Man questioned over crash deaths

4 November 2013 Last updated at 02:51 ET

Police are continuing to question a 20-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder after two teenage girls were hit by a car and killed on Sunday.

Jasmine Allsop, 14, and Olivia Lewry, 16, were struck by a green Honda Civic at 04:15 GMT while walking along a road in Gosport, Hampshire.

Jasmine died at the scene while Olivia was pronounced dead later at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.

The man, who is from Gosport, was arrested on Sunday afternoon.

Hampshire police are appealing for anyone who saw the crash near the junction of Ann's Hill Road and Brougham Street in the town to contact them.

Det Supt Dick Pearson said: "This is an extremely tragic incident which has resulted in the death of two young girls.

"I currently have a team of detectives and other officers, including expert road collision investigators, working on this case to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of these two teenage girls.

"I would appeal to anyone who knows anything which could help this investigation to contact my team as soon as possible."

Tributes were paid to both girls on social networking sites and friends have laid floral tributes at the scene of the crash.

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Co-op Bank to cut branch network

4 November 2013 Last updated at 02:50 ET

The Co-operative Bank plans to reduce its branch network by at least 15% by the end of next year.

The bank said it would "significantly enhance" its digital and self-service channels as a result.

The details were unveiled as the bank revealed its rescue plan worked out over the weekend.

The deal will see creditors to the group - led by a half dozen hedge funds - end up with 70% of shares in the bank, leaving Co-op Group with 30%.

Speaking about possible job cuts, Euan Sutherland, group chief executive told BBC Radio 5 live: "We do need to take the overall costs down, unfortunately [that] will hit jobs, but we don't have the details today."

Mr Sutherland added that he was "optimistic" about the future. "We have taken a major step forward towards achieving our plan to secure the future of the Bank," he said.

The Co-op group will contribute funds of £462m towards the rescue plan.

It plans to to list the bank on the London Stock Exchange in 2014.

Culture

The Co-op Group hopes to protect the co-operative culture of the bank, by writing a pledge to do only what it sees as ethical business into the bank's principles or articles of association.

It has taken the unusual step of communicating this change to the bank's constitution to its five million customers in newspaper adverts.

Co-op had to come up with a rescue for its bank after the discovery of a £1.5bn hole in its balance sheet caused by bad loans and the 2009 merger with Britannia building society.

Two weeks ago the mutual group said it would lose overall control of the Co-op Bank following a restructuring of a rescue deal, which will provide the bank with extra capital.

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Not reporting abuse 'must be crime'

4 November 2013 Last updated at 03:17 ET Sanchia Berg and Meirion Jones BBC Panorama

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Keir Starmer: "Now is the time really to plug a gap which has been there for a very, very long time"

Teachers and other professionals who fail to report child abuse suspicions should face prosecution, the former director of public prosecutions says.

Keir Starmer said that under a "mandatory reporting" law, those who failed to act could be sent to jail.

Declassified files uncovered by BBC Panorama show how schools and hospitals have repeatedly failed to protect children from sex offenders.

But the government said mandatory reporting was not the answer.

Continue reading the main story

There are just too many examples of cases where those who have suspected abuse have not really done anything about it and the perpetrator has either got away with it or, worse still, been able to perpetuate the offending"

End Quote Keir Starmer

While statutory guidance has been issued previously urging professionals such as teachers, doctors and social workers to report child abuse, failure to do so is not a crime.

'Gap in law'

Mr Starmer, who was succeeded as director of public prosecutions by Alison Saunders on Friday, said it was time to "plug a gap in the law" that had "been there for a very, very long time".

"It's a very simple proposition. If you're in a position of authority or responsibility in relation to children, and you have cause to believe that a child has been abused, or is about to be abused, you really ought to do something about it," he said.

He said a criminal penalty would "focus people's minds" and said there should be "immunity for individuals if they did report".

He said the penalty for failing to report abuse could be a short jail sentence or a fine.

"There are just too many examples of cases where those who have suspected abuse have not really done anything about it and the perpetrator has either got away with it or, worse still, been able to perpetuate the offending."

He added: "I would have a reasonably broad category of individuals that were subject to the law.

"Obviously school teachers, but others in a position of authority or responsibility in relation to children, including other educational institutions, even sporting institutions."

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Alicia Alinia, of law firm Slater and Gordon, says many of Jimmy Savile's victims feel let down

Similar laws are already in places in countries including the US, Canada and Australia.

For the first time, the Catholic Church and the Church of England have also come out in support of mandatory reporting.

Bishop Paul Butler, head of safeguarding at the Church of England, said: "We have to think of the child first, not ourselves, not the institution, what's best for the child."

But the government has no plans to change the law.

The Department for Education said: "Mandatory reporting is not the answer.

"Professionals should refer immediately to social care when they are concerned about a child.

"This happens every year in many thousands of cases and numbers of referrals have increased over recent years.

"Other countries have tried mandatory reporting and there is no evidence to show that it is a better system for protecting children."

Declassified files

Ever since the Jimmy Savile revelations, Panorama has been investigating secret historical records and looking at what government officials knew about abuse in children's homes and boarding schools.

Declassified government files going back 60 years show how senior civil servants were well aware that school authorities routinely hid child abuse - preferring instead to protect the reputation of their own institutions - and the law was an inadequate deterrent.

One of the most detailed historical files in the National Archives is about a cover-up at the Royal Alexandra and Albert school.

Today it is a well-regarded state boarding school in Reigate, Surrey.

However, research by Panorama has revealed that seven child abusers worked at the school between the 1950s and the 1980s.

You can watch Panorama: After Savile: No More Secrets, BBC One, Monday 4 November at 20:30 GMT and then available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.

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Aircraft carrier costs 'to double'

4 November 2013 Last updated at 03:32 ET

The cost of building two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy is expected to be almost twice the original estimate, the Ministry of Defence is expected to confirm this week.

In the latest budget, the MoD is set to estimate the cost of the two ships at more than £6bn.

The department says it is renegotiating the contract to avoid further significant rises.

Six years ago, when the contract was approved, costs were put at £3.65bn.

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UK economy in 'steady' recovery

2 November 2013 Last updated at 22:45 ET

The UK economy is recovering at a "slow and steady" pace, business lobby group the CBI has said.

It predicts growth this year of 1.4%, up from the 1.2% forecast in August, following a strong third-quarter performance.

The CBI expects the same growth rate of 1.4% again in 2014.

"The recovery that started in the service sector has fanned out to manufacturing and construction," CBI director-general John Cridland said.

Latest official figures showed that the UK's economy grew by 0.8% between July and September, with the Office for National Statistics saying there had been a "fairly strong" performance across all sectors.

'Better-rooted' growth

"The UK is now set fair for growth with confidence returning to Britain's entrepreneurs," Mr Cridland added.

"The recovery won't be spectacular, just slow and steady, but appears more solid and better-rooted."

On Friday, a closely-watched survey added to signs of strength in UK manufacturing as the latest Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index indicated the sector had continued to grow strongly in October.

Despite speculation among some analysts that interest rates may rise sooner than expected due to the stronger economic growth, the CBI said that it still expects rates to stay at record lows until 2015.

"We expect unemployment to come down relatively slowly over the medium-term, as hours worked increase and productivity begins to recover. Consequently, the CBI expects Bank rate to remain on hold in 2014 and 2015," it said.

Bank of England policymakers have also spoken out in a n attempt to dampen expectations of a rate increase in the near future.

Under the policy of forward guidance, the Bank has said that it will not consider raising interest rates until the unemployment rate has fallen to 7% or below.

The latest unemployment figures showed that the jobless rate stood at 7.7% in the June-to-August period.

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Labour offers living wage tax breaks

2 November 2013 Last updated at 22:25 ET

Some of Britain's lowest-paid workers could get pay rises under plans drawn up by Labour leader Ed Miliband.

If the party wins the next election, Mr Miliband plans to offer firms a 12-month tax break in 2016 if they agree to pay the so-called "living wage".

The pledge was cautiously welcomed by business groups, but there were fears many firms would find it unaffordable.

The plans were unveiled as a study showed those not earning a living wage increased by 8% in the last year.

The living wage is an informal benchmark based on the amount an individual needs to earn to cover the basic costs of living. It is set at £8.55 an hour in London and £7.45 an hour in the rest of the UK.

The national minimum wage, set by the chancellor, is significantly lower at £6.31 an hour for adults, and £5.03 for those aged 18 to 21.

'Growth without prosperity'

Under the proposals put forward by Mr Miliband, private firms would be able to claim back about a third of the cost of raising their staff-members' wages to the living wage - amounting to £445 on average per worker, although it could potentially reach £1,000.

Labour claims the plan will save money because benefit bills would go down and tax revenues would increase.

Continue reading the main story

To those who say we can't afford to do anything about wages in our country today: I say we can't afford not to"

End Quote Ed Miliband Labour leader

But costs to businesses would rise as a result of signing up. And those that do so could only claim the money back for one year.

The announcement comes ahead of a speech on Tuesday in which Mr Miliband is expected to say that tackling low wages is key to solving squeezed living standards.

He is expected to warn that Britain risks "an era of growth without prosperity" as wages stagnate while household costs continue to rise.

"For ordinary families to keep up, we don't need average wages to just creep higher than prices. That will still leave millions of people worse off. We need the kind of strong increases in wages that will genuinely make people all across Britain better off," he is to say.

"Wages for millions of families have been stagnant or in decline for far too long now.

He will add: "Low wages aren't just bad for working people and their families. They are driving up the social security bill too, as the country has to subsidise more and more low paid jobs with tax credits and benefits.

"So to those who say we can't afford to do anything about wages in our country today: I say we can't afford not to."

BBC political correspondent Robin Brant said the living wage was not a Labour idea but it had broad support, including from many outside politics.

Katja Hall, chief policy director for the Confederation of British Industry, said the scheme may help some firms pay more, but many companies simply could not afford it.

"The best way to boost wage growth in the longer term is to build a sustainable recovery and invest in the productivity growth that will boost wages," she said.

The Federation of Small Businesses said it was an "interesting proposition" but said a national insurance exemption next year could help firms increase pay sooner.

'Hard work pays'

The Living Wage Foundation, which campaigns for the minimum wage to be set according to the cost of living, said paying the higher rates was necessary.

Rhys Moore, the group's director, said: "With working poverty on the rise, paying a living wage is becoming a must for every responsible employer. We are working with businesses across the UK to help them do the right thing, so that from the chief executive to the cleaner, hard work pays."

Updated living wage rates are due to be announced on Monday. The UK rate will be announced by Bishop of Nottingham Paul Butler, while the London rate will be set out by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

It comes as it emerged the number of people paid less than the living wage grew from 4.8 million to 5.2 million in the last 12 months, according to KPMG.

And the number of children living in households earning less than the living wage has increased from 1.82 million to 1.96 million, according to research by Save the Children.

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'Plebgate' police face fresh inquiry

2 November 2013 Last updated at 22:28 ET

Officers accused of giving misleading accounts of a meeting with former chief whip Andrew Mitchell are facing an investigation by the police watchdog.

They will also be called back before an influential committee of MPs over evidence they gave to them previously.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said there were "procedural irregularities" in an earlier probe.

The three Police Federation reps had been told they would face no action over the so-called Plebgate affair.

In September 2012, Mr Mitchell was accused of calling Downing Street officers "plebs" after they refused to let him ride his bicycle through the main gates.

The then cabinet member apologised for using bad language but denied using the word pleb. He later resigned as chief whip as the row continued.

A month later, Mr Mitchell held a meeting with Det Sgt Stuart Hinton, Insp Ken MacKaill and Sgt Chris Jones from the federation in an attempt to smooth things over.

After the meeting in the West Midlands, the officers, who represent Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands forces respectively, briefed the media.

Continue reading the main story

Evidence given to the Home Affairs Select Committee on October 23 revealed a number of procedural irregularities between the production of the draft and final West Mercia reports"

End Quote Deborah Glass IPCC deputy chairwoman

A transcript of a recording Mr Mitchell made of the meeting contradicted the officers' account of what was said.

Ch Insp Jerry Reakes-Williams, head of professional standards at Warwickshire and West Mercia Police, carried out an investigation and concluded they had a case to answer for misconduct, but their senior officers disagreed.

Now the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has announced it will conduct its own investigation into the officers' behaviour.

Det Sgt Hinton and Sgt Jones have additionally been called to reappear before the Home Affairs Select Committee after being accused of giving "misleading" answers to MPs last month. The committee wants them "to apologise for misleading it".

'Mistakenly believed'

IPCC deputy chairwoman Deborah Glass said: "Evidence given to the Home Affairs Select Committee on October 23 revealed a number of procedural irregularities between the production of the draft and final West Mercia reports.

"On August 12 2013, a final report was provided to the IPCC. It contained a single set of conclusions to the effect that no case to answer for misconduct was made out against any of the three officers under investigation.

"However, it is clear from CI Reakes-Williams's evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee that this conclusion did not reflect his opinion. His opinion was (and remains) that a case to answer for misconduct was made out.

"However, he mistakenly believed that his report should reflect the view of the 'appropriate authorities' - the senior officers in each of the forces involved.

"The 'appropriate authorities' are the final decision-making bodies, and they are entitled to reach a different decision to the conclusions of the investigator.

"However, this is an entirely separate process. The procedure described above has conflated the two."

Public confidence

Ms Glass said she did not have the power to reopen the investigation when she gave evidence to MPs on the same day as the officers.

But she has now said the investigation was incomplete because the final report did not include Ch Insp Reakes-Williams' opinion.

She said the IPCC was launching its own inquiry because public confidence in the police was at stake.

Home affairs committee chairman Keith Vaz said: "We were appalled by the evidence given by DS Hinton, Sgt Jones and Inspector MacKaill. We have recalled them to correct the record and if they do not, they will be in prima facie contempt of Parliament.

"The narrative of what we have seen could rival any great work of fiction.

"At every point and at every level, instead of being transparent, we have uncovered a process that obstructs the truth. If this can happen to a cabinet minister, what hope is there for anyone else?"

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The select committee has done an important job in laying bare the failure of the process to deal with the Sutton Coldfield meeting between Andrew Mitchell and police officers last October. This case should now be independently re-determined."

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones said he welcomed the IPCC's decision to independently consider the investigation.

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Damage and power lost in 80mph winds

2 November 2013 Last updated at 22:52 ET Continue reading the main story

Storm-force winds gusting at up to 80mph have brought down trees and power lines and caused difficult driving conditions in Wales.

About 10,000 homes and businesses across south and west Wales lost power at the peak of the high winds.

The M4 was closed both ways for two hours between Margam and Pyle after a caravan overturned.

Natural Resources Wales said only one flood warning remained in place in coastal areas of Wales.

The motorway closure happened after the incident in the contraflow eastbound, causing long delays.

A tree fell onto a car in Park Street in Bridgend but the driver was reportedly unharmed if shaken.

A roof was also blown off a garage onto the house next door at Beddau near Pontypridd, according to South Wales Fire and Rescue.

The roof canopy at the main entrance to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend was also damaged with one person treated for a minor injury. The entrance has since reopened.

Power failure

The highest wind speed was 89mph recorded at Mumbles head near Swansea at 16:00 GMT.

Artist David Pearce, who lives just outside Swansea, said his daughter's 11ft trampoline was blown across the garden in high winds.

"The roof nearly got torn completely off our shed and our daughter's trampoline took off. It smashed her garden swings and ended up in our hedge," he said.

The old Severn M48 bridge was closed with speed restrictions on the second Severn crossing and Briton Ferry bridges on the M4 and the Britannia bridge over to Anglesey.

In Pembrokeshire, the Cleddau Bridge restrictions were lifted at 19:00 GMT.

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Resident Barbara Yorwerth told BBC Wales' Matt Murray how a tree narrowly missed cottages but crashed onto a car, but the female driver managed to escape unharmed.

The Met Office recorded strong gusts on coasts around Wales from the Bristol Channel to the Llyn Peninsula.

Western Power Distribution said that about 10,000 homes and businesses were without power at the peak of the stormy weather. The company covers an area stretching from Chepstow in south east Wales to Pembroke.

As of 21:45 GMT, fewer than 500 remained without power, it said, and it was expected about 100 properties would remain cut off overnight.

Both South Wales and Dyfed-Powys Police have been called to fallen trees blocking roads.

Dyfed-Powys said earlier it had received "a high volume of calls reporting trees down and other damage caused by high winds throughout the force area".

South Wales had received reports of 13 fallen trees in one hour on Saturday afternoon.

'Pretty rough'

Arriva Trains Wales advised passengers not to travel on Saturday evening unless necessary.

Minibuses were running between Rhymney and Bargoed because of poor rail conditions.

There is a yellow [be aware] warning for wind, with a forecast is for heavy, blustery showers with very strong winds continuing overnight. By dawn, winds may start to ease a little inland, with some clear spells in the east.

NRW said with the weather conditions expected to continue into Sunday, combined with the high tides, there could be localised flooding with sea spray and overtopping particularly Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and the Newport coast.

Eleven flood warnings were in place at the height of the bad weather in coastal areas, with one remaining in place at Barmouth in Gwynedd at 19:05 GMT.

Officers from NRW are monitoring sea surge, wind and waves as it could lead to further alerts being issued and possibly tidal flood warnings.

Fallen trees were reported in Bridgend, Cardiff, Llanelli, Swansea. Pembroke, on the A470 northbound at Upper Boat near Pontypridd and on the A48 at St Nicholas in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Fallen power cables also blocked the A4065 Abergarw Road at Bridgend.

Swansea coastguard said it had advised two people to get off the pier at Porthcawl, Bridgend county, due to the waves breaking over it. A coastguard team was at the pier.

A spokesman said: "It's pretty rough down there."

Milford Haven Coastguard said a vessel in the haven recorded a gust of 70 knots (80mph) at around 14:30 GMT.

For the latest on flood alerts and warnings and how you can prepare go to Natural Resources Wales or call Floodline 0845 988 1188.

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Visitor bond scheme to be scrapped

3 November 2013 Last updated at 00:53 ET

Plans for a £3,000 "security bond" for some "high risk" overseas visitors to the UK are to be abandoned, the Home Office has confirmed.

The visa bond scheme was announced by Home Secretary Theresa May in June and was set to be introduced this month.

A Home Office spokesman confirmed a Sunday Times report that the policy would be scrapped.

The decision is thought to have been taken after deputy prime minister Nick Clegg threatened to block it.

The aim of the scheme was to reduce the number of people from some "high risk" countries - including India, Pakistan, and Nigeria - staying in the UK once their short-term visas had expired.

Visitors would have paid a £3,000 cash bond before arrival in the UK - forfeited if they failed make the return trip.

'Outrage'

The idea was first suggested by Mr Clegg in March.

Continue reading the main story

Ben Moore BBC News

---

The scrapping of this bond will certainly prove embarrassing for Home Secretary Theresa May - and Labour will be keen to label it a U-turn.

The "visa bond" policy has been somewhat divisive in the coalition government, but was intended to be a flagship policy to show the government was getting tough on immigration.

It's an issue it is keen to puff its chest out on in the face of the growing popularity of UKIP.

But for now, the Home Office's immigration policy has hit a rough patch.

Less than two weeks ago, a roll out of Home Office vans emblazoned with posters warning illegal immigrants to "go home or face arrest" was cancelled.

The home secretary herself was driven to describe them as a "blunt instrument".

But Business Secretary Vince Cable later claimed the deputy prime minister's plan, which had suggested a bond of £1,000, had been deliberately misinterpreted by some of their Conservative cabinet colleagues.

"What Nick Clegg said was if somebody in the Indian sub-continent, for example, was turned down for a visa, they could, as an alternative, come up with a bond... But the way some of our colleagues interpreted was in a much more negative way, of saying that everybody who comes here should pay this very large bond," Mr Cable said in September.

Mr Cable also criticised the level at which the bond was set and said that it had caused "outrage" in India.

He said both he and Nick Clegg would be arguing in government for a "much more sensible and flexible" approach to the policy.

The idea was also floated several times by the previous Labour government but never implemented.

The announcement comes two weeks after a roll out of Home Office vans with posters warning illegal immigrants to "go home or face arrest" was cancelled.

Mrs May told MPs she accepted they had "not been a good idea" and were too much of a "blunt instrument".

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Daughter charged over garden bodies

1 November 2013 Last updated at 18:14 ET

The daughter and son-in-law of an elderly couple who disappeared in 1998 and were found buried in a back garden have been charged with their murders.

The remains thought to be of William and Patricia Wycherley were found at the Mansfield house on 9 October.

Tests showed they had been shot, Nottinghamshire Police said earlier.

Susan Patricia Edwards, 55, and Christopher John Edwards, 57, both of no fixed address, have each been charged with two counts of murder.

The pair are due to appear before magistrates on Saturday.

Formal identification has yet to be confirmed but detectives believe the remains are that of Mr and Mrs Wycherley who lived at the house in Blenheim Close, Forest Town, in the 1990s.

Police have said Mr and Mrs Wycherley "were known to be quite reclusive".

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