Carbon Credit Scams: Regulator Warns Public

Regulators have warned the public against buying carbon credits after 1,500 people lost a total of £24m in "worthless" investments.

Nineteen companies selling carbon credits to private investors have been shut down over the past 15 months.

Consumer Minister Jo Swinson said: "This is a particularly contemptible scam as it not only preyed on older people trying to maximise their savings, but also targeted their sincere desire to make ethical investments. Instead, investors have been left out of pocket with shares that are either worthless or do not exist."

The Insolvency Service and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the businesses targeted mainly older people - with most customers mostly ranging between 50 and 85 years old - and used high pressure sales techniques to encourage purchases.

"Salesmen played on people's keenness to 'do their bit' to save the environment while making an investment at the same time," a spokesman for the service said.

"Investors were promised huge returns by selling these credits to corporate giants such as Marks and Spencer and British Airways.

"But instead most found there was no market for the relatively small amounts they held as companies that trade CERs (Certified Emission Reductions) only trade in high volumes."

The companies, they said, typically offered carbon offsets approved by the United Nations - a feature used to give the offering credibility - as well as those issued in the opaque and unregulated voluntary market.

Each credit is equivalent to a reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide and can be used to offset a company's carbon footprint.

Eco Global Markets Limited, one of the companies wound up this summer, took more than £8.5m from more than 230 investors, 50 of whom were aged over 70.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director for Age UK, said: "It is despicable that these companies seem to home in on older people as an easy target.

"Scams can take place on the doorstep, by phone, on the internet or through the post and the sad fact is that if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

"Our advice is if you feel under pressure to commit, then please just step away because any reputable company will allow you time to think an offer over."

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Stuart Hall In Court On 15 Rape Charges

Stuart Hall has appeared in court charged with 15 offences of rape relating to two girls.

The 83-year-old veteran broadcaster also faces a charge of indecent assault.

During the brief hearing at Preston magistrates court Hall was asked to identify himself and replied, "I beg your pardon?" as he appeared to struggle to hear the proceedings.

He then gave his name as James Stuart Hall and his address as Prestbury Road, Wilmslow.

Hall listened as the charges were outlined. No pleas were entered.

The charges relate to two girls aged 11 or 12 and 16 at the time.

Hall is alleged to have committed seven counts of rape against one girl between 1976 and 1978 in Manchester, when she was aged between 14 and 16.

He is also accused of eight counts of rape and one count of indecent assault against a second girl, who was aged between 11 or 12 and 15 at the time.

These offences are said to have taken place between 1976 and 1981 at various locations in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.

Hall is currently serving a 30-month jail term after he admitted sexually abusing 13 victims, one as young as nine, over a period of nearly 20 years.

The latest set of charges came to light after the case earlier this year and are not related to it.

Hall was remanded in custody until November 29 for a further hearing at Preston Crown Court.

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Star Wars 'Audition Call' Put Out By Disney

Open auditions have been announced for a film that is widely believed to be the next Star Wars.

The Disney invitation describes a "nationwide search for lead roles for a Walt Disney Pictures film".

Disney announced three new Star Wars films in October 2012 when it purchased George Lucas' Lucasfilm company for $4.05bn (£2.7bn).

The audition notice, put out by the Twitter account @UKopencall, says it is looking to fill two roles.

"Rachel" is described as "street smart and strong" and "always a survivor, never a victim"; while "Thomas" has "grown up without a father's influence" but is "smart, capable and shows courage when it is needed".

The advert demands candidates be good looking and athletic - over 16 for the female role or over 18 for the male role.

Auditions start on November 9 in Bristol before visiting Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin and London.

Star Wars: Episode VII will be made by Emmy-award-winning director JJ Abrams next year and the three icons of the original Star Wars movies - Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher - are expected to make a comeback.

The film will be made in Britain and is due for a 2015 release.

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Carers Angered Dementia Patients 'For Fun'

By Mike McCarthy, North Of England Correspondent

Carers at a Lancashire nursing home antagonised residents for their own amusement when bored, a court has heard.

A cleaner told how she saw staff laughing after throwing balls at the heads of dementia patients at the Hillcroft Nursing Home in Carnforth.

Lisa Greenland says she was "upset and alarmed" after witnessing the abuse of elderly and vulnerable people.

Three carers are on trial at Preston Crown Court; all deny the ill-treatment or neglect of residents.

But Mrs Greenland said she saw team leader Carol Moore slap one elderly man across the face because his wife had complained about the lack of activities for residents.

"Carol was slagging his wife off for making the complaint. I remember there being a bit of a "bitch" going on. She (Ms Moore) said: 'I will get my own back!'  She went round the back of his chair and slapped him on the face," said Mrs Greenland. 

Carol Moore arriving at court

"He looked shocked and upset and was looking around to see who had hit him."

From the witness box, the cleaner said she had complained after also seeing two male members of staff in bed with another male resident. 

"When they (the staff) saw me they shouted: "**** off you pervert!" It was sickening," she told the jury.

The cleaner also told the court she had seen another carer stamp on a resident's foot.

The court was told that the alleged abusers were suspended after Mrs Greenland complained to managers.

They were re-instated a few weeks later.

The trial continues.

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Anonymous Protest: Russell Brand Joins March

Comedian Russell Brand joined hundreds of masked Anonymous protesters in central London as part of a worldwide demonstration against austerity cuts.

Fireworks were reportedly thrown towards Buckingham Palace and a fire was started next to the nearby Victoria Memorial, while some of those present clashed with police.

Glass bottles were flung at officers during the disorder and 11 people were arrested, nine for public order offences and two for criminal damage.

Police in riot gear tried to shepherd the crowd, who also gathered in Parliament Square as part of the pre-arranged Anonymous Million Mask March.

A number of similar demonstrations took place in cities in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in opposition to austerity cuts, corruption and an increase in state surveillance.

Brand was pictured alongside fellow protesters in London, wearing one of the trademark masks adopted by hacktivist group Anonymous.

He later wrote on his Twitter page: "Whatever party they claim to represent in the day, at night they show their true colours and all go to the same party #MillionMaskMarch."

An image of George Osborne burns on Westminster Bridge

Brand's comments follow an appearance on Newsnight and a guest editorship of the New Statesman in which he called for a "total revolution of consciousness and our entire social, political and economic system".

Others involved in the London demonstration accused the police of heavy-handed tactics.

Ceylan Hassan, 24, a university graduate, said: "They started shouting move back, move back, but we had nowhere to go. The police started pushing us, screaming 'move back, move back'.

"There was a fire on the right hand side of the monument and people started throwing things."

Protesters were moved back away from Buckingham Palace as the atmosphere grew tense.

Some of those involved in the march were seen ripping barriers from the side of the road.

Sean Roesner, 21, a self-employed computer programmer at the protest, said: "We turned up and the protest was at Buckingham Palace. When we arrived people were firing fireworks at the palace.

"It was funny. I didn't have any but I would have fired some if I had.

"I joined Anonymous because I was arrested under the Computer Misuse Act. I spent eight months on police bail last year and had done nothing wrong.

"We are here to stand up for what we believe in, to make the world a better place."

Mr Roesner said his friend had been among a group of people encircled by the police on The Mall.

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Curtis Warren Ordered To Repay Millions

A drugs baron has been ordered to pay back almost £200m within a month after what is believed to be Europe's largest confiscation order.

Curtis "Cocky" Warren, one of Europe's most notorious drug dealers, is serving a 13-year sentence for plotting to smuggle cannabis with a street value of £1m into Jersey and is due for release from Belmarsh prison in January.

The 50-year-old former Liverpool nightclub bouncer has been warned he must hand over the money within 28 days or face a further 10 years behind bars.

A statement from the State of Jersey's Law Officers' Department read: "The Royal Court of Jersey has today ordered that £198m be confiscated from Curtis Warren. It is believed to be one of the largest ever confiscation orders made in the British Isles and Europe.

"The confiscation proceedings are the result of several years of extensive investigation into the criminal career and financial affairs of one of Europe's most notorious organised criminals."

Prosecutors allege Warren was laundering £10m to £15m a week from smuggling drugs.

Warren arriving at court in 2009

The case primarily featured evidence related to cocaine trafficking between 1991 and 1996 which "generated huge sums of monies", the department said.

The shipments ranged from 500 kilos to multiple tonnes and gained "huge" profits, with a two-ton shipment of cocaine able to sell on the UK market for £40m wholesale, it said.

Warren became the first criminal to be the subject of a High Court move to protect the public last month.

Designed to prevent reoffending, it will impose restrictions on Warren's access to mobile phones and telephone kiosks as well as limitations on bank accounts.

Serious Crime Prevention Orders are normally made at Crown Court following a conviction but Warren was convicted in 2009 in Jersey, which is outside the jurisdiction of England and Wales.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Warren coordinated a global drugs empire from his cell at Jersey's La Moye prison while awaiting trial between 2007 and 2009, where he was alleged to have used several illicit mobile phones to contact a network of associates in an attempt to continue his drug trafficking empire.

Some 35,000 calls across 41 countries between March 2008 and October 2009 involving Warren's mobile phones were analysed during the investigation.

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Stubbs' Kangaroo And Dingo Works To Stay In UK

Two paintings that gave Britain the first glimpse of a kangaroo and a dingo will stay in the country after a successful campaign.

Stubbs did not paint the animals in real life

The works by George Stubbs, one of Britain's most famous artists, date from 1772.

Named The Kongouro From New Holland and Portrait Of A Large Dog, they were first shown at the Royal Academy in London the year after they were painted.

They gave the British public the first ever glimpse of the Australian animals.

The paintings were sold last year to a buyer outside the UK and there were fears they would soon leave the country.

The Portrait Of A Large Dog aimed to depict a dingo

However the works were made the subject of a Government export bar while the National Maritime Museum was given a chance to raise funds to keep it.

Now a final donation of £1.5m from the Eyal Ofer Family Foundation means works will stay at the museum, in Greenwich, south London.

Sir David Attenborough, who publicly supported the museum's appeal, said: "Exciting news that these two pictures, so important in the history of zoological discovery, are to remain where they were commissioned and painted."

Stubbs was best known for his images of horses and dogs

The iconic works are thought to have been commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks following his part in Captain James Cook's first voyage of discovery to the Pacific.

But Stubbs, best known for his images of horses and dogs, was unable to paint the creatures from life so worked from spoken accounts, and in the case of the kangaroo, from sketches and after inflating the preserved skin.

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Burka Terror Suspect Mohamed: Hunt Stepped Up

The Metropolitan Police, MI5 and the UK Border Agency have combined forces to find a terror suspect who escaped from his government minders after changing into a burka.

Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed disappeared on Friday while visiting the An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre in Acton, west London.

The 27-year-old, who is subject to a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measure (Tpim) order restricting his movements, arrived at the centre in Western-style clothing at 10am.

He was last seen at 3.15pm that day.

There has been no sign of Mohamed since he made off

Mohamed is understood to have links to the Somali-based al Shabaab militant group, which carried out the attack on Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi.

Police have issued an image of him leaving the community centre disguised as a woman.

However, doubts have been raised as to whether it is actually Mohamed as he is 5ft 8 (1.72cm) tall and of medium build and the figure in the picture is quite burly.

Mohamed's escape has been a huge embarrassment for Home Secretary Theresa May, who has insisted he does not pose "a direct threat" to members of the public.

Mohamed is believed to have fled the centre in a burka

Mohamed is the second terror suspect under a Tpim order to go missing. The first, Ibrahim Magag, made off in a taxi on Boxing Day in 2012 and has never been caught.

Along with 28-year-old Magag and others, Mohamed is thought to be a member of a UK-based network that raises money and provides equipment for terrorism.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has joined calls for tougher controls over terror suspects after Mohamed's "absurd" escape.

Mr Johnson said: "Plainly (Tpims) are not working in the way we would like them to work in the sense that this guy Mohamed was able to flee in absurd circumstances.

Boris Johnson: 'We need to review controls'

"If a fellow can get into a burka and evade his invigilators in the way that Mohamed has done, then we clearly need to look at how it is working.

"Depending on how much of a risk you are deemed to pose, you should be deprived of contact with networks that might help you with any end you desire.

"This guy Mohamed was obviously helped to escape. I don't believe for a minute that he did it on his own. He was in contact with people who are sympathisers.

"Characters such as him - and even if he doesn't pose an immediate threat to this country, it is plain he is a danger - should be more closely invigilated than they currently are."

On the day of his disappearance, Mohamed was cleared at the Old Bailey of tampering with his electronic tag, it is understood.

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BAE Announces 1,775 Shipyard Job Losses

Defence giant BAE Systems has announced that 1,775 jobs are to go across its three shipyards.

In addition, the firm will end an 800-year-old tradition of shipbuilding at Portsmouth with 940 jobs to go there by the second half of 2014, reducing the 1,200 workforce to just 260.

A further 835 are going to go at Scotstoun and Govan shipyards in Glasgow, Rosyth, and Filton, near Bristol.

The cuts are part of a maritime defence review, which BAE systems launched 18 months ago.

Portsmouth dockyard has a rich historical heritage of shipbuilding

A statement from BAE said: "(The) company proposes to consolidate its shipbuilding operations in Glasgow with investments in facilities to create a world-class capability, positioning it to deliver an affordable Type 26 programme for the Royal Navy.

"Under these proposals, shipbuilding operations at Portsmouth will cease in the second half of 2014."

Confirming the announcement in a statement to the House of Commons the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, said that the losses were "regrettable but inevitable".

He said that the shipyards would have been unable to sustain such a large workforce once the £6.2bn project to build the Royal Navy's largest ever aircraft carriers came to an end.

Falklands troops return home to Portsmouth

The decision has taken on significant political prominence with the Scottish referendum looming in 2014 and warnings any closure of one of the Scottish yards rather than Portsmouth would have handed First Minister Alex Salmond "a victory on a plate".

It has led to claims that Portsmouth jobs have been sacrificed to save the BAE shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun.

Mike Hancock, independent MP for Portsmouth South, said: "I think personally it is a real tragedy for them as individuals and for us as a community in Portsmouth.

"To lose close to 1,000 jobs in this way is a bitter blow. There has to be some element of cynicism being brought into play here to suggest this is simply being done to suit the financial situation at BAE and the Scottish referendum must have played some part, albeit maybe a small part.

The front section of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at Portsmouth

"I think people would be foolish not to think that that was something in the background." 

Ending shipbuilding at Portsmouth would mean the UK would lose the ability to build its own warships if Scotland is granted independence in 2014.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of Portsmouth Council, said: "I condemn the decision to shut down the last remaining shipyard in England with the capability to build advanced surface warships.

"This decision is bad for Portsmouth, with the loss of many highly skilled jobs, but it's also bad for the defence of the UK and for the Royal Navy.

Type 26 warships will be built in Glasgow

"The remaining yards with the capability to build advanced warships are in Scotland, and the referendum on Scottish independence is less than one year away. Ministers have put the defence of the UK and the future of the navy at real risk."

Asked about the decision, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "This is a Government that always takes decisions based on the national interest.

Mr Hammond has announced BAE will build three Offshore Patrol Vehicles

"This decision was taken with a view of how we have the best-equipped, best-maintained Royal Navy. That is the basis on which it was taken."

Mr Hammond also announced that the Ministry of Defence would be giving BAE the contract to build three Offshore Patrol Vehicles to bridge the gap between the aircraft carrier project ending and the beginning of work on the new Type 26 warship in 2016.

This, he said, was to avoid having shipyards being paid to lay idle, with workers losing valuable skills.

He said that Portsmouth dockyard would continue to do repair and maintenance work.

Unite national officer for shipbuilding Ian Waddell said: "This is a very worrying time for the workforces and their families as the work on the two carriers comes to a conclusion.

"Unite will be working very hard to retain the maximum number of jobs at both Portsmouth and in Scotland.

"It is a huge blow to Britain's manufacturing and industrial base, with many highly skilled workers faced with losing their jobs."

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Dog Attack: Girl Was Killed By Bulldog

Dangerous Dogs: The Victims

Updated: 3:11pm UK, Wednesday 06 November 2013

Some 17 people have now been killed by dogs in the UK since 2005. Here is a list of the cases...

October 2013: Lexi Branson, 4, killed in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire by a bulldog - not a banned breed.

May 2013: Clifford Clarke, 79, was outside his home in Clubmoor, Liverpool. Breed of the dog, belonging to a neighbour, was believed to have been a bull masitff crossed with either a Presa Canario or a bandog.

March 2013: Jade Lomas-Anderson, 14, from Wigan, Greater Manchester. Attacked by four or five dogs at a friend's house. Two were believed to have been bull mastiffs, two were Staffordshire bull terriers.

November 2012: Harry Harper, eight days old, from Ketley, Shropshire. Attacked by a Jack Russell in his cot.

October 2012: Gloria Knowles, 71, from Morden, south London. Suffered a heart attack when savaged by her daughter's dogs when she went to feed them. Two were Bordeaux bulldogs, two were American bulldogs and one was a mongrel.

January 2012: Leslie Trotman, 83, of Brentford, west London. He was in his garden when a neighbour's Pitbull-type dog escaped and attacked him.

December 2010: Barbara Williams, 52, Wallington, Surrey. Attacked by a Belgian mastiff in a garden.

April 2010: Zumer Ahmed, 18 months, from Crawley, West Sussex. Killed when her uncle's American bulldog got into the house.

November 2009: John Paul Massey, aged four, from Wavertree, Liverpool. Killed at home by his uncle's pitbull-type dog.

May 2009: Andrew Walker, 21, Blackpool, Lancashire. Bitten more than 50 times by his flatmate's two Alsatians.

February 2009: Jaden Mack, three months old, from Caerphilly, South Wales. Stafforshire bull terrier and Jack Russell attacked him on a table at home after his grandmother fell asleep.

January 2009: Stephen Hudspeth, 33, Bishop Auckland, County Durham. Attacked by a Staffordshire bull terrier and died days later from blood poisoning.

January 2008: James Redhill, 78, Plaistow, east London. His own pet Rottweiler attacked him in the street.

December 2007: Archie-Lee Hirst, one year old, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Attacked by a Rottweiler at his grandparents' home.

January 2007: Ellie Lawrenson, five years old, St Helens, Merseyside, Attacked at her grandmother's home by her uncle's Pitbull-type dog.

September 2006: Cadey-Lee Deacon, five months, from Leicester. Taken from her Moses basket by two Rottweilers in the living area of her grandparents' pub.

November 2005: Liam Eames, one year old, from Leeds. Attacked at home by the family's American bulldog.

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