford Circus? Are you joking?

"The engine just cut out and then while I was waiting for my breakdown guys to arrive I tried the key in the ignition after 20 minutes and got it going again.

"I'm really sorry to anyone who was inconvenienced this morning."

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Madeleine Search: UK Cops Arrive At Scrubland

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 10:22am UK, Monday 02 June 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.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

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Hodgson In World Cup National Anthem Pledge

Manager Roy Hodgson has promised his England players will belt out the national anthem at the World Cup in Brazil.

England's footballers have been criticised for not singing God Save The Queen with as much passion as their compatriots in other sports, most notably rugby.

Wayne Rooney did not sing the national anthem at the start of his England career while Gary Neville, now an England coach, refused to join in.

He said he preferred "focusing on the match" instead.

Hodgson: 'We're proud to be wearing the England shirt'

But Hodgson, who has been England boss for two years, is adamant all his team should sing the anthem before kick-off.

"You very rarely play an international match against opponents and they haven't got their hands on their hearts and singing their anthem as loud as they can," he said.

"We've made a decision that that's what we're going to do, too, because we are proud, we are happy to be wearing that England shirt."

As his 23-man squad contains 12 players who were not part of Euro 2012, Hodgson will remind them they must sing along this summer.

Wayne Rooney hasn't always sung the national anthem before games

"Perhaps we need to remind them as the squad has changed so much," he said.

"I think we're great until the second verse comes along because we don't really know that."

After warm-up games against Ecuador and Honduras in Miami this week, England will take on Italy in their World Cup opener in Manaus on June 14.

England's departure on Sunday was hit by a moment of farce when comedian Simon Brodkin gatecrashed the party as they arrived at Luton Airport.

Simon Brodkin is escorted away by a security man

Brodkin was pictured attempting to mingle with England's players and staff as they waited for the luggage to be removed from their coach.

Dressed in an identical suit to those worn by the England party, he spent several moments with them before being spotted by captain Steven Gerrard, at which point he was removed by security staff.

Meanwhile, the final test event has been held at the unfinished stadium which will host the World Cup opener between Brazil and Croatia on June 12.

The Itaquerao, also known as the Arena de Sao Paulo

Around 70,000 fans are expected at the Itaquerao in Sao Paulo but just 37,000 attended the trial match between Corinthians and Botafogo on Sunday.

Only one of the temporary stands added for the inaugural World Cup game could be used because of safety concerns.

There were no problems inside or outside the stadium, although the match was briefly interrupted after balloons released by fans made it onto the pitch.

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Stephen Lawrence: Probe Into Officer's Conduct

A police chief is being investigated over claims he met an undercover officer who spied on Stephen Lawrence's family.

The conduct of Metropolitan Police Commander Richard Walton is the focus of the probe by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which said he had been accused of "discreditable conduct and breaches of honesty and integrity".

The police watchdog said it had launched an investigation into allegations that he obtained information about the teenager's family and their supporters "potentially undermining the inquiry (into Stephen's murder) and public confidence".

Mr Walton was temporarily removed from his post as head of the counter-terrorism command SO15 in March following a report into the original Stephen Lawrence murder investigation.

The Ellison report revealed an undercover officer, known only as N81, had been planted among supporters of the Lawrence family at the time of the Macpherson inquiry into racism in the Metropolitan Police.

Doreen Lawrence, Mr Lawrence's mother, and his father Neville

In 1988, Mr Walton, who was then an acting detective inspector working on Scotland Yard's Lawrence review team, responsible for making submissions to the judicial inquiry, met N81, the report found.

The "spy in the camp" fed back information about the Lawrence family to the upper levels of the Metropolitan Police, the report by the barrister Mark Ellison QC concluded.

Allegations of discreditable conduct have also been made against two former officers - then-detective inspector Robert Lambert and Commander Colin Black.

The pair were identified in the review as having played a part in facilitating the meeting with the undercover officer. The IPCC will also be investigating their conduct.

Mr Walton said: "I welcome the decision to investigate this matter independently and the IPCC will have my full support."

Mr Lawrence, 18, was killed by a gang of racists who stabbed him as he waited for a bus in Eltham, southeast London on April 22, 1993.

The police investigation into his death was marred by incompetence and allegations of racism, and it took 19 years to bring any of his murderers to justice.

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Harris Denies 'Deliberate Lie' To Sex Trial

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter, at Southwark Crown Court

Entertainer Rolf Harris has deliberately lied in his sex trial, jurors have been told, after new video evidence was shown to the court.

Harris, 84, said last week he had never been to Cambridge - where an alleged incident assault took place - until four years ago for an exhibition of his paintings.

But evidence was shown to the court which showed him being in the university city in 1978, taking part in a programme called Star Games.

The trial has heard the alleged victim was around 14 when she claimed Harris touched her bottom when he took part in an It's a Knockout style event held in Cambridge.

In the footage seen by jurors Harris was described as being the captain of the theatre team as it took part in the game show, with prosecutor Sasha Wass QC saying he "was jumping up and down like a kangaroo".

Harris arrives at Southwark Crown Court

His teammates included Dr Who star Colin Baker, actress Rula Lenska and seventies comedian Robin Askwith.

Ms Wass added the video "supported everything the witness had said... apart from the year - she got that wrong".

Ms Wass added: "You told the jury last week with such confidence that you had never been to Cambridge until four years ago. That was a deliberate lie."

Harris replied: "No, it wasn't. I didn't find out it was Cambridge until I saw the video.

"None of the performers knew they were in Cambridge."

The video began with aerial shots of Cambridge and was introduced by Michael Aspel welcoming viewers to he city.

After it was screened, Ms Wass said:"You didn't know you were in Cambridge? Michael Aspel knew."

Harris said: "We all went on a coach and were deposited on a green with changing rooms."

Ms Wass continued: "You deliberately lied to mislead the jury."

Harris said: "I'd forgotten the event."

Ms Wass said: "It was a deliberate lie."

Harris said: "No, a lapse of memory."

He again insisted that all of the women who have given evidence against him had lied.

Ms Wass said: "The footage proved that it was not these victims who have lied, it is you that have lied and you hoped to get away with that lie, when it came to it."

Harris again added that he had not lied when he gave his evidence but had "no recollection of the event".

At one point the judge rebuked Harris after he threw a question back at the prosecution, telling him: "This is not a verbal joust."

Harris denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four women aged between seven and eight years old and 19 between 1968 and 1986.

The trial continues.

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