Muslim Free School Threatened With Closure

A Muslim free school could be closed if it does not take "swift action" about how it is being run, the Government has warned.

The Department of Education has written to the Al-Madinah Free School in Derby, demanding that it address concerns about its practices.

According to the letter sent by Schools Minister Lord Nash, it has failed to keep pupils safe, provide a good education and has discriminated against female staff.

He said the school had "manifestly breached" its conditions and could expect to be closed down if it does not make immediate changes.

The letter comes after claims that female teachers at the school were forced to wear hijabs even if they were not Muslim. Other reports alleged female pupils were made to sit at the back of classrooms and boys at the front.

The school has been given a week to prove it has stopped any activities that could lead to women and girls being treated "less favourably" than men and boys.

It will have to show that it is meeting equality laws in any case where it proposes separating boys and girls or treating them differently.

It has also been ordered to tell staff they are not required to cover their hair if it is against their religion or beliefs.

Lord Nash told head of governors Shazia Parveen: "I will not tolerate breaches of the commitments you gave when entering into the funding agreement."

Further action that the school must take in the next few weeks includes showing it has a "broad and balanced" curriculum and welcomes children of all faiths and none.

The Department of Education has also demanded a full list of all staff, including their references and evidence of criminal record checks.

Lord Nash said: "Unless swift action is taken to address these concerns in a comprehensive way, I will be compelled to terminate the school's funding agreement."

This effectively means that the school will face closure if it fails to deal with the Government's concerns.

Al-Madinah, which is one of the Government's flagship free schools, opened in September last year.

On its website, it describes a "strong Muslim ethos" with shorter holidays and longer school days "to maximise opportunities for pupil achievement and success".

It adds: "At the centre of our school is a community of pupils, able to enjoy learning in a caring Islamic environment which promotes a culture of high expectations and outstanding performance."

Interim principal Stuart Wilson told the BBC last week that he had not received any complaints from colleagues over the school's dress code and denied pupils had been split up.

There is speculation the school will be branded inadequate by watchdog Ofsted in findings due out soon.

Al-Madinah was already forced to close last week after inspectors raised concerns about its records on staff checks.

It reopened to pupils on Monday after a return Ofsted visit to ensure the right measures were in place.

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw said: "Inspectors are now engaged in finalising the inspection report for Al-Madinah School, which we expect to be able to publish in the next few days."

Al-Madinah declined to comment on the letter.

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Help To Buy Scheme: First Rates Are Revealed

The first mortgage rates on offer under the latest phase of the Government's Help to Buy scheme have been described by the lender as "fair and competitive."

The second phase of the controversial scheme - aimed at helping more people get on the property ladder - sees Help to Buy extended to cover old homes too instead of just new-build properties.

It will see 15% of a property's value guaranteed by taxpayers, in return for a fee from the lender, to help homebuyers obtain mortgages worth up to 95% of a property's value.

RBS and its Natwest subsidiary said they would be offering two and five-year fixed rate deals at 4.99% and 5.49% interest rates respectively with no fee. The brands expect a rush of interest - signing up 25,500 first and next time buyers over three years.

Virgin Money is among the lenders taking part

The banks confirmed 740 of their branches would extend opening hours for two weeks to cope with expected demand but Lloyd Cochrane - their head of mortgages - told Sky News there would be no reckless lending with potential customers facing tough affordability checks.

He said: "We ensure based on what they earn and what they spend that they can afford the mortgage now but really importantly we ensure they can afford the mortgage at a rate of 7% so that gives us and our customers the confidence that they can afford the mortgage into the long term."

Halifax - owned by Lloyds Banking Group - later confirmed its offering: A two-year fixed rate at 5.19% with a £995 product fee and said customers would be able to apply for the mortgages from Friday.

HSBC said it would be taking part later in the year, making it the first major player with no taxpayer support to sign up.

Virgin Money and the start-up Aldermore Bank will join from January while Barclays and Santander UK are still considering whether to participate.

The scheme had initially not been expected to start until the new year but was brought forward by three months.

The PM wants mortgages to be affordable for many

It will offer £12bn in mortgage guarantees over three years and some estimates suggest 180,000 loans could be taken out under the initiative.

Lenders can start offering the mortgages from today, and they will be guaranteed by the Government from January 2014.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Help to Buy is going to make the dream of home ownership a reality for many who would otherwise have been shut out."

Chancellor George Osborne said: "Too many people are still being denied the dream of owning their own home, which is why we have brought forward the launch of this scheme, so as of today borrowers can start applying for a mortgage with a 5% deposit."

The new scheme means homebuyers will only have to find as little as 5% on homes worth up to £600,000. Depending on the size of the deposit, the Government will then guarantee up to 15% of the property value in return for a fee from the lender.

An earlier phase of the scheme, offering 20% loans on new-build properties, has already helped more than 15,000 people buy a new home since it was launched six months ago.

Help to Buy is controversial because critics fear it could fuel further rises in a housing market where prices are already going up.

But the Treasury said that while house price inflation stands at 3.3%, it is only 0.8% when the property hotspots of London and the South East are removed.

The latest report on the market from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) suggested prices were likely to surge further ahead in London and the South East because the supply of homes was lagging behind burgeoning demand.

It measured home sales at a four-year high last month but remaining historically low.

Commenting on the launch of phase two of Help to Buy, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said: "If ministers are serious about helping first-time buyers, they should bring forward investment to build more affordable homes.

"Rising demand for housing must be matched with rising supply, but under this Government house-building is at its lowest level since the 1920s."

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Diane Abbott Is Sacked By Ed Miliband

Diane Abbott has been sacked by Labour leader Ed Miliband as he continues to reshuffle his team ahead of the next election.

Ms Abbott, who ran for the party leadership against Mr Miliband in 2010, lost her job as shadow public health minister.

The move follows high profile sackings by the party leader on Monday, in what was dubbed a "cull of the Blairites" by critics.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne and shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg both lost their frontbench jobs.

Ms Abbott reportedly said "I'll live, these things happen" after being told she was out, adding: "I think Ed wanted more message discipline."

She was the first black woman MP when she joined Parliament in 1987 and is considered a potential future candidate for Mayor of London.

Norman Baker: No rift with Theresa May

A prominent figure on Labour's left wing, the politician is regarded as one of the most independent-minded MPs in the House of Commons.

She recently questioned the party's approach on immigration and also suggested Mr Miliband was being swayed by opinion polls.

In the summer, she caused controversy by declaring she would quit if the party backed military action in Syria in a Commons vote.

Labour ultimately decided to vote against the Government, inflicting a humiliating defeat on David Cameron, so Ms Abbott stayed put.

On the coalition side, new Home Office Minister Norman Baker has scotched reports of a clash between him and his new boss Theresa May.

The Home Secretary was said to be "spitting tacks" after Mr Baker was moved to her department to replace Jeremy Browne.

But the Lib Dem insisted they had had a "very friendly chat" following his appointment and would be able to work well together despite coming "from different places".

Mr Baker, who wrote a book linking the security services to a cover-up over the death of David Kelly, also insisted he "entirely respects" the work of British spies.

Senior Lib Dem Danny Alexander predicted Mr Baker would be an "excellent" Home Office minister and would allow the party to "sharpen our campaigning edge" in that area.

Meanwhile, Tory Robert Syms' estranged wife Fiona has attracted attention after reacting with fury to him losing his post in the Whips' Office.

She wrote on Twitter: "PM just fired father of my kids over the phone. Gave up chairmanship of a cttee to be a whip, worked hard and was widely acknowledged to be a good whip.

"He was utterly gracious and took it like a man, I am beyond furious. Loyalty counted for nothing."

She joked her children had "defected to Labour" and that in her husband's position she would be "fixing up drinks" with rebels, but said the Poole MP would remain "super loyal".

She later updated her Twitter profile to describe herself as an "ex-wife with big mouth" who was "prone to extraordinary outbursts", although this has now been removed.

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Economy: IMF Makes UK Growth Forecast U-Turn

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor, In Washington

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its forecast for UK economic growth by more than any other major economy, in a boost to the Chancellor's fortunes.

It comes only six months after the IMF downgraded its expectations for the British economy and warned that George Osborne's policies were the economic equivalent of "playing with fire".

In its six-monthly World Economic Outlook, the IMF predicted that the UK's gross domestic product - the broadest measure of economic growth - would increase by 1.4% this year and 1.9% in 2014.

That compares to a forecast of just 0.9% and 1.5% respectively when it last updated its projections in July.

It came as the IMF downgraded its forecast for global GDP this year by 0.3 percentage points to 2.9%.

The rapid change in attitude will be welcomed by the Chancellor, who is due to attend the IMF's annual meeting in Washington later this week.

In April, IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard warned that austerity policies of the kind Mr Osborne was carrying out were "playing with fire" and urged him to change course.

However, over the following months, the IMF appeared to water down its prescription.

Olivier Blanchard had urged the UK to 'change course'

Treasury insiders see today's forecast revision as a tacit acknowledgement that Mr Osborne's original course was the right one.

A spokesman said: "The IMF has confirmed that the UK economy is turning a corner, by revising up its forecast for growth over the next two years by more than for any other G7 economy.

"But risks to the global economy remain high, and the recovery cannot be taken for granted. That is why the government will not let up in implementing its economic plan which has already cut the deficit by a third, kept interest rates near record lows and created over a million and a quarter jobs."

However, the text of the IMF report itself did not offer a ringing endorsement of the UK economy.

"In the United Kingdom, recent data have shown welcome signs of an improving economy, consistent with increasing consumer and business confidence, but output remains well below its pre-crisis peak … output levels will remain below potential for many years," it said.

Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: "After three wasted years of flatlining it's good that we finally have some growth. But this is the slowest recovery for 100 years and working people are worse off as prices continue rising faster than wages.

"Despite these welcome changes to its forecasts the IMF rightly warns that the UK economy will remain below potential for many years.

"That's why the IMF has repeated its view that the Government should bring forward infrastructure investment now, which could be used to build thousands of affordable homes.

"Instead of more complacency from George Osborne we need action to secure a strong and sustained recovery, catch up all the lost ground and tackle the cost of living crisis," he concluded.

The report said that the global economy was now beginning to recover from the Great Recession, but warned that central banks would find it difficult to bring the unprecedented series of emergency crisis measures to an end.

George Osborne (R) will see the U-turn as a vindication of his policies

The Federal Reserve has signalled that it will soon begin tapering the amount of assets it is buying each month under its quantitative easing programme, but stopped short of doing so at its meeting last month.

It said that the world would have to adapt to a slower potential growth rate from China - for the past five years the powerhouse for global growth.

However, the IMF reserved its most serious warning for the US Congress, which is currently deadlocked on talks over the budget, causing a part-shutdown of federal services.

It has also been unable to pass legislation to increase the US debt ceiling, something which could potentially cause the first US default in history.

The IMF said that its forecasts assumed the shutdown would be brief, that extra public spending would be agreed and that the debt ceiling would be raised.

"There is uncertainty on all three accounts," it added.

"While the damage to the US economy from a short shutdown is likely to be limited, a longer shutdown could be quite harmful. And, even more importantly, a failure to promptly raise the debt ceiling, leading to a US selective default, could seriously damage the global economy."

An added worry is that across the world, the recovery could be more tepid than normal.

Long-term average growth across the world is usually close to 4%. However, the IMF said that in the medium term it might only be realistic to expect something closer to 3%, given the serious impact of the Fed and other central banks reversing their quantitative easing programmes.

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Taliban Vows New Malala Murder Attempt

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai was shot last year by the Taliban for campaigning for defying a ban on female education - and now the group is threatening to kill her again.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the group stands by its decision to target 16-year-old Malala who he said has "targeted and criticised Islam".

"She accepted that she attacked Islam so we we tried to kill her, and if we get another chance we will definitely kill her and that will make us feel proud. Islam prohibits killing women, but except those that support the infidels in their war against our religion," he added.

The new death threat came as Malala was named among the favourites to win the Nobel Peace Prize, which will be revealed on Friday.

The announcement is the latest in a series of impressive accolades for Malala's campaign for girls' schooling.

During an interview with the BBC's Panorama, Malala said that winning the prize would be "a great opportunity" but that universal education remained her true goal.

Malala addressed the United Nations in July on her 16th birthday

"If I win Nobel Peace Prize, it would be a great opportunity for me, but if I don't get it, it's not important because my goal is not to get Nobel Peace Prize, my goal is to get peace and my goal is to see the education of every child," she said.

Malala now lives in the UK with her family but told of her plans to return to Pakistan when she had received a full education and was "fully empowered".

She described the Taliban's rule of fear which had led her to speak out in the first place.

"The Taliban's punishments were like slaughtering people on the Green Chowk (the main square in Malala's home town of Mingora), throwing acid on women's faces or abusing them or killing them.

"I was afraid of my future. And at that time there was fear all around us, in every street and in every square of Mingora."

On Tuesday, Malala will publish her autobiography entitled I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban.

Malala was treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham

Malala's first thought was "Thank God I'm not dead" as she woke up terrified in a UK hospital after a Taliban gunman shot her in the head, according to extracts from the book published in the Sunday Times.

The schoolgirl added that she was unable to talk, had no idea where she was and was unsure even of her own name when she emerged from a coma after six days.

The last thing she recalled on October 9, 2012, the day she was shot, was sitting with her friends on a bus as it rounded an army checkpoint on the way to school in the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan.

Friends told her that a masked gunman boarded the bus asked "Who is Malala?" and then lifted a gun to her head and fired.

Seriously wounded, Malala was flown to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for surgery on her skull and ear. She returned to school last March in the UK after recovering from her injuries.

Malala attracted the anger of the Taliban by writing a blog for the BBC Urdu service chronicling the challenges of daily life under the Islamists.

After the shooting and her move to Britain that she gained widespread adulation in the West, but remained the subject of suspicion among many conservatives in Swat.

Maulana Gul Naseeb, a prominent figure in the JUI-F, one of Pakistan's leading religious political parties, said: "America created Malala in order to promote their own culture of nudity and to defame Pakistan around the world."

Meanwhile, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said Malala has been invited to a palace reception promoting education in Commonwealth hosted by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on Friday, October 18.

It is thought the Queen was impressed by the teenager's bravery.

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'School Plotter Threatened To Shoot Classmate'

A former classmate of a teenager accused of planning a repeat of the Columbine massacre has told a court the alleged plotter threatened to shoot him in the head and stab another student in the throat.

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also brought a knife into college to show fellow students and claimed he "hated" his sixth form and former school, the Old Bailey heard.

The teenager is on trial accused of planning a terror attack on his former school in Loughborough, East Midlands, as well as naming his sixth form college, a local mosque, cinema and council offices as potential targets.

A sixth form student, who cannot be named, told the court the defendant threatened to shoot him in class after he told him not to be "f****** grumpy".

"I turned around and laughed at him and he went mad and said, 'I'll shoot you in the head'," the boy said.

"Someone else was laughing and he said 'I'll stab you in the throat'."

The prosecution witness, 17, said the defendant spoke of his hatred for the sixth form and, in one incident, brought a lock knife with a four to five inch blade into college.

"He had said before 'I hate this college, I don't like it, I don't want to be here'," the boy added.

Columbine High School

The Old Bailey has previously heard that the teenager allegedly wrote in a Che Guevara notebook emblazoned with swastikas his plans for The New Columbine.

The defendant, who has Asperger's syndrome, denies a charge of possessing items for the purpose, preparation and instigation of an act of terrorism.

They include partially assembled petrol bombs, air rifles, improvised explosive devices, and a pistol.

The boy also denies one count of possessing a document or record containing information likely to be useful for a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, and a further count of possessing explosives in the form of component parts of IEDs.

The teenager and two other 17-year-old boys have pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing petrol bombs and component parts of pipe bombs for the use of explosive devices.

The defendant, dressed in a black T-shirt and wearing glasses, has been sitting in the dock with an intermediary throughout the court proceedings.

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 before both committing suicide in one of America's worst mass shootings.

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Lib Dem Scottish Secretary Axed In Reshuffle

Senior Lib Dems have been axed from the Government as all three main party leaders reshuffle their teams ahead of Parliament reconvening.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg wielded the axe as David Cameron looked to promote more northern MPs and women to his top team.

Lib Dem Scotland Secretary Michael Moore was replaced by Alistair Carmichael to provide a tougher approach as the independence referendum looms.

And in one of the biggest shocks so far, Home Office minister Jeremy Browne - tipped as a possible future party leader - was also axed.

Michael Moore (left) has been replaced by Alistair Carmichael

He has been replaced with Norman Baker who moves from Transport, where he could prove a thorn in the side of Home Secretary Theresa May.

Don Foster, Lib Dem MP for Bath, replaces Mr Carmichael as his party's Chief Whip and Baroness Susan Kramer takes Mr Baker's old job.

Mr Cameron's biggest moves include promotions for Esther McVey, Sajid Javid and Greg Hands but the top Cabinet roles have so far been untouched. 

Labour leader Ed Miliband is likely to make some high-profile changes to his shadow cabinet later, with Andy Burnham and Liam Byrne said to be in danger of demotion.

Tories Deputy Chief Whip John Randall, Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith and Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon are all returning to the backbenches.

Simon Burns has also already stood down as Transport Minister to that he can launch a bid to become a Commons Deputy Speaker.

Ms McVey has been pushed up the ranks at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), becoming Employment Minister.

Mr Hands, a close ally of Chancellor George Osborne, also climbs the ladder - going from assistant whip to Deputy Chief Whip.

Promoted: Tories Esther McVey and Sajid Javid in Downing Street on Monday

Greg Clark has been moved from the Treasury to become a Cabinet Office Minister responsible for cities and constitutional reform.

And former Northern Ireland minister Mike Penning has become a Work and Pensions minister.

Mr Randall, Tory MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip and part of the whips office for 13 years, indicated last year that he wanted to step aside.

The 58-year-old was embroiled in the "Plebgate" row last year, threatening to resign if Andrew Mitchell refused to quit.

In his resignation letter, he told Mr Cameron he had "nothing but the deepest admiration for you as a person, leader and Prime Minister".

The Prime Minister called him a "rock" and said he "had rather hoped this day would never come".

Out: Tories John Randall and Chloe Smith have resigned

Ms Smith, MP for Norwich North, was only elected to the Commons in 2009 at the age of just 27 but was quickly promoted to the ministerial ranks.

As economic secretary, she endured a toe-curling interview with Jeremy Paxman on BBC Newsnight when she struggled to explain a fuel duty freeze.

In her letter to the Prime Minister, she said: "I have been privileged to serve my country and my party under your leadership.

"However, for the remainder of the Parliament I want to be able to spend more time serving my constituents."

Sky Political Correspondent Anushka Asthana said: "David Cameron has talked before about wanting to have a third of his cabinet female and so far he only has four Cabinet secretaries are women.

"What he will want to do today is move women up the ranks ready to go into Cabinet. Today they are focusing on middle-minister rankings.

"We are also likely to see northern and working-class MPs moving up. People are calling this a flat-cap reshuffle."

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Madeleine McCann Inquiry 'Making Progress'

Gerry McCann says he is pleased with the progress being made in Scotland Yard's review of the search for his missing daughter.

He told Sky News he and his wife Kate were "very pleased with the work of the Metropolitan Police both during the review process and now that they have moved into an investigatory phrase.

"I think that is all that any parent would want when their child is missing.

"They've uncovered new evidence and we hope that the appeals that go out next week will lead to further new evidence that helps fill in pieces of the jigsaw and moves at least a step closer to finding Madeleine and those responsible."

The disappearance of Madeleine will be the subject of a Crimewatch appeal next Monday.

Scotland Yard assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said it is hoped it will produce new witnesses, but a conclusion to the case "is not imminent".

A reconstruction of the "latest, most detailed understanding" of the events around the time Madeleine went missing will be shown on BBC Crimewatch.

Gerry McCann

It comes after the Metropolitan Police revealed a vast log of mobile phone traffic could be the key to finding out what happened to the-then three-year-old.

Scotland Yard detectives have interviewed 442 people as part of their review-turned-investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. It has identified 41 people of interest, including 15 UK nationals.

They hope to track down as many people present in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on or around May 3, 2007, as possible.

Dr McCann, speaking outside the General Medical Council (GMC) in London, also said the press needed tougher, independent regulation in order to protect the lives of ordinary people.

He talked about need for speedy arbitration for victims of press intrusion and misreporting, in the light of the Leveson Inquiry, at which he gave evidence.

He said "Ordinary peoples lives are being damaged every day of the week by press intrusion, by lies being printed or exaggeration."

It "personally troubles him and his wife" that "stories are published with no regard to Madeleine's safety, to the investigation itself or whether they will be putting Madeleine or others in danger or alerting those responsible".

He highlighted the need for an independent body that could act quickly saying: "We have absolutely no confidence that the press barons can regulate themselves."

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Lake District: Man Falls 650ft To His Death

A man has been killed after falling 656ft (200m) down a mountain in the Lake District.

The 24-year-old was walking with a companion on Helvellyn - the third highest peak in the country.

He fell from Striding Edge into Nethermost Cove, according to Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team (MRT).

His hiking partner found him unconscious, and as there was no mobile phone signal, he continued his descent into Grisedale.

A local farmer there gave him a lift to Patterdale so he could raise the alarm.

An RAF Sea King helicopter, the Great North Air Ambulance, search and rescue dogs and mountain rescue teams from Patterdale and Penrith joined forces to search for the hiker.

The operation on Friday lasted for more than four hours and the man was found to have suffered fatal injuries.

Patterdale MRT leader Mike Blakey said: "This is a tragic incident involving the loss of a young life.

"Our thoughts are with the young man's walking companion, friends and family at this difficult time."

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Syria: UN Begins Destroying Chemical Weapons

Weapons experts have begun destroying Syria's chemical stockpiles and production facilities, a UN source has told AP news service.

The source said members of the team from the UN and The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) "have left for a site where they are beginning verification and destruction".

"Today is the first day of destruction, in which heavy vehicles are going to run over, and thus destroy missile warheads, aerial chemical bombs and mobile and static mixing and filling units," the source added.

A UN weapons inspector at the site of the August 21 attack

An OPCW official said earlier this week that all "expedient methods" would be used to destroy the arsenal and production facilities.

Methods used could include explosives, sledgehammers, and pouring in concrete.

The inspectors arrived in Damascus on Tuesday to begin verifying details of the weapons programme handed over by President Bashar al Assad's regime.

The UN published a report into the chemical weapons attack last month

"Phase one, which is disclosure by the Syrians, is ending and we are now moving towards phase two - verification and destruction and disabling," the UN source said.

The team is in Syria under the terms of a UN resolution, agreed after long talks between Russia and the US, for Damascus to hand over its chemical weapons for destruction.

The deal was hammered out in the wake of a sarin attack on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21, which killed hundreds of people.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia's Sergey Lavrov agreed the deal

The United States has blamed Mr Assad's forces for the attack - a claim disputed by Russia, and denied by the Syrian government.

Washington threatened military strikes in response to the chemical atrocity, but action was averted following intense negotiations between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Under the UN agreement, Syria's chemical weapons are to be destroyed by the middle of next year.

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