Missing Teenager Erika Kacicova: Man Arrested

Police searching for missing teenager Erika Kacicova have arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of child abduction.

It comes after detectives told Sky News they "will not stop" until they find the 13-year-old girl.

Police have appealed to the teenager to contact them so they can visit her to make sure she is safe and well.

They have stressed "she is not in trouble", but have called on her to return to her "distraught" family.

Erika was last seen leaving her home in the Darnall area of Sheffield at around 4pm on Monday, August 5.

Erika's disappearance has been described as 'out of character'

Police have been conducting house-to-house inquiries there, and have expanded their search to Bradford, where the suspect was arrested.

He is being taken to Sheffield where he will be questioned by officers from South Yorkshire Police.

There have been a number of unconfirmed sightings of the youngster and police say they have some "really positive" lines of enquiry.

But they are still asking the public for any information they have about the missing child.

Detective Inspector Helen Tate told Sky News: "When we cross-reference the various sightings we've had, it gives us some really positive lines to follow up.

"I need to stress to Erika she's not in trouble. We just need to see she is safe and well.

"We're asking the public to call in with sightings, any information they have got.

"Most importantly it's about Erika picking up that phone and letting us know she is OK and allowing us to come and see her and make sure she is well and safe.

"Our investigation has not slow paced in any way. We will not stop until we actually find Erika."

Her disappearance has been described as "out of character".

Erika is described as being slim and around 4ft 11ins tall. She has long, dark-brown, straight hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a pink polo-style shirt and a silvery-grey coloured jacket.

A 22-year-old man from Bradford was released on police bail on Sunday after being arrested on suspicion of child abduction.

He approached police on Friday, the day officers made an urgent appeal for information about Erika's whereabouts.

:: Anyone with information about missing Erika is asked to call police on 101.

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Asda Car Park Death: Pensioner Charged

A pensioner has been charged with killing a grandfather who died following a row over a disabled space in an Asda car park.

Alan Watts, 65, will appear before magistrates charged with manslaughter following the death of 64-year-old Brian Holmes in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.

Mr Holmes, from Sandy, Bedfordshire, died from head injuries at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge the day after the August 3 attack.

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: "On the direction of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Bedfordshire Police have charged a man in relation with an incident which took place at the Asda car park in Church Street, Biggleswade, on Saturday August 3.

"Alan Watts, of Lindsell Crescent, Biggleswade, has been charged with one count of manslaughter."

The spokesman said Watts had been bailed to appear at Bedford Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Mr Holmes' family were at his bedside when he died the afternoon after the attack.

In a statement released through Bedfordshire Police after his death, his family said: "The family are devastated by the loss of Brian in such shocking circumstances.

"A wife has lost her husband, best friend and carer all in one go.

"Brian was a family man who adored his grandchildren and family, and had only this week been given the all-clear following treatment for cancer.

"Brian and his wife were only just starting to make plans for the future that they only dared to dream of."

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Bryant Attacks Tesco Over 'Unfair' Migrant Use

Changes To Chris Bryant's Speech

Updated: 12:36pm UK, Monday 12 August 2013

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

The before and after sections on Tesco and Next in Chris Bryant's immigration speech are barely recognisable.

The speech delivered by the Shadow Immigration Minister was very different from extracts released in advance at the weekend.

In the Q&A after his speech, he denied he had been nobbled or spoken personally to the two companies.

But, after the angry denials by Tesco and Next at the weekend, by Monday morning the passages had been substantially rewritten and the tone had been dramatically transformed from hostile to complimentary.

:: ON TESCO:

Before:

"Take the case of Tesco, who recently decided to move their distribution centre in Kent.

"The new centre is larger and employs more people, but the staff at original site, most of them British, were told that they could only move to the new centre if they took a cut in pay. The result? A large percentage of the staff at the new centre are from Eastern bloc.

"Then there are the recruitment agencies that specialise in recruiting staff from elsewhere in the EU."

After:

"Take Tesco. A good employer and an important source of jobs in Britain. They take on young people, operate apprenticeships and training schemes and often recruit unemployed or disabled staff through job centres.

"Yet when a distribution centre was moved to a new location existing staff said they would have lost out by transferring and the result was a higher proportion of staff from A8 countries taking up the jobs.

"Tesco are clear they have tried to recruit locally. And I hope they can provide more reassurance for their existing staff. But the fact that staff are raising concern shows how sensitive the issue has become."

Comparison:

After Tesco said they had no distribution centre in Kent, that reference has gone. So too has the allegation about the cut in pay. Instead, Tesco is "a good employer" that is clear it has "tried to recruit locally".

ON NEXT:

Before:

"Look at Next PLC, who last year brought 500 Polish workers to work in their South Elmsall warehouse for their summer sale and another 300 this summer. They were recruited in Poland and charged £50 to find them accommodation.

"The advantage to Next? They get to avoid Agency Workers Regulations which apply after a candidate has been employed for over 12 weeks, so Polish temps end up considerably cheaper than the local workforce which includes many former Next employees.

"The recruitment agency Next used, Flame, has its website http://www.flamejobs.pl entirely in Polish. It's not illegal. But is it fair? Does it inspire long-term commitment to the business?

"In mentioning this I'm not looking for special favours for anyone. I'm just looking for fairness."

After:

"Next PLC recruited extra temporary staff for their South Elmsall warehouse for the summer sale - last year and this year.

"South Elmsall is in a region with 9% unemployment and 23.8% youth unemployment.

"Yet several hundred people were recruited directly from Poland. The recruitment agency Next used, Flame, has its website http://www.flamejobs.pl entirely in Polish.

"Now of course short term contracts and work are sometimes necessary in order to satisfy seasonal spikes in demand.

"But when agencies bring such a large number of workers of a specific nationality at a time when there are one million young unemployed in Britain it is right to ask why that is happening.

"It's not illegal for agencies to target foreign workers. But is it fair for them to be so exclusive? Is it fair on migrant workers who can find themselves tied into agency accommodation deals? And is it good practice for the long term health of the economy when so many local young people need experience and training?

"Next also say they have tried to recruit locally."

Comparison:

The allegation that Next "get to avoid Agency Workers Regulations" has gone. So too has the claim that "Polish temps end up considerably cheaper than the local workforce".

Mr Bryant did, however, make new allegations in his speech against the tourism industry:

"Tourism is one of our largest industries and yet I have heard horror tales of hotel management deliberately cutting hours of young British workers and adding hours to migrant workers who do not complain about deductions from earnings that almost certainly take people below the minimum wage," he said.

But he didn't name names.

More anecdotal accusations, I suspect.

Mr Bryant obviously wanted to avoid another bruising clash with big business.

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Lee Rigby: Man Charged Over 'Terror Videos'

A 22-year-old man has been charged with terror offences after allegedly making video recordings about Drummer Lee Rigby's murder.

Royal Barnes, from Hackney, east London, is accused of creating clips about the father-of-one's death and publishing a statement entitled "Muslim laughs at British Soldier killing".

He is accused of dissemination of terrorist publications and "encouraging others into the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism".

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court today after being arrested on Friday along with a 21-year-old woman.

Barnes is also charged with encouraging an act of terrorism by publishing a statement that glorified the killing, and inciting terrorism overseas.

It is claimed that on June 12 he "incited another to commit an act of terrorism, wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom".

Lee Rigby, 25, was hacked to death in broad daylight near Woolwich barracks in south-east London on May 22.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale have been charged with his murder and are due to stand trial at the Old Bailey on November 18.

Drummer Rigby served in Afghanistan as a machine gunner and was attached to the regimental recruiting team when he was killed.

His murder sparked nationwide shock and revulsion and led to an outpouring of support for his family from the public.

More follows...

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High Street Housing Plans Come Under Fire

Store Vacancies Hit New High Level

Updated: 11:50am UK, Monday 20 May 2013

A surge in shopping centre vacancies means almost one in every eight British stores is now empty, according to a new survey.

Empty shops now account for 11.9% of retail space, after failures including Comet and Jessops knocked holes in the shopping hubs and out-of-town retail parks.

The percentage of UK shop vacancies in April worsened from 10.9% in January and was the highest rate since the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard survey began in 2011.

It said high streets have been "vastly outperforming" malls and retail parks, boosted by a 5% increase in evening drinkers, diners and clubbers.

The retail sector has been battered by a wave of failures this year, with entertainment retailer HMV and camera chain Jessops both entering administration in January.

Electricals retailer Comet slumped into administration in November.

BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: "It's a major concern that the vacancy rate has reached a record high, driven by increases in almost every part of the UK, with some regions like the South West seeing a significant leap in empty shop numbers."

But rising temperatures lifted April footfall 1% on a year earlier, a marked improvement on the 5.2% fall in March, as more shoppers ventured out compared with a rainy April 2012.

Ms Dickinson added: "The unsettled weather at the start of the month seems to have created pent-up demand, which brought many of us out to shop when more spring-like weather finally made an appearance."

High street footfall was up 3.4%, the strongest performance since December 2011, but shopping centre visitors fell 3%.

Greater London was the strongest-performing region with footfall rising 4.2% and just 7.4% of its shops vacant.

Footfall in Northern Ireland slumped 6.4% in April, while its shop vacancy rate hit 18.1%. In Wales, shoppers were down 2.1%, with a vacancy rate of 17.9%.

The South West saw footfall slide 1.3% and shop vacancies hit 14%.

The UK's surging vacancy rate follows recent downbeat sales figures from the BRC, which showed retail sales slumped at the fastest rate for a year in April as the timing of Easter and a freezing start to the month offset improvements in fashion and beauty.

Like-for-like sales fell 2.2% in April from a year earlier, with the early Easter hitting food sales in particular, it said.

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Perseids Meteor Shower To Shimmer Over UK

This year's Perseids meteor shower promises up to 60 shooting stars an hour being visible in the skies over the UK.

The spectacle is expected to peak between late Monday evening and early Tuesday morning.

And the prospects for this year's showing are deemed to be particularly good, especially for stargazers in the UK, according to the Royal Astronomical Society.

The natural phenomenon - the result of the cosmic pollution created by the comet Swift-Tuttle which last passed near the Earth in 1992 - is expected to be visible to the unaided eye.

"Comet Swift-Tuttle won't be visiting our neck of the woods again until the year 2125, but every year we get this beautiful reminder as the Earth ploughs through the debris it leaves in its orbit" said Professor Alan Fitzsimmons of Queen's University Belfast.

The Perseids meteor shower in the Republic of Macedonia, August 2011

"Every meteor is a speck of comet dust vaporising as it enters our atmosphere at 36 miles per second. What a glorious way to go."

Meteors, commonly known as shooting stars, are the result of small particles entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed.

These heat the air around them, causing the characteristic streak of light seen from the ground.

They mostly appear as fleeting flashes lasting less than a second, but the brightest ones leave behind trails of vaporised gases and glowing air molecules that may take a few seconds to fade.

The Perseids meteor shower is active each year from around mid-July to late-August, but for most of that period only a few meteors an hour will be visible.

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Labour Attacks Tesco Over Foreign Staff

Labour has ignited a row with supermarket giant Tesco by planning to attack the chain for employing foreign workers.

Shadow immigration minister Chris Bryant is due to condemn Tesco and other leading companies for being "unscrupulous" and pursuing cheap labour from Eastern Europe.

In a speech on Monday, he is expected to claim Tesco moved its distribution centre to Kent where a "large percentage" of the staff are from the eastern bloc.

The firm has already hit back, denying having a distribution centre in the county and insisting it does not actively seek to recruit abroad.

A spokesman said: "It is wrong to accuse Tesco of this. We work incredibly hard to recruit from the local area and have just recruited 350 local people to work in our Dagenham site."

The company is also understood to be writing to Labour to complain about the "unfair" slight.

Controversial: Frontbencher Chris Bryant

Mr Bryant's speech appears to be the Opposition's latest attempt to wrestle back the initiative on immigration, which is a top concern for British voters.

The party is also battling to get on the front foot after a quiet summer which has seen their poll lead slip and Ed Miliband face internal criticism for failing to set the agenda.

Mr Bryant will admit immigration can have a negative effect on labour markets, according to extracts from the draft speech reported in The Sunday Telegraph.

"The biggest complaint I have heard, from migrants and settled communities alike, is about the negative effects migration can have on the UK labour market. And I agree," he is due to say.

"It is unfair that unscrupulous employers whose only interest seems to be finding labour as cheaply as possible will recruit workers in large numbers in low-wage countries in the EU, bring them to the UK, charge the costs of their travel and their substandard accommodation against their wages and still not even meet the national minimum wage.

"That is unfair. It exploits migrant workers and it makes it impossible for settled workers with mortgages and a family to support at British prices to compete."

He will claim Tesco had recently decided to move its distribution centre in Kent but slashed pay for existing staff, penalising Britons.

"The new centre is larger and employs more people, but the staff at the original site, most of them British, were told that they could only move to the new centre if they took a cut in pay," he will say.

"The result? A large percentage of the staff at the new centre are from [the] Eastern bloc."

As well as highlighting the recruitment of hundreds of local staff, Tesco made clear that the distribution centre is in the east London borough of Barking and Dagenham and was formerly in Essex, not Kent.

Next is also criticised for allegedly seeking out Polish staff

Mr Bryant's address is also set to target high street chain Next, who he accused of printing leaflets in Polish to attract workers from the country.

Extracts from his speech say: "Look at Next Plc, who last year brought 500 Polish workers to work in their South Elmsall warehouse for their summer sale and another 300 this summer.

"They were recruited in Poland and charged £50 to find them accommodation. The advantage to Next? They get to avoid Agency Workers Regulations, which apply after a candidate has been employed for over 12 weeks, so Polish temps end up considerably cheaper than the local workforce, which includes many former Next employees."

The MP's speech will make clear that neither firm has broken the law.

A spokesman for Next told The Sunday Telegraph: "Without access to the facts, it is difficult to comment on what Mr Bryant is claiming. On the face of it, his allegations seem unlikely."

Tesco, which is the third largest retailer in the world, has 3,146 stores in the UK and employs more than 300,000 staff here.

Next has more than 500 shops across the country, employing around 54,000 people.

Tory MP for Harlow Robert Halfon attacked Labour for allowing "uncontrolled immigration" during its time in office, but also joined the row against Tesco.

On Sky News, he accused the supermarket chain of behaving "disgracefully" towards staff when it closed its distribution centre in his constituency.

"They said they were building a new Dagenham plant and the Harlow plant in my own constituency would be alongside it," he said.

"The moment the plant was built it was suddenly announced the Harlow plant would close. They then said to the British Harlow workers yes, they could have jobs in Dagenham, but it would be at lower pay after transitional costs had been taken in.

"As a result the majority of them couldn't afford to work in Dagenham and had to take redundancy. Tesco in my view behaved quite disgracefully and quite ruthlessly."

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Murder Arrest As Man Dies In Stab Attack

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a stabbing in Bristol.

The 41-year-old was held after police were called to an address in Egerton Road, in the Bishopston area of the city, amid reports a 24-year-old had been attacked.

The victim was taken to hospital on Friday evening but later died.

A police spokeswoman said: "A 41-year-old man from the local area has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

"He is being held in police custody."

Forensics officers were still at the scene of the attack on Sunday morning.

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Zanzibar Acid Attack Victim Tweets Her Thanks

Zanzibar Acid Attack: Two Held

Updated: 4:59pm UK, Friday 09 August 2013

Two girls from London who had acid thrown in their faces on the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar have arrived back in Britain.

:: WARNING: This story contains a graphic image depicting acid burns

A medevac plane carrying Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup, both 18, landed at RAF Northolt at lunchtime and the pair were taken away in two ambulances.

They were then transferred to the specialist burns unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and reunited with their families.

The teenagers were attacked by two men on a motorbike as they walked through the historic capital Stone Town on Wednesday night.

The acid was splashed over their faces, chests, backs and hands.

Their arrival back in Britain came as a Zanzibar police chief told Sky News that five people have been questioned over the acid attack.

Regional police commander Mkadam Khamis said two of the suspects are being detained for further interrogation while the other three have been released.

Police on the island have also offered a reward of 10 million Tanzanian shillings (£4,000) for information leading to any arrests. 

Sky News Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lisa Holland said there were some suggestions that one of the people held was a local shopkeeper who had been in an altercation with one of the girls a few days before.

But she added that the motive remained unclear - with other reports of eyewitnesses saying the acid was not intended for the British teenagers but someone else walking down the road.

The pair, who had been volunteering at an orphanage on the island, were taken to hospital in Dar es Salaam on the Tanzanian mainland, before being flown home.

Miss Gee's mother Nicky Gee told Sky News her daughter had suffered burns to her "whole face and her whole body" in the "vicious attack".

A photograph released by the girls' families showed the injuries Miss Gee of them suffered in the attack.

The girl is shown wearing an open striped shirt and a silver necklace. What appear to be acid burns are clearly visible on her chin, neck and upper chest.

Miss Trup also reportedly received horrific burns and was said to be "inconsolable".

The young women, who are from north London and were planning to start university in the autumn, were enjoying the last week of a trip as volunteer teachers to the predominantly Muslim island when a corrosive substance was thrown at them.

The trip had been organised by i-to-i Travel, which is based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and runs gap year trips to parts of Africa, Asia, central and South America and Australia.

Trips to teach in Zanzibar, based in Stone Town, start at £669 for two weeks, according to its website.

In its latest statement, i-to-i Travel confirmed the girls had been repatriated to the UK and said: "We welcome the proactive investigations being carried out by local authorities in Zanzibar and continue to liaise with them.

"We wish the girls a fast and full recovery and our thoughts are with them and their families at this difficult time."

The organisation added that it had advised all its customers still in Zanzibar "to remain vigilant" and anyone due to fly out there this weekend had been given the option to volunteer at a different project, but all had chosen to continue to travel to Tanzania.

The Foreign Office travel advice for Tanzania warns that although most visits to the country are trouble-free, "violent and armed crime is increasing".

The advice, available on its website, says: "Mugging, bag snatching (especially from passing cars) and robbery have increased throughout the country."

It adds: "In Zanzibar, incidents have taken place in Stone Town and on popular tourist beaches."

Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzania's president, is reported to have visited the women at the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam and promised that the men responsible for the "shameful" attack would be found.

Zanzibar is an archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean around 22 miles off the mainland.

The semi-autonomous region of Tanzania is predominantly Muslim and has been the scene of some religious violence in recent years.

Earlier this year two Christian leaders were killed and in November a cleric was treated in hospital after an acid attack. This is the first such assault on foreigners in the popular tourist destination.

A further announcement from the police in Zanzibar regarding the case is expected later today.

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Labour: Miliband Told To Raise His Game

Labour MP Attacks 'Confused' Party

Updated: 4:55pm UK, Thursday 01 August 2013

A veteran Labour MP has condemned the party's "confused" stance on key issues and expressed major fears about its re-election hopes.

George Mudie, MP for Leeds East since 1992, attacked the leadership for failing to set the agenda and questioned the lack of energy.

The former minister, a close ally of Gordon Brown, said Ed Miliband's problems included being "young" and the role played by the unions in his election as leader.

"I have difficulty knowing what we stand for now," he told BBC Radio 4's The World At One.

"We are 18 months away from an election thinking that we will put out a document on all these major items and the public will say 'Oh great.'

"And I think, often, at the moment, the Government are setting the agenda, making the weather and we're responding to it.

"Tony Blair and Gordon Brown never did that... . We're not setting any agenda, we're responding to the Tories."

Mr Mudie declared that Labour had to "demonstrate to people that we are relevant to their lives" if it is to get back into power.

If the party was not "offering something different" people would "stick with what they have got", he warned.

"There has to be and there is some concern that the lead we have in the polls, first of all is not firm enough, big enough," he added.

"Will it withstand a general election discussion?

"But the real thing is, do you know, because I don't, know our position on welfare, do you know our position on education, do you know our genuine position on how we'd run the health service?

"If you're not getting a clear enough message to me, and to some of my colleagues, what are you, what kind of message do you think you're putting out there?

"I remember before we won, 1992, the five years to 1997, this place was bubbling, we were energetic, we were at them, we thought we had all the answers.

"We're not at them and we're slightly hesitant and we're slightly confused and I deeply worry about that."

His comments come after Labour saw its poll lead over the Tories slip to just three points, according to the latest survey from ComRes.

The findings will fuel disquiet within Labour that the party and its leader is not making enough headway, with the next election now under two years away.

Mr Miliband, who is currently on holiday in the south of France, also faces a battle with the unions in the coming months after vowing to reform the party's union ties.

Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan insisted Mr Miliband was doing the "heavy lifting" to win the election in 2015.

"We haven't got the luxury of what George had between 1992 and 1997 of being out of power for 18 years," he said.

"Since Ed has been leader the Labour Party has been ahead in the polls. I would remind you that the Conservatives spent 13 years in opposition up to 2010, and still did not win a general election outright."

Tory chairman Grant Shapps said: "This is all starting to sound very familiar. Yet another senior figure in the Labour Party has broken ranks and condemned Ed Miliband, this time as 'hesitant and confused'.

"Ed Miliband offers weak and directionless leadership to an increasingly restless Labour Party."

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