Murder probe after woman found dead

29 June 2013 Last updated at 17:42 ET

A murder investigation has been launched after a woman was found dead at her home in Greater Manchester.

Police were called to a house in Westbourne Road, Winton, Salford, at about 18:00 BST after reports that a woman had been found dead inside.

Officers discovered the body of 25-year-old Linzi Ashton.

A Home Office post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death has yet to take place but a murder inquiry has been launched.

Extra officers

Det Chief Supt Darren Shenton, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "A young woman has been murdered and our thoughts are with her family and friends at what is obviously a totally devastating time for them."

He said more information would be released following the post-mortem examination.

"I want to reassure her loved ones as well as those in the local community that we have a team of highly skilled detectives already working on this case but if anyone has any information they think can assist us please call."

Mr Shenton added that there would be extra officers "in the area to offer reassurance so please talk to them if you have any concerns or want to provide us with any information".

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Stones triumph in Glastonbury debut

29 June 2013 Last updated at 19:51 ET By Mark Savage BBC News entertainment reporter, at Glastonbury

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The BBC's Lizo Mzimba reports from Glastonbury on the Stones' historic set

The Rolling Stones' hit-packed Glastonbury debut has been hailed as "the high spot of 43 years" of the festival by organiser Michael Eavis.

The band opened with Jumpin' Jack Flash, with Mick Jagger prowling the stage in a green sequinned jacket.

He repeatedly thanked the crowd and, after It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It), joked organisers had "finally got round to asking us" to play.

Tens of thousands of fans cheered on the two-hour set featuring 20 songs.

'Come again'

Speaking immediately after the band came off stage, festival boss Eavis called it "the high spot of 43 years of Glastonbury".

"They finally did it, and it was fantastic. My God, did they deliver."

Eavis also said he had bumped into Prince Harry at the festival during the day, "and I recommended he stay the night".

The Stones had arrived on stage after an intro tape featuring the sounds of Worthy Farm's usual residents, 350 dairy cows.

Eavis was heard saying "we waited a long time" as the unmistakable rhythm track of Sympathy For The Devil played and the crowd spontaneously broke into the familiar "whoo whoo" backing vocals.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

For two hours and 20 songs The Rolling Stones were a crossfire hurricane sweeping across the fields of Glastonbury.

Mick Jagger was in particularly fine form, his hands flailing and hips jutting like a Thunderbirds puppet trying to belly dance.

But it was the musicality of the night - a long, intricate solo on Midnight Rambler, or the extended coda of Satisfaction - that really hit home.

The band's power is to be simultaneously the biggest rock group in the world and four old mates playing the blues in their shed.

This was live music, raw and unpolished. From the comfort of your settee, it's easy to criticise Jagger's hammy stage moves and frequently out-of-breath vocals but that's what it takes to connect to an audience of this size.

Mumford and Sons, who headline on Sunday, must be quaking in their boots.

"It's great to be here doing this show, doing this festival," said Jagger after It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It).

"After all these years they finally got round to asking us," he added. Drummer Charlie Watts gave the joke a desultory cymbal crash.

The band had modified the Pyramid stage with three catwalks, allowing Jagger to bridge the cavernous gap that separates most Glastonbury performers from the audience.

It was in almost constant use as the 69-year-old strutted back and forth, clapping his hands thrusting his thick-lipped pout into the air.

Five songs into the set, Jagger introduced a new song, written for a girl "in cut-off jeans" he claimed to have met at the festival on Friday night.

A swampy country-rock number, it featured the refrain "Waiting for my Glastonbury girl".

Keith Richards, his guitar slung low around his skinny jeans, was handed the microphone for a couple of songs, and former Stones' guitarist Mick Taylor joined the band to layer an intricate blues solo over 1969's Midnight Rambler.

He was the only surprise guest of the night, despite rumours that Adele or even Bruce Springsteen would make an appearance.

After 90 minutes, Sympathy For The Devil got a full airing, as flares turned the sky red and a mechanical phoenix rose from atop the Pyramid stage.

Continue reading the main story

Rolling Stones set list

• Jumpin' Jack Flash
• It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)
• Paint It Black
• Gimme Shelter
• Glastonbury Girl
• Wild Horses
• Doom and Gloom
• Can't You Hear Me Knocking
• Honky Tonk Women
• You Got the Silver
• Happy
• Miss You
• Midnight Rambler
• 2,000 Light Years from Home
• Sympathy for the Devil
• Start Me Up
• Tumbling Dice
• Brown Sugar

Encore

• You Can't Always Get What You Want
• (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Jagger said: "We've been doing this for 50 years or something. And if this is the first time you've seen a band, please come again."

The encore was You Can't Always Get What You Want, and an extended, hyperactive take on (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.

"Thank you very much Glastonbury," sang Jagger as the song reached its climax.

Fireworks lit up the farm and the band took a series of bows, while the audience continued to chant the riff to Satisfaction.

Meanwhile, at the Acoustic tent, the Bootleg Beatles played a Stones riff and commented: "Sign of a good band - you've got to know when to split up."

'Mental battle'

Earlier on Saturday proceedings had started with Malian musician Rokia Traore, whose upbeat blend of African roots, blues and jazz gave early risers a chance to dance off the fug of a late night.

A headliner at this year's Womad festival, Traore was offered a Glastonbury slot as a gesture of solidarity with Mali, where Islamist militants all but banned music in some areas.

Billy Bragg got into the spirit of the day by playing classic Stones track Dead Flowers during his set, while soul singer Laura Mvula welcomed the sun by breaking into a sing-a-long rendition of Bob Marley's One Love.

Speaking to the BBC afterwards, she said the cover had been suggested by her musical director, Troy Miller "whose last appearance here was with Amy Winehouse, so he knows what he's talking about".

Mvula, who only released her debut album Sing To The Moon, in March, said stepping out on the festival's main stage was overwhelming.

"Let me tell you something, there's nothing like it. A sort of nervousness I've never experienced before.

"It was like a mental battle - the goal was to get through it and enjoy as many moments as possible."

Other acts on Saturday's line-up included Elvis Costello, rap pioneers Public Enemy and psychedelic rockers Primal Scream.

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Summit to discuss payday loans

30 June 2013 Last updated at 00:20 ET

"Deep-rooted" problems in the loans business will be the subject of a summit involving payday lenders, regulators, charities and ministers.

The industry, worth £2bn, was referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading last Thursday.

Consumer groups say some firms charge excessive rates and make it difficult to compare the full cost of loans. The industry says it is already changing.

Consumer affairs minister Jo Swinson will host Monday's meeting.

'Excessive charges'

Ahead of the meeting, the executive director of consumer group Which?, Richard Lloyd, called on the government to take action over the "toxic market".

He said: "We want new rules banning excessive charges, a restriction on the number of times a payday loan can roll over and clearer advertising to help people struggling with spiralling debt."

The Citizens Advice charity has accused the payday loan sector of being "out of control".

The lenders said they were already changing their practices. A new regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, will oversee payday lenders from next April.

The OFT said it found that customers found it difficult to identify or compare the full cost of payday loans.

It added that there were barriers to switching between lenders when loans were rolled over.

The OFT said it was also concerned that competition was based on speed rather than cost.

'Short-term access'

It said some of the business models of companies caused concern because they were "predicated on making loans which are unaffordable, leading to borrowers paying far more than expected through rollovers, additional interest and other charges".

Lenders appeared to make 50% of their revenues from such practices, it added.

The OFT questioned the use of phrases by some companies such as "instant cash", "loan guaranteed" and "no questions asked".

Payday loans, used by about two million people in the UK, are designed as short-term access to cash at relatively high cost until the loanee is next paid.

However, in many cases, individuals have struggled to repay and the compounded interest of loan after loan has left them in a spiral of debt.

The body which represents payday lenders, the Consumer Finance Association, said it welcomed well-designed regulation but was unhappy about the scrutiny that the industry had received.

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David Cameron meets new Pakistan PM

30 June 2013 Last updated at 03:24 ET

David Cameron is holding talks with Pakistan's newly elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The British prime minister is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan, where Mr Sharif was recently re-elected for an unprecedented third time.

Mr Cameron wants to build relations with Pakistan's new leadership and will use the talks to discuss regional stability, trade and security issues.

It follows his talks with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday.

The election of Nawaz Sharif in May was Pakistan's first democratic transition from one civilian government to another.

'Power of influence'

Mr Cameron earlier said the election was a "huge bonus" for Pakistan and had put the country in a strong position in the region, particularly with regards to achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He said a secure and stable Afghanistan was in Pakistan's best interests and he believed Mr Sharif would help with the efforts to make progress.

"We have a good relationship with Pakistan, it's a long-standing relationship," he said during a press conference in Kabul.

"We have a very clear view which is that it's in Pakistan's short, medium and long-term interest to have a secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan with which they have a good and strong relationship."

He said Mr Sharif's election victory gave him credibility and a "certain power of influence" to encourage the Taliban on the path to peace in the region.

Mr Cameron wants the Taliban to engage with the peace process in Afghanistan, to bolster a political solution to the conflict.

But he has said the Taliban need to give up their arms and "realise that they are not going to secure a role in Afghanistan's future through terror and violence".

The prime minister's talks with Mr Sharif are not expected to focus solely on Afghanistan and will encompass prosperity and trade, as well as security issues such as counter-terrorism.

On Saturday Mr Cameron visited Afghanistan, where he met troops at Camp Bastion and held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

In Pakistan, he visited the national monument where he met people taking part in the British Council's Active Citizens programme.

Mr Sharif served previous terms as Pakistan prime minister in 1990 to 1993, and 1997 to 1999.

He was deposed by General Musharraf and given a jail term, and later went into exile in Saudi Arabia before returning in 2007.

He won a surprise landslide victory in Pakistan's general elections in May.

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Phone charges claim on independence

30 June 2013 Last updated at 04:24 ET

The UK government is to claim that Scottish independence would leave mobile phone users facing higher bills.

In its latest paper on the 2014 referendum, it raises the possibility of Scottish callers facing roaming fees when they visit England.

The paper also claims independence could threaten postal services and rural broadband provision.

The Scottish government has pointed out that EU rules mean roaming charges will fall from Monday.

The paper drawn up in Westminster will claim that, after independence, Scottish mobile users travelling to the rest of the UK would be charged a premium for making calls "abroad".

It warns that people close to the border could inadvertently incur these charges if their mobile phone connected to a mast on the English side.

The paper also suggests the "world class services and economies of scale" of the post office could be put at risk and claims there might be less money to roll out high speed internet services for smaller communities.

'Less choice'

UK Consumer Minister Jo Swinson said: "The UK's integrated infrastructure connects people and communities, creates jobs and supports trade.

"The government is committed to maintaining world class postal and broadband services. This includes continuation of a six-day-a-week postal delivery service and the provision of broadband to rural areas."

She added: "If Scotland left the UK, posting a letter or making a call could cost more - and there could be less choice for customers."

The Scottish government dismissed the claims and said successive Westminster governments had "substantially weakened" Scotland's communications infrastructure.

A spokeswoman said: "Since 2002, more than 400 Scottish post offices have closed and plans for privatisation of Royal Mail threatens jobs and the operation of the universal service obligation whilst people across rural Scotland regularly struggle with the lack of mobile phone coverage as the current system fails to deliver for Scotland.

"Independence will provide an opportunity to properly support the postal network with access to our fair share of UK assets."

On mobile phone charges, she added: "The UK government should acknowledge that the EU is looking to remove roaming charges completely and they are widely expected to be abolished well before 2016."

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UK government backs three-person IVF

27 June 2013 Last updated at 19:33 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

The UK looks set to become the first country to allow the creation of babies using DNA from three people, after the government backed the IVF technique.

It will produce draft regulations later this year and the procedure could be offered within two years.

Experts say three-person IVF could eliminate debilitating and potentially fatal mitochondrial diseases that are passed on from mother to child.

Opponents say it is unethical and could set the UK on a "slippery slope".

They also argue that affected couples could adopt or use egg donors instead.

Mitochondria are the tiny, biological "power stations" that give the body energy. They are passed from a mother, through the egg, to her child.

Defective mitochondria affect one in every 6,500 babies. This can leave them starved of energy, resulting in muscle weakness, blindness, heart failure and death in the most extreme cases.

Continue reading the main story

Every time Sharon Bernardi became pregnant, she hoped for a healthy child.

But all seven of her children died from a rare genetic disease that affects the central nervous system - three of them just hours after birth.

When her fourth child, Edward, was born, doctors discovered the disease was caused by a defect in Sharon's mitochondria.

Edward was given drugs and blood transfusions to prevent the lactic acidosis (a kind of blood poisoning) that had killed his siblings.

Five weeks later Sharon and her husband, Neil, were allowed to take Edward to their home in Sunderland for Christmas - but his health slowly began to deteriorate.

Edward survived into adulthood, dying in 2011 at the age of 21.

Now Sharon is supporting medical research that would allow defective mitochondria to be replaced by DNA from another woman.

Research suggests that using mitochondria from a donor egg can prevent the diseases.

It is envisaged that up to 10 couples a year would benefit from the treatment.

However, it would result in babies having DNA from two parents and a tiny amount from a third donor as the mitochondria themselves have their own DNA.

'Clearly sensitive'

Earlier this year, a public consultation by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) concluded there was "general support" for the idea and that there was no evidence that the advanced form of IVF was unsafe.

The chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said: "Scientists have developed ground-breaking new procedures which could stop these disease being passed on, bringing hope to many families seeking to prevent their future children inheriting them.

"It's only right that we look to introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as we can."

She said there were "clearly some sensitive issues here" but said she was "personally very comfortable" with altering mitochondria.

Scientists have devised two techniques that allow them to take the genetic information from the mother and place it into the egg of a donor with healthy mitochondria.

Continue reading the main story

The result is a baby with genetic information from three people.

They would have more than 20,000 genes from their parents and 37 mitochondrial genes from a donor.

It is a change that would have ramifications through the generations as scientists would be altering human genetic inheritance.

Objections to the procedure have been raised ever since it was first mooted.

Dr David King, the director of Human Genetics Alert, said: "These techniques are unnecessary and unsafe and were in fact rejected by the majority of consultation responses.

'Designer baby'

"It is a disaster that the decision to cross the line that will eventually lead to a eugenic designer baby market should be taken on the basis of an utterly biased and inadequate consultation."

One of the main concerns raised in the HFEA's public consultation was of a "slippery slope" which could lead to other forms of genetic modification.

Draft regulations will be produced this year with a final version expected to be debated and voted on in Parliament during 2014.

Newcastle University is pioneering one of the techniques that could be used for three-person IVF.

Prof Doug Turnbull, the director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research at the university, said he was "delighted".

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He said: "This is excellent news for families with mitochondrial disease.

"This will give women who carry these diseased genes more reproductive choice and the opportunity to have children free of mitochondrial disease. I am very grateful to all those who have supported this work."

The fine details of the regulations are still uncertain, yet it is expected to be for only the most severe cases.

It is also likely that children would have no right to know who the egg donor was and that any children resulting from the procedure would be monitored closely for the rest of their lives.

Sir John Tooke, the president of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: "Introducing regulations now will ensure that there is no avoidable delay in these treatments reaching affected families once there is sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy.

"It is also a positive step towards ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of cutting-edge research in this area."

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Cold spring 'blasted' winged insects

28 June 2013 Last updated at 02:24

Winged insects including bees, moths and butterflies are suffering this year following the UK's late, cold spring, a National Trust report has revealed.

The charity warns the drop in numbers of winged insects could lead to food shortages for birds and bats.

The six-month review assessed the state of plants and animals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and came up with a "winners and losers" list.

Snowdrops, bluebells and daffodils are all on the winners' list

Among the "losers", butterflies have been "very scarce" this year, due to a combination of an unsettled spring and the last year's extremely wet summer.

Likewise, moth numbers have been driven down by cool, wet or windy nights over the past few months.

Mason bees and mining bees also struggled to survive in poor weather in May, which may have a knock-on effect for plant pollination.

"Insect populations have been really very low. Then when they have got going, they've been hit by a spell of cool, windy weather... so our environment is just not bouncing with butterflies or anything else," said Mathew Oates, a naturalist at the National Trust, who worked on the report.

He acknowledged insects follow a "boom and bust pattern", but explained: "The concern is when you have a sequence of poor summers, then a lot of small [insect] populations are lost... and they [effectively] retreat back to the nature reserves."

Birds on the "losers" list include martins, swifts, swallows and warblers, all of which rely on airborne insects to feed and may struggle to survive in the coming months.

Some seabird populations have been hard hit too. In March, windy weather along the coast of Scotland and northern England led to the apparent starvation of thousands of puffins along with guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags.

However, a number of animals and plants have enjoyed a more fruitful year, earning a place on the list of "winners" of the first half of 2013.

Snowdrops and daffodils had "amazingly long flowering seasons", according to the charity, with daffodils flowering well into May and snowdrops appearing from January through to mid-April.

And the weather has not been problematic for all birds: rooks are less sensitive to poor conditions than other birds and 2013 has so far been a "superb" year for the animals, following reports of a very successful breeding season.

Mr Oates said: "This year winter was loathe to let go. All of this has meant that spring got seriously behind and was the latest since 1966."

The delayed spring, beginning with the coldest March in 50 years, meant frogs and toads struggled to breed in water that was still frozen and many flowering plants in gardens and in the wild such as dogwood, elder and lilacs, bloomed weeks later than normal.

Mr Oates said that people and wildlife alike in Britain are now "crying out for a long hot summer."

"Summer is now running two to three weeks late but may come good yet."

Speculating ahead to the second part of 2013, the National Trust predicts a good year for cabbage white butterflies which appear in July and August. Late-flowering apple varieties are also expected to be abundant following some good weather for pollination in early June.

Snowdrops and daffodils had "amazingly long flowering seasons"

Primroses appeared late but persisted until late May

Bluebells peaked three weeks later than usual, in the third week of May, but lasted until early June

Rooks have had a "superb" year

Record numbers of sandwich terns have been nesting at Blakely nature reserve on the north Norfolk coast

Flowering buttercups were in abundance in early June

Craneflies are in high numbers

Mason bees and mining bees, important pollinators, were hit hard by May's unsettled weather

Summer migrants birds such as warblers arrived in Britain to a countryside lacking in flying insects, and are expected to suffer as a consequence

Swallows, swifts and martins may struggle to find enough airborne insect food

Oystercatchers suffered large numbers of their eggs being predated by gulls in spring, as lack of typical food sources drove some animals to seek sustenance elsewhere

Bitter winds in March have been linked to the deaths of 3,500 puffins, seemingly from starvation

Guillemot, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags were also hit by March's harsh weather

Dormice may have suffered due to the cold spring, but other hibernating animals such as bats and hedgehogs seem to be largely unaffected despite emerging late

Slugs did exceptionally well in 2012 but late spring frosts may mean their numbers will be depleted this summer

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Energy blackout proposal dismissed

27 June 2013 Last updated at 23:24 ET

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Michael Fallon: "I can assure you, the lights are not going to go out"

The government has dismissed a proposal that big shops and factories could be paid to cut their energy use to prevent shortages leading to blackouts.

Electricity network owner National Grid has suggested large consumers could be asked to lower use between 16:00 and 20:00 on weekdays in the winter.

It was responding to a warning from energy regulator Ofgem that the risk of power cuts has increased in the UK.

Energy Minister Michael Fallon insisted the lights would stay on.

When asked if there was any truth to reports that big factories and businesses would be asked to cut their energy use in 2015, Mr Fallon replied: "No".

He told BBC Two's Newsnight programme: "I can assure you the lights are not going to go out.

"The latest [Ofgem] assessment has shown that the position is slightly worse than the previous assessment last year.

"The regulator Ofgem has got to make sure, with all the tools at its disposal - bringing some mothball plant back in action and back on line - that the lights stay on and they will."

In an assessment released on Thursday, Ofgem said spare electricity production capacity in the UK could fall to 2% by 2015, increasing the risk of blackouts.

The watchdog said more investment in power generation was needed to protect consumers.

'Tightening margins'

It said: "Ofgem's analysis indicates a faster than anticipated tightening of electricity margins toward the middle of this decade."

The global financial crisis, tough emissions targets, the UK's increasing dependency on gas imports and the closure of ageing power stations were all contributing to the heightened risk of shortages, Ofgem said.

It said measures could include negotiating with major power users for them to reduce demand during peak times in return for payment.

Ofgem also suggested keeping some mothballed power plants in reserve in case of emergencies.

National Grid said it welcomed the Ofgem consultation on the proposed preventive measures and had been working with the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

"This does not mean that disruption is imminent or likely, but Ofgem, DECC and ourselves believe it appropriate to consider what measures could be taken in case margins deteriorate further," National Grid said.

It acknowledged that dealing with tightening margins in the energy industry "sits outside of National Grid's usual system operator role", but added that "given our position in the industry and our experience, we're happy to propose and consult on solutions."

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UK house prices 'gather momentum'

28 June 2013 Last updated at 02:01 ET

UK house prices rose again in June, increasing by 0.3%, according to the Nationwide building society.

The Nationwide said the rise was helped by the government's Funding for Lending Scheme, designed to bring down the cost of credit, and improving job prospects.

The annual rate of price growth rose to 1.9%, the fastest pace since September 2010. The increases means that the average house now costs £168,941.

But Nationwide said there were few signs the housing supply was improving.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "Demand for homes has been supported by further modest gains in employment, as well as an improvement in the availability and a reduction in the cost of credit, partly as a result of policy measures, such as the Funding for Lending Scheme.

"Signs of a modest improvement in wider economic conditions may also be playing a role in boosting buyer sentiment."

The Funding for Lending Scheme allows banks to borrow money at a discount from the Bank of England, providing they can show they have passed it on to customers in the form of loans.

House prices in the second quarter of 2013, compared with the previous three months, were 0.4% higher, and up 1.4% compared with the same period a year ago.

London was the top performer, with prices up 5.2% in the second quarter year-on-year. Prices are now 5% above their 2007 peak of £318,214, said Nationwide.

However, annual price growth in Wales and Scotland continued to decline. Northern Ireland was the worst performer, with prices down 2.1% in the quarter from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Nationwide said that the supply of housing remained sluggish, with data showing a further decline in building activity.

In the first quarter of 2013 housing completions in England were down 8% on the same three months in 2012, and are 40% below 2007 levels, Nationwide said.

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Muslim leaders to condemn grooming

28 June 2013 Last updated at 03:50 ET

The sexual grooming of children is expected to be condemned by Muslim leaders across the UK later in a sermon to be read to thousands of worshippers.

Imams at about 500 mosques are expected to read the sermon to congregations during Friday prayers, said organisers Together Against Grooming (TAG).

The sermon will highlight how the Koran emphasises that Muslims must protect children and the vulnerable, said TAG.

It was supported by leading Muslim organisations, a spokesman said.

'Disgraceful actions'

The Muslim Council of Britain, the Mosque and Imams National Advisory Board and the Islamic Society of Britain had all pledged to devote sermons to the issue of sexual grooming, said TAG, a not-for-profit organisation set up to tackle sexual grooming in the UK.

The sermon, written by Alyas Karmani, an imam and youth worker in Keighley, West Yorkshire, opens with a quotation from the Koran forbidding "sexual indecency, wickedness and oppression of others".

Continue reading the main story

We are united in our stand against sexual grooming and, as Muslims, we are leading the effort to rid society of this crime"

End Quote Ansar Ali Together Against Grooming

These "disgraceful actions" must be wholeheartedly condemned, it adds.

It finishes with a call for action and reminds Muslims to speak out if they see any "evil action".

Mr Karmani said: "There's a profound disrespect culture when it comes to treating women. One of the reasons we feel this is the case is poor role models.

"Access to pornography, which also objectifies women, is creating a culture where men are now ambiguous when it comes to the issue of violence against women."

Court cases

Mr Karmani said the sermon was being circulated in an effort to counter what he claimed was a taboo in mosques about talking about sex.

The sermon is the first phase of a "hard-hitting" campaign following a number of high-profile child grooming cases involving Asian men in Bradford, Oxford, Rochdale and Telford, said TAG spokesman Ansar Ali.

"We have been horrified by the details that have emerged from recent court cases and, as Muslims, we feel a natural responsibility to condemn and tackle this crime," said Mr Ali.

"Potentially on a Friday you've got hundreds of thousands of people walking into a mosque and you have their undivided attention, so what better medium to try and send a powerful message and raise awareness."

While sexual grooming and child abuse affected all sections of society and was perpetrated by people of all ethnic groups, the Koran exhorted Muslims to "act against evil and injustice and create just societies", he added.

"We are united in our stand against sexual grooming and, as Muslims, we are leading the effort to rid society of this crime."

'Beyond the mosque'

On Thursday, seven men who abused girls as part of a sadistic sex grooming ring based in Oxford were jailed for life at the Old Bailey.

Two of the men were of east African origin and five of Pakistani origin.

Former Labour MP for Keighley Ann Cryer said she was "delighted" by the move, which she said showed the issue was being taken more seriously than in the past.

Ms Cryer said she was approached by mothers worried about grooming in 2002, and was frustrated when police, social services and mosque elders took no action.

"I just hope this message gets beyond the mosque to the non-attenders, because by and large the people who behave like this don't go to the mosque," she said.

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Queen's income to rise by 5% in 2014

26 June 2013 Last updated at 19:17 ET

The Queen will receive a 5% rise in her income after the Crown Estate, from which she is paid, reported an increase in its profits.

The Sovereign Grant, which funds the Queen's spending as Head of State, will rise in 2014 from £36.1m to £37.89m.

The grant is calculated as a percentage of profits from the Crown Estate, which includes properties such as Windsor Park and covers most UK coastline.

It announced on Thursday its profits had risen 5% to £252.6m.

Aside from the Queen's income, the profit goes to the Treasury to help with the nation's finances.

The value of Crown Estate's property portfolio is now £8.1bn, exceeding £8bn for the first time.

Continue reading the main story

We are well placed as a business with a clear vision and investment strategy, great partners and a strong balance sheet"

End Quote Alison Nimmo The Crown Estate

Not private

Chairman Sir Stuart Hampson said the record performance would "again make a strong contribution to the nation's finances."

While Crown Estate runs the properties owned by the Crown, it does not own the private property of the Queen.

An analogy often used is that the Crown Estate is the property version of the Crown Jewels - held by the Queen as sovereign, but not for her personal use.

Alison Nimmo, chief executive of the Crown Estate, said: "[Thursday's] results are a ringing endorsement of the quality of our portfolio, our active asset management and our highly skilled team.

"Despite challenging market conditions, we are well placed as a business with a clear vision and investment strategy, great partners and a strong balance sheet."

The Crown Estate's urban portfolio, which includes large parts of London's West End, brought in a total return of 10.6% on assets that are now worth £5.9bn.

Outside of London, the Crown Estate owns 15 retail parks in various cities, including Liverpool, Swansea, Slough and Nottingham.

It also owns shopping centres in Worcester, Oxford and Exeter as well as offices in Birmingham, Manchester and Cambridge.

Its properties outside London are now worth £1.6bn.

The value of the Crown Estate's energy and infrastructure portfolio rose by 8.2% in 2012/13, reaching £564 million, and delivered a total return of 10.6%.

Alternative energy

Because it owns and manages the seabed around the UK out to the 12-mile limit, the Crown Estate is heavily involved in offshore wind farms, where it saw an extra 1GW of power come on stream, with around 300 new turbines erected offshore.

The Crown Estate also made £13.1m from cables and pipelines that cross its land.

As part of its overall property portfolio, it also owns the foreshore of almost half of the UK's coastline, although much of it is leased out to third parties.

It holds around 144,000 hectares (356,000 acres) of the country's agricultural land and forests, as well as residential and commercial property outside urban areas.

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Payday loans in competition inquiry

27 June 2013 Last updated at 02:38 ET

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred the payday lending industry to the Competition Commission because of concerns about "deep-rooted problems with the way competition works".

The OFT said it found that customers found it difficult to identify or compare the full cost of payday loans.

The OFT added that there were barriers to switching between lenders when loans were "rolled over".

It was also concerned that competition was based on speed rather than cost.

"The competitive pressure to approve loans quickly may give firms an incentive to skimp on the affordability assessment which is designed to prevent irresponsible lending and protect consumers," the OFT said in a statement.

The OFT also said that some of the business models of companies operating in the payday loans industry were causing concern, because they were "predicated on making loans which are unaffordable, leading to borrowers paying far more than expected through rollovers, additional interest and other charges".

It said that lenders appeared to make 50% of their revenues from such practices.

Debt spiral

About two million people in the UK use payday loans. These products are designed as short-term access to cash, at relatively high cost, until the applicant is next paid.

However, in many cases, individuals have struggled to repay and the compounded interest of loan after loan has left them in a spiral of debt.

This is what happened to Mark Todd, a former NHS consultant from Huddersfield.

Continue reading the main story

It was irresponsible of us to borrow, but it was also irresponsible of them to lend"

End Quote Mark Todd Payday loan customer

He took out a payday loan while waiting to get back into work after being the full-time carer of his father. However, he was unable to find work and took out an additional loan to cover the first one.

"It was irresponsible of us to borrow, but it was also irresponsible of them to lend. They were under no pressure, we were under lots," he said.

He was concerned about the operations of brokers, as much as the loan companies themselves.

"Once they have got their teeth into you, they never let go. You just get email after email, text after text, all saying you are approved for x amount of money today," he said.

"When you have got nothing at all and you are struggling to put a meal on the table, then someone sends you a text saying we have got £300 for you ready and waiting right now and it will be in your account in 15 minutes, it is too difficult to say no sometimes."

The OFT will decide whether individuals such as Mr Todd should have had more choice over which payday loan to choose, based on the costs involved.

The OFT has found that providers target people by saying that they can provide the loan quicker than other lenders.

Lenders should only be offering loans to people with an income that means they can repay, which should have ruled out Mr Todd when he was out of work.

Lenders, consumer groups and regulators have been summoned to a summit about payday lending at the Department for Business next week.

The meeting aims to come up with solutions to the "widespread irresponsible lending" highlighted by the OFT's report into the payday industry.

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'Far more' UK shale gas resources

27 June 2013 Last updated at 03:06 ET

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Critics have concerns about the environmental impact of fracking

UK shale gas resources may be far greater than previously thought, a report for the government says.

The British Geological Survey was asked to estimate how much gas is trapped in rocks beneath Lancashire and Yorkshire.

It said there could be 1,300 trillion cubic feet at one site alone, but it is unclear how much could be extracted.

Ministers are set to announce financial benefits for communities where fracking - the controversial extraction technique - takes place.

BBC industry correspondent John Moylan says the government is also likely to announce plans for tax incentives to encourage investment in shale gas, and a streamlining of the process to award drilling permits.

He describes the BGS survey as potentially a "landmark" moment.

The exploitation of shale gas and oil revolutionised the energy industry in the US, although there are questions over whether the same thing can be repeated in the UK.

Analysts say the shale geology of the UK is complex and the costs of drilling are likely to be much higher than in North America.

'Exploit gas'

Critics also argue that the process of fracking can cause earth tremors and pollute water supplies, and that shale gas wells could blight the countryside and affect house prices.

Continue reading the main story

The truly massive shale gas resource of the north of England may bring tax revenues and possibly - not definitely - lead to lower bills, but it won't help the environment.

This week the government's climate change advisers warned that the UK was failing to keep pace with legally binding cuts in the CO2 emissions that are disrupting the climate.

The Environment Agency warns that if we want to keep burning gas we will have to rely on unproven technology to capture the carbon emissions in order to meet climate change targets.

It also warns that gas escaping from fractured wells may increase climatic disruption.

Meanwhile the International Energy Agency warns that the world can only burn a third of its existing fossil fuel reserves without a serious risk of de-stabilising the climate.

Shale gas plans will meet local environmental opposition too.

They want investment in green energy.

The report for the government comes as energy regulator Ofgem is expected to warn that the risks of power blackouts has increased because excess capacity in the power industry has fallen in the UK.

In his Spending Review on Wednesday, Chancellor George Osborne said the government would "make the tax and planning changes which will put Britain at the forefront of exploiting shale gas".

The BBC understands that communities that host fracking sites, which involve pumping water, chemicals and sand at high pressure into rock to release shale gas, will receive 1% of any revenues generated by the well over its lifetime.

The package is expected to be set out by the Department of Energy and Climate Change later.

Our correspondent says gas flow rates from "fracked" wells tend to deteriorate significantly over their lifetime, so it is likely that much of the cash communities would receive would be in the early years of the well's operation.

The communities would decide how any cash was spent.

Price worries

Meanwhile, in an updated assessment of the UK's electricity market, Ofgem is set to issue another warning about possible power blackouts in 2015.

The watchdog has twice warned in recent months that the amount of spare power is shrinking, partly due to some gas generators being taken out of service.

Centrica has already withdrawn two of its gas plants from operation. In April, SSE confirmed that it too would mothball gas plants and put off investments in new ones.

Adam Scorer, of the lobby group Consumer Futures, said: "Projections of ever-tighter capacity margins understandably raise fears of higher electricity prices.

"Government and regulator need to agree on the most realistic capacity scenarios, the least-cost ways of reducing demand and, where necessary, of incentivising new generation capacity."

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Energy and roads get share of £100bn

27 June 2013 Last updated at 03:22 ET

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Osborne: "We've got a long-term plan now as a country to up our national game"

George Osborne has said the UK needs to spend more on its energy and transport infrastructure if it is to create jobs and compete in the global economy.

The government will reveal on Thursday how £100bn will be spent from 2015-2020 on projects including nuclear and new sources of energy, including shale gas.

The chancellor said shale gas could be a "real boon" for the UK economy.

But it is unclear how soon projects will start construction and Labour says investment is needed sooner.

The details of the infrastructure boost will be announced by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander in the Commons after 10:30 BST and follows Wednesday's Spending Review, in which £11.5bn of cuts to Whitehall departments were announced.

Electricity price

The focus of the infrastructure spending is expected to be on energy.

The nuclear sector has long complained of a lack of government backing for new power stations - in particular agreeing a price for the electricity they will produce - so the government will try to show that commitment by promising money for the industry.

There will also be tax incentives for shale gas projects, with a report being published on Wednesday showing that the UK's reserves are much greater than previously thought.

The transport plans are expected to focus more on roads than railways.

One scheme thought to have been under consideration is for improvements on the A14, which runs from Catthorpe, in Leicestershire, to Felixstowe, in Suffolk.

Continue reading the main story

PDF download Spending Round 2013_{[1.9 MB]}

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Mr Alexander's announcement is also expected to include plans to build schools and for investment in scientific research.

The first £50bn will be committed to infrastructure projects starting in 2015-16 and the rest for 2016-20.

Treasury sources said "a lot of building will start this side of the [2015] election".

Ms Osborne told BBC Breakfast that "you cannot just build a road in a week" but new homes, schools and roads were already being built and the coalition had a "long-term plan" rather than the "stop-start" approach of previous governments.

"We have got a long-term plan as a country to up our national game and make sure Britain is competing with the likes of China and India," he said. "We are doing all the things a country needs to do if it serious in winning the global race."

The chancellor said the government had made a "conscious" choice to limit public sector pay and welfare in the Spending Review so that it could prioritise long-term capital investment.

On energy, he said shale gas was "environmentally safe" and could provide "cheap energy" for many years to come - but that projects - criticised by environmental campaigners - would need to get the appropriate planning approvals.

Real-terms fall

But shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the "problem" was that "none of it starts for four years".

"They should do an immediate boost for housing and transport this year and next," he told ITV's Daybreak.

"George Osborne talks about capital spending but he's not actually acting.

"I don't think the public buy into this at all - I think people see their living standards falling, tax cuts for millionaires, the economy flatlining, unemployment high. The plan has completely failed."

The £50bn for 2015-16 represents a real-terms fall of 1.7% from the infrastructure budget for 2014-15.

But the coalition says the figure is still higher than the one Labour was planning when it was ousted from power in 2010.

The infrastructure announcements come the day after the Spending Review when a lack of consistent economic growth led ministers to make further cuts of £11.5bn in spending plans for the year from April 2015.

In the review, the chancellor said the economy was "out of intensive care" and announced several measures aimed at saving money, including:

• Millions of public sector workers learning they face losing automatic annual pay increases
• British pensioners living in six warmer EU countries will no longer get a winter fuel allowance
• A cap on total welfare spending and axing winter fuel payments for expatriate pensioners in hot countries
• Most unemployed having to visit a JobCentre every week instead of fortnightly
• Total annual spending on welfare, including housing benefit, disability benefit, tax credits and pensioner benefits - but excluding the state pension - will be capped for the first time, from April 2015
• Local government will take the biggest hit, with cuts at the Department for Communities and Local Government of 10%
• The Home Office must save 6% from its budget, but the police budget will be cut by a lower 4.9% and counter-terror policing will be spared
• The culture department escapes the worst of the cuts with expected savings of 7%
• Science and research funding will remain flat
• The NHS, schools in England and foreign aid will continue to be protected from budget cuts
• The security services were the biggest winners, with a 3.4% boost to funding and Mr Osborne praising their "heroic" efforts to "protect us and our way of life"

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Doreen Lawrence meets Theresa May

27 June 2013 Last updated at 04:25 ET

The mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence has met the home secretary to discuss claims an undercover police officer was asked to smear her family.

Theresa May has said two existing inquiries will look into the claims.

But Doreen Lawrence, accompanied by her lawyers, is expected to call for a separate full public inquiry.

Ex-police officer Peter Francis has said that, after Stephen's killing, he posed as an anti-racism campaigner in a hunt for "disinformation".

Stephen, who was black, was 18 when he was stabbed to death by a gang of white youths in an unprovoked attack as he waited at a bus stop in south-east London in April 1993.

A number of suspects were identified but it took more than 18 years to bring his killers to justice. An inquiry accused the police of institutional racism and found failings in how they had investigated the crime.

Mr Francis has told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that, working as part of the Metropolitan Police's Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), he was pressured to find "any intelligence that could have smeared the campaign".

That included whether any of the family were political activists, involved in demonstrations or drug dealers, he said.

Mrs Lawrence's lawyer, Michael Mansfield QC, said his client would be "wanting something done in public".

"The nearest example is Leveson, or an alternative scenario is one like the Hillsborough panel that looks at all the material," he added.

"One of these two has got to happen."

Stephen's father, Neville, has previously said "nothing short of a judge-led public inquiry will suffice".

Mrs May announced on Monday that the claims would be investigated by two existing inquiries, those of:

• Barrister Mark Ellison QC, who is examining police corruption during the original investigation into the killing
• Operation Herne, an investigation into undercover policing at the Met, led by the chief constable of Derbyshire Police, Mick Creedon, and partly overseen by the police watchdog

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has said it is looking into claims its Special Branch sent a request in August 1998 to all divisions asking for information about "groups or individuals" expected to attend the Macpherson Inquiry into the handling of Stephen's murder.

National Black Police Association president Charles Crichlow told the Daily Mirror the "outrageous" document "sent a chill through me" when he saw it at the time.

GMP Deputy Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said officers were trying to find the memo, but said it was likely to be a "routine" document making reference to the policing of the inquiry, which was held in Manchester.

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US-UK intelligence-sharing 'vital'

26 June 2013 Last updated at 00:14 ET

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William Hague: "Intelligence work takes place within a strong legal framework"

Britain and the US should have "nothing but pride" in their "indispensable intelligence-sharing relationship", the UK foreign secretary has said.

William Hague, speaking in Los Angeles, acknowledged recent controversy over intelligence gathering by the UK's GCHQ and the US's National Security Agency.

But he said the nations operated "under the rule of law" and used information only to protect citizens' freedoms.

Mr Hague also praised the transatlantic "special relationship" as "solid".

In recent weeks there has been concern over the monitoring activities of the UK's eavesdropping centre, GCHQ.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

In some countries secret intelligence is used to control their people - in ours, it only exists to protect their freedoms"

End Quote William Hague Foreign Secretary

It accessed information about UK citizens from the US National Security Agency's monitoring programme, Prism, documents leaked by American whistleblower Edward Snowden suggest.

He remains wanted for questioning by US authorities, but is currently in the transit area at Moscow airport.

GCHQ has insisted it is "scrupulous" in complying with the law.

"We should have nothing but pride in the unique and indispensable intelligence-sharing relationship between Britain and the United States," Mr Hague said in his speech at the Ronald Reagan Library.

"In recent weeks this has been a subject of some discussion.

"Let us be clear about it - in both our countries intelligence work takes place within a strong legal framework.

"We operate under the rule of law and are accountable for it. In some countries secret intelligence is used to control their people - in ours, it only exists to protect their freedoms."

'Bastion of freedom'

Mr Hague also sought to portray the UK coalition government's policies as an ideological continuation of those espoused by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

He said: "Not all countries are willing to exert themselves to defend the freedoms they enjoy, but in the United Kingdom and United States of America we are.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We have the soft power and cultural appeal to attract and influence others and win over global opinion"

End Quote William Hague

"There is no greater bastion of freedom than the transatlantic alliance, and within it the special relationship, always solid but never slavish."

Mr Hague added: "Some say it is not possible to build up our countries' ties in other parts of the world without weakening those between us. But I say these things go together.

"The stronger our relationships are elsewhere in the world, the more we can do to support each other and our allies."

On broader policy, Mr Hague said: "We do not need to accept sleepwalking into decline any more than Reagan and Thatcher did before us.

"We have centuries of experience in building up democratic institutions - from our courts to our free media - that other countries wish to draw on and adapt from Burma to North Africa.

"We have the soft power and cultural appeal to attract and influence others and win over global opinion."

Mr Hague went on: "We have not yet exhausted all the means of building up and extending our influence. It is not so much the relative size of our power that matters in the 21st Century, but the nature of it, and how agile and effective we can be in exerting it."

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Direct Line set to cut 2,000 UK jobs

26 June 2013 Last updated at 03:19 ET

Direct Line Insurance has said that it is planning to cut 2,000 UK jobs as it steps up plans to reduce costs.

The firm announced in August 2012 plans to reduce gross annual costs by £100m a year, but now plans to save more than double this target.

The latest cuts affect about 14% of its 14,400 staff. Direct Line has already cut 1,200 jobs since August.

Direct Line said that it had begun consultations with staff and unions over the job losses.

It said the cuts would affect staff across head office and support functions, but it would try to redeploy those affected where possible.

Direct Line Insurance Group - which also owns the Churchill and Green Flag brands - was spun off from RBS last year as a condition for the bank's £45bn government bailout after the 2008 financial crisis.

It operates in 16 locations across the UK including London, Croydon, Bromley, Leeds, Glasgow and Manchester.

Its Teesside call centre is scheduled to close next week as part of of the firm's original cost-cutting plans.

Chief executive Paul Geddes said that the cost savings were "an important part of our aim to regain competitive edge".

"We have not made these proposed changes lightly and understand the impact they will have on our people," he added.

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UK legal high market is EU's largest

26 June 2013 Last updated at 04:07 ET By Bethany Bell BBC News

The UK has the largest market for so-called "legal highs" in the European Union, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

A total of 670,000 Britons aged 15-24 have experimented with the substances at least once, it says in its 2013 World Drug Report.

It says there has been an alarming increase worldwide in new psychoactive substances, known as NPS.

Mephedrone use, though, has declined in England and Wales since it was banned.

Mephedrone, also known as meow meow or M-CAT, is the most widely used of the new psychoactive substances in the UK. It was banned in 2010.

Drawing on European Commission data from 2011 and United Nations population statistics, the World Drug Report says the UK is Europe's largest market "for legal substances that imitate the effects of illicit drugs".

'Young people misled'

It said the 670,000 Britons aged between 15 and 24 who had experimented with such substances at least once was 23% of the EU total in 2011.

Close to 5% of people aged 15-24 in the EU have used NPS.

The world's biggest market for NPS is the United States, where use of these substances among youth "appears to be more than twice as widespread as in the European Union".

The UNODC said this is an alarming problem, as the substances have not been tested for safety and pose "unforeseen public health challenges".

"Sold openly, including via the internet, NPS…. can be far more dangerous than traditional drugs. Street names, such as spice, meow-meow and bath salts mislead young people into believing that they are indulging in low-risk fun," the report said.

It added that while the use of traditional drugs such as heroin or cocaine is globally stable, new psychoactive substances "are proliferating at an unprecedented rate".

And new substances are being identified all the time.

At the end of 2009, 166 NPS had been identified worldwide. By mid-2012 that had risen to 251.

"For the first time, the number of NPS exceeded the total number of substances under international control (234), " the report said.

The UNODC said authorities are struggling to keep up.

"Given the almost infinite scope to alter the chemical structure of NPS, new formulations are outpacing efforts to impose international control. While law enforcement lags behind, criminals have been quick to tap into this lucrative market."

Many of these new psychoactive substances appear to originate in Asia and are spread via the internet.

The report said the number of online shops offering to supply customers in countries in the EU with NPS increased from 170 in January 2010 to 693 in January 2012.

However the UNODC suggested in Europe, at least, the internet may be used more for the import and wholesale business.

It pointed to an EU survey which says most young consumers in Europe do not tend to buy NPS online, but get their supplies from friends or at parties and nightclubs.

Justice Tettey, from the UNODC, said that while the UK had "a large market in NPS", it had also successfully introduced legislation to bring some of the substances under control.

In 2010-2011, mephedrone was the second most widely misused substance in England and Wales, on a par with cocaine powder, according to the report.

But following an import ban and classification as a Class B substance, mephedrone use has declined, after years of increase.

"We have seen a decrease in use (in the UK) since the legislation got put in place," Mr Tettey said.

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Osborne to outline £11.5bn of cuts

26 June 2013 Last updated at 04:11 ET

George Osborne is preparing to wield the axe in a fresh round of spending cuts that will set the tone for the next general election.

The chancellor is to unveil £11.5bn of cuts for a single financial year - 2015/16 - to help reduce the deficit.

Health and schools in England and foreign aid will continue to be protected, meaning all other department will have to take a bigger hit.

Labour has said it will stick to the plans if it wins the next election.

Mr Osborne will outline the Spending Review in the House of Commons from 12:30 BST.

Intelligence winners

BBC political editor Nick Robinson says there will be no fresh welfare cuts, but there will be more detail of a long-term plan to cap much of benefits spending and a move to limit the payment of winter fuel allowance to pensioners who live abroad.

Continue reading the main story

Guide to the Spending Review

• Government departments set out spending for set period of time
• George Osborne needs to find £11.5bn in savings
• The 2015-16 timetable is designed to last a little while beyond the next general election
• Mr Osborne will set out details to MPs at 12:30 BST
• You can follow it live on the BBC website and on an extended Daily Politics on BBC2. There are also special programmes on BBC Radio 4 and 5 live

Spending on the NHS, schools and overseas aid will continue to be protected and the intelligence services will be the biggest winners of a spending increase, he adds.

The chancellor will also announce long-term plans to invest more in Britain's infrastructure in building roads, railways and housing.

The next general election is scheduled for May 2015 and the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has to set out its budgetary plans for the final few weeks of its time in office, irrespective of the outcome of the poll.

Labour has said that it would match the coalition's current spending totals for the full one-year period.

On Sunday, Mr Osborne announced that the Ministry of Defence would have to shed civilian staff, but the UK's military capacity would not be affected.

'Out of intensive care'

The last department to reach a settlement on its budget was Vince Cable's Department for Business and Skills.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

This year the government is planning to spend about £720bn - just over £32,500 per UK household.

Because there is more money going out of the Treasury than coming in, from tax, there is a deficit. The Treasury is about £5,000 short per household.

About a third of government spending goes on welfare and pensions - about £10,000 per household.

That will not be touched in today's Spending Review.

The second biggest cost is health, about £6,200 per household, then education, which costs each household almost £4,500 a year.

Debt interest payments cost us all an average of £2,300 a year.

The NHS and schools in England are both protected from budget cuts - meaning other departments will have to take a bigger hit in the Spending Review.

So all eyes will be on departments like defence, local government and the home office to see how much pain they will suffer.

The agreements followed weeks of arguments with ministers.

The chancellor had initially hoped to eliminate the structural deficit - the portion of borrowing that is not affected by changes in the economic cycle - entirely by 2014-15.

But the timeframe for this has slipped to 2017-18 and Mr Osborne will have to borrow £275bn more than he expected in this parliament than at the time of his first Budget in 2010.

The government says it has cut overall borrowing by a quarter since coming to power and by a third as a share of GDP.

Revised official figures released on Friday showed that borrowing rose slightly to £118.8bn in 2012-13 from £118.5bn the year before.

Mr Osborne has indicated the coalition is determined to stick to its austerity plan, saying: "I'm confident we are coming out of intensive care and we can turn this country around. There's certainly a chance of a relapse if we abandon our plan."

But shadow financial secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said: "This Spending Review is happening because David Cameron and George Osborne's economic plan has failed.

"Three years of falling living standards and a flat-lining economy has led to billions more borrowing to pay for economic failure. Far from balancing the books by 2015, as the government promised, the chancellor is being forced to make even more cuts."

Ministers will also set out plans to invest billions of pounds in transport, science and other capital projects on Thursday.

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Street evacuation 'false alarm'

26 June 2013 Last updated at 04:25 ET

Police have said the evacuation of 50 people from a Derbyshire town because of fears of a bomb is "expected to be a false alarm".

An Army bomb disposal team was called to Broadleys, near Victoria Street, in Clay Cross earlier this morning.

Residents were taken to the Sharley Park Leisure Centre in the early hours of Wednesday.

Roads within 100m (328ft) were closed but Derbyshire Police said they expect to get the all-clear "very soon".

'Absolute pandemonium'

Residents said the inquiries related to a Vauxhall Astra which was parked near Victoria Street.

Darren Murray, operations manager at local business SDL Minorfern, said: "We arrived at 07:00 BST to absolute pandemonium.

"There are police cars, vans and bomb disposal cars everywhere."

He added staff from the company, which distributes car parts, had advised the bomb disposal team how to get into the vehicle.

"The car is parked behind the back of our head office and it's believed to be full of petrol cans," he said. "We lent tools to the army disposal unit and showed them how they would get into the vehicle.

"It's been a big surprise to all our staff - it's been a big shock."

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Ex-Time Team expert Mick Aston dies

24 June 2013 Last updated at 20:17 ET

Mick Aston, a former resident academic on Channel 4's Time Team, has died at the age of 66.

He appeared on the show, which sees experts carry out archaeological digs, from its inception in 1994 until 2011.

Professor Aston lived in Somerset and taught at a number of UK universities.

Time Team's official Twitter account tweeted: "It is with a very heavy heart that we've been informed that our dear colleague Mick Aston has passed away. Our thoughts are with his family."

The exact circumstances of the death of Prof Aston, who was born and raised in Oldbury, in the West Midlands, and was known on the show for his colourful jumpers and unruly white hair, are not yet known.

'Unique man'

Close friend and former Time Team colleague Phil Harding said he had received the news from Prof Aston's son, James Aston.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

He had incredible knowledge and an effortless way of making archaeology accessible to people"

End Quote Phil Harding Time Team archaeologist

Mr Harding, 62, said that although Prof Aston had suffered health problems, his death had come as a shock.

"It just seems so incredible, like a bad dream, but unfortunately this is no dream," he said.

The archaeologist said Prof Aston was a "unique man" who "everybody loved".

"He just had a way with people. I cannot believe there was anybody who disliked him, he just had such a relaxed way," he said

"He had incredible knowledge and an effortless way of making archaeology accessible to people."

Francis Pryor, who also worked on Time Team, said Prof Aston had been a "remarkable archaeologist who could really dig".

Professor Pryor said: "I will remember him fondly - [he] was a warm, loving, nice man.

"He did very good work on original British towns... and he was an authority on monastic church archaeology and early medieval archaeology."

'Passionate believer'

Prof Aston had appeared as the senior archaeologist in 19 series of the programme, in which specialists carry out an archaeological dig in the space of three days.

"In fact he was partly responsible for its creation after telling Tim Taylor, series producer, that it would be possible to evaluate a site in only three days," a biography on the Time Team website says.

It says he had worked in archaeology for more than 40 years, adding: "Mick had a childhood love of archaeology, despite his school's best attempts to dissuade him."

It adds that Prof Aston was a "passionate believer in communicating archaeology to the public".

Prof Aston studied geography with a subsidiary in archaeology at Birmingham University.

He joined the University of Bristol in 1979, organising and promoting lifelong learning and continuing education in archaeology.

'Dumbed down'

From 1996 to 2004, he was professor of landscape archaeology at the university, later becoming an emeritus professor in the same subject.

The university says on its website that alongside Time Team, Prof Aston worked on a major research project that investigated the origins of the English village at Shapwick, Somerset, and researched monastic and landscape archaeology throughout Europe.

He was also an honorary visiting professor at Exeter, Durham and Worcester universities, and had published a number of books relating to archaeology.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

He loved Time Team and it would be very fitting that they could do one more dig at a location Mick would have loved"

End Quote Lee Brady Time Team fan

In July 2012, he received a lifetime achievement award at the British Archaeological Awards, a showcase for the best in UK archaeology.

Mark Horton, professor in archaeology at the university, said at the time that Prof Aston had made "the past accessible to all".

In February 2012, Prof Aston, writing in the Western Daily Press, explained his decision to quit Time Team a year earlier, saying it was because Channel 4 had altered its format and the show had been "dumbed down".

"There is a lot less archaeological content and a lot more pratting about. I was the archaeological consultant but they decided to get rid of half the archaeological team, without consulting me," he wrote.

Time Team fan Lee Brady, who set up a tribute group on social-networking site Facebook, said: "The Time Team crew and Channel 4 should commission a 'one-off' special dig in memory of Mick.

"He loved Time Team and it would be very fitting that they could do one more dig at a location Mick would have loved."

In October last year Channel 4 announced that the 20th series of Time Team would be the show's last.

The final series aired earlier this year but a number of special episodes are planned for next year.

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Play 'pushed aside' in nurseries

24 June 2013 Last updated at 22:53 ET By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter

The role of play is being sidelined in England's nurseries because of government shifts towards more formal learning, experts say.

Nursery teachers and other child carers will no longer need training in how children learn through play under two key qualifications being drawn up.

Play is central to learning for under-fives and should feature heavily in the criteria, nursery groups say.

There is no contradiction between teaching and play, the government says.

The Department for Education has been consulting on two new flagship qualifications, the Early Years Educator (EYE) and the Early Years Teacher (EYT), designed to increase the skills of those working with babies and young children. They will be required by nurseries in England from September 2014.

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I have this fear that we are moving to a position where we are not wanting our children to be children any more"

End Quote Neil Leitch Pre-School Learning Alliance

The A-Level-standard EYE qualification says the worker should "deliver children's early education and development from birth to the age of five" and "have an understanding of how children learn and develop".

It also requires them to "deliver effective teaching and learning" enabling children to progress and be ready for school.

While the EYT requires the teacher to have a clear understanding of synthetic phonics in the teaching of reading and appropriate strategies in the teaching of early mathematics, there is no mention of theories underpinning structured play.

The Department for Education said: "There is no contradiction between teaching children and play. Good nurseries do both - education and enjoyment go hand-in-hand."

But the three major bodies representing nurseries, pre-schools and childminders say not mentioning play is a major omission.

Pre-School Learning Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch said: "Learning through play is the cornerstone of good practice in early years because play is how young children learn and make sense of the world.

"The ability of practitioners to support children's play in this way is an essential skill in promoting children's development and should be recognised in these qualifications. We are very disappointed that it is not."

He said the role of the childcare practitioner was to create the right environment for young children to explore and learn in a way which extends their interests at their own pace.

"This is why we have concerns about the top-down pressure from government that could lead to the 'schoolification' of early years as a result of developmentally inappropriate practice such as having young children sit in rows and hold pencils."

'Explore and develop'

He added: "I have this fear that we are moving to a position where we are not wanting our children to be children any more."

There was a growing culture of "rushing children" to a point where they could produce a return for the economy, instead of following academic evidence that learning through structured play and self-development was the best way to prepare children for a successful education, he said.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said "play should be there in every line" of the criteria.

"Children and babies are learning all the time and they are learning through play - even when they go on to schools. You just can't separate it," she said.

While a spokesman for Pacey, the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years, said: "These qualifications contain no requirement to have an understanding of play theory or practice."

This was of particular concern as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the official guidelines on how children under five are cared for and educated, is meant to be based on play, it said.

"Early Years Teachers (EYT) must be required to know that children learn through well-structured play, when they have opportunities to explore and develop their own ideas.

"The expectation that teachers will be able to provide adequately for play, without being given any formal knowledge or understanding during their qualifying years, will only set them up to fail children in their early years, when learning through play is a crucial part of their lives."

And Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "Play is a fundamental and appropriate part of the early years phase of education and it is therefore disappointing, not to say incomprehensible, that the government has excluded it from their draft framework.

"Structured play is valuable to children in so many ways. Principally, it allows them to develop confidence and enjoy learning new skills. The government should stop sending a message that play does not contribute to child development."

The National College for Teaching and Leadership, which has drawn up the criteria, said educators and teachers would be expected to meet the requirements of the EYFS.

"The EYFS has a requirement for planned, purposeful play and so is already included within the score of the standards and criteria."

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Killer Ian Brady to address tribunal

25 June 2013 Last updated at 00:08 ET

Moors Murderer Ian Brady is expected to speak publicly later, as a tribunal over his mental health draws to an end.

It would be the first time he has spoken publicly for nearly 50 years.

The 75-year-old argues he is no longer mentally ill and should be moved from a high-security hospital to prison.

Brady, along with his accomplice Myra Hindley, tortured and murdered five children aged from 10 to 17, burying some of their victims' bodies on Saddleworth Moor in the Peak District.

The last time Brady was heard in public was in 1966 at Chester Assizes, where he denied the murders.

He was eventually found guilty of three and jailed for life. He and Hindley later confessed to the other two. Hindley died in prison in 2002, aged 60.

Brady has been held in Ashworth Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Maghull, Merseyside, since 1985.

'Makes toast'

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Brady's legal team say he has a severe personality disorder but is not mentally ill and could be treated in prison rather than hospital.

But staff at Ashworth say he remains a paranoid schizophrenic who should stay at the hospital.

His reasons for wanting to return to prison remain unclear, although it is thought he might try to starve himself to death in prison.

He has been on hunger strike since 1999 but doctors at Ashworth can force-feed Brady through a tube in his nose under mental health law.

On Monday, a nurse told the tribunal that, despite his hunger strike, Brady often took the food made available to him, and he "makes himself toast every morning".

The serial killer looks likely to be the final witness at the tribunal, which is sitting at Ashworth Hospital and will be relayed to the press and public on TV screens at Manchester Civil Justice Centre.

The judgement of the panel will be released at a later date yet to be fixed.

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Women offered NHS breast cancer drug

25 June 2013 Last updated at 03:03 ET By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online

Thousands of women across Britain with a family history of breast cancer are to be offered drugs on the NHS to help prevent the disease.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says tamoxifen or raloxifene taken daily for five years can cut breast cancer risk by 40%.

Its guidance for England and Wales means 500,000 women now have a choice other than mastectomy.

The Scottish government says it will offer tamoxifen to women at risk.

However, experts say women still need to carefully weigh up their options.

One in every five breast cancers has a family link.

Having close relatives - a mother, sister or aunt - with breast cancer increases a woman's chance of getting the disease, as does inheriting certain genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie revealed last month that she had undergone a preventative double mastectomy to cut her own chance of developing breast cancer because she carries one of these risky genes.

Risk reduction

The new guidelines from NICE are the first in Europe to recommend that healthy women are given drugs to prevent breast cancer. It is likely that Northern Ireland will soon follow suit.

The Scottish government says women with two or more family members who have had breast cancer will be offered the treatment for five years.

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• Women in general have a 1-in-8 chance of developing breast cancer
• But some are at higher risk than this because of their family history
• Having a mother or sister diagnosed with breast cancer doubles your risk of breast cancer, for example
• If several members of your family have had particular types of cancer, or if a relative was diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age, your risk of developing breast cancer may be increased further
• Moderate risk means you have at least a 1-in-6 risk of getting breast cancer by the end of your life, while high risk means you have a 3-in-10 risk
• Inherited genes - like BRCA1 and BRAC2 - increase your lifetime risk by up to 90%
• Most breast cancers have no family link

It was announced last month that genetic testing was also to be offered in Scotland to those with a 10% risk of a faulty gene.

NICE says women in England and Wales who are aged over 35 and at "moderate" or "high" risk of breast cancer as a result of their family history or genes should be considered for preventative drug therapy.

By this they mean women with at least a one in six chance of developing the disease.

The Welsh government said it welcomed the updated guidance and expected local health boards to make the drugs "available to patients who meet the clinical criteria".

Taking a tamoxifen or raloxifene tablet every day for five years could nearly halve their breast cancer risk and this protective effect should last for at least a decade, studies suggest.

While this sounds like a good and simple choice, experts say women need to carefully weigh up their options.

Surgery to remove both breasts would bring a woman's lifetime risk down to virtually zero.

And tamoxifen can be unpleasant to take, causing side-effects such as hot flushes and blood clots.

Up to half of breast cancer patients prescribed the drug as a treatment for their tumour give up taking it, research suggests.

'Leap forward'

Wendy Watson chose to have a preventative double mastectomy at the age of 37 because she knew of nine relatives who had breast cancer.

Ms Watson, who runs a helpline for those at high risk of breast cancer, told BBC Breakfast she received many calls from people who "don't quite fit the criteria and yet they know they've got a huge family history but they can't get a genetic test".

"So this lowering of the threshold is one of the most exciting bits to me."

Dr Andrew Cuthbert, who has previously worked on guidelines for the institute, said tamoxifen was "a very inexpensive drug".

"I believe the cost of an annual treatment is a matter of a few hundred pounds," he told BBC News.

"That's very much cheaper than some of the cancer drugs we hear about - which are tens of thousands of pounds for a course of treatment - and it's taken for five years only but the reduction in risk is very long-lasting."

NICE said the decision about the best treatment should be a joint one between the patient and the medical team.

Dr Caitlin Palframan, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said the guidelines were a game-changer.

"Our strongest tool in the fight against breast cancer is prevention, and these new guidelines are a fantastic leap forward in the way we prevent breast cancer developing in those at highest risk," she said.

Sean Duffy, national clinical director for cancer at NHS England, said: "It is earth-shattering for women who find out they are at high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.

"As a health service, it's our duty to provide the best possible evidence-based advice on the options that are available, focusing on the patient's personal circumstances.

"[The NICE guidance] adds a further dimension to the options available for women who are at risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer."

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with about 50,000 women and 400 men diagnosed with the condition each year.

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Inquiry 'needed into police ethics'

25 June 2013 Last updated at 04:30 ET

A Leveson-style inquiry is needed to investigate the ethics of the police, according to a lawyer who represented the family of Stephen Lawrence.

The home secretary has said claims that police tried to smear the family will be looked at by two existing inquiries.

But Michael Mansfield QC said broader issues of "accountability and transparency" must be examined.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said if the government began a public inquiry he would support it.

Black teenager Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths as he waited at a bus stop in south-east London in April 1993.

A number of suspects were identified soon after the attack but it took more than 18 years to bring his killers to justice. An inquiry accused the police of institutional racism and found failings in how they had investigated the murder.

Undercover officer Peter Francis told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that after Stephen's killing he posed as an anti-racism campaigner in a hunt for "disinformation".

Working as part of the Metropolitan Police's now-disbanded Special Demonstration Squad, he said he had come under pressure to find "any intelligence that could have smeared the campaign" - including whether any of the family were political activists, involved in demonstrations or drug dealers.

'Not good enough'

Mr Mansfield told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's a squad that existed for a very long time. A squad of that size, involving those numbers, involving public expenditure of this kind does not go without authorisation from a very high level.

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We need a laser-focused investigation to come up with answers quickly"

End Quote Brian Paddick Former Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner

"I think that's why the public need to have something like the Leveson Inquiry in relations to the ethics of the police in a so-called democracy.

"It can be achieved provided you have the right judge with the right focus and the right resources. This can be done quickly."

And he added: "Where was Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary throughout all these years? Why weren't questions being asked?"

Home Secretary Theresa May said Mark Ellison QC - who successfully prosecuted Gary Dobson and David Norris for Stephen's murder in 2012 - would look into the smear allegations are part of his ongoing examination of police corruption during the original investigation into the killing.

She said they would also be looked at as part of Operation Herne, which is an investigation into undercover policing at the Met Police, being led by the chief constable of Derbyshire police, Mick Creedon.

'Layers of independence'

But Stephen father, Neville Lawrence, said "nothing short of a judge-led public inquiry will suffice".

Sir Bernard told radio station LBC there were "two or three layers of independence" in the inquiries already set up, but he understood why Mr Lawrence wanted a wider probe.

"I think a public inquiry is possible, I don't think it's for me to call that," he said.

A public inquiry could "take a long time", he said, and any discovery of wrongdoing would still have to be investigated further by the Independent Police Complaints Commission or the police themselves in order to take criminal or disciplinary action.

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But he added: "If the government or Parliament decides they would prefer a public inquiry, of course we would support that."

The commissioner said he had ordered a review of undercover operations after taking charge two years ago and was confident things were "running correctly now".

"I have to make the case for undercover officers. They are very courageous and where they are deployed properly and according to the law they go out and target serious organised crime.

"The only thing we have to be careful about is what relationships undercover officers are forming day to day."

Lord Condon - who was Met commissioner from 1993 to 2000 - has said he was not aware of any order to smear the Lawrence family and any such attempts would be "clearly wrong".

Pressure for a public inquiry has come from other sources too, including former Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick and former Director of Public Prosecutions Lord MacDonald.

Lord MacDonald told the BBC: "Chief Constable Creedon, who is running the police inquiry, said the public need to understand that the best people to investigate officers are police officers. Well, no, they are not."

Meanwhile, the Guardian has published fresh claims that Met officers infiltrated political groups protesting about police corruption in the 1990s.

One operative was said to have penetrated the Colin Roach Centre, an organisation named after a 21-year-old black Briton who died in the foyer of Stoke Newington police station, which campaigned on behalf of those who believed they had been mistreated or wrongly arrested.

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