Butler 'crushed to death by lift'

25 July 2014 Last updated at 21:09

Police are investigating the death of a butler who was injured while working at a Tudor mansion in Lincolnshire.

Arthur Mellar was seriously injured at Burghley House in Stamford on 12 July, and later died in hospital.

His partner, Gerwin Castillo, told journalists that the "kind and generous" 47-year-old was crushed by a lift.

The circumstances are being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive and Cambridgeshire Police.

A spokesman for the force said: "We were called to reports that a man in his 40s had suffered serious injuries at Burghley House on Saturday 12 July.

"He was taken to hospital but later died. A joint investigation is being carried out by police and the Health and Safety Executive."

David Pennell, Burghley estate director, said the house would cooperate fully with the investigation.

"It is with the deepest sadness that we confirm the tragic death of Arthur Mellar, a highly-valued member of the household team at Burghley, following an accident on Saturday 12 July," he said.

The mansion has been used for locations in the films Pride and Prejudice and The Da Vinci Code.

A BBC television adaptation of Middlemarch was also filmed there.

15.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rape case stopped as judge 'asleep'

26 July 2014 Last updated at 03:46

A judge is being investigated after he was accused of falling asleep during a child rape trial.

A complaint was made against Recorder Philip Cattan on the first day of a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Barristers complained that the judge had fallen asleep as the first alleged victim was cross-examined. The trial was abandoned and must now start again.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said Mr Cattan could not comment while the matter was investigated.

A spokesman said the office was aware of the allegation and an investigation was under way.

Case relisted

Mr Cattan is a recorder - a barrister who spends between 15 and 30 days a year sitting as judge.

If he is found guilty of misconduct, any disciplinary action will be decided by the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice.

In the case Mr Cattan was presiding over, a man was on trial for raping a child and other sexual offences against children.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the case would be relisted as soon as possible, and that the complainants and other witnesses were being kept informed.

15.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

English councils propose 'Tesco tax'

26 July 2014 Last updated at 08:27 By Emma Simpson Business correspondent, BBC News

A group of local councils in England is formally asking the government for new powers to tax large supermarkets.

BBC News has learned that Derby City Council has called for the right to bring in a new levy as a "modest" effort to ensure supermarket spending "re-circulates" in local communities.

Some 19 other local authorities back the so-called "Tesco tax", which could raise up to £400m a year.

The government said additional taxes on supermarkets would push up food prices.

A similar tax already operates in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The council has made the suggestion under the Sustainable Communities Act, which allows communities and councils to put forward ideas to government to solve local problems.

In its lengthy submission, the council says that while supermarkets bring some benefits, they have an overall detrimental impact on the sustainability of local communities.

"Research has shown that 95% of all the money spent in any large supermarket leaves the local economy for good, compared to just 50% from local independent retailers; this levy is a modest attempt to ensure more of that money re-circulates within and continues to contribute to local jobs and local trade," its report states.

Cautious welcome

The council wants the right to impose a levy on large supermarkets, retain the money raised, and use it to help small businesses. It said it could also use the money to support community centres and parks.

The extra business rates levy, of up to 8.5%, would affect any large retail outlet with a rateable value of more than £500,000.

Ranjit Banwait, leader of the council, said communities in Scotland and Northern Ireland were "already benefiting" from the scheme.

"The revenue that we'll be able to generate will mean that we can support local businesses - especially small businesses," he said.

"We'll be able to improve public services."

The government will have six months to give a response. If agreed, the levy would not just apply to the 20 councils seeking change but all local authorities in England.

And if every one of them took it up, it could cost the big supermarkets alone an extra £190m in tax.

But the government has already given an indication of how the idea will be received.

The move would hit low-income families the hardest, said the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

'Powerful legacy'

"We ruled out such a bid for higher taxes under the last round of the Sustainable Communities Act proposals," it said in a statement.

"There are much better ways to support small shops."

However, the move has been given a cautious welcome by the former retail boss and High Street campaigner Bill Grimsey. He proposed the idea of a levy in his independent review of the High Street last year.

He called for a one-off levy on retailers and pub groups with a turnover of more than £10m to help finance plans to allow struggling town centres to rebuild themselves for the future.

Mr Grimsey said it was right that the biggest retailers put something back into their high streets:

"Used wisely, it could leave a lasting and powerful legacy. But I don't want this introduced as an annual levy that essentially becomes another tax," he said.

"If it's used simply to plug council budget shortfalls, it won't be fair and it'll be anti-business. This has to be about the High Street, not clobbering big business."

Heated debate

Supporters of the move believe the supermarkets can afford it, saying it is just a fraction of the costs that supermarkets had to swallow when VAT was raised in 2011.

But retailers are likely to strongly resist the move arguing that they are taxed enough already. They pay more in business rates, a property-based tax, than any other form of taxation and have been urging the government for a complete rethink on the system.

They will also raise concerns about fresh investment and jobs being put at risk.

The British Retail Consortium said it was consulting its members on the proposed tax before commenting.

The levy imposed by the Scottish government on larger shops selling alcohol and tobacco is set to end next year. The aim of the scheme was to make them contribute to public health measures.

It is clear the council's idea for an additional tax on retailers south of the border will spark even more heated debate.

15.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

More train disruption after storms

26 July 2014 Last updated at 09:24

Rail passengers in parts of southern England and Wales are facing further travel problems after stormy weather caused "major disruption" on Friday.

First Great Western cancelled a number of Saturday morning trains including several to London Paddington.

South West Trains said engineers had worked through the night to avoid further delays after Friday's problems.

Lightning strikes and signalling failures had led to a series of cancellations.

Tickets honoured

First Great Western has cancelled 10 services scheduled for Saturday morning because of "poor weather conditions earlier".

It has also warned customers that further disruption is expected on its services between Paddington and Bristol until 13:30 BST, although all lines have now reopened.

The company said alterations to its long distance services should be expected as many of its trains "are not in the correct position".

However, it has pledged to honour tickets held over from cancelled services on Friday for use on Saturday.

On Friday, trains running between London Paddington and Reading, Swindon, Bristol and south Wales were affected by a lightning strike at Twyford, Berkshire, at about 16:00 BST.

A strike in the Surbiton area of south west London caused problems on services running from London Waterloo to Surrey and Exeter.

Thundery

The BBC's Darren Bett said a lot of rain had fallen in a short space of time on Friday with storms across south-east England causing travel disruption.

The storms later faded away from southern England, south Wales and the south Midlands.

On Saturday, there would be sunny spells in England and Wales while rising temperatures could trigger a few showers, he said.

Areas east of London could see thundery downpours later in the day.

Have you been affected by this story? You can send us your experiences and photos by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Lightning and train delays".

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

15.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Huge Commonwealth flotilla for Games

26 July 2014 Last updated at 09:31

The largest flotilla ever seen on the River Clyde will sail from Greenock to Glasgow later as part of the city's Commonwealth Games celebrations.

About 250 boats are due to leave from Greenock at 10:00 and arrive at Pacific Quay, home of BBC Scotland, at 13:00.

Small ships, leisure yachts, clippers and working boats will be taking part.

Meanwhile, Police Scotland said it would mount its biggest ever operation in Glasgow over the weekend to help the city cope with expected massive crowds.

The flotilla has been organised by the Royal Yachting Association Scotland.

A special viewing place to watch the passing boats has been set up at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow.

The flotilla is one of many events taking place across Glasgow to mark the Games.

About 280,000 people are expected in the city on Saturday as events take place at eight different venues, as well as the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre in Carnoustie.

Police Scotland are in charge of the £90m security operation and have said this weekend will be their largest ever operation in the city.

The force will not say how many officers are being deployed, but have admitted forces from out with Scotland are helping with specialist tasks.

These include carrying out searches at Games venues.

Police are also on duty at Games events in Edinburgh and Carnoustie and around areas hosting the cultural programme of 2014 festival.

There is hope of further medals for Scotland on Saturday in the swimming and judo.

Gold medallist Ross Murdoch goes for another first - this time in the final of the 100 metres breaststroke, alongside fellow Scot Craig Benson.

Scotland's Commonwealth flag bearer Euan Burton leads the charge at the judo.

The rugby sevens starts at Ibrox and there are medals up for grabs in bowls, cycling, gymnastics, shooting, the mixed relay triathlon and weightlifting.

Day two at the Games

• Neil Fachie and Craig MacLean won the host nation's first medal of the day, taking gold in the men's 1,000 metres time trial B2 tandem at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome;
• Sarah Clark won Scotland's second gold of the day in the judo under-63kg division when she beat Helene Wezeu Dombeu of Cameroon;
• Daniel Wallace won gold for Scotland in the 400m Individual Medley;

• Michael Jamieson has failed to qualify for the final of the men's 100m breaststroke at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Six swimmers finished faster than him in the second semi-final, after he finished in fifth place in the first semi;
• Ailsa Wyllie scored twice as Scotland beat Malaysia 2-0 in their hockey pool match;
• Scotland's Reece McFadden beat world number one Andrew Selby, from Wales in the flyweight boxing;
• Corrie Scott won bronze in the women's 50m breaststroke;
• There was bronze for Sally Conway in the -70kg judo;
• There was victory for Scotland's netball team as they defeat St Lucia 58-30 in the host nation's first match.

15.36 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police 'spied on dead man's family'

23 July 2014 Last updated at 19:10

A mother campaigning for an inquiry into her son's death in 1997 says she has been told she was spied on by undercover Scotland Yard officers.

Student Ricky Reel was 20 when he vanished during a night out in London, shortly after he and his friends had been racially abused by two white men.

His body was found in the River Thames.

The man tasked with investigating undercover policing did not name specific families but criticised the "routine gathering" of information.

Mr Reel's mother, Sukhdev, said she had been informed that officers gathered intelligence on her in 1998 and 1999.

'Time to grieve'

She wants a public inquiry into the spying claims and told the BBC: "This was happening at a time we were feeling very low, we should have been left alone to grieve for our son, instead of being spied upon."

Mr Reel, a student at Brunel University, was last seen alive on 15 October, 1997, after a night out with three friends in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London.

Two white youths had attacked the group of young Asian men. As his friends fought them off, Mr Reel disappeared.

His body was found a week later.

Police said his death had probably been an accident, and an open verdict was recorded at an inquest in 1999.

There were two police investigations, neither of which established exactly how he died. His family are critical of those inquiries and have always maintained he was murdered.

Mrs Reel said she had been informed by a senior officer of five occasions when police were gathering intelligence on her.

That officer was from Operation Herne, the inquiry into undercover policing.

She said: "As soon as I heard it, the room started spinning and I felt sick."

The undercover operation involved the unit known as the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) which also spied on the parents of the murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Civil rights campaigner Suresh Grover, who has worked with Mr Reel's family on its campaign, said: "The first real gesture that needs to take place is for the police to come and explain who these officers were and exactly what their remits were."

Derbyshire Chief Constable Mick Creedon, who is leading Operation Herne, said he had found no evidence any family justice campaign was targeted or infiltrated.

He said he would be publishing a report on Thursday into allegations that officers were tasked with infiltrating justice campaigns.

'Weeding process'

He added: "Whilst it is also clear that there was neither an SDS or Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) tactic to infiltrate or report on such campaigns for justice, my report will be critical of the MPS, and in particular of MPS Special Branch for the routine gathering and retention of information that was collateral, not linked to an operation or the prevention of crime and it should have been disposed of as part of a weeding process."

He said he would not name the families visited as part of his inquiry.

Operation Herne was launched in October 2011 after claims that some undercover officers engaged in long-term sexual relationships with people they were spying on.

Home Secretary Theresa May announced a judge-led public inquiry into undercover policing after a separate investigation found that the Lawrence family had been spied on.

15.37 | 0 komentar | Read More

Warning over NHS trust finances

24 July 2014 Last updated at 00:04 By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Nineteen NHS trusts have been referred to ministers after auditors raised concerns about their financial health.

The Audit Commission made the move after reviewing the health of 98 trusts running a combination of hospital, ambulance and community services.

The referrals have been made because the trusts have failed to break even and do not have robust enough plans to balance the books in the coming years.

The number represents nearly a four-fold rise from five last year.

It is another sign of the growing financial problems being seen in the health service. Earlier this month the Nuffield Trust warned that a quarter of trusts had finished the year in deficit, but that included nearly 250 trusts across the whole health service.

The Audit Commission looked in-depth at only those trusts that have not achieved foundation trusts status - given to the elite performers - and, as such, they tend to be the most financially-challenged organisations.

'Worrying'

Overall the watchdog had concerns about a third, but the 19 hospital trusts who got referrals are effectively the ones with the most deeply-rooted problems.

Not only did they fail to break even in 2013-14, but they were unable to convince auditors they could rectify the issues in the medium term.

The referral to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt means the trusts will face closer scrutiny from the authorities.

One of those referred is Hinchingbrooke, which is the first hospital trust to be run by a private firm, Circle.

Audit Commission controller Marcine Waterman said the findings were "worrying".

A Department of Health spokesman said the government recognised there were challenges which was why the budget had been protected this parliament.

He added: "It is essential that trust chief executives have a tight financial grip and ensure they live within their means."

The 19 trusts are: Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust; Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust; Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust; George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust; Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust; Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust; Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust; Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust; North Bristol NHS Trust; North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust; North West London Hospitals NHS Trust; Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust; Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust; The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust; United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust; University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust; Weston Area Health NHS Trust; Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

15.37 | 0 komentar | Read More

Experts to examine MH17 flight data

24 July 2014 Last updated at 04:38

UK investigators are to start examining the flight data recorder from the downed Malaysia Airlines plane.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch in Farnborough will start the process almost a week after the plane crashed in eastern Ukraine.

Whitehall sources, meanwhile, say information shows some evidence was tampered with at the crash site.

The sources said this included moving bodies and scattering the parts of other aircraft among the wreckage.

All 298 people on board flight MH17 were killed in the crash in Ukraine on 17 July.

They included 10 Britons on the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Missile launch

British accident investigators will attempt to retrieve data from the recorders following a request by authorities in the Netherlands.

The Dutch Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, said "valid data" had already been downloaded from MH17's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) which will be "further analysed".

The board said: "The CVR was damaged but the memory module was intact. Furthermore no evidence or indications of manipulation of the CVR was found."

The black boxes have been transported to the UK after pro-Russian rebels handed them to Malaysian officials this week.

The data recorder records technical information on the performance of the aircraft.

The other box takes down sounds such as pilots' voices and, potentially, an explosion.

Replay units

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said data from the two devices would be downloaded and sent back to Dutch investigators.

Depending on damage to the black boxes the process should take about two days, the spokesman said.

Jonathan Sumberg, BBC transport reporter, said the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) was one of two "replay units" in Europe with the necessary equipment to listen to the cockpit voice recorder.

What are black boxes?

They are two devices - neither of them black - which are designed to survive a crash.

The flight data recorder records operating information from the plane's systems, storing a range of information such as altitude, airspeed, engine power and the pilot's use of the controls.

The cockpit voice recorder, as its name suggests, records sound in the cockpit and can be vital in determining what happened to a crashed aircraft.

BBC reporter Theo Leggett said the black boxes would be taken to a sealed room at the AAIB headquarters in Farnborough where the data would be downloaded.

He said the flight recorder could potentially confirm whether the plane had been hit by a missile.

However, he said information from the cockpit voice recorder could be "relatively limited" as the impact of the explosion "would have occurred pretty much without warning".

Former aircraft accident investigator Tony Cable also told the BBC it was unclear how much information would be recovered from the flight recorders.

"The cockpit voice recorder could conceivably record the sound of shrapnel hitting the aircraft from the missile, which is assumed to be the cause, possibly followed by the sound of the warhead then exploding," he said.

'Very persuasive'

Whitehall sources also told the BBC that pro-Russian rebels are believed to have discussed plans to hand MH17's two black box flight recorders to Russia.

It is understood that some of these conversations were intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence; the information is considered to be "very persuasive".

Intelligence has also been obtained which strongly indicates that the plane was shot down by an SA-11 BUK missile launched from a separatist-held area in eastern Ukraine.

Western leaders have accused Russia of arming separatist rebels in Ukraine.

Russia has suggested Ukrainian government forces are to blame.

It comes as a group of MPs criticised the fact that UK licences to export arms to Russia had remained in place, despite the conflict in Ukraine.

Downing Street said the UK had not sold arms to Russia since March.

The UK and Dutch flags have been flown at half mast in Downing Street in memory of those who lost their lives.

15.37 | 0 komentar | Read More

Commonwealth Games begin in Glasgow

24 July 2014 Last updated at 07:55

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Commonwealth Games opening ceremony highlights

Tartan-clad performers, spinning oversized Tunnock's tea cakes and a giant kilt were among the highlights at a feel-good Commonwealth Games 2014 opening ceremony on Wednesday night.

The Queen officially opened the games before a 40,000-strong crowd in Glasgow's Celtic Park with millions more expected to watch on television.

Thousands of athletes from 71 nations and territories took part.

They entered the stadium after the live show, which had a cast of around 2,000.

The Queen declared the Games open by reading her own message from inside the Commonwealth baton.

Adventurer Mark Beaumont landed on the city's river Clyde in a seaplane carrying the baton to Celtic Park, having tracked its progress across the Commonwealth on a 288-day journey spanning almost 120,000 miles.

Inside the stadium, the baton was transferred between a group of volunteers who have helped children around Scotland find their potential through sport.

Sir Chris Hoy carried it on its final stage to Commonwealth Games Federation president Prince Imran of Malaysia, who struggled briefly to open the container and remove the message to hand to the Queen.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Queen laughs off Glasgow baton hitch

Her Majesty then spoke of the "shared ideals and ambitions" of the Commonwealth and highlighted the "bonds that unite" the 71 nations and territories.

"The baton relay represents a calling together of people from every part of the Commonwealth and serves as a reminder of our shared ideals and ambitions as a diverse, resourceful and cohesive family.

"And now, that baton has arrived here in Glasgow, a city renowned for its dynamic cultural and sporting achievements and for the warmth of its people, for this opening ceremony of the Friendly Games."

The Queen, in her role as head of the Commonwealth, then sent her best wishes to the competing athletes

Events inside the stadium are being shown to the assembled guests and crowd on Europe's largest LED screen.

The giant display, which stands across the whole of the stadium's South Stand, is almost 100 metres long, 11 metres high and weighs 38 tonnes.

Other adaptations to the venue include a specially-created stage floor covering the entire pitch and a multi-coloured walkway specifically designed for the athlete's parade.

Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor opened proceedings with a pre-recorded video message, before Glaswegian comedian Karen Dunbar struck up an elaborate song and dance number celebrating Scotland, accompanied by Torchwood star John Barrowman.

The routine welcomed visitors from across the Commonwealth to Glasgow and included larger-than-life representations of famous Scots inventions, landmarks, cultural heroes and Scottish history.

Rod Stewart was joined on stage by Bishopbriggs singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald alongside hundreds of ordinary Glasgow citizens to perform a version of his classic song Rhythm of My Heart.

Later in the ceremony, dancers from Scottish Ballet performed a routine to an acoustic version of The Proclaimers hit I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).

Pipe band

The Scottish Regiment Pipe Band arrived in the stadium to accompany Susan Boyle performing the Paul McCartney and Wings song Mull of Kintyre, as the Red Arrows performed a flypast over the city to signal the arrival of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

India, the hosts of the previous Games in Delhi in 2010, were the first team to enter the arena and received a warm welcome.

The remainder of the competing nations arrived according to geographical region, led by a Scots representative wearing tweeds and walking a Scottie terrier bedecked in a jacket bearing the name of each country.

The England team were met by loud cheers from the crowd as the European nations entered the stadium, Northern Ireland were led by cyclist Martyn Irvine and the Wales team sported black Harrington-style jackets with tartan lining.

The loudest reception of the night was reserved for the host nation Scotland, who paraded into Celtic Park last, according to Games tradition, accompanied by The Shamen's hit Move Any Mountain.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Spectacular musical number opens Glasgow 2014

Sir Chris Hoy joined Scottish actors Ewan McGregor, who was on screen, and James McAvoy in an unprecedented appeal for donations to Unicef's Children of the Commonwealth Fund.

The charity said initial figures showed that more than £2.5m had already been raised to help young people across the nations.

Unicef said more than 500,000 people in the UK donated by text within an hour of seeing the appeal.

Towards the end of the ceremony a message was delivered live from the International Space Station to the Commonwealth nations, and Scots musician Nicola Benedetti performed a violin solo as the Games Federation flag was raised.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond paid tribute to the victims of the crashed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, leading a silence before welcoming the participating nations to the Games in English and Gaelic.

The sentiments were echoed by Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson and Malaysia's Prince Imran, who both encouraged and promoted a spirit of competitiveness and friendship.

Glasgow band Primal Scream closed proceedings as fireworks went off all across the city.

Temperatures in Glasgow earlier reached 25 degrees C, officially the hottest day in Scotland this year.

The Games will feature 17 sports across 11 days of competition, beginning on Thursday.

The closing ceremony will take place at Hampden Park on the south side of the city, which has been transformed into an athletics venue, on 3 August.

15.37 | 0 komentar | Read More

Power cut compensation increased

24 July 2014 Last updated at 08:30

People whose power is cut off for long spells during bad weather will be eligible for much higher compensation payments.

The regulator Ofgem is raising the minimum payment per customer from £27 to £70 for those who go at least 24 hours without power.

It follows the storms last Christmas when nearly one million people in southern England were cut off.

Of those, 16,000 were without power for more than two days.

Ofgem was particularly unhappy with the efforts of the power supplier SSE, and the power distribution firm UKPN (UK Power Networks), to restore power quickly enough to their customers.

Maxine Frerk of Ofgem told the BBC that telling customers what was going on was just as important as reconnecting them.

"There are lessons that have got to be learned for the future - both about getting some customers reconnected faster, but most importantly about the communications with customers, so that they can get through, find out what's happening and get some sense of when they're likely to be back on supply," she said.

Further action

The two firms have already paid £4.7 million in compensation to their most badly affected customers.

Now, after Ofgem pressure, the companies will donate a further £3.3 million to organisations like the Red Cross which help distressed customers during power cuts and bad weather.

The regulator said the point of raising the level of compensation payouts was to give the firms an incentive to work faster at reconnecting customers.

"Ofgem's findings showed that while SSE and UKPN's southern arms were particularly badly hit by the storms, they could have done more to get customers reconnected faster and to keep them better updated on what was happening," said the regulator.

"The companies have recognised that they must improve their procedures for any future major interruption and Ofgem has today put the industry on notice that any repeat of last year's performance issues will trigger further action," it added.

UKPN pointed out that it had been deluged with phone calls from customers during the storms, receiving more than 100,000 on the morning of Christmas Eve.

Extra measures

And it said it had already made improvements.

"Some of the measures we have put in place since December include training extra call-takers, damage assessment teams and customer information officers to restore power supplies quicker and keep customers better informed in future extreme events," said a spokesman.

"We are working closely with the industry and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to support the introduction of a single, national, three-digit number for customers to call during power cuts, as well as a number of other initiatives," he added.

As well as raising the minimum compensation payment to £70, the maximum amount that can be claimed by a customers is also going up - from £216 to £700.

The higher level of compensation payments come into effect from April 2015.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

January 2014: Publican John Gill explained how much the power cuts cost him

Have you gone through long periods without power because of bad weather? What do you think about the announced increase to compensation payments? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Power".

15.37 | 0 komentar | Read More