Man Dies Making Documentary About Homeless

Police are investigating the death of a young documentary maker who was sleeping rough in freezing temperatures to highlight the plight of the homeless.

Lee Halpin, 26, had planned to spend a week living on the streets in his home city of Newcastle.

He began the project on Sunday but was found dead three days later in a derelict building in the West End of the city.

How he died has not yet been confirmed but it is believed he may have died from hypothermia.

Speaking on a YouTube video the night before his week of sleeping rough began, Mr Halpin said the project was part of an application for a Channel 4 investigative journalism scheme, to give an example of fearless reporting.

He said he had spoken to a homeless charity about the rise in the number of people on the streets and the effect of changes to Britain's welfare system this month.

"I'm about to go and spend a week being homeless in the West End of Newcastle. I will sleep rough for a week, scrounge for my food, access the services that other homeless individuals use," he said.

"I will interact with as many homeless people as possible and immerse myself in that lifestyle as deeply as I can."

He concluded the video by saying he hoped it showed his willingness to get to the heart of a story.

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: "We are saddened to learn of the tragic death of this aspiring young journalist. Our thoughts are with his family."

Mr Halpin's friend of 10 years, Daniel Lake, said: "I was just talking to Lee on Saturday, having some banter talking about football and how excited he was about going out filming.

"Lee was a great guy, a character and was well known. His big things were creative writing and poetry ... He made the ultimate sacrifice trying to raise awareness about what was happening to other people."

Friends and supporters have left tributes on the Save Newcastle Libraries website, to which he was a contributor.

One said: "He was a credit to the North East and all he did was give."

Northumbria Police have arrested two men in connection with the death.

The men, aged 26 and 30, were arrested on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug and have since been bailed pending further inquiries.

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India: British Woman Murdered In Kashmir

A second man is being questioned after a British woman was found murdered on a houseboat in Indian-administered Kashmir, police have confirmed.

The son of the owner of the houseboat where Sarah Groves, 24, had been staying for up to two months is helping police with their inquiries, according to Sky sources.

The victim, from Guernsey, had apparently been stabbed and police said she was found in a pool of blood on the vessel at Srinagar's Dal Lake, a popular tourist destination.

A police officer at Dal Lake, a popular tourist destination

Senior police officer Abdul Ghani Mir said the first arrested man - a Dutch national - was picked up as he tried to flee the valley with only his passport.

The woman's body is being sent for medical examination to determine whether she was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Speaking to Sky News India correspondent Alex Rossi, Irfan Shoda confirmed his brother Samir was being questioned and described finding the victim's body in the early hours.

Onlookers gathered near the scene of the murder

Superintendent Tahir Sajjad told AFP: "We walked into a pool of blood in her room. We found a sharp-edged knife close to her body. The young lady had multiple stab wounds."

The attacker smashed the latch on the cabin door, according to AFP.

The Dutchman was held at Qazigund, in south Kashmir's Anantag district, around 100km (62 miles) from the lake where the woman's body was found.

He had allegedly fled in a small boat which capsized as he was trying to reach the shore, forcing him to swim.

The woman was killed in Indian-administered Kashmir

Speaking near the murder scene, Deputy Inspector General of Police for central Kashmir Syed Afadul Mujtiba said: "There is one houseboat over here in which there were two tourists living.

"She has been living here, an English tourist, and a Dutch tourist arrived two days ago, and now today in the morning the dead body of the female tourist has been found with incision wounds, sharp-edged weapon wounds, and the Dutch tourist has tried to escape.

"It appears that he has murdered this female tourist."

The weeping owner of the Kashmir houseboat, named Hafeeza, said she was shocked by the tourist's murder.

She said: "She was very dear to me, she was just like my daughter."

The Foreign Office says it is in touch with local authorities and the victim's family have been informed.

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Nelson Mandela Leaves Hospital After 10 Days

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital after being treated for pneumonia.

The 94-year-old has been allowed to leave hospital this afternoon "following a sustained and gradual improvement in his general condition".

President Jacob Zuma's office said Mr Mandela would now receive "home-based" care.

A statement said: "President Zuma thanks the hard working medical team and hospital staff for looking after Madiba so efficiently."

He also extended his gratitude to all South Africans, friends of the nation and to people around the world for their support.

Spokesman Mac Maharaj told Sky News: "We are all very happy with the news and grateful to the doctors and the hospital staff for looking after so well.

"The doctors say that given his age, they have to monitor him very carefully and they have to remain cautious all the time.

"He is frail, and we need to take into account his age ... but Madiba is a fighter and he is not ready to say goodbye to us."

It has been the third health scare in four months for the anti-apartheid leader.

He was in hospital briefly in early March for a check-up and again in December for nearly three weeks with a lung infection and following surgery to remove gallstones.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, is a global symbol of tolerance and the struggle for equality.

Mr Mandela stepped down as president in 1999 and has not been politically active for a decade.

He has a history of lung problems dating from when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner.

He spent 27 years on Robben Island and in other jails for his attempts to overthrow the white-minority government.

More follows...

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Devon House Fire: Teens Die, Boy In Hospital

Two teenagers have died and a young boy is in a serious condition in hospital following a house fire in Devon.

Police said the 17-year-old girl and 18-year-old man died from injuries sustained in the blaze at a property in Lee Close in Honiton.

The boy, aged three, remains in the specialist Frenchay Hospital.

Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Next of kin have been informed.

"Our thoughts are with family at this time and the investigation to establish the cause of the fire is ongoing. At this time the police are not treating the matter as suspicious."

Emergency services were alerted at around 7.50am on Friday.

A total of eight people were in the house when the fire broke out - seven members of a family and another person.

Five were taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, including a six-year-old boy and a man in his 30s, who were treated for smoke inhalation.

Three - the two teenagers and three-year-old - were flown by air ambulance to the hospital for treatment.

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North Korea Warns Foreign Embassies Of Risks

By Mark Stone, on the South Korea border

The Foreign Office says it has no intention of evacuating its embassy in Pyongyang after North Korea warned foreign diplomats they may not be safe if war breaks out.

The North Korean government asked foreign embassies whether they were considering evacuating staff, saying it cannot guarantee their safety in the event of conflict from April 10.

Tensions in the region are high after reports that North Korea has now moved two missiles to its eastern coast and loaded them on mobile launchers.

The Foreign Office says it "has no intention of evacuating embassy in Pyongyang".

Earlier, a spokesperson said: "The DPRK (The Democratic People's Republic of Korea) has responsibilities under the Vienna convention to protect diplomatic missions, and we believe they have taken this step as part of their continuing rhetoric that the US poses a threat to them.

"We are considering next steps, including a change to our travel advice."

It was not immediately clear why the date of April 10 had been mentioned, but there has been speculation that Pyongyang might schedule a firing to coincide with the birthday of the country's late founder Kim Il-Sung in mid-April.

Russia intends to "clarify the situation" before making a decision on any possible evacuation, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported earlier in the day that two North Korean intermediate-range missiles had been moved by train to the country's eastern coast.

North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-Un has escalated his rhetoric

The move fuels fears of an imminent firing.

"It has been confirmed that North Korea, early this week, transported two Musudan mid-range missiles by train to the east coast and loaded them on vehicles equipped with launch pads," the agency said, quoting what it said was a top government official.

The  mobile launchers had since been hidden in special underground facilities, according to the report.

Intelligence officials from the US, Japan and South Korea are monitoring the movement of the weapons.

The Musudan missile is a mid-range weapon, meaning it is capable of reaching South Korea and Japan and perhaps also the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

US soldiers give a demonstration of their chemical equipment in South Korea

"The range is between 3,000 to 4,000km (1,864 to 2,485 miles). There are major US military forces in Guam and a fixed number of troops to deal with the Korean peninsula, so I think these facts can reduce the possible danger there," said Kim Min-seok, South Korea's Defence Ministry spokesman.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said daily reports from Pyongyang were "really alarming and troubling" and urged North Korea to ease tensions.

"Nuclear threat is not a game, it is very serious," he said, adding that any misjudgement or miscalculation could have "very serious implications".

Speaking to Sky News, a security adviser to the South Korean government said there is no doubt that North Korea's capability is concerning.

"The technological level of North Korean weapons has become much improved and better - especially their missile capability and their long-range artilleries," Kim Byungki said.

The South Korean military during an exercise near the border

"It is more uncertain, it is less predictable, there are more ways for them to destabilise us and there are more ways for us to respond ... so it is more complex."

North Korea which, incensed at fresh UN sanctions and South Korea-US military drills, has issued a series of apocalyptic threats of nuclear war in recent weeks.

America says it is taking "all necessary precautions" to respond to the daily threats from the North Korean leadership.

President Barack Obama's spokesman, Jay Carney, said the barrage of rhetoric fitted a "regrettable but familiar" pattern of North Korean behaviour.

The Musudan, which is manoeuvrable on the back of a specially designed mobile launch pad, is untested and its accuracy is unknown. Most experts believe the North Koreans lack the technological ability to mount a nuclear warhead into its tip.

However, it can carry a significant load of conventional explosives which could cause considerable damage.

The US is preparing to move an advanced missile defence system to Guam

It is not clear whether military commanders in North Korea have been given orders to fire the weapon in anger or as a test.

Given the recent level of rhetoric delivered by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and the number of US and South Korean military assets that are now in the region, the missile would be shot down within minutes of any launch.

The concern is that this could then lead to an uncontrollable escalation in military action by both sides.

Sky News' Asia correspondent Mark Stone says South Korean people are "remarkably unconcerned about the threats that are coming from the North. Why? Because they're used to it. They've heard it for so many decades now.

"They don't believe he'll press the button."

He added that governments are, however, concerned because Mr Kim, North Korea's new young leader, "is very unpredictable".

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Children's Heart Unit Could Reopen Next Week

Children's heart surgery could resume at Leeds General Infirmary as early as next week.

Operations were suspended last week because of claims the children's cardiac unit had a death rate double the average.

But medical bodies and doctors have questioned the accuracy of the data, which they say was unverified and not fit to base the decision on.

Sir Bruce Keogh said the priority must be the safety of children

This weekend five health agencies will work together with a view to restarting surgery as soon as possible - on condition concerns about patient safety can be alleviated.

In a statement, Leeds NHS Trust said: "Following a meeting to review the decision to suspend surgery at Leeds, agreement was reached to work together to restart surgery on the site early next week subject to independent assurance of concerns raised.

"The meeting involved NHS England, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the NHS Trust Development Authority, and the Care Quality Commission.

"Over the course of the weekend all agencies will work together to provide sufficient assurance to all interested parties that this service is safe and can therefore re-open next week.

After the closure a week ago, Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of NHS England, said: "The trust has taken a highly responsible precautionary step.

"It is absolutely right not to take any risks while these matters are being looked into. The priority must be the safety of children."

Following the decision to work towards early opening next week, Maggie Boyle, chief executive of the Trust, said: "I am extremely confident that this service is safe and effective and should recommence at the earliest opportunity.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he supported the decision to restart children's heart surgery at the infirmary, though he added it should be "safe and sustainable".

A Department of Health spokesperson said in a statement: "The key consideration must always be patient safety. We support NHS England and the Trust in their decision to suspend surgery last week on the basis that there were serious concerns that needed to be investigated.

"If the Trust and the regulators are content that these concerns can now be explained or addressed then we would support a joint decision to resume surgery."

Parents had criticised the timing of the unit's suspension, which came 24 hours after a High Court judge ruled that a decision to close it as part of a reorganisation of services was "legally flawed".

But they also expressed relief that the unit was to reopen.

Jon Arnold's daughter Zoe had life-saving surgery at the unit when she was three weeks old.

He said: "There's been massive support from the parents and families for the unit, and this decision confirms what we thought about the quality of care all along.

"My daughter had fantastic care at the unit.

"It was difficult to understand as a parent how they could have shut the ward so swiftly on the basis of unverified data. It left parents feeling very confused about what to believe and what was best for their child."

But Anne Keatley-Clarke, chief executive of the Children's Heart Federation, said it was right to suspend surgery until doubts about safety could be addressed.

"There are a lot of families that are very worried there about what is going to happen with their children," she said.

She added that people were frightened about raising concerns about hospitals in the area while their children were still receiving care as they feared repercussions from the Trust and on social media.

"Once the unit is reopened then a lot of the families will have a lot of questions that need to be answered about the manner in which it closed," she said.

"The main thing is that babies and families that need urgent treatment can now get it on the unit without having to be shipped across the country to any available bed space."

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HMV Rescue Saves 141 Stores And 2,500 Jobs

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

HMV's future as a high street retailer has been salvaged in a £50m deal that secures 2,500 jobs on Britain's beleaguered high streets.

Hilco, a restructuring firm, confirmed on Friday morning that it had struck an agreement with Deloitte, the administrator to HMV, to rescue the retailer.

The deal, which was revealed exclusively by Sky News on Thursday night, will keep 141 shops open, including 25 which had already been earmarked for closure by Deloitte. All nine of the Fopp-branded shops are included in the transaction.

While that represents little more than half of HMV's UK stores that were open before it called in administrators in January, it represents a more optimistic outcome for the chain than many analysts had predicted.

Hilco acquired HMV's Canadian operations two years ago, since when the performance of the business has surpassed expectations.

Paul McGowan, Hilco chief executive, said the deal had the backing of key HMV suppliers and landlords.

He said: "We hope to replicate some of the success we have had in the Canadian market with the HMV Canada business which we acquired almost two years ago and which is now trading strongly.

"The structural differences in the markets and the higher level of competition in the UK will prove additional challenges for the UK business but we believe it has a successful future ahead of it."

Mr McGowan will become chairman of HMV, with two other Hilco executives taking key roles with the retailer.

HMV had been weighed down by a mountain of debt, allied to a combination of waning consumer confidence and intense pressure from supermarkets encroaching on its entertainment retailing turf, as well as the rapid rise of low-cost digital rivals.

Hilco said it would abandon a recently-introduced practice of selling tablets and other digital devices, using the space instead for an expanded music and visual entertainment range.

Ian Topping, one of the Hilco executives who will be involved in running HMV, said: "The reaction of the British public to the administration of HMV shows a strong desire for the business to continue to trade and we hope to play a constructive part in delivering that."

Hilco also confirmed that it would seek to re-establish a presence for HMV in Ireland.

Nick Edwards, joint administrator at Deloitte, said the deal "provides a solid financial footing on which the business can be taken forward".

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Jill Meagher Murder: Accused Changes Plea

A man has pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of an Irish woman who was attacked and killed as she walked home from a bar in the Australian city of Melbourne.

Adrian Ernest Bayley pleaded guilty to rape and murder of Jill Meagher, 29, last September.

Bayley was remanded in custody for a plea hearing on June 11.

Jill Meagher's husband Tom

The 41-year-old father of four - who originally denied the charge - could face life in prison.

His change of plea means the Meagher family will not have to be involved in a high-profile trial.

CCTV footage of the last sighting of Ms Meagher

Bayley lived near inner-suburban Brunswick where he abducted Ms Meagher only a few hundred yards from the apartment she shared with her husband.

Ms Meagher's murder shocked Australia, with some 30,000 people attending a rally against violence near the lane where she was strangled.

The woman, who was working for national broadcaster ABC, went missing in the early hours of September 22 after a night out with friends.

Jill Meagher on her wedding day

She had been walking the short distance home to the flat she shared with her husband Tom.

Her body was found five days later in a shallow grave in a rural area about 31 miles from the city.

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Nuclear Threat Too Great To Axe Trident - PM

David Cameron has warned against any move to abandon the Trident deterrent in the face of the growing nuclear threat from North Korea and Iran.

The Prime Minister said it would be "foolish" to leave the country defenceless at a time when the "highly unpredictable and aggressive" regime in North Korea was developing ballistic missiles which could eventually threaten Europe.

His comments came as the US said that it was moving an advanced missile system to the Pacific island of Guam as Pyongyang continued to ratchet up the rhetoric against South Korea and its American ally.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Cameron said such "evolving threats" underlined the need for the UK to maintain the ultimate deterrent.

"We need our nuclear deterrent as much today as we did when a previous British Government embarked on it over six decades ago," he said.

"Of course, the world has changed dramatically. The Soviet Union no longer exists. But the nuclear threat has not gone away. In terms of uncertainty and potential risk it has, if anything, increased."

Mr Cameron said Iran was continuing to defy the will of the international community over its nuclear programme while North Korea may already be building a nuclear arsenal.

"The highly unpredictable and aggressive regime in North Korea recently conducted its third nuclear test and could already have enough fissile material to produce more than a dozen nuclear weapons," he said.

"Last year North Korea unveiled a long-range ballistic missile which it claims can reach the whole of the United States. If this became a reality it would also affect the whole of Europe, including the UK."

He continued: "Does anyone seriously argue that it would be wise for Britain, faced with this evolving threat today, to surrender our deterrent?

"Only the retention of our independent deterrent makes clear to any adversary that the devastating cost of an attack on the UK or its allies will always be far greater than anything it might hope to gain."

His comments underline the Conservatives' commitment to a like-for-like replacement for the ageing Trident submarine fleet but their Lib Dem coalition partners are seeking a cheaper alternative.

Lib Dem MP Sir Malcolm Bruce warned that replacing Trident could divert funding away from conventional military equipment.

He told Sky News: "We are saying we shouldn't replace Trident on a like-for-like basis but we are looking at alternative nuclear deterrents once Trident has passed its sell-by date."

The future of Trident is also likely to feature in next year's looming Scottish independence referendum campaign, with the SNP insisting that it would not allow nuclear missiles to be based in an independent Scotland.

For Labour, shadow defence minister Kevan Jones said it was "absolutely right and necessary" for the UK to retain an independent nuclear deterrent, but it must take into account the costs involved.

"World events demonstrate that in an unpredictable era our country needs the ultimate security guarantee," he said. "The precise nature of the deterrent must be judged on meeting military capability requirements and cost."

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North Korea Army: 'War Could Break Out Today'

By Mark Stone, in Seoul, South Korea

The North Korean military says it has ratified a "merciless" attack against the United States, potentially involving a "cutting-edge" nuclear strike.

"The moment of explosion is approaching fast," the army said in a statement on state news agency KCNA.

War could break out "today or tomorrow", the statement said, quoting a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army.

"The merciless operation of (our) revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified.

"The US had better ponder over the prevailing grave situation."

The North's rhetoric has been met by a display of US military strength

The North's Committee for Peaceful Reunification of Korea was later quoted by KCNA as threatening to withdraw its 53,000 workers from the joint industrial zone it shares with the South.

Pyongyang informed Seoul on Wednesday that it was stopping the daily movement of South Koreans to the Kaesong complex, the last real surviving point of contact between the two countries.

And the committee said: "If the South Korean puppets and conservative news media keep badmouthing (us), we will order all our workers to pull out from Kaesong."

North Korea's latest pronouncements came as Washington scrambled to reinforce its Pacific defences, preparing to move an advanced missile defence system to the island of Guam.

Mr Hagel said North Korea posed a "real and clear danger"

The land-based weapon, which is primed to shoot down short and medium-range missiles, will be sent to the US territory to defend its bases there.

The Pentagon has already sent bombers, stealth aircraft and ships.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the North had moved a mid-range Musudan missile to its east coast.

The missile is believed to have a range of 1,875 miles (3,000km) or more, which would put all of South Korea and Japan in range and possibly also the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

North Korea is not believed to have tested these missiles, according to most independent experts.

Tensions have been soaring on the Korean peninsula since the North launched a long-range rocket in December and conducted its third nuclear test in February.

A military checkpoint linked to the Kaesong joint industrial complex

North Korea has threatened missile and nuclear strikes against the US and South Korea in response to UN sanctions and joint military drills.

European diplomatic sources speaking to Sky News from the North Korean capital have said there is nothing there to suggest war is imminent: no sign of conscripts being signed up or unusual troop movements.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday that North Korea's "bellicose, dangerous rhetoric" posed a "real and clear danger" to America and its allies South Korea and Japan.

"They have nuclear capacity now, they have missile delivery capacity now," he said.

"We take those threats seriously, we have to take those threats seriously.

"We are doing everything we can, working with the Chinese and others to defuse that situation on the peninsula.

"I hope the North will ratchet its very dangerous rhetoric down."

The UK Government said it was not warning of an immediate risk to British citizens travelling to or living in South Korea.

In a statement to Sky News, the UK Embassy in Seoul said: "We have noted North Korea's most recent statement, we are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with allies.

"We have been clear to North Korea that its long-term interests will not be served by threatening the international community and increasing regional tensions.

"We have updated our Travel Advice, advising British nationals in Korea and those travelling here to follow the advice of local authorities and subscribe to our travel advice, Twitter feed and Facebook page. We currently assess there is no immediate risk to British nationals in or travelling to Korea."

The tensions surrounding Kaesong - established in 2004 and a crucial source of hard currency for North Korea - carry enormous significance.

Neither of the Koreas has allowed previous crises to significantly affect the complex, which is the only surviving example of inter-Korean cooperation and seen as a bellwether for stability on the Korean peninsula.

China, the North's sole major ally, appealed for "calm" from all sides, repeating Beijing's oft-declared position.

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The Mick Philpott Performance Is Over

Philpotts Jailed Over House Fire Deaths

Updated: 1:25pm UK, Thursday 04 April 2013

Mick Philpott has been described in court as "the driving force" behind a fire that killed six of his children, as he was sentenced to life in prison.

He was told by the trial judge at Nottingham Crown Court that he must serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars for the deaths.

Mrs Justice Kate Thirlwall also said he was a "disturbingly dangerous man" with "no moral compass", adding: "Your guiding principle is what Mick Philpott wants, Mick Philpott gets."

The 56-year-old defendant looked down at the floor, wiping tears from his eyes, as the judge handed down the term.

His wife Mairead, 32, and their friend Paul Mosley, 46, were each sentenced to 17 years in prison and were told they would serve half of that.

Mairead Philpott wept as she was jailed over her children's deaths, while Mosley showed no reaction.

After sentencing, family members in the public gallery applauded. One shouted: "Die, Mick, die", while another said: "See you, Mairead. Hope you enjoy life on your own". A third person called out: "Your own babies".

In response, Mick Philpott smiled and made an obscene hand gesture as he was led from the dock.

The trio were found guilty of six counts of manslaughter - one for each of the victims - on Tuesday.

Mrs Justice Thirlwall told them they were all responsible for the deaths and she had "not the slightest doubt" that Mick Philpott was "the driving force" behind the plot.

He shook his head as the judge outlined his previous violent relationships, including when he stabbed a former girlfriend 13 times.

She said he used that attempted murder conviction as a way of controlling other women.

Philpott treated women as his "chattels", the judge told him, adding: "You barked orders and they would obey. You were the kingpin, No-one else mattered."

Dawn Bestwick, Philpott's sister, told reporters outside court that justice had been done for the children. She said: "Victory to them. They've gone down. That's it."

The trio were found guilty of killing Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13, in the blaze at their home in Derby last May.

Philpott and Mairead started the fire in the early hours of May 11, pouring petrol in the hallway of the property.

Together with Mosley, they planned that Philpott should break in by the back door and rescue the children.

But the plot went wrong as fire ripped through the three-bedroom council house in Victoria Road with temperatures reaching 500C.

The judge described the plot as "a wicked and dangerous plan" that was "outside the comprehension of any right-thinking person".

The three defendants had devised the plan to frame Lisa Willis, Philpott's former girlfriend.

Philpott was fighting a custody battle with Miss Willis, 29, who had lived with the couple and slept with Philpott on alternate nights while living at the house.

Both women were said to have lived happily with one another for a decade but Miss Willis left Philpott three months before the deadly fire taking her five children, four of whom were fathered by him.

Philpott had become "obsessed" with Ms Willis and, after she left, did everything to get her back, said Mrs Justice Thirlwall.

She told him: "You could not stand the fact that she had crossed you. You were determined to make sure she came back and you began to put together your plan."

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Kate Meynell from Derbyshire Police said: "Six innocent children died as a result of the actions of their parents, the very people who should have protected them against danger. 

"The Philpotts and Paul Mosley showed no regard for the safety of the children and since the fire have shown no remorse for their actions.

"They have lied throughout the investigation and court case.  There were plenty of opportunities to admit their guilt but they never did and persisted with their denials.

"This has been an incredibly tragic case to investigate and today's sentences bring this difficult inquiry to a close."

The judge was expected to sentence the trio on Wednesday but wanted more time to reflect after mitigation on behalf of the defendants. There were extra police officers on duty outside court.

On Wednesday, Philpott made obscene hand gestures from the dock as he was heckled by members of Mairead's family following his defence team's plea for leniency.

The taunting came after lawyers argued he was a "very good father" who had been "unable to grieve".

His barrister, Mr Anthony Orchard QC, urged the judge to pass the minimum sentence on him, saying the father of 17 children by five different women would "have to live with the hatred and hostility of the press and the public for the rest of his life".

He added that Philpott "faces hostility from other prisoners on a daily basis".

The defence teams of Mairead and Mosley also appealed for leniency as part of the mitigation process in the case.

Unemployed Philpott's criminal record was laid bare in court. It emerged he was on bail for a violent road rage incident at the time of the children's deaths.

A week before the fire he had appeared in court and admitted common assault but denied dangerous driving after punching another driver who he thought had pulled out in front of him at a roundabout.

The court was told the previous girlfriend he had stabbed 13 times was so badly hurt that she still has to take medication.

Mrs Justice Thirlwall heard how Philpott attacked Kim Hill in 1978, leaving her with a broken arm and finger.

He had also been given a police caution for slapping his wife and dragging her from their home by the hair.

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Fire Deaths: Philpotts And Friend Jailed

Mick Philpott has been described in court as "the driving force" behind a fire that killed six of his children, as he was sentenced to life in prison.

He was told by the trial judge at Nottingham Crown Court that he must serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars for the deaths.

Mrs Justice Kate Thirlwall also said he was a "disturbingly dangerous man" with "no moral compass", adding: "Your guiding principle is what Mick Philpott wants, Mick Philpott gets."

The 56-year-old defendant looked down at the floor, wiping tears from his eyes, as the judge handed down the term.

His wife Mairead, 32, and their friend Paul Mosley, 46, were each sentenced to 17 years in prison and were told they would serve half of that.

Mairead Philpott wept as she was jailed over her children's deaths, while Mosley showed no reaction.

After sentencing, family members in the public gallery applauded. One shouted: "Die, Mick, die", while another said: "See you, Mairead. Hope you enjoy life on your own". A third person called out: "Your own babies".

Back (L-R) Duwayne and John, Front (L-R) Jack, Jessie, Jade and Jayden

In response, Mick Philpott smiled and made an obscene hand gesture as he was led from the dock.

The trio were found guilty of six counts of manslaughter - one for each of the victims - on Tuesday.

Mrs Justice Thirlwall told them they were all responsible for the deaths and she had "not the slightest doubt" that Mick Philpott was "the driving force" behind the plot.

He shook his head as the judge outlined his previous violent relationships, including when he stabbed a former girlfriend 13 times.

She said he used that attempted murder conviction as a way of controlling other women.

Philpott treated women as his "chattels", the judge told him, adding: "You barked orders and they would obey. You were the kingpin, No-one else mattered."

The blackened bathroom of the Philpott's house after the fire. (Pic: CPS)

Dawn Bestwick, Philpott's sister, told reporters outside court that justice had been done for the children. She said: "Victory to them. They've gone down. That's it."

The trio were found guilty of killing Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13, in the blaze at their home in Derby last May.

Philpott and Mairead started the fire in the early hours of May 11, pouring petrol in the hallway of the property.

Together with Mosley, they planned that Philpott should break in by the back door and rescue the children.

But the plot went wrong as fire ripped through the three-bedroom council house in Victoria Road with temperatures reaching 500C.

The judge described the plot as "a wicked and dangerous plan" that was "outside the comprehension of any right-thinking person".

The three defendants had devised the plan to frame Lisa Willis, Philpott's former girlfriend.

Philpott was fighting a custody battle with Miss Willis, 29, who had lived with the couple and slept with Philpott on alternate nights while living at the house.

Both women were said to have lived happily with one another for a decade but Miss Willis left Philpott three months before the deadly fire taking her five children, four of whom were fathered by him.

Philpott had become "obsessed" with Ms Willis and, after she left, did everything to get her back, said Mrs Justice Thirlwall.

She told him: "You could not stand the fact that she had crossed you. You were determined to make sure she came back and you began to put together your plan."

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Kate Meynell from Derbyshire Police said: "Six innocent children died as a result of the actions of their parents, the very people who should have protected them against danger. 

The Philpotts gave a news conference following the blaze

"The Philpotts and Paul Mosley showed no regard for the safety of the children and since the fire have shown no remorse for their actions.

"They have lied throughout the investigation and court case.  There were plenty of opportunities to admit their guilt but they never did and persisted with their denials.

"This has been an incredibly tragic case to investigate and today's sentences bring this difficult inquiry to a close."

The judge was expected to sentence the trio on Wednesday but wanted more time to reflect after mitigation on behalf of the defendants. There were extra police officers on duty outside court.

On Wednesday, Philpott made obscene hand gestures from the dock as he was heckled by members of Mairead's family following his defence team's plea for leniency.

The taunting came after lawyers argued he was a "very good father" who had been "unable to grieve".

The aftermath of the house fire

His barrister, Mr Anthony Orchard QC, urged the judge to pass the minimum sentence on him, saying the father of 17 children by five different women would "have to live with the hatred and hostility of the press and the public for the rest of his life".

He added that Philpott "faces hostility from other prisoners on a daily basis".

The defence teams of Mairead and Mosley also appealed for leniency as part of the mitigation process in the case.

Unemployed Philpott's criminal record was laid bare in court. It emerged he was on bail for a violent road rage incident at the time of the children's deaths.

A week before the fire he had appeared in court and admitted common assault but denied dangerous driving after punching another driver who he thought had pulled out in front of him at a roundabout.

The court was told the previous girlfriend he had stabbed 13 times was so badly hurt that she still has to take medication.

Mrs Justice Thirlwall heard how Philpott attacked Kim Hill in 1978, leaving her with a broken arm and finger.

He had also been given a police caution for slapping his wife and dragging her from their home by the hair.

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South Korea Warns Military Action An 'Option'

South Korea's defence minister, Kim Kwan-jin, has said that military action is an "option" to protect its citizens in its stand off with North Korea.

The news comes as the United States has said it will "not accept" North Korea as a nuclear state, after Pyongyang raised tensions by refusing the South entry to a joint industrial complex.

The North says it will restart all nuclear facilities including its mothballed Yongbyon reactor, which is able to produce bomb-grade plutonium.

Standing firm: Kerry stated he will not accept N Korea as a nuclear state

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un insisted it was only seeking a deterrent and did not repeat recent threats to attack South Korea and the US.

But the North delayed the daily opening of its Kaesong industrial zone with South Korea on Wednesday morning, in a move that could represent a sharp escalation of tensions between the two countries.

The North had previously threatened to close the joint complex as part of a stand-off with Washington and Seoul.

"We are waiting for access from the North Korean authorities," a Unification Ministry official said.

More than an hour after the time the daily entry clearance is normally granted, the ministry said 861 South Korean workers were in the industrial complex while 179 workers awaited access.

The complex is a rare lucrative source of income for the impoverished North since it was established as a form of joint-Korean cooperation in 2002.

Sky News Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said the site was the only place where relations between the two countries existed.

"As with everything, it's hard to know whether this is more game playing or whether they plan to keep it closed for a while," he said.

Face off: South Korea's Kim Kwan-jin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

"But a number of analysts who have studied the Korean problem for some time said last week that while the park remained open, the situation was not overly worrying. Now it appears to be shut."

Both Washington and Seoul stressed their countries' military readiness and said de-nuclearisation was the only way forward for North Korea.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said: "What Kim Jong-Un has been choosing to do is provocative, it is dangerous, reckless and the United States will not accept (North Korea) as a nuclear state."

America's deployment of advanced aircraft and warships to South Korea was a signal that "the United States will defend our allies and that we will not be subject to irrational or reckless provocation," he said.

Vehicles wait to cross the border to the Kaesong complex

The parading of US air and naval power with nuclear capability within view of the Korean peninsula, is as much about psychological war as real war.

The US is keen to discourage North Korea's unpredictable leader from starting a fight that could get out of control.

Mr Kerry, who will visit South Korea next week, reminded the North Koreans that "they have an option, and that option is to enter into negotiations for de-nuclearisation ... and to begin to focus on the needs of their people".

Meanwhile, China has expressed "serious concern" over the escalating situation on the Korean peninsula.

South Korean trucks return after they were refused entry to the facility

An official from China's Foreign Ministry met ambassadors from the US, North Korea and South Korea, following the closing of Kaesong.

China hopes the differences can be resolved through talks and diplomacy, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for dialogue and negotiation to resolve the crisis.

South Korean soldiers after a military drill near the demilitarised zone

"Nuclear threats are not a game," he said. "Aggressive rhetoric and military posturing only result in counter-actions, and fuel fear and instability."

Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Igor Morgulov, has expressed concern that even a simple human error could cause the crisis to escalate.

The country shares a short border with North Korea south of Vladivostok. In the current crisis, Moscow has steered clear of openly criticising North Korea.

"Russia has to be worried as we are talking about an explosive situation in the immediate vicinity of our Far East borders," he said.

US and South Korea Navy ships in formation west of the Korean peninsula

"In the current tense atmosphere, it would only need an elementary human error or technical problem for the situation to go out of control and plunge into a critical dive.

"We urge all sides to refrain from any comments or actions which could further complicate the situation," said Morgulov.

A speech by the North's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, given on Sunday but published in full by the Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, appeared to dampen any prospect of a direct confrontation with the US by emphasising that nuclear weapons would ensure the country's safety as a deterrent.

"Our nuclear strength is a reliable war deterrent and a guarantee to protect our sovereignty," Mr Kim said.

"It is on the basis of a strong nuclear strength that peace and prosperity can exist and so can the happiness of people's lives."

The crisis flared after Pyongyang was hit with US sanctions for conducting a third nuclear test in February, before America and South Korea staged military drills that North Korea viewed as "hostile".

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Iain Banks Announces He Has 'Months' To Live

Best-selling author Iain Banks has announced he has cancer and only several months to live.

In a statement posted on his website, the 59-year-old Scottish novelist revealed he is in the final stages of gall-bladder cancer and is unlikely to live "beyond a year".

"I am officially Very Poorly," he says. "After a couple of surgical procedures, I am gradually recovering from jaundice caused by a blocked bile duct, but that - it turns out - is the least of my problems.

Banks is considered to be among the 50 greatest British writers since 1945

"I have cancer. It started in my gall bladder, has infected both lobes of my liver and probably also my pancreas and some lymph nodes.

"The bottom line, now, I'm afraid, is that as a late stage gall bladder cancer patient, I'm expected to live for 'several months' and it's extremely unlikely I'll live beyond a year.

"So it looks like my latest novel, The Quarry, will be my last."

Mr Banks writes mainstream fiction under the name Iain Banks, and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, which includes the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies.

Enthusiasts of his work took to Twitter to express their sadness and share memories of some of his best remembered novels.

In 2008, The Times said Mr Banks belonged in their list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.

Some of his best-known works include The Wasp Factory, published in 1984, and Complicity, published in 1993, which was later made into the film Retribution in 2000.

His statement announced he had withdrawn from all planned public engagements and that his publishers were doing all they could to bring the publication date of The Quarry forward.

He also announced his intention to marry.

"I've asked my partner Adele if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow (sorry - but we find ghoulish humour helps). By the time this goes out we'll be married and on a short honeymoon".

Mr Banks revealed he was weighing up the possibility of undergoing treatment in an attempt to prolong the time he has left to live.

"There is a possibility that it might be worth undergoing a course of chemotherapy to extend the amount of time available," he said.

"However, that is still something we're balancing the pros and cons of, and, anyway, it is out of the question until my jaundice has further and significantly, reduced."

A website is to be set up where friends, family and fans will be able to leave messages for the author.

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First Charges In Savile Sex Investigation

A man is to be charged as part of the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal - the first charges under Operation Yewtree.

Driver David Smith will be charged with five sex offences including two of indecent assault on a boy under 14 in 1984 and two of gross indecency on a boy under 14 at the same time. 

Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, said: "The CPS has carefully considered the evidence gathered as part of Operation Yewtree in relation to David Smith, who was employed as a driver at the time of the allegations.

"The CPS received a file of evidence on December 21 2012. Further enquiries were necessary and the result of those enquiries was received by the CPS on March 18.

"We have concluded, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, and that it is in the public interest for David Smith to be charged with five offences."

Smith, who was arrested in December last year, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 8.

Savile's record of abuse is thought to be unprecedented - with 28 alleged victims being boys and girls aged under 10. However, many of the TV star's accusers only came forward after his death.

More follows...

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Derby Fire: Philpotts Face Jail Over Deaths

Mick Philpott, who killed six children by setting fire to his home, stabbed a previous girlfriend 13 times, injuring her so badly she still has to take medication, a court has heard.

Philpott's criminal record was laid out in front of a judge at Nottingham Crown Court, who will tomorow sentence him and his partner, Mairead, for the manslaughter of their six children.

Mrs Justice Kate Thirlwall heard how Philpott attacked Kim Hill in 1978 leaving her severely injured with a broken arm and finger.

He had also been given a police caution for slapping Mairead and dragging her from their home by her hair.

But his barrister, Mr Anthony Orchard QC urged that the judge should pass the minimum sentence on Philpott on the grounds that he was a "good father", who had lost his children.

Back (L-R) Duwayne and John, Front (L-R) Jack, Jessie, Jade and Jayden

He said that the father of 17 children by five different women would "have to live with the hatred and hostility of the press and the public for the rest of his life".

He added that Philpott "faces hostility from other prisoners on a daily basis".

Philpott and his partner Mairead, 32, started the blaze at their Derby home in the early hours of May 11, pouring petrol in the hallway of the property.

Mick Philpott tried to frame his former partner over the blaze

Together with their friend Paul Mosley, 46, who will also be sentenced tomorrow, they planned that Philpott should break in by the back door and rescue the children.

But the plot went wrong and fire ripped through the three-bedroom council house in Victoria Road, Derby, with temperatures reaching 500C.

Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, aged eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and 13-year-old Duwayne, all died.

The three had devised the plan in a bid to frame Lisa Willis, Philpott's former girlfriend.

Philpott was fighting a custody battle with Miss Willis, 29, who had lived with the couple and slept with Philpott on alternate nights while living at the house.

Paul Mosley helped the Philpotts with their deadly plan

Both women were said to have lived happily with one another for a decade but Miss Willis left Philpott three months before the deadly fire taking her five children, four of whom were fathered by him.

In mitigation at court today, Mr Orchard said that the fire had gone "disastrously wrong" because it spread too quickly.

However, the judge countered that even if the children had been saved by Philpott, as intended, the experience would still have been terrifying.

She said: "If the plan had been successful the effect on the children would have been this, would it not - they would have been awoken in their beds with their house on fire and their father coming in to rescue them."

The judge said that she was troubled by Philpott's attitude to women and pointed out that there had been violence in every one of his relationships.

Mairead Philpott does not have a 'heart of stone', says barrister

She heard that Mairead had devoted her life to bringing up the children and that they were "happy children" despite their unusual living arrangements.

Her barrister, Sean Smith QC, told the court Mairead "is not a woman who has a heart of stone, her grief is overwhelming".

He said Mairead had spent 12-and-a-half of her 32 years with Philpott and realised it was "utter folly" to stay with him but that she "would do whatever he said, whatever he wanted".

Mr Smith said that she "will be forever known as a child killer" and even when released from prison she would never be able to have children or be involved with children.

After the mitigation speeches for each defendant had finished there were obscene gestures made by relatives of Mairead Philpott towards Mick Philpott in the dock.

He responded by making hand gestures himself before being led away by a team of security guards ahead of sentencing at 3pm.

Temperatures inside the house reached 500C

Jurors at Nottingham Crown Court returned guilty verdicts on manslaughter charges for the pair and co-defendant Mosley, 46, on Tuesday after an eight-week trial.

Upon their conviction, Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill, of Derbyshire Police, revealed how he suspected Philpott as he watched his reactions during a press conference.

He said that officers had been surprised when Philpott wanted to speak to the media five days after fire.

Mr Cotterill said his misgivings were betrayed in a single photograph, taken as he sat alongside Mick, and his wife Mairead.

He said: "In one particular photograph, what I saw there was a guy who was sat there pretending to cry and I've described it as a bit of a sham of a performance and I didn't believe that he was genuinely overcome by grief.

"I thought he was playing to the cameras."

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill's disbelief captured on camera

Philpott became known as Shameless Mick for a lifestyle, which saw him take charge of some £2,000 a month in benefits, and claim he needed a bigger council home in which to house his vast family.

His propensity for cashing in on the welfare state propelled him on to television screens in a documentary with Ann Widdecombe and on the Jeremy Kyle Show.

But the role he played in the devastating fire on May 11 that led to allegations he was "acting".

Brothers Jamie and Darren Butler, who live on the same road as the Philpotts, told Sky News how the Philpotts did nothing to help rescue their children and stood like "a couple of statues".

Jamie said: "You watch Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale all the time, and you can see people are acting, because they get paid to act. That's exactly what he was doing, he wasn't being paid for it, but he was acting. There was no emotion, he was motionless, there was nothing."

Even as Philpott went to see the bodies of the dead children at Derby Royal Hospital he attempted to keep up the act.

Mortuary manager Marie Smith described how Philpott had pretended to faint when he saw his children's bodies for the first time.

She said he also asked for alcohol and engaged in horseplay with a police liaison officer days after the tragedy while bemused staff looked on.

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Brazil: CCTV Catches Police 'Ignoring' Murders

Eight Brazilian police officers have been arrested after security camera footage showed two teenagers being murdered as officers in a police car parked metres away apparently did nothing.

The footage, which was shown on Brazilian television, showed two men on a motorcycle gunning down two youngsters in the popular Bras neighbourhood of Sao Paulo.

Images from a separate camera show that at the time of the murders, a military police vehicle was parked around 50m away from where the victims were shot.

Police on patrol in a shantytown in Rio

After the shooting it was seen simply driving off in scenes that the Civilian Police Director of Sao Paulo described as "shocking".

She said: "We are working to find the third youth who was seen in the images and managed to flee."

The arrests came as police in Rio de Janeiro arrested three men in connection with the rape of an American student on a minibus.

The 21-year-old, who was studying in the city, was subjected to a horrific six-hour sex attack on the vehicle as her French boyfriend was forced to look on.

The couple boarded the bus in Copacabana and headed to Lapa, a trendy area home to popular bars and dance clubs.

Police in riot training preparation for the World Cup in 2014

Two men who also boarded the minibus ordered the rest of the passengers to get off and handcuffed their victims.

They then proceeded to beat the young man with a metal bar and rape the young woman as they rode around the city.

The incidents will be a damaging blow to Brazil, which is seeking to improve its image on crime, ahead of the World Cup next year and the Olympic Games, which will be hosted in Rio in 2016.

Sao Paul has seen a surge in violent crime in recent years and police in the country have been accused of excessive use of force and taking bribes from drugs gangs.

Reconstruction works at the Maracana stadium in Brazil

In December, Brazilian authorities arrested 61 police officers accusing them of taking bribes from drug traffickers to turn a blind eye to criminal activity in Rio.

The country had to reassure soccer fans on Saturday after rioting erupted before a match at a 2014 World Cup venue among angry fans in the northeastern city of Salvador.

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Windermere Boat Deaths: Engine Investigated

A faulty boat generator may have been responsible for the deaths of a mother and her daughter from suspected gas poisoning.

Kelly Webster, 36, and her daughter Lauren Thornton, 10,  from Leyland in Lancashire, died after eating lunch on the 25ft cruiser during an Easter holiday trip.

Cumbria Police said that "all signs" indicated that carbon monoxide poisoning was responsible for the deaths and said they were looking at a potential fault with a generator fitted to the boat's engine.

The boat was moored at Bowness when the family suffered breathing problems

Mrs Webster and her daughter were regular visitors to the area along with her partner, Matthew Eteson, who owned the boat, and had arrived at the lake on Easter Sunday.

On Monday, the three took the boat out and moored at Bowness before going to get some lunch then returning to eat it and falling asleep.

Emergency services were called at 4pm and paramedics tried to save the mother and daughter, who were air lifted to Royal Lancaster Infirmary, but they died in the hospital.

Emergency services at the scene (Pic: Josh Kynaston)

Mr Eteson, 39, who is the director of Preston Energi, a heating and plumbing company, was also taken to hospital for treatment and has since been released.

Detective Inspector Mike Brown, of Cumbria Police, said they were investigating whether the generator, which was added to the boat after manufacture, was the cause of the tragedy.

He said: "We cannot fully establish with any degree of certainty that that is the cause of any gas leak but that certainly looks to be a possibility.

"So we are looking at that and how that has been fitted and looking at it with experts that know how these things work and what could potentially go wrong."

The family were airlifted to hospital (Pic: Josh Kynaston)

A number of floral tributes have been left outside Mrs Webster's Leyland home and messages have been posted on Facebook.

David Hampson posted: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Matt, Kelly and Lauren, what a tragedy, they had such happy plans for their future together.

"To think a £20.00 CO monitor would have saved their lives. I will buy one today."

The scene of the tragedy

Ross Bullough wrote: "God bless Kelly and Lauren, rest in peace such a shame. And Matt we are all hoping you get better soon."

Josh Kynaston, who witnessed the emergency response, said crews had spent some time trying to locate the boat on the jetty.

He said: "They were trying to find the problem boat. Once they had found it, all the medics were out, all the fire brigade, all the police and they were trying to get to them as soon as possible because they knew straight away what what up, that they knew there was a problem with some gas leakage."

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Benefits: Osborne Defends Welfare Shake-Up

George Osborne has robustly defended the Government's controversial benefits shake-up - insisting Britain can no longer afford to reward people who do the "wrong thing".

Speaking at a supermarket distribution centre in Kent, the Chancellor condemned the old system as "fundamentally broken" and warned Labour that they were out of step with public opinion on the issue.

Mr Osborne insisted that nine out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the welfare and tax changes.

He said people in Britain understood that the welfare system needed to change.

"In 2010 alone, payments to working age families cost £90bn," he said.

"That means about one in every £6 of tax that working people like you pay was going on working age benefits. To put that into perspective - that's more than we spend on our schools."

He pledged to make sure people were better off in work than out, thereby making the system much "fairer". Changes, such as cutting housing benefit for social housing tenants deemed to have a spare bedroom, were simply asking people on welfare to take the same choices as working families, he said.

Mr Osborne: People will no longer be better off on the dole than in work

The Chancellor told the Morrisons workers: "For too long, we've had a system where people who did the right thing - who get up in the morning and work hard - felt penalised for it, while people who did the wrong thing got rewarded for it.

"That's wrong ... This month we will make work pay.

"What this Government is trying to do is to put things right. We're trying to make the system fair on people like you, who get up, go to work, and expect your taxes to be spent wisely.

"And we're trying to restore hope in those communities who have been let down by generations of politicians, by getting them back into work."

Wider welfare and tax changes coming into force this month will also see council tax benefit funding cut, and working-age benefits and tax credit rises pegged at 1% - well below inflation - for three years.

Disability living allowance is being replaced by the personal independence payment (Pip), while trials are due to begin in four London boroughs of a £500-a-week cap on household benefits, and of the new universal credit system.

Critics of the Government's housing benefit reforms call it a 'bedroom tax'

Mr Osborne dismissed "depressingly predictable outrage" about the reforms, claiming they would help the most vulnerable and "give people a ladder out of poverty".

He said: "Because defending every line item of welfare spending isn't credible in the current economic environment.

"Because defending benefits that trap people in poverty and penalise work is defending the indefensible.

"The benefit system is broken. It penalises those who try to do the right thing and the British people badly want it fixed.

"We agree - and those who don't are on the wrong side of the British public."

But shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News that "the truth" was that households were losing out because of the reforms.

Citing an independent study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showing the average family would be £891 worse off this year as a result of all the coalition's changes since 2010, he added: "Working families are worse off and now the Government is cutting the top rate of income tax only for the richest people.

"A millionaires' tax cut paid for by millions of working people. That's not fair, that's not right."

Mr Duncan Smith has been urged to prove a claim he could live on £53 a week

Changes that mean the rate for top-rate taxpayers has been reduced from 50% to 45% also come into effect this month.

Sky News Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones said Mr Osborne's speech was "combative" and "aggressive".

"He has not apologised for the stance he is taking," he said.

It came a day after Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, the architect of the reforms, was facing a a growing backlash after suggesting that he could get by on £53 a week, rather than his current after-tax income of £1,600 a week.

In the wake of the comment in a radio interview, tens of thousands of people have signed a petition on the change.org website, calling for the minister to try surviving on that money for a year.

During his speech on Tuesday Mr Osborne refused to be drawn on whether he could manage on £53 a week. In response to a question, he said: "I don't think it's sensible to reduce this debate to one individual's state of circumstances.

"We have a welfare system where there are lots of benefits available to people on very low incomes. 

"This debate is not about any individual, it's about creating a welfare system that rewards work."

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Iain Duncan Smith: Petition Piles On Pressure

Pressure is mounting on Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith to uphold a claim he made that he could live on just £53 a week in benefits.

In an interview about changes to the welfare system, Mr Duncan Smith suggested he could get by on £53 a week, as one benefit recipient argued they were having to.

"If I had to I would," Mr Duncan Smith told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The MP is the architect behind controversial reforms that started coming into force this week. He currently has an after-tax income of £1,600 a week.

In the wake of the comment, more than 200,000 people have so far signed a petition on the change.org website, calling for the minister to live up to his claim for a year.

That is more signatures than any other petition that is currently open on the Government's e-petition website.

Dom Aversano, who set up the petition, told Sky News that people felt there was "a gigantic gulf" between the lifestyle and wealth of Mr Duncan Smith and other Cabinet members and most of the electorate.

He called on Mr Duncan Smith "to follow his party's mantra of 'we're all in this together'".

He said: "Look at where he is living, the conditions under which he is living.

"He did a brilliant PR exercise before to depict himself as a compassionate Conservative. He's nothing of the sort, he's viciously attacking the most vulnerable and poorest members of society."

Mr Aversano added that the Work and Pensions Secretary had "put himself in this position". "He made the claim and set himself up for this. It's for him to respond," he said.

But Financial Secretary to the Treasury Greg Clarke defended his Tory colleague. He told Sky News: "All of Iain's reforms and all of the work he does as a constituency MP is to help people, to help people get back on the ladder and to improve their prospects."

According to the petition, reducing Mr Duncan Smith's income to £53 a week would be a 97% drop in his current budget. The Cabinet minister, who lives in a £2m mansion that he inherited from his father-in-law, would need to get by on just £7.57 a day.

Angry comments have been left by some of those who signed the petition. One woman wrote: "Multimillionaires telling the very poor how easy it is to survive on such a limited income need to put their oodles of money where their mouth is."

The Government insists its benefits shake-up, which includes a so called "bedroom tax" on social housing tenants with spare rooms, cuts to council tax benefit funding and a weekly cap on household benefits, is all about "fairness".

It says the current system is "broken", with people who work hard being penalised, and that Britain could no longer afford to reward people who "do the wrong thing".

If Mr Duncan Smith went ahead with the challenge, he would not be the first Conservative MP to attempt to live off benefits.

Former Tory politician turned journalist Matthew Parris took part in a documentary in the 1980s requiring him to survive on social security payments of £26.80 a week. He repeated the experiment 20 years later in a TV programme called For the Benefit of Mr Parris Revisited.

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Bag-Snatcher Runs Into Glass Door In Getaway

A bag snatcher has been caught on camera knocking himself out after running through a glass door as he tried to make his getaway.

The man had just snatched a purse from a 50-year-old woman at a newsagent in Perth, Western Australia, when he unwittingly hurtled through the pane and fell flat on his face.

CCTV footage shows the confused man lying on the ground outside the shopping centre as bystanders who were unaware of the theft come to his aid.

Shop owner Greg Rice said: "He made a pretty heavy impact. When he actually hit the glass he was knocked out."

Police said the witnesses assisted the man before an accomplice arrived on the scene and threatened them.

The injured man stumbled to his feet before he and his accomplice made off in a stolen green Lexus. They are still at large.

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Guildford Station Murder Probe: Tributes Paid

Tributes have been paid to a 22-year-old man who died when he was hit by a train after a confrontation at a railway station.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the victim, named locally as Ryan Harrison, suffered fatal injuries at Guildford Station, in Surrey, on Saturday night.

A short time earlier Mr Harrison, from Woking, Surrey, was with a friend when he became involved in an altercation with a number of other men.

Paramedics were called but Mr Harrison was pronounced dead at the scene.

His death is being treated as suspicious, British Transport Police said.

Friend Jake Lund wrote on Facebook: "Cant believe this has happened to such a nice person, rip Ryan."

Sarah Tuffs wrote on Twitter: "R.i.p Ryan harrison, you will be missed by so many, life is too short."

Amir Ahmed also wrote on Twitter: "RIP Ryan Harrison. Still in shock. Gone, but never forgotten."

Two 19-year-old men, from Guildford, were arrested at the scene while a third man, from Cranleigh, Surrey, handed himself into a Guildford police station later.

They all remain in custody.

Detective Chief Inspector Iain Miller, the senior investigating officer, said: "Our thoughts are very much with the man's family at this acutely difficult time for them.

"They're trying to come to terms with what has happened and at this stage, quite understandably, they have asked to be left alone to grieve."

The station was sealed off until the early hours of Sunday while forensics officers examined the scene.

Officers are hoping to recover footage from CCTV cameras, but they also want to hear from any witnesses at the station.

Anyone with information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Weather: Jet Stream Blamed For UK Cold Snap

As Britain leaves behind what looks to have been the coldest March for more than 50 years, forecasters are warning it will stay cold for another week at least.

Meteorologists are blaming the bad weather on the position of the jet stream, a narrow band of very strong winds which tends to move from west to east across the Atlantic, bringing our weather systems with it.

Sky News weather presenter Isobel Lang said: "The jet stream is currently displaced well to the south of its usual position across the north Atlantic and Europe, located across the Azores, Spain and the Mediterranean.

"So the UK will remain stuck in the cold air to the north and it's set to stay cold for at least another week.

"Daytime highs during this first week of April will remain well below average (9C to 11C for early April) and as the easterly wind strengthens again it will feel bitterly cold. Some snow is still likely, too."

The jet stream is a band of strong winds at around 30,000 feet

However, she said that next week temperatures will start to pick up by several degrees.

"It is still a way off yet in terms of detail but the trend is there for something a little warmer with highs around the average, or even a little above. This is no April fool..."

The position of a jet stream varies within the natural fluctuations of the environment. They are caused by the temperature difference between tropical air masses around the equator and and polar air masses.

Experts argue about why the jet stream is out of position, but it could be caused by a combination of the reduction in Arctic sea ice over the last few decades, climate change, solar activity and natural variability within the climate.

The Met Office says the average temperatures between March 1 and 26 were just 2.5C (36.5F), three degrees below the long-term average.

This would make it the coldest March since 1962 and also the fourth coldest in the UK since records began in 1910.

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David Miliband Quits Sunderland Over Di Canio

Sunderland's Hero Or Fascist Zero?

Updated: 12:49pm UK, Monday 01 April 2013

By Matt Teale, Sports Presenter

So, Paolo Di Canio, not Martin O'Neill, is the man to steer Sunderland to safety, according to the club's owner Ellis Short.

The timing of O'Neill's departure has baffled many, with his experienced head discarded in place of a manager whose biggest achievement to date is guiding Swindon Town to the League Two title last season.

To be fair to Mr Short, the recent stats under O'Neill don't look good: eight games without a win, one point above the relegation zone and only seven games to turn things around. Things, clearly, weren't working and time is something managers just aren't given any more - the cost of relegation is too high.

But the controversy over Di Canio's appointment goes far beyond his relative inexperience as a manager.

The club's vice-chairman, David Miliband MP, resigned his post almost as soon as the news came out in protest at the new manager's "past political statements".

Di Canio has self-confessed fascist sympathies, having been fined and banned for a game in 2005 by the Italian football authorities after making raised-arm salutes while playing for Lazio.

There was more controversy after describing fascist Italian leader Benito Mussolini as "basically misunderstood" in his autobiography.

But what, if anything, will all that matter to fans?

Not a lot, if former Sunderland player Darren Williams is to be believed.

He told Sky News Sunrise that if Di Canio can save Sunderland, the fans will see him as a hero, regardless of any views he holds.

His leadership style has been described by his former chief-executive at Swindon as "management by hand grenade".

Sunderland will certainly need to find some fire power if their Premier League status is to be maintained.

For Mr Short, who's been marshalling recent events from a beach, the appointment of Di Canio could either turn out to be a stroke of genius or one of the worst examples of preemptive panic button pressing in recent memory.

If it's the former, Di Canio's fascist sympathies, which, presumably, were present while he was at Swindon, may well be forgotten again. If it's the latter, Mr Short might consider staying on holiday in Hawaii.

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Benefits Shake-Up 'To Cost Families Hundreds'

By Tadhg Enright, Sky Reporter

Changes to the welfare system will cost the average family £891 over the next year, according to research by Labour and the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The Conservatives have responded by saying the biggest shake-up of the welfare state in history has already had an effect with a third of those claiming incapacity benefit giving it up to avoid a medical to prove their entitlement.

From Monday, millions of low income families will see an increase in their council tax bills.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls says millions of families will lose out

The so-called bedroom "tax" will see housing benefit cut for council house tenants with more bedrooms than they need. Those with one spare room will be deducted 14% and those with more lose a quarter. 

And from next Saturday, the annual increase in tax credits and other working-age benefits will be cut to just 1%, well below the rate of inflation.

The personal income tax allowance for those aged under 65 will rise to £9,440 but the higher rate threshold will fall to £41,450.

The top rate of income tax will also fall from 50p to 45p which Labour claims will shave £100,000 off the annual tax bills of 13,000 people who earn more than £1m a year.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "These shocking figures show the huge hit millions of families are facing at the very same time as David Cameron and George Osborne are giving millionaires an average £100,000 tax cut.

"And while Ministers trumpet the small rise in the income tax personal allowance, they should admit that it is hugely outweighed by things like cuts to tax credits and child benefit, higher VAT, the bedroom tax and the granny tax.

"They are giving with one hand, but taking away much more with the other."

Mum-of-two Emma Kingsbury is one of 660,000 council house tenants who will have to pay the so-called bedroom tax because she needs only two of the three bedrooms in her home,

She told Sky News: "I've only ever needed two bedrooms and now, after placing us in this three bedroom when I didn't need or ask for it, they want us to pay for this room that we rarely use."

The bedroom tax will cost Emma and her boys £15 a week.

The 'bedroom tax' has prompted a number of protests

"The boys will have to stop some of their extra curricular activities, outings for Easter," she said.

"They haven't given anybody any time to try and downsize. I've had a month."

The Government insists it is vital to break the cycle of dependency on benefits and has claimed that welfare reforms have already succeeded in reducing spurious claims.

Out of 1.44 million medical assessments carried out on claimants of incapacity benefit, 837,000 were found to be fit enough to return to work.

A further 878,300 chose to give up their benefit instead of facing a medical to prove their entitlement.

Among them were people on benefits because of blisters, acne and sprains.

Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps said: "I think it's really important that we do have a system where people are supported in work and where when somebody works they know they are always going to be better off than on benefits.

"I think incapacity benefit and some of these other benefits were used by previous governments to ensure that people didn't sign on to the dole queue. In fact it was a very dishonest way of going about things.

"The great thing now is that people know they don't have to study the Jobcentre computer for an hour and a half, they know they when they go out to work they will always be better off working than on benefits. That's a good thing for them, it's a good thing for society."

Mr Shapps said that families often shared rooms in their homes and that his two sons did the same. It later emerged that Mr Shapps, who has three children, lives in a four bedroom house but uses one of the rooms as a study.

The Government reforms will cause queues at food banks to get longer and increase homelessness, according to charity Crisis.

It said the unemployed and disabled would bear the brunt of the cuts and that it had "serious concerns" about the replacement of

disability living allowance (DLA) with a  personal independence payment (PIP),

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Pope Francis Calls For Korea 'Reconcilliation'

Pope Francis prayed for a "political solution" in Syria and for "reconciliation" on the Korean peninsula in his first Easter Sunday message.

Thousands of people packed into St Peter's Square to see the pontiff celebrate his first Easter mass and to hear his message to the faithful.

Latin America's first pontiff also issued an appeal for hostages held by militants in Nigeria and condemned human trafficking as "the most extensive form of slavery in this 21st century".

The pope delivered his "Urbi et Orbi" blessing to Rome and the world from the same balcony of St Peter's Basilica where he made his first appearance after his momentous election to the papacy this month.

Speaking in front of some 250,000 people from around the world, Francis prayed for "dear Syria, for its people torn by conflict and for the many refugees who await help and comfort."

He asked: "How much blood has been shed? And how much suffering must there still be before a political solution to the crisis will be found?"

"On the Korean peninsula, may disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow," he said, a day after North Korea declared it was in a "state of war" with South Korea.

Francis also prayed for Nigeria "where great numbers of people, including children, are held hostage by terrorist groups" -- an apparent reference to a French family kidnapped in Cameroon and believed held by the Nigerian group Boko Haram.

The pope also toured St Peter's Square in his open-top "popemobile" -- kissing babies and waving to cheering crowds who held up flags from around the world including his native Argentina.

Pope Francis arrives for the mass in St Peter's Square

Easter is the holiest day in the Christian calendar and celebrates the belief in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. It is the culmination of weeks of intense prayer for Christians.

At an Easter Vigil in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday, the first pontiff from outside Europe in nearly 1,300 years of Church history reached out to non-believers and lapsed Catholics, urging them to "step forward" to God.

The Catholic Church has been struggling in the face of rising secularism, particularly in Europe where attendances at masses are falling sharply.

During his message, Francis prayed God would reach "every house and every family, especially where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons."

On Holy Thursday, Francis celebrated an unprecedented Mass in a youth prison in Rome in which he washed the feet of 12 inmates including two girls and two Muslims -- a ritual seen as a gesture of humility towards the 12 apostles attributed to Jesus.

Previous popes only ever performed the ritual with priests or Catholic laymen.

Francis took over the papacy after the resignation of Benedict XVI who stunned the world by announcing he wanted to become the first pope to leave office voluntarily in more than 700 years.

The 85-year-old admitted he no longer had the physical or mental strength to carry out his papal duties.

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Archbishop Welby Says Church Should Be 'Sign'

The Church of England must act as symbol of peace in an increasingly divided world, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said ahead of his first Easter Service.

The Most Rev Justin Welby said the Church has to show it can manage disagreement "gracefully" over issues such as women bishops and gay marriage.

The Archbishop said the Church faced a "challenge" of showing the rest of society that its members can hold different views but still remain "gracefully and deeply committed to each other".

He said if it can do so, it can be a "sign to the world" of peace and reconciliation.

Archbishop Welby has arrived at Canterbury Cathedral for his first Easter service which is now underway.

Before the Service he said in a recorded interview with a radio station: "We need to understand reconciliation within the Church as the transformation of destructive conflict, not unanimity.

"It doesn't mean we all agree, it is that we find ways of disagreeing, perhaps very passionately but loving each other deeply at the same time, gracefully and deeply committed to each other.

"That is the challenge for the Church and that is the challenge if the Church is actually going to speak to our society which is increasingly divided in many different ways, here and overseas, over huge issues."

Mr Welby's remarks were part of a wide-ranging interview for an Easter Sunday broadcast of the Travellers' Tales slot on Premier Christian Radio.

The 57-year-old former oil industry executive, who was enthroned earlier this month at Canterbury Cathedral, told the programme how he and his wide Caroline coped after their first born child, Johanna, died in a road accident in France in 1983.

He said: "God is aware of our suffering, of the suffering of this very broken world and our suffering was as nothing compared to many people and he is at work even in the darkest places."

Asked if he could sleep at night given the pressures of his new role as Archbishop of Canterbury, Mr Welby said: "I sleep well on the whole.

"I think one of the really important things about this job is that it is not a papacy, the Archbishop of Canterbury is only one among the diocesan bishops.

Princess Eugenie arrives for the Easter service at St George's Chapel

"The Church of England is episcopally led but synodically governed, so it is not even the bishops who all decide what happens."

The Archbishop, who has more than 25,000 followers on Twitter, said it was important to use the social networks but admitted he was not good at tweeting.

He said: "I try to tweet regularly, it is a strange old thing, because a lot of twitter stuff is 'well I am just having my second piece of toast for breakfast' that sort of stuff. I am not very good at it."

His last tweet was on March 27 when he said: "In Holy Week as we approach the cross we need to recognise both the suffering of the world around and our own need of repentance."

The Catholic leader of England and Wales hailed Easter as a "triumph of light over darkness and life over death".

In his Easter Vigil, the Archbishop of Westminster quoted recently-elected Pope Francis as he called for believers to live their faith with a "young heart".

Meanwhile, the Queen attended the traditional Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle today with other members of the Royal Family.

She was joined by the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie for the Matins service at St George's Chapel, conducted by the Dean of Windsor, the Right Rev David Conner.

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Policewoman Sues Man Who Called 999

A man who dialled 999 fearing a burglary at his petrol station is being sued by the policewoman who answered the call because she fell on the premises.

The woman, WPC Kelly Jones, tripped over a kerbstone when she went to the station in Thetford, Norfolk, owned by Steve Jones last August.

Her lawyers say she was hurt and argue that he failed to keep her safe while she was investigating the possible break-in.

Mr Jones says the move raises bigger questions about Britain's culture of compensation.

"I think it's the compensation culture gone a little too far, this is one step too far. Something needs to be done.

"I feel we need a minister of the common sense in this country," he told Sky News.

Mr Jones said he felt "astounded, worried, slightly anxious" upon receiving notification of the lawsuit last week.

"It's implying that I virtually should have done her job for her, it's implying I didn't keep her safe on my premises," Mr Jones said.

"We really need the police to be on our side right now," he added, citing what he says is an increased numbers of shoplifters or people who drive off without paying after filling up the tank.

The kerb at the Norfolk petrol station where the incident occurred

WPC Jones could not immediately be reached.

But Norfolk Police said in a statement that they had been "wholly unaware of this litigation which appears to be instigated privately by the individual officer".

The statement added: "We have a duty of care to any officer injured whilst on duty, to support their continued health and well-being and fitness to return to work. Officers can, in addition, receive further support from their staff association, as well as pursuing private treatment."

Mr Jones was called out late at night in August 25 after an alarm went off at the petrol station. Fearing a burglary, he called the police for backup.

"We were walking around to see if there had been any signs of entry in the premises and she tripped over the kerb," Mr Jones recalled.

"She got up and we carried on," he said, adding that the officer did not mention anything at the time and that she seemed to be "more embarrassed than hurt".

There was no burglary so Mr Jones said he didn't think about the incident until receiving the letter months later.

The lawsuit said the policewoman had suffered wrist and leg injuries.

Her lawyers say the area was not properly lit. Mr Jones counters that some lights were on and some more light was coming from a back street.

If successful, the claim could put people off calling emergency services. But Mr Jones said this was an isolated incident.

"On the whole the police do a great job."

The Police Federation said in a statement that "the Constables Central Committee is funding this particular case and the decision making for this lies with them."

It added: "On occasion private prosecutions and civil claims are made by police officers - and they must be treated each on their own merits.

"However, we share the public view that policing is a job that carries with it a reasonable amount of risk, at times much higher than that."

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