Corrie's William Roache: I Did Not Abuse Girls

By Mike McCarthy, North Of England Correspondent

Coronation Street star William Roache has flatly denied raping or indecently assaulting girls.

The actor also told jurors at his trial that he did not know any of the five alleged victims who accuse him of the offences.

As soon as he went into the witness box on the first day of his defence case, his barrister Louise Blackwell QC asked him: "Have you committed any of the offences with which you are charged?"

The actor replied: "No. I have not."

The lawyer continued: "Do you have any memory of being in the company of any of these people who have made the allegations against you?"

Roache: "No. Not one of them."

He went on to say that he had an interest in things "beyond the norm and spiritual matters".

The celebrity told the jury that he was hard of hearing because of a mortar bomb explosion he had witnessed while in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

Roache arrived at court with his family

He said he had wanted to follow his father into the medical profession but found he performed better in arts subjects.

He was asked about his life in the 60s, which he said was dominated by the pressures of rehearsing and filming for Coronation Street.

Speaking from a glass witness box in an assured voice he said that autograph hunters would gather outside Granada studios in Manchester where the programme was filmed.

"I would always stop," he said. "People had been waiting there all day so I liked to give autographs.

"You would wind down your window in the car, you would sign them and then on you go."

He denied ever inviting young fans into his dressing room or onto the Coronation Street set during filming.

"It was an extremely difficult and dangerous thing to do.  Basically no - other than occasionally very close family," he said.

Roache's children Verity, James and Linus, have been in the public gallery every day of the trial so far.

The actor denies four charges of indecently assaulting girls and two charges of raping a 15-year-old girl in 1967.

The trial continues.

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Economy Grows At Fastest Rate Since Crash

Cable Warns About Wrong Type Of Recovery

Updated: 11:47am UK, Tuesday 28 January 2014

Business Secretary Vince Cable has warned that Britain's economic recovery could prove to be a "short-term bounce" if it is based on a housing boom.

He made the comments on the eve of the publication of the latest GDP figures, which have shown the country's strongest growth since the financial crisis began in 2007.

But the senior Liberal Democrat expressed concern that the recovery is too heavily based on housing prices and consumer spending.

"Despite a fall in real earnings, consumers have had the confidence to start spending again - dipping into their savings held for a rainy day and making use of rising house prices, at least in London and the South East, to borrow more easily," he said.

"Despite these encouraging signs, the shape of the recovery so far has not been all we might have hoped for."

In the speech at the Royal Economic Society at Bank of England, Mr Cable said that a "real recovery is taking place".

But he said sustained growth is dependent on rebalancing the economy and preventing a return to "boom-bust cycle".

"The big question now is whether and how recent growth and optimism can be translated into long-term sustainable, balanced, recovery without repeating the mistakes of the past," he said.

"We cannot risk another property-linked boom-bust cycle which has done so much damage before, notably in the financial crash in 2008.

"Indeed, unless our government put long term rebalancing at the heart of economic decision-making I believe the recovery could prove to be short-lived."

Mr Cable did stress he is "confident" the government is taking action to ensure the UK has a "sustainable, balanced, long term recovery" - rather than a "short-term bounce".

But he said he was concerned about the effects of loose monetary policy on asset prices but stopped short of calling for a tightening.

Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge says: "There will be a few eyes rolling in the Treasury because we do have these positive GDP figures Vince Cable is still sending out a warning that this is not the kind of growth we want.

"To be fair to the Business Secretary though, there are some economists that do agree with him.

"Vince Cable's concerns are that there is not enough growth in exports, business investment - it's all based on consumer-driven spending and crucially on a housing boom."

"He's concerned that the Government's Help to Buy policy could essentially cause a housing bubble, which could drive up growth in the short term, but not in the long term."

The Cabinet minister has previously expressed concerns about the Government's Help to Buy policy.

Under the scheme, which came into effect at the beginning of October, people can buy homes of up to £600,000 with a deposit of just 5% as the Government guarantees up to 20% of the mortgage.

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Shark Bite Doctor Stitches Leg And Heads To Pub

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A New Zealand doctor who was bitten by a shark, sewed up his own wounds before heading to the pub to celebrate his lucky escape.

Junior doctor James Grant was spearfishing with friends when he was attacked near Cosy Nook on New Zealand's South Island.

The 24-year-old initially thought one of his friends was playing a trick on him when he felt a tug on his leg.

"I looked behind to see who it was and got a bit of a shock," he told Radio New Zealand.

"(I thought) bugger, now I have to try and get this thing off my leg."

The doctor suspects he was attacked by a seven-gill shark

Mr Grant used the knife he had with him to stab at the shark.

"I am not sure how effective it was. I guess it let go so something must have happened, put a few nicks in it."

The doctor then made his way to shore and after taking off his wetsuit saw the puncture wounds in his leg, left by what he believes was a seven-gill shark.

Using a first aid kit in his car he stitched up the bites, which were about 5cm long, and then headed to the pub - before eventually making the trip to hospital.

The bites were about 5cm long - not enough to stop him going for a pint

As well as a drink, the Colac Bay Tavern also served him a bandage because he was dripping blood on the floor.

"We gave him a pint of beer and his mates were kicking around, laughing," Colac Bay Tavern co-owner Warren Bevin told 3 News.

"Then we brought out the big first-aid kit and got a little bandage out. There were a couple of good holes on both sides of his leg."

Barman Warren Bevin served up a bandage as well as a drink

The stitching was finished off when he went to Invercargill Hospital, where he was back at work on Monday.

Shark specialist Clinton Duffy, of New Zealand's Department of Conservation, told Fairfax NZ news he believed the attacker was probably a broad-nosed seven-gill shark.

Seven-gill sharks can grow up to three metres long and New Zealand is one of the few countries where they attack humans.

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Coulson 'Knew About Hacking' Says Ex-Reporter

The phone hacking trial has heard that the Prime Minister's former head of communications knew about the illegal practice and was played a voicemail left by actress Sienna Miller for Daniel Craig.

An ex-reporter at the News Of The World told the court that former editor Andy Coulson told him to make it look like tapes of the message had been dropped off anonymously at their offices.

Dan Evans said Coulson and other senior figures at the paper were played a recording of the message back in 2005, which he said revealed the pair were having an affair.

He told the court: "Andy came over wanting to hear the tape. I played the tape a couple of times and they listened to it. Andy became very animated, (he was saying) 'brilliant'."

Another journalist said to him: "You are a company man now."

The message contained a female voice saying "Hi it's me, I can't speak, I'm at the Groucho (club) with Jude (Law, her boyfriend at the time). I love you", the Old Bailey heard. Evans said he checked the number on his database and found it was Sienna Miller's.

Evans claims that after he made a copy of the message on Coulson's orders, he was told to put it in a Jiffy bag and take it to reception so it would look like it had been dropped off anonymously.

Another journalist then picked it up with "mock surprise", saying "look what I've found".

The final edition of the News Of The World

James Bond star Craig denied the story when he was confronted by Evans at his home, and publication was delayed for more work to be done on the story. It was published a week later after Law's public relations executive approved it.

Later, Evans listened to an apparently angry voicemail to Craig from Law, which said: "Thanks mate. I hope Saski (his girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell) doesn't find out."

Another story he picked up from Craig's voicemail was the news Eva Green would become a Bond girl. Evans also admitted hacking the voicemail of actor Shane Ritchie and Formula One driver Jenson Button.

Evans told the court "everybody was on tenterhooks" in August 2006 when journalist Clive Goodman and investigator Glenn Mulcaire were arrested. "There was a lot of fear and anxiety around. A lot of people were preparing to cover their tracks."

He added a senior member of staff told him "it goes without saying no more hooky stuff" in reference to hacking. Evans then started getting rid of notebooks and tapes of recorded voicemails, he told the court.

The court was told Evans was suspended and put on paid gardening leave after being caught accessing the messages of designer Kelly Hoppen for a story involving footballer Sol Campbell.

A security alert on her phone led back to Evans' company mobile, the jury heard.

He was made redundant when the paper closed in 2011 and received the same payout as everyone else.

Evans was asked by prosecution QC Andrew Edis who at the News Of The World knew about hacking. He gave 10 names, including Coulson's.

Coulson denies conspiring to hack phones and commit misconduct in a public office. All seven defendants in the trial, including former Sun and News Of The World editor Rebeka Brooks, deny all of the charges against them.

More follows ...

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Jude Law Relative 'Sold Stories To NOTW'

Jude Law has told a court he was unaware that a close family member was being paid by a newspaper to leak information about his private life.

The actor was giving evidence at the phone hacking trial at the Old Bailey.

The 41-year-old was questioned by former News Of The World (NOTW) editor Andy Coulson's lawyer, Timothy Langdale QC, about a story in 2005 about his then-girlfriend Sienna Miller having an affair with actor Daniel Craig.

Asked if he was aware at any time that a member of his "immediate family" was talking to the NOTW, he said: "I was aware later around 2011, maybe later than that, at the time I was approached about the case that the NOTW had been in contact with people in my family, trying to find things out, asking for quotes."

The lawyer wrote down a name of a source on a piece of paper to show the witness. The name was not read in court.

Asked if he knew the family member was getting paid, he said: "I have never been aware of that, getting paid for it."

Law arriving at the Old Bailey on Monday

The first he knew of that was today, in the court, he said.

He told the court he first became aware of rumours of the affair around the time the couple went to Miller's sister Savanah's wedding in the West Country and Law was shown NOTW articles headlined "Sienna Cheats On Jude" and "Layer Fake".

He told the court he had telephoned Craig to confront him about the affair and suggested he should tell his own girlfriend about it.

But he could not remember whether that was before or after the paper broke the story and he had not left a voicemail about it.

Asked if he was aware that anyone around him was leaking stories, he said: "No, I did not know that anyone around me was talking to the newspapers, although I suspected it because there was such a flow of information ... I suspected many people over that period of time."

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson deny conspiring to hack phones

Law told the court that the media had "an unhealthy amount of information" about his life.

The actor said press attention intensified after his Oscar nomination for The Talented Mr Ripley in 2001 and photographers would follow him around, even when he made social plans in secret.

He told the court the intrusion grew throughout his divorce from Sadie Frost and then during his relationship with his Alfie co-star Miller.

Sitting in the witness box, Law said: "There seemed to be an unhealthy amount of information that people, or someone, had that meant they had access to my life and my whereabouts."

He said when police showed him notes that private investigator Glenn Mulcaire held about him, he "was shocked to see the amount of information that had been accumulated", but he added: "Sadly it didn't surprise me because it seemed apparent from what had been written (in the press)."

Law told the jury that from around 2001 photographers would gather at his home.

"Around 2001 and over the following four or five years the daily appearance of packs of photographers either on the street or in cars became a very regular occurrence."

He added: "I became aware that I was also turning up at places having arranged to go there secretly ... and the media were already there, or photographers were already there."

Coulson and Rebekah Brooks deny conspiring to hack phones and commit misconduct in a public office.

The trial continues.

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Crocodiles Shot In Search For Boy In Australia

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Two crocodiles have been shot and their stomachs opened as the search continues for a missing boy who is feared dead after being taken by one of the creatures.

Police believe the boy was attacked by the reptile and taken away in a waterhole in the country's Northern Territory on Sunday.

He was swimming with friends in the Mudginberri Billabong in Kakadu National Park when they were attacked by the saltwater crocodile.

One of the boy's friends was bitten on the arm as he tried to fight the creature off.

Searches by air, land and boat continued into Monday morning around Magela Creek, which feeds the waterhole, but there has so far been no sign of the child.

A trap was set in the creek late on Monday and rangers are preparing to search the waterways by boat through the night again, although efforts will be scaled back.

Flooding due to the local monsoon season is complicating the search; the 200-metre waterway is now more than a kilometre (0.62 miles) wide.

Any crocodile longer than two metres (6.5ft) spotted in the Mudginberri Outstation can be shot.

Saltwater crocodiles are common in northern Australia.

The order was expanded from the original three metres after an examination of the bite marks on the boy's friend.

No human remains were found in the two crocodiles.

Sergeant Stephen Constable said earlier said there had not been a "croc attack around here for quite a long time".

He said: "But crocodiles are prevalent in these waters and you always have to be careful."

A spokesman for the park said the area was well signposted as a danger zone for crocodiles.

He said: "We have big croc warning signs with croc jaws and a big thing saying 'croc risk; do not swim here, do not enter'."

Saltwater crocodiles can grow to be up to seven metres and weigh more than a ton.

They are a common feature in the tropical north of Australia.

Their population has increased steadily since the introduction of laws protecting them in 1971.

Government estimates put their numbers at between 75,000 and 100,000.

The most recent fatality was in August last year, when 27-year-old Darwin man Sean Cole was taken by a 4.7-metre croc as he swam across the Mary River.

Following the latest incident the local Aboriginal people, the Mirarr, called for a cull of the reptiles around Jabiru.

Justin O'Brien, chief of the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, said: "Mirrar traditional owners are saying (it's) high time to cull crocodiles."

Researchers in the country launched the world's first crocodile attack database, CrocBITE, in December.

The team, which is based at Charles Darwin University, hopes to find evidence to back up reports that attacks are on the increase.

Sunday's attack is the 11th fatality recorded this year by the team - five of them involving saltwater crocodiles.

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Flood Victims' Anger Over 'Lack Of Action'

Communities have expressed their "anger and frustration" at the perceived lack of action from officials to prevent flooding in high-risk areas.

Some 31,000 acres of the Somerset Levels, which run south from the Mendip Hills to the Blackdown Hills, have been under water for almost a month.

Flood waters surrounding the village of Muchelney in Somerset

Some people are still without water in their homes and are facing another week of having to turn to family and friends so they can bathe and wash their clothes.

One of the worst-affected areas is Northmoor Green in the county, where water is being pumped to help clear the saturated ground at a rate of one million tons a day into the River Parrett, at a cost of more than £100,000 a week.

Resident Julian Taylor said people felt marooned and forgotten about.

He told Sky News: "I can understand how people feel frustrated and angry over the lack of action over the last 12 months."

Resident Julian Taylor says people are 'angry and frustrated'

He said most of the rage was directed at "politicians" who he said were failing to provide enough funds for Environment Agency staff "to do their job".

Sky's Isabel Webster, at the scene, said locals' main complaint was that the waterway had not been dredged.

"Some 40% of it is made up of silt and they are concerned it isn't running at capacity," she said.

Retired major Mark Corthine was forced to cut short a holiday in Australia when neighbours called to tell him his farmhouse was flooded.

Mr Corthine, who lives at Walnut Tree Farm, Fordgate, near Bridgwater, said: "I was out of my house four months last year because of the floods and I'm out again now.

A temporary pontoon being used near to the village of Langport in Somerset

"It's happened twice in two years and I spent £31,000 on improvements and we were promised it wouldn't happen again but it has.

"The damage isn't as bad this time as I tiled the ground floor but I'm still surrounded by water and the sewage is everywhere.

"The dryers are on and if I'm lucky I should be able to move back in sometime the end of March. 

"I can't live in my house at all. There are lots of people in a similar situation. It's never flooded here in 100 years and now it happens twice in as many years.

"What we need is some joined-up thinking. Three miles of the river needs to be dredged at a cost of £2.8m. Farmers would love to have the silt that's brought up for their land."

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Blizzard Warning Amid Fears Of More Floods

Motorists and commuters have been warned of ice, sleet and snow as well as hail and thundery showers, with temperatures expected to plummet to around freezing across the UK.

And amid warnings of heavy rain, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson admitted the Government could have done more to help residents in parts of the country worst-affected by flooding - and that dredging of some rivers in the county should have happened.

The Met Office's weather warning for UK

It means more misery for flood-hit areas with some communities in Somerset - where the council has declared a "major incident" - facing a fourth week under water.

Mr Paterson was visiting Northmoor Green in the county where he held crisis talks with council chiefs and farmers whose crops have been devastated by the recent stormy weather.

Facing tough questions from locals on the official response to the flooding, Mr Paterson told Sky News: "How shocking it is for people to be flooded and I really do appreciate the impact floods have had on people ... they are quite right to be angry."

He acknowledged the national guidelines on dredging were not appropriate for the Somerset Levels, large parts of which are below sea level.

In defence of the Environment Agency, Mr Paterson said it had protected a million homes and was "working incredibly hard".

He said he had asked local officials to present him with "a very clear action plan" within six weeks to enable him "to make a categoric decision once and for all" on a "long-term serious plan" for the area for the next 20 years.

Several counties including Hampshire and Dorset also remain at risk of flooding, while further snowfall is expected across Wales, Scotland and northern England.

The Environment Agency's flood alerts and warnings

The Environment Agency has issued more than 150 flood warnings and alerts across England and Wales.

Matthew Lay, national officer of Unison, said: "Far from offering any comfort to residents affected by flooding, Owen Patterson is a major part of the problem.

"He is overseeing massive cuts to the Environment Agency despite all the scientific evidence showing that climate change is a major reason for a rise in the number of floods.

"The Government must put in place an Environment Secretary who accepts that the risk of flooding is increasing year-on-year.

"Communities up and down the country will remain in danger until the Environment Agency is given adequate resources and] funding to prevent and handle disasters caused by floods."

A view of flood water surrounding the village of Muchelney in Somerset

Temperatures are expected to fall to or just below freezing, according to the Met Office, which has warned of "blizzard conditions".

This will result in the risk of icy patches on roads and the potential for travel disruption.

Its chief forecaster said: "Rain or sleet is expected at lower levels however, above 250m, some wet snow is likely at times with perhaps 2-5 cm of snow accumulating, whilst above 400m a further 10 to 20cm is possible.

"Strong to gale force south to southeasterly winds will combine with heavy snow to result in blizzard conditions at times."

And with a band of rain across the country edging north-eastwards towards the far north-east of England and central and northern Scotland, the forecaster added: "With saturated ground and rivers already high in these areas there is the risk of some localised flooding."

Snowfall over Middleton-in-Teesdale

Fourteen serious flood warnings are in place for parts of the South West, South East, Midlands and North East with the Environment Agency advising people in affected areas to take immediate action.

The Somerset Levels, which run south from the Mendip Hills to the Blackdown Hills, are particularly vulnerable with 31,000 acres under water, as further heavy rain falls on already saturated ground.

There is also potential for further river flooding across the South West and southern counties including parts of Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, West Berkshire and Surrey into next week.

The Environment Agency is running more than 60 pumps around the clock to drain an estimated 65 million cubic metres of floodwater from the Levels.

A temporary pontoon has been erected near the village of Langport to allow residents to get to their homes and a boat service is ferrying people to and from work and school.

Twitter user Grant Kavanagh saw 'strange weather' in Knaphill, Surrey

As well as the flood alerts, parts of Scotland have been told to brace for strong winds gusting up to 80mph.

Nazaneen Ghafar, Sky News Weather Presenter, said: "Currently we have low pressure anchored to the north-west of the UK. This area of low pressure will sink south-wards over the next couple of days, and as it does this will change the wind direction to an easterly flow. The easterly winds will bring in very cold air from Europe, where temperatures across Scandinavia are currently well below freezing.

"As a result, any showers or spells of rain that meet the cold air will have a greater risk of turning wintry, especially for eastern parts of the UK. Wintry showers are likely and the risk of some overnight snow across northern areas from Wednesday onwards.

"There will also be the continued chance of hail at times, and ice will be an increasing problem."

On Sunday, light snow flurries affected parts of northern England, including in Cumbria, where snow ploughs were used to clear sections of the A66.

A "mini tornado" was reported in parts of the Midlands and southern Britain, where trees were brought down, power supplies knocked out and outbuildings damaged.

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Justin Bieber: Idol Tweets Thanks To Beliebers

Justin Bieber has thanked his fans for their support following his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of drink or drugs and resisting arrest in Miami.

Tweeting his 50 million so-called Beliebers, the singer said: "YOU ARE ALL WORTHY NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS >> BE STRONG GOD IS WITH US ALL> MY BELIEBERS CHANGED MY LIFE> I WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFUL."

The star is understood to have spent most of the day holed-up in a private Miami hotel surrounded by the world's media and his fans after he was bailed following his arrest on Wednesday.

The singer's tweet to his 50 million followers

There was a brief moment of drama when the singer's bodyguards ushered a slim youth hiding under a red-hooded top from the hotel to a waiting car.

But photographs revealed the person inside was almost certainly somebody else; likely a decoy to confuse photographers.

News has also emerged that three police officers have been suspended following claims that on Monday evening they gave the singer an unauthorised private escort from Miami's Opa locka airport to a strip club.

A schoolgirl throws a crumpled letter over the fence to her idol

Unconfirmed reports have suggested the officers have been suspended on full pay pending the outcome of an investigation into the claims.

A petition to revoke the Canadian-born idol's green card and deport him back to Canada has also appeared on the White House website.

"We the people of the United States feel that we are being wrongly represented in the world of pop culture," it says.

The singer's loyal army of 'beliebers' wait to catch a glimpse of the star

"We would like to see the dangerous, reckless, destructive, and drug abusing, Justin Bieber deported and his green card revoked.

"He is not only threatening the safety of our people but he is also a terrible influence on our nations youth. We the people would like to remove Justin Bieber from our society."

At the time of writing the petition has some 12,000 signatures. If the campaign obtains 100,000 signatures by February 22, President Barack Obama is required to respond.

Mr Bieber was arrested on suspicion of DUI and drag racing

Support for the singer has been split among the public and other celebrities.

The star was blasted by actor Seth Rogen, but received encouragement from Lady Gaga - who called on her army of fans to back the star.

Knocked Up actor Rogen, who is understood to have socialised with Bieber at the 2011 MTV Awards, posted on his Twitter account: "All jokes aside, Justin Bieber is a piece of s***."

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Trader Robin Clark Shot By Hitman In Essex

A City trader has been seriously injured after being shot by a hitman at an Essex railway station.

Police believe Robin Clark, 44, was "deliberately targeted" as he got out of his car in the car park at Shenfield station at 5.50am on Friday.

The gunman, who was wearing a balaclava, fled the scene in a vehicle parked nearby.

Robin Clark suffered serious injuries. Pic: Robin Clark/Twitter

Mr Clark, who lives in Essex, works for City brokerage firm RP Martin.

He was shot in the leg and is being treated at Basildon Hospital for his injuries, which are not life-threatening.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: "As he got out of the car he was approached by an unknown man and received a single gunshot to the leg."

Detective Superintendent Gary Richardson said: "At this stage we believe the victim of this assault was deliberately targeted.

"We do not believe this incident was gang-related and I would like to reassure the public that there is no reason for any undue concern.

"Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances, including the motive behind the attack."

A spokesman for RP Martin said: "We are aware of this morning's incident and are giving Robin all the support we can.

"It would not be appropriate to comment any further at this stage."

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