Saatchi: 'Nigella Lawson Caution Was Best'

Advertising guru Charles Saatchi says he took a police caution for assaulting his wife Nigella Lawson to avoid having the incident "hanging over all of us".

The 70-year-old voluntarily attended a central London police station and accepted the caution after photographs emerged showing his hand around Lawson's neck.

The pair were pictured having an argument on the terrace of a restaurant on June 9.

Lawson, 53, the daughter of former chancellor Lord Lawson, was reportedly seen weeping following the episode outside Scott's in Mayfair, central London.

Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Saatchi said: "Although Nigella made no complaint, I volunteered to go to Charing Cross station and take a police caution after a discussion with my lawyer because I thought it was better than the alternative of this hanging over all of us for months."

Police cautions are not criminal convictions and are given to adults who admit minor offences. Failure to agree to be cautioned can lead to an arrest or charge.

Earlier, Saatchi told the Standard: "About a week ago, we were sitting outside a restaurant having an intense debate about the children, and I held Nigella's neck repeatedly while attempting to emphasise my point.

"There was no grip, it was a playful tiff.

"The pictures are horrific, but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place.

"Nigella's tears were because we both hate arguing, not because she had been hurt.

"We had made up by the time we were home. The paparazzi were congregated outside our house after the story broke yesterday morning, so I told Nigella to take the kids off till the dust settled."

Lawson's spokesperson said there would not be any comment on Saatchi's explanation, but did confirm that she "isn't at the family home".

Police confirmed they had not received a complaint of assault from Lawson or anyone else.

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Ian Brady Said To Have Chronic Anger Levels

Moors murderer Ian Brady has been denied the use of a pen because of fears he will use it as a weapon against other patients at the psychiatric hospital where he is being kept.

On the second day of a mental health tribunal being held in public, a lawyer representing Ashworth Hospital said he has "chronic levels" of anger which "can erupt on the smallest provocation".

The serial killer, who has been at the maximum security hospital for 26 years, wants to be transferred to a prison to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Sky's North of England Correspondent Mike McCarthy, who is watching proceedings, said: "Eleanor Grey QC portrayed Brady as an irritable and frequently hostile and angry individual who lied about the past and targeted other patients or members of staff with 'verbal tirades'.

"She said he was aloof and suffered paranoia and suspicion which made him fearful of attack from fellow patients."

Ian Brady in police custody in 1965

Dr Adrian Grounds, a forensic psychiatrist who has interviewed Brady several times over 10 years, said he has been known to target staff with "intense ill-feeling and aggression".

He described him as a "very opinionated man" who occasionally shouts at the television and does not form close relationships.

However, he said Brady no longer requires treatment for mental illness, adding that although he has a severe personality disorder, it does not amount to psychosis.

Miss Grey QC said: "(Brady) is extremely socially withdrawn or isolated, at least since the withdrawal of his pen.

"He's got a nocturnal existence really, only coming out at night time when other patients are not there.

"At present he's currently sleeping under the covers but with his clothes on."

Myra Hindley and Ian Brady became known as the Moors murderers

The tribunal heard Brady has been spotted watching static on a television screen in his room at Ashworth.

He has made it known that he wants to starve himself to death, although Dr Grounds said his hunger strikes are protests against his treatment, not a sign of suicidal intent.

The 75-year-old left the hearing at Ashworth after around an hour, leaving doctors and lawyers to continue without him.

The tribunal is being relayed by video link to Manchester Civil Justice Centre, where journalists and victims' relatives have been watching on TV screens.

The hearing, which is expected to last about a week, was postponed last July because Brady suffered a seizure.

Brady and his partner Myra Hindley were responsible for the murders of five youngsters in the 1960s.

Some of their victims were sexually tortured before being buried on Saddleworth Moor above Manchester.

Pauline Reade, 16, John Kilbride, aged 12, Keith Bennett, also 12, Lesley Ann Downey, 10 and 17-year-old Edward Evans were all victims of the pair.

Keith Bennett's remains were never found, despite extensive searches and police taking the killers back to the Moor in 1987.

Hindley died in jail in November 2002, aged 60.

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Forrest Trial: Girl's Mum Feared She Was Dead

The mother of a schoolgirl allegedly abducted by her teacher feared her daughter was dead when the pair went missing, a court has heard.

Lewes Crown Court is hearing evidence from the woman, whose daughter was 15 when an alleged sexual relationship began between her and 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest.

She said she was first warned by the school about rumours surrounding her daughter and Forrest after a school trip to Los Angeles in February 2012.

Her daughter "broke down" when she confronted her and said they were "just nasty rumours".

The court heard that in the summer of last year, Forrest called the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The mother said he was "seriously concerned" about his career and that he wanted to "nip (the rumours) in the bud" before the new school year at Bishop Bell C of E School in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

"He alluded that (my daughter) was being a bit of a pain, he said (she) kept hanging around him," she told the court.

"He said he couldn't allow this to ruin his career so I had a conversation with him, I felt I was coaching him, consoling him because he was getting quite upset on the phone.

"He was upset about it getting worse, he kept going on and on about his career."

She said she apologised over her daughter's behaviour and that she was "mortified that my daughter could put someone in that position".

"I was horrified, ashamed and I had a go at her," she said. "Clearly I was upset and she knew I was upset.

"She said 'It's not true', she was in tears, she broke down, she said 'It's not true, it's not true'."

A police officer turned up at the girl's home in September and told the mother there were reports of indecent images of Forrest on her daughter's phone, the court heard.

Her daughter was "angry" about the claims and handed over her phone for them to look at.

The court has heard that, fearing they were about to be exposed, Forrest booked them on a cross-Channel ferry from Dover to Calais on September 20 last year before spending seven days on the run in France.

The mother said she did not know the whereabouts of her daughter for the seven days before she was found.

She also said that she had not given permission to Forrest to take her away and would not have done if asked.

"I thought she was dead and I did ask the police that as well," she said.

Earlier, the court heard evidence from friends of the teenager, who is now 16.

One told police that the girl had stayed at Forrest's house while his wife was away.

The teenage witness, who counted herself among the schoolgirl's best friends, told police that the schoolgirl would be picked up by Forrest in his car after school and they would go to a crematorium to talk.

She said they would spend time at hotels as well as his home.

Scots-born Forrest, of Chislehurst Road, Petts Wood, Kent, denies child abduction. The trial continues.

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G8 Summit: Syria Dominates Lough Erne Talks

A joint statement on the conflict in Syria is set to be agreed by leaders at the G8 summit - but will not call for the removal of Bashar al Assad's regime.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has become increasingly isolated over his continued support of Syria's leader, with the other seven members of the G8 keen to push through a communique on the issue by the end of the two-day summit.

While it is understood a compromise is likely to be reached, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sky News his country would not sign up to any statement that demanded Mr Assad relinquish power.

Differences persist between the US and Russia over Syria

"We do think that it's completely the decision of the Syrian parties themselves to decide on both the composition of the transitional body with full authority and also on the future of any person including President Assad," he said.

Officials from one western nation told AFP news agency that the statement was likely to focus on less contentious issues such as the need to push for a peace conference in Geneva and on humanitarian aid.

David Cameron and Barack Obama were among those leaders who failed to hide their differences with Mr Putin following a late-night showdown over the Syrian issue, which threatens to overshadow the gathering of leaders in Northern Ireland.

Downing Street welcomed a "very positive" response from Mr Putin at the summit dinner, reviving hopes for a peace conference to pave the way for a political transition in the war-torn Middle Eastern state.

While British officials also said the other seven G8 nations could go as far as issuing their own end-of-conference statement on Syria without Russia, there were signals that Mr Putin was ready to sign up.

The Russian president and his US counterpart met for an hour of talks at Enniskillen's Lough Erne golf resort and in a grim-faced news conference afterwards said they had agreed to push all the parties in the conflict to attend the Geneva conference.

"Of course our opinions do not converge, but all of us have the intention to stop the violence in Syria and stop the growth in the number of victims," said Mr Putin, who has been dismissive of White House plans to begin arming selected rebel groups in Syria.

He said he and the US president agreed that the vicious civil war must end "peacefully" and through peace talks.

"We agreed to push the parties to the negotiating table."

Mr Obama simply acknowledged that they had "different perspectives" on Syria.

Poles apart? David Cameron meets Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8

Sources had suggested Mr Putin was ready to sign up to five key principles discussed at last night's dinner.

The five points include support for a transitional authority that will command the support of all Syria's communities - effectively ruling out a place for Mr Assad.

Mr Cameron, who Downing Street confirmed went for a lone swim in Lough Erne this morning, described last night's discussions on Syria as "encouraging".

But British Chancellor George Osborne told Sky News that divisions remained between Russia and other nations.

"There was the discussion on Syria and no-one's going to pretend that everyone saw eye-to-eye," he said.

"Everyone knows that Russia's got a different position. The Prime Minister told me that at the end of the dinner there was a clear commitment around the table to push for a political solution to this humanitarian tragedy."

Free Syrian Army fighters fire a rocket at Assad forces in Aleppo

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "All they are really saying is 'We are discussing it and it looks like we are actually doing something, it looks as if we're making progress'.

"But, in fact, they're not making any progress at all. We are no further forward on Syria than we were before the G8 started and no further forward than we were two months ago when the idea of a peace conference was first mooted."

The annual gathering of world leaders comes days after Mr Obama suggested the US may send weapons to opposition forces.

Mr Putin has warned that weapons could end up in the hands of extremists opposed to European values, who "eat the organs" of their enemies. He has also said he is ready to supply Mr Assad with anti-aircraft missiles.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sam Kiley said it was important for Mr Assad's forces that, while maintaining pressure on Aleppo, the government cut off the supply lines between the Syrian city and Turkey.

"Because, in all likelihood, any plan to send weapons to the rebels, wherever they are, will use that north-south axis," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Cameron's official spokesman said a "very strong" declaration was expected at the G8 summit on ending ransom payments to terrorists.

"It will be around the G8 governments not paying ransoms to terrorist organisations and a commitment to work with businesses and other groups in each country, with the objective of suffocating terrorist sources of financing," said the spokesman.

Mr Cameron hopes to secure consensus today on an international initiative to tackle tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance by sharing information between tax authorities.

But campaigners raised concerns that any agreement on tax information-sharing may be confined only to the rich world, leaving out the developing countries which miss out on billions in tax revenues because of individuals and companies secreting their wealth in offshore bolt-holes.

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Ohio Kidnap: Rescue Recordings Released

Cleveland Police have released recordings of the moments after stunned officers arrived at a house where three women had been held captive for 10 years.

In the recordings one of the first medics arriving at the scene after Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped can be heard telling colleagues in a shaking voice: "This might be for real."

The exchanges over the emergency services radio system came after Amanda Berry escaped and called 911 while alleged captor Ariel Castro was out of the house on Monday. 

An operator is initially heard calmly relaying the details of Ms Berry's call to colleagues, telling them: "I have a call taken on the phone with a female that says her name is Amanda Berry and that she has been kidnapped 10 years ago.

"She's saying that the male is Ariel Castro, 52-year-old Hispanic male that lives at 2207 Seymour, and he's been holding her here for 10 years."

Soon after - with a panicked female voice, thought to be Amanda Berry, in the background - an officer says: "Adam 23, you got a box comin'? This might be for real."

As the distraught woman starts telling her story, the same officer says: "There might be others in the house ... Georgina DeJesus might be in this house also."

The next voice audible on the recording is from one of the first officers to arrive at Castro's house.

With the sound of a woman crying clearly audible over the police radio, the breathless medic tells dispatchers: "We found 'em ... we found 'em."

The next caller from inside the house says: "We got a female called Sabrina (sic), she's got a young child with her."

As the officers move through the house and discover the scale of the crime, they discover a second adult female and radio through to say: "Make it two."

A colleague adds: "We also have a Michelle Knight in the house ...  you wanna look that up in the system ... 32-years-old."

Ariel Castro has been charged with kidnap and rape in connection with the women's imprisonment.

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Urgent Hunt For Toddler After Mum Found Dead

A desperate search is underway for an 18-month-old toddler whose mother was found dead along with two male friends on a farm in eastern Kansas.

Police identified the victims as 21-year-old Kaylie Bailey - who went missing last week with her daughter Lana - and her partner 30-year-old Andrew Stout and his friend 31-year-old Steven White.

They did not reveal how the three people died.

On the day she disappeared, the young mother had planned to drop her daughter off at the farm for the day so she could go to work.

The two men had not been seen since late April. They were reported to have been sharing the house with other men who were known to the authorities.

Kaylie Bailey pictured on her Facebook page

Investigators from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office said they are questioning a man picked up in Emporia, a community about 50 miles southwest of the Ottawa home where the decomposing bodies were found.

He is described as a person of interest. No charges have been filed.

The young mother's car was also found in Emporia late on Tuesday, but police have not said whether the man they were questioning had been driving it.

Kaylie Bailey's family spoke at a news conference on Wednesday night.

"We were very hopeful that Kaylie would not be the female victim but of course we always knew that that was a strong possibility," said her sister Shawna Pettijohn.

Steven White was one of the two men found dead at the farm

"It's been very difficult for all the family," added Andy Pettijohn, as he appealed for help in finding his missing granddaughter.

"What we are hoping is he could not bring himself to kill this child, knowing that she cannot be a witness and she's not going to identify him or anything ... that he says I can't bring it in my heart to do this to a youngster like this, those baby blue eyes."

Police had been expected to announce an Amber Alert for the missing girl, amid strong local criticism that no such emergency appeal had been made.

But the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) ruled against the idea, saying it was too late in the day for such a move.  

"We just got off the phone with the KBI. We've been told that based on their criteria and the information that they have, they've denied the Amber Alert. They'll be doing a state wide media release," Sheriff Jeff Richards of Franklin County said.

Lana's father, Shawn Bailey, is currently serving a jail sentence in Missouri. 

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Tia Sharp Accused: 'I'm Not Like Ian Huntley'

The man accused of murdering Tia Sharp told a prison officer that her death was an accident and said: "I'm not like Ian Huntley", a court has heard.

Stuart Hazell, who was taken to Belmarsh prison in August last year, was also quoted as saying that "nothing sexual" had happened between him and Tia.

Hazell is on trial on charges of sexually assaulting and murdering the 12-year-old between August 2 and 10 last year. He denies the charges.

Prison officer Warren Fegan, who was working at Belmarsh when Hazell was taken there, told the Old Bailey: "He was saying, 'I'm not like Ian Huntley, it was nothing sexual, I'm not a nonce'.

"He was saying that the press was trying to make it look like it was sexual but it wasn't," Mr Fegan testified.

"He said that it was an accident, she had fallen down stairs and broken her neck."

Hazell is the former boyfriend of Tia's grandmother Christine Sharp.

The schoolgirl's body was found in the loft of Ms Sharp's house in New Addington, south London, a week after she went missing.

A memorial to Tia in August last year

Prosecutors say Hazell killed Tia and hid her body in the loft of the house.

Mr Fegan said: "He said that he didn't know what to do and he picked her up and took her upstairs and laid her on the bed, and he thought that she would get better.

"He didn't know what to do, so he wrapped her in a sheet and put her in the loft."

He said Hazell was full of remorse and felt sorry and guilty.

"He asked me how hard it would be to prove not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter," the prison officer told the court.

Mr Fegan told the jury that when Hazell was assessed at the prison, the risk of him harming himself was "at the far extreme".

"He really wanted to kill himself. He was saying he was sorry and he felt guilty.

"Initially he was fearing for his personal safety. He was very, very distressed. He was clearly saying that any opportunity he had he would kill himself."

Mr Fegan added: "He wanted to be dead. He wanted away from everything."

The prison officer said Hazell talked to him again two days later.

"He stated that he wished he could turn back the clock," Mr Fegan said.

He quoted Hazell as saying: "I deserve everything I get. If I get 25-30 years, I don't care, I deserve everything I get."

Mr Fegan said that, when he asked Hazell how he felt, he held up one hand, and said: "Guilty, guv'nor".

Prosecutor said the girl was sexually abused

Another prison officer testified earlier today that Hazell had tried to get razors blades from his bag to cut his wrists while he was in custody at a police station.

Paul Leahy told the jury that Hazell said: "Since Friday I've been feeling guilty and I just want to kill myself."

The court heard that Hazell told Mr Leahy: "I have a real problem with my anger and when people say wrong things to me, I can flip.

"I just feel like hurting everyone."

According to Mr Leahy, Hazell said police should investigate his neighbours and insisted he had been "fitted up".

Hazell told the guard that the group of houses where he lived had interlinking lofts, and said someone had moved Tia's body into the space above the house he shared with the girl's grandmother.

He pointed the finger at Somali neighbours, using prison slang to describe them as sex offenders, and also said the girl had been the target of paedophiles, the court heard.

Tia's mother was in the courtroom as the prosecution continued to make its case against Hazell.

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Ohio Kidnap: Ariel Castro In Cleveland Court

Ariel Castro has appeared in court in Cleveland charged with kidnapping and raping three women missing for a decade.

The former school bus driver wore blue overalls and stood with his head bowed as prosecutors outlined the charges against him. 

Castro buried his head in his shirt as a lawyer described the "horrifying ordeal" Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight and Ms Berry's six-year-old daughter endured during their captivity.

The unemployed 52-year-old did not enter a plea and briefly filled out some paperwork with his hands cuffed as the court set bail at $2m per case, effectively ensuring he will remain behind bars.

His lawyer - a public defender - told the court that Castro is on unemployment benefit and "to the best of my knowledge" has no convictions for serious crimes.

Castro made a "premeditated, deliberate and depraved" decision to snatch three women from the street and two of the victims endured their "horrifying ordeal" for more than a decade, prosecutor Brian Murphy told the court.

Castro confers with his lawyer during the brief hearing

He kidnapped the women "to be used in whatever self-serving, self-gratifying way he saw fit", the court heard.

Mr Murphy said: "While in captivity they withstood repeated beatings, they were bound, restrained, and they were sexually assaulted - basically never free to leave this residence."

The prosecutor described Castro's home as "a prison" to the women and young girl, before adding: "Today the situation's turned your honour, Mr Castro stands before you a captive...the women are free to resume their lives that were interrupted." 

Castro's brothers Pedro and Onil Castro are to be freed after they appeared at the same Cleveland Municipal Court hearing on misdemeanour charges.

Castro's public defender Kathleen DeMetz said she expects her client to be placed on suicide watch and in a cell on his own when he returns to county jail.

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Ashley Summers: Search For Missing Ohio Girl

Hopes have been raised for the family of another missing girl in Cleveland, Ohio, after three others were rescued from a house in the city.

Ashley Summers was 14 years old when she was reported missing in 2007 in the same neighbourhood from where two of the three women found on Monday - Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus - had vanished.

Michelle Knight, Miss Berry and Miss DeJesus were abducted separately in 2002, 2003 and 2004 when they were 20, 16 and 14 respectively.

The trio, along with a young girl believed to be Miss Berry's six-year-old daughter, were found in reportedly squalid conditions at a house in the west side of Cleveland.

The house where the three women were discovered

Three brothers, Pedro, Ariel and Onil Castro, were subsequently arrested and remain in custody pending charges.

Ashley's family is hoping the investigation into the three women allegedly held captive by the brothers will lead to information about her.

"We're hoping that it's connected, and they knew where she was," her aunt Debra Summers told CNN. "We're hoping for a miracle."

Amanda Berry (L) and Gina DeJesus

At first, authorities believed Ashley had run away from home after an argument with a relative.

However, by 2008 the FBI and law enforcement officials suspected she was possibly being held against her will and classed her as an "endangered juvenile".

The following year FBI agents suspected a possible connection between the disappearance of Miss Summers and those of Miss Berry and Miss DeJesus.

Ashley Summers FBI poster

Investigators thought all three girls had been kidnapped by the same man, then-FBI spokesman Scott Wilson said.

The names Berry, DeJesus and Ashley then came up in a Cleveland police training session in August 2010. Instructor George Kwan held up their photographs after his lecture about human trafficking.

"What do they have in common?" he said. "They are all attractive, they are all between the ages of 14 and 17, and they are all gone."

Ashley's physical appearance and the proximity of her home to the other disappearances meant investigators had to suspect the cases were linked, said FBI Agent Vicki Anderson.

And investigators continue to hold onto those suspicions as they search and gather evidence at the home in Seymore Avenue.

(L-R) Brothers Ariel Castro, Onil Castro and Pedro Castro

"We are keeping Ashley in our thoughts as we go every step of the way," Agent Anderson said.

"Whether it is something we find at the house, or someone seeing the stories remembers something, we continue our search for Ashley."

Investigators will speak to the three discovered women to see if they know anything about Miss Summers' disappearance, she added.

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Prestatyn Fire: Killer Arsonist Given Life

Melanie Smith will serve a minimum of 30 years after being sentenced to life for the murder of a family of five who died during a house fire in Prestatyn, Wales.

Lee-Anna Shiers, 20, her four-year-old nephew, Bailey, and two-year-old niece, Skye, died in the arson attack at their home on October 19, 2012.

Firefighters managed to get Ms Shiers' 15-month-old son Charlie and his father Liam Timbrell, 23, from the first-floor flat, but they died later in hospital.

Melanie Smith will serve a minimum of 30 years

Smith, 43, lived in the flat below the victims. Prosecutors say she deliberately set fire to a pushchair because she was angry that Ms Shiers had left it in their shared hallway.

The court was told she carried out the "terrible and wicked deed" because she was "drunk and angry", disillusioned with her boyfriend, very unhappy in her flat and jealous of the woman who lived upstairs.

Liam Timbrell, 23, also died in the fire

During the trial, the court heard a harrowing 999 call made by Mr Timbrell from the burning building, during which he was heard shouting: "Oh my God, oh my God! We're going to die."

The jury also heard that Mr Timbrell told paramedics that "it was arson" and "it was Mel from downstairs".

Smith had also made threats to "burn down" a love rival's home.

Samantha Schofield told the court that Smith had threatened to start a fire at her home as she wrongly believed Miss Schofield, the mother of two young boys, was having an affair with her partner Steve Clarkson.

During the trial, Smith claimed 21 witnesses who gave evidence against her were "lying".

In addition to five counts of murder, Smith was also convicted of one count of making threats of arson. 

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