Olympic heroes head New Year Honours

28 December 2012 Last updated at 20:29 ET

Bradley Wiggins, who won the Tour de France and an Olympic gold, has been knighted in a New Year Honours list dominated by London 2012 medallists.

The cyclist appears on a special list drawn up to recognise 78 Games heroes.

Paralympic cyclist Sarah Storey becomes a dame after taking four golds while the most decorated sailor in Olympic history, Ben Ainslie, is knighted.

Katherine Grainger, Victoria Pendleton, Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and David Weir become CBEs, and Andy Murray is an OBE.

And the men behind cycling and rowing success, performance directors Dave Brailsford and David Tanner, also become sirs.

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Olympics and Paralympics

Knight/Dame:

• Ben Ainslie (sailing)
• Sarah Storey (cycling)
• Bradley Wiggins (cycling)
• Dave Brailsford (cycling)
• David Tanner (rowing)

CBE:

• Jessica Ennis (athletics)
• Mo Farah (athletics)
• Katherine Grainger (rowing)
• Victoria Pendleton (cycling)
• David Weir (athletics)

OBE:

• Jason Kenny (cycling)
• Andy Murray (tennis)
• Ellie Simmonds (swimming)
• Laura Trott (cycling)

MBE:

• Nicola Adams (boxing)
• Alistair Brownlee (triathlon)
• Jonny Peacock (athletics)
• Greg Rutherford (athletics)
• Louis Smith (gymnastics)

Away from the Games, there are OBEs for actor Ewan McGregor and fashion designer Stella McCartney, while illustrator Quentin Blake was knighted on the main list for those not involved in London 2012.

There is also a knighthood for the industrial designer, Kenneth Grange, the man behind the UK's first parking meter, the InterCity 125 train and the Kodak Instamatic camera.

Singer Kate Bush and artist Tracey Emin are made CBEs, an honour also bestowed on former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips, for her services to dance and to charity. Comedy writer Jeremy Lloyd, 82, who co-wrote TV shows including the BBC's 'Allo 'Allo and Are You Being Served is among the OBEs.

There is also a CBE for Cherie Blair, the wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, in recognition of her service to women's issues and to charity in the UK and overseas. The first female foreign secretary Margaret Beckett becomes a dame.

For the first time, the Cabinet Office has published citations giving details of why the highest honours have been made following a complaint from MPs on the Public Administration Select Committee that the process should be more transparent.

But much of the attention will centre on the people rewarded for making the two London Games such a success.

Affectionately known as Wiggo, the first British winner of the Tour said: "I never ever imagined that I would ever become a knight so it's an incredible honour.

"But there's a slight element of disbelief and it will take a while to sink in."

Known for his sideburns and his retro Mod fashion sense, Sir Bradley already had a CBE.

Storey, who is expecting her first child, is honoured for services to para-cycling after her London medal haul took her gold medal total to 11, which equals Tanni Grey-Thompson and Dave Roberts as one of the country's most successful Paralympians.

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Other notable recipients

Companion of Honour:

• Lord Coe (London 2012)
• Professor Peter Higgs (physics, pictured)

Knight/Dame:

• Quentin Blake (illustration)
• Kenneth Grange (design)
• Bernard Hogan-Howe (policing)
• Hector Sants (financial services)
• Margaret Beckett (political service)

CBE:

• Cherie Blair (women's issues)
• Kate Bush (music)
• Tracey Emin (arts)
• Martha Lane Fox (digital economy)
• Arlene Phillips (dance)

OBE:

• Stella McCartney (fashion)
• Ewan McGregor (acting)

MBE:

• Nicola Benedetti (music)
• Mark Ramprakash (cricket)
• Pat Rice (football)

The 35-year-old from Disley in Cheshire said: "Wow, I am speechless but incredibly honoured and extremely proud."

Some of the biggest names of London 2012 received CBEs - the UK's most successful female rower, Katherine Grainger, the poster girl of the Games, Jessica Ennis, and wheelchair athlete David "The Weirwolf" Weir. Weir won four gold medals in the 5,000m, 1500m, 800m and marathon at the 2012 Paralympics.

Joining their ranks with his first honour is athlete Mo Farah, who lifted the nation with his double gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m.

His first came during a pulsating 46 minutes in the Olympic Stadium on Super Saturday, 4 August, when Team GB picked up three gold medals - Farah in the 10,000m, Ennis in the heptathlete and Greg Rutherford in the long jump, an achievement that earned him an MBE.

Andy Murray was made an OBE in a year which saw him win Olympic gold and become the first British man to win a grand slam singles title for 76 years when he triumphed in the US Open.

Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds, 18, now has an OBE to add to the MBE she won in 2009, the youngest person to do so aged 14.

Some of the people who helped to make the games such a success were recognised, including Lord Coe, who becomes a Companion of Honour, a special honour given for service of conspicuous national importance and limited to 65 people at any one time.

It is an exclusive club and now also includes Professor Higgs, who predicted a new particle, the Higgs Boson, in the 1960s, and this year the particle was proved to exist.

But one name missing from the list is film and theatre director Danny Boyle, whose artistic vision was so spectacularly realised in the Olympic opening ceremony but who is believed to have turned one down.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said an unprecedented number of sportspeople had received honours, with 123 awards compared to 44 in the last list. Of these, 78 were related to the Olympics or Paralympics.

He said there were four criteria in deciding which athletes should be awarded including longevity in the sport, general performance and how much they give back to the sporting community.

The sporting honours committee also assesses what stage the individual is in their career in terms of whether they are likely to be competing for a further number of years.

He added that 72% of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity.

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Sir Quentin Blake: "To me it's amazing"

They include Penelope Clough, 53, who becomes an MBE after campaigning for a change in the law related to bail, following the murder of her daughter Jane by her ex-partner.

The man committed the offence after being released on bail but following the work of Ms Clough, prosecutors are now able to challenge judges' bail decisions in the High Court.

Recipients of the British Empire Medal (BEM), reintroduced in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours, include Robert Clinton for his work with the Veterans Aid charity, which looks after homeless ex-service personnel.

The Foreign Office's diplomatic and overseas list honouring those living or working abroad includes recognition for codebreaker Raymond Roberts, who is made an MBE for services to Bletchley Park. Alison Shalaby, who is the chief executive officer of Reunite, becomes a CBE for services to the prevention and resolution of international parental child abduction.

Some 31 head teachers have been recognised, including Joan McVittie, who transformed two schools in deprived areas of London and Sally Coates, who has overseen huge improvements at Burlington Danes Academy in west London. Both become Dames.

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The Honours System

Commonly awarded ranks:

• Knight or Dame
• CBE - Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• OBE - Officer of the Order of the British Empire
• MBE - Member of the Order of the British Empire
• BEM - British Empire Medal

In the world of business, former head of the Financial Services Authority Hector Sants who was in charge of regulation at the start of the credit crisis, has been knighted, while Alan Budd, who was on the first Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee in 1997, becomes a Knight of the Grand Cross.

Prof Simon Wessely, a leading researcher into the mental health of military personnel who heads the department of psychological medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, has been knighted.

The head of MI5, Jonathan Evans was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and Metropolitan Police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe is knighted.

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First-time house purchases 'up 12%'

28 December 2012 Last updated at 20:49 ET

The number of house purchases by first-time buyers rose 12% this year, with about 216,000 people stepping on to the property ladder, the Halifax reports.

Its study says the figure is the highest since 2007, the year before the global economic crisis struck.

The Halifax said the rise was due to more mortgages coming on the market and interest rates being lowered.

The average age of first-time buyers is now 30, up from 29 a year ago, and a 20% deposit is typically required.

A 10% deposit was typical in 2007. The average deposit needed by first-time buyers in the UK in 2012 was £27,984, with the house price averaging £139,921 - up 3% on a year before.

The number of mortgages on the market has increased by about a fifth since August, when the government launched a multibillion-pound scheme to kick-start lending to businesses and households.

It has also recently launched NewBuy, a scheme to help people purchase new-build homes with a fraction of the usual deposit.

But Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said the number of first-time buyers was still low "by recent historical standards".

In 2006, there were 402,800 first-time buyers.

Mr Ellis said: "The number of first-time buyers has risen to a five-year high, boosted by the improvement in affordability resulting from the reductions in both house prices and mortgage rates in recent years.

"Conditions for potential first-time buyers, however, remain very difficult with problems raising the necessary deposit and concerns over the economic climate continuing to prevent many from entering the market."

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Mum 'overwhelmed' as girl returns

29 December 2012 Last updated at 00:55 ET

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Atiya's mother Gemma Wilkinson: "I just want to cuddle Atiya"

A mother reunited with her six-year-old daughter three years after the girl was abducted by her father and taken to Pakistan has said she feels "absolutely overwhelmed" at seeing her again.

Atiya Anjum-Wilkinson disappeared in November 2009 after going to stay with her father, Razwan Ali Anjum.

After being found in Pakistan, Atiya was returned to her mother Gemma Wilkinson in Manchester on Friday.

Ms Wilkinson, 32, said she just wanted to cuddle her daughter.

'Absolutely fine'

Atiya had last been seen when she was taken from her home in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, on her third birthday.

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"Start Quote

Atiya was told that I was mummy and she said 'mummy' and smiled"

End Quote Gemma Wilkinson

She was reunited with her mother at a Manchester hotel after being found in a five-week investigation which followed the intervention of North West MEP Sajjad Karim who formally raised her abduction with the foreign minister of Pakistan in the European Parliament.

Ms Wilkinson said: "I'm just absolutely overwhelmed in seeing Atiya now and giving her a cuddle and a massive kiss.

"I did have a few fears that Atiya would be unsettled with the change and the flight but she's absolutely fine. She's trying to communicate and she's playing with the things we've bought for her, she's had a big smile on her face.

"Atiya was told that I was mummy and she said 'mummy' and smiled.

"It's more than I could ever imagine or hope for.

"I can't explain that in words, to see her little face and know what she's actually like now, it's very emotional.

"I was very worried that she would either be upset or scared but she hasn't been."

Ms Wilkinson said her daughter looked "exactly the same as she did three years ago; she is just taller and a bit older".

She said: "I believe she is happy to be back, she has a big smile, she's playing nicely, she's talking.

"She will find things strange but she's home and she's loved and we'll take it day by day."

But Det Supt Phil Owen, from Greater Manchester Police's Child Protection Unit, warned that reintegrating Atiya into life with her mother would not be a quick process as she had been away for a long time and did not speak any English.

Extended family

Speaking after Atiya arrived on a flight into Manchester Airport on Friday evening, her mother said the events leading up to the reunion had been a "whirlwind".

She said: "We have gone from not knowing where Atiya is to finding out that we do know where Atiya is, to receiving pictures of Atiya and how she looks now, to Atiya coming here and Atiya actually being here."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

I think my belief was never to give in, it's just been a very long time"

End Quote Gemma Wilkinson

Mr Karim said the authorities in Pakistan had been "absolutely crucial" in finding Atiya and making sure she was returned home.

"The authorities located Atiya, they monitored the address where she was and eventually moved in and informed the people she was living with - who are the extended family of the father - that she would have to return to the UK," the MEP said.

"Atiya was found to be in a fit and healthy state and was well at the time. She was certainly being kept well."

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool said Atiya was found in the village of Daska, near Sialkot in eastern Pakistan.

Atiya's mother was informed she had been found on Christmas Day and photographs were sent to her of Atiya by the Pakistani authorities.

Ms Wilkinson, who split with Anjum in 2008, had made several appeals for information to find her daughter.

In her latest appeal last month, she described not knowing if Atiya was even alive as an "absolute nightmare".

Father in jail

Atiya's father Razwan Ali Anjum is serving a prison sentence for refusing to reveal his daughter's whereabouts.

Ms Wilkinson took legal action against her former partner in an attempt to force him to reveal where Atiya was.

In 2009, Anjum had said he was taking Atiya to Southport, but instead he took her to Lahore, Pakistan, and told Ms Wilkinson she would never see her again.

In April, he was handed a 12-month jail term by a High Court judge who found him in contempt of a High Court order instructing him to disclose Atiya's whereabouts.

The sentence was the fourth consecutive jail term to be imposed on Anjum. Judges have previously imposed jail terms of two years, 12 months and 12 months in the hope that he would provide the information which would allow Atiya to be reunited with her mother.

Ms Wilkinson said: "It's just been an absolute nightmare. I think my belief was never to give in, it's just been a very long time."

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Former England captain Greig dies

Former England captain Tony Greig has died aged 66 after suffering a heart attack in Sydney.

The South Africa-born 66-year-old was diagnosed with lung cancer two months ago.

The all-rounder played 58 Tests for England from 1972-77, including 14 as skipper, before giving up the captaincy to join Australian media magnate Kerry Packer's breakaway World Series.

He later became a popular television commentator in Australia.

• Major teams: England, Border, Eastern Province, Sussex
• Tests: 58
• ODIs: 22
• Test runs: 3,599 (average 40.43
• Test wickets: 141 (average 32.20)
• Scored 16,600 runs (average 31.19) and took 856 wickets (average 28.85) in 350 first-class matches

Australian broadcaster Channel Nine, for whom Greig worked, said he died at about 13:45 local time on Saturday, after being rushed from his home to Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital earlier in the day.

He is quoted as having told Channel Nine colleagues last month: "It's not good. The truth is I've got lung cancer. Now it's a case of what they can do."

He had surgery later in November, and in October he tweeted: "Thanks to all of you who have sent me good wishes for a recovery.  With your prayers and the help of my family I will give it my best shot."

On Christmas Day he posted the message: "Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you all. Would love to be at Test but son Tom and I will be tuned in?"

Greig scored 3,599 runs at an average of 40.43 and took 141 wickets at 32.20 in Tests, and was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1975. He also played 22 one-day internationals.

Current England Test and Sussex wicketkeeper Matt Prior tweeted: "Can't believe one of my heroes Tony Greig has passed away.  One of the greatest voices in cricket and will be sorely missed. #RIPGreigy."

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore tweeted: "Great man, great career. He will be missed."

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1975 Ashes archive - Lillee and Thomson star for Australia as Greig becomes captain

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Funeral for brothers killed on M6

29 December 2012 Last updated at 03:32 ET

A funeral for two brothers who died when their car crashed on the M6 on Christmas Day will take place later.

Adnan Habib, 10, and Mohammed Arsalaan Habib, four, were killed along with their aunt Bushra Tazarib, 32, close to junction 15, near Stoke-on-Trent.

The three bodies will lie in rest at the Castlefield Centre near their home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

A private funeral for the boys will then be held while their aunt's body will be taken to Pakistan.

The boys' mother, Parveen, 38, who was driving, and their sister Misbah, 17, were also both injured in the crash on Tuesday but have since been discharged from hospital.

All five from High Wycombe were travelling to a family wedding in Greater Manchester.

Family and friends will be able to pay their respects at the Castlefield Centre before the three bodies are taken to a mosque for prayers.

A private family funeral will then take place for Adnan and Mohammed Arsalaan at a cemetery in the afternoon.

In a statement released on Thursday, the boys' family described the children as "precious jewels, spreading joy wherever they went" and described their aunt as "beloved".

The boys' grandfather was among those who attended the opening of an inquest into their deaths at North Staffordshire Coroner's Court in Stoke-on-Trent on Friday.

In his report, Stoke and North Staffordshire coroner Ian Smith revealed the three family members died from extensive head injuries.

He adjourned all three inquests until a later date.

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Falklands attack surprised Thatcher

27 December 2012 Last updated at 19:08 ET By Peter Biles BBC World Affairs Correspondent

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The 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina took Margaret Thatcher by surprise, newly released government papers have shown.

The then-prime minister only saw it was likely after getting "raw intelligence" two days before the Argentines landed.

Papers released under the 30-year rule show Mrs Thatcher was acutely worried about retaking the islands.

One historian said the documents were among the "most powerful material" declassified in the last three decades.

In October 1982, a few months after the war ended, Mrs Thatcher gave evidence behind closed doors to the Falkland Islands Review Committee, chaired by Lord Franks.

The transcript of that dramatic testimony has now been published for the first time.

"I never, never expected the Argentines to invade the Falklands head-on. It was such a stupid thing to do, as events happened, such a stupid thing even to contemplate doing", Mrs Thatcher told the Franks Committee.

There had been some British contingency planning in the month before the Argentine invasion of the Falklands.

On 26 March 1982, Ministry of Defence officials came back to Mrs Thatcher with a plan to deter a full-scale invasion.

One sentence shocked her, and she wrote it in her diary:

However, in her oral evidence, she stressed that she had still considered an invasion unlikely:

The picture changed on 31 March 1982 when Mrs Thatcher was shown intelligence suggesting that an invasion was on the cards:

She also told the committee: "That night no-one could tell me whether we could retake the Falklands - no-one. We did not know - we did not know."

The British foreign secretary at the time, Lord Carrington, also gave evidence to the Franks Committee, where he too held the view that Argentina was not going to invade the Falklands.

"I have been accused, and was accused violently after 2 April in the House of Commons, and in the press and elsewhere - of wilfully ignoring signs and statements and evidence, and just ignoring it. I can truthfully say I did not do any of these things… they (the signs of an invasion) were not there," Lord Carrington said.

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• 2 April 1982: Argentine forces invade Falkland Islands. Other British South Atlantic territories including South Georgia are seized shortly afterwards
• 5 April: A British task force of more than 100 ships sets sail for the South Atlantic
• 25 April: South Georgia is recaptured by British forces.
• 2 May: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by HMS Conqueror, killing more than 320
• 21 May: Three thousand British troops begin landing at San Carlos on East Falkland
• 28-29 May: British forces recapture Goose Green.
• 8 June: British landing craft are bombed at Fitzroy, killing more than 50 men
• 13 June: Argentine positions on mountains overlooking the capital Port Stanley are taken
• 14 June: Argentine forces surrender. British troops march into Stanley

255 British servicemen and three Falklands civilians died during the conflict. The number of Argentine dead is estimated at about 650

On 5 April, Lord Carrington resigned as foreign secretary, which prompted this reaction from Mrs Thatcher: "I had tremendous confidence in Peter Carrington, and his loss seemed to me a devastating blow for Britain and I would back him up all the way."

The political historian Lord Hennessy said Mrs Thatcher's evidence about the Falklands War was some of the most powerful material to be declassified by the National Archives in the last three decades.

"It's only three months after the end of the war, so it's immensely vivid. It's still coursing through her veins.

"She also has this great power of expression - she's a primary colours politician."

Argentina's invasion of the Falklands may have come as a surprise to Mrs Thatcher and her ministers, but the government papers do reveal some interesting pointers.

As early as 1977 there was a British intelligence assessment that Argentine military action was possible if talks over the Islands went badly.

At the end of that year, the British government decided to send a submarine and two frigates to the South Atlantic.

However, the ships' movements were kept secret.

Indeed, there was no conspicuous British naval presence in the South Atlantic in the five years that preceded the war. This may be why Argentina thought Britain would not launch an attack to retake the Falklands in April 1982.

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Also, Britain's ambassador in Buenos Aires in 1982, Anthony Williams, felt some of his warnings sent to London were simply ignored.

"Argentina is not just another 'banana republic' - a tin pot country led by a tinpot dictator," he wrote in his valedictory despatch in June 1982.

"Argentina has its share of vandals, hooligans and roughs. But this is not the whole story, nor was the seizure of the islands a simple act of brigandage."

Argentine forces landed on the islands in April 2 1982 and the recapture by a British task force was completed on June 14.

Argentina says it inherited ownership of the islands - which it calls Las Malvinas - from Spain, arguing that British colonists occupied the islands by force in 1833 and expelled settlers - thus violating Argentina's territorial integrity. It also bases its claim on the islands' proximity to the South American mainland.

Some 255 British servicemen and three Falklands civilians died during the conflict. The number of Argentine dead is estimated at about 650

All document images courtesy of the National Archives

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Graphic anti-smoking ad launched

27 December 2012 Last updated at 19:39 ET

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The new Department of Health anti-smoking television advert

A series of hard-hitting government adverts featuring people smoking cigarettes with a tumour bulging from them is being launched in England.

The ads will tell smokers that just 15 cigarettes can cause a mutation that leads to cancerous tumours in what marks a return to shock campaigning.

It is eight years since government's "fatty cigarette" anti-smoking adverts appeared.

This £2.7m ad campaign will appear on TV, online and posters until February.

Smokers will also be told about NHS quit kits that are available free from pharmacies.

'Risk'

Chief medical officer Prof Dame Sally Davies said smokers were still underestimating the serious health risks from smoking.

"We want smokers to understand that each packet of cigarettes increases their risk of cancer."

The adverts follow the Stoptober campaign, which saw more than 270,000 sign up in a mass attempt to quit two months ago.

The ad campaign has received the backing of Cancer Research UK.

Its chief executive Dr Harpal Kumar said: "Hard-hitting campaigns such as this illustrate the damage caused by smoking and this can encourage people to quit or may even stop them from starting in the first place."

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DVLA strike over office closure plan

27 December 2012 Last updated at 22:27 ET

A one-day strike is being staged by Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency staff over planned office closures that could see more than 1,000 jobs lost.

The strike is set to close all 39 regional offices in England, Scotland and Wales.

The government wants to centralise the DVLA in Swansea and move more services online by the end of 2013.

The Public and Commercial Services (PSC) union says the changes would lead to more vehicle tax evasion and fraud.

It has also delivered a 72,000-signature petition opposing the proposal to the Department for Transport.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "As well as losing a high quality public service and more than 1,000 jobs at a time of high unemployment, we believe these closures will lead to increased vehicle tax evasion and fraud.

"We want the minister to listen to the overwhelming views of the public, motor traders and his staff, and to see sense and reverse these ill-thought-through and damaging closures."

The DVLA has advised motorists who need to conduct transactions during the course of the day to use its website or, where appropriate, via the Post Office.

The DVLA employs 6,116 staff - 1,213 of whom are potentially affected by the proposed office closures.

The government announced the plans late last year, saying they would deliver modern, effective services and save about £28m a year.

The regional offices carry out administrative functions such as arranging trade plates for garages, vehicle inspections and personalised registration mark transfers.

Ten of the offices are also home to regional enforcement centres.

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UK-wide scheme to protect witnesses

28 December 2012 Last updated at 02:51 ET

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Supergrass Paul: ''You feel like you have no-one, you have to start again under false pretences''

The UK's first national witness protection scheme has been launched to overhaul the currently "inconsistent" approach to keeping vulnerable people safe, the Ministry of Justice has said.

It said more than one in four collapsed prosecutions last year were because witnesses refused to give evidence.

Current services were "variable" and lacked "uniform standards", it added.

Victims' minister Helen Grant said witnesses whose lives were in danger needed "the best possible protection".

Witnesses to the 2007 murder of Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones as well as those who gave evidence about the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockle pickers tragedy, in Lancashire, are among those who have been given protected persons status.

In 2009 and 2010, 18% of witnesses who went to court to give evidence said they or their families had felt intimidated at some point while 40% said they were worried about coming into contact with the defendant or their supporters.

The UK Protected Persons Service has been introduced thanks to a one-off £211,000 investment from the MoJ and Home Office.

Continue reading the main story

People think you get a new house, car and money but it isn't like that at all"

End Quote 'Supergrass' on being part of a witness protection programme

The MoJ, which said £19m a year was currently spent on protecting witnesses, said the new system would introduce national quality standards and ensure better co-ordination across "existing fragmented services".

It would also promote better intelligence-sharing between police forces, the MoJ added.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), which has long supported a move to a national system, has previously said the change would make the system more attractive and would lead to more people coming forward to give evidence.

Responding to the announcement, Assistant Chief Constable Andy Cooke said it would "strengthen the fight against organised crime".

Tory MP Mrs Grant said witnesses were "the unsung heroes of society - especially those who could be jeopardising their own safety".

"I cannot thank them enough for the vital role they play in bringing criminals to justice," she said. "We are clear any witness whose life could be in danger must be given the best possible protection."

And she later told BBC Radio 5 live: "We want to do everything we possibly can so that they know if they do take that decision and come forward they will be protected, supported and cared for wherever they are in this country.

"At the moment we have a system which is good but it's patchy and it's inconsistent and often witnesses don't know, if they do come forward, exactly what protection they will get."

Mrs Grant said people wanted to be witnesses because "it's a matter of doing the right thing - people call it a civic duty, some others just feel it's telling the truth".

In February, it was revealed the Met Police and the Crown Prosecution Service paid a family more than £600,000 in damages and costs after a child witness was identified to a gang.

The boy, 16, had been promised anonymity to give evidence about a violent attack, but details were inadvertently passed to gang members.

In August 2010, meanwhile, a coroner called for a review of systems to protect vulnerable witnesses following the 2004 murder of Joan and John Stirland at their home in Trusthorpe, Lincolnshire.

They were shot in retaliation after their son, Michael O'Brien, killed a friend of the notorious Gunn family, headed by crime boss Colin Gunn.

The couple fled to Lincolnshire eight months before their deaths after shots were fired at their former home in Carlton, Nottingham.

A jury at their inquest found Nottinghamshire Police failed to share with officers in Lincolnshire - or properly act on - intelligence about the threat posed by Colin Gunn's gang.

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Missing six-year-old on way home

28 December 2012 Last updated at 03:22 ET

A six-year-old girl who was taken to Pakistan by her father three years ago is on her way back to the UK.

Atiya Anjum-Wilkinson was last seen when she was taken from her home in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, on her third birthday in 2009.

Her father Razwan Ali Anjum is serving a prison sentence for refusing to reveal his daughter's whereabouts despite a court order.

Police said Atiya would return to the UK from Pakistan this afternoon.

It is not yet clear exactly when or where she was found.

'Absolute nightmare'

Her mother, Gemma Wilkinson, 32, of Ashton-under-Lyne, has made several appeals for information about her daughter's whereabouts.

The latest was last month, when she said not knowing Atiya was even alive was an "absolute nightmare".

Courts have been told Anjum said he was taking Atiya to Southport, but instead took her to Lahore, Pakistan, and told Ms Wilkinson that she would never see her again.

The former insurance salesman was handed a fourth consecutive jail term by a High Court judge in April after he refused to reveal where his daughter was.

Mr Justice Moor imposed a 12-month prison sentence after he found him in contempt of a High Court order instructing him to disclose Atiya's whereabouts.

He said: "I am certain that he is in contempt. It is absolutely absurd for him to suggest that he does not know the whereabouts of his daughter and he cannot contact her.

"I am certain he is lying."

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