Boy Sought Over University Sex Attacks

Police have said a boy, who could be as young as 12, may be responsible for a string of sex attacks around a university campus.

Greater Manchester Police are linking the assaults which have taken place in the last month near The University of Manchester and have released an evofit image of the young offender which they said made the incidents "even more shocking".

The first two attacks took place within 15 minutes of each other on Saturday September 21.

A 27-year-old was approached from behind and grabbed in Lloyd Street North at 6.15pm before she screamed and the offender ran off.

The next incident followed in Oxford Road when a 21-year-old woman was approached by a boy who made lewd comments as she left John Rylands library.

She carried on walking on Moss Lane East and was sexually assaulted by her assailant who was described as a young Asian boy aged 12 who wore green jeans and glasses.

The third attack took place at the Manchester Science Park in Lloyd Street South at about 2.15pm on Saturday October 5.

A 32-year-old woman was approached by two young boys and sexually assaulted by one of them described as being Asian, 12 to 13 years old, of slim build, with a small frame who wore baggy trousers and carried a rucksack on his back.

She pushed the boy away but he approached her again and sexually assaulted her for a second time before running off towards Pencroft Way in company with the second child, also described as a young Asian boy.

Detective Constable Pam Collins from Longsight Police Station said: "After speaking to the women, we have managed to complete an evofit of the offender. As you can see from the image he looks fairly young which makes these assaults even more shocking.

"After each woman has told the offender to go away he has followed this up with violent threats so we are keen to find this individual as soon as possible.

"I would ask anyone who either recognises the image, witnessed any of the assaults or may have fallen victim to this person to call us."

Anyone with information should phone police on 0161 856 4223 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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Oxfordshire: Fire At Immigration Detention Centre

Two men have been taken to hospital after a fire at an immigration detention centre in Oxfordshire, the Home Office says.

The cause of the blaze at the privately-run Campsfield House centre in Kidlington is not yet known.

A Home Office spokesman said around half the detainees were being moved to other centres because of damage to the building.

The spokesman added: "All the detainees have been accounted for and two male detainees are now in hospital.

"The cause of the fire is being investigated by police and the fire service." 

Campsfield can hold over 200 detainees

The blaze started at 9pm on Friday night in one of the three blocks that make up the centre and was brought under control by midnight.

Ten fire engines were sent to put it out.

Campsfield is a long-term centre where male detainees are kept pending the outcome of their immigration case and subsequent removal.

It is run by MITIE and has space for 216 beds.

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Maradona Assets To Be Frozen Over £33m Debt

Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona has been informed by Italian tax officials that his assets will be frozen to help repay £33m of debt.

Equitalia, Italy's tax collection agency, served Maradona the legal papers while he was staying at a hotel in Milan.

He reportedly signed the documents without incident.

Maradona's debt stems from his time at Italian club Napoli when he guided the team to its only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990.

He is best remembered in the UK for scoring the controversial "Hand of God" goal in Argentina's 2-1 World Cup win over England in 1986.

Maradona's infamous "hand of God"

Previously Maradona has refused to pay the debt, claiming it was the club's responsibility.

Italian officials have used a variety of unconventional tactics to get the money back.

These have included seizing Rolex watches at public events and confiscating expensive earrings while he attended a weight loss clinic.

His fellow Argentine Lionel Messi is another high-profile footballer to run into legal problems over tax evasion.

Messi, who plays for FC Barcelona and is widely recognised as the best player in the world, owes the Spanish government £3.4m in unpaid taxes.

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Mystery Blonde Girl: Greece Charity In Appeal

An international search is under way to identify the parents of a blonde girl found in the care of a couple on a Roma camp in Greece.

DNA tests have shown the four-year-old is not related to the pair - and their accounts of how she came to be living with them differ.

Police found the girl, who recognises the name Maria, during a raid on the camp, in Farsala, central Greece, on Wednesday.

She has now been taken into the care of a Greek charity called The Smile Of The Child, which has put out a Europe-wide alert.

A poster released to help find the girl's parents

A statement from the charity said: "The features of the girl and the controversial claims of the persons who claimed to be the parents of the child led the authorities to collect a DNA sample test.

"The results of DNA testing proved that these people are not the biological parents of the child.

"The Smile of the Child in co-operation with national police authorities is taking all necessary steps to inform the competent actors at national and international level."

The director of The Smile Of The Child praised an observant prosecutor who went on the camp raid along with dozens of police.

Costas Giannopoulos told Greece's Skai TV: "She saw a little blonde head poking out from under the bedclothes. It struck her as odd, and that's how it all started."

The girl recognises the name Maria

Vassilis Halatsis, the police chief handling the case, told Sky News that despite a flood of local and international calls to domestic media and social groups, no parent has come forward to claim the child.

"That makes the case so much more difficult for us," he said.

He said authorities will release pictures of the arrested gypsy couple on Monday and hope it will unravel the mystery surrounding Maria.

Another reason detectives suspect the case could be part of an international trafficking ring is that Greek police records show a related kidnapping case in 2009, the year Maria was born.

Apparently, the couple's various excuses included that the girl was found in a blanket and that she was handed to them by strangers. They later claimed she had a foreign father.

Maria is described as: born around 2009, white, with blue eyes, long blonde hair, 100cm tall and weighing 17kg.

The couple - a 39-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman - have been arrested and are now under investigation for abduction and falsifying identity and family certificates.

They claimed to have 14 children, police said, and had registered different numbers with authorities in three different parts of Greece. Including Maria, the couple only actually had four.

The woman is also said to have claimed to have given birth to six children within a space of less than 10 months.

Police say they also found drugs and unregistered firearms in other parts of the camp, which is about 170 miles (280km) north of Athens.

Officers are now working on the theory that, because of her appearance, Maria may be northern or eastern European.

Her discovery has given hope to the family of Ben Needham - one of the longest-running missing persons cases in British history.

The boy disappeared from outside his grandparent's farmhouse on the Greek island of Kos in 1991.

Ben Needham vanished in Greece 22 years ago

Ben's sister Leighanna told Sky News: "I believe that the camp the little girl was found in was looked at (during the investigation into her brother's disappearance).

"But 22 years ago, the Greek police were scared of the gypsies and pretty much point-blank refused to go into the camps...so our inquiries into these camps never fully got covered."

The case, which some people have likened to the Madeleine McCann disappearance, has raised concerns about how easy it appeared to be for people to get official documents for children who are not their own.

A spokesman for Madeleine's family said: "This gives Kate and Gerry great hope that Madeleine could be found alive."

The Smile Of The Child director Costas Giannopoulos said Maria was being examined by doctors.

"We are shocked by how easy it is for people to register children as their own," he told the Greek TV station Skai.

"There is much more to investigate ... and I believe police will unravel a thread that doesn't just have to do with the girl."

Greece has only acquired a central system of registration for births in the last five months.

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Toddler Dies In House Fire In South Yorkshire

A toddler has died following a house fire in South Yorkshire, police have said.

A neighbour alerted the emergency services to the blaze in Don Street, Conisbrough, near Doncaster.

Two fire crews were on the scene within five minutes, and used breathing apparatus and thermal imaging cameras to search the property.

Shocked neighbour Zoe Backhouse

The two-year-old girl was rescued from a bedroom window by firefighters but died later in hospital.

Police say no-one else was injured in the blaze, which broke out shortly before 8pm on Thursday.

The cause of the fire continues to be investigated, although it appears to have started in bedding in the first-floor bedroom where the girl was found.

Steve Green of South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was too soon to rule out suspicious circumstances, and also revealed that no smoke alarms appeared to have been fitted in the property.

Investigations were continuing as to who was in the building at the time of the fire starting.

Mr Green said: "When the crews arrived there was just the one person in the house, which was the child on the first-floor."

Although the girl has not been named officially, flowers left at the scene were addressed to Libby. One note read: "Love you Libby", while another said: "Sleep tight Libby. Goodnight. God bless."

The upper floor of the house

Neighbour Zoe Backhouse, whose daughter is the same age as the youngster and went to the same nursery, told Sky News: "It's awful to think the family has lost such a little angel.

"They really are a nice family. It's heart-breaking."

Sky's North of England Correspondent Becky Johnson also spoke to another neighbour who witnessed what happened.

Johnson said: "She was in floods of tears. She said it was just a dreadful scene.

"She saw the little girl, who neighbours have told me is called Libby, being brought from the house.

"She said that there was a young teenager, who she understood to be the babysitter, running up and down the street calling out for help.

"She said that when Libby was taken to hospital in the ambulance, it was some 20 minutes later that her mum turned up having been told what happened, and of course was distraught."

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Slavery Fight To Stop Traffickers Steps Up

By Michelle Clifford, Sky News Correspondent

People convicted of human trafficking could face life in jail under new penalties being introduced by the Government to crack down on slavery.

The Modern Slavery Bill, which Home Secretary Theresa May intends to publish in draft later this year, is due to be introduced in 2014.

Ministers want to toughen up the law to give it a "hard edge" and the aim is to have it on the statute book before the end of this Parliament.

Mrs May unveiled plans for the Bill at the Tory party conference last month and it will be informed by evidence sessions in the next two months.

Trafficking victim Rita told Sky News of her ordeal

The Government has told Sky News it is putting "the full weight of its machine" into fighting modern-day slavery.

The changes will make it easier to prosecute traffickers, after a new report showed there was a 25% rise in cases in the UK last year.

Some 1,186 victims were referred to the authorities in 2012 and trafficking from Albania saw the biggest increase - up by 300%.

Of the total, 786 were women and 400 were men, 815 were adults and 371 were children.

The greatest number of potential victims referred came from Nigeria, Vietnam, Albania, Romania and China.

The Bill will pull together the offences used to prosecute slave drivers into a single act.

Home Office minister Damian Green said tougher sentences and sanctions would target gangmasters and criminals who exploit foreigners and many Britons who are also affected.

The senior Tory said the National Crime Agency, which has operations abroad, on the borders and domestically, will have a critical role to play.

"We used to think this was just a international problem but now know there are British citizens who might be trafficked around the country and used in labour gangs," he said.

A new Anti-Slavery Commissioner will be appointed to hold law enforcement and other organisations to account.

And Trafficking Prevention Orders will be used to restrict the activity and movement of convicted traffickers and stop them from committing further offences

As he outlined the new approach, Mr Green also became the first man ever to enter one safe house for trafficked women in the south of England.

Run by the charity Hestia, working alongside the Salvation Army, the refuge houses up to six female victims at one time.

One resident told how she had been duped by a family friend into travelling from Nigeria to the UK with the promise of work and prospects and then forced to become a sex slave.

Police have carried out a series of raids to catch the traffickers

Rita, whose name has been changed to hide her identity, was forced to sleep with many men and women and threatened so that she would not try to run away.

She said: "When it happened it was like a dream to me. I was waiting for someone to wake me up. I couldn't understand what was happening. I ended up being raped by many men.

"He told me if I tried to escape he would kill me and my entire family. I was very frightened. He was evil, horrible. It was a nightmare in my life."

Mr Green pledged to target traffickers using any legal means.

"The gangs and people that traffic people may also be trafficking drugs and guns. They are unlikely to pay taxes so there are lots of ways to bring them down," he said.

In a sign of how seriously the Government is taking the issue, David Cameron personally chaired a meeting this week of all the agencies and departments involved in implementing the Bill.

At the same time, a series of police raids targeted premises believed to house trafficking victims. One swoop in Cambridgeshire saw 80 people released.

As well as legal avenues, the Government is expanding education and awareness programmes, particularly abroad.

Mr Green said they are working with foreign embassies to spread the message that people should be suspicious of promises of a perfect life or the perfect job in the UK.

That is a message Rita only wishes she had heard before she innocently left with that family friend - now a man she despises.

She told me: "I had never heard of this thing (trafficking). I did not understand what was happening. I would really like that they catch the man. I don't know who else he is doing it to."

:: Immigration UK: A week of special coverage on Sky from October 14 to 18 - watch on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad

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Hunt: 'Nation's Shame Of Forgotten Elderly'

Britain should be ashamed of how elderly people are being treated in this country, according to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Mr Hunt said there was a collective "national shame" in ignoring the emotional needs of pensioners who after often isolated and lonely.

Speaking at the National Children and Adults Services (NCAS) conference, he insisted entering old age "should not involve waving goodbye to one's dignity". 

"According to the Campaign to End Loneliness, there are 800,000 people in England who are chronically lonely," Mr Hunt said.

"Some five million people say television is their main form of company - that's 10% of the population.

"We know there is a broader problem of loneliness that in our busy lives we have utterly failed to confront as a society.

"Each and every lonely person has someone who could visit them and offer companionship. A forgotten million who live amongst us - ignored to our national shame."

Campaigners say 800,000 people are chronically lonely

Mr Hunt, who is married to a Chinese woman, compared the way older people are treated in the UK to other cultures.

He said he had been "struck by the reverence and respect for older people in Asian culture", where residential care was only considered as a last resort.

"The social contract is stronger because as children see how their own grandparents are looked after, they develop higher expectations of how they too will be treated when they get old," he said.

"If we are to tackle the challenge of an ageing society, we must learn from this - and restore and reinvigorate the social contract between generations.

"And uncomfortable though it is to say it, it will only start with changes inthe way we personally treat our own parents and grandparents."

Mr Hunt also spoke about cases of abuse in care homes, saying there is a need to apply rigorous, unflinching standards towards the regulation of care in both the private and public sector.

He told delegates that 112,000 cases of alleged abuse were referred by English councils in 2012/13, the majority involving over-65s.

"Something is badly wrong in a society where potentially 1,000 such instances are happening every single week," he said.

Mr Hunt said new Chief Inspector of Social Care, Andrea Sutcliffe, will act as a champion of the people who use the services - the nation's whistleblower-in-chief.

Ms Sutcliffe will start giving ratings to care homes from April 2014, and all locations - some 25,000 in total - will be inspected by March 2016 and then receive official ratings.

"Just as we know how good all our local schools are thanks to rigorous, independent inspections by Ofsted, I want us all to know how good our local care is," Mr Hunt said.

Age UK's charity director, Caroline Abrahams, said a "seismic shift" was needed in attitudes towards older people and ageing.

She added: "At Age UK we are extremely concerned that cuts to local authority budgets are exacerbating the problem of loneliness because they are causing the closure of many support services for older people, like lunch clubs, which can be a lifeline for those on their own.

"These cuts are also pushing to breaking point many families who are trying to care for their older relatives in the absence of adequate support. Caring is often a 24/7 role that can have a huge physical and emotional impact on the carer."

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Care Home Deaths Partly Neglect, Says Coroner

Neglect contributed to the deaths of five elderly residents at the Orchid View Care Home in West Sussex, a coroner has ruled.

Nineteen elderly residents died after being placed in the care home which was closed down two years ago.

Penelope Schofield, the West Sussex coroner, said there was "institutionalised abuse" at Orchid View care home in Copthorne.

Those involved in the neglect of pensioners at the now defunct home should be "ashamed", she said as it was announced a serious case review has been set up.

A five-week inquest heard how some residents were given wrong doses of medication, left soiled and unattended due to staff shortages and there was a lack of management.

Call bells were also often not answered for long periods or could not be reached by elderly people living at the home, which was deemed "an accident waiting to happen".

"There was institutionalised abuse throughout the home and it started, in my view, at a very early stage, and nobody did anything about it," Ms Schofield said.

"This, to me, was from the top down. It was completely mismanaged and understaffed and failed to provide a safe environment for residents."

Ms Schofield said it was "disgraceful" that the home was allowed to be run in the way it was for around two years. She criticised the Care Quality Commission which gave Orchid View a "good" rating in 2010 - a year before it shut.

"I question how this could be the case and I question whether the inspection that did take place was fit for purpose", Ms Schofield added.

She went on: "It's a heart-breaking case. We all have parents who will probably need care in the latter part of their lives."

And she said a cause for concern was that many people who worked at Orchid View are still working in the industry.

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Madeleine McCann: 500 Calls From Germany

German broadcaster ZDF has received 500 phone calls and emails after airing a programme on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Madeleine's parents launched an appeal for information to help them find their daughter on the television show "Aktenzeichen XY ungeloest," Germany's version of BBC's Crimewatch programme.

Some 7.26 million people watched the show, its highest rating in 15 years.

E-fit images of a man police want to talk to in connection with the case

The missing girl's mother Kate McCann told the programme: "Please have the compassion and courage to tell us what happened to her."

It is not known how many of the 500 tip-offs will prove useful to police, who received 150 phone calls from the public after a similar appeal was aired on Dutch television.

Officers at Scotland Yard said they received the calls after the appeal was broadcast on the crime programme Opsporing Verzocht.

Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry said they were "absolutely delighted" with the "overwhelming" response to the new appeal for information about their daughter's disappearance which first featured on Crimewatch.

Following a similar appeal on Norway's TV2 channel, a Norwegian woman claimed to have seen a girl resembling Madeleine with a strange man when she was on holiday in Spain two years ago.

Detectives have released two e-fit images of a man they want to speak to in connection with the case based on the accounts of two witnesses.

Both described seeing him in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of the three-year-old's disappearance on May 3, 2007.

:: Madeleine: The New Investigation, Friday at 7.30pm on Sky News

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Hodgson Monkey Joke 'Should Be Investigated'

World Cup: Don't Get Carried Away

Updated: 12:40pm UK, Thursday 17 October 2013

By Nick Powell, Sports Editor

Roy Hodgson is right. Let's try not to get carried away.

"The World at England's Feet," thundered The Times after the 2-0 Wembley win over Poland that confirmed the treasured passage to Rio.

No it isn't.

"Just like watching Brazil," said the Mirror.

No it wasn't.

We'd better get used to the hype - despite England's urbane, measured, seen-it-all manager Hodgson doing his best to spread some reality in the cold light of the afternoon after the supercharged night before.

"We won't be favourites, that's for sure," he smiled. But even he couldn't resist adding : "I don't think too many teams will be thinking 'whoopee, we have got England, what an easy one!'"

Fair enough. But there are an uncomfortable number of blots on England's world cup landscape.

Here's a quiz question: where are Tuesday's beaten opponents Poland in the world rankings?

The answer is 69th, which helps put England's Wembley performance into perspective - laudable and encouraging though Hodgson's attacking approach certainly was.

England themselves are 10th and will not be among the top seeds when the draw for next summer's tournament is made in December.

That means they could find themselves in a group with Spain, Brazil, Germany or Argentina.

If they do, that might at least dampen expectations a little. Which would help, because our national propensity to get overexcited about these things can build its own pressure, which in turn makes it harder for England to play without fear, in the words of Steven Gerrard.

The captain spoke sensibly, too, about the need to maintain possession of the ball better.

It's worth remembering the uninspiring draws against Ukraine, Poland and Montenegro earlier in qualifying. Better teams might have taken England apart.

Two enterprising victories, under pressure, to qualify for Rio cannot paper over the cracks.

England still have too few top players to choose from. FA chairman Greg Dyke's commission - aimed at improving the national team - is no less valid than it was a week ago.

Aside from the foreign dominance, the fiercely competitive nature of the Premier League - over a longer season than most rivals - brings its own concerns.

Can England keep their key men fit? If Gerrard, late in an arduous domestic campaign, has to stretch like he did to score against Poland, will something twang?

Must we brace ourselves for another summer of Beckhamesque metatarsal mania?

Even without injuries, history and geography are against England.

No European nation has ever won a World Cup in South or North America. And if England are drawn to play in Manaus, within the Amazon Basin, they could face high humidity and temperatures around 31C (90F).

They will, however, be prepared. Club England managing director Adrian Bevington has been visiting Brazil for two years, scouting stadia, hotels and training venues.

Management at the FA is now modern and efficient. England are unlikely to be found wanting off the field.

Lessons have been learned from Fabio Capello's miserable camp at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as was already evident at Euro 2012 in Poland.

Hodgson's squad appear happier, more relaxed. He claimed, with some justification: "We are making progress, we are getting better."

There are reasons to be cheerful.

Let's just try to keep our feet on the ground.

And hope we don't have to endure a penalty shootout.

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Savile 'Caught With Young Girl In Rolls' Appeal

A man who claimed he caught Jimmy Savile parked in a lay-by with a young girl has been urged to contact police.

Paul Leonard, 68, told reporters he was working for Leeds City Police in the 1960s when he spotted the shamed DJ's Rolls-Royce in a secluded spot near Roundhay Golf Club in Leeds.

He claimed Savile warned him: "I'm waiting for midnight when she turns 16... so p**s off if you want to keep your job."

In the interview with the Daily Mirror, Mr Leonard, whose name was changed at his request, said: "There wasn't a copper in Leeds who didn't know Savile was a pervert."

West Yorkshire Police are appealing for the man, who also spoke on BBC Radio 2, to get in touch.

A spokesman said: "During West Yorkshire Police's recent Operation Newgreen investigation into Savile, the force repeatedly appealed for anyone with information to contact us.

Part of a transcript of a police interview with Jimmy Savile

"We made extensive appeals both within the organisation and publicly through the media for anyone with information, including serving and former officers, to contact us.

"To our knowledge, Mr Leonard was not one of those who made contact.

"Given that (he) used a pseudonym, a false name, in his media interviews, his identity or the content of what he says is very difficult to verify.

"We are however keen to speak to Mr Leonard in order that this can be investigated thoroughly."

Mr Leonard claimed it was common knowledge among Leeds City Police, which later became West Yorkshire Police, that Savile "liked them young", but said his influence meant officers were too scared to confront him.

He said the girl in the car was "definitely young", adding: "She looked around 15, and dressed herself like the model Twiggy."

"I looked over to her and asked her if she was OK, and she just smiled at me but didn't say anything," he said.

The former DJ is thought to have sexually assaulted up to 450 people

"Looking back I feel bad about it but he had so much influence. I would definitely have lost my job."

Later, at the end of his shift, he recounted the incident to his sergeant who told him: "Shut up, son, he's got friends in high places. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave it there."

On Wednesday, it emerged the police watchdog is investigating claims a former inspector acted on behalf of Savile before he was interviewed by officers over alleged sex crimes.

It came a day after transcripts of a 40-minute interview detailing Savile's suspected sexual abuse were made public for the first time.

Savile is suspected to have raped 34 women and girls and sexually assaulted up to 450 people, including some as young as eight, according to an official report.

He died in 2011, aged 84.

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Energy Bills: British Gas Ups Prices By 9.2%

British Gas has become the second major supplier of household energy to announce a rise in its prices - by an average 9.2%.

The company said its electricity and gas prices will rise by 10.4% and 8.4% respectively from November 23 - affecting 7.8 million households.

Regional variations mean some Scottish customers will see prices rise on average by as much as 11.2% while those in London will suffer a 10.6% increase and households in Yorkshire will have a 10.5% lift.

The move comes despite a pledge by British Gas earlier this year to use an annual earnings windfall from the cold weather last winter to keep a lid on tariffs.

Angry customers took to Twitter to complain ahead of an already planned Q&A session with customer services director Bert Pijls.

Twitter users flocked to complain ahead of a British Gas Q&A session

One user asked: "Hey @BritishGas how many vulnerable people do you think you will push into fuel poverty whilst continuing to make billions in profit?"

The average increase is higher in percentage terms than that confirmed by rival SSE last week which is raising its bills by 8.2% from November 15, although research from price comparison website uSwitch suggested it brought their average dual fuel tariffs together in terms of cost.

The Prime Minister David Cameron described the latest increase as "disappointing" and urged households to try to save money by switching suppliers.

E.ON, Scottish Power, EDF Energy and npower are the other so-called 'big six' providers yet to make announcements on their winter pricing.

Electricity prices are rising faster than those for gas

British Gas said it was a hard decision for the company, which is owned by Centrica.

Its statement said: "We recognise that energy bills are a real worry for hard-pressed households, particularly at a time when the cost of living is rising faster than incomes.

"Today's announcement, which will add about £2 a week to the average dual fuel bill, reflects the increasing cost of: buying energy in global markets, delivering gas and electricity to the home, and the Government's social and environmental programmes, which are paid for through customers' bills."

It pledged that more than 500,000 of its elderly and most in-need customers would be protected by an automatic discount to offset the price increase throughout the winter - worth £60 per dual fuel household.

This was, British Gas said, in addition to the £135 that will be paid to many of these customers who qualify for the Government's Warm Home Discount scheme.

Ed Miliband used Labour's conference to announce his 'bill freeze' plan

Ian Peters, managing director of British Gas Residential Energy, added: "I know these are difficult times for many customers and totally understand the frustration that so many household costs keep on rising when incomes aren't keeping pace.

"We haven't taken this decision lightly, but what's pushing up energy prices at the moment are costs that are not all directly under our control, such as the global price of energy, charges that we have to pay for using the national grid that delivers energy to the home, and the cost of the Government's social and environmental programmes.

"Energy efficiency is the best way to keep bills down, and I encourage anyone who has not benefitted from them to go online and check if they are eligible."

The cost of energy bills sparked a political frenzy last month when the Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged to freeze prices for 20 months if his party won power at the 2015 general election.

Shares in both SSE and British Gas-owner Centrica fell sharply in the wake of the announcement, wiping a combined £2.7bn off the value of the firms.

Caroline Flint, Labour's Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said: "These latest price rises show clearer than ever why Labour's price freeze is needed.

"People are sick and tired of being left out of pocket because of David Cameron's failure to stand up to the energy companies.

"Britain's energy market isn't working for ordinary families and businesses. Labour's energy freeze will save money for 27 million households and 2.4 million businesses and our plans to reset the market will deliver fairer prices in the future."

In an interview with Sky News, Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: "I think British Gas is going to lose a lot of customers over this.

"British Gas in their press release is trying to blame the Government for social and environmental costs but we've looked at their figures and it looks like they're being very inefficient in managing these Government programmes."

Ministers have been encouraging households to switch suppliers as the best way of keeping their bills as low as possible.

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Plebgate: IPCC Questions Police 'Honesty'

Key Dates Of The Plebgate Scandal

Updated: 2:27pm UK, Tuesday 15 October 2013

The row over Andrew Mitchell's argument with a police officer in Downing Street has resurfaced three months on. Here are the key developments.

:: September 4 - Andrew Mitchell is appointed Chief Whip in David Cameron's first Cabinet reshuffle.

:: September 19 - Mr Mitchell tries to cycle out of the Downing Street main gates but is stopped by a police officer who tells him he must use a side exit.

The officer on duty makes a log of the encounter, claiming that the Chief Whip swore and called police "plebs".

:: September 20 - Deputy Chief Whip John Randall is sent an email apparently from a constituent claiming he and his nephew witnessed the altercation.

It claims passers-by had been shocked and suggests some could have filmed it, as well as repeating the "plebs" allegation.

:: September 21 - The Sun runs a story on the row titled "Cabinet minister: police are plebs".

Mr Mitchell apologises for not "treating the police with the respect they deserve" but denies using the language reported.

David Cameron says he has apologised and allows him to keep his job but the Police Federation insist he has to go.

:: September 24 - Mr Mitchell says sorry on television as the row refuses to die away but his apology is dismissed as lacklustre and calls grow for him to quit.

Labour calls on Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood to launch an investigation but the appeal is rejected.

:: September 25 - The Daily Telegraph publishes the full police log of the row, piling yet more pressure on the senior Tory.

:: October 4 - Mr Mitchell pulls out of the Tory party conference to avoid being a "distraction".

:: October 12 - The Chief Whip meets representatives of the Police Federation at his constituency office in Sutton Coldfield but officers remain dissatisfied.

:: October 17 - Labour leader Ed Miliband declares that Mr Mitchell is "toast" during Prime Minister's Questions and accuses the Tories of "double standards".

:: October 19 - Mr Mitchell meets David Cameron at Chequers and resigns but continues to deny using the word "plebs".

:: December 15 - Officers investigating the leak of the police log arrest a serving police officer with the diplomatic protection squad on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

:: December 18 - Allegations emerge that the officer was behind the email to Mr Randall in September but never actually witnessed the argument.

New CCTV footage which appears to conflict with the official police account is also revealed by Channel 4 News.

Mr Mitchell claims he is the victim of a "stitch-up" and demands a full inquiry. Number 10 calls the allegations "exceptionally serious".

Met Police Chief Bernard Hogan-Howe says nothing he has seen affects the original police account.

:: December 19 - Police widen their probe into the case to include the email allegations and the possibility of a police "conspiracy".

David Cameron calls for the claims that an officer tried to "blacken the name of a Cabinet minister" to be "seriously investigated".

Senior Tory figures brand the latest developments "appalling" and suggestions begin that Mr Mitchell could soon be back on the front bench.

A 23-year-old man is arrested at 8pm by Scotland Yard on suspicion of intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable offence in relation to the affair.

:: December 20 - The second arrested man is released on bail, to return in January.

2013

:: January 31 - A police officer from the Diplomatic Protection Group is held on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

:: February 1 - A female police officer tasked with protecting Government officials is arrested over alleged leaks linked to the Mitchell row.

:: June 15 - A 48-year-old diplomatic protection group officer is arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and a woman, aged 49, is detained on suspicion of assisting an offender.

:: October 15 - The IPCC questions the "honesty and integrity" of three police officers who gave interviews after Andrew Mitchell's meeting with Police Federation representatives last October.

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London Zoo's Tiger Cub Is Found Drowned

The first tiger cub to be born at London Zoo for 17 years has died.

Keepers are said to be distraught after the two-week-old cub was discovered on the edge of the pool inside the tigers' enclosure.

"They work very closely with the tigers, so it is incredibly sad news for them," said a zoo spokeswoman.

When five-year-old Sumatran tiger Melati gave birth to the cub the event was recorded on cameras hidden in the den.

Keepers raised the alarm in the early hours of Saturday when they could not see the cub on CCTV.

The spokeswoman said a post-mortem on Sunday confirmed the cub had drowned.

Zoo keepers said mother Melati could be nervous

Melati is thought to have carried the cub outside, but keepers are unclear as to how the cub got into the pool as there are no cameras in the wider enclosure.

Curator Malcolm Fitzpatrick said: "We're heartbroken by what's happened. To go from the excitement of the birth to this in three weeks is just devastating.

"Melati can be a very nervous animal and we didn't want to risk putting her on edge by changing her surroundings or routines, in case she abandoned or attacked the cub.

"At the time we thought it was in the best interests of Melati and her cub to allow her continued access to the full enclosure as normal.

"We would do anything to turn back the clock, and nobody could be more upset about what's happened than the keepers who work with the tigers every day.

"They are devoted to those tigers and are distraught."

Melati's pregnancy lasted around 105 days and was kept secret by the zoo. The keepers kept a careful watch on the first-time mother through the cameras so they would not disturb her.

Disappointing news from Tian Tian in Edinburgh

Meanwhile, Edinburgh Zoo has said the UK's female giant panda, Tian Tian, has lost her foetus. It said she had been successfully inseminated, but lost the foetus at late term.

A statement said: "All of her hormonal and behavioural signs now indicate that she had conceived and carried a foetus until late term, but then lost it."

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Madeleine McCann Kidnap 'Was Pre-Planned'

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 9:48am UK, Monday 14 October 2013

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: Feb 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: Feb 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: Feb 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

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Madeleine McCann Appeal: Response Welcomed

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 9:48am UK, Monday 14 October 2013

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: Feb 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: Feb 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: Feb 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

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Madeleine McCann: Appeal Falls Flat In Portugal

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 9:48am UK, Monday 14 October 2013

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: Feb 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: Feb 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: Feb 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

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Serial Manchester Rapist Jailed For Life

By Mike McCarthy, Manchester Crown Court

A "sadistic" serial rapist who targeted lone women while cruising Manchester's streets in his works van has been jailed for life.

Adam Downworth subjected his five victims to brutal sexual assaults, with one woman needing reconstructive surgery to her face and another strangled until she was unconscious.

The 32-year-old randomly selected lone females while driving around Stockport and Gorton at night, before stalking them on foot.

Police in the area became so fearful of further attacks during the office cleaner's 10-month reign of terror that they began offering women lifts home in patrol cars.

In sentencing Downworth, the judge at Manchester Crown Court said: "The vicious physical attacks were accompanied by verbal assaults calculated to terrify and humiliate."

He was told he would serve a minimum of 15 years in prison.

Some of the books found by police at Downworth's home

There were cheers and applause from the public gallery as the sentence was delivered, with one woman shouting: "I hope he dies a slow death."

The court previously heard Downworth took a "sadistic pleasure" in the attacks.

He evaded detection by wearing surgical gloves during his first four rapes, but was spotted fleeing after his fifth assault - which lasted around 40 minutes.

Officers found him and his van nearby, before using CCTV of his van, petrol receipts and mobile phone records to link him to the other attacks.

Searches of his home later revealed martial arts manuals and books on choking and strangling, forensic science and the psychological profiling of criminals.

The court heard he told one victim: "I'll have to kill you now", after attacking her - but that she had managed to escape bloodstained and covered in dirt.

Victims suffered serious and lasting psychological harm and people in the pubic gallery in court wept while hearing the women's accounts of how their lives had changed.

One described attempting suicide, while another said she had had difficulty in speaking and chewing as a result of injuries sustained during her beating.

"My life has changed so much since the attack," one woman told the court.

"The smallest noise scares me. I have flashbacks of the night it happened. I find it hard to chew because my jaw was broken in so many places.

"If I walk anywhere on my own I am always looking over my shoulder. I am scared of my own shadow. I am not the same person and never will be.

"What saved my life was my daughters. I was thinking this could be one if them. I used every last little bit of my strength. I thought I was going to die.

"I just went numb after all the kicks in the face. My face is in constant pain. It is like I am dreaming. I look in the mirror and I don't look or feel like the same person."

Another victim said: "Every time I look in the mirror it brings it all back. I have tried to hide the scars in my face with make-up but it doesn't work. The attack has made my face look rough. I will never feel truly safe again."

One woman told the court:  "I was a happy person. I always used to see the best in people. Now I only see the worst. I put up barriers. I am cynical about all men now. Adam Downworth made me feel worthless. But I will move on. I will try to find happiness."

He used a mobile phone stolen off one victim to send crude, threatening and sexual text messages to strangers found on Facebook.

In one he said: "You are a proper slag from what I hear.  Dya really fink really ur so atraktive, ha."

He was found guilty after a three-month trial of 13 charges including rape, attempted rape, assault by penetration and assault occasioning grious bodily harm.

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Immigration: Britons Want 'Drastic Action'

By Joey Jones, Deputy Political Editor

The Home Secretary has insisted the Government is tackling immigration after a Sky News poll revealed a demand for "drastic action".

Theresa May told Sky News steps were already being taken to tighten rules on migrants' access to benefits as she noted the findings of the survey.

It found more than two thirds of the British public believe the UK population is too large and want the Government to go further. 

Some 67% of people questioned said the coalition's attempt to reduce net migration to 100,000 a year was not sufficient and that more should be done.

The poll of 1,508 adults was conducted for Sky News by Survation

More than a quarter of those polled (27%) believe the wave of immigration Britain has experienced in the last decade has brought no positive benefit to the nation.

And more than half (52%) say they will be more likely to vote for a party that promises to "significantly" reduce the level of migration.

The poll, conducted by Sky News as part of a week-long examination of the issue of immigration, found the people most concerned about the impact of immigration are the ones least likely to have been exposed to migrants.

For example, 71% of people who live in the countryside think drastic action is needed, compared with 53% in urban areas.

And 71% of people who don't know any immigrants well support drastic action, compared with 58% who say they know immigrants well.

Mrs May insisted: "The Government understands that people have about immigration and concerns that over the years perhaps people feel politicians haven't addressed this in the way that they should.

Two thirds of the rising population is likely to come from immigration

"Immigration overall has been good for the country. What is a problem is when immigration is not controlled when we see it putting pressure on jobs, wages and public services.

"Some people have raised concerns about people getting access to benefits. We are tightening up the rules on people claiming benefits and a number of other areas as well."

She denied Government "scaremongering" was to blame for the finding that those with the strongest feelings about migrants lived in areas the least affected.

David Cameron's spokesman agreed the issue was a "real priority" for people and said the Government was taking "very real and important measures in this area".

Chancellor George Osborne, speaking from Beijing, also stressed the determination to cut immigration and pointed out it had already fallen by a third since 2010.

He told Sky News: "We inherited a situation from the Labour government where they had signed away all these treaties which allowed these new countries to join the European Union to come to Britain.

"There were no controls on the borders. We have got a grip on that situation. David Cameron, Theresa May and the whole government have imposed limits on immigration."

Championing foreign investment, he added: "One of the things Britain has to do is not rely on immigration for its economic success. We need to go and make our own way in the world."

Boris Johnson, also in Beijing, told Sky's Mark Stone that "in an ideal world" Mr Cameron would make control over access from EU countries part of his renegotiation with Brussels.

He called for longer periods before people coming to Britain could claim UK benefits, but admitted the way forward was now "very, very hard".

"You have got to crack down on illegal immigrants and stop them coming with a much tougher border regime. But at the same time you don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater," he said.

"We have had something like a 60% reduction in imigration from New Zealand and I'm not sure that is entirely what we wanted to achieve."

The UK population is set to rise from 62 million in 2010 to 73 million by 2035.

Approximately two thirds of the increased population is likely to come from increased immigration.

Between 2001 and 2011 the population of England and Wales grew by 3.7 million - the biggest increase in 200 years - with 2.1 million immigrants accounting for the majority of the increase.

The poll of 1,508 adults - conducted for Sky News by Survation - found widespread concern among the public about the impact immigration has had on public services.

The majority of those questioned believe the NHS, education system, and housing and welfare systems have been negatively affected by immigration.

And almost three quarters (74%) are concerned about the prospect of Romanians and Bulgarians being allowed free entry to Britain later this year.

Almost two thirds of those who took part in the poll (64%) believe employers should be given tax breaks for employing young, unemployed Britons.

And over half (52%) say companies should be forced to offer jobs to UK-born workers first.

Some 42% of those questioned believe the current debate about immigration in the UK is being unfairly shut down by accusations of racism.

A similar number, 40%, feel they will be labelled a bigot if they raise the issue in public.

In some good news for the coalition, almost two thirds of people (63%) support a new rule for British people to have a minimum income of £18,600 if they want to bring a non-EU spouse into the country.

A similar number, 65%, agree with a Home Office proposal that travellers from certain countries judged to be "high-risk" should pay a £1,000 bond to be allowed to visit Britain.

:: Immigration UK: A week of special coverage on Sky from October 14 to 18 - watch on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad

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Madeleine McCann: Suspect Seen Carrying Child

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 9:48am UK, Monday 14 October 2013

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: Feb 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: Feb 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: Feb 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

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Boris And Osborne In China To Push Trade

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent in Beijing

The Chancellor and the Mayor of London will announce a raft of deals during separate trade visits to China, including a partnership to develop Manchester Airport.

Shortly after his arrival, George Osborne said 'Airport City' - five million square feet of land next to the airport which will become  retail, office and manufacturing space - would be built in conjunction with Beijing Construction Engineering Group.

"£800m of investment; 16,000 new jobs; one of the biggest developments since the Olympic games, and I think it shows our economic plan of doing more business with China and also making sure that more economic activity happens outside the city of London is working," he told Sky News.

"That's good for Britain and is good for British people."

Similar projects in Amsterdam and Frankfurt have proved successful and eased congestion at other airports.

Alongside the commercial strands of his visit, the Chancellor will also hold governmental meetings with his Chinese counterpart Ma Kai, the first face-to-face bilateral ministerial contact between the UK and China for over a year.

The UK has been in the political dog house with China since May 2012 when David Cameron and Nick Clegg chose to meet and be photographed with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet.

The meeting enraged Beijing given the controversial claim China holds over Tibet.

An £800m investment in Manchester Airport will create thousands of jobs

Asked by Sky's Dermot Murnaghan about the conflict between China's human-rights record and forging stronger business links with the country, Boris Johnson said his job was to promote the interests of London.

"My job as Mayor is not to have a foreign policy but to get on and promote the interests of the greatest city on earth which is what we're doing," he said.

"There are many interesting foreign policy problems around the world I could get involved in, whether or not that would improve global hopes for a resolution, I have my reservations.

"This is not the reason I'm here in China. I think we can respectfully move on to the real agenda which is intensifying links between London and China."

Mr Osborne is travelling with the UK Trade Minister Lord Green, City Minister Lord Deighton and the Minister for Science and Innovation, David Willetts.

With them are executives from a variety of British technology companies who will try to showcase the best of Britain's digital technology industry in China.

The delegation will hope the trip allows UK companies to gain access to the rapidly expanding Chinese market.

"The Chinese economy is changing," Mr Osborne said.

Chinese tech company Huawei is investing £1.3bn in British broadband

"Those who think it is just a low-wage, low-tech economy are making a mistake.

"It is becoming a cutting edge player in industries like technology and this is a huge opportunity for Britain."

The Chancellor will lead the delegation to the Shenzhen-based headquarters of Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications manufacturer, and TenCent, the world's third largest gaming and social media firm.

Huawei's growing footprint in Europe and America has caused controversy, with some suggesting that Chinese involvement in Western telecoms firms poses a security risk.

Despite that, Huawei has already pledged to invest £1.3bn in the UK's broadband network over the next four years.

Mr Osborne's visit is a clear endorsement of the company.

Diplomats point out that inward Chinese investment to the UK in the last 18 months has been greater than the past 30 years combined, despite the row over the Dalai Lama meeting, for which the UK has refused to apologise.

The London Mayor's trip is separate but the broad objectives are the same.

Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg met the Dalai Lama last year

Mr Johnson is travelling with the chief executives of several large companies including Justin King of Sainsbury's and Marc Bolland of Marks & Spencer.

He will spend three days in Beijing, where he will visit a UK brands fair, take a ride on the subway and attend a private meeting with China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, whose company Dalian Wanda is investing heavily in the Nine Elms area of London.

Mr Johnson will then travel to Shanghai before ending his trip in Hong Kong.

Both men are effectively cashing in on the thawing of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

By the end of the week, they hope to have signed a variety of deals, forged new relationships and facilitated meetings between UK and Chinese firms.

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Madeleine McCann Timeline Of Events 'Wrong'

British detectives working on the Madeleine McCann investigation have revealed that key details in the timeline of her disappearance were wrong.

The revised details will be documented in a new Crimewatch appeal on the case to be broadcast on Monday.

Speaking ahead of the BBC programme, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "The timeline we have now established has given new significance to sightings and movements of people in and around Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

"Our work to date has significantly changed the timeline and the accepted version of events that has been in the public domain to date.

"It has allowed us to work with Crimewatch to build the most detailed reconstruction as yet, and highlight very specific appeal points.

"I hope that when the public see our investigative strands drawn together within the overall context of that appeal, it will bring in new information that moves our investigation forward."

The timeline of Madeleine's disappearance has 'significantly changed'

The full reconstruction of the events six years ago when Madeleine went missing starts with a scene of Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry playing tennis.

Madeleine, dressed in pink shorts, T-shirt and hat, then runs across the court, holding a batch of tennis balls.

In another clip, the McCanns are asked how often they think of their daughter, who went missing when she was three years old on May 3, 2007 from a holiday apartment as her parents dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.

Mr McCann says: "When it's a special occasion, when you should be your happiest and Madeleine's not there, that's when it really hits home. Obviously, Madeleine's birthday goes without saying."

Mrs McCann adds: "It's when you have big family occasions really. That's it isn't it? 'Family occasion' and you haven't got your complete family."

During the programme, DCI Redwood discusses how the police have approached the inquiry.

Gerry and Kate McCann tell Crimewatch their anguish is undiminished

He says: "Primarily what we sought to do from the beginning is try and draw everything back to zero if you like. Try and take everything back to the beginning and re-analyse and reassess everything, accepting nothing.

"The careful and critical analysis of the timeline has been absolutely key.

"Primarily, we're focused on the area between 8.30pm and 10pm. We know at 8.30pm that was the time Mr and Mrs McCann went down to the tapas area for their dinner and we know that around at 10pm that was when Mrs McCann found that Madeleine was missing."

A number of e-fits are also to be shown in the appeal in a bid to "identify the men and eliminate innocent sightings".

Scotland Yard detectives, who have interviewed 442 people as part of their review-turned-investigation, hope to track down as many people present in the Portuguese town at the time.

Since launching its own investigation, 41 people of interest have been identified by the Met Police, including 15 UK nationals.

Madeleine seen on the day before she went missing in May 2007

Detectives have issued 31 international letters of request to mostly European countries in relation to some of the persons of interest as well as accessing phone records.

A large but "manageable" list of phone numbers identified as being in Praia da Luz - though not necessarily used to make phone calls - has been drawn up by detectives with a "significant" number unattributed to any named person.

British detectives launched a fresh investigation in July this year - two years into a review of the case.

The Met Police now has a team of six Portuguese detectives based in Faro who are carrying out inquiries on its behalf.

The Portuguese investigation is officially closed but authorities there are backing the Scotland Yard inquiry and officers from both countries are working together in pursuing new leads.

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False Widow Spider Gives Boy 'Red Raw' Wound

A schoolboy who was bitten by Britain's most venomous spider has said the creature left him with a "red raw" wound and a "burning sensation" in his arm.

William Fraser was bitten by the flesh-eating false widow spider as he slept at his home in Sutton, south London.

The spiders are on the march in Britain, migrating from southern England where they are most commonly found to counties further north.

"My arm was swollen," William told Sky News. "It was hot and I felt faint.

"My forearm was red raw and I could feel this burning sensation before a blister appeared."

Louisa Giordano and her husband, who live nearby, suffered a similar night-time encounter.

Spider bite victims Louisa Giordano and William Fraser

She described the experience as "unnerving", adding: "Every time I see a spider, I break into a cold sweat.

"I'm always looking around to make sure there's none nearby."

The bites are the latest to involve the false widow, or Steatoda nobilis, which is thought to have arrived in Britain from the Canary Islands more than 100 years ago.

An amateur footballer from Dawlish, Devon, was left unable to play after a bite meant he required emergency surgery.

Meanwhile, a mum in Hirwaun near Aberdare, south Wales, has described stumbling across a nest of 50 of the spiders outside her garden shed.

The false widow can cause serious allergic reactions but is less venomous than its more famous cousin, the black widow.

There are no reports of anyone having been killed by the species.

James Reynolds, who works at Cotswold Wildlife Park in Burford, Oxfordshire, said the spider is "not too dangerous", although reactions to bites can vary from person to person.

"They give you a bad bite and you might experience some swelling or some chest pains," he said.

"But I wouldn't be concerned at all. They're not aggressive and although they can be found around garden sheds, they're not often seen in built up areas when you're most likely to come into contact with them."

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