Even Al Qaeda Tried To Free Alan Henning

A filmmaker, who was involved in the early negotiations to free Alan Henning, has told Sky News how even al Qaeda thought holding him hostage was "not a good idea".

The terrorist group sent a member to bargain with the Islamic State fighters holding him but failed to secure his release.

The al Qaeda member, who was sent to bargain with the Manchester taxi driver's captors, said the jihadists were "difficult" and "tough".

Delivering aid to the suffering in Syria. Pic: Cage

Bilal Abdul Kareem told how Mr Henning, who was helping to make an aid delivery in Syria, was captured just an hour after arriving in al-Dana, around 30 minutes from the Turkish border, on Boxing Day.

He said Islamic State fighters had arrived in the town and detained all of those in the convoy but quickly released the Muslim members, holding only Mr Henning.

Video: Cameron Condemns Henning Murder

Mr Kareem said when Mr Henning was first taken he was set to be released later that day or even the next but when that did not happen people started to worry.

Then the jihadists claimed the 47-year-old, father-of-two as their prisoner and said they were planning to exchange him for people in British custody.

Mr Kareem said: "They had a course of action that they were going to take and nobody was going to be able to talk them out of it.

Video: PM Pledges 'All Assets' Against IS

"Even al Qaeda affiliates al Nusra went there to talk to them because nobody outside of ISIS thought this was a good idea, nobody thought that it was OK to do this, none of the other groups were doing that, nobody thought it was a good idea.

"When the al Qaeda representative went to go down and try to talk to them he returned, his face was different, he said something to the effect these guys are really being difficult, really being tough but they did say that they were going to release him.

"Everybody was anticipating that but that never happened."

Video: UK Muslims 'Disgusted'

On Friday the terrorists posted a video of Mr Henning's killing. In it he is pictured kneeling in front of a masked man, who speaks with a British accent and is believed to be the man responsible for previous beheadings.

The man makes a direct appeal to David Cameron saying: "The blood of David Haines was on your hands, Cameron. Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British Parliament."

Muslim leaders have condemned the beheading on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha, which represents a day of mercy, and said they want to see justice done.

Video: Eccles Pastor: 'It's Gut-wrenching'

As the community of Eccles mourned, Mr Cameron said Britain would use all of its assets to destroy Islamic State.

:: Full coverage now on Sky News – watch Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

Video: Shock At Murder Of Alan Henning

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

Video: Wife Pleaded For Henning's Release

Video: Latest Analysis: Sky's Joey Jones

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Beheading Devastates Aid Worker's Home Town

By Nick Martin, North of England Correspondent, in Eccles 

News of the murder of Alan Henning has shocked those who live in his home town of Eccles in Greater Manchester.

The 47-year-old worked as a taxi driver here before deciding to join an aid convoy to Syria last Christmas.

Vigils had been held for Mr Henning in churches, mosques and community centres over the past two weeks.

The Rt Rev David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, said the "brutality" of the Islamic State would unite the community.

Alan Henning worked as a tax driver before joining an aid convoy to Syria

"In his life Alan Henning united people across the boundaries of nationality and faith.

"He did so both through his humanitarian actions and by the love that drove him on.

Video: Shock At Murder Of Alan Henning

"That his tragic death continues to unite people across Britain and beyond is demonstrated today by the range of people and organisations paying him tribute.

"To ISIS we say 'You no longer have the power to shock us, now you just sicken us.

"Your brutality, against any who don't share your narrow, perverted world view, doesn't undermine our determination, it stiffens our resolve.

Video: PM Pledges 'All Assets' Against IS

"Your destiny is not to be a force in human history, merely one of its sad footnotes'."

Orlando Napolitano, 68, who runs a cafe in Salford, where Mr Henning was a regular has spoken of his shock at his friend's murder.

"He was just a nice guy. I will never forget him," he told Sky News.

Video: UK Muslims 'Disgusted'

Local Pastor Bill Green, from the Gateway Community Church, had led some of the vigils.

He told Sky News: "Eccles is waking up to horrific news. People will be devastated. It's a close-knit community especially where Alan and his family live and I'd like to send my sympathies to Barbara and family at this time.

"The people of this town never lost hope we always thought there was a chance that he might come back and we came together and prayed that would happen. It hasn't happened."

Video: Al Qaeda Could Not Free Henning

Yellow ribbons adorned lamposts and railings across the town in a symbol of hope for Mr Henning.

Just days ago his wife Barbara made an emotional plea to the Islamic State for her husband's safe return.

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

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Muslims Say Beheadings Are An Insult To Islam

Muslims have condemned the murder of aid worker Alan Henning, branding it a "cowardly and criminal act".

In a strongly worded statement, the Muslims of the North Of England said Mr Henning had been a "local and national hero" and called for justice to be carried out on his killers.

Muslim leaders said the beheading of Mr Henning had been carried out on the eve of the "great day of mercy" (Eid Al-Adha) in the Islamic calendar, which set the terrorists apart from ordinary Muslims.

Alan Henning's widow, Barbara

And they condemned the way in which the jihadists had toyed with the family's emotions.

"The killing of Alan Henning was a cowardly and criminal act of appalling brutality by a group who do not represent Islam at all and in fact are an insult to the Islamic faith," they said in a statement.

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

"The killing of Alan Henning marks the beginning of the end of this group. We now call for justice to be carried out on the killers of Alan Henning."

Speaking to Sky News, Naved Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of Britain, said there were "very clear distinctions" between the jihadists and ordinary Muslims.

He said that what had sickened people most was the "way in which they were toying with the family. Giving them a glimmer of hope".

Video: Latest Analysis: Sky's Joey Jones

Mr Siddiqi said Muslim leaders were still trying to understand why young Muslims were travelling out to Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State fighters.

He said he thought a great number were expecting to find "some sort of utopia" and only by questioning them on their return could the Muslim community understand why those born and brought up in Britain were seeking to join the terrorists.

Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "This reported murder is a despicable and offensive act, coming as it does on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha.

Video: Eccles Pastor: 'It's Gut-wrenching'

"It is quite clear that the murderers of Alan Henning have no regard for Islam, or for the Muslims around the world who pleaded for his life.

"Alan was a friend of Muslims, and he will be mourned by Muslims.

"In this period of Hajj and this festival of Eid, Muslims remember the mercy of God and the emphasis God places on human life.

Video: Alan Henning Beheaded In IS Video

"Alan Henning's murderers have clearly gone against that spirit of Islam. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family."

Sara Khan of Inspire, an anti-extremist campaign group of British Muslim women, said: "The only thing that the killing of Alan has achieved is greater revulsion for ISIS and the fact that more people from across our world, within our communities, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are united in their stance against their barbarity and inhumanity."

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PM Vows Justice For Alan Henning's Killers

David Cameron has vowed to do "everything we can" to "hunt down" Alan Henning's killers and bring them to justice.

Mr Cameron, who arrived back in the UK on Friday night after visiting troops in Iraq, has been meeting with officials from the Foreign Office, intelligence agencies and the military at Chequers, his official country residence.

He said: "We must do everything we can to hunt down and find the people who are responsible for this."

And he added: "We will use all the assets we have as we have been up to now to try and find these hostages, to try and help these hostages, to help their families and do everything we can to defeat this organisation which is utterly ruthless, senseless and barbaric in the way it treats people."

The Prime Minister also paid tribute to Mr Henning, the second Briton to be beheaded by the terrorists, for his "kindness, peacefulness and gentleness".

Video: Al Qaeda Could Not Free Henning

Mr Henning's brother-in-law Colin Livesey said he did not think the Government had done enough to secure his release and branded the killers "scum".

"They could have done more when they knew about it months and months ago.

"Just the same with David Haines, as well - I don't think they did enough for him either ...  I just don't think they did enough in my eyes," he told the BBC.

Video: Latest Analysis: Sky's Joey Jones

A video lasting one minute and 11 seconds and titled Another Message To America And Its Allies, was posted on YouTube on Friday evening.

It shows Mr Henning, a taxi-driver who was captured on an aid mission in Syria on Boxing Day, kneeling in front of a knife-wielding militant in a desert setting before being beheaded in front of the camera.

Mr Henning, who is dressed in red, says: "I am Alan Henning. Because of our Parliament's decision to attack the Islamic State, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision."

Video: Eccles Pastor: 'It's Gut-wrenching'

The masked killer, who speaks with a British accent and is believed to be the man responsible for previous beheadings, makes a direct statement to Mr Cameron: "The blood of David Haines was on your hands, Cameron. Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British Parliament."

Last week MPs voted by a majority of 481 to join the US-led coalition and take part in airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

At the end of the video another hostage, a former US soldier turned charity worker believed to be Peter Edward Kassig, is paraded in front of the cameras. The militant in the video says Mr Kassig will be the next victim.

Video: Terry Waite: Beheading 'Tragic'

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We will do everything we can to support the efforts of the Government to bring those guilty of this terrible act to justice."

French president Francois Hollande spoke of his "outrage" at the killing, US president Barack Obama condemned the "brutal murder", and the United Nations Security Council described it as "heinous and cowardly".

The UK Muslim community condemned Mr Henning's murder, which came on the eve of the Islamic festival Eid Al-Adha - the "great day of mercy".

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

Leaders said it was a "cowardly and criminal act" and called for action to be taken to bring the terrorists to justice. They say they are struggling to understand why disaffected young people born and brought up in Britain are travelling to Syria to join Islamic State fighters.

There are fears the beheadings could lead to a backlash against the Muslim community.

Mr Henning's wife Barbara had made a number of emotional appeals to her husband's captors urging them to release him - most recently after they issued footage of him begging for his life.

Video: Wife Pleaded For Henning's Release

In her appeal, Mrs Henning said: "Some say wrong time, wrong place. Alan was volunteering with his Muslim friends to help the people of Syria. He was in the right place doing the right thing."

Bill Green, a pastor in Mr Henning's home town of Eccles, said the news had been "gut-wrenching" for the close-knit community. 

Kasim Jameel, from Bolton, who was with Mr Henning on the convoys, said: "Everyone that knew him from the convoys just can't stop crying, grown men with beards. We keep expecting him to come round the corner, and say, 'I was only joking'."

Video: UK Muslims 'Disgusted'

It comes as Bilal Abdul Kareem, who played part in the initial negotiations for Mr Henning's release when the father-of-two was first captured during an aid delivery in Syria, told Sky News even al Qaeda had tried to convince Islamic State fighters to release him.

He said the terrorist group had tried to negotiate with the jihadists and added that even they had thought taking British aid workers hostages was "not a good idea".

:: Full coverage now on Sky News – watch Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

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Hong Kong: Clashes Between Rival Groups

Hundreds of supporters of Chinese rule in Hong Kong have clashed with democracy protesters in one of the city's busiest shopping districts.

Counter-protesters stormed the city, angry at the pro-democracy campaign, which has blocked parts of the city.

Police were called to calm tensions between the two groups after reports that banners were ripped up, tents destroyed, water bottles were thrown and some people spat at others in Mong Kok.

Officers formed a human chain to keep the two groups apart.

Some pro-democracy supporters held umbrellas for police - umbrellas having become a symbol of the protests - while Beijing supporters shouted at officers, demanding the protesters be removed.

The pro-China protesters were said to be visibly older than pro-democracy group and yelled, shoved and tried to drag the younger protesters away. Many shouted their anger that the protesters were preventing them from going to work and earning a living.

"Give us Mong Kok back, we Hong Kongers need to eat!" one man shouted as he attempted to remove the barricades. 

Video: Clashes Erupt At Hong Kong Protests

The students linked arms to stand their ground.

The scuffles were the most chaotic since police used tear gas and pepper spray last weekend to try to disperse protesters pushing for greater electoral reforms for the territory.

In Causeway Bay, another area under student occupation, groups of young men in face masks were forced away from the protesters by police.

Police spokesman Steve Hui appealed to the members of the public to "observe the laws of Hong Kong when they are expressing their views."

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1. Gallery: Hong Kong Clashes As Sit-In Drags On

   Pro-democracy protesters gather outside the government offices in Hong Kong

2. The umbrella has become a symbol of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement

3. An anti-protester shouts at pro-democracy demonstrators in an occupied area of Hong Kong

4. Pro-democracy campaigners, mainly students, stand firm

5. Many of the anti-protesters are angry they have not been able to go to work during the protests

6. Police officers try to get a man to let go of a fence guarded by pro-democracy demonstrators

7. The protests are about to enter their second week

Protesters, who are mostly students, said that if authorities did not act to protect peaceful demonstrators, they would go back on an agreement to hold talks with the city government as proposed by Hong Kong's leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

Tens of thousands took to the streets of Hong Kong a week ago to demand democracy in the former British colony, the main issue being a free voting system to choose their new leader in 2017.

Numbers have recently dwindled, however, as people returned to work following a two-day holiday.

Leung Chun-ying agreed to open talks with pro-democracy protesters on Thursday but has refused the give in to their demands that he resign.

Video: How Protesters Use Social Media

Police had warned protesters of serious consequences if they try to block off government buildings and were pictured unloading of what appeared to be tear gas canisters and rubber bullets on Thursday.

After the clashes on Friday, the protesters said they would not meet Mr Leung unless the "organised attacks" on their sit-in are stopped.

The protests are the biggest challenge to China's authority since Britain handed control of Hong Kong to Beijing in 1997.

While Leung may have made a concession in offering talks with the students, he gave no timeframe for when these might take place.

Video: Hong Kong Leader Offers Talks

Meanwhile, Beijing has signalled its opposition to the protests with a front-page commentary in the country's official People's Daily.

"For a few consecutive days, some people have been making trouble in Hong Kong, stirring up illegal assemblies in the name of seeking 'real universal suffrage'."

"Such acts have outrightly violated the Basic Law, Hong Kong's law, as well as the principle of the rule of law, and they are doomed to fail."

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Hunger Games Stunt Double Dies In Parkour Fall

A stunt double who has worked on films such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has died after attempting a parkour jump at a hostel in Lisbon.

Carlos Lopez IV is reported to have been trying to jump from his fourth floor window to a balcony at the Goodnight Hostel in the Portuguese capital.

The martial arts expert, from North Carolina in the US, died from injuries sustained after falling to the ground.

He is thought to have been staying at the hostel with his girlfriend.

A neighbour told Portuguese local media she had "never seen so much blood".

Jennifer Lawrence stars in the Hunger Games films

"I woke up with the noise, went to the window and saw the young man lying on the ground, on an interior patio we share with the hostel where it happened," said 77-year-old Natercia Gama.

Lopez, 25, has worked on a number of Hollywood films including this summer's blockbusters Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and 22 Jump Street.

Tributes have been paid to the stunt performer on Facebook.

His friend Gabe Hansen wrote: "Three months ago I met a kid in Jersey City, he took me in, gave me a place to stay, he became my training partner, my teammate, my roommate, my little brother, he was selfless, humble to a fault, his heart was pure gold.

"Thank you Carlos for sharing the love with me. It's still hard to believe you would leave, but it was your time, it's not the end...See you soon brother."

Tony Vo wrote: "I still can't believe this ... I won't ever forget the times we trained together, you will always be here with us Carlos."

According to his IMDB page, Lopez was working on a new film called The Nest which stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and is due for release next year.

Parkour is a popular urban sport which involves trying to get from place to place by any means possible, including jumping, swinging and climbing over buildings.

The Goodnight Hostel has not responded to a request for a comment.

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Thai Murders: Suspects Stage Reconstruction

Two Burmese workers who have confessed to the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have been taken to the scene of the crime.

Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds on Sairee beach last month.

Their semi-naked bodies were found on the southern island of Koh Tao, near where they were staying, in the early hours of September 15.

A blood-stained garden hoe, which is thought to be the murder weapon, was discovered nearby.

David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were killed last month

Footage shows the handcuffed suspects, wearing motorcycle helmets and police vests, on the island's Sairee beach, surrounded by police as a reconstruction of the attacks is staged, watched on my hundreds of locals and tourists.

One suspect can be seen walking from the sea to the sandy beach, and wielding a large handled tool to apparently replicate a garden hoe while talking to officers.

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1. Gallery: Thai Murders Accused At Crime Scene

   Two workers from Burma (wearing helmets and handcuffs), suspected of killing two British tourists on the island of Koh Tao last month, stand near Thai police officers where the bodies of the tourists were found

2. The pair have admitted to killing David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on the island in southern Thailand

3. Actors were used in the staging of the reconstruction

4. One of the suspects wields a mock weapon

5. The case has threatened to further damage the country's already bruised tourism sector

6. The victims' bodies were discovered on a beach on the island of Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, on 15 September, close to where they were staying. Continue through for more pictures

The reconstruction also saw a man and woman, depicting the victims, walking along the beach, their arms around each other.

Thai police announced the pair - named as Win, 21, and Saw, 23, from Rakhine state in Myanmar - had been charged after admitting killing the British tourists during questioning.

Thai National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said: "The suspects saw them kissing and were aroused, so they attacked and got rid of the man and proceeded to rape the female victim.

"There was clear evidence: forensic evidence, (testimony from) witnesses and other evidence, as well as closed-circuit television footage."

Video: David Miller Seen On CCTV

He went on: "Looking at the DNA results, we have tested that the DNA of these two match the DNA found in the deceased.

"There was also a mobile, a guitar and a motorcycle used to do the crime.

"The mobile phone was the mobile of the victim which the suspects took it to destroy.

"Police were able to confiscate these."

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1. Gallery: Thailand Beach Murders

   The family of Hannah Witheridge in Thailand. Miss Witheridge was killed alongside David Miller on a beach on Koh Tao

2. Police outside the Ware family home on Jersey. Christopher and James Ware, who were childhood friends of Mr Miller, have been questioned in Thailand as part of the investigation

3. The pair suffered "gruesome" injuries, according to police

4. The victims were staying in this hotel

5. Thai police at the scene of the beach attack

Provincial police chief Kiattipong Khaosamang said the two men had also admitted raping Miss Witheridge. 

Thai police have collected DNA samples from more than 100 men on the island.

Police had originally said they believed three men were involved in the attack - two who raped and killed Miss Witheridge, while a third man watched.

A third Burmese man remains in detention and is being questioned on suspicion of involvement.

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Bogus Bomb Detector Scam Pair Sentenced

A husband has been jailed and his wife given a suspended prison sentence for creating and selling bogus bomb detectors by making "fantastical" claims about what the gadgets could locate.

Sam Tree was jailed for three-and-a-half years, while his wife Joan, 62, was handed a two-year prison sentence and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work in the community for her role in the scam which earned them about £2m.

An example of the fake bomb detectors which were sold by Sam and Joan Tree

The 68-year-old claimed the dud devices - of which he made some 1,500 in his garden shed in Dunstable, Bedfordshire - could track down explosives, drugs and people - including missing Madeleine McCann.

Detectives heralded the sentencing as the "concluding act in a highly complex, extensive and significant investigation".

The pair were associated with three other British con artists convicted of making fake detectors.

It is believed the criminals made around £80m from the scam.

Gary Bolton, of Chatham, Kent, was jailed last August for seven years, James McCormick, of Langport, Somerset, for 10 years last May and Anthony Williamson, of Gosport, Hampshire, was also convicted last May.

They were sold around the world including in Iraq, Lebanon and Mexico

Detective Constable Joanne Law, of City of London Police, described the device - known as the Alpha 6 -  as an empty hand-held, plastic, rectangular unit with a free-swinging aerial on the front which had a card inside marked with the explosive, substance or person it was designed to locate.

She told Sky News: "We received information some years ago that these hand-held devices were being sold internationally, predominantly in Iraq.

"We were able to secure one of the devices and test it. We quickly realised that these devices were not capable of finding explosives.

"We found a handle which had a picture of Madeleine McCann inside of it, and they claimed they used that to try and locate Madeleine.

Gary Bolton (Top) and James McCormick were convicted of the scam last year

"They said the picture was enough to excite neutrons and ions within the device to make the antenna work. They also claimed static electricity generated by your body when you walk was enough to power the device. There are no batteries in it - no electrical equipment at all."

The officer said the detectors and the so-called science behind them were examined by experts who concluded "it's absolute rubbish, none of it is true".

She added: "They decided people's lives were not worth considering, above their own greed."

The Trees were found guilty at the Old Bailey in August of making an article for use in a fraud between January 2007 and July 2012.

Passing sentence at London's Kingston Crown Court on Friday, Judge Richard Marks QC told the couple: "The aerial would point to the vicinity or direction of the objects or person being looked at.

"One only has to look at the facts to see this as a bizarre and fantastic proposition as to be almost akin to something out of Alice in Wonderland."

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White Women Sue Over Black Sperm Donor Error

By Sky News US Team

Two women have sued a sperm bank after one of them became pregnant with sperm donated by a black man instead of the white donor they had chosen.

Jennifer Cramblett was five months pregnant with donor sperm in 2012 when she and her partner learned that the Midwest Sperm Bank near Chicago had selected the wrong donor.

It came down to a clerical error: Donor No 330, a black donor, was mixed up with No 380, a white donor.

The mistake happened because the sperm bank keeps handwritten records instead of electronic ones, according to the lawsuit.

The sperm bank apologised in a letter

"They took a personal choice, a personal decision and took it on themselves to make that choice for us out of pure negligence," Ms Cramblett told the AP news agency.

Ms Cramblett said she decided to sue to prevent the sperm bank from making the same mistake again.

She is seeking a minimum of $50,000 (£30,000) in damages.

The mistake was discovered when Ms Cramblett, 36, and partner Amanda Zinkon, 29, asked the sperm bank to reserve sperm from the same donor in the hope that Ms Zinkon would someday also have a child.

The couple said they love their two-year-old mixed race daughter, Payton, very much and would not change anything about her.

But they are concerned about raising her in the predominantly white community where they live.

Therapists have recommended that the family move to a more a racially diverse community with good schools, the lawsuit said.

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McCanns Targeted By 'Venomous' Internet Trolls

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

The Metropolitan Police is investigating a catalogue of vile internet abuse targeting the family of Madeleine McCann including death threats, Sky News can reveal.

Officers are in talks with the Crown Prosecution Service after being handed a dossier of more than 80 pages of Tweets, Facebook posts and messages on online forums aimed at Kate and Gerry McCann.

Over the past few years hundreds of shocking messages have been posted by 'trolls' who believe - despite no evidence - that the McCanns had some involvement in the disappearance of their daughter in Portugal in 2007.

These include suggestions that the McCanns should be tortured and killed and calls for them to "burn in hell".

Some messages are even directed at Madeleine's younger siblings, now aged nine.

Manipulated images involving the McCanns - many of them graphic - are also in wide circulation online.

Video: Some Material 'Really Disturbing'

One troll - who uses the Twitter identity "Sweepyface" and has posted dozens of anti-McCann messages using the #mccann hashtag - was confronted by Sky News.

When asked about her use of social media to attack the couple, she replied: "I'm entitled to."

The dossier - compiled by members of the public alarmed at the online treatment of the McCanns and shown to Sky News - calls on police and MPs to act to crack down on such abuse.

Video: McCanns Abused On Social Media

The Met wrote to the campaigners: "In consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and the McCann family the material will now be assessed and decisions made as to what further action if any should be undertaken."

Among the messages identified in the dossier is an exchange on a message board which reads: "These 2 should burn in hell"; "I will supply the petrol"; "I'll supply the lighter - happily".

Other posts include: "We need some numbers for some assassins on taps", "I hope that the McCanns are living in total misery" and "I want to see them smashed up the back of a bus or trampled by horses".

Video: Sky News Confronts McCann 'Troll'

In one of her tweets "Sweepyface" called for the McCanns to suffer "for the rest of their miserable lives".

In addition to threats and abuse, several trolls have claimed to live nearby to the McCanns in Leicestershire and reported on their movements.

The campaigner spearheading the appeal - who has asked to remain anonymous - told Sky News: "We're very worried that it's only going to take somebody to act out of some of these discussions, some of the threats that have been made, and we couldn't live with ourselves if that happened and we had done nothing."

Video: Sky's Martin Brunt On McCann Abuse

Author Anthony Summers, whose book Looking for Madeleine was published last month, said: "There is a campaign of hatred against the parents.

"It is venomous and vitriolic, most of it done by cowards. We are taken aback by the extent of the sheer evil behind it all."

Sara Payne has become a campaigner for parents' right to a controlled access to the Sex Offenders Register since her daughter, Sarah, was murdered in 2000.

Video: Sept 7: 'Charity Worker' A Suspect?

Responding to the story of the abuse against the McCanns on Twitter, she wrote: "About time, they are certainly not the only victims but they are the most abused.

"I hope this means this kind of disgusting abuse will finally be stopped."

:: At 2pm we will be hosting a Twitter Q&A with crime correspondent Martin Brunt on our exclusive story about the abuse Madeleine McCann's parents have suffered online. Tweet your questions using the hashtag #AskBrunt".

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Thai Murders: Man Admits Killing Britons

A Burmese man has confessed to the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand, police have said.

Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds on Sairee beach last month.

Their semi-naked bodies were found on the southern island of Koh Tao, near where they were staying, in the early hours of September 15.

A garden hoe with Miss Witheridge's blood on it was discovered nearby, and investigators have been searching for a blunt metal object used on Mr Miller.

"The investigation has advanced considerably," deputy national police chief Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda said.

Video: David Miller Seen On CCTV

"Three Burmese workers were detained and we took their DNA for testing. During the investigation one of them admitted to killing the two foreigners."

He said the man who had confessed was being detained, but had not been arrested.

"We still have to wait for DNA tests results which we expect to have in 14 hours from now in order to confirm this," he added.

Reports suggested the man had been in detention since September 16 - the day after the killings.

Thursday's development came as the Phuket Gazette reported a Koh Tao taxi driver had accused police of trying to bribe him into giving a false testimony to frame members of a Thai football team whose DNA samples were also collected for tests.

Police had originally said they believed three men were involved in the attack.

On Wednesday, they revealed Miss Witheridge had been raped by her two killers, while a third man watched.

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1. Gallery: Thailand Beach Murders

   The family of Hannah Witheridge in Thailand. Miss Witheridge was killed alongside David Miller on a beach on Koh Tao

2. Police outside the Ware family home on Jersey. Christopher and James Ware, who were childhood friends of Mr Miller, have been questioned in Thailand as part of the investigation

3. The pair suffered "gruesome" injuries, according to police

4. The victims were staying in this hotel

5. Thai police at the scene of the beach attack

Two different semen samples were collected from her body.

Almost three weeks after the deaths police also announced they were offering a reward of more than £13,000 (700,000 baht) in an effort to catch the killers.

Thai authorities have been concerned the killings could lead to a further slump in tourism which has never recovered since the bloody protests on the streets of Bangkok that preceded a military coup in May.

On Tuesday, the country's tourism minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul announced plans to issue tourists with wristbands in the wake of the murders to help identify those who run into trouble.

Party curfews and restrictions on where they can be held are also being considered, as well as the idea of introducing a "buddy system" - pairing tourists with a local minder.

"The next step would be some sort of electronic tracking device, but this has not yet been discussed in detail," said the minister.

However, the Phuket Gazette reported the wristband idea had been dismissed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

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McCann Online Abuse: Your Questions Answered

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Gerry and Kate McCann have been abused online

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1. Thai Murders: Man Admits Killing Britons
2. McCanns Targeted By 'Venomous' Web Trolls
3. White Women Sue Over Black Sperm Donor Error
4. Japan Braces For 300-Mile-Wide Typhoon
5. Eurovision Star Dies After Severe Headaches

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PM Pledges Tax Cut For Millions Of Families

David Cameron has promised to raise the 40p tax threshold to £50,000 if the Tories win another five years in power.

The pledge, which would help thousands of middle income earners, was among an array of sweeteners offered by Mr Cameron in his last conference speech before the General Election.

David Cameron with his wife, Samantha, ahead of his speech

He vowed to balance the nation's books by 2018 so he could deliver tax cuts for "hard-working families", including lifting the tax-free allowance from £10,500 to £12,500.

The PM said it would mean a tax cut for 30 million people and that those on the national minimum wage working a 30-hour week would pay "nothing, zero, zilch" in income tax. 

Video: Cameron On Basic Rate Tax

He also said he would increase the 40p tax rate from £41,900 to £50,000.

Mr Cameron attempted to paint a picture of the Tories as the champion of the ordinary man and families.

He said he wanted a Britain where there was: "the chance of a job, a home, a good start in life, whoever you are, wherever you're from. And by the way, you never pull one person up by pulling other people down."

He added: "We believe in aspiration and helping people get on in life and what's more, we're proud of it."

Video: Cameron On 40p Tax Rate

The Prime Minister went on to make a fierce defence of his handling of the NHS, saying he intended to take the health service back for the Tories after Labour's attempt to claim it with a £12.5bn spending pledge at the party's conference last week.

He accused Labour of "spreading complete and utter lies" by suggesting he was selling off the NHS and said: "How dare they suggest I would put that at risk for other people's children?"

Mr Cameron has often spoken of his first-hand experience of the NHS during the care of his son, Ivan, who died in 2009 at the age of six. 

He said Labour did not understand that the country "can only have a strong NHS if you have a strong economy".

Video: 'UK Jihadists Enemies Of The State'

The Conservative Party leader also said he would scrap the Human Rights Act, which has allowed the courts in Strasbourg to rule Britain must give prisoners the vote, and introduce a British Bill of Rights.

Identifying problems with the free movement of people in the EU, Mr Cameron highlighted a number of things he was keen to change.

"Britain: I know you want this sorted, so I will go to Brussels, I will not take no for an answer and when it comes to free movement I will get what Britain needs," he said.

Mr Cameron's speech brings to a close a conference which has been tarnished by four UKIP "defections", the most significant of which was the MP Mark Reckless.

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1. Gallery: Tory Party Conference: In Pictures

   The Conservative Party Conference has drawn to a close. Here are some of the highlights: Boris Johnson addressed delegates with a brick - and cracked a joke about "purring" at David Cameron's expense ...

3. But of course Boris and Dave are close - as they proved with this touching stroll together

4. It was not Mr Cameron but Ed Miliband who was the butt of most jokes. The best one was the one about him forgetting to mention the deficit in his keynote address to the Labour Party Conference last week

5. It shifted some merchandise such as this hilariously named beer

6. George Osborne started it in his speech, during which he invited voters to choose Dave, choose the Conservatives and choose the future

7. But it did make him sound like Renton from Trainspotting. Everyone thought so

8. Nigel Farage was the spectre at the feast. Four defections to UKIP - one MP, a donor and two others since the conference began

9. The PM prepared for his big speech by asking delegates what they thought of him by posting message boards around the conference in Birmingham

11. And spent some time with Samantha, his wife

12. He posed for selfies with delegates

13. And did not miss a hard hat, high-vis opportunity

14. He was photographed memorising the chapter on the deficit ... in glasses and Union flag cufflinks ...

15. ... as he prepared for the crowds in the main hall

16. Where he gave some money away - tax cuts for the "hard-working"

17. Got really cross about the NHS

18. Then got clapped quite a lot

19. Still, the Conservatives concluded that what Britain needs is an iron lady ...

20. ...and here's Home Secretary Theresa May

Pollster Lord Cooper has warned Nigel Farage's party could win as many as four seats in May – Peter Kellner of  YouGov has put it as high as 10.

Two seats could come before that at the by-elections in Clacton and Rochester triggered by the departures of Mr Reckless and Douglas Carswell, who left the Tories in August.

Mr Cameron warned that a vote for UKIP was a vote for Labour.

He said: "On the 7th of May, go to bed with Nigel Farage and wake up with Ed Miliband. I don't know about you, but not a bit of that works for me."

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Alice Gross: What We Know About Murder Suspect

The hunt for the prime suspect in the disappearance of Alice Gross will intensify after the discovery of a body by police.

Arnis Zalkalns, a Latvian builder who was jailed in his native country after murdering his wife, was filmed on CCTV cycling along a path by the Grand Union Canal where the 14-year-old was last seen on August 28.

And police searching for Alice have now launched a murder inquiry after finding a body in the River Brent, West London.

Detectives believe Zalkalns is likely to have seen Alice, and have been working with their counterparts in his native country of Latvia to track down the labourer, who was reported missing within days of the teenager's disappearance.

The 41-year-old has not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone since September 3, nor has he returned home to his partner and young child.

He also left behind his passport.

Forensic officers have searched his semi-detached house in Ealing, West London.

Detectives believe Zalkalns is likely to have seen Alice

Zalkalns, who worked at a building site in Isleworth, West London, is thought to have come to the UK in 2007.

Authorities here have faced criticism for apparently holding no record of his conviction for bludgeoning and stabbing his wife Rudite to death in Latvia.

Video: Alice Gross Police Statement

According to reports in his home country, he buried his spouse in a forest after murdering her following a dispute about her sexuality.

There have been conflicting reports as to whether he was subsequently jailed for seven or eight years.

It has also emerged Zalkalns was arrested in London on suspicion of indecent assault on a 14-year-old girl in 2009, but was never charged.

Video: Alice Gross Suspect's Home Searched

Police have admitted they they have no power to arrest him if he has managed to flee abroad.

Commander Graham McNulty said the force would need to be "charge ready" to apply for a European Arrest Warrant, and has not done so because this would stop officers being able to interview the suspect.

Police have warned he "clearly poses a risk to the public" and anyone who sees him is urged not to approach him.

Video: Alice Police Find Body In River

He is described as white, 5'10", of stocky build and with dark brown hair that he normally wears tied in a pony tail.

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Alice Gross: 'Now A Murder Investigation'

Police searching for missing teenager Alice Gross have found a body in the River Brent in west London.

Detectives hunting for the 14-year-old, who disappeared nearly five weeks ago after leaving her home in Hanwell, said there had been "significant efforts" to hide the human remains.

The search for Alice is the Met's largest since the 7/7 London bombings

Scotland Yard Commander Graham McNulty said: "This is now a murder investigation and I need the public's help to find whoever is responsible."

The body has been removed from the scene and Alice's family have been informed.

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1. Gallery: Body Found In Major Search For Alice Gross

   Police searching for missing Alice Gross have found a body in the River Brent in west London

2. A cordon has been put in place after the discovery of human remains

3. Forensic officers are at the scene

4. Her father has changed his Facebook profile picture from a campaign poster to a field of wild flowers

5. Alice's family had made a heartfelt plea for the safe return of the missing teenager

6. Scotland Yard released new images of Alice as police staged a reconstruction of her last known movements

7. The teenager disappeared on August 28

8. Police received more than a thousand calls from the public in response to appeals

10. The 14-year-old has been missing for five weeks

11. Police have been carrying out a fingertip search in Hanwell, west London, where missing Alice Gross is from. This image shows officers searching the area on September 22

12. The hunt for the 14-year-old is the biggest search operation since the 7/7 bombings in 2005

13. A dinghy was brought in to help in the search

14. Here, on September 18, forensics officers are seen in the garden of builder Arnis Zalkalns

15. Zalkalns, a Latvian national, has been named as the main suspect by police after he, too, went missing from his home in Boston Manor Road, which runs between Hanwell and Brentford

16. September 8: a police diver enters the Grand Union Canal to search for the missing schoolgirl

17. September 7: Police search the River Brent, near Hanwell

18. A missing persons flyer is attached to a lamppost in central London

21. She was seen on CCTV at Brentford Lock

22. Arnis Zalkalns was seen on CCTV in the same area

Her father has changed his Facebook profile picture from a campaign poster to a field of wild flowers.

Mr McNulty said: "Our work at this scene is crucial to make sure we capture all of the available evidence, to establish who is responsible for this dreadful crime.

"I can confirm significant efforts were made to conceal the body."

Video: Alice Gross Police Statement

He added: "We are unable to make a formal identification at this stage, but clearly this news is devastating for everyone involved in the search for Alice.

"At this time my thoughts are with Alice's family and friends."

Thanking the local community for their support during the investigation, he said: "This discovery will have a significant impact throughout the borough."

Video: Alice's Movements Reconstructed

Alice was last seen on CCTV walking along the towpath next to the Grand Union Canal as it passes under Trumpers Way at 4.26pm on August 28. She has not been seen since.

Her disappearance sparked a huge police search - the Met's largest since the 7/7 bombings.

Hundreds of officers from several forces around the country have been involved in the investigation, while the RAF was also drafted in to help identify new search areas.

Video: Missing Girl's Parents' Anguish

Footage from 300 CCTV cameras within a six-square-mile radius was examined, while police also staged a reconstruction of the  the teenager's last-known movements in a bid to jog people's memory.

Mr McNulty said the search of the river was carried out as part of the investigation into Alice's disappearance.

Police have not said exactly where the body was found.

Video: Latvia Asked For Help Over Alice

The River Brent runs a short distance from Hanwell and the towpath next to the Grand Union Canal where Alice was last seen on CCTV.

Convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, who was filmed cycling along the same route behind Alice, has emerged as the prime suspect in the case.

The Latvian builder was reported missing within days of her disappearance, but police stressed he was just "one line of enquiry".

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Key Points Of PM's Party Conference Speech

David Cameron made a series of pledges in his speech to the Tory Party conference in Birmingham, including tax cuts.

The key points are:

:: The threshold at which workers pay the higher 40p-rate of income tax will rise to £50,000 if the Conservatives win next year's General Election.

:: A promise to raise the level at which tax begins to be levied to £12,500, so someone working 30 hours a week at the minimum wage would pay "nothing, zero, zilch" in income tax, said the PM.

:: A Conservative government would ensure that over the period of the next Parliament, the UK has the most competitive corporate tax rates in the G20 group of advanced nations - "lower than Germany, lower than Japan, lower than the US".

Video: Cameron On Basic Rate Tax

:: EU freedom of movement would be put at the centre of a future renegotiation with Brussels.

:: Every teenager will be guaranteed a place on the National Citizen Service should a Conservative government be elected in 2015.

:: A promise to protect NHS spending for a further five years if the Tories win next May.

Video: Cameron On EU Referendum

:: Increased devolution for Scotland would be matched with "English votes for English laws" at Westminster.

:: A commitment to create "full employment in Britain" and to "abolish youth unemployment" by ensuring that young people "earn or learn" rather than going straight on to benefits after they leave school.

:: An emphasis on plans to build 100,000 starter homes, available to first-time buyers at a 20% discount.

Video: Cameron On Employment

:: Pledge to scrap exclusive zero-hours contracts which tie people to a company without the guarantee of work.

:: A signalled Mr Cameron would defy the European Court of Human Rights over the issue of prisoners voting.

:: A restatement of his commitment to a British Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act.

Video: Cameron On First Time Buyers

:: A warning that a vote for UKIP would help Labour leader Ed Miliband get into Downing Street.

:: The speech lasted 52 minutes and ended with a standing ovation.

Video: Cameron On Zero Hours Contracts

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Japan Volcano: More Than 30 Hikers Feared Dead

More than 30 hikers are believed to have died near the peak of an erupting volcano in Japan.

Police said they were found unconscious and in cardiac arrest near the summit of the 3,067 metre (10,121ft) Mount Ontake, which erupted on Saturday, spewing large white plumes of gas and ash high into the sky and blanketing the surrounding area in ash.

Video footage posted online of the aftermath of the eruption shows huge grey clouds boiling towards climbers at the peak and people scrambling to get down as blackness envelops them.

Hundreds of rescue workers are trying to reach those who are stranded

Footage on NHK national television shows windows in a mountain lodge darkening and people screaming as heavy objects pelt the roof.

"We have confirmed that more than 30 individuals in cardiac arrest have been found near the summit," a Nagano prefecture police spokesman told the AFP news agency, without elaborating further.

Nagano prefecture posted on its website that those found have heart and lung failure - the customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body until police doctors can examine it.

The mountain is popular with tourists and hikers

Hundreds of soldiers, police officers and firefighters have been involved in a large-scale search and rescue operation in an effort to save dozens of hikers who were thought to have been stranded on the volcano since it erupted without warning.

At least 250 people were initially trapped, but most made their way down by Saturday night. More than 40 people have been injured, and several have broken bones.

A suffocating blanket of ash up to 20cm (eight inches) thick covered a large area of the volcano, which is some 200km (125 miles) west of the capital, Tokyo.

Climbers come down the mountain after the eruption

The volcano was still erupting on Sunday, pouring smoke and ash hundreds of metres into the sky.

Ash has been found on cars as far as 80km (50 miles) away.

Although details remain unclear, local officials believe 45 to 49 hikers sheltered overnight in cabins on the mountain, which is popular with tourists and hikers.

Military helicopters rescued seven people off the mountainside earlier on Sunday, and workers on foot are helping others to make their way down.

A restricted zone has been set up in the area

A worker in a mountain lodge just below the peak, Shuichi Mukai, said: "All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn't even open the door.

"We were really packed in here, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down."

Mount Ontake sits on the border of Nagano and Gifu prefectures, on the main Japanese island of Honshu.

The volcano's last major eruption was in 1979.

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'Nothing Token' About Britain's Iraq Mission

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has rejected claims Britain's role in the fight against Islamic State (IS) is a "token" gesture, as he confirmed RAF Tornados are now flying daily over northern Iraq.

He told Sky's Murnaghan programme the United States welcomes the contribution of six aircraft to the mission.

Mr Fallon said: "There's nothing token about this. On the contrary, I spoke to the American Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel immediately after the vote and he welcomed the contribution that we're now able to make.

"They need our help, not simply with the Tornados, which are now flying daily from Cyprus, but also from the surveyance aircraft that we have overhead and very sophisticated surveyance and intelligence to add to the operations of Iraqi and Kurdish forces."

His comments come after Richard Williams, a former commanding officer of the SAS who served in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote in the Independent on Sunday the deployment of RAF bombers was a "military sugar rush" that "risks looking fearful and half-cocked".

Lieutenant Colonel Williams said the sending in of RAF bombers had "taken on a military and political significance out of all proportion to their real military value".

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, a former head of the UK military who stepped down as chief of the defence staff last year, also told The Sunday Times that a campaign involving ground troops would be needed to crush IS.

The RAF carried out two sorties over Iraq on Saturday after Parliament cleared the way for airstrikes on IS militants in a vote on Friday.

In both missions the Tornado GR4 fighter bombers did not use their weapons, although the Ministry of Defence said "invaluable intelligence" had been gathered using the planes' surveillance equipment.

An RAF Tornado takes off from the Akrotiri base on Sunday

The jets, which fly in pairs, returned to their base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus at the end of their hours-long missions with their weapons payload intact.

Sky's Tom Parmenter, who is at the base, says that two Tornados took off on another mission just after midday on Sunday.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he also wants to make the case for targeting Syria.

RAF crew at the base on Saturday morning. Pic: MoD

In an interview with the Sunday Times, the Prime Minister revealed he would argue that targeting Syria is both legal and appropriate.

"There are complications but there aren't legal difficulties," he said.

Mr Cameron said he would respond to the challenge thrown down by Ed Miliband to seek a UN resolution supporting attacks in Syria, if only to show that his request is impossible.

A member of the aircrew prepares to depart on the first mission. Pic: MoD

"We have to demonstrate to people that we'd like a UN security council resolution but it's very difficult to get one and to demonstrate that what we propose is legal. Attempts have been made but there's the existence of a Russian veto."

Ministers had cautioned not to expect a campaign of "shock and awe" and that after weeks of US airstrikes in the area it could take time to identify new targets.

Mr Cameron insisted the involvement of RAF combat aircraft showed Britain was there to "play our part" in the international coalition being assembled against IS.

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UKIP Defection Is Triple Nightmare For Cameron

By Faisal Islam, Political Editor

The Prime Minister rises at 5.15am on a working day.

At that moment on Saturday the banners were being hung in Birmingham, the lifts festooned, and individual staircase steps swathed with constituent economic achievements leading to an overall tagline: "Securing A Better Future".

The basic sell: a recovery is here, but the country needs the Conservatives to finish the job.

And then, David Cameron would have been forgiven for seeing a clear route to glory in May starting with his trip to Birmingham for the Conservative Party conference.

A thumping majority in a successful Parliamentary vote was the fruition of weeks of slow deliberative work on Islamic State (IS), to show a diplomatic, humanitarian, multilateral effort.

Even then, the vote seemed most difficult for Labour leader Ed Miliband, losing one rising frontbench star, and having to fire an aide to the shadow defence secretary.

The papers were beginning to question Mr Miliband's position of backing airstrikes against IS in Syria by the US and Arab allies, but requiring an effort to get a UN resolution for the RAF to join them.

Mark Reckless has found a new ally in the leader of the UKIP party

And then there was his opponents' speech in Manchester.

He didn't watch it, but read it and felt confident enough to tell the Sunday Times it was 'guff'.

The weekend papers had carried the first of the Conservative grid announcements: a Mail story extending discounts to 100,000 first-time buyers, the Sunday Times on welfare caps to fund extra apprenticeships.

A strong performance in front of a united Conservative party learning a disciplined message on the economic recovery is exactly the sort of base from which to turn around the Labour Party's extraordinarily impervious poll lead, and confirm the traditional swing to an incumbent government.

And then came Reckless and Newmark. Two very different Conservative MPs.

A self-inflicted wound from a minister, obliged to resign by a salacious newspaper sting hours before the start of a vital pre-election conference.

But Mark Reckless' defection to UKIP is a triple nightmare.

The loss of an MP, to UKIP, and the attendant distraction of a by-election that will be far closer than Clacton.

The fact of it is compounded by the method. It was designed for maximum timing embarrassment. Again it was kept a secret.

The sheer pleasure the assembled crowd was extraordinary to behold. UKIP are showing clear competence in these theatrical defections.

But Mr Reckless joined Douglas Carswell in laying out not just policy differences, but personal problems with David Cameron's style.

Douglas Carswell is another Tory defector

In particular an 'away day' attempt to get precisely the same type of message discipline from MPs as exudes from the Birmingham ICC.

Both defectors mentioned the treatment of the independent-minded and far from Ukippy MP Sarah Wollaston. This establishes method and motive for yet more defections.

We already have half of an ex-Tory "Gang of Four". Remember the pundits saying that May was UKIP's high watermark?

Conservatives might try to take comfort from the fact that UKIP will also do well in certain Labour seats, beginning with the Heywood and Middleton by-election.

But the threat is clearly asymmetrical.

At the Labour fringe, they were developing policies and messages to defeat UKIP as 'more Tory than the Tories'.

At the Conservative fringe, they'll be discussing how to adopt UKIP policy, or how to join them. Or one might argue that the Conservative fringe is UKIP.

So Mr Cameron started Saturday with a clear path.

A push into the centre ground, and a grab for the 6% of Labour voters who think George Osborne has run the economy well could mean, whisper it, a majority.

But the PM finds himself fighting on two fronts, and one of them a very old war. I expect some sort of extraction from the European Convention on Human Rights.

"The status quo cannot continue" was all one insider would say. Is that enough to sate the frustration of UKIP-tempted Tory activists, voters and MPs? Almost certainly not. An offer for England might help.

After a tough week, incredibly, Ed Miliband could be forgiven for having a half-smile.

David Cameron will be relieved that his opposite number did not claim that "PM-in-waiting" mantle last week. But that relief was rather short-lived.

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Sex Scandal And Defection Hit Tory Conference

The Conservatives have been dealt a devastating double blow after a minister quit over a sex scandal and another party MP announced he was defecting to UKIP.

Cabinet Office minister Brooks Newmark resigned after reportedly sending explicit pictures of himself online to an undercover tabloid newspaper reporter.

His announcement came just hours after Rochester and Strood MP Mark Reckless declared he was joining UKIP leader Nigel Farage's "people's army".

He is the second Conservative to defect to UKIP within a month, joining Clacton MP Douglas Carswell.

Speaking on the BBC's The Andrew Marr show on Sunday, Prime Minister David Cameron said it was "counterproductive and senseless".

Mr Reckless and Mr Farage got further aquainted in a pub on Sunday

Mr Reckless was forced to cut short a visit to his constituency by his new party leader on Sunday after local Conservatives angry at his defection turned up and he received hostile questions from members of the public.

For the Tories arriving in Birmingham for their final party conference before the general election in May, there could hardly have been a worse start to the gathering.

Meanwhile, an opinion poll in the Sunday Mirror and Independent on Sunday suggests Mr Farage is more popular than the PM.

The UKIP leader could not contain his delight at the Tory MP's defection

The setbacks overshadowed the announcement of plans for a new squeeze on benefits to fund millions of new apprenticeships.

According to the Sunday Mirror, Mr Newmark allegedly exchanged explicit pictures over the internet with a female reporter posing as a Tory PR worker.

Samantha Cameron and the PM arrive in Birmingham for the conference

The 56-year-old married father of five tendered his resignation after learning that the newspaper was about to publish details of their exchanges.

He said on Sunday: "I have been a complete fool. I have no one to blame but myself. I have hurt those I care about most. I am so, so sorry. But I just need time with my family."

Fellow Conservative Nadine Dorries told Sky's Murnaghan programme she didn't think the claims are "that big a deal".

Downing Street said that Reading East MP Rob Wilson had been appointed the new Civil Society Minister.

Mr Reckless received an ecstatic reception from UKIP activists at their party conference in Doncaster after he declared he was leaving the Tories.

He accused the leadership of failing to keep its promises on Europe, the economy and immigration.

"People feel ignored, taken for granted, over-taxed, over-regulated, ripped off and lied to," he declared to rapturous applause.

He dismissed the PM's promise of an in/out EU referendum as a "device" designed to deliver the "pre-ordained" result in favour of Britain's continued membership.

Brooks Newmark resigned over claims he sent explicit photos

There was deep anger in the Conservative ranks at Mr Reckless's move, with a party spokesman denouncing the defection as "completely illogical".

Mr Reckless's constituency party chairman, Andrew Mackness, said that he was "astonished and disgusted" at the decision, and said he had been given assurances by Mr Reckless that he would not defect.

Like Mr Carswell, Mr Reckless said that he would be standing down as an MP in order to fight the seat as a UKIP candidate in a by-election.

Although he took the Kent constituency with a majority of almost 10,000 at the last general election, he may face a tough battle to return to Westminster.

In his last act as a Tory MP, Mr Reckless rebelled against the Government in the Commons vote on airstrikes against Islamic State.

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