Super Typhoon Haiyan: At Least '1,200 Dead'

An aid agency says it has received reports that 1,200 people have been killed in only two of the six areas of the Philippines hit by Super Typhoon Haiyan.

The country's Red Cross says it has been told there are 1,000 dead in Tacloban and 200 in Samar alone.

The official death toll reached 138 by 1pm on Saturday (UK time) but there are fears many hundreds more could have died as the tropical cyclone smashed through the country with winds gusting up to 170mph.

A man walks amid shattered homes in Tacloban

And there are growing fears for Vietnam which is now in the path of what has been called one of the most powerful recorded cyclones in history.

Gwendolyn Pang, Philippine Red Cross secretary general said: "An estimated more than 1,000 bodies were seen floating in

Tacloban as reported by our Red Cross teams. In Samar, about 200 deaths. Validation is ongoing."

A mother weeps beside the dead body of her son

When asked how many had died in just the coastal town of Palo and its surrounding area, Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said: "I think hundreds. Palo, Ormoc, Burauen... Carigara, they all looked the same."

Manila-based journalist Mike Cohen told Sky News: "The video images we are seeing are so gruesome we cannot show them. There are bodies piled up upon bodies in several areas.

"This is from Leyte and Samar provinces. We are still not through the other four provinces."

Children play among downed power lines

Dozens, possibly hundreds, of towns and villages are thought to have been inundated with water after storm surges flooded low-lying areas, drowning many in their path.

TV pictures showed cars, trees and rubble from houses strewn across streets after they were picked up by giant waves and carried inland.

One survivor said: "We thought it was a tsunami."

Residents carry the body of a loved one

"Almost all houses were destroyed, many are totally damaged. Only a few are left standing," said Major Rey Balido, a spokesman for the national disaster agency.

A British team of humanitarian experts is due to fly out to the far eastern country to help the UK Government decide what aid to send.

An appeal launched by the British Red Cross has already raised more than £100,000. US Secretary of State John Kerry said that America stood "ready to help".

Soldiers walk outside of Tacloban's shattered airport terminal

About a million people who were evacuated because they were living in the typhoon's path have been returning to find out what is left of their houses.

Hundreds of thousands are said to have lost their homes.

Many of the most heavily damaged areas are still to be contacted because power and telephone lines are down, suggesting the final death toll could be much higher.

Many children became seperated from their parents and were left in tears

Captain John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said he had spoken to colleagues in some of the affected areas by radio who had told him there were bodies lying in the street.

There were "100-plus dead, lying on the streets, with 100 plus injured" in Tacloban, the airport worker had told him.

Tacloban is the capital of Leyte, a large island of about two million people that suffered a direct hit from Haiyan on Friday morning when the storm was at its strongest.

A map showing the path of the typhoon and affected islands

Leyte Island, about 350miles south of the capital Manila, is one of five islands that was in the path of the super typhoon.

A news team for local television network GMA reported counting at least 20 bodies in a church, 20 more at a pier and a further 11 that had been washed ashore, including one child.

An AFP photographer who reached the city aboard a military plane said large areas of Tacloban had been flattened.

Minnie Portales, a spokesman for the aid agency World Vision, said: "As we wait for early reports from some of the hardest-hit provinces, we fear for the worst. This could be very bad."

At one point before it hit land the super typhoon had been even stronger, with winds gusting up to 235mph, which made it among the most powerful ever.

Meteorologists said that it had slowed to 100mph after passing over the Philippines but could pick up strength again as it sweeps across the South China Sea toward Vietnam.

Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese have been moved away from coastal areas as authorities prepared for Haiyan to make landfall around 10am Sunday. Millions are thought to be living in its path.

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Iran Nuclear Talks Make 'Very Good Progress'

British Foreign Minister William Hague has said global powers negotiating with Iran over its nuclear programme must "seize the moment" as talks enter an unscheduled third day.

Six world powers - the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - are working on a deal to cap some of Iran's atomic programme in exchange for limited relief from economic sanctions.

As delegates arrived on Saturday, Mr Hague told reporters: "We are very conscious of the fact that real momentum has built up in these negotiations and there is now real concentration on these negotiations and so we have to do everything we can to seize the moment.

However, he cautioned that it was not clear whether a deal could be reached by the end of the day.

Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi also said that if there was not a deal on Saturday then any remaining issues would have to be carried out over to another date.

"There is greater agreement on some issues and less agreement on other issues," he told the ISNA news agency.

France's Laurent Fabius said the sticking points were a call for Iran to halt operations at its Arak research reactor - a potential producer of bomb-grade plutonium - while the negotiating process continues and questions about Iran's stock of uranium enriched to 20%.

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (centre) is at the talks

Both issues reflect Western concerns that Iran is enriching uranium for use in atomic weapons rather than in a civilian nuclear energy programme as it claims.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who cut short a Middle East tour to attend the talks in Geneva, Switzerland, had also struck a note of caution after a five-hour meeting drew to a close last night.

"There is not an agreement at this point," Mr Kerry told reporters. "There are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved."

Earlier on Friday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov raised hopes after he said the six countries and Iran could agree a "road map" to end the differences over the programme at the talks.

He told reporters he did not wish to prejudge the outcome but said Iran should be allowed to have a peaceful nuclear programme under the watch of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Unlike previous encounters between Iran and Western powers in the past decade, all sides have remained quiet about details of the negotiations, without the criticism and mutual allegations of a lack of seriousness that have been typical of such meetings in the past.

Diplomats involved in the talks say this is a sign of how serious all sides are.

If some sort of agreement is reached, it would be a breakthrough after a decade of negotiations between Iran and the six world powers.

A potential deal could see Tehran freeze its nuclear efforts for as long as six months in exchange for some relief from the sanctions that have battered its economy.

But Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his country "utterly rejects" a deal being forged, adding that "Israel will do everything it needs to do to defend itself and defend the security of its people".

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Star Wars Auditions Being Held In Bristol

Hundreds of Star Wars hopefuls are queuing in Bristol on the first day of open auditions for two leading roles in the next instalment of the sci-fi franchise.

An audition notice put out by Disney on Twitter earlier this week says it is on a "nationwide search for lead roles for a Walt Disney Pictures film".

The casting call says it is looking for a girl called "Rachel" and a boy called "Thomas".

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

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

Up to 1000 people are estimated to have turned up in Bristol and organisers are now sending people away.

The success of the original Star Wars made its characters world famous

Further open auditions are to take place in Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin and London.

Jasmine Du'Pre, the first in line at Bristol, told Sky News she had arrived at 2pm on Friday.

She admitted it had been "freezing" overnight but said it was a chance she could not miss.

She said: "On my god, this is Star Wars, when I heard about it I just had to get here. It's such an amazing opportunity.

"The acting industry is really hard to get into. For people to have the opportunity to show their skills, to be seen, is fantastic."

Speaking after her moment in the spotlight, she said the casting directors were "really nice" but did not ask her to recite any lines.

"They basically told us where to go, we filled out some forms and sat in front of one person and they asked us a few questions.

Star Trek director JJ Abrams is directing the new film

"They asked me if I had done any acting before ... The other thing they wanted to know is what I do for a hobby and how I relax.

"We were just engaged in a conversation. It was quite friendly and a nice atmosphere to be yourself."

It is thought that each person gets about five minutes to impress.

Sky News' Clare Fallon said the hopefuls in Bristol appear keen to put on a 'professional' show.

"No fancy dress costumes, no light sabres," said Fallon. "Most of them are very serious about being in this film."

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

The next instalment, Star Wars: Episode VII, will be made by Emmy-award-winning director JJ Abrams next year at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.

The three icons of the original Star Wars movies - Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher - are expected to make a comeback.

The film will open in cinemas on December 18, 2015.

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Cameron Backs Marines After 'Appalling' Murder

The Events That Led To A Murder

Updated: 3:16pm UK, Friday 08 November 2013

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky News Defence Correspondent

The events that led up to the murder of the injured insurgent in Helmand province were filmed on a helmet-camera belonging to Marine B.

The footage begins as the Marine's were nearing the end of a routine patrol. An Apache helicopter is heard flying nearby. It then fires 139 rounds at suspected insurgents.

The patrol was then asked to go and perform a tactical battlefield assessment - essentially look for injured or dead bodies.

They found one Afghan lying in the middle of a field. He was badly wounded in the chest and legs. An AK-47 was found with him.

At this point Marine B is some 40 yards from the wounded Afghan, having taken up a position to scan the field for the enemy. His camera records Marine A, a 39 year old Sergeant, and Marine C searching and assessing the Afghan.

Having established he had no other weapons or explosives on him, Marine A then instructs his colleagues to drag the man to the edge off the field. This, he claimed, was so that they weren't sat out in the open where they would be easy targets. He wanted to treat the insurgent in safety Marine A claimed. The prosecution disagreed, arguing that it was a deliberate attempt to find cover, out of the sight of the Apache and a long range surveillance camera in Camp Bastion, know as a PGSS, that might have been monitoring their activity.

Once in a clearing on the edge of the field, Marine A is heard on the video asking if anyone wants to give the Afghan first aid.

"Anybody want to do first aid on this idiot?" he asks.

"No" reply a number of Marines.

"I'll put one in his head, if you want," offers Marine C.

Laughter is heard before Marine A decides:

"No, not in his head, 'cause that'll be f****** obvious."

Marine A is also seen speaking on the radio, updating his base on the status of the Afghan.

He claims he was preparing a '9-liner', the process of calling in medical evacuation, so called because of the nine lines of checks that must be completed before a helicopter is allowed to deploy. A pink 9-liner form can be seen in his hand at one point.

In addition to the video, the events were recorded in a journal kept by Marine C. This was also used in evidence.

"Now we were in cover, I was ready and waiting to pop him with a 9mm, one in the heart should do it, but I waited out for the nod from Marine A, ... and although for one minute I thought we were actually going to treat and casivac him, Marine A squashed it and sent it up that he'd snuffed it while we treated him," he writes.

"So there I was, pistol drawn, waiting for Marine A to get off the net so I could pop this little w***** and be done with it; when Marine A came back over, and thinned me out, to take up arcs with the others." 

"As I walked off..., Marine A popped him one himself!  I felt mugged off, but job done; little f*** was dead at the end of the day."

The video clearly shows Marine A lean towards the Afghan who is lying supine on the ground. He levels his 9mm pistol at the man's chest and fire a shot at virtual point blank range.

Dr Nicholas Hunt, a Pathologist who gave expert witness at the trial, explained what happened next in his view:

"The hands. Particularly the right hand comes up to the area to which the weapon has been discharged – that's the first thing I noted," he told the court.

"The legs are also seen to move quite significantly. His head has started to move and his breathing becomes very obviously laboured, much more rapid than it has been before and much deeper breaths."

"He was still alive at the point he was shot. After that his breathing far less obvious – it becomes shallower and the gap between breaths increases."

Marine A's defence was that he believed the Afghan man was already dead when he shot him.

"I saw no signs of life from him, so yes I believed he'd passed,"he told Bulford Military Court.

When asked why he'd shot a man he believed was dead, Marine A replied:

" Stupid, lack of self-control. Poor judgement on my part."

"I was very surprised the amount he did move. I believed he was dead. I'd not seen any move,ent for a few minutes. He suddenly became very animated once I'd shot him."

On the video Marine A is heard admitting he'd just broken the Geneva Convention but insists he was referring to the fact he'd shot a dead body rather an injured man.

Under cross-examination, Marine A was asked what was done to check if the man had died.

"Did anyone check the man's pulse?"

"No," Marine A answered.

"Did anyone check the man's breathing?"

"Not that I saw."

"Did anyone check the man's eyes?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

Marine B argued that he was giving the insurgent first aid but  admitted it was cursory. Marine C said that he'd started walking away from the area and had his back turned when the shot was fired. He also claimed that his diary was a form of therapy and not always accurate.

The Marines were arrested in October last year. Under cross-examination during the trial Marine B admitted misleading the investigation.

"Was there a plan to cover it up?" he was asked by Dave Perry QC for the prosecution.

"We were protecting him, yes," Marine B replied. "In my opinion he had shot an alive, injured insurgent."

Mr Perry asked: "We saw on the video you suggesting a cover story to the patrol. What was the cover story to be?"

"It was just protecting Marine A. It meant to say it was a warning shot," was Marine B's answer.

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Thames Water 8% Price Hike Stopped By Ofwat

Britain's biggest water company has been stopped from imposing a price hike of 8% on its customers for 2014-15.

Ofwat, the water regulator, said the Thames Water price rise of £29 was not justified, despite the company saying the extra money was needed to fund the construction a "super sewer" under London.

The watchdog's chief regulation officer Sonia Brown said: "We said we would challenge Thames' application, in the interests of customers.

"We did just that and on the evidence provided we are not convinced that an extra bill increase is justified."

This announcement is Ofwat's final decision on the application.

Thames Water now has the right to trigger an appeal to the Competition Commission. The company told Sky News it was reviewing the decision by Ofwat.

The decision by Ofwat means the maximum that Thames Water can add to customers' bills for 2014-15 is capped at 1.4% above inflation, as set in the 2009 price review.

 Thames Water had submitted the application to Ofwat for an interim adjustment to prices over the current five-year price period.

The firm, which is privately owned by a global consortium led by Australia's Macquarie group, said it has spent £273m on acquiring land needed for the construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

It also said bad debt as a result of the economic slowdown had prompted the application.

Ofwat criticised Thames Water over delays to a sewage treatment programme

In September, Ofwat criticised Thames Water over the application, saying it had made "substantial savings" by doing less than expected to tackle sewer flooding.

A major investment programme in sewage treatment has also dragged on too long, it added, despite customers being charged for the improvements.

Last week, Ofwat chairman Jonson Cox wrote to all water companies asking them to consider whether they needed to increase their bills for 2014-15 by the full amounts set in the last price review.

On 2 December, companies will submit their business plans for the next price review, which will cover the period from 2015 to 2020.

Ofwat has called on these plans to reflect their customers' priorities, and believes there is scope for reductions in bills from 2015.

If companies do not propose reductions, they will need to fully explain to their customers why.

Mr Cox told the firms that Ofwat will set 2015-20 prices using an independent, rigorous process, ahead of a final decision is due on these prices by January 2015.

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Super Typhoon Haiyan Hits The Philippines

At least four people have been killed after Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, hit the Philippines.

The victims are reported to include a mother and child who drowned in South Cotabato, and a boy who was struck by lightning in Zamboanga City.

AP said a fourth was killed by a falling tree but the death toll was expected to rise as the worst affected areas are currently cut off.

Three-quarters of a million people were ordered to leave their homes in villages in Haiyan's path amid fears the storm damage could be the worst in the Philippines' history.

Children have been left in tears by the typhoon in Cebu city

President Benigno Aquino III threatened to use guns to force people living in high-risk areas, including 100 coastal communities, to move in a desperate bid to save lives.

War-like preparations were swung into place with three C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby, along with 20 navy ships.

"No typhoon can bring Filipinos to their knees if we'll be united," Mr Aquino said in a televised address.

The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre in Hawaii said Haiyan's maximum sustained winds were 195mph (314kph), with gusts up to 235mph (379kph).

Residents of Legazpi city in Albay province, south of Manila

On land, wind speeds were measured at 170mph (270kph), although local meteorologists are understood to measure wind speeds differently.

Some meteorologists have claimed it is the strongest severe tropical storm to make landfall. The previous record holder, according to Reuters and AP, was Hurricane Camillie in 1969 which had winds up to 190mph.

The cyclone whipped up the seas, producing waves that reached 6m (19ft) high, threatening to inundate low lying areas.

Local journalist Mike Cohen told Sky News: "We're seeing a lot of strong winds but not a lot of rain.

Damage to buildings in Ormoc City. Credit: Ritchel M. Deleon

"There are already reports of some landslides and very strong storm surge entering towns and villages in the path of the storm.

"Trees are falling and there is lots of damage reported across the region."

The typhoon is believed to have made landfall on the northern tip of Cebu Province, about 350 miles south east of the capital Manila.

Children sheltering in Cebu. Picture: Red Cross

Up to 12 million people live in the affected areas, including the tourist districts of Leyte Island and Borocay Island.

At the moment the cyclone  - known locally as Yolanda - is about 300miles across. It is expected to pass over the south end of Mindoro Island around noon on Friday, hitting Busuanga at about 1pm.

According to Mr Cohen, power has been cut to the worst-affected areas, mainly as a preventative measure to avoid electrocution, but this was making communications difficult.

Waves up to six metres high have been reported as a result of high winds

Among the 720,000 evacuated are thousands of refugees from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Bohol last month, who have been living in tents since the tremor hit.

Jeff Masters, a former hurricane meteorologist who is a director at the private firm Weather Underground, warned that there would be "catastrophic damage".

He said: "195mph winds; there aren't too many buildings constructed that can withstand that kind of wind. The wind damage should be the most extreme in Philippines' history."

A closer look reveals the eye of the storm over the Philippines

The strength of the wind made it one of the four most powerful typhoons ever recorded in the world, and the most powerful to have made landfall, he added.

But other meteorologists forecast lower readings, saying the storm's speed at landfall had sustained winds at 145mph (234kmph) with gusts of 170mph ( 275kmph).

Haiyan is expected to sweep through the Philippines' central region before moving toward the South China Sea over the weekend, heading towards Vietnam.

A map showing the path and predicted path of Typhoon Haiyan

Meteorologists fear that it could intensify further as it approaches the Vietnamese coast.

The head of the government's main disaster response agency in the capital Manila said people are still being moved from communities prone to landslides and flooding.

But there is hope that, as Haiyan is a fast-moving storm, flooding from heavy rain - which usually causes the most deaths from typhoons in the Philippines - may not be as bad.

Haiyan is the 24th tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year. Last year, Typhoon Bopha, which had maximum sustained winds of 175mph, killed 1,100 people in the country.

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Injury Claim Mum Of 13 Faces Jail Over Fraud

Barbara Fari, who exaggerated an injury to claim £750,000 compensation, has been given a three-month jail sentence.

The sentence given at London's High Court has been deferred pending any appeal being brought.

But High Court judge Mr Justice Spencer stayed the term - half of which Fari would have to serve before her automatic release - pending any appeal.

If an appeal is not lodged by November 29, discontinued or dismissed, she will have to go to jail.

Lawyers for Homes for Haringey told the judge that Fari, who is 60 on Saturday, lied about how badly she was hurt when she tripped on uneven paving and twisted her right knee in May 2008.

The organisation, which manages council housing in the north London borough, admitted liability and offered her £7,500.

However, she instead chose to pursue a massive claim which was only struck out by a judge in October 2012 after covert video evidence revealed a huge difference between how she presented at medical examinations and when she was out and about near her home in Hornsey.

Last week, Mr Justice Spencer ruled that Fari and her husband, Piper, were both in contempt of court.

Fari was found to have presented a "grossly false" picture of her continuing symptoms to doctors and in legal documents and her husband was found to be complicit in the charade.

Fari's husband received a two-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

Sentencing the couple, the judge said: "The courts have made it very clear that those who make false claims and are caught out must expect to go to prison.

"There is no other way to underline the gravity of such conduct and deter those who may be tempted to make such claims, no other way to improve the administration of justice."

 

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Arsonist Who Killed Paedophile Gets 10 Years

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

A man who started a fire that trapped and killed a convicted paedophile in his own home has been jailed for 10 years.

Andrew Heath, 52, died in a firebomb attack on his flat in Worcester in the early hours of December 14, 2011.

At the time, police investigating the blaze in the Warndon area of the city treated it as a possible vigilante attack.

Daniel Martin, 25, was arrested after officers offered a £20,000 reward for information.

During the investigation West Mercia Police revealed Mr Heath had five convictions for gross indecency and indecent assault on boys aged between 14 and 17.

The scene of the arson attack

The attacks happened between 1984 and 1999 in Leicester and Birmingham. He served four prison sentences.

Birmingham Crown Court heard that in 2001, Mr Heath moved to the flat in Worcester and became known as "the fag man" because of his habit of giving cigarettes to teenagers to "befriend" them.

Police said they had no records of any offences or complaints against Mr Heath after he moved to Worcester.

Last year, the senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Williamson said: "Whatever Mr Heath did in his past, he died in a terrible way and his family have been left in limbo not knowing what happened to him.

Copy of Mr Heath's family's statement

"This includes his parents Les and Helen, who are in their 80s. They still grieve for their son and deserve to know who killed him and why."

In a statement after sentencing Mr Heath's sister Leia Charleson said it was "some comfort" to the family that Martin had now been dealt with.

But she added it was too late for her mother and father who had died recently, five months apart.

She said her brother's death had a "devastating" effect on their parents' health and "neither was able to come to terms with what had happened".

The court was told that Martin had moved wheelie bins to the front door of Mr Heath's maisonette and set them on fire.

Mr Heath was woken by a fire alarm and alerted a couple living below by stamping on the floor.

When fire crews arrived they found him dead, slumped against a radiator. He had been overcome by fumes and his body was burned.

Earlier this year, Martin pleaded guilty to Mr Heath's manslaughter.

He denied murder on the grounds of lack of intent, which was accepted by the prosecution.

The court heard Martin had wanted to "frighten" Mr Heath, who was described as a "predatory paedophile", but the fire took hold with "speed and ferocity".

It took just minutes for the flat to turn into an "inferno".

Martin had known Mr Heath for several years and owed him money.

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Intelligence Agency Heads Face MPs' Questions

Who Are Britain's Spy Chiefs?

Updated: 11:30am UK, Thursday 07 November 2013

All three of Britain's spy chiefs are to appear together in public at a televised Parliamentary committee for the first time. This is who they are:

:: Sir Iain Lobban,  director of GCHQ (The Government Communications Headquarters)

A languages graduate from the University of Leeds in who joined GCHQ in 1983, Sir Iain Lobban has been in post since 2008.

He moved to the GCHQ board in 2001 where he oversaw the intelligence agency's move to its new headquarters in Gloucestershire.

Sir Iain, an Everton fan who is married with a daughter, was knighted in the 2013 New Year's honours list for services to national security.

He has recently spoken to say that GCHQ needs to recruit more socially awkward people like the code-breaker Alan Turing.

In a speech at Leeds University last year he said: "I strongly believe [the] agency needs the widest range of skills possible if it is to be successful, and to deny itself talent just because the person with the talent doesn't conform to a social stereotype is to starve itself of what it needs to thrive."

He succeeded Sir David Pepper in July 2008

GCHQ provides communications information to the British Government and Armed Forces.

It monitors communications and electronic data to defend Britain and British interests against cyberattacks, international and domestic terrorism, organised crime, and the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

GCHQ identifies cyber espionage and gathers intelligence to better understand new and emerging threats.

It has partnerships with MI5, MI6 and a range of international allies, primarily the USA, to further UK foreign policy.

:: Andrew Parker, director general of the British Security Service (MI5)

Andrew Parker has worked for MI5 for 30 years and has been head of the service since April 2013.

He became director of international terrorism for the Security Service in 2005 and led the response to the July 7 London transport system bombings.

The University of Cambridge graduate was made deputy director general of the service in 2007 and took the top slot when Sir Jonathan Evans left in April this year.

In his first speech since taking over he warned of the damage the CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden had caused by leaking classified information.

Mr Parker said that Snowden had handed a gift to terrorists.

MI5, the British Security Service, is mainly concerned with the protection of Britain's national security, Parliamentary democracy, its economic interests, counter-terrorism and counter-espionage within the UK.

It was established in 1909 as the Secret Service Bureau; during the First World War it was renamed the Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 5, giving it the popular name of MI5.

MI5 investigates organisations and individuals it suspects pose a threat to British security, and advises the Government and other organisations to keep them informed of the threats.

:: Sir John Sawers, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)

Sir John joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1977 and was British Permanent Representative to the UN from 2007 and 2009.

Sir John, who studied physics and philosophy at the University of Nottingham, has been head of MI6  since November 2009, taking over from Sir John Scarlett.

He was foreign affairs adviser to then prime minister Tony Blair between January 1999 and summer 2001.

He is the only serving member of MI6 who is officially named in public.

The Secret Intelligence Service collects Britain's foreign intelligence. The service is based at Vauxhall Cross in London.

It collects secret intelligence and mounts covert operations overseas in support of British Government objectives regarding defence and foreign policies and in support of the prevention or detection of serious crime.

MI6 tackles terrorism using assessed intelligence and preventing people from becoming terrorists; and protecting critical national infrastructure and crowded places.

The organisation also obtains secret intelligence on the efforts of foreign states to acquire nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

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On-The-Run Terror Suspect In 'Torture' Claim

The suspect who escaped by dressing in a burka is claiming damages from the Government in a case involving claims of torture.

Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, who vanished from a London mosque on Friday, has launched a human rights legal challenge involving allegations that Britain was complicit in his torture by the authorities in Somalia.

The 27-year-old is the subject of a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measure but managed to escape surveillance by disguising himself as a woman.

It has been claimed that he has been trained and fought for the al Qaeda-linked Somali group al Shabaab.

The manhunt currently includes the Metropolitan Police's counter terrorism command, MI5 and the UK Border Force.

The High Court heard how Mohamed was bringing a claim against the Foreign Office, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Attorney General.

Mohamed dressed in a burka to flee the London mosque

Mohamed and another, referred to as CF, accuse the British authorities of consenting to their arrest by Somaliland authorities in January 2011 and then allowing their detention and torture.

Mohamed launched his damages claim under a cloak of anonymity and was referred to in court papers as "MA" but anonymity was lifted following his disappearance.

The Home Secretary Theresa May has insisted Mohamed, who is the second terror suspect under a terrorism-prevention measure to go missing, does not pose "a direct threat" to the public.

However, it has emerged that Mrs May was mistaken when she claimed in the House of Commons that the police had Mohamed's passport.

In a statement today from the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, the Labour MP Keith Vaz, he discloses that the Home Secretary had written to correct an answer she had given him in which she said: "I do not have his passport but the police do."

Mrs May amended her response writing: "I do not have his passport. Mohamed was not in possession of his British passport when he returned to the UK so there was no passport for the police to seize."

Theresa May was 'mistaken' when she said poilce had Mohamed's passport

Mr Vaz said: "I am amazed that Home Office officials should have briefed the Home Secretary so poorly on such an important issue. When there are only eight people on Tpims they ought to know every detail about them.

"It is a worry that there may be other factual errors in the way this matter has been handled and I will seek reassurance about this.

It could well be that Mohamed has another passport and her answer has raised questions about his current whereabouts. We will be raising these questions with Charles Farr when he comes before the Committee next Tuesday."

It is thought Mohamed used a sharp instrument to cut off his tag and was last seen at the An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre in west London.

Mohamed and CF were detained in Somaliland on January 14 2011 and held until their removal back to the UK on March 14 that year.

Mohamed alleges the fact the British authorities knew he was about to be arrested in Somaliland was demonstrated by the Home Secretary's decision to apply for a control order against him "as a precaution" prior to his detention.

The first control order against him was sanctioned by High Court judge Mr Justice Silber on January 13 2011.

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Woman Tries To Sell Baby In Airport Toilet

A woman has been arrested in Turkey for allegedly trying to sell her baby to a couple in a toilet at an airport.

Turkish police released CCTV showing the 22-year-old, identified as Dinara A, arriving at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport in a taxi with her mother - and the child in a carrycot.

The Turkish-born German couple arriving at the airport

Once the cab leaves, the woman can be seen speaking on her mobile phone.

The security footage then shows a couple at the airport - the woman with a handbag and man with a red suitcase - heading to meet her.

Dinara A enters the toilet with the baby, followed by the other woman who is seen leaving the facility with the baby.

The pair on their way to the meeting

Police said the woman agreed to hand over the child to the Turkish-born German couple in an airport toilet on September 14 in exchange for 1,000 Turkish Liras (£310), Dogan News Agency reported.

According to police sources, the German woman decided to return the baby to the toilets after she realised she could not pass through passport control with the child.

She later called police claiming she had found the baby in the toilet.

She emerges from the toilets with the baby in its carrycot

Dinara A, her baby, and mother were later deported from Turkey.

The German woman was released after providing testimony.

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Marine Afghanistan 'Murder' Recording Released

A recording of the moments a Royal Marine allegedly "executed" a captured Afghan national has been released by a military court.

Three men - known only as marines A, B and C - are appearing before a court martial charged with killing the unknown person on or around September 15 2011 while on patrol in Afghanistan. They deny the charges.

A gunshot is heard on the newly-released audio recording shortly before Marine A is heard saying: "Shuffle off this mortal coil, you ****."

He is then heard saying: "Obviously this doesn't go anywhere fellas ... I've just broken the Geneva Convention."

The whole event was filmed by a camera mounted on the helmet of one of the three commandos. The judge in the case has refused to release the footage, but has agreed that the audio can be made public.

More follows...

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Ariel Castro Victim Strung Up 'Like A Fish'

One of the three women held captive in Ariel Castro's Cleveland home for nearly a decade has described how she was strung up "like a fish".

Michelle Knight told the Dr Phil talk show she had been punished after picking a lock in an attempt to escape and had her mouth taped up to prevent her from shouting for help.

She told TV host Phil McGraw: "I was tied up like a fish, an ornament on the wall. That's the only way I can describe it."

Ms Knight described how Castro used an orange extension cord to tie her neck, hands and feet before she was hung up.

During the show, she discussed the physical, mental and sexual abuse and torture she endured while in captivity, including spending weeks in chains.

She was kidnapped in August 2002 when she was 20 years old.

The three women managed to escape from the Cleveland house in May

Ms Knight and fellow captives Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus escaped from Castro's house on May 6, 2012, when Ms Berry managed to get through a door and call for help.

Two of the women are planning to collaborate with a Pulitzer Prize-winning team of reporters for a book about their ordeal.

Castro, 53, pleaded guilty to kidnapping the three women, imprisoning them in his Cleveland home and repeatedly raping and beating them. He was sentenced to life in prison.

A month into his sentence, Castro was found dead in his cell. His death was initially ruled a suicide, but a prison report indicated he may have died accidentally as a result of auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Ms Knight was the only victim to appear at Castro's sentencing.

She told him: "You took 11 years of my life away, but I've got my life back. I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning."

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Terror Suspect's Height 'Made Disguise Easier'

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

A friend of terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed has told Sky News his small stature may have helped him disguise himself as a woman.

The 27-year-old, who is understood to have connections with the al Shabaab terror group, escaped police surveillance on Friday by changing into a burka at a mosque in west London.

He was being watched under a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measure to "prevent his travel to support terrorism overseas", the Home Secretary said.

Mohamed's friend, a 26-year-old Somali shopkeeper in Acton, revealed the man being hunted by police is known as "Little Mo".

The suspect changed from fun loving to quiet after a trip to Somalia

He did not want to be identified, but said: "He's only around 5ft 7in or 5ft 8in so perhaps that was why he got past the cops dressed as he was - he probably wouldn't stand out as a man in hiding.

"I saw him last on Wednesday before he disappeared on the Friday - he seemed fine.

"I never suspected anything like this that the police were watching him.

"It is unbelievable to think it is him."

The friend said they used to play football together in Acton Park and used to enjoy nights out going clubbing in central London.

He added: "He didn't smoke, didn't drink and was quiet but could also be very funny - he liked a joke and could be a comedian."

But after returning to west London from Somalia, Mohammed became much quieter and withdrawn.

He said: "When he came back it is like a person you didn't know, he was not talking to people he used to know before."

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Dublin: Picture Of Girl Found In Street Released

Police have released a picture of an unidentified teenage girl who was found wandering the centre of Dublin nearly a month ago.

The girl, who could be as young as 14, was found in a dazed state in the Irish capital on October 10, but has yet to speak to the police.

Interpol has been called in to try to identify the girl, who may be from Eastern Europe.

She is described as 5ft 6in tall, of slim build, with long blonde hair. She was found wearing a purple hooded top, tight dark coloured jeans, flat black shoes and a grey woollen jumper.

It is believed her clothes were bought in major retailers in Ireland, but detectives could not determine when they were purchased.

The girl also has a brace, but paediatric orthodontists contacted in Ireland were unable to shed any light on her identity through their records.

Police said a major investigation was under way into the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the girl.

The probe has so far involved more than 2,000 man hours and more than 115 lines of enquiry.

It is thought the unidentified girl may be from eastern Europe

These include door-to-door enquires, vehicle and pedestrian checks in the area where the girl was discovered, and the seizure and viewing of CCTV from the city centre.

Police have also shown her picture to specialised child interviewers throughout the country.

"As a result of these enquiries 15 possible names were provided to investigators. These were fully checked but unfortunately her identity remains unknown as present," a police statement said.

Officers sought High Court approval to release the picture of the girl, who is under an interim care order, after their enquiries drew a blank.

The statement added: "Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may recognise the girl from the photo. Do you recognise this girl?

"Did you have any interactions with her? Did you pass her in a distressed state in the city centre in and around October 10?

"Any information is vital to the investigation and the welfare of the child. Any information passed to us will of course be treated in the strictest of confidence."

:: Anyone with information is asked to contact the team in Dublin on +353 1 666 8100 or by email at storestreetappeal@garda.ie.

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Ed Miliband Takes On The 'Wonga Economy'

The Labour leader has launched an attack on our "Wonga economy" saying payday lenders are "running riot through our communities".

Ed Miliband accused the firms of preying upon vulnerable people then intimidating them with bullying tactics when they failed to repay the loans.

He said they had created a "quiet crisis" for thousands of households saddled with debts they were unable to pay off.

In a speech at Battersea Power Station, Mr Miliband said that he had visited the Citizens' Advice Bureau in his Doncaster constituency and heard the stories of a number of people who had become victims of pay day loan firms.

He had spoken to one young mother who was "down to her last nappy" when she saw an advert for a payday lender on the television. He said she had succumbed to the financial pressures to take one.

Now, he said, the "bullying and harassment" she was being subjected to by those firms was such that she had been forced to give her mobile phone to her mother because she was getting 15 calls a day.

His intervention came as representatives of the three of the biggest payday lenders - including Wonga - were facing a grilling by MPs on the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.

The payday loans firm, Wonga, has 1.25 million customers

Mr Miliband responded angrily to the boss of Wonga, who has commissioned a film which tells the story of 12 people who have been happy with their payday loans, claiming he was speaking for a "silent majority" who were satisfied with the service.

He said: "Payday lenders don't speak for the silent majority. They are responsible for a quiet crisis of thousands of families trapped in unpayable debt.

"The Wonga economy is one of the worst symbols of this cost of living crisis."

He said that seven out of ten customers customers said that they regretted taking out a payday loan, with half saying they were unable to repay it.

He said the woman who ran his local Citizens' Advice Bureau had told him: "Payday lenders are running riot through this community."

However, Henry Raine, head of regulatory and public affairs at Wonga, told the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Committee: "Wonga's business is aiming to lend to people who can pay us back, that's how we make money.

"The vast majority of people pay us back on time. We freeze interest after 60 days and 25% of people pay us back early."

Mr Raine said around 3% of loans, equating to around 40,000 of Wonga's 1.25 million customers, go to the 60-day period.

He said Wonga's record compared favourably with the rest of the loan industry, including credit card companies and banks.

Wonga has come under attack from the Archbishop of Canterbury

But MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis told the committee: "Do we really need them (payday lenders)? I think we'd all be a lot better off without them and maybe it's worth the sacrifice for the few small number of people who actually do find them rather convenient.

"If you take 100 people who get payday loans, I would suspect 99% of them would find a cheaper and better alternative doing something else or not doing them. So the problem is they're used by far too many people and they are not fit for the purpose that they are used for."

In his speech, Mr Miliband also intensified his attack on David Cameron over energy bills and the cost of living.

He challenged coalition MPs to back Labour plans for a temporary freeze on electricity and gas charge in a Commons vote on Wednesday.

Today the Government announced it had urged water companies to look closely at whether price increases were necessary and to introduce special tariffs for hard-pressed household.

The move has been seen as an attempt to seize back the initiative on the cost of living, which is becoming a key battleground ahead of the General Election.

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Tesco Face Scanners To Target Till Adverts

Tesco is set to install hi-tech screens that scan customers' faces in petrol stations so that advertisements can be better targeted at them.

The retailer will introduce the OptimEyes screen, developed by Lord Sugar's Amscreen, to all 450 of its UK petrol stations, in a five-year deal, according to The Grocer magazine.

The screen, positioned at the till, scans the eyes of customers to determine age and gender, and then runs tailored advertisements.

The technology also adjusts adverts depending on the time and date, as well as monitoring customer purchases, The Grocer said.

The screens are predicted to reach a weekly audience of more than five million adults.

Simon Sugar, chief executive of Amscreen, told the industry magazine: "Yes it's like something out of Minority Report, but this could change the face of British retail and our plans are to expand the screens into as many supermarkets as possible."

The technology has been developed by Lord Sugar's Amscreen

 Privacy campaigners say the system puts forward a "huge consent issue".

Nick Pickles of Big Brother Watch said: "Scanning customers as they walk through the store without customers ever giving permission for them to be scanned in that way ... There's a huge consent issue there."

He said facial recognition technology is getting more advanced all the time, adding that you could be queuing to pay for groceries and a CCTV camera could be "literally scanning who you are".

Mr Pickles added that companies and stores using this system must tell their customers.

"If people were told that every time they walked into a supermarket, or a doctor's surgery or a law firm, that the CCTV camera in the corner is trying to find out who they are, I think that will have a huge impact on what buildings people go into," he said.

Mr Pickles said the only way the systems can be ethically deployed is if consumers opt in to have their image stored and their behaviour tracked, rather than there being no choice in the matter.

Tesco point out the technology is not new, and is used by other retailers.

The system makes a 'guess' at whether someone is male or female, and which of three age categories they fall into.

The retailer stresses the screens do not use eyeball scanners, facial recognition, or identify individual customers in any way.

In addition, no images are collected, and no data is stored.

Peter Cattell, category director for Tesco petrol stations, said: "We're always looking to work with partners who provide innovative ways to enhance the customer shopping experience.

"This new dynamic screen product from Amscreen provides the perfect means for us to do this.

"The ability to tailor content based on time and location means it can be extremely useful and timely for our customers."

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Essex Shooting: Boy, 5, Seriously Injured

A five-year-old boy has been seriously injured after a gun was apparently fired by mistake at his home in Essex.

Police were called to the property in Upper Park Road, Wickford, following reports of an incident at 1.20pm on Sunday.

The child was taken to the Royal London Hospital with a serious but not life-threatening injury.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said: "Police are speaking to members of the family to determine the exact circumstances leading up to the incident .

"But (we) believe that this was an accidental discharge of the weapon and inquiries are ongoing."

An 18-year-old man was arrested for possession of a firearm and drug offences and has been released on bail.

The weapon and other legally held firearms were handed over to officers.

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Terror Hunt: Suspect 'Linked To Al Shabaab'

A suspect who escaped surveillance by changing into a burka on a visit to a mosque has connections to the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab Islamist group in Somalia, according to Sky sources.

Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, who is 5ft 8in tall and of medium build and was last seen at a west London mosque on Friday afternoon, is being hunted by counter-terrorism officers.

He entered the An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre in Church Road, Acton, at 10am, wearing Western-style clothes, but CCTV images issued by Scotland Yard later show him leaving with his face and body fully covered by the traditional Islamic garment.

The venue - where he was last seen at 3.15pm the same day - said it did not intend to comment.

He is subject to a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures notice (Tpim).

Mr Mohamed is not considered a "direct threat", police said.

He was put under surveillance measures due to his connection with the Somalian terror group, which was behind the attack on the Westgate Mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on September 21 that killed at least 67 people.

The 27-year-old is understood to have received terrorist training in 2008 and fought overseas for al Shabaab.

He is also also suspected of helping to plan attacks in Somalia and overseas, including an attack intended for the Juba Hotel in Mogadishu in August 2010, and is believed to have helped various individuals travel from the UK to Somalia to allow them to engage in terrorism-related activity.

A court-imposed anonymity order banning the publication of Mr Mohamed's name has been lifted to allow police to make a public appeal, following an application from Home Secretary Theresa May, who is expected to make a statement on his disappearance to MPs later.

He is "not considered at this time to represent a direct threat to the public", Scotland Yard said, but anyone who sees him is urged to call 999 immediately.

A spokesman said: "The Counter Terrorism Command immediately launched inquiries to trace Mr Mohamed and these continue.

"Ports and borders were notified with his photograph and details circulated nationally. Public safety remains our priority."

Security Minister James Brokenshire said: "National security is the Government's top priority and the police are doing everything in their power to apprehend this man as quickly as possible."

He is the second person to breach a Tpim since they were introduced to replace control orders in early 2012.

Pressure is mounting on the Government to explain how the al Qaeda-linked terror suspect escaped surveillance.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper described the matter as "extremely serious".

She told Sky News: "The most important thing is the police and security services have every possible assistance to relocate this man and to make sure that controls can be reinstated.

"But given that this is the second terror suspect to abscond in the space of just 10 months, we also need to have some answers about the controls that were in place, why they were weakened, and what the full information is."

Prime Minister David Cameron's official spokesman said finding the suspect remained a "priority".

Another CCTV image shows the burka-clad figure, believed to be Mr Mohamed

"Obviously, in all of these types of things, we look at whether there are lessons that can be learnt. But the reasons why the Government introduced the Tpim regime remain the same and the Prime Minister's view about Tpims haven't changed," he said.

Tpims, which include restrictions on overnight residence, travel and finance, are imposed by the Home Secretary who is given access to secret evidence that can not be placed before juries.

They do not allow for the relocation of suspects, as control orders did and unlike control orders, Tpims have a maximum time limit of two years.

Control orders could be extended year on year without limit, while Tpims can be extended after a year for another 12 months before they expire.

As of August 31, there were nine Tpims in force, including eight against British suspects, the latest written update to MPs showed.

Last December, Ibrahim Magag, who is understood to have attended terrorist training camps in Somalia, absconded from a Tpim notice after ripping off his electronic tag. The police search for him is continuing.

The terrorism watchdog warned earlier this year that Tpims could allow those deemed potentially dangerous to be left "free and unconstrained" in the absence of prosecution or new evidence of terrorism-related activity.

Police are still hunting Ibrahim Magag, who absconded in December 2012

David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said in his first report on Tpims, that the two-year limit was the "boldest" change from control orders made by the Government, adding that it was "tempting, in the most serious cases, to wish for longer".

However, he concluded that the two years of constraint now permitted were "a very strong power by international or indeed historic British standards".

Mr Brokenshire has defended the measures, describing them as providing a "robust mechanism" to manage suspects and reassure the public.

:: Watch Home Secretary Theresa May's statement to the Commons Live on Sky News at 3.30pm

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Simon Gittany Trial: Neighbour Heard Screams

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A young woman banged on her neighbour's door screaming "please help me" moments before she plunged to her death from a 15th floor balcony, a court has heard.

Simon Gittany is accused of murdering his girlfriend Lisa Harnum, 30, by pushing or dropping her from the balcony of their luxury flat in Sydney, Australia, on July 30, 2011.

Susan Glanville, who lived next door to the couple, gave evidence in court and recounted the morning when Ms Harnum fell to her death.

"I heard banging on my door and with the banging a woman's voice scream 'please help me, help me, God help me'," Ms Glanville told the court.

"As I heard the banging I went around the corridor, around the corner and I could see the door shaking.

"I heard a man's raised voice yelling.

"As I walked towards the door (there was) silence."

Simon Gittany

Ms Glanville said she didn't open her door to see what was out there.

Moments later, she said she heard a scream that seemed to be coming from outside.

The court had previously heard that Gittany, 40, was a controlling and abusive partner, who discouraged Canadian Ms Harnum from working, secretly monitored her phone calls, texts and emails and alienated her from her friends.

She had plans to leave him days before her death, the trial has heard.

The jury at Sydney's Supreme Court also listened to a secret phone recording of a heated conversation between the couple.

The recording from June 10, 2011, begins with the couple laughing and joking.

Then a fight erupts when Gittany suggests to Ms Harnum that he wants to spend one day a week with his male friends.

"Simon you do that a lot," Ms Harnum says in the recording played in court on Monday.

"You're out with the boys every night."

"What are you talking about, are you serious?" Gittany replies.

Ms Harnum says: "You do it anyway ... it's already like that."

She then says he acts as if she never gives him space even though she always does.

Ms Harnum then becomes emotional, saying everything she does is for him.

"I don't go anywhere ... I don't do anything other than what you tell me to do," she said.

Simon Gittany in a distressed state shortly after the incident

"I don't have anything here except for you."

She says when she isn't with him: "I don't talk, I don't speak."

Ms Harnum also says she misses her mother.

Gittany then tells her: "I said once a week, baby, don't take it to the extremes."

Earlier in the trial jurors saw video of the couple apparently grappling in the corridor of the apartment block in the lead-up to Ms Harnum's death.

CCTV footage shows Gittany in a distressed state in the lift in the moments after his girlfriend plunged to her death.

Gittany, whose new girlfriend and parents have supported him each day in court, says they had a complicated but loving relationship and he had tried to save her when she climbed onto the balcony in the midst of a fight.

He denies murder and is expected to give evidence later in the week.

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EBay: Nazi Holocaust Memorabilia Removed

Auction site eBay has apologised after Nazi Holocaust memorabilia, including clothes worn by concentration camp victims, were traded online.

Journalists claim to have found several items for sale, including a complete Auschwitz uniform worn by a Polish baker who died in the camp.

The Auschwitz uniform had reportedly been priced at £11,300 by the seller, a Ukrainian man in Canada, named as Viktor Kempf.

Survivors liberated from Auschwitz in 1945

He had apparently sold similar clothing for $18,000 (£11,491) last year.

It was claimed Mr Kempf had been criticised in the past for selling such items, but did so to "document" them and to fund history book projects.

Mr Kempf was quoted as saying: "I don't want people to think I'm just doing it for the money. These periods in history are horrific, nobody should ever forget them."

How Mr Kempf described the items on eBay

EBay has offered to donate £25,000 to charity after the items were discovered and admitted they breached the terms of use.

The online retailer said: "We are very sorry these items have been listed on eBay and we are removing them.

"We don't allow listings of this nature, and dedicate thousands of staff to policing our site and use the latest technology to detect items that shouldn't be for sale.

Schindler's list failed to sell on eBay when offered for sale for £3m

"We very much regret that we didn't live up to our own standards. We have made a donation to charity to reflect our concern."

Other items found on eBay, by journalists at the Mail On Sunday, included shoes and a toothbrush said to have belonged to concentration camp victims.

There were also yellow Star of David armbands used by the Nazis to identify Jews for persecution.

An original copy of Schindler's list of Jews saved from the Holocaust by Oskar Schindler went unsold on eBay in July.

The 14-page typewritten list - bearing the names of 801 men - originated from the German industrialist's right-hand man Itzhak Stern, and had a steep opening bid of $3m (£1.96m).

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'Plebgate' Officers Facing New Investigation

Three police officers accused of deceiving MPs over the so-called Plebgate scandal are to face a new investigation by the police watchdog.

Inspector Ken MacKaill, Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton and Sergeant Chris Jones will also be called back before an influential committee of MPs, over claims they gave misleading accounts of a meeting with Andrew Mitchell.

The trio were initially told they would face no action for misconduct after they used press interviews to falsely accuse the former chief whip of calling them "******* plebs" during a Downing Street row over his bicycle.

But the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has now said it will hold an investigation into their behaviour, saying the evidence they gave to the home affairs select committee revealed "a number of procedural irregularities" in earlier police reports.

The confrontation was caught on CCTV and shown on Channel 4

Speaking on Sky News' Murnaghan show, former shadow home secretary David Davis spoke about the "devastating" impact of the officers' actions on Mr Mitchell and his family.

He called for him to be returned to the cabinet, in which he served between 2010 and 2012, in any future reshuffle.

"Mr Mitchell's career came to an end and he was subject to widespread vilification," he said.

"At one point, the entire British public thought he was guilty. They now see him, quite rightly, as a wronged man.

"It's long past time that Mr Mitchell should be exonerated and returned to office."

The row had a "devastating" impact on Mr Mitchell, according to Mr Davis

The policemen, all of whom are police federation representatives, have been recalled to the home affairs select committee to apologise for giving "misleading answers" on October 23.

Mr Davis said members of the public expected "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to be at the core of policing".

"When are (these three officers) going to realise that telling a lie or a half truth just isn't good enough?" he said.

"This isn't just about three policemen - it's about whether or not this sort of behaviour is seen as acceptable by the entire system."

Chief Constable Alex Marshall, chief executive of the College of Policing, told the Murnaghan show that the officers' actions had "damaged the public image of the police".

"There will now be a full, independent investigation by the IPCC and it's my view that there should have been from the start," he said.

"The officers should have apologised and they should have apologised very clearly."

Referring to a draft code of ethics published last month by the College of Policing, which outlined how all 220,000 police officers and staff in England and Wales are expected to behave, he added: "Officers must uphold high standards when they join the police.

"The code of ethics spells out those standards and for people joining the police service, (it should be) lesson one on day one."

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Solar Eclipse: Live Coverage Of Rare 'Hybrid'

A rare solar eclipse is expected to sweep across the globe, plunging parts of Africa, Europe and the US into darkness.

The event is known as a "hybrid" eclipse because the extent to which the Sun will be blocked out will vary around the world.

Towns and cities in equatorial Africa will see a total eclipse, lasting for up to a minute.

Skywatchers in southern Europe, the Middle East, North America's east coast and the northern half of South America will see an "annular", or partial, eclipse.

The total eclipse will be visible across large parts of Africa

Jose Afonso, director of the Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, said: "Throughout your lifetime, if you're living in the same place, you'll perhaps see a total solar eclipse once or maybe twice.

"It's a very uncommon event for any place on Earth."

Astronomers warned people not to look directly at the Sun without taking safety precautions.

The eclipse can be viewed through binoculars or a telescope by projecting the Sun's disc onto a sheet of card or paper, or by using eclipse glasses which filter sunlight.

:: Watch coverage of the solar eclipse above, courtesy of the online observatory Slooh, which is broadcasting the event live.

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Deadly Gun Attack On Nigeria Wedding Convoy

Gunmen have attacked a wedding convoy in Nigeria, killing more than 30 people, witnesses have told the AFP news agency.

The groom is believed to be among those killed in the suspected ambush on the notorious Bama-Banki road in the northeastern Borno district.

Survivors of the attack said the wedding party was returning to the state capital Maiduguri after a ceremony in Michika in nearby Adamawa state when the gunmen struck.

More follows...

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