Half Of Footballers 'Have Seen Racism In Game'

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

More than half of Premier League and Football League players have witnessed or been subjected to racist abuse inside grounds, according to new research.

A survey of 200 active footballers by anti-discrimination group Kick It Out also found 20% of those questioned have witnessed racist abuse in dressing rooms or at a training ground, while 7% say abuse was directed towards them.

The results provide a dramatic snapshot of the level of discrimination witnessed by players in the English game and suggest there is still much to be done to banish it from the sport.

They come as the Football Association launches a series of videos intended to encourage players, fans and officials at all levels of the game to report discrimination wherever they see it.

The failure to report abuse, both at professional and grassroots level, has been highlighted as a factor in the continuing presence of discrimination in the game.

Kick It Out's survey, which was carried out between August and December last year, was conducted anonymously and was completed by a cross-section of players.

Black or ethnic minority players made up 32% of the sample, with 15% of the players at Premier League clubs and the remainder from the Football League.

As well as racism, homophobic abuse was widely reported in the survey, with 39% of players saying they had witnessed it in stadiums and 26% claiming they had seen it at training grounds or in the dressing room.

Players said they believed they were exposed to greater levels of abuse because of their profession, with 69% agreeing that was the case.

They overwhelmingly believe social media has made the problem worse, with 91% agreeing it has increased the level of discriminatory abuse.

The footballers also expressed concern about the level of black and ethnic minority representation among managers and executives, with some calling for compulsory interviews of black and ethnic minority candidates for all jobs.

Some 52% of players agreed there was an issue around the lack of black and minority ethnic managers and coaches, while 62% felt mandatory shortlisting should be in place for black and minority ethnic candidates.

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Childcare: £2,000 Boost For Working Parents

Working parents are to get up to £2,000 of tax-free childcare in a move to target families who are "running to stand still".

The scheme will be worth up to £2,000 per child per year when it launches in autumn next year - £800 more than the £1,200 originally proposed last year.

The Deputy Prime Minister told Sky News the move would target hard-working parents who were "going out to work just to pay the nursery fees" saying many felt they were just "running to stand still".

It was only expected to apply to children under the age of seven, but parents will now be entitled to the money until their son or daughter's 12th birthday.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will unveil details of the childcare scheme

Nearly two million families could benefit from the scheme - twice as many as the present voucher scheme, which is only available where adopted by an employer.

However, it has been criticised for excluding couples where one parent does not work and for applying to richer households with incomes of up to £300,000.

Speaking to Sky News Nick Clegg denied the scheme was unfair and said families on Universal Credit would now have 85% of their childcare costs met.

Mr Clegg said: "If you have two children and you have to pay their childcare costs then it's (the scheme is) worth up to £4,000 to you."

David Cameron said the policy, which effectively covers 20% of childcare costs up to a maximum of £10,000 a year, would help "hard-pressed families" and "provide financial security for the future".

Earlier this month, the Family and Childcare Trust said parents now spend more on part-time childcare than their mortgage repayments.

However, Labour's Lucy Powell, the shadow minister for children, said the proposals were "too little, too late".

How it works

"Mr Cameron has cut support for children and families by £15bn since he came to office," she said.

"This Government has done nothing in this Parliament to help parents experiencing a cost-of-living crisis."

As well as the childcare tax break, the Government is to give an extra £50m to nurseries looking after the most deprived three and four-year-olds.

Families claiming Universal Credit will also have 85% of their childcare costs met, up from 70%.

The announcement comes as the Chancellor prepares to unveil this year's Budget.

George Osborne, who will set out the Government's spending plans for 2014-15 next Wednesday, has warned of "difficult decisions" to come.

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Claudia Lawrence: Dad's Grief On Anniversary

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The father of missing York woman Claudia Lawrence says her five-year absence is "like a cancer" that "just gets worse and worse".

Peter Lawrence, speaking at a news conference to mark the fifth anniversary of his younger daughter's last known contact with anyone, appealed for people who know what happened to come forward.

The 67-year-old said he often wonders: "Where are you Claudia? Are you safe? Is someone holding you? Have you been hurt? Even, of course, are you alive?"

He added: "It's actually, I suppose, a bit like a cancer and it just gets worse and worse because there is no resolution until we know what happened to Claudia."

Ms Lawrence, 35, was reported missing after failing to turn up for her shift as a cook at the University of York on the morning of March 28, 2009.

North Yorkshire Police believe she was murdered, but a long-running investigation which focused on her relationships with men drew a blank and a new team of detectives launched a cold case review in October.

The terraced home where Claudia lived alone in the Heworth area of York has been re-examined by forensic experts, and her family and friends have been re-interviewed.

In the most personal and emotional of the many briefings Mr Lawrence has given since 2009, he made a direct appeal to whoever is responsible.

"Please, please, do realise what it is doing to us," he said. "It just eats into you like a hole and it is torture."

Mr Lawrence, a solicitor, praised the thoroughness of the new police team which is understood to have uncovered new leads.

Last week, Claudia's 70-year-old mother Joan told Sky News she believes the investigation, led by Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, will end the mystery.

"I think if they don't (solve the case), they will have tried their utmost," she said.

"They're working so hard on it. I don't think they'll give up easily."

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EuroMillions: Neil Trotter Wins £107.9m Prize

The Top 20 National Lottery Rich List

Updated: 10:33am UK, Tuesday 18 March 2014

The latest lottery winner has scooped almost £108m, putting him fourth on the rich list. The others are:

  1.      12 July       2011     £161,653,000.00                 Colin & Chris Weir

  2.      10 August  2012     £148,656,000                      Gillian & Adrian Bayford  

  3.        8 October 2010    £113,019,926.00                  No publicity  

  4.       14 March   2014    £107,932,603.20  

  5.        7 October 2011    £101,203,600.70                  Dave & Angela Dawes      

  6.      14 May 2010          £84,451,320.60                    No publicity  

  7.      28 May 2013          £81,381,673.30                    No publicity 

  8.      12 Feb 2010          £56,008,113.20                    Nigel Page   

  9.     24 Feb 2012           £46,432,285.20                    No publicity      

10.       6 Nov 2009           £45,570,835.50                    Les & Sam Scadding

            6 Nov 2009           £45,570,835.50 x 7              Lucky Seven syndicate 

11.       7 Feb 2012           £45,160,170.50                   Cassey Carrington  & Matt Topham

12.      20 Jan 2012          £40,627,241                        Gareth & Catherine Bull  

13.       6 Mar 2010           £39,754,555.00                  No publicity   

14.     16 March 2012       £38,034,639.70 x 12           Corby Stars  

15.       7 Sept 2012         £37,827,314.60                   No publicity  

16.      10 Aug 2007         £35,425,411.80                   Angela Kelly 

17.        9 July 2013         £28,847,237                        No publicity 

18.       26 Nov 2013        £26,863,588.20                   No publicity  

19.       31 Aug 2007        £26,533,767.50                   No publicity 

20.       15 Jan 2010         £26,151,124.20 x 4             Sturt Family  

All jackpot wins are on EuroMillions except where otherwise specified

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Five UK Families 'Richer Than 12.6m Britons'

The five richest families in the UK are wealthier than the poorest fifth of the country combined, according to new figures.

Research by the charity Oxfam found the wealthiest households have more money than 12.6 million of the least well-off put together.

The wealthiest family in Britain is the Grovesnors, headed by the Duke of Westminster, with a fortune of £7.9bn mostly from the 190 acres of real estate it owns in London's Belgravia, according to the Forbes rich list.

Also on the list are brothers David and Simon Reuben, whose £6.9bn fortunes comes from metals and property, and the Hinduja brothers with trucking and banking businesses worth £6bn.

The Hinduja brothers are worth £6bn from trucking and banking

The Cadogan family, who are worth £4bn from owning property and land in Chelsea and Knightsbridge in London and Cadogan Estates, and Newcastle United FC owner and Sports Direct clothing chain boss Mike Ashley, whose fortune is valued at £3.3bn, complete the top five.

In its Tale Of Two Britains report, Oxfam found the gap between rich and poor has grown significantly over the last two decades.

It said the richest 0.1% of the population have seen incomes grow nearly four times faster than the poorest 90% of the country.

The wealthy elite have an extra £24,000 in their pockets every year - enough to buy a small yacht or a sports car and almost as much as the average UK salary of £26,500.

Ben Phillips, director of campaigns and policy at Oxfam, said: "Britain is becoming a deeply divided nation, with a wealthy elite who are seeing their incomes spiral up, whilst millions of families are struggling to make ends meet.

"It's deeply worrying that these extreme levels of wealth inequality exist in Britain today, where just a handful of people have more money than millions struggling to survive on the breadline."

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is valued at £3.3bn

Ahead of this week's Budget, Oxfam has called on the Chancellor to raise revenues from those most able to afford it.

It wants to see a renewed clamp down on tax dodgers, as well as a long-term strategy to raise the minimum wage - which will rise from £6.31 to £6.50 in October - to a so-called 'living wage'.

"Increasing inequality is a sign of economic failure rather than success," Mr Phillips said.

"It's time for our leaders to stand up and be counted on this issue."

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Osborne To Build For Britain In His Budget

By Anushka Asthana and Darren McCaffrey, Sky Political Team

George Osborne has announced that a "garden city" will be built in Britain for the first time in decades, based in Ebbsfleet, Kent, with 15,000 homes to start with.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's Budget, the Chancellor also pledged to extend the first phase of the help-to-buy scheme for new build homes until 2020.

The Government has chosen Ebbsfleet in Kent as a new garden city

Policies to drive up housing supply will be one plank of the financial statement, which Mr Osborne will use to warn that the tough times are not over.

He is expected to announce measures aimed at small business, families, and investors, including:

:: An increase in the tax-free element of the personal allowance to £10,500

:: A freeze in the carbon tax

:: Action to support British companies that export their goods

:: Tax relief for business investments of up to £250,000

:: An additional crackdown on tax avoidance

:: Investment in road and rail, including speeding up the HS2 project

:: A tax cut on bingo halls

Mr Osborne will also take the opportunity to talk once again about policies coming into place in April. These include a transferable tax allowance for married couples of up to £200 a year, a drop in corporation tax to 21% and the chance for UK employers to cut their national insurance payments by £2,000 a year.

Details of a planned £1,200 childcare tax break will be unveiled

The decision to freeze fuel duty this September, which was made last year, will also be reconfirmed.

And there could be support for families with childcare as the details of an expected £1,200 per-child tax-break scheme are published following a Government consultation.

But the Chancellor is unlikely to give in to pressure from Conservative grandees on the 40p tax rate. Former chancellors Lord Lamont and Lord Lawson have argued that the 4.4 million people now falling into the band, which kicks in at £41,450, is too high.

Although the threshold will rise by 1% this year, it is less than inflation.

Tory backbenchers and some business groups are also pushing for the rate to be used to deliver a middle class tax cut.

But Mr Osborne has argued that the tax allowance changes will benefit the middle classes.

Moreover, it has been reported that he is happy for more people to face the higher tax rate.

According to the Mail On Sunday, he told MPs: "It means they feel they are a success and joining the aspirational classes. That means they are more likely to think like Conservatives and vote Conservatives."

He said the polling backed his arguments, but the newspaper quoted an MP saying the comment was met with a "stunned silence".

Ed Balls says Mr Osborne's housing measures 'fall short'

A Treasury source said the overall tone of the Budget would be cautious with warnings of further austerity ahead. Mr Osborne will argue that his macroeconomic policies are working, but there must be no wavering from the plan.

The next step is building a "resilient economy".

"Britain has to up its ambition, Britain has to up its game, Britain has to earn its way in the world," he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.

"Yes, the economy is recovering, but that is not enough. We have got to finish the job."

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News the measures on housing fell short.

"We've asked him to invest in affordable housing, there's nothing on the table yet from him there," he said.

"At the moment we're calling on him to reduce the limit on help to buy from 600,000 - we've not had any action on that yet.

"And this is a promise to get a new town moving eventually, but it's not on the scale we need, or as fast as we need to deal with that cost of living crisis.

"I hope that when it comes to the budget on Wednesday, George Osborne's going to be giving a lot more than he's promised so far."

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Clarissa Dickson Wright: TV Cook Dies Aged 66

TV cook Clarissa Dickson Wright, who became famous as one of the Two Fat Ladies, has died at the age of 66.

Dickson Wright's agents confirmed to Sky News that she passed away at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary on Saturday.

Heather Holden-Brown and Elly James said: "Loved dearly by her friends and many fans all over the world, Clarissa was utterly non-PC and fought for what she believed in, always, with no thought to her own personal cost.

"Her fun and laughter, extraordinary learning and intelligence, will be missed always, by so many of us."

Dickson Wright and Paterson travelled on a Triumph Thunderbird

Dickson Wright was born in St John's Wood and christened Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright.

She began cooking after her career as a barrister was brought to an end by alcoholism. She had been teetotal for almost 27 years before her death.

Spokeswoman Ms James said Dickson Wright "hadn't been well for a little while" and had been in hospital since the beginning of the year.

Until last year she was the youngest woman to ever be called to the Bar, after passing her exams aged 21.

In 1996 the BBC paired Dickson Wright with the late Jennifer Paterson for the Two Fat Ladies series which became hugely popular.

Producer Patricia Llewellyn had discovered her working in an Edinburgh cookery bookshop and decided to introduce her to Paterson, who said she had never had a cookery lesson.

The women would travel the country on a Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle, driven by Paterson, and sidecar which Dickson Wright rode in, and would prepare meals for members of the public.

The series spawned a number of best-selling cookbooks and Dickson Wright wrote a number by herself including her autobiography, Spilling The Beans and The History Of English Food which was released in 2011.

Paterson died from cancer in July 1999.

More follows ...

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Mafia Fugitive Rancadore Wins Extradition Battle

A 65-year-old London man accused of being a top Mafia gangster has won his battle against extradition to Italy.

Domenico Rancadore had been living in Uxbridge, west London, for 20 years when he was arrested for allegedly fleeing justice in Italy.

Known as "The Professor", he was convicted in 1999 of Mafia association and extortion in Trabia, near Palermo, Sicily, and sentenced to seven years in prison.

However, senior district judge Howard Riddle has now discharged Mr Rancadore at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Mr Riddle told the court he had originally intended to extradite Mr Rancadore.

Domenico Rancadore's home in Uxbridge

But he changed his mind following a ruling in a similar case involving the Court of Florence and Hayle Abdi Badre.

Mr Riddle said: "The judgment of the administrative court is binding on me.

"The higher court accepted that a similar assurance given in that case was in good faith, but was not sufficient."

He added: "I cannot distinguish this case from Badre.

"While it is true that I heard more up-to-date evidence than was available to the court in that case, my intended decision, as expressed above, was based squarely on my acceptance of an assurance that has recently, and in similar circumstances, been rejected by a higher court."

Mr Rancadore's wife Anne Skinner (left) and daughter Daniela

Despite this, he said he was satisfied the European Arrest Warrant against Mr Rancadore was valid and that extradition was "compatible with the defendant's Convention rights, including prison conditions".

He also said he believed he was satisfied Mr Rancadore's wife and daughter had known he was a fugitive "for some time".

Outside court, Mr Rancadore's solicitor, Karen Todner, said: "We're all delighted and relieved.

"He's got a serious heart condition so being in prison is very difficult for him."

Mr Rancadore was expected to be bailed pending an appeal.

At an earlier hearing, the former travel agent - who had been using the name Marc Skinner - told the court he had come to England for the sake of his two children as he feared for their life in Italy.

He said: "I changed my name, I changed my life, I didn't want to go back to Italy."

His wife, Anne Skinner, told the court she had seen a deterioration in her husband's health since his arrest.

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Couple Jailed For Lee Rigby YouTube Videos

A man has been sentenced to five years and four months for posting YouTube videos glorifying the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.

Royal Barnes, 23, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, with his wife, Rebekah Dawson, getting a 20-month sentence.

The videos posted by the British Muslim couple were "offensive in the extreme", the court heard.

They published the clips shortly after the brutal murder of Fusilier Rigby in Woolwich last May.

Barnes filmed himself laughing as he passed flowers left for the soldier

The couple, from Hackney in London, made three videos - the first uploaded on the day after the attack, with Barnes calling it a "brilliant day".

It was edited together with pictures of a man holding a decapitated head, a scene from Woolwich, and images of the World Trade Center.

The second clip showed Dawson ranting about how British troops would be killed on London's streets.

Fusilier Rigby, 25, was hacked to death in broad daylight on May 22, 2013

A third video showed Barnes mocking the public's grief at Fusilier Rigby's murder and laughing uncontrollably as he and his wife drove past flowers at the murder scene.

Barnes pleaded guilty last month to inciting murder and three counts of disseminating a terrorist publication.

Dawson, 22, who insisted on wearing a full veil in court, also admitted charges of disseminating a terrorist publication.

Rebekah Dawson's video was posted shortly after the murder

Judge Brian Barker QC said the pair showed "a total and continuing disregard" for the effect it would have on the soldier's family and the wider public.

Fusilier Rigby's killers were jailed last month for the attack, which saw them hack the solider to death on the streets of southeast London.

Michael Adebolajo, 29, was given a whole-life term, and Michael Adebowale, 22, was jailed for at least 45 years.

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West Brom Sack Anelka After 'Quenelle' Storm

West Brom say they have terminated Nicolas Anelka's contract for gross misconduct, following his ban for performing the controversial 'quenelle' gesture during a match.

In a statement on their website, the club said their decision was the result the player's conduct while celebrating a goal against West Ham on December 28 and his remarks posted on social media.

"The club considers the conduct of Nicolas Anelka on December 28, coupled with his purported termination on social media this evening, to be gross misconduct," it said.

"As a result the club has tonight written to Nicola Anelka giving him 14 days' notice of termination as required under his contract."

The 35-year-old, whose deal at the Premier League side was due to expire in the summer, had earlier announced he would leave the club over its response to his five-match ban and £80,000 fine from the FA.

He wrote on his Twitter account that he had decided to "put an end" to his contract, saying the club had proposed "certain conditions that I cannot accept".

The Frenchman's tweets on Friday evening

In three posts written in French on Twitter, the player said: "Following talks between the club and me, propositions were made to me in order to reintegrate me into the squad under certain conditions that I cannot accept.

"Wishing to retain my integrity, I have therefore taken the decision to free myself and put an end to the contract linking me with West Bromwich Albion to 2014, with immediate effect."

West Brom previously issued a statement in response, indicating Anelka's words had taken them by surprise.

It said: "The club has received nothing formally regarding the termination of Nicolas Anelka's contract from either him or his advisers.

"The club regards the release of such a statement on social media as highly unprofessional and will make a further statement when appropriate."

It was claimed the quenelle was anti-Semetic, but Anelka says the gesture was merely anti-establishment and made in support of his friend Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, a French comedian who has been convicted seven times of anti-Semitic crimes.

A Football Association commission found it was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper, and that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief.

It accepted there was no intent by Anelka to be anti-Semitic, but banned him for five matches and fined him £80,000. He was subsequently suspended by West Brom.

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