Brian Lynch: Prison Escape Charge For Killer

A convicted murderer is to appear in court accused of fleeing prison while on day release.

Brian Lynch, 44, who was arrested in Gorton, Manchester, has been charged with escaping from lawful custody.

A woman, 40, who was also at the Manchester address, was arrested on suspicion of harbouring an escaped prisoner.

Lynch is accused of fleeing from Preston city centre last Thursday afternoon while on a day trip from nearby HMP Kirkham.

He was jailed in 1988 for the killing of 21-year-old Chi Yeung Yip in Clayton, Manchester.

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Olympics Fiasco: G4S Profits Fall By A Third

Annual profits fell by a worse than expected 32% at G4S, the firm at the centre of last year's Olympics security fiasco.

Pre-tax profit for 2012 dropped to £175m from £257m the previous year as a result of a £70m loss on its contract to supply security personnel to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.

The Armed Forces had to be called in to cover staff shortfalls when G4S admitted just ahead of the Games that it had failed to hire enough guards to cover its contract.

It had been obliged to provide 10,400 people but managed to fulfil 83% of its contracted shifts.

The failures led to chief operating officer David Taylor-Smith and Ian Horseman Sewell, who was head of global events, to quit their jobs while chief executive Nick Buckles remained in his post.

Mr Buckles told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee in July that the staffing failure was a fiasco and a "humiliating shambles".

A report for G4S by auditors PwC found that monitoring and tracking of the security workforce was inadequate and that management failed to appreciate the scale and exact nature of the project.

The £70m loss on the contract, along with additional related costs of £18m, was taken as an exceptional charge in its 2012 accounts.

Despite the PR disaster over the Olympics, the group has shown signs of recovery in recent months, winning British government and commercial contracts, and has spoken of receiving government assurances that its Olympic failure would not hinder its chances of winning work in future.

Underlying revenue rose 8.1% in 2012 to £7.3bn, with improved organic growth of 7%. The group's emerging markets division performed strongly with revenue up 15%.

Its share price fell by 1.3% in early trading on Wednesday.

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bionic Eye 'Enables Blind People To See'

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

A bionic eye has enabled blind people to read letters and simple words.

The implant converts images from an external camera into electronic signals that the brain can "see".

Tests on 21 patients with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease that destroys light-receiving cells at the back of the eye, showed that three quarters were able to correctly identify single letters.

More than half were able to read four-letter words, according to results published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Before being fitted with the device Richard Barrett only had vague light perception in one eye.

Now he can locate objects and find his way around.

He said: "When I am indoors I can see where windows are. To go to a door you can scan and pick up where the door frame is.

"If you have a path and grass down one side, you can pick up the edge of the path. That's where the device comes into its own."

Lyndon da Cruz, consultant retinal surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, said the Argus II device could "restore some meaningful vision in patients that otherwise would have been left blind".

He told Sky News: "At the best end of it they can start to read small 5cm letters formed into words. This was a huge change in perception of what we thought this device could do."

The Argus II is currently the only approved retinal prosthesis. A camera mounted on a pair of glasses feeds pictures along a cable to an electronic chip resting against the retina inside the eye.

The chip stimulates the optic nerve, which carries signals to the visual processing centre of the brain, giving the wearer a highly pixellated black and white view of the world.

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

No Smoking Day: Charity Launches 'Hijacking' App

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has pledged to hijack cigarette packs from today - No Smoking Day - by virtually transforming them in smokers' hands into items they could afford if they quit.

The charity is encouraging smokers to "swap fags for swag" by thinking about how much money they could save if they quit.

Someone who smokes 20 cigarettes a day could save £7 a day, £49 a week, £210 a month and £2,555 a year if they kicked the habit, the BHF said.

The charity has developed a new smartphone app, Blippar, which virtually transforms a cigarette pack into a puff of smoke, before revealing items they could afford with a week, month, or year's worth of smoking savings.

This year's BHF No Smoking Day campaign

Betty McBride, director of policy and communications at the BHF, said: "The tobacco giants are notoriously protective about their slick cigarette packaging - here's a bit of slick that does some good for once.

"We need to up our game if we are going to help people beat their addiction to tobacco by finding new ways to reach out to them."

The new app comes on BHF's 30th annual No Smoking Day. A survey conducted for the 2013 campaign found that 11% of smokers are desperate to kick the habit.

And 82% of 2,000 UK smokers surveyed had tried and failed to quit.

Around one in five people smoke, according to the charity, and the latest data from the World Health Organisation shows that smoking prevalence in Europe is higher than the rest of the world.

A separate poll, conducted on 2,000 ex and current smokers by Pru Health, found that the average smoker spends 11% of income on tobacco.

:: Smokers who want help in quitting are encouraged to visit wequit.co.uk or call 0800 434 6677

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

E.On Boss: Energy Firm Profits Are 'Fair'

The boss of one of the 'big six' energy providers has told Sky News his company made a "fair profit" in 2012.

Tony Cocker, chief executive of E.On UK, was speaking after the company posted a 17% fall in annual profits to £235m.

Energy firms have been at pains to argue that they are not over-charging customers since inflation-busting bill increases were first announced ahead of winter.

Each has blamed higher wholesale prices and greater investment commitments for the rises.

E.On was the last of the major providers to hike its prices, having pledged not to raise them in 2012.

The company, which supplies five million homes, has estimated its profit margin on electricity and gas to domestic customers at 2.3% for 2012, or just under £27 on an average weighted dual fuel bill.

Mr Cocker said: "We worked hard to make sure that the choices we made were right for our customers and the efforts we made to freeze our prices and make our customer service better had a real and positive impact.

"As a result of the changes we have made, many of which were difficult and challenging, we were named by consumers and uSwitch as their 'customer satisfaction overall winner' for the first time.

"We still have a long way to go in terms of how we'd like our customers to view us, I'm heartened by the progress we've made by doing things differently."

The Government's Energy Bill aims to automatically ensure customers are on the cheapest possible tariff as the industry faces pressure to simplify its charges and bill structures.

Mr Cocker said E.On had already made big strides in simplifying bills and he refused to say whether it was inevitable that bills would rise in future though he did admit that the industry was making a "large investment in this country".

Last month, the chief executive of the energy regulator Ofgem warned consumers and businesses to prepare for higher prices as power plants close, foreign gas supplies shrink and increasing demand tightens the British energy market.

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shark-Wrestler Grandad 'Disgusted' By Sacking

A grandfather who grappled with a shark on a busy beach has told of his disgust at being sacked from his job after footage of his feat went round the world.

Charity worker Paul Marshallsea, 62, said he and his wife Wendy had been on long-term sick leave with stress and were on holiday on their doctor's advice when the incident happened.

He told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan he was feeling better by the time of the incident: "We'd been there a few weeks and I did feel better.

"When I came back I went to the doctor and told him I was better. The day I came back was the day I was ready for work."

Mr Marshallsea, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, was called a hero after he waded in to the surf and grabbed the 6ft shark by the tail amid fears it would attack paddling children.

A local news crew caught his exploits on camera and his story made headlines around the world and earned him praise from lifeguards.

But now Mr Marshallsea has lost his job with children's charity the Pant and Dowlais Boys & Girls Club. He had been signed off with work-related stress since last April.

The grandfather-of-one and his 56-year-old wife, who also worked for the charity and was off ill at the time, flew back to Britain to letters informing them they had been sacked.

He has now hit back saying he was "disgusted" by the way he has been treated. He said: "What am I going to do now? There's not much call for shark wrestlers in Merthyr Tydfil."

Mr Marshallsea claims that he should have received a pat on the back for his efforts and that he only took the holiday with his wife on the advice of his GP.

Mr Marshallsea worked as project co-ordinator at Dowlais Engine House, where the charity has a base, and his wife was a senior youth worker.

He had been featured on Sky News for his work with the charity and once met Prince Charles, who visited to find out about the project's work in the town.

The letter he received read: "Whilst unfit to work you were well enough to travel to Australia and, according to recent news footage of yourself in Queensland, you allegedly grabbed a shark by the tail and narrowly missed being bitten by quickly jumping out of the way, the photographs and footage appearing in newspapers and television broadcasts."

A follow-up letter added: "The breakdown of the trustees' confidence and trust in you and your ability to perform the role is so great that we find that dismissal is the only course of action we can recommend."

Mr Marshallsea said running the club became increasingly stressful as it gained in success and the couple were working up to seven days a week.

"We created a whip to hit our own backs. It grew so big and we didn't realise. There was no stopping it."

Sky News contacted the charity trustees and is awaiting their response.

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Minimum Alcohol Pricing: Anger Over U-Turn

David Cameron has insisted he will still clamp down on the sale of cheap alcohol after criticism over an apparent U-turn to impose a minimum price on drink.

Sources have told Sky News that the Government is planning to ditch plans for the 45p minimum, prompting anger from supporters of the move.

The Prime Minister had personally backed the proposal for England and Wales, which experts argue would save lives and cut crime.

But it has been blocked by senior Tories, with opponents said to include Home Secretary Theresa May who has been at the centre of recent leadership rumours.

Education Secretary Michael Gove and Commons leader Andrew Lansley also signalled their doubts amid fears about the effect on responsible drinkers already battling the rising cost of living.

Labour leader Ed Miliband suggested at PMQs that the Prime Minister had been overruled by Mrs May.

To roars from his own benches, he asked: "In the light of his U-turn on alcohol pricing, can the Prime Minister tell us is there anything he could organise in a brewery?"

David Cameron insisted he was still "determined" to address the issue

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston also directly challenged Mr Cameron later in the session, warning that abandoning the policy would "critically undermine" attempts to tackle problem drinking.

Earlier the Totnes MP had told Sky News: "We know that when alcohol is too cheap, people die. That is the bottom line. This is about saving lives."

Mr Cameron pledged to take action but notably failed to commit to bringing in a minimum price.

"There is a problem with deeply discounted alcohol in supermarkets and other stores and I am absolutely determined that we will deal with this," he said.

The Government has held a 12-week consultation on the policy, which ended in February, and is now looking at the results before issuing its formal response.

An announcement is expected in the next few weeks.

Senior Tory backbencher David Davis said he would welcome the abandonment of what he called a "blunderbuss of a policy" doomed to failure.

"It will hit poor people, it will hit people in the north, it will hit the pensioner having their one bottle of wine a week, it'll hit the hard-up couple doing the same," he said.

"It will transfer £1bn from the public to the people who sell alcohol and it's not going to work."

But fellow Tory Tracey Crouch insisted the base price would not hit responsible drinkers, who would still be able to buy a bottle of wine for £5.

She said: "We know that the Prime Minister is personally quite committed to this policy so I think we need to continue to press our case."

Campaigners also warned that a change of heart would be a mistake and urged the Government not to give into pressure from the drinks industry.

Eric Appleby, from Alcohol Concern, said: "All the evidence shows it will save lives and reduce crime - and we mustn't allow the interests of big business to derail this important policy."

Ed Miliband suggested Theresa May had "overruled" the Prime Minister

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore from Alcohol Health Alliance UK added: "We are seeing admissions to hospital rising, we are seeing deaths rising every year. If the Government caves in to pressure from the global drinks industry it will be a disaster.

"At the moment, the UK is being praised around the world for taking tough action and to see a U-turn would be very sad indeed for everyone."

But Miles Beale, the chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said consumers would welcome the move.

"Minimum unit pricing would penalise responsible drinkers and treat everyone who is looking for value in their shopping as a binge-drinker," he said. "Evidence has also shown it will do little to tackle problem drinking."

Introducing a 45p base price per unit would mean a can of strong lager could not be sold for under £1.56 and a bottle of wine for under £4.22.

Last year, ministers claimed the change would cut the number of crimes by 5,000, slash hospital admissions by 24,000 and lead to 700 fewer alcohol-linked deaths annually.

Scotland is already set to introduce a 50p minimum price but is facing legal challenges due to claims the price floor could breach EU free trade rules.

Northern Ireland is still examining the issue.

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dave Lee Travis Arrested Again By Police

Dave Lee Travis has been re-arrested over new sex claims dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, according to Sky sources.

The former Radio 1 DJ was previously arrested in November by police investigating the Jimmy Savile abuse claims over two allegations that he groped or molested two women.

"He answered his bail and was re-arrested and questioned over new allegations from new victims," Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said.

"A number of new allegations have emerged over the past few weeks, since his initial arrest.

"More alleged victims have come forward to make complaints to Scotland Yard about alleged misbehaviour, sexual abuse, by Dave Lee Travis - enough for him to have been re-arrested."

It is not clear exactly how many fresh allegations the 67-year-old faces. He has since been released by police.

Officers are reportedly expected to make a decision on any charges by next month.

At the time of his first arrest he denied any wrongdoing. He stressed that the allegations against him had nothing to do with children and that he did not want his name associated with "bloody evil" child abuse.

Speaking outside his home in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, at the time, he said: "The point I want to make here is that none of the things I've been talking to the police about, or have talked to them about, is to do with children."

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said a man in his 60s from Bedfordshire had been interviewed when he answered bail on Monday.

He said the man was "further arrested on suspicion of sexual offences in connection with further allegations made to Operation Yewtree".

Police working on Operation Yewtree have said they are looking at three categories of offences; those allegedly committed by Savile alone, those allegedly committed by Savile and others, and alleged offences by others.

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Danny Nightingale: Wins Gun Conviction Appeal

SAS sniper Danny Nightingale has won an appeal against a conviction for illegally possessing a pistol and ammunition.

Sergeant Nightingale's barrister told three appeal judges that the soldier was put under "improper pressure" to plead guilty.

The judges agreed, quashing the convictions and ordering a retrial after a hearing in London.

Speaking outside court, Sergeant Nightingale said: "I'm absolutely elated. Again, thanking everyone massively for this. I do believe it was the right decision today.

"It is slightly tainted with the fact the retrial will be coming upon us, as it stands, tonight will be a happy night.

"We now have a re-trial to face. We will attack it with the same vigour and tenacity as we've done this."

Sergeant Nightingale and his wife, Sally, upon his release

He said any decision on whether he returned to duty pending the re-trial would be for the Ministry of Defence.

William Clegg QC  earlier told the hearing his client had been told by a barrister representing him at the military trial that he would get a five-year jail term if found guilty but might not go to prison if he pleaded guilty.

In written arguments presented to the three appeal judges, Mr Clegg said that "undue pressure" had been placed on Sgt Nightingale by barrister Ian Winter QC.

But when outlining arguments orally, Mr Clegg said the "wrong" occurred when the trial judge - Assistant Judge Advocate General Alastair McGrigor - "entered the arena".

Mr Clegg told the appeal court today: "What he (Mr Winter) was forced to say is 'This is what the judge is saying is going to happen'. This is where the improper pressure came from."

The barrister said, in written arguments given to judges, that the "pressure" placed on Sgt Nightingale rendered his conviction "unsafe" and his guilty plea a "nullity".

Sgt Nightingale, 38, who has spent 11 years in Special Forces and served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, was sentenced to 18 months in military custody after pleading guilty to illegally keeping a pistol.

Nightingale was given the weapon by Iraqi troops he had been training

He had been given the weapon as a present by Iraqi forces he had been training, but had no recollection of owning it after suffering a brain injury.

His sentence was cut to 12 months and suspended by the appeal court last November after a campaign by his wife Sally gathered huge public support for a man described by the appeal court judge as an "exemplary soldier".

Since his release the highly trained elite soldier has been at home in Cheshire, unable to rejoin his regiment whilst awaiting the outcome of his appeal.

"It's very frustrating wanting to do something (but having) no routine," he said before the hearing.

"And yes, being paid to do not what I'm supposed to do.

"You're trained up to do stuff, and you want to do stuff. You can't stand the futility of not doing it. To be told 'that's it, go and do nothing, you can't do anything'. That's hard."

The situation has meant he has spent a lot of time with his two young daughters, Mara, five, and Alys, two.

"I've probably had more time with my family in the last 18 months than regiment (SAS) guys will have in seven years," he said.

Sgt Nightingale is desperate to get back to work and said: "I still love it. It was the proudest day of my life when I passed (the notoriously tough SAS selection course)."

Mrs Nightingale is more circumspect about the possibility of her husband rejoining the SAS as a frontline soldier after his brain injury, which she believes still affects him.

She feels her husband has been made a scapegoat by the Army and wants to know why, but acknowledges she will probably never get the answers to her questions.

If he does return to work then it will be more upheaval for his young girls according to Sally

"They've got to get used to that again because they have had dad to take them to school, to pick them up from school, do clubs with them, take them swimming," she said.

"You know, he does all those extra bits while I'm working and doing other things. So they've had a really good time with dad."

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Philpott House Fire Trial: Father Breaks Down

By Darren Little, Nottingham Crown Court

A father accused of killing six of his children in a house fire slumped in the dock as his frantic 999 call was played to a court.

A sobbing Mick Philpott put his head in his hands and almost disappeared from view as a jury at Nottingham Crown Court listened to the recording.

"I was hysterical," he said.

"How do you explain not being able to get to your babies?"

Giving evidence at the start of his defence, the 56-year-old insisted he had nothing to do with the blaze - but that he had his suspicions about who did.

Anthony Orchard QC, defending Philpott, asked him: "Did you set the fire?"

"No," Philpott replied.

"Are you connected to the setting of the fire?" the counsel continued. Philpott responded: "No."

Mr Orchard then asked the defendant if he knew who did start the blaze, to which Philpott replied that he did not.

Asked by the counsel: "Do you have your suspicions?" - Philpott answered: "I do."

Floral tributes outside the Philpott home in May last year

Jade, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, all perished in the blaze on Victory Road in Allenton in May last year.

Their brother Duwayne, 13, was taken to Derby Royal Hospital but died three days later after being transferred to a Birmingham hospital.

Mick Philpott, 56, and his wife Mairead, 31, deny killing their six children after a "plan" to frame his ex-mistress Lisa Willis went wrong. A third defendant, Paul Mosley, 46, also denies six counts of manslaughter.

Miss Willis, 29, lived with the Philpotts and her five children, four of whom were fathered by Mick Philpott, until she left with the youngsters in February last year.

Asked about their relationship, he said: "At that particular time I thought that me and Lisa had this bond that was inseparable."

Philpott told the court he spent a lot of time with his wife and slept with Miss Willis in the evenings.

The court heard he openly discussed his desire to divorce his wife and marry Miss Willis, but said his wife would never leave him.

"She was not going anywhere," he told the jury. "Mairead will always be my wife, even if we got divorced."

Whilst giving evidence, Philpott became emotional while talking of his wife's attempted suicide after Miss Willis moved out.

Philpott told the court he was "distraught" when he realised his wife had taken an overdose.

He admitted the suicide attempt was a "wake up call", and admitted he had "made mistakes and had not been the best husband".

Jurors also heard of the family's appearance on television on the Jeremy Kyle Show - a move Philpott said he regretted because his children were bullied and the family received death threats afterwards.

Asked why he decided to go on the chat show by Mr Orchard, Philpott replied: "We all decided. At that time we needed a bigger house."

In response to claims that the fire was set last year because the family wanted a bigger house, Philpott told the court: "The house was quite sufficient."

The trial continues.

23.15 | 0 komentar | Read More