Mafia Boss Rancadore 'Has Heart Attack'

A suspected mafia boss arrested in London after nearly two decades on the run is believed to have had a heart attack in prison.

It comes on the day of a High Court challenge against a decision to grant bail to Domenico Rancadore, 64, who was found living in Uxbridge in August.

Proceedings were adjourned to enable Rancadore's legal team to seek information about his condition after he is understood to have suffered a heart attack.

Rancadore's QC, Alun Jones, told Lord Justice Goldring and Mr Justice Ouseley, he had received little information about his client's condition from police or the hospital.

The case has been delayed provisionally until Thursday. Lord Justice Goldring said it was "crucial" Jones' legal team provided information on Rancadore's condition.

Rancadore was granted bail at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday, but he was not released after prosecutor Hannah Hinton issued notice to lodge an appeal against the decision.

He was one of Italy's most wanted criminals and had been sentenced to seven years in jail in his absence for Mafia association.

Rancadore was arrested at his west London home

Rancadore was head of a crime family involved in extortion, racketeering and drug trafficking, Italian police said.

Until his arrest, Rancadore, using the name Marc Skinner, was living with his English wife and kids in an upmarket semi-detached home in Uxbridge.

He was running a travel agency with his wife and said by Italian police to be "living a golden life" in Britain, with a comfortable home as well as top of the range Jaguar and Mercedes cars.

Italian detectives knew he was living in London and had failed to have him arrested in the past because the crime of Mafia association is not recognised by authorities in Britain.

However Sky sources said in August that "circumstances changed" and police were able to arrest him.

Rancadore told officers upon his arrest that he was not going back to Italy because "they will kill me", the court heard previously.

The conditions of bail set out by the chief magistrate included £50,000 security, residency at his home, a curfew, reporting to a police station twice daily, providing his phone number, keeping his mobile switched on and not applying for foreign travel documents.

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Nigella Lawson Called 'Habitual Criminal'

TV cook Nigella Lawson has been described in court as a "habitual criminal" a day after her ex-husband Charles Saatchi accused her of taking drugs.

The latest claim was made as lawyers argued over whether the trial should go ahead of two of their former employees charged with fraud.

Francesca Grillo, 35, and Elisabetta Grillo, 41, are accused of using a company credit card to buy goods and services for themselves worth some £300,000 while working as their personal assistants.

The Grillo sisters deny the charges and claim Ms Lawson was aware of this expenditure all along.

Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo

But the defendants' lawyers argued the case should not go ahead due to the "manipulation of the court process" by Ms Lawson and Mr Saatchi, who had a high-profile divorce earlier this year.

Isleworth Crown Court earlier heard Mr Saatchi allege Ms Lawson was so high on drugs she was unaware what she had permitted the Italian sisters to spend money on.

Anthony Metzer QC, for Elisabetta Grillo, argued the case should be dropped as the women would not be able to receive a fair trial as Ms Lawson and Mr Saatchi were at "loggerheads" and the alleged drug use damaged the celebrity cook's "credibility as an honest witness".

He said if the trial did go ahead "It's a convenient forum for Mr Saatchi and Ms Lawson to rehearse disputed issues between them ... in the criminal courts where, of course, the possibility of libel is not possible".

Mr Saatchi alleged Ms Lawson had a cocaine habit

Referring to allegations of drug use by Ms Lawson, Mr Metzer said: "If Mr Saatchi is telling the truth, then Ms Lawson is a habitual criminal."

He added: "The defendants' case is that Nigella Lawson lied to her ex-husband about her drug use and about the expenditure that was incurred by the defendants, both expressly and implicitly, because she was fearful of Mr Saatchi's reaction if he knew about the extent of the expenditure and drug use.

"There was a culture of secrecy within Nigella Lawson's marriage."

Prosecutor Jane Carpenter, who argued against dropping the case, said: "The suggestion that these defendants are sacrificial lambs in order to discredit Ms Lawson I do not accept at all."

After hearing submissions, Judge Robin Johnson ruled the trial should go ahead.

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'Bedroom Tax' Leaves Disabled Fearing Eviction

By Jason Farrell, Sky News Correspondent

Thousands of disabled people are cutting back on food and heating to pay for the so-called "bedroom tax", according to a group of leading charities.

The chief executives of leading groups including Disability Rights UK, Scope, Carers UK, The Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Council For Disabled Children say the policy is having a "devastating impact" on people with disabilities.

More than 50 organisations have signed a letter to Iain Duncan Smith calling for immediate action to exempt disabled people from the Spare Room Subsidy.

They claim that it is harder for people in adapted housing to move and that "it is hitting disabled people who need an extra room for essential home adaptations or equipment which enable them to live independently".

The letter to the Department of Work and Pensions states: "We have been deeply frustrated at reports that disabled people and their families are protected from this policy.

The introduction of the "bedroom tax" has proved controversial

"The stark evidence since the policy was implemented in April clearly shows they are not.

"None of these groups are exempt and our organisations are seeing the devastating impact it is having on those who now face a shortfall in their rent as a result of the changes."

The Government does offer help with extra discretionary housing payments (DHPs) for disabled social housing tenants.

However, the letter points to research conducted by the Papworth Trust which showed that one in three disabled people applying for DHPs are refused, the same number as non-disabled people, and that 90% of disabled people refused a DHP are already cutting back on food, drink, household bills and medication or therapies.

Charities have written to Iain Duncan Smith about the bedroom tax

The letter claims that carers and families of disabled children are "being forced deeper and deeper into debt and falling behind on their rent, putting them at risk of eviction".

Sky News spoke to 47-year-old Heather Simpson from Battersea who suffers from a degenerative disease and needs an adapted property with wheelchair access and a stair-lift.

She has been told by her local housing association that it is unable to find her an appropriate smaller home. 

Come December she is worried she may have to find an additional £80 a month to cover her spare room.

She told Sky News: "I'm stuck basically, there's nowhere for me to go.

"I understand there's overcrowding, but there's nowhere for me to go. So I'll just get into debt."

Council tenants judged to have extra bedrooms now receive less benefit

In a letter sent to Heather last week, her Housing Association, Peabody, said it had 1,600 applicants for rehousing and only 145 places.

In a statement, Peabody told Sky News: "The Government's under-occupancy charge has a significant impact on vulnerable people, and we are working with other housing associations and councils to try and increase the options for people needing to move …

"We would like to see the Government take action to mitigate the impact of this policy particularly for the most vulnerable residents in our homes."  

A Department of Work and Pensions spokesperson told Sky News: "We are determined to support those who might need extra help through these necessary reforms.

"That is why we set aside £190m this year to do precisely this, with £25m specifically for disabled people living in specially adapted properties.

"The courts have ruled we are meeting our equality duties to disabled people who are affected by the policy.

"The removal of the spare room subsidy means we still pay the majority of most claimants' rent, but the taxpayer can no longer afford to pay the £500m cost of claimants' extra bedrooms."

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Christian B&B Owners Lose Appeal Over Gay Snub

A Christian couple have lost their latest legal battle against their refusal to allow a gay couple to stay in their guest house.

Peter Bull, 74, and his wife Hazelmary, 69, had asked the Supreme Court to decide whether their decision to refuse to let Martyn Hall and his civil partner Steven Preddy stay in a double room constituted sex discrimination under equality legislation.

Five Supreme Court judges have now ruled that it did.

Dismissing the appeal, deputy president Lady Hale said: "Sexual orientation is a core component of a person's identity which requires fulfilment through relationships with others of the same orientation."

Steven Preddy (L) and Martyn Hall were turned away from the guest house

Homosexuals "were long denied the possibility of fulfilling themselves through relationships with others", she said, adding: "This was an affront to their dignity as human beings which our law has now (some would say belatedly) recognised.

"Homosexuals can enjoy the same freedom and the same relationships as any others. But we should not under-estimate the continuing legacy of those centuries of discrimination, persecution even, which is still going on in many parts of the world."

The couple, who run a guest house in Marazion, Cornwall, had previously lost fights in a County Court and the Court of Appeal.

After the latest ruling, Mrs Bull said: "We are deeply disappointed and saddened by the outcome.

Mr and Mrs Bull said they wanted to introduce "a bit more balance"

"We are just ordinary Christians who believe in the importance of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

"Our B&B is not just our business, it's our home. All we have ever tried to do is live according to our own values, under our own roof.

"These beliefs are not based on hostility to anyone - we certainly bear no ill will to Steven and Martyn. Our policy is based on our  sincere beliefs about marriage.

"Britain ought to be a country of freedom and tolerance, but it seems religious beliefs must play second fiddle to the new orthodoxy of political correctness."

Christian Institute spokesman Mike Judge said: "What this case shows is that the powers of political correctness have reached all the way to the top of the judicial tree. So much so that even the Supreme Court dare not say anything against gay rights."

Welcoming the ruling, Wendy Hewitt, deputy legal director at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: "The courts have been very clear throughout this long-running case that same-sex couples should not be subjected to discrimination when accessing services.

"This is what Parliament intended when it approved the 2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations and then passed the Equality Act 2010, well aware that gay men and lesbians have long suffered discrimination when seeking to stay away from home as a couple."

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John Lewis Runs Out Of Bear and Hare Gifts

John Lewis Bear and Hare goods are up for auction on eBay for as much as twice the price after selling out in store with a month still to go until Christmas.

Much of merchandise linked to the retail chain's £7m Christmas advert, including the alarm clock, the cuddly toys and the bear onesie, has sold out and will not be available again.

The campaign was largely targeted at children and in several stores the toy bear and hare sold out in the first weekend.

The toys, now marked as out of stock on the department store website, are now selling for more than £35 on eBay, significantly more than the original £12 price.

Bids on eBay for a Bear and Hare alarm clock - the focal point of the advert - which originally cost £12 have also topped £35.

The advert tells the story of a bear and hare sharing Christmas

A John Lewis spokeswoman said: "Following the response from customers to our previous Christmas TV adverts, this year we decided to stock a small number of products themed around the Bear and Hare characters from our TV advert.

"They have proved very popular with customers visiting our stores and shopping online, and while we have some products still available, we expect the remaining products to sell quickly as we get closer to Christmas."

The Christmas advert, which cost the company £7m to make, tells the story of a hare determined to make sure his bear friend does not miss Christmas.

The cartoon, which is set to a Lily Allen version of Keane's Somewhere Only We Know - now number one in the charts - has been viewed nearly nine million times on YouTube.

Initial figures showed that the advert, first aired on November 9, had been a success and the department store reported taking £101m in the week after it was shown.

It is the earliest John Lewis has exceeded a weekly £100m take in the Christmas run-up.

Bids on the £12 alarm clock have reached £35 on eBay

Retail analysts said that the department store could have been testing the market by selling merchandising linked to a Christmas advert.

They said that John Lewis would not have wanted to buy in too much and ended up with stock on its shelves.

Merchandising sales can be difficult to gauge and while the Olympics was a hugely successful event, sales of mascot toys linked to the games were not as high as had been hoped.

Isabel Cavill, a senior analyst with Planet Retail, said: "They were testing the market and some new ideas, and on the basis of what they have learnt this year if they repeat it next year it will be all go.

"What they really don't want is to have unsold stock they then have to discount. Next year they might make sure they can order more at short notice."

Patrick O'Brien, lead retail analyst at Verdict Research, said: "The fact the merchandising has sold out so quickly I don't think is a negative thing but shows they have got the marketing right."

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Lostprophets Ian Watkins: Appeal For 'Victims'

Police have appealed for possible further victims of Ian Watkins to come forward after the ex-Lostprophets singer admitted a string of sex offences.

The charges included attempting to rape a woman's baby in a case the lead officer called "the most shocking and harrowing child abuse evidence I have ever seen".

Detectives are continuing their investigation into the Welsh rock singer, 36, amid speculation there could be more victims in the UK and overseas.

Officers from South Wales, where he lived, have been working with agencies including Interpol, the NSPCC and the Department for Homeland Security in the US.

Watkins also confessed to aiding and abetting another woman to sexually abuse her own child.

And he pleaded guilty to possessing and making indecent photographs of children as well as having extreme pornographic material involving bestiality on his computer hard drive.

He had faced 24 sex offence charges but admitted 11 at the last minute as his trial was due to begin at Cardiff Crown Court alongside the two women, who pleaded guilty to 13 offences in total between them.

Watkins is due to be sentenced in December

Lead investigator Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle said: "There is no doubt in my mind that Ian Watkins exploited his celebrity status in order to abuse young children."

He added Tuesday's "outcome does not mark the end of our investigations and we will work tirelessly to identify any other victims or witnesses and seek the justice they deserve".

He went on: "Above all this investigation has been focussed on the protection of children and my thoughts today are with those victims.

Police are urging people who discuss the case on social media websites to be careful about using information that may identify the victims involved.

DCI Doyle said: "Clearly there is strong public feeling about this case and many people are using social media outlets to talk about the issues involved.

"However, there is a very real danger that some of the detail being posted will lead to the identification of victims which will cause a great deal of distress to them and their families."

Meanwhile, a child expert has warned the sex abuse of young children is increasing in number and severity as the age of defenceless victims continues to go down.

Des Mannion, NSPCC Wales national head of service, spoke of his "horror" as the extent of Watkins' secret abuse was made public.

"The desire to sexually abuse small babies is something most of us find too horrific to comprehend," he said.

"However within the significant rise in the number of child abuse images being distributed online over the past year, agencies have noted both an increase in their severity and a significant decline in the ages of the children involved."

:: Anyone who has been affected by the Watkins case can contact South Wales Police on 02920 634184 or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.

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Migrant Benefit Clampdown: PM Under Fire

David Cameron has been sharply criticised over his announcement of immigrant benefit curbs amid fears of an influx of Romanians and Bulgarians in the new year.

The Prime Minister was accused of "hysteria" by the European employment commissioner Laszlo Andor, who said he risked making Britain the "nasty country" of the EU.

The Romanian ambassador Ion Jinga has told Sky News the majority of EU migrants did not claim benefits.

Under the new rules announced by Mr Cameron today, EU migrants are to be barred from claiming out-of-work benefits, such as Jobseeker's Allowance, for their first three months in the UK.

Those who do go on to claim the benefits will now only be able to get payments for a maximum of six months. Migrants caught sleeping rough could be deported and would not be allowed to return to the UK for 12 months.

The moves have been sparked by a January 1 deadline when Romanians and Bulgarians will be entitled to come to the UK for work and can then claim benefits like other EU citizens.

Defending the move Mr Cameron told Sky News: "We we are doing is looking around Europe and seeing what steps other countries are taking to make sure people are allowed to come and work but are not allowed to just come and claim benefits.

There are doubts over how quickly Mr Cameron could introduce the new rules

"The steps we are taking are already being taken in Germany and Holland and elsewhere and I believe they are fair; fair for people in Britain who work hard and want to do the right thing."

Other measures include fines of up to £20,000 for firms that pay below the minimum wage - an attempt to prevent undercutting of British workers.

Dozens of Conservative MPs want the Government to ignore EU law and extend existing controls on when new arrivals can claim the same benefits at UK citizens until 2018.

Currently some immigrants can access Jobseeker's Allowance within a month of arrival in the UK, according to Downing Street aides.

However, the Government's own figures for 2011/12 show that only 7% of those claiming Job Seeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Income Support were foreigners and only 31% of those were from within the EU.

A University College London report earlier this month found that immigrants had contributed £25bn to the UK economy between 2000 and 2011 - significantly more than they had claimed in handouts. They were also 45% less likely to receive benefits than British people.

Questions have been raised on how quickly Mr Cameron could introduce the new rules, given the impending January 1 deadline.

He has insisted that the six-month limit and the 12-month bar on returns could be brought in under existing legislation but the three-month delay on claiming benefits would need legislation, which is to be brought forward to early in the new year.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the Liberal Democrats were behind the tougher rules and called them "sensible and reasonable reforms".

"The right to work does not automatically mean the right to claim," Mr Clegg said.

In his criticism, Mr Andor accused Mr Cameron of not presenting the "full truth" about the issue and suggested the reaction in the UK was based on "hysteria".

"The unilateral action, unilateral rhetoric, especially if it is happening at this time, is not really helpful because it risks presenting the UK as the kind of nasty country in the European Union," Mr Andor told the BBC.

"We don't want that. We have to look into the situation collectively and if there are real problems react proportionately."

And the Romanian ambassador told Sky News: "More than 1.5m Britons live and work in another EU member state, Romania included, and when speaking about benefits abuse … there are very few cases where Romanians have been involved in abusing the British benefits system."

Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party, said: "These measures fall way short of what the British public want though. Our borders will remain open. Migrants will still be entitled to out-of-work benefits after just three months. It isn't nearly good enough."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the Prime Minister was "playing catch-up" after failing to take action earlier.

"Why has it taken him eight months to copy Labour's proposal to make the Habitual Residence Test stronger and clearer?" she said.

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Ding Family Murders: Anxiang Du Guilty

Du Got Away After 'Missed' 999 Call

Updated: 3:08pm UK, Wednesday 27 November 2013

The killer who massacred the Ding family was able to flee the country after police mishandled a 999 call from one of the victims, leading to a manhunt lasting more than a year.

Anxiang Du was on the run for 14 months after he stabbed Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer Jifeng "Jeff"' Ding, his wife, Ge "Helen" Chui, and their two daughters, Xing "Nancy", 18, and Alice, 12, on April 29 2011.

Their bodies lay undiscovered for two days in a four-bedroom detached house in Northamptonshire, despite a frantic 999 call being made from Alice Ding's mobile as Du carried out the killings.

Northamptonshire Police have admitted they will "never know what may have happened" if they had responded correctly to the call, made at 3.32pm, in which both girls could be heard screaming before the line went dead.

The call was found to have been "badly mishandled" by the force, resulting in officers being sent to the wrong address and the emergency call closed when nothing untoward was found at that location.

An investigation by the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, later said: "Had police used more detailed checks and a mapping system available to them, the need for a subscriber check would have been established.

"The correct address in Pioneer Close would have been identified and in all likelihood attended by officers within minutes."

Northamptonshire Police have said it was "unlikely" the Ding family could have been saved, but admitted it was possible that Du could have still been at the address if officers had been dispatched to the right location.

The trial heard from pathologist Guy Rutty, who told jurors the family would have died of their stab wounds shortly after they were inflicted due to the blood loss.

However, jurors also heard that Du remained in the Northamptonshire area until late evening.

Du told a psychiatrist after his arrest that he lay down and slept in the Dings' house after carrying out the murders, before leaving under the cover of darkness, taking the family's car.

The silver Vauxhall Corsa was captured on camera at Northampton services off the M1 just before 10pm on April 29.

From there, Du drove to London and the next morning boarded the 8am coach from London Victoria to Paris Gallieni, before travelling on through Spain to Morocco.

The bodies of the Ding family were not discovered until two days later, on the evening of May 1.

Neighbour Jason Horsley reported that he had seen a body lying on the floor through the back window of the Dings' home.

It came hours after officers from Northamptonshire Police visited the property, unaware of what was inside.

They had been asked to visit the Dings by West Midlands Police, who were looking for information in their search for Du, who had been reported missing.

Du's wife had contacted them after he failed to return from work. She told the force of a civil dispute between the two families but not of any threat.

As a result, officers visited the Dings' house at 8.10am on May 1 to ask whether they had seen or heard from Du.

When there was no reply, they simply posted a card through the letterbox and left.

Hours later, Northamptonshire Police received the call from Mr Horsley and the grim discovery was made, sparking a manhunt that would last for 14 months.

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Carole Waugh Murder: Man Found Guilty

A man who took more than £200,000 from a wealthy businesswoman in the four months after her death has been found guilty of her murder.

Rakesh Bhayani was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey of killing 50-year-old Carole Waugh, who was stabbed to death at her flat in Marylebone, central London, last April.

His co-accused, Nicholas Kutner, 48, was found not guilty of murder but convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Ms Waugh's body was found in a rented garage in New Malden, southwest London, nearly four months after she disappeared.

During that time, Bhayani withdrew money from Ms Waugh's accounts and on one occasion pretended to be her brother in an attempt to sell her £600,000 home.

He also hired a number of women to impersonate her and buy expensive handbags from Chanel and Selfridges.

Ms Waugh's body was found at this lock-up in New Malden, southwest London

The 41-year-old claimed in court that he only found out about Ms Waugh's death seven days after she was killed.

He said he did not contact police because he was involved in a fraud with Kutner and Ms Waugh and feared he would be linked to her murder.

Bhayani, of Wembley, northwest London, told the court that he went with Kutner to Ms Waugh's flat to remove her body from under a bed.

He said he put the corpse into a bag which was carried to a blue Volkswagen Golf that was initially left in a central London car park before being driven to the lock-up.

Bhayani admitted perverting the course of justice by concealing Ms Waugh's death and also conspiracy to defraud.

Kutner, of Kentish Town, northwest London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

A third man, 40-year-old Elie Khoury, of Paddington, central London, was cleared of conspiracy to defraud.

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Npower 'To Axe 1,400 Jobs' In Cost-Cutting Drive

Energy giant npower is set to announce plans to move 1,400 jobs to India and transfer hundreds of others to another company.

The supplier is expected to confirm on Thursday it will outsource frontline call centre operations to a third party in the UK, with back-office work moved to India.

Employees in the Midlands and in the North of England are expected to be the worst affected. 

The development emerged just a day after npower axed plans for a £4bn wind farm off the coast of Devon, also on cost grounds.

Its German owner RWE had warned earlier this month that 6,750 jobs would be cut across Europe.

An npower spokesman said: "As we announced a couple of months ago, npower has been undertaking a major review of sites, operations and people across the UK.

"We've been doing this to improve our customer service and keep our costs down, at a time of external pressures on customers' bills.

"As we've always said, we'll tell our people first and then inform the media."

The Unison union attacked the expected decision as a "Christmas nightmare for staff and customers" and warned the company it would backfire badly by damaging its reputation further among UK customers.

National officer Matthew Lay said: "npower have consistently let their customers and staff down by not investing enough in the workforce, technology or in the latest customer service techniques.

"This has led to a huge number of complaints which the company seems to think they can deal with by shifting the responsibility to somewhere else, including to India.

"If the company goes ahead with this disastrous plan, it will backfire badly, damaging their already tarnished reputation for customer service.

"At a time when unemployment is high, what commitment does it show to the UK by shipping these much-needed jobs abroad? And what does this say about their commitment to staff when npower have kept them on tenterhooks, waiting for the axe to fall, for weeks?"

The move is likely to spark renewed anger from politicians over the state of the energy market, and soaring energy bills faced by consumers.

Npower recently topped a customer complaints list, leading an energy watchdog Consumer Futures to describe its performance as "unacceptable".

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