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CCTV Shows Gang Plundering Hatton Garden Vault

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 11 April 2015 | 20.48

CCTV footage reportedly showing the men behind the Hatton Garden jewel heist has emerged, after it was revealed the police initially failed to go to the scene despite being alerted by an alarm.

The 17-minute video purportedly shows at least six men arriving at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit company's building in London's jewellery quarter on Good Friday.

The Daily Mirror, which obtained the footage, reported that the group made two separate visits before leaving in a white van on Easter Sunday with the contents of 72 safety deposit boxes in wheelie bins and bags.

Scotland Yard is examining the footage, and has insisted it was already aware of the video before it was published by the newspaper.

The spokesman added the force has "not made any links" between the heist and an underground fire in the Holborn area days earlier which caused widespread power outages and road closures.

Police are also continuing to investigate why a call from a security firm about the alarm was graded in a way that meant officers did not consider it worthy of a response.

It was not until Tuesday morning that the raid - one of Britain's biggest - was discovered.

The police could face compensation claims running into the millions because officers failed to respond to the alarm, it has also been claimed.

An industry source told the Daily Telegraph insurers could take civil action to recoup losses if they have to pay out to customers.

The Daily Mirror footage is from a camera that centres on a doorway, with an adjacent intercom, at the bottom of a set of stairs that leads to the street.

A number of men appear wearing high-visibility jackets, builder's hats, gloves and dust masks and carrying orange tool boxes and holdalls.

Others in the group are dressed in blue overalls and gloves.

Three men with their faces covered are seen taking wheelie bins in and out of the building.

A white van is seen pulling up shortly before 7am on Sunday, the newspaper reported, and once the bins and bags are loaded into it, the group get in and drive away.

Police have insisted it is too early to say if the handling of the call about the alert would have had an impact on the outcome.

But the revelations have led to anger from potential victims, who spoke of their shock that the police "just weren't there".

Michael Miller, from Knightsbridge, who may have lost £50,000 in uninsured jewellery, said: "I am just so shocked and disappointed to hear the police didn't answer that alarm.

"I mean before, we thought maybe the police didn't even know about that but now we know that they knew something was wrong.

"This completely changes things, the knowledge that something could have been done.

"The police pride themselves on being somewhere in a couple of minutes, but on this occasion they just weren't there."

A store owner near the scene, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's just shocking that someone didn't answer that call that came in when the alarm went off.

"You think what on earth isn't a high priority call if it's isn't a safe deposit alarm going off in there.

"I know they're investigating, but really what is the good of that when the damage is done?"


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Murray 'Excited' As Hail Batters Wedding Venue

Murray 'Excited' As Hail Batters Wedding Venue

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Crowds have gathered outside the cathedral where Andy Murray wll today wed his long-time girlfriend Kim Sears - as hailstones and showers battered the venue.

The couple exchange vows at Dunblane Cathedral before a reception at Cromlix House, the hotel owned by the 27-year-old tennis player.

The UK number one tweeted a picture of an umbrella in what appears to be a preview of the day in emojis on his Twitter account.

The tweet also features a picture of a church, a ring, a kiss, cake and drinks including beer, cocktails and wine.

It ends with hearts, a face throwing a kiss and several Zzzz icons for sleep.

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  1. Gallery: Dunblane Ready For Murray's Big Day

    Andy Murray tweeted a preview of the wedding in symbols on his Twitter account

Local shops in Dunblane High Street are putting up decorations in support of local boy Andy Murray ahead of his wedding to Kim Sears at Dunblane Cathedral

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Connor Wilson, from Bennetts Butchers, with their sweetheart burgers, made in honour of the happy couple

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They also have a special sausage available

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John Hill Butchers has also put on a display...

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Murray 'Excited' As Hail Batters Wedding Venue

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Crowds have gathered outside the cathedral where Andy Murray wll today wed his long-time girlfriend Kim Sears - as hailstones and showers battered the venue.

The couple exchange vows at Dunblane Cathedral before a reception at Cromlix House, the hotel owned by the 27-year-old tennis player.

The UK number one tweeted a picture of an umbrella in what appears to be a preview of the day in emojis on his Twitter account.

The tweet also features a picture of a church, a ring, a kiss, cake and drinks including beer, cocktails and wine.

It ends with hearts, a face throwing a kiss and several Zzzz icons for sleep.

1/11

  1. Gallery: Dunblane Ready For Murray's Big Day

    Andy Murray tweeted a preview of the wedding in symbols on his Twitter account

Local shops in Dunblane High Street are putting up decorations in support of local boy Andy Murray ahead of his wedding to Kim Sears at Dunblane Cathedral

]]>

Connor Wilson, from Bennetts Butchers, with their sweetheart burgers, made in honour of the happy couple

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They also have a special sausage available

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John Hill Butchers has also put on a display...

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British Boy, 7, Killed In Alps Ski Tragedy

A seven-year-old British boy has died in a skiing accident in the French Alps.

The child, who had been on a family holiday in the resort of Flaine in France's Haute Savoie region, went over a cliff after straying off piste, emergency services told news agency AFP.

Some reports suggested the boy got lost after attempting the final descent of the day on his own.

Others said he got separated from the group after taking a wrong turn, while skiing with the rest of the group. 

An emergency services spokesman said: "He hit a rocky outcrop, then fell 50 to 100 metres (160ft to 320ft)."

His desperate mother raised the alarm at 7pm on Friday, said reports.

The child's body was found by a rescue helicopter, about two hours after the fall, according to reports in French media.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Flaine, France, on April 10.

"We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."

An investigation by French authorities is under way.


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Miliband Hits Out At Cameron Over NHS Pledge

Ed Miliband has hit out at David Cameron's pledge to pump an extra £8bn a year into the NHS by 2020, warning the PM: "You can't fund the NHS on an IOU."

The Labour leader was speaking after the Prime Minister pledged to protect the NHS by meeting its funding needs "in full".

Mr Cameron has promised to fund the five-year reform plan put forward by NHS chief executive Simon Stevens by providing at least an extra £8bn a year for the health service by 2020.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

This will mean that over-75s will be guaranteed same-day access to GPs, patients will be able to see doctors out of regular office hours and the NHS will provide a full range of services seven days a week, according to Mr Cameron.

But Mr Miliband said: "We've seen five years of failure and broken promises from David Cameron on the NHS."

He added: "The truth is - you can't save the NHS if you don't know where the money is coming from.

"You can only damage the NHS when you are planning colossal cuts in public spending year after year after year, which is what this Tory government is planning.

"The choice is clear: a funded Labour plan for more doctors, nurses and midwives - or unfunded promises from a Tory party that has a record of breaking its word."

Labour has published a mini-manifesto on the NHS, which includes a new right to a dedicated midwife before and after childbirth.

Mr Miliband said this would be made possible by recruiting 3,000 extra midwives.

The party has already committed to providing an extra £2.5bn of health spending on top of the budgets provided by the Government to pay for more doctors, nurses and other health workers.

This would be paid for through taxes on expensive properties and tobacco companies and a crackdown on tax avoidance, the party claims.

In an effort to keep the pressure on Mr Cameron and the Tories about how they would fund the pledge, Labour tweeted a video of an exchange at Prime Minister's Questions earlier this year in which Mr Cameron said the "real risk" to the NHS was "unfunded spending commitments".

When pressed by Sky's Anushka Asthana on how the Conservatives would fund the plan Mr Cameron did not go into specifics, but he said the pledge was possible "because we have a strong economy and because we have taken the long-term decisions necessary to put the NHS first".

He said: "I want an NHS that continues to expand and improve and provide great care, that continues to save lives.

"It's always been there for me and my family and I want it there for everyone's families."

Conservative Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Labour would put the future of the health service "at risk" because it would not match Tory funding commitments or their long-term economic plan.

Sky's Health Correspondent Thomas Moore said the Conservative commitment to fund the NHS is no more or less unfunded than Labour's.

He said: "The Tories are banking on growing tax receipts by the Treasury as wages rise with the recovery. No guarantees there.

"Labour is banking on a mansion tax (verified £1.2bn), a tobacco tax (no details yet) and a crackdown on tax avoidance (always difficult to guarantee because the rich employ clever accountants."

Funding of the health service has emerged as one of the key issues of the campaign.

Mr Stevens predicted in a report in October that, if health spending rose only at the rate of inflation, growing demand for care would leave the NHS in England with a £30bn funding gap by 2020.

He said around £22bn of that could be met through "efficiencies", but the remainder would have to come from government funds.

Until now, only the Liberal Democrats had committed to finding the extra money.

:: Click here to make your own Government with our Shaker Maker


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Jewel Heist: How Easy Was Vault Break-In?

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 10 April 2015 | 20.49

Drilling experts have demonstrated on Sky News how burglars would have broken through a two-metre-thick wall in a lucrative raid at the heart of London's diamond centre.

They said those behind the heist would have had to use specialist power tools costing thousands of pounds to get through reinforced concrete walls in the basement of the building in Hatton Garden.

But that is a tiny fraction of what the burglars are expected to make from breaking into as many as 70 boxes inside Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd.

Video of an expert using a similar drill on a large block of concrete shows just how big the scale of the operation was - after a minute, it had hardly scratched the surface.

Joel Vinsant, secretary of the Drilling and Sawing Association, told Sky News: "It would take anything from 45 minutes to an hour-and-a-half - it's two metres thick so they'd need specialist equipment."

The thieves would also have needed a constant water supply to keep the drill cool as it powered through the thick wall, he said.

"They'd have a lot to set up in terms of getting it under way," he said.

The thieves are thought to have accessed the building on upper floors. Police believe they disabled a lift and climbed down the shaft into the basement, but there was no sign of forced entry anywhere in the building, which the safe deposit company is only part of.

Officers found a scene of chaos when the theft was discovered on Tuesday, with dust, debris and power tools strewn across the floor.

On Thursday, they said only a few people would have the skills to carry out the "sophisticated" operation over the Easter weekend.

Former Flying Squad member John O'Connor has suggested the criminals would have needed help from someone with inside knowledge.

Victims are still being identified, but they are likely to have been left millions of pounds out of pocket.

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said one jeweller had told him that five of his customers were victims - one had lost emeralds, diamonds and other valuables to the tune of £1m.

He said: "Other customers have told us that they use this safe deposit centre to avoid big insurance premiums, so some of the stuff here won't have been insured.

"A little while ago somebody came and stuck two letters on the sign here in front of the word 'Safe' so it read 'Unsafe' - it was there for a few minutes and reflected a pretty sombre and angry mood here."


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Shaker Maker: Form Your Own Election Government

Fancy creating uour own unique power-sharing coalition? Have an urge to slash support for your political rivals by half?

Well, you're in luck, we're giving you the chance to build your own government in our Shaker Maker interactive feature.

It's called Shaker Maker because it allows you to make your own government by shaking your mobile device - or clicking a button if you're on desktop.

You can see what shape a government would take based either on the current poll of polls or on figures you enter yourself.

Our Political Editor Faisal Islam then pops up on video to explain whether what you've created is viable or not.

Click here for Shaker Maker and check out the various possibilities -  or just hit the Election 2015 tab on the Sky News website or mobile app.


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Miliband Attacks SNP's '£7.6bn Black Hole'

Ed Miliband has visited Scotland for the first time in the election campaign - claiming SNP policy would cause a £7.6bn black hole that would need to be funded by cuts or tax rises.

Sharing a platform with Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and Ed Balls he attacked SNP plans for full fiscal autonomy for Scotland.

He said SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon's announcement on Wednesday that nationalist MPs at Westminster could vote for autonomy for Scotland as early as next year was "one of the most significant" events of the campaign.

Ms Sturgeon dismissed Mr Miliband's attack as "desperate" and said the only cuts facing Scottish voters are "the ones that the Tories are proposing and Labour are backing".

:: For full coverage of the General Election click here

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  1. Gallery: Election 2015: Sky News' Poll Of Polls

    Almost half (46%) of voters would back the SNP at the General Election, according to Sky's latest poll of Scottish polls

In Sky's poll of polls on 10 April, Labour have a 2% lead over the Tories

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The projection, compiled by Sky's election analyst Michael Thrasher, would give the SNP 49 seats in the House of Commons, compared with 290 for Labour, 265 for Conservatives, 20 for Lib Dems, two for UKIP, and 24 for others

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Labour are under massive pressure north of the border thanks to soaring support for the SNP, which could cost them dozens of seats and even deprive them of a majority.

Almost half (46%) of voters would back the SNP at the General Election, according to Sky's latest poll of Scottish polls.

The projection, compiled by Sky's election analyst Michael Thrasher, would give the SNP 49 seats in the House of Commons, compared with 290 for Labour, 265 for Conservatives, 20 for Lib Dems, two for UKIP, and 24 for others.

:: Ed Miliband Profile: The Picture Imperfect Leader

Scottish nationalists hope to wrestle full control over taxation and spending for Scotland if they win kingmaker position in the May 7 election.

But Mr Miliband said this would mean a "£7.6bn black hole" in Scotland's finances that "would need to be filled with more taxes on working people or more borrowing".

"This strikes to the very heart of what I believe in. I will never sell Scotland short by signing up to the SNP's plans," he said.

He challenged the SNP to say where cuts would be made to service the funding gap.

"Which services will be cut? Which taxes will be raised? And what cuts will it mean for pensioners in Scotland when they are taken out of the UK pensions system?" he said.

"The SNP claim in this campaign to be proposing no reductions in spending, but in fact they are planning dramatic reductions in spending. They must now come clean."

Mr Miliband also attacked the Conservatives, saying their campaign is descending into "desperation and panic" after David Cameron unveiled plans to freeze commuter rail fares and offer workers three paid days off for volunteering.

He accused the Tories of deploying personal abuse and "unfunded and unbelievable promises" in their efforts to keep Mr Cameron in power.

Mr Murphy has previously been careful to put distance between himself and Labour's Westminster leadership, saying: "I'm my own man".

It was the first time the two men have shared a platform since the start of the campaign.

Mr Murphy began the speeches, saying his party are "determined to end this Tory austerity".

He said the SNP's plans for fiscal autonomy had not been thought through and were a "slogan in search of a policy".

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

Earlier, Ms Sturgeon denied there are billions of pounds of cuts on the horizon under her autonomy plan.

"This is desperation on the part of the Labour Party," she said while campaigning on the streets of Stirling.

"Instead of putting forward a positive case of their own, they are resorting to the same fears and smears that they resorted to during the referendum.

"The truth is the only cuts on the horizon for Scotland are the ones that the Tories are proposing and Labour are backing."

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who was accused of dragging politics into the gutter by saying Mr Miliband had "stabbed his own brother in the back" to lead Labour, said the SNP "are already pulling Labour's strings".

"Nicola Sturgeon makes a statement, and the Labour leader rushes to Edinburgh to respond," he said.

"If it's like this now, imagine what it would be like with the SNP propping up Ed Miliband in Downing Street. Borrowing, taxes, our defence policy - all of it would have to be signed off by the SNP."

:: Click here to make your own Government with our Shaker Maker


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Jewel Heist: Police Probe Alarm Response Failure

Scotland Yard has revealed it is investigating why the force did not respond to an intruder alarm activated during the Hatton Garden jewel heist.

The probe will look into why a call from an alarm firm was given a grade that "meant that no police response was deemed to be required".

The Met Police's Central Communications Command received a call at 12.21am on Good Friday stating an alarm had gone off at Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Company.

More follows...


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Details Of 'Sophisticated' Jewel Heist Revealed

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 09 April 2015 | 20.48

The "sophisticated" multi-million pound raid on safety deposit boxes in London's diamond centre could only have been carried out by a limited pool of people, police have revealed.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Johnson of the Flying Squad, who is leading the investigation, said those behind the jewel heist had not forced entry to the building but left a "chaotic scene" in their wake.

Up to 70 safe deposit boxes were broken open in Hatton Garden overnight between Monday and Tuesday, and police are currently informing the victims.

Det Ch Insp Johnson revealed the thieves had disabled a lift and climbed down the lift shaft into the basement, before using power tools to drill through a two-metre thick wall.

Asked who could have pulled off the heist, he said: "That's a good question.

"It's organised, it's sophisticated, it's people who have planned it and they know how they're going to go about and commit this crime.

"So I would imagine that pool of people is quite limited."

He said the building where the theft took place is made up of a number of businesses and that Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd, the company targeted, is in the basement.

"They are all served by a communal lift and a set of stairs," he said.

"There is no sign of forced entry to the outside of the building.

"The thieves have disabled the lift on the second floor and then used the lift shaft to climb down into the basement. They forced open the doors into the basement where the company is based and then made their way to the area of the vault.

"Once outside, they used a drill to bore holes into the wall. This wall is two metres thick and made of reinforced concrete Once inside, they forced open a safety deposit box, 70 in total.

"The scene remains chaotic down there covered in dust and debris. On the floor, discarded safety deposit boxes, numerous power tools."

He said police were in the process of identifying the owners of the boxes.

"As we do so, we are contacting them to take statements and find out what has been stolen," he said.

"This is a slow and ongoing process. We are still forensically examining the scene for evidence as we go through this process.

"This is painstaking and it is slow but essential to make sure that we are maximising the amount of evidence we capture at this stage, and any opportunities we can give ourselves later to identify who the thieves are.

"Officers are gathering and examining CCTV to identify any possible leads.

"I realise there's been reports in the media around the alarm of being activated on a Friday and the police response. This will form part of the investigation."

More follows...


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Gatwick Oil Find: Questions And Answers

An exploration firm has announced the discovery of billions of barrels of oil reserves at a site near Gatwick airport.

The announcement by London-listed UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) has raised a number of questions including:

1. How big is the field?

UKOG says drilling at Horse Hill-1 on the Weald Basin points to 158m barrels of oil per square mile and that altogether there could be up to 100bn barrels beneath the South of England.

2. How much oil could be extracted?

UKOG admits only a fraction of the potential 100m barrels would be recovered - between 5% and 15%.

But it says this is still a significant amount and by 2030 the field could be meeting 10% to 30% of the UK's oil needs.

3. How does this compare with North Sea oil production?

Pretty well. The North Sea has produced around 45bn barrels in 40 years. By comparison the Weald Basin could produce up to a third of that - 15bn barrels.

4. And how does that compare with the likes of Saudi Arabia and the US?

It doesn't. Saudi Arabia produces 11.7m barrels of oil per day, and the US 11.1m. Both dwarf the current UK figure of 770,000 barrels per day.

5. How far down does the Weald oil lay?

UKOG says most lies within the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge formation at a depth of between 2,500ft (762m) and 3,000ft (914m), so quite a long way down.

6. Will the day-to-day running of Gatwick be affected?

All being well, no - unless there is a major incident, of course. Gatwick Airport is around 2m (3km) away from Horse Hill.

7. Will oil production at Horse Hill involve fracking?

UKOG has consistently stated that it is not intending to frack, which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into rocks at high pressure to free the oil and gas trapped within.

It says the oil at Horse Hill is held in rocks that are naturally fractured, which "gives strong encouragement that these reservoirs can be successfully produced using conventional horizontal drilling and completion techniques".

8. What obstacles is UKOG likely to face?

There will undoubtedly be some local opposition and concerns raised by environmentalists. Worries about fracking led to large-scale protests when Cuadrilla drilled at Balcombe in West Sussex, in 2013.

9. Who will benefit from oil production at Horse Hill?

If the figures are correct, the whole country. It's claimed 1000s of jobs will be created and UKOG's shares more than quadrupled on the announcement, so it has already done rather well.

10. What next?

"The operator... is now focussed on flow testing the Portland Sandstone and Kimmeridge Limestone sections of the well, to establish producibility and thereby seeking to quantify an overall net discovered resource," UKOG Chief Executive Stephen Sanderson said in a statement.

In other words, further drilling and testing are needed to confirm the initial results.


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Miliband Says Fallon Has 'Demeaned Himself'

Ed Miliband has hit back at the Defence Secretary for a personal attack in which Michael Fallon accused the Labour leader of being a "backstabber".

The Labour leader said Mr Fallon was a "decent man" but he had "demeaned himself and he has demeaned his office" with his comments over Mr Miliband's relationship with his brother.

The Defence Secretary had warned in an article he wrote for The Times that Mr Miliband would do a deal with the SNP over the Trident nuclear deterrent because he could not be trusted.

He said Mr Miliband had "stabbed his own brother in the back" to become Labour leader and would be willing to "stab the United Kingdom in the back" to become prime minister.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

The two men were speaking at separate events in London.

Mr Miliband said: "Michael Fallon is a decent man but today I think he has demeaned himself and he has demeaned his office and national security is too important to play politics with.

"I will never compromise our national security, I will never negotiate away our national security and you know what, the Conservative Party can throw what they like at me but I am going to carry on concentrating on the issues that matter to the British people."

Mr Fallon made his comments ahead of today's event in which he pledged the Tories would maintain a continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent by building a fleet of four Successor Ballistic Missile Submarines if they win on 7 May.

:: General Election Live Blog

He warned that Mr Miliband must not be allowed to trade away Britain's nuclear deterrent for a deal with the SNP that would put him in power.

Challenged on Sky News over his attack on Mr Miliband, Mr Fallon said: "We're not slinging mud. This is an issue of trust and character.

"We've made it clear we are going to renew those submarines. If you vote Labour you could end up, because of the SNP position, with a coalition where Ed Miliband does some grubby deal behind the scenes with Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP.

"We need to get that out into the open so people know, in four weeks' time, exactly what they are voting for."

UKIP economic spokesman Patrick O'Flynn criticised Mr Fallon and said: "We think it is a bit odd that Michael Fallon should be trying to link defence of the realm to the way in which Ed Miliband became Labour Party leader.

"That personal attack, to me, speaks of a Defence Secretary who is trying to distract from the fact that Conservatives are not pledging to fully resource our armed forces, they are not meeting the Nato 2% commitment. We would commit totally to upgrading Trident. We can afford to do so."

Asked if he supported Mr Fallon's comments, David Cameron said: "Of course. Michael Fallon is making a very important point which is first of all only the Conservatives are absolutely guaranteeing a full replacement of Trident with four submarines and continuous at sea deterrence.

"It is important that in a dangerous insecure world we have that ultimate insurance policy."

The Labour leader spoke of how his relationship with his brother had become "strained" after the Labour leadership battle and had been very hard for the family after being questioned on the Sky News/Channel 4 Battle For Number 10 programme.

:: Ed Miliband Profile: The Picture Imperfect Leader

With the polls suggesting the SNP could be the third largest party in another hung parliament, Ms Sturgeon has made clear that the price of their support for Labour after the election would include scrapping Trident.

Speaking in her second televised debate in 24 hours on Wednesday night, Ms Sturgeon said the SNP would never vote in the Commons to renew Trident nuclear weapons.

Mr Fallon said that Britain has kept a ballistic missile submarine at sea to deter a nuclear attack for 46 years.

He added that, with as many as 17,000 nuclear weapons around the world and concerning moves from Russia and North Korea, renewing Trident is "the only responsible choice".


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Oil Find Near Gatwick May Be 'World Class'

The estimated size of an oil find near Gatwick Airport has been upgraded to 100 billion barrels.

UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) said the Horse Hill-1 well in the Weald Basin was now thought to hold 158 million barrels per square mile.

In May 2014, the British Geological Survey estimated the Weald Basin to hold around 4.4 billion barrels of shale oil.

UKOG described the find as a possible "world class" resource with the potential for "significant daily oil production."

The company's chairman David Lenigas, said it would create "many thousands of jobs" but cautioned that it would take a long time to begin production. 

He said: "You've got to work through government process and to work with the local community. Everybody expects you to snap your fingers and all of a sudden the magic panacea is there. The key thing is there is a potential resource of significance here - but the fast track or slow track nature is really going to be determined by Westminster".

The US-based firm which studied the reservoir estimated that recovery of the oil would be limited at between 3% and 15% of the total.

It also insisted there was no need to use the controversial extraction process, known as fracking, to get access to the oil.

Mr Lenigas said:  "Horse Hill is a conventional well, with conventional testing and we've got permission from the government authorities for a conventional programme. There will be no fracking at Horse Hill."

But local campaigners believe fracking will be necessary at some point in the future.

Anti-fracking campaigner Charles Metcalfe said: "South East England is the most densely populated corner of England. To start drilling holes all over the place will completely change the nature of our countryside forever. And if the result is that you're not getting very much oil out of it, then that's awful".

Environmental group Greenpeace urged people to focus on clean technologies.

Greenpeace's chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said : "To gleefully rub your hands at a new fossil fuel discovery you need to turn the clock back to the 19th century and ignore everything we have learnt about climate change since. We already have more than enough coal, oil, and gas reserves to fry the planet".

The UK currently produces 770,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to 11.1 million in the United States and 11.7 million in Saudi Arabia.

The announcement helped shares in UKOG rise more than 300% during trading on Thursday. 

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Everything You Need To Know About Non-Doms

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 08 April 2015 | 20.48

Who are the non-doms, what tax do they avoid and who introduced these rules anyway? Here is all you need to know.

:: What is non-dom status?

Non-domiciled status can be claimed where you are living in the UK but your father or grandfather was resident in another country when you were born. (Grandfather because non-dom status can be inherited).

It means you do not have to pay UK tax on money earned outside the UK.

:: What if my mother or grandmother were resident outside the UK when I was born?

Tough luck, you do not qualify. The rules are a bit sexist like that.

:: Rules or law?

Actually non-dom status is a tax rule. It was introduced by William Pitt the Younger in 1799 - along with income tax.

The caveat was included as an allowance for ships bringing goods back from the colonies.

:: How many non-doms are there?

Around 116,000. They tend to be very rich.

Among them are HSBC boss Stuart Gulliver and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.

Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft gave up his non-dom status in 2010 so he could remain in the House of Lords.

:: And does it effectively turn the UK into a tax haven for the rich as Labour is claiming?

Yes, and no. People may still have to pay tax in the country where they are earning cash.

That said, leaked files earlier this year showed some were paying no tax anywhere in the world by using Swiss bank accounts at the suggestion of HSBC.

:: So do non-doms get away without paying anything in the UK?

They did - but now they only do for seven years. In 2008 Labour tightened the rules.

Those who have lived in the UK for seven years had to pay an annual fee of £30,000 if they wanted to keep their non-dom status.

George Osborne tightened it further still in the Autumn Statement - increasing the fee for those living in the UK for 17 years to £90,000.

:: For really rich people that annual fee still seems a pretty good deal

It has been said. One non-dom told Sky's Political Editor Faisal Islam that the Chancellor could raise the annual fee to £250,000 and it would still be worth him staying in the UK.

:: And Labour is going to abolish non-dom status?

That is what Ed Miliband has said. It's part of his "broadest shoulders bearing the heaviest burden" approach.

However, the Conservatives point out that technically it is more small adjustments on how long people can be non-dom.

The full details of Labour's plans are as yet unclear, but it will allow only "real temporary residents" to take advantage of the tax benefits.

:: If non-doms had to pay UK tax how much would the country get?

Hundreds of millions according to Labour.

:: Then what are the drawbacks?

The UK could lose hundreds of millions, according to the Tories.

There is a fear if the very rich had to pay tax at the same level the rest of the population do then there would be a "flight of cash and talent", ie they would leave the UK and take the investment, fees they do pay, money they donate to the arts and charities with them.

This could be more costly in the long run. In the 13 years it was in power Labour did review non-dom status and decided not to scrap it.

:: Would the rich really move out lock, stock and barrel?

Just as a number of people cry flight, many also point out that London as a financial capital is a significant draw to the very wealthy and the attractions of that would not be wiped out by paying tax - although it is broadly accepted there would be some departures.

The Financial Times has spoken in support of scrapping the status.

Dragon's Den star Duncan Bannatyne, who last week signed up to a letter supporting the Tories on corporation tax, is in favour of the move.

:: Any other issues?

As Sky's Economics Editor Ed Conway points out: "If Labour do scrap non-dom status & bring in a mansion tax, one can only imagine the scale of collapse of the prime London property market."

:: And are all party members on the same page with this?

There is some confusion.

Tory Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said in interview that the Tories wanted those based in the UK to pay tax on all their earnings - even those from abroad. Although this has not been the Conservative standpoint.

Meanwhile, an interview with shadow chancellor Ed Balls has been unearthed in which he says the UK could not afford to scrap non-dom status.

:: What do other countries do?

The UK deal is very generous but others, including Belgium and the Netherlands, have similar rules.


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Labour Would Abolish 'Non-Dom' Tax Status

By Jason Farrell, Senior Political Correspondent

Ed Miliband has defended his policy to abolish non-dom status after it emerged the shadow chancellor recently said scrapping the tax rule would cost the country money.

The Labour leader unveiled plans to end the rule that allows some of the wealthiest to limit the amount of tax they pay in the UK and stop Britain effectively becoming an "offshore tax haven" for the wealthiest.

But the Conservatives were quick to point out an interview with BBC Leeds in January in which Ed Balls said doing away with non-dom status would be expensive.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

In the interview Mr Balls said: "I think if you abolished the whole status then probably it ends up costing Britain money because there will be some people who will then leave the country.

"But I think we can be tougher and we should be and we will."

The Tories tweeted out a version of the video in which Mr Balls' last sentence was omitted as evidence that the Labour policy was "unravelling".

:: All You Need To Know About Non-Dom Status

However, tackled about the interview during his speech at Warwick University, the Labour leader said: "We've found a way to do this that independent experts say will raise hundreds of millions of pounds."

Mr Balls later tweeted: "My interview with BBC in January, when we working on policy, fully consistent with announcement today - but Tories edited my interview."

Mr Miliband announced plans to end non-dom status for all but "real temporary residents".

There are 116,000 non-doms in the UK who pay no tax on their earnings outside the UK because either they, their fathers or grandfathers were born in another country and consider that home. The status can be inherited.

Mr Miliband said: "It works against every business and working person in this country who has to pay more as a result, everybody who relies on public services like the NHS, everybody who believes in Britain and a fair and modern country.

"The United States doesn't do it. No other major country in the developed world does it. No one would propose doing it now if didn't already exist. One rule for some and another for others? It is unjust, it does not work, it holds Britain back and we will stop it."

The Conservatives say scrapping the 200-year-old tax rule would cost the country money because non-doms would simply leave the country.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "We have Ed Balls himself saying it would cost the country money.

"It is a classic example of the economic chaos and confusion you get with Ed Miliband.

"It's why they have no economic credibility."

Mr Osborne tightened the rules on non-doms in the Autumn Statement, charging those who have been resident in the UK for 17 years £90,000 a year to allow them to retain non-dom status.

There had been confusion when Nicky Morgan, the Tory Education Secretary, suggested in an interview on the BBC's Today programme the party would tax all those based in the UK  on all earnings - including those earned abroad.

Mr Miliband was also sharply criticised because of the significant increase in the number of non-doms under the last Labour government.

The Liberal Democrats said the "vast majority" of those who took advantage of "non-dom" status spent less than five years in the UK.

Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said the policy might be a "shrewd political move" but added: "It's very unclear what additional revenue would be raised, but the UK's international reputation would be put at risk."

Nigel Farage said UKIP would put up the fees for people to retain the non-dom status and would stop it from being hereditary.


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Europe's Most Notorious Jewellery Heists

As detectives hunt those who raided around 70 safety deposit boxes in London - potentially making off with millions of pounds of diamonds - we take a look at some of the most notorious European heists of recent years.

::  Carlton Hotel, Cannes - £88m, July 2013

A lone gunman enters the hotel in the luxury French resort in broad daylight and less than a minute later escapes on foot with a suitcase full of jewels that were on show in the lobby.

The stash included pink and yellow diamonds, emeralds and sapphires.

It is one of many robberies blamed on the "Pink Panther" gang, who Interpol say have snatched jewels worth more than £280m since 1999.

The gang is thought to be a loosely-affiliated group of several hundred criminals from the former Yugoslavia.

:: Cannes Film Festival - £2m, May 2013

Thieves make off with a £1.7m necklace during a celebrity party attended by the likes of Sharon Stone and Paris Hilton.

A week earlier, £660,000 of Chopard jewels had also been stolen when a safe was ripped from a hotel wall.

:: Brussels Airport - £30m, February 2013

Dressed as police and armed with machine guns, eight men cut through fences and hold up a plane packed with 120 boxes of uncut diamonds.

Some of the robbers stand in front of the aircraft with their laser sights pointing at the pilots.

Passengers waiting to take off have no idea the robbery is taking place - it lasts barely 10 minutes.

Thirty-three people were arrested in connection with the robbery in May 2013.

:: Diarsa, Madrid - £19.5m, December 2012

The gang - whose ringleader was known as The Troll - use laser equipment to break into a distribution centre where they crack open safes and help themselves to a haul of more than 1,700 luxury watches.

They later tried to sell them on the Chinese black market.

:: Graff jewellers, London - £40m, August 2009

Wearing make-up and suits to pose as legitimate customers, the gang carries out Britain's biggest jewellery raid in just two minutes.

Once inside the Mayfair store they pull guns on unsuspecting staff.

The group's ringleader takes a shop assistant hostage and fires at a security guard as he makes his escape. 

Police eventually tracked down the gang of four and they were jailed for up to 23 years.

:: Harry Winston jewellers, Paris - £74m, December 2008

With some of the gang dressed as women and wearing wigs, the exclusive Champs-Elysees store is stripped of rings, necklaces and watches.

The window display and back room storage are both cleaned out as it is raided for the second time in a year.

Several employees are coshed over the head with handguns as robbers refer to them by name.

Millions of pounds of the loot was found in a drain in a Paris suburb in 2011, but most remains missing.

Eight men were finally jailed for the robbery this year.

:: Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam - £76m, February 2005

Thought to be the biggest diamond heist ever, two men in stolen KLM airline uniforms hijack a truck laden with uncut diamonds on the airport tarmac.

The drivers are forced out at gunpoint and made to lie on the ground before the pair speed off.

The vehicle was later found abandoned but the diamonds and suspects were long gone - the crime is still unsolved but police suspect an inside job.

:: Antwerp Diamond Centre, Belgium - £70m, February 2003

An Italian group known as the The School of Turin pulls off a diamond robbery said to be four years in the planning and described as the "heist of the century".

The haul was so large the gang could not carry all the stones and left the floor littered with jewels.

No alarms were tripped, despite security including infrared heat detectors, a seismic detector and a lock with more than 100 million combinations.

Guards did not realise until the following day.

A half-eaten sandwich discarded during the getaway provided DNA evidence that led to the group's ringleader - but the fate of the diamonds remains a mystery.

:: O2, London - £350m, November 2000 - The foiled plot

The gang barge through gates using a JCB digger and let off smoke bombs as they try to smash display cases with sledgehammers and a nail gun.  

Their target was a collection of 12 diamonds, including De Beers' flawless 203-carat Millennium Star stone.

It could have been the world's biggest robbery but police were tipped off about the audacious plan and had swapped the jewels with imitations.

Armed police disguised as cleaners helped round up the gang, who were planning to make their getaway on the River Thames on a speedboat.


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Jewellery Heist: Gems 'Already Out Of Country'

Gems stolen in one of the largest and most daring jewellery heists ever will already be out of the country, a former Flying Squad chief believes.

Jewellery and precious stones, which could be worth millions of pounds, were snatched by thieves from a vault in Hatton Garden, London, over the weekend.

The audacious villains are believed to have broken into the building through the roof and abseiled down a lift shaft to access the vault.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police said heavy cutting equipment was then used get into a vault at the premises, where 60 to 70 safe boxes were raided.

The vault is believed to be reinforced with thick metal and concrete protection doors, up to 2ft thick.

This afternoon, questions were raised about security at the premises amid reports guards responded to an alarm on Friday, but left without checking inside.

Safe box owner Gerry Landon said he was devastated after losing the precious items in his safe box, and found the break-in "unbelievable".

"Apparently, as you may have read, the alarm went off at one o'clock on Friday and the the security guards came down," Mr Landon said.

"They more or less looked through the window to see that there was no activity there - and then they left."

Speaking to Sky News earlier, former Flying Squad chief Barry Phillips described the heist as "sophisticated" and "highly organised".

He said the robbery will have been carried out by a "professional team".

"This has all the hallmarks of a TV or Hollywood film production," Mr Phillips said.

"It was a highly organised, sophisticated crime.

"It's highly likely that any gems or jewellery will have already been sourced and out of the country.

"If past jobs of this nature are taken into account, the thieves will have placed all of the jewellery prior to the robbery.

"That takes a high degree of organisation on behalf of the villains."

Neil Duttson, a diamond dealer who buys stones for private clients, said tracing any gems stolen in the heist would be nearly impossible.

He said: "Once diamonds have been re-cut and polished there is no geological map.

"I imagine they will be sat on for six months. You can expect some cheap diamonds will be coming on the market soon."

Police have not put a value on the goods stolen, but estimates vary widely from hundreds of thousands of pounds to £200m.

One victim of the heist, a jeweller from the area, has spoken of his "extreme shock".

He said he feared that a £5,000 watch he bought for his son on the day he was born might have been stolen.

Michael Miller told Sky News he "felt sick" at the prospect of losing up to £50,000 of jewellery and watches during the burglary.

Mr Miller said his goods - like those of many with deposit boxes there - were uninsured.

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "The suspects have had perhaps several days (over the Easter weekend) in which to get in.

"One report, I'm told, suggested that they used a lift shaft at some stage to get into the centre, which must be pretty heavily protected.

"It's probably going to be some days before we get an idea of exactly how much has been stolen or what indeed has been stolen."

Hatton Garden is known as London's jewellery quarter and the safe deposit boxes are mainly used by local jewellers to store loose diamonds in packets.

Other boxes - around 10% of them - are rented by private individuals and so the true value of the heist may never be known, Mr Phillips said. 

Lewis Malka, a diamond jewellery expert who works in Hatton Garden, tweeted: "Quiet day in the office and then I found out one of my client's antique bracelets was stolen in the Hatton Garden robbery."

Mr Malka added: "Most of the people who have got safe deposits there are people in the trade.

"I know for a fact that some of my work colleagues have got boxes down there and we are talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds in goods."

1/5

  1. Gallery: From Securitas To Brink's-Mat

    The Securitas depot raid in Tonbridge, 2006, was the largest cash robbery in UK history, netting the gang more than £53m after they kidnapped the site manager and his family. Four received life terms

Graff's Jewellers in London's New Bond Street was hit by men whose faces had been disguised by prosthetics in 2009. They took jewellery valued at £40m but the gang was jailed for a total of 71 years

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FIFA: Greg Dyke Returns £16K World Cup Watch

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 07 April 2015 | 20.48

FA chairman Greg Dyke has returned a watch worth £16,000 he had been given as a gift during the World Cup, FIFA has announced.

Mr Dyke was given one of the limited edition Parmigiani watches by the Brazilian FA during a FIFA Congress meeting in Sao Paulo.

Sixty-five of the watches were handed out in goodie bags totalling more than £1m.

The FA boss initially refused to hand his back after the watches were recalled, having promised to donate it to the FA's official charity partner, Breast Cancer Care, so it could be sold at auction.

But with the prospect of being sanctioned if he did not return the watch, FIFA's ethics committee has confirmed Mr Dyke has returned the watch and proceedings on the matter have now been closed.

A FIFA statement said: "Mr Greg Dyke has returned the CBF Parmigiani watch.

"As a consequence, the adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee has decided to close the proceedings in respect of a possible breach of the FIFA Code of Ethics."

Mr Dyke insisted he was not aware of how much the gift was worth when he first received it and, once he was told, said he would allow it to be auctioned by Breast Cancer Care.

The charity is looking to raise £500,000 for their cause by next summer.

Press Association Sport reports that all of the watches will now be auctioned for a Brazilian charity and Mr Dyke will make a personal donation to Breast Cancer Care.

More follows...


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Labour Attacks Tory Record On GP Opening Hours

By Niall Paterson, Sky News Correspondent

Labour has claimed that almost 600 fewer GP surgeries are currently open during evenings and weekends compared to the last parliament.

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham says coalition policies on health are forcing people to queue lengthy periods to access a GP, with many visiting accident and emergency instead.

The Conservatives dispute the claim, which comes one month before voters go to the polls, and insist out-of-hours access to doctors is being extended.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

The row comes as it was revealed accident and emergency waiting times at hospitals in England are the longest they have been since records began in 2004.

New figures show just 91.8% of patients were seen within four hours in the three-month period to March, against a target of 95%.

The statistics were seized on by Labour leader Ed Miliband, on the campaign trail lin Bristol, who said: "One of the reasons for that is it's got a lot harder to see a GP."

On GP opening, Mr Burnham said Labour introduced an extended hours scheme which in 2009 funded 77% of surgeries to open their doors on evenings and weekends.

He said the coalition has cut funding from £3.01 per patient to £1.90 per patient, meaning that by 2013/14 only 72% of surgeries were offering extended hours. 

Labour says its figures were sourced from a parliamentary question and are up to date.

Mr Burnham said: "Today, across the country, people will face the frustration of joining a queue to see their GP - in some places the lines will go out of the surgery door.

"After five years of David Cameron, patients at hundreds of surgeries can no longer get a GP appointment when they need one."

But Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Labour's figures are "wrong", and pointed to the Prime Minister's Challenge Fund as evidence the Conservatives have boosted access to GPs.

Mr Hunt said the scheme covered 1,100 practices and helped 7.5 million patients see GPs out of normal hours.

He said: "We are extending this scheme to cover over 1,400 additional practices, helping 10 million extra people by this time next year.

"The next Conservative government will deliver a truly seven-day NHS, putting right a problem which began with Labour's disastrous 2004 GP contract.

"You can only have a strong NHS if you have a strong economy.

"Ed Miliband as prime minister - propped up by Alex Salmond and the SNP - would wreck the economy, risking the funding our NHS needs. Patients would pay the price."

Speaking on Sky News, Home Secretary Theresa May also disputed the opposition figures and argued it was Labour which changed the GPs' contract in 2004 that meant doctors were no longer required to provide out-of-hours services.

She said: "I've not seen people queuing out of the door of a GP's surgery.

"It's a bit rich to make these sort of claims now when actually the change in the GPs' contract was made by a Labour government."

The dispute comes a month before voters head to the ballot box and as the Prime Minister warns about the potential "disaster of an Ed Miliband government".

Mr Cameron is on a four-country tour of the United Kingdom, with events being held in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

He is underlining his message that the Conservatives have led an economic revival in Britain.

He is also appealing for potential UKIP voters to "come home" to the Conservatives in order to avoid a Labour election win.

Speaking ahead of today's campaign visits, Mr Cameron said: "We have one month to save our economy from the disaster of an Ed Miliband government."

"We have one month to save Britain from his mountain of debt; one month to save Britain from his punitive taxes."

He added that the Labour leader was pursuing policies which are "anti-business and anti-aspiration".

During campaigning over the Easter weekend, Labour accused the Conservatives of plotting a secret tax cut for millionaires after the General Election.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls predicted a Tory-led government would hike VAT - something Mr Cameron has ruled out - and slash the top rate of income tax for earnings over £150,000.

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has set out proposals to raise the threshold at which people start paying income tax to £11,000 next year, with a promise of a further rise to £12,500 by 2020.

The income tax cut will be funded by increasing tax on shareholders' dividend payments, Mr Clegg said.

He claimed the Tory plans for tax cuts would be paid for by deep cuts to public services.

Mr Clegg said the Conservatives were "desperate" to claim credit for raising the personal tax threshold.

"The problem is making life a little easier for working people has never been David Cameron's and George Osborne's priority and it isn't now," he said.


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Blair Warns EU Vote An 'Unacceptable Gamble'

Tony Blair has warned David Cameron's promise of an EU referendum is an "unacceptable gamble" with Britain's future.

The former Labour prime minister also told Sky News the current party leader Ed Miliband had his "100%" support, and said he had showed "real leadership" in resisting calls to back an in/out vote.

Speaking in his former constituency of Sedgefield, Mr Blair claimed the PM did not believe the UK should quit Europe, but had committed to a referendum in 2017 as a "sop" to the right wing of his party and UKIP.

But he warned the vote would be a "huge distraction", risking economic chaos and threatening the UK's national interest.

It would also put EU "exit" on the agenda for the first time.

And he had sharp words for UKIP, arguing its brand of nationalism as "ugly".

In his speech Mr Blair said: "I believe passionately that leaving Europe would leave Britain diminished in the world, do significant damage to our economy and, less obviously but just as important to our future, would go against the very qualities and ambitions that mark us out still as a great global nation.

"Think of the chaos produced by the possibility never mind the reality of Britain quitting Europe.

"Jobs that are secure suddenly insecure; investment decisions postponed or cancelled; a pall of unpredictability hanging over the British economy."

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

He added: "And the oddest thing of all about David Cameron's position? The PM doesn't really believe we should leave Europe; not even the Europe as it is today.

"This was a concession to party, a manoeuvre to access some of the UKIP vote, a sop to the rampant anti-Europe feeling of parts of the media.

"This issue, touching as it does the country's future, is too important to be traded like this."

In a broadside against UKIP, Mr Blair said: "National pride is a great thing. Nationalism, as a political cause in the hands of parties like UKIP, is almost always ugly and, despite being wrapped in the garb on high-sounding phrases, can never disguise its essentially mean spirit."

And praising Mr Miliband's stance, Mr Blair said: "Labour and its leader took a brave decision when they decided not to yield to pressure but instead to make the principled and intelligent case for Britain in Europe.

"In doing so, in my view, they showed they understand Britain's future and its destiny better than those prepared to trade policy for political advantage.

"That is one very good reason, amongst many others, for voting Labour on May 7."

Speaking at an event in Bristol, Mr Miliband referred to Mr Blair's speech on Europe and said it was a "fundamental issue" for business.

"I believe our future lies inside not outside the EU," he said.

Asked afterwards about his relationship with the Labour leader, Mr Blair told Sky News: "I support him 100% to lead our party to victory at the election."

However, he went on to point out there had "always been disagreement" within Labour hinting at behind-the-scenes differences over the direction Mr Miliband was taking the party in.

Mr Blair was an ally of David Miliband, who lost to his brother in the 2010 leadership battle.


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