Tulisa Denies Class A Drug Offences In Court

Former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos has denied being concerned with the supply of Class A drugs.

The N-Dubz star, 25, of Friern Barnet, north London, is accused of setting up an £860 deal to supply 13.9 grams of cocaine to an undercover reporter.

She appeared alongside rapper Mike GLC, also known as Michael Coombs, 35, of Velocity Way, Enfield, north London, at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

He denied a charge of supplying the drug.

Contostavlos, who wore black trousers, a black top and black jacket, was forced to disclose her address to the court after her solicitor applied for it to be withheld to prevent "unwanted visitors".

But Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle ruled "the address must be given" after considering the application with representations from prosecutor Emma Scheer and the Press Association.

The singer then told the court: "Just to let you know, after it being read out, in the next month or so I might have to move to a new address."

Contostavlos is accused of being "concerned with the supply of 13.9 grams of cocaine" to the Sun on Sunday's undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood, sometimes known as the fake sheikh, between May 20 and May 24.

Coombs, who wore a blue jumper and black jeans, is accused of supplying the drug on May 23.

The pair will next appear at Southwark Crown Court in central London on January 14.

Contostavlos, who was represented by Ross Dixon, allegedly set up the deal after telling Mahmood she could help provide him with "white sweets", which the court heard was a code for cocaine.

She is accused of playing a "significant role" putting the fake sheikh in touch with Coombs before the pair met at the upmarket Dorchester Hotel in central London.

The Sun on Sunday recorded the meeting in which Coombs is said to have handed over half an ounce of cocaine for £860.

Contostavlos, who had blonde ringlets and looked tanned for the hearing, was initially arrested in connection with the incident with Coombs on June 4.

She was officially dropped as a judge on X Factor days before her arrest, with Sharon Osbourne returning to the show in her place.

The pair were given unconditional bail by Mr Riddle.

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Woman Killed As High Winds Hit UK And Ireland

Further strong winds are expected to batter the UK today after two people died in gale force conditions.

The Met Office has an amber warning - its second-highest level - for Northern Ireland and parts of western Scotland, where gusts of up to 90mph are expected.

Wind warnings are in place across much of the Republic of Ireland, with Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, as well as Munster, Leinster, Cavan and Monaghan, all braced for winds of up to 70mph.

As much as 20cm of snow could fall in Scotland, while icy roads may create treacherous driving conditions in Wales and across much of eastern England.

The League Cup game at Stoke was halted by a hail storm

It comes after storms caused by an Atlantic depression left two people dead and thousands of people without power.

A 23-year-old woman was killed in Ireland when a tree fell onto her car near Mullingar, County Westmeath.

Paramedics cut her free from the wreckage of the vehicle but she died from her injuries.

In Warwickshire, a man suffered head and chest injuries when a tree hit his car on the A45 between Stretton-on-Dunsmore and Rugby.

Flood warnings have been issued across the UK

A 19-year-old passenger in the car also suffered facial injuries.

Meanwhile, coastguards and an RAF helicopter were forced to call off a search after a man fell overboard from a cargo ship on the River Trent in Lincolnshire.

The 45-year-old, who was not thought to have been wearing a life jacket, became entangled in ropes, according to a coastguard spokesman.

The winds knocked out power to around 7,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland, with another 3,500 affected in northwest England and 900 in south Wales, although most people have now been reconnected.

The gales also caused widespread damage to overhead power and train lines.

The Environment Agency issued 29 flood warnings and 114 flood alerts, mostly in the west of the UK.

In Ireland, the strong winds ripped off part of the roof of Kent railway station in Cork, leaving one passenger with minor injuries.

The roof of Kent railway station in Cork collapsed in the high winds

The roof of a hotel was blown off in Moota, Cumbria, forcing police to close the A595.

Sheffield Wednesday's Championship game against Wigan had to be abandoned in the second half because of a waterlogged pitch and Manchester United's game against Stoke was temporarily halted by a hail storm.

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Police Believe Body Found In Grave Is Jayden's

Police believe a body found in a grave in Didcot, Oxfordshire, is that of missing 17-year-old Jayden Parkinson.

Thames Valley Police said her family are heartbroken and devastated by the development.

Jayden was last seen leaving the town's railway station on December 3.

On Wednesday, the man leading the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Murray, said police had received "significant and highly relevant information" which led their search efforts to a specific grave in the churchyard.

At a news conference on Thursday morning he said: "We had prepared Jayden's family for the worst but I'm afraid nothing can prepare you for the loss of your child.

"They remain heartbroken, they remain devastated, and our thoughts are with them at this time.

Ben Blakeley arrives at court

"It's been a long and difficult night but, as you probably know, we discovered a body in a particular grave in All Saints' Cemetery in Didcot and I believe that body to be Jayden Parkinson, our missing teenager.

"Formal identification has not yet taken place. Jayden's body was removed from the cemetery late last night.

"Our only work in that cemetery now consists of returning that cemetery to its previous state.

"A post-mortem will take place today to try to determine how Jayden died and our management of various crime scenes in and around Didcot will be dependent on the outcome of that post-mortem."

Jayden's former boyfriend, 22-year-old Ben Blakeley, of Reading, has appeared at Oxford Crown Court charged with her murder and perverting the course of justice.

More than 100 uniformed officers and detectives have been working on the case, backed up by specialists from the National Crime Agency, since she disappeared.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Murray has led the investigation

The teenager, who had recently moved to Oxford, was last seen leaving Didcot railway station at 4.27pm on December 3.

Police said there was "no indication" she was still alive, revealing Jayden had not used her mobile phone or accessed her bank account in the days since she had been reported missing.

Officers had previously issued an appeal for information about a man seen struggling with a suitcase just outside Upton, south of Didcot,  at about 2am on Monday December 9.

A search of farmland on the outskirts of the village took place following the sighting.

Officers said a man was seen with the same suitcase in the Lydalls Road area of Didcot - where All Saints is located - at about 3.30am the same day.

Detectives have since recovered several suitcases, one of which "may well be significant", according to Mr Murray.

In a post on Facebook on Sunday, Jayden's mother Samantha Shrewsbury wrote: "My baby, my princess, my heart is so heavy baby girl."

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Lee Rigby Murder Trial Jury Considers Verdicts

The jury in the trial of two men accused of murdering soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich has retired to consider its verdicts at the Old Bailey.

Judge Mr Justice Sweeney finished his summing up this morning, outlining evidence relating to footage taken in the aftermath of the alleged attack on May 22.

The panel of eight women and four men were then sent out to begin their deliberations.

Lee Rigby died on May 22

Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are accused of murdering Fusilier Rigby by running him down in a car and then hacking him to death near Woolwich Barracks in south-east London.

They both deny murder and claim that they are "soldiers of Allah", although the judge has made clear that this is no legal defence.

The pair are also accused of the attempted murder of a police officer.

Adebolajo claimed that he ran at marksmen clutching a meat cleaver in a bid to get himself shot.

Adebowale did not give evidence, but his barrister Abbas Lakha QC said in his closing speech that he had brandished an unloaded gun at the officers with the same aim.

Yesterday Mr Justice Sweeney told the jury that they must not allow emotion to influence their decision.

He said: "To state the obvious - neither media or internet reporting, or speculation or emotion, can have any part to play in your deliberations.

"Guarding against speculation or emotion entering into your deliberations is particularly important in cases of this type. What's required of you is a cool, calm, careful and dispassionate consideration of the evidence."

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Syria: Sky News Gains Access To UK Jihadists

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Sky News has gained the first access to a previously unknown brigade of exclusively British jihadists fighting in Syria.

Until now, the existence of this UK brigade has been kept a secret, but it reveals that British security services have hugely underestimated the scale of UK nationals involved in the bloodshed.

In a series of wide-ranging and frank interviews, the jihadists, who have asked Sky News to protect their identities for fear of a backlash against their families in the UK, reveal that hundreds of young men from Britain have joined the fight against Bashar al Assad's government and that "at least" four die each month.

They also claim that the UK remains the largest single source of private fundraising for jihadi fighters, outdoing countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

In the interviews, carried out by US journalist and Muslim convert, Bilal Abdul Kareem, exclusively for Sky News, the Islamic fighters insist they have no intention of attacking UK targets or waging jihad on British soil.

One of the men, identified as Mustafa, is asked directly if he is part of al Qaeda and why he insists on hiding his identity.

"I'm not part of al Qaeda, and I've never been a part of al Qaeda - ever,"  he says.

UK jihadists say they are no threat to Britain

"I'm not a terrorist in any way. If people could see how much goodness we have in our hearts, how much mercy we have for people and how much you know we are driven by compassion to help other people they wouldn't think that we were terrorists.

"But this is a line that they have been fed and there are people that benefit from pushing that narrative about us, so I protect my identity."

This denial follows warnings from the heads of the UK's security services that young men travelling to Syria risk being radicalised before returning home to carry out terror attacks in Britain.

Fighting on a mountain top in the northeast of the country, these men look like hardcore jihadists, but when they speak they are pure Brits.

They say they will not attack UK targets

They joke and laugh between themselves, sometimes comparing the now ubiquitous "selfies".

But they hardly speak any Arabic and are dependent on one of their number to give orders on the battlefield.

Like British soldiers, they discuss kit and the best things to buy for jihad. In one exchange a young man, advised to buy new binoculars, naively asks if eBay will deliver.

"No man," one of the more seasoned fighters laughs in reply, shaking his head, "eBay won't deliver here man."

It is pure comedy. The men insist they have a moral obligation to help in Syria because of the outside world's refusal to intervene in the near three-year-old civil war, and deny they are terrorists.

"When you see atrocities carried out like what you see from the images that you see from Syria, then really as a human being, you know morally there should be an obligation just being part of the human race to defend such people," one of the brigade's leaders told Sky News.

"But if morals can't, if that's not enough to motivate you, our religion demands for us that people that cannot defend themselves, that somebody needs to get up and respond to their call. Ethically, it's the only right thing to do," he said during a pause in the fighting.

The Britons say they were angered by the lack of international intervention

The armed opposition to President Assad in the north of the country is now being waged almost exclusively by a myriad of jihadist groups supported by a significant number of foreign fighters from the USA, Canada, Northern Europe, North Africa and the former Soviet republics of Chechnya and Dagestan.

The British contingent say their numbers are increasing daily and social networking sites are helping to organise the influx into Syria.

They know that returning to their families in the UK will be extremely difficult from now on, but in reality they probably won't get the chance - the fighting footsoldier's life expectancy in Syria is very short once serious combat begins.

This committed group buck many stereotypes used to describe the Islamist fighters in Syria.

Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with them is not in itself relevant, not yet at least, as this is the first time we have ever heard them speak.

:: A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Syria is the number one destination for jihadists anywhere in the world. There are thousands of foreign fighters in Syria, including large numbers of Europeans, gaining combat experience and forging connections with extremists.

"Some people who travel from the UK to Syria for jihadist fighting will pose a security threat when they return. We are concerned that Al-Qaeda affiliates such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al Nusrah Front (ANF) are now able to operate in the large areas of ungoverned space that have been created by the conflict.

"We are aware of at least 200 UK-linked individuals of concern who have travelled to Syria, but the true number is likely to be higher."

The FCO said it is taking the following action:

:: Intelligence agencies and police are working to identify and disrupt potential threats.
:: The police have the power to examine and detain individuals at the UK border to investigate any concerns of terrorism involvement.
:: UK nationals of concern seeking to travel from the UK can have their passports removed or withdrawn. And foreign nationals resident in the UK can have their leave to remain revoked if they are deemed non-conducive to the public good.
:: Working with our international partners we have secured the designation of the al-Nusrah Front under the UN al Qaeda sanctions regime.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The report has rightly highlighted the importance of finding a political transition in Syria to bring this brutal regime to an end and the continuing vigilance we must have."

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Ronnie Biggs: Great Train Robber Dies Aged 84

Biggs: An International Fugitive

Updated: 11:10am UK, Wednesday 18 December 2013

Here is a timeline of Ronnie Biggs' life.

Ronald Arthur Biggs was born in Lambeth, south London, on August 8, 1929.

:: January 1945: The 15-year-old Biggs made his first court appearance - for stealing pencils from Littlewoods.

:: 1950: Biggs cut a faintly absurd figure in the robbery of a bookie in Lambeth Road. His contribution was to ask the bookie's wife for her handbag.

"When she did not have one, Biggs picked up a vase as though to hit her," reads the court report of the case.

:: August 1963: With nine convictions to his name, he was given the chance to play a bit part in a robbery on an altogether grander scale and, by accepting it, set himself on the path to a lifetime of infamy.

About a month after the attack, Biggs and other members of the gang were tracked down by police after an operation led by Scotland Yard detective Jack Slipper.

:: January 1964 - Biggs stood trial for the robbery and was jailed for 30 years.

:: 1965 - after serving just 15 months, he escaped from London's Wandsworth Prison by scaling a wall and jumping on to a mattress in an open-top van.

:: The same year, Biggs took his wife Charmian and sons to Spain and spent two months convalescing after having plastic surgery in France to change his appearance.

:: 1969 - Biggs was tracked by Scotland Yard to Melbourne, Australia and fled to Brazil.

:: 1970 - The mail train driver Jack Mills, who never made a full recovery after being coshed during the robbery, died.

:: 1971 - Biggs' son Nicky died in a car crash aged 10.

:: 1974 - Biggs made a deal with the Daily Express amid rumours he would surrender if assured an early parole date, but the paper contacted detective Jack Slipper who arrested him in Rio de Janeiro.

The convicted robber successfully argued against extradition because he had a Brazilian dependent, a young son, Michael, by his girlfriend Raimunda de Castro.

:: April 1977 - Biggs went aboard the British frigate Danae for a few drinks. The ship was in Rio for a courtesy visit, but surprisingly he was not arrested.

:: 1978 - He recorded No One Is Innocent, for the Sex Pistols and also raised money by selling T-shirts of himself and entertaining Japanese tourists.

:: March 1981 - Biggs was kidnapped in Rio by a gang of adventurers and smuggled to Barbados by boat. Their aim was to bring him back to Britain.

The Barbados High Court decided the rules governing extradition to Britain had not been properly put before the island's parliament, and Biggs was allowed to return to Rio.

:: 1988 - Pop star Phil Collins starred in Buster, a film based on the train robbery.

:: January 1994 - Biggs published his autobiography, Odd Man Out.

:: 1997 - The Brazilian Supreme Court rejected a new request by the British Government to extradite him.

:: March 1998 - The fugitive collapsed at his home in Rio and suffered a stroke which temporarily left him unable to speak.

:: August 8, 1999 - Biggs celebrated his 70th birthday in the company of 140 friends including fellow Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds, 36 years to the day after their infamous crime.

:: September 1999 - Biggs appeared in a worldwide TV advert for hair grafts. In the same month he suffered his second stroke, followed by a third stroke 12 days later.

:: May 3, 2001 - After 35 years on the run, Biggs sent an e-mail to Scotland Yard saying he wanted to come home.

:: May 7, 2001 - Biggs arrives on a private plane at RAF Northolt, and is immediately arrested. He is later sent back to prison.

Within weeks Biggs was in hospital receiving treatment for a suspected stroke. He spent much of his time in the prison hospital at Belmarsh after suffering a series of heart attacks, strokes and epileptic seizures.

:: January 30, 2002 - The Criminal Cases Review Commission rejects an application to send Biggs' case to the Court of Appeal. He had argued his sentence was inappropriate and unnecessary.

:: March 28, 2002 - Biggs's lawyers lodge papers at the High Court arguing his is an "exceptional case" and should be sent back to the Court of Appeal.

:: July 10, 2002 - Biggs marries Brazilian former Samba dancer Raimunda Rothen, the mother of his son Michael, in a private ceremony at Belmarsh jail attended by 11 guests.

:: January 13, 2003 - Michael claims his father was punched and "karate kicked" by a prison officer in Belmarsh.

:: October 2, 2003 - Biggs' attempt to appeal against his sentence is thrown out by a High Court judge who calls it "hopeless" and "misconceived".

His son Michael complains that his father was not given legal aid to fight the case and announces plans to go to the European Court of Human Rights.

:: January 6, 2004 - Biggs is taken to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Woolwich, south London, suffering from pneumonia.

:: January 8, 2004 - After returning to Belmarsh the day before, Biggs is taken back to hospital after becoming dehydrated and vomiting. His barrister Nigel Sangster QC says he is making an immediate petition to the European Court of Human Rights about Biggs's continued imprisonment.

:: August 9, 2004 - Biggs' lawyers launch a High Court legal bid to win his release on compassionate grounds. Solicitors ask for a judicial review of Biggs' detention at high security Belmarsh.

:: August 30, 2004 - Biggs is taken to hospital again, this time it is understood it is because he was passing blood.

It is the fifth time the ailing robber has been moved to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital from the hospital wing at Belmarsh after suffering a series of strokes, minor heart attacks and contracting scabies.

:: June 15, 2005 - Solicitors say they have written to Home Secretary Charles Clarke to ask for Biggs to be released on compassionate grounds.

:: July 12, 2005 - Sources say prison bosses have decided that Biggs is not ill enough to qualify for early release.

:: August 10, 2005 - The Home Office confirms Biggs has become infected with MRSA while in hospital undergoing routine treatment.

:: September 21, 2005 - Prison service sources deny claims Biggs has gone on hunger strike.

:: October 26, 2005 - Home Secretary Charles Clarke rejects a plea for Biggs to be released from prison on compassionate grounds - because his illness is not deemed terminal.

:: December 2, 2005 - Biggs' solicitors say they have asked Mr Clarke for a pardon, using "prerogative powers".

:: July 4, 2007 - Prison sources say the Great Train Robber has been moved from Belmarsh to a unit for elderly life-sentenced inmates, even though he is not serving a life sentence, at the lower security Norwich jail.

:: October 4, 2007 - Biggs apologises for "glamorising" his crime and promises that if he is freed from jail he will live outside the UK.

:: February 13, 2009 - Biggs is moved to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in Norwich after falling ill in Norwich Prison.

:: July 1, 2009 - Biggs is refused parole by Justice Secretary Jack Straw, who said the Great Train Robber was "wholly unrepentant".

:: August 8, 2009 - Biggs was granted release from his prison sentence on compassionate grounds. Mr Straw said the decision was based on medical evidence that Biggs' condition had deteriorated and he was not expected to recover. The next day he was officially released from the the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

:: August 17, 2009 - Biggs moved into his final home, the Carlton Court Care Home in Barnet, north London, where he received 24-hour care.

:: March 20, 2013 - Biggs was last seen in public at the funeral of of fellow great train robber Bruce Reynolds. He had a defiant message for the waiting press as he flipped the 'V' sign.

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Syria: Family Of Dead UK Doctor Want Answers

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

The family of a British doctor who died while in custody in Syria are meeting Foreign Office representatives to demand answers on how he died.

Dr Abbas Khan, 32, had been imprisoned for more than a year after travelling to Aleppo to treat injured civilians.

He was about to be released when the Syrian regime announced he was dead. It claims he killed himself.

He leaves behind a wife and two children who were preparing to have him home for Christmas.

Speaking to Sky News, Dr Shahnawaz Khan insisted his brother was not suicidal because he knew he was coming home.

Dr Khan's brother says the family now wants his body back home

He says the family is desperately trying to get  Dr Khan's body repatriated so that a post-mortem examination can be carried out.

Dr Khan explained why his family was critical of the Foreign Office for what he saw as its failure to take action.

He said: "We as a family, having found a situation where he was in detention, managed to lobby high-up members in the Syrian government ... we then managed to come home and lobby members of our own Government - without any support whatsoever from the Foreign Office - to give us assistance in travelling to Damascus, meet with President Assad and bring my brother home.

"The Foreign Office put up a 'closed shop' placard, placated us throughout and, to an extent, their lack of action - or inaction - over the past 13 months has contributed to the outcome that we're unfortunately faced with.

Dr Khan went to Syria to help the injured

"The least the Foreign Office can do now is help us get his body back to England as quickly as possible, with as little pain as possible."

Foreign Office minister Hugh Robertson said: "There is no excuse whatsoever for the treatment that he has suffered by the Syrian authorities who have in effect murdered a British national who was in their country to help people injured during their civil war."

A spokesman for David Cameron said: "Of course the Prime Minister sends his sincerest condolences to Dr Khan's family at what is a very difficult time for them.

"We have raised this case with the Syrian regime.

"The central point in this is that the responsibility for the death lies with the Syrian regime.

"This is further evidence of the brutality of the Syrian regime." 

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Ian Watkins: 'I Am Not A Paedophile'

Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins only pleaded guilty to child abuse to avoid a trial and has been "vilified" in the press, his lawyer has told a court.

Watkins is appearing at Cardiff Crown Court where he is due to be sentenced for 13 child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby.

The former Lostprophets frontman's lawyer told the court her client was a "kind and gentle man" and said there was no evidence of him "grooming" fans.

She said that coverage of his trial had been "sensationalist" because of who he is.

Watkins was described by a prosecutor as a "determined and committed paedophile" when he pleaded guilty last month.

His lawyer said the 36-year-old was "ashamed and appalled" by what had happened and that the realisation of his acts made him "feel sick".

The court heard Watkins spoke with a female fan from prison the day after admitting two counts of attempted baby rape and said he was going to issue a statement when he was sentenced saying it had all been "mega lolz".

Christopher Clee QC, prosecuting, told the judge that Watkins had a conversation from Park Prison with a woman on November 27.

Watkins with his former bandmates

Watkins denied being a paedophile and expressed exasperation at the way people had reacted to his guilty pleas.

Using text-speak, he said: "I'm going to put out a statement on the 18th just to say it was mega lolz.

"I do not know what everybody is getting so freaked out about."

Two female co-defendants, aged 21 and 25, have also pleaded guilty and are due to be sentenced. They cannot be named for legal reasons.

The abuse is thought to be so widespread that investigating officers have since launched a nationwide appeal for other potential victims to come forward - and are pursuing new leads after receiving a flurry of calls.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle, from South Wales Police, told Sky News the force is working with Homeland Security in the US, Interpol and police in Germany to identify if any other children have been abused by Watkins.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating whether the force failed to act quickly enough after tip-offs about Watkins, has said it will now also look into South Yorkshire and Bedfordshire forces.

The IPCC said it is investigating the effectiveness of the three forces' responses to reports of abuse made to them between 2008 and 2012.

It said it was aware of a number of reports made to the South Wales Police from members of the public, Crimestoppers or other police forces before the paedophile's arrest in late 2012.

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New Runways For Gatwick And Heathrow Airports

Building a controversial third runway at Heathrow airport has been shortlisted as one of the options for expansion by the Airports Commission in its first report.

The interim findings of an independent inquiry led by the former head of the Financial Services Authority, Sir Howard Davies, has also recommended a second runway for Gatwick airport.

Sir Howard has also said he would consider the idea of building a new airport in the Thames Estuary, plans for which have been backed by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, although he did not include it on the shortlist of options.

He warned if the UK did not expand its airports then it would cost the economy £45bn over 60 years and that to cope with increasing passenger numbers the first new runway should be operation by 2030, the second by 2050.

Sir Howard said: "The UK enjoys excellent connectivity today. The capacity challenge is not yet critical but it will become so if no action is taken soon and our analysis clearly supports the provision of one net additional runway by 2030.

Heathrow dealt with 70 million passengers last year

"In the meantime we encourage the government to act on our recommendations to make the best of our existing capacity."

He said that politicians would have to chose which runway to build first - one at Gatwick or one at Heathrow - as work on them would not be able to be carried out at the same time.

A third runway for Heathrow has met with bitter opposition and the publication of the report will likely trigger a substantial political row.

The Conservative party made its opposition to plans for the airport's expansion – supported by the Labour government - part of its 2010 election manifesto and ruled a third runway out when the coalition came to power.

Among the most vociferous opponents have been Mr Johnson and the Conservative MP, Zac Goldsmith, a keen environmentalist whose constituency is in the flight path.

Mr Johnson told Sky News that building another runway at Heathrow would be "bonkers".

He said that both the new runway options for Heathrow would involve "concreting over the M25 probably closing that major artery for five years at the least".

Plans for a third runway at Heathrow have been controversial

And he said that a second strip for Gatwick would make no difference to dealing with the air traffic.

He said: "A new airport in the inner estuary is the only credible hub option left, and the only one that would uphold this country's claim to be the natural financial, commercial and economic capital of Europe."

Last week he threatened to call for a judicial review if plans for the four-runway airport on the Isle of Grain, which at £112bn would cost five times as much as Heathrow expansion, were not included in the commission's report.

The commission said it had not shortlisted the Thames Estuary plan "because there are too many uncertainties and challenges surrounding them at this stage".

However, it will undertake further study of plans to see whether it was a "credible proposal" and may include it on the shortlist next summer.

Gatwick is running at 85% of its total capacity

The Airport Commission's final report will be submitted in the summer of 2015, after the next General Election, and the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin said the Government would not indicate a preference on options until after that.

Mr Goldsmith, who has suggested he would leave the Tory party over the issue, said last week that any decision by the Prime Minister to back Heathrow expansion would represent an "off-the-scale betrayal".

Heathrow is currently operating at 98% of its capacity with 65m travellers using it in 2012 but the report pointed out that it was so busy passengers suffered "a high level of delay and unreliability".

If it is not allowed to expand, those in favour of a third runway claim that travellers to Europe will opt to fly into airports at Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam instead, at a cost to the UK economy.

Heathrow representatives told the commission that a third runway could be operating by 2029 allowing 260,000 more flights a year.

Boris Johnson says a third runway for Heathrow would be "crackers"

There are two options for the extra runway - to build a 3,500m (11,500ft) strip to the north west of the site or to extend the northern runway to 6,000m (20,000ft) and use one half for take-offs and the other for landings.

The north west option would see 1,500 homes demolished and the loss of 30 listed buildings, the extension would see 720 homes flattened and affect eight listed buildings.

Heathrow chief executive Colin Matthews welcomed the report saying: "This country needs a hub because without that we won't have the long-haul connections that we need."

However, Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP for the South East, said: "The political opposition to airport expansion in south east England is sadly melting away.

"There's no doubt that the Government will be pleased with this report. It gives them the cover they need to go on avoiding answering difficult questions on airport expansion and to prepare themselves for a colossal U-turn on Heathrow expansion."

The idea of expansion at Gatwick, which is currently running at 85% of its capacity and full capacity at peak times, has also met with opposition. It would be built to the south of the existing runway.

Georgia Wrighton, director of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England in Sussex, said: "A second runway at Gatwick, together with sprawling development and car parks anticipated on a massive scale, would concrete over cherished open countryside."

The report did not include options for a new runway for Stansted or Birmingham airports, as had been suggested.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Peer Claims Clocking Row Is 'Storm In Teacup'

Ex-Tory peer Lord Hanningfield has claimed that allegations that he clocked in to the House of Lords for 40 minutes to earn £300 are a "storm in a teacup".

The peer, who was previously jailed during the expenses scandal, was caught on film by the Daily Mirror allegedly 'popping in' to the House of Lords to receive his allowance.

The newspaper said that on 11 of 19 days that it monitored the peer's movements in July, he travelled to Westminster from his home in Essex, but spent less than 40 minutes in the Lords before leaving.

The 73-year-old told Sky News on Tuesday morning the Mirror's investigation was a "lot of rubbish" and that he was previously "wrongly convicted" of expenses fraud.

He said: "This is a lot of rubbish. It's a storm in a tea cup. It's a lot of rubbish about nothing that the Mirror have done.

"I wasn't very well in July, so I didn't spend as long in London as I have in the last three months.

"I wish they had followed me around in the last three months because I have an assistant there now. I've spoken twice in the House of Lords in the last few weeks and asked lots of questions and I intend to carry on doing that.

"Checking in is a mechanism for the Lords to get paid. Most of our work is not actually in the chamber of the House of Commons, it's the post we get, the emails we get, all the letters we get and the problems people bring to us.

"We don't do that in the chamber. But going in the chamber is a mechanism to pay us so that is why we have to go in the chamber. You can do your work at home. You can do your work in the office I have in the Lords."

Paul White, as the peer used to be known, was appointed to the House of Lords in 1998 as a life peer for the Conservative Party after spending many years in local politics in his home county of Essex.

In July 2011 he was jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to six counts of false accounting for wrongly claiming £14,000 in parliamentary expenses.

The jury heard he repeatedly claimed £174 for overnight stays in London when he was not in the capital.

After his release from jail, in July this year the Mirror filmed him as he visited parliament 11 times in 19 days, staying for less than 40 minutes.

It took until December to discover that the peer claimed attendance allowance on each of the 11 days.

There is no suggestion the former Conservative broke any rules, but he faces calls from a Labour MP for him to be investigated by parliamentary authorities.

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