Syria: 'Britain Encouraged Chemical Attacks'

Britain, the US and France helped "terrorists" use chemical weapons in Damascus, Syria's deputy foreign minister has claimed.

"The terrorist groups are the ones who used them with American, British and French encouragement. This encouragement should stop," said Faisal Al-Miqdad.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said "all the evidence" pointed to Bashar al Assad's regime being behind the chemical weapon attack, a response to which he said would be discussed at a meeting of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

"We believe that it's time the United Nations Security Council shouldered its responsibilities on Syria, which for the last two and a half years it has failed to do," he said.

"We're clear that if there isn't agreement at the United Nations, we and other nations still have a responsibility on chemical weapons.

"We have to confront something that is a crime against humanity. If we don't do so we will have to confront even bigger war crimes in the future.

David Cameron cut short his holiday to return for the talks

He repeated David Cameron's statement that the National Security Council (NSC) had "agreed unanimously that the use of chemical weapons by Assad was unacceptable - and the world should not stand by".

Military commanders in the council, which held talks chaired by the Prime Minister at Downing Street, were helping draw up plans for missile strikes against Syria.

The NSC also "agreed unanimously on a recommendation" to be considered by the Cabinet tomorrow, while the UN Security Council meeting in New York later will look at Britain's draft resolution condemning the attack and "authorising all necessary measures".

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged all sides to prioritise a diplomatic solution and said his team needs until Sunday to establish the full facts of the alleged chemical attack.

This afternoon's NSC meeting at Downing Street was expected to discuss the intelligence gathered by UN inspectors from their initial visit to Mouadamiya, the site of last week's suspected chemical weapons attack that allegedly killed more than 1,300.

General Sir Nick Houghton, chief of the defence staff, was also expected to outline a series of options for targeted attacks.

A UN weapons inspector visits wounded Syrians after the alleged gas attack

It is understood the most likely military response would be a strike launched from US Navy warships against targets such as command and control bunkers.

The US Navy is repositioning several vessels in the eastern Mediterranean, including four cruise missile-carrying destroyers and a missile-firing submarine.

Military analysts have also suggested a British Trafalgar class submarine might be used as a potential launch platform.

However, some experts remain sceptical about whether limited strikes on tactical targets would provide a strong enough deterrent.

Defence analyst Francis Tusa told Sky News: "I'm not necessarily sure it puts any particular pressure on the regime to change its behaviour.

"Losing the odd bit of hardware that the Russians will replace for free doesn't seem to be that much of value."

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has also responded to the rising tensions, reportedly saying that US military intervention would be "a disaster for the region".

"The region is like a gunpowder store and the future cannot be predicted," Iran's ISNA agency quoted him as saying.

More than 1,300 are said to have died as the result of the alleged attack

Turkey and Iraq both say they have placed their military on high alert.

Mr Cameron and US President Barack Obama have agreed that "all the information available confirmed a chemical weapons attack had taken place", a Downing Street spokesperson said on Wednesday morning.

"They both agreed they were in no doubt that the Assad regime was responsible," said Number 10.

Nato has also given its support for tough action against Syria, "condemning in the strongest possible terms these outrageous attacks".

"Those responsible must be held accountable," it added.

Parliament will be recalled on Thursday for a final vote on what action the UK should take.

Sky sources say a government motion is expected to call for "appropriate measures" but will not contain a timetable for action.

Foreign Secretary William Hague was at the NSC meeting

Speaking yesterday, Mr Cameron said action must be "proportionate, have to be legal, would have to specifically be about deterring the use of chemical weapons".

Decisions about British involvement have not been taken, he said on Tuesday, adding Parliament was the "right place to set out all of the arguments".

"We shouldn't stand by when we see this massive use of chemical weapons and appalling levels of suffering," he said.

"But I would say this to people - there is never 100% certainty, there is never one piece or several pieces of intelligence that give you absolute certainty.

"But what we know is this regime has huge stocks of chemical weapons. We know they have used them on at least 10 occasions prior to this last widescale use."

Labour leader Ed Miliband has indicated that his party would consider supporting international action if it was legal and had "clear and achievable goals".

While political momentum towards intervention mounts, the British public has yet to be persuaded.

A child is treated after the alleged chemcial attack

A YouGov survey for The Sun revealed that nearly three-quarters of people oppose the deployment of British troops to Syria.

And a majority of 3-1 believe the Government should be bound by Parliament's vote tomorrow.

UN weapons inspectors arrived at the site of the alleged attacks on Wednesday morning, a day after suspending their mission over safety concerns.

The inspectors came under sniper fire when they began their operation on Monday.

Russia has confirmed it has started to pull its citizens out of Syria as the likelihood of military action increases.

It flew 89 people out of the country on Tuesday night and 28 more on Wednesday morning.

Russia and China both strongly oppose the intervention, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believing it would seriously destabilise the region.

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Jamie Oliver Says British Workers 'Whinge'

The television chef, Jamie Oliver, has said that if his restaurants had to rely on British staff rather than European immigrants they would close.

Oliver said that immigrants were "stronger" and "tougher" than their British counterparts who tended to "whinge" about too long hours.

He said that he had mothers telephoning him to say that their sons were "too tired".

His controversial comments come just 24 hours after he sparked anger by saying that families trapped in "modern-day poverty" forked out on giant televisions instead of healthy food.

In his latest comments, the 38-year-old told Good Housekeeping magazine: "The average working hours in a week was 80 to 100. That was really normal in my 20s. But the EU regulation now is 48 hours, which is half a week's work for me. And they still whinge about it!

Oliver says he used to work a 100-hour week in his 20s

"British kids particularly, I have never seen anything so wet behind the ears!

"I have mummies phoning up for 23-year-olds saying to me, 'My son is too tired'. On a 48-hour-week! Are you having a laugh?"

He told the magazine: "I think our European immigrant friends are much stronger, much tougher.

"If we didn't have any, all of my restaurants would close tomorrow. There wouldn't be any Brits to replace them."

Oliver, whose restaurants include Fifteen, which helps the young unemployed, and more than 30 UK branches of Jamie's Italian, said: "It's all very well when people are slagging off immigration and I'm sure there are problems.

"Older people always complain about youth and I think it's a good thing because it is always changing. The young will be better at different things. But long hours in hot kitchens is not one of them!"

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TUC Warns Of 'Lost Decade Of Stagnation'

Britain faces a lost decade of economic "stagnation" because of the current rate of growth, the TUC has warned.

A study by the union organisation showed the UK's rising population has been driving growth in recent years.

It warned GDP income per head is lower now than when the coalition was formed in 2010, and is not set to return to its pre-recession level for five years.

According to its analysis, GDP per head is now £23,728 - just 0.7% higher than the lowest point of the recession in 2009 and 0.7% lower than in 2010.

It is also a massive 7.5% lower than the peak in late 2007 before the financial crisis erupted.

The TUC predicts the pre-recession peak of £25,652 GDP per head will not be reached until early 2018 if the economy continues to grow at the current pace.

It warns there is a risk of another "personal debt bubble" unless real wages and household incomes start rising again.

General secretary Frances O'Grady said: "After years of recession and stagnation, prolonged by painful austerity, the Government has been quick to claim we are back in recovery.

Income per head is lower now than in 2010

"But if the economy continues to grow at its current rate, it will still take nearly five more years to get back to where we were in 2007. That doesn't sound like much of a recovery.

"Too many people are having to run down their savings or turn to credit cards to spend in the shops, rather than see their incomes grow, and behind improving employment figures are millions of workers whose incomes are falling and who can't get enough hours to make ends meet.

"We all want to see the UK economy back on track but any talk of recovery is meaningless unless we get the right kind of growth."

The Treasury insisted the economy was "on the mend", citing recent GDP figures showing 0.7% growth in the second quarter, but admitted there is still a long way to go.

A spokesman said: "The Government has taken continued action to help people who work hard and want to get on.

"Increasing the personal allowance has taken 2.4 million people out of tax altogether and saves a typical taxpayer almost £600,

"Freezing fuel duty has kept prices 13p per litre cheaper than they would otherwise have been and freezing council tax for each year of this Parliament will save a typical household £600."

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Peru: Plea Decision Looms For British Women

A lawyer for one of the British women accused of drug smugling in Peru says they will have to decide soon whether they are going to plead guilty or continue to maintain their innocence.

Peter Madden, who is representing Michaella McCollum, 20, from Northern Ireland, said she and co-accused Melissa Reid, also 20, from Scotland, are scared and confused but will have to decide within weeks what to plead.

"They are basically confident enough that what they have told the authorities will be eventually proved," Mr Madden said.

"The Peruvian system is still that they are innocent until proven guilty but in reality they have to try to prove that what they said happened to them did happen."

Reid's father went to Peru to support his daughter

Mr Madden, a well-known human rights solicitor from Belfast who has acted for high-profile republicans, has just returned from South America.

He added: "They are frightened. They are unsure of their future. They are in a prison in which they are the only two foreigners."

Mr Madden said that, under new laws soon to take effect in Peru, they could be released after two years if they accept responsibility for their crime.

He added: "The position is that at some stage there will have to be a decision made by Michaella and Melissa as to whether or not, in our terms, they plead guilty, or plead not guilty and go to trial.

The women were found with 11kg of cocaine in their luggage

"That stage hasn't been reached yet."

Mr Madden told BBC Radio Ulster: "Anybody who is arrested and found in possession of drugs goes straight into prison. There is no bail.

"If they want to protest their innocence in a trial that may take up to or over two years, whereas if they accept their responsibility, as it is put, it could be over in six months.

"The law is changing so they could actually serve just over two years and be released.

"There is a new law going through the Peruvian Congress which states that any foreigner who has a sentence of less than seven years will get two-thirds remission and be removed from the country after a period of one third.

The pair say they were forced to travel from Ibiza to Peru

"This is a fairly complex decision but at some stage they will have to make that decision."

The women were stopped with 11kg (24lb) of cocaine, with an estimated street value of £1.5m, hidden in food packets in their luggage while trying to board a flight to Spain earlier this month.

Officials said they had confessed to investigators that they knew there were drugs in their bags but that they had been threatened at gunpoint and forced to smuggle the cocaine by a criminal gang.

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Bolton: Five Men Accused Of Raping Teenager

Five men have been arrested over the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl.

They were held after raids at addresses in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on suspicion of subjecting the teenager to repeated sexual assaults between July 2011 and September 2012.

All five remain in custody for questioning on suspicion of rape and conspiracy to commit rape.

The suspects are understood to be of various ethnicities.

The raids follow an investigation by the Serious Sexual Offences Unit of Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

Detective Inspector Simon Davie said: "There will understandably be anxiety in the community following today's arrests.

"This is the result of a complex and detailed investigation that has been running for several months into allegations of serious sexual assaults committed against a young girl.

"There are other people we are actively seeking to speak to as part of this investigation and there may be further arrests in future.

"For those reasons, we are unable to go into any more detail about the status of the investigation.

He said a team of highly skilled officers is carrying out the investigation.

"What I can say is that Greater Manchester Police takes all allegations of child sexual exploitation very seriously," HE SAID.

"The force has strategies in place to combat child sexual exploitation and we work closely with other agencies such as Bolton Council to both prosecute people who target vulnerable children and young people and also protect and safeguard victims.

"Specially trained staff are continuing to support the victim throughout what is clearly a very traumatic time for her."

Police urge anyone with information to call 101, the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or the NSPCC on 0800 800 5000.

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Mortar Device Found In Northern Ireland

Police in Northern Ireland say they have found a "mortar type device" near the village of Cullyhanna, County Armagh.

The discovery comes after a major security operation close to the Irish border, which has lasted for several days.

Soldiers have been using sniffer dogs and metal detectors to scour hedgerows and drainage ditches for signs of explosives.

The device was found in the area around Bog Road and Lisleitrim Road, where a number of houses had been evacuated.

It is being examined and made safe by a bomb disposal team.

A bomb disposal robot examines the device

Dominic Bradley, the Social Democratic and Labour Party MLA for Newry and Armagh, said: "The people of Cullyhanna, south Armagh and indeed the people of this island, want to be left in peace. Instead, those responsible still live in some warped existence of the past.

"There is palpable anger in the local community. They don't want this level of disruption as they go about their everyday lives.

"The community are relieved there have been no deaths or serious injury and they want those responsible to stop immediately."

Ulster Unionist MLA Danny Kennedy added: "I'm concerned at both the capability and the intent of those sinister elements behind this (device).

Armed police officers and soldiers were called to the scene

"It simply reinforces how important it is that local people give total support to the police and provide them with every assistance possible as they attempt to protect and serve the entire community."

The discovery comes after a mortar attack on a police station in Londonderry was foiled when security services stopped a van with four devices that were primed and ready to launch.

Mortars have also been found during security alerts in Belfast.

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Tributes Paid To Boy, 12, Found In River Cam

A 12-year-old boy found dead after going into the River Cam near Cambridge has been named as Andrew Collings.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed his body was recovered at around 3am following a major search operation.

Witnesses had reported seeing him enter the water on Tuesday evening.

Police and other emergency services began searching after reports the boy did not resurface after going into the river at Lammas Land, the Fen Causeway, at about 6pm.

Two boys look at flowers left at the scene at Lammas Land

Andrew attended the Cambridge's Netherall School. His headteacher spoke of her sorrow at his death after his body was discovered.

Principal Caroline McKenney said: "The school extends its deepest condolences to Andy's family. When the time is right we will speaking to his family and students at the school to find a suitable way of remembering him."

According to the Cambridge News, the boy's family watched as officers, paramedics, fire crews and a police helicopter searched the water. Rescue teams were seen dredging the river bed.

One witness told the paper: "The police helicopter was up and the firefighters were everywhere. They were going up and down the river looking for a child.

"We heard that four boys had gone into the river but only three came out and one didn't."

Donna Frost said her son Charlie had been playing with Andrew and others earlier in the evening.

She said: "Apparently two or three of them jumped in and one managed to get hold of him but couldn't save him.

"Charlie feels terrible because he had been playing with him but came home for his tea.

"He thinks if he'd stayed he may have been able to save him but perhaps he would have got in trouble himself."

"Kids always jump in the river here but it's not dredged and there are no life rings. We're all cut up about it, he was such a lovely lad."

School friends have left flowers on a bench near the river bank.

A spokesman for East of England Ambulance Service said: "We received the call at 6.11pm to an incident involving a 12-year-old boy in water.

"We sent three ambulances, a rapid response vehicle and a land crew from East Anglia Air Ambulance."

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Mosque Arson Attempt Suspects Caught On CCTV

Police have released CCTV footage of three men apparently spraying highly flammable insulation foam under the door and window shutters of a mosque in Essex.

The Harlow Islamic Centre was targeted in an apparent arson attack early on Monday and the attempt was discovered by mosque leaders as they arrived for morning prayers.

Security footage showed three men approaching the building on Paringdon Road, Harlow at 1:24am.

The suspected attacker were caught on the centre's CCTV cameras

One of the men can be seen holding a drill and another what police believe to be a canister of insulation foam.

Later, the men leave carrying their tools away with them.

"It is clear from the CCTV footage this was a premeditated, deliberate attempt to cause serious damage to the Islamic centre," Essex Police Superintendent Trevor Roe said.

"The three men come equipped to carry out the damage and also take everything they brought with them away again."

No-one was hurt in the attack but there was some damage to doors and walls.

The attack damaged doors and windows at the Islamic centre

Police have asked anyone who can identify the men to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at Harlow CID on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The mosque was set up 18 years ago when the Muslim community in Harlow grew in numbers and now serves a 2,000-strong community, according to the centre's website.

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Dromore Police Review Fourth Woman's Death

Police investigating the deaths of three women in Dromore, Co Down, are to probe the death of a fourth woman in the town.

More follows...

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Zeta-Jones And Douglas 'Taking Time Apart'

Hollywood couple Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas are "taking some time apart" after 13 years of marriage.

The actress, who married Douglas in 2000 and has two children with him, shot to fame in Britain in the early 1990s, playing fresh-faced Mariette Larkin in the television series The Darling Buds Of May.

A spokeswoman for Zeta-Jones said: "Catherine and Michael are taking some time apart to evaluate and work on their marriage. There will be no further comment."

People magazine reported Douglas and Zeta-Jones - both Oscar winners and one of Hollywood's most high-profile couples - have had holidays apart in recent months and appeared at red carpet events without each other.

Douglas, 68, and Zeta-Jones, 43, have also both struggled with health issues.

He battled throat cancer in 2010 and made headlines this summer when he spoke out about one potential cause, oral sex.

And in April, the Welsh actress said she was seeking help for type two bipolar disorder.

​It was her second known trip to a healthcare facility for the condition since 2011.

The couple married in 2000

She has previously said of having bipolar: "This is a disorder that affects millions of people and I am one of them.

"If my revelation of having bipolar two has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it.

"There is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help."

The pair met in 1998 at the Deauville Film Festival in France, got engaged on New Year's Eve in 1999 and starred together in the 2000 Oscar-winning film Traffic.

Zeta-Jones won her best supporting actress Oscar for her performance in 2002's Chicago as vampish killer Velma Kelly. She was made a CBE in 2011.

Douglas has won Oscars as a producer of the 1975 best picture film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and as best actor in 1987's Wall Street.

Jenny Priestly, editor of Entertainment News, told Sky News: "We haven't seen them as a couple on the red carpet together since April.

"Catherine didn't support Michael when he was in Cannes back in May for the premiere of the feature film Behind The Candelabra which is very unusual, they've always been a very supportive couple.

"It's important to stress that neither party has filed for divorce or legal separation at the moment."

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