AAA Credit Rating Lost: Osborne Defiant

George Osborne has come under attack over what Labour calls his "catastrophic economic policy failure" after the UK lost its top-grade AAA credit rating.

International agency Moody's downgraded it by one notch to AA1, citing slow growth and a rising debt burden.

The Chancellor said the coalition would not "run away" from its economic problems and it was determined to stick by its plan for recovery.

The downgrade is a major blow for Mr Osborne, who has been coming under increasing pressure to take action to stimulate the economy.

In the last election, Mr Osborne made safeguarding Britain's credit rating one of his key pledges.

He has used maintaining the rating for government bonds as one of the main arguments for the Government's austerity programme.

The Chancellor insisted the Government was delivering on its commitment to tackle the UK's debt.

He said: "We have a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country - and the clearest possible warning to anyone who thinks we can run away from dealing with those problems.

"We are not going to run away from our problems, we are going to overcome them."

He added: "In the end, the test of our credibility as a country is there every day in the markets when we borrow money on behalf of this country from investors all around the world.

Moody's said it did not expect Britain's slow recovery to change

"At the moment we can do that very cheaply with very low interest rates precisely because people have confidence that we have got a plan, we've got to stick to that plan and we are going to deliver that plan."

Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News: "They (the Government) are paying the price for an absolute catastrophic failure of economic policy and everybody can see that now pretty much other than the chancellor and the prime minister.

"Until they face up to reality, we're just going to have more of the same."

Moody's said Britain's recovery was proving to be significantly slower than previous rebounds from recession and it did not expect the situation to change.

"(There's) increasing clarity that, despite considerable structural economic strengths, the UK's economic growth will remain sluggish over the next few years," it said.

Moody's is the first of the major credit rating agencies to knock the UK off of its top rating.

The ratings agency also cut the Bank of England's AAA rating by one notch, also to AA1. The US' top credit rating was downgraded by one notch in 2011.

Sky's Economics Editor Ed Conway said: "The fact that Britain has lost its AAA crown for the first time since credit ratings were given to the UK back in the 1970s, it's a really big blow to Britain's reputation.

"It's something of an economic blow, but in a way it's more of a political problem for George Osborne. He made a key part of the Conservative election pledge to safeguard Britain's credit rating."

Moody's said that the British economy is constrained both by the troubled global economy and the drag from businesses and the Government slashing its debt burdens.

"Moreover, while the Government's recent Funding for Lending Scheme has the potential to support a surge in growth, Moody's believes the risks to the growth outlook remain skewed to the downside," it said.

Labour has insisted that withdrawing demand from the economy has put it more at risk by stunting growth.

Mr Balls said: "This credit rating downgrade is a humiliating blow to a prime minister and chancellor who said keeping our AAA rating was the test of their economic and political credibility.

"In the Budget the government must urgently take action to kick-start our flatlining economy and realise that we need growth to get the deficit down. If David Cameron and George Osborne fail to do so and put political pride above the national economic interest we face more long-term damage and pain for businesses and families."

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Italy: Briton Held Over Tour Guide Murder

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

A Briton has been arrested in Italy for the murder of a tour guide and the attempted killing of another man.

Jason Peter Marshall, 24, was held by police early on Saturday after they traced him through his mobile phone signal to a late night bus.

Police believe he met both men through gay internet chat rooms.

He was arrested after a 55-year-old man was found severely beaten in the bedroom of his apartment in central Rome, following calls to police when neighbours heard screams and calls for help.

When officers arrived on the scene, the victim identified Marshall as his attacker and described how he had been threatened with a gun, badly beaten with a telescopic cosh and smothered with a pillow.

Marshall is said to have fled the apartment with €400 (£348), credit cards and the victim's iPad as he allegedly tried to erase all traces of contact between him and the victim.

Marshall, who is originally from Greenwich, southeast London, is said to have arrived in Italy last month and police in Rome have confirmed he is also the prime suspect in the murder of tour guide Vincenzo Iale.

The 68-year-old was found strangled and stabbed to death in his flat at Torvajanica, on the outskirts of Rome, four weeks ago with his bank card missing.

Police said Marshall was being held in Rome's Regina Coeli jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, kidnap and possessing offensive weapons.

Sources said the victims had been targeted through gay internet chat rooms.

A Rome police source said: "This could easily have been a double murder investigation and the second victim - although badly hurt - can think himself lucky he is not dead."

No one from the British Embassy in Rome was immediately available for comment and Marshall is expected to be questioned further by prosecutors ahead of appearing before an investigating judge.

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British Man Drowns At Egypt Resort

A British man has drowned while swimming in the sea off the popular Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh.

A British embassy spokeswoman in Cairo confirmed that the 50-year-old had drowned while swimming on Friday.

However, she said she could give no further detail on the circumstances surrounding his death.

The Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh

Sharm el Sheikh is one of the main Red Sea resorts and attracts millions of tourists each year.

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Pistorius: Oscar 'Will Never Be The Same'

Oscar Pistorius says he just wants to "be alone" since his release on bail and is feeling "a lot of remorse" over the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The Olympic athlete is staying at his uncle's home in Pretoria after a court banned him from returning to the luxury home where he shot Ms Steenkamp through a bathroom door.

His spokeswoman in South Africa told Sky News: "He told me, 'I just want this time to be alone'. He is in his room, he's spending time alone and he's feeling lot of remorse."

Ms Steenkamp was killed on Valentine's Day

The athlete's family has also released a new statement, saying: "Oscar will never be the same ... having to live with the knowledge that he caused the death of the woman he loved, and that he can never undo the immense pain and loss this has caused Reeva's family and friends".

His uncle Arnold added: "We are acutely aware of the fact that this is only the beginning of a long road to prove that, as we know, Oscar never intended to harm Reeva, let alone cause her death."

Pistorius, 26, is accused of premeditated murder after the Valentine's Day shooting. He denies murder.

Lawyers for the defence and prosecution are starting work on the trial phase of a case that is likely to grip South Africa and the world, with the next hearing set for June 4.

The athlete arrived at his uncle's house on Friday after paying 10% of his one million rand (£73,000) bail at Pretoria's Brooklyn police station, where he had been held for a week.

Meanwhile, Ms Steenkamp's father has told a South African newspaper that Pistorius will "suffer" if he is lying about how she died.

Pistorius is staying with his uncle Arnold

The Beeld newspaper quotes Barry Steenkamp as saying Pistorius will have to "live with his conscience" if his assertion that he accidentally shot the 29-year-old law graduate is false.

Horse trainer Mr Steenkamp said he might be able to forgive Pistorius one day if the double-amputee Olympian is telling the truth.

Her mother said that Pistorius' family had sent a card and flowers offering condolences for the death of her daughter but she added it meant little because: "They are not to blame."

However, Mike Steenkamp said the timing of the family's actions was poor and that they had not initially tried to contact Reeva's bereaved parents.

Chief magistrate Desmond Nair approved bail for Pistorius on Friday at the end of a two-hour summary in which he found the accused was unlikely to skip bail, be violent or approach any witnesses.

Nair said he had been influenced by Pistorius' decision to submit a detailed affidavit, in which he claimed he accidentally shot Ms Steenkamp through the bathroom door at his home in the east of Pretoria, thinking she was an intruder.

Under his bail conditions Pistorius must surrender any firearms and his passport and can not enter any international departure hall.

Ms Steenkamp's friend Kim Myers attended the bail hearing on Friday

He is also is banned from using any prohibited substance or alcohol and must report to police twice a week as part of his bail conditions.

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Savile: Pollard BBC Inquiry Evidence Released

A producer at the BBC proposed running an investigation into child abuse carried out by Jimmy Savile hours after the presenter's death, it has been revealed.

An email, released among thousands of pages of evidence from a report into the corporation's handling of the Savile affair, said that producer Meirion Jones suggested the show soon after it was known the former DJ had died.

Mr Jones - who was involved in the axed Newsnight investigation that prompted the Pollard inquiry - proposed the idea in an email headed "Jimmy Savile - paedophile".

He told BBC news bosses that some of the girls who had been molested by Savile were ready to talk about their experiences.

The email is among hundreds of documents and transcripts of interviews with senior figures that have now been released by the BBC.

The review led by Nick Pollard, former Head of Sky News, came in the wake of the fallout from Newsnight's decision to shelve an investigation into whether Savile was a paedophile.

Sky News' Media Correspondent Niall Paterson says the material from the report is in a format that makes it very difficult to review quickly.

Paxman: Savile was 'absurd' figure

He said it has been scanned and placed online by the BBC in a way that does not allow it to be electronically searched - meaning anyone wishing to locate particular passages must pore through the entire report.

Many of the pages feature sections that have been redacted to remove passages that lawyers feel could be libellous.

It has emerged that the Savile piece would have been shown on December 7, 2011 but Newsnight editor Peter Rippon decided the focus of the story should be changed to look at the Crown Prosecution Service's involvement.

Meirion Jones warned just days before the planned broadcast that it should go ahead because otherwise the BBC would be accused of a "cover-up" and a scandal could blow up.

He wrote: "I think if we go ahead with TX (transmission) next week there will be minor embarrassment to the BBC.

"If we cancel or delay till after Christmas there is a risk of another BBC scandal on the scale of the Queen or Jonathan Ross and similar damage to our core value of trust."

He urged the broadcast to go ahead because he said it would come out eventually, adding: "We know News International are all over this story."

Among others whose comments have been published is Jeremy Paxman. Eight out the 76 pages of what he told Mr Pollard have been blacked out.

Mr Paxman told the inquiry it was common gossip at the BBC that Savile liked young girls.

He told the inquiry: "It was ... common gossip that Jimmy Savile liked ... young ... girls... But I had no evidence of it, and I never saw anything that made me take it more seriously than it being common gossip."

The Newsnight presenter questioned how Savile had been allowed to rise to prominence within the BBC, referring to him as "this absurd and malign figure".

He said: "Suddenly pirate radio comes along and all these people ... suddenly have to deal with an influx ... of people from a very, very different culture and they never got control of them and I'm not sure even now they have."

'Flawed': Peter Rippon comes in for criticism in the report

Mark Thompson, who was Director General at the time of Savile's death and when the Newsnight piece was shelved, told the inquiry he knew of the investigation but had only been made aware of it at a party by a colleague.

He said: "The phrase that stuck in my mind is, 'You must be worried about the Newsnight investigation into Jimmy Savile'."

Mr Thompson said he did not regard Savile as "a kind of BBC person particularly" and said he would have been more worried if the investigation had been into a current member of staff.

Another of those interviewed, former Director General George Entwistle, told the inquiry the BBC had self-censored hundreds of comments placed by members of the public on a corporation tribute website to Savile.

The comments, which included one person who wrote "One of my best friends in 1972 was molested by this creep Savile. He was never the same again. Killed himself in 1985. How's About That Then?", were stopped from being published by a team of moderators.

The Director of News at the time, Helen Boaden, said she was not aware of the rumours that Savile was a paedophile.

She said: "When (Peter Rippon) first told me about the story, which was through an accidental meeting, I did actually get... hold of the wrong end of the stick because he said, 'We're doing this investigation which might be embarrassing for the BBC'.

"When I asked him what it was, he said, 'Jimmy Savile and teenage girls'. And since this, I think, was about three weeks after Jimmy Savile had died I thought it was one of those slightly tabloid-esque stories involving groupies... You often see them in the press when somebody has died.

"And I said, 'That doesn't sound like core Newsnight territory', but Peter went on to suggest that it was a very different story from that... It was about sexual abuse of teenage girls. So the taste issue for me wasn't critical."

But she said she then spoke to the Deputy Director of News Steve Mitchell who gave her a different impression.

She told Nick Pollard: "I took the strong impression from my conversation with Steve that actually this (Savile abuse story) was smoke without fire largely.

Ms Boaden said she was also concerned over the Savile story because... "I had just had a very painful experience with Primark... where we lost a very serious complaint. Essentially, Panorama put something on air which we couldn't demonstrate was true."

The Pollard Review  - which cost the corporation about £2m - concluded that the investigation was abandoned because of a "flawed" decision by the show's then editor, Peter Rippon.

Mr Rippon told Mr Pollard how he felt about making the decision.

He said:  "It was a fine judgement ... particularly because you are conscious of the kind of obligation and duty of care to the women that they are doing, that it makes it quite a big judgement to make."

The latest evidence is likely to place further criticism on the corporation for an apparent reluctance to hold to account executives whose actions brought about the crisis.

BBC chairman Lord Patten said: "These documents paint a very unhappy picture, but the BBC needs to be open - more open than others would be - in confronting the facts that lie behind Nick Pollard's report.

"A limited amount of text has been blacked out for legal reasons, but no one could say that the effect has been to sanitise this material, which again puts a spotlight on some of our failings. We need to acknowledge these shortcomings and learn from them."

Meanwhile, Scarborough Council has said it is likely that Savile will be formally stripped of his freedom of the borough title.

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Beheading: Man Guilty of Brit Gran's Murder

A man has been found guilty in Tenerife of murdering a British grandmother, who he decapitated on the Spanish island.

Bulgarian Deyan Deyanov has been convicted of killing 60-year-old Jennifer Mills-Westley in 2011.

The homeless 29-year-old drug addict was found guilty by a jury of nine at the Provincial Court in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

He repeatedly stabbed and then beheaded Ms Mills-Westley, who had been shopping in the popular resort of Los Cristianos on May 13, 2011.

Deyanov had denied murder. His defence had argued he was not criminally responsible for his actions because he suffers from acute paranoid schizophrenia.

He faces a sentence of 15 to 20 years in a psychiatric unit.

Deyan Deyanov (right). Photo: Ramon de la Rocha/PA Wire

Ms Mills-Westley, a retired road safety worker originally from Norwich, was attacked while she was in a Chinese-owned general store near the beach.

She had retired to the island to live in 2006 and owned two apartments in Los Cristianos, one of which she rented out.

That morning, Deyanov had walked into another shop and asked for a "big" knife because he was going to kill someone.

At 10.30am he went into the Mas Articulos Mejor Precios shop on Avenida Juan Carlos I, picked up a 22cm-long knife and plunged it into Ms Mills-Westley's neck 14 times.

He then walked out carrying her head, to the horror of onlookers, before being wrestled to the ground and arrested.

Living rough in Los Cristianos, the crack cocaine and LSD user was well-known to police on the island and had been arrested at least four times since January 2011 for violent offences.

A warrant for his arrest had been issued just three days before the killing but officers had been unable to locate him.

He had previously been sectioned in the summer of 2010 under the Mental Health Act in Glan Clwyd Hospital, North Wales, and again at Tenerife's La Candelaria hospital before being bailed in early February 2011.

The jury found that Deyanov was guilty of murder because he took his victim by surprise and she could not defend herself.

Even though he was suffering schizophrenia and his responsibility was diminished, in Spanish law he is guilty of murder.

Wearing an olive green hoodie, black tracksuit trousers and running shoes, Deyanov remained quiet and still as the verdict was read out.

Asked by magistrate Maria Jesus Garcia Sanchez if he had anything he wanted to say, he told his Bulgarian interpreter: "I am the the second reincarnation of Jesus Christ and I will bring the fire of the Holy Spirit to bear against this court."

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Oscar Pistorius Gets Bail Over Killing

Oscar Pistorius has been bailed by a court in South Africa after spending a week in custody charged with murdering model Reeva Steenkamp.

Cheers erupted as Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair read out his decision, which came at the end of a two-hour statement to the highly charged courtroom.

The magistrate set a number of conditions including one million rand (£73,000) in bail.

He will also be required to live at an undisclosed address, hand in his passport and report twice a week to a police station in Pretoria.

Pistorius' supporters prayed after the decision was announced

The double amputee is also banned from drinking alcohol, must hand over his guns and stay away from the estate where he lived.

And the magistrate added Pistorius still has lots questions to answer.

"I have difficulty in appreciating the accused did not ascertain the whereabouts of his girlfriend when he got off the the bed," Mr Nair said.

"I have difficulty with the accused not seeking to verify who was in the toilet when he could of ask.

The magistrate said Pistorius still has a lot of questions to answer

"I have difficulty understanding why the deceased didn't scream back from the toilet."

Sky's Alex Crawford said Pistorius burst into tears when the decision was read out.

"He had been crying quietly anyway, and it just seemed to prompt even more sobbing from him," Crawford said.

"His family are hugely relieved, some of them are crying, they're gathered together in a little huddle … hugging each other, some are sobbing, they are holding hands, and some at least appear to be praying."

The star is charged with premeditated murder over the shooting death of his girlfriend, Miss Steenkamp, in the early hours of February 14.

Pistorius left the courtroom in a silver vehicle

Prosecutors had warned that the star has the "money, means and motive" to flee South Africa if he is given bail.

But the judge said he did not believe Pistorius to be a "flight risk" or "pose a danger to society".

Pausing before he delivered his final decision to the packed courtroom, the magistrate said: "I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail".

About an hour-and-a-half later Pistorius was driven away from the court in a silver vehicle.

Family and friends cheered and cried as the decision was read out

The case has been postponed until June 4.

After the decision was granted, a representative of the state said the investigation was ongoing and there was more evidence to gather.

The Olympian's uncle Arnold said after the decision: "Although we are obviously relieved that Oscar has been granted bail, this is still a very sad time for the family of Reeva and for us.

"We are grateful that the magistrate recognised the validity and strength of our application.

"As the family, we are convinced that Oscar's version of what happened on that terrible night will prove to be true."

Miss Steenkamp's friend Kim Myers said it was a very sad time

Outside the court, a friend of Miss Steenkamp, Kim Myers, said it has been a very sad time and people must remember the trial has not started.

"The bail application is not a trial and we hope and trust the justice will prevail," she said.

"We need to remember that some still lost their life.

"Our hearts and thoughts and prayers just go out to the Steenkamp family."

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Oscar Pistorius Granted Bail: Live Reaction

1:17pm

What Pistorius said about the moment Reeva died: "I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled her into the bathroom. I phoned Johan Stander ("Stander") who was involved in the administration of the estate and asked him to phone the ambulance. I phoned Netcare and asked for help. I went downstairs to open the front door.
I returned to the bathroom and picked Reeva up as I had been told not to wait for the paramedics, but to take her to hospital. I carried her downstairs in order to take her to the hospital. On my way down Stander arrived. A doctor who lives in the complex also arrived. Downstairs, I tried to render the assistance to Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms."

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Oscar Pistorius: 'No Forensic Evidence For Murder'

There is no forensic evidence to prove that Oscar Pistorius murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the Olympian's lawyer has told the court.

Barry Roux, acting for Pistorius, today attempted to pick apart the prosecution's claims arguing that the athlete better known as Blade Runner should be granted bail.

He said that the quality of the police evidence against the 26-year-old was poor and exposed "disastrous shortcomings" in the case.

Mr Roux outlined his case on the third day of Pistorius' bail hearing as the sporting hero sobbed in the dock.

Speaking from the court in Pretoria, Sky's Alex Crawford said: "He (Mr Roux) has started going point-by-point through each of the charges, or points, that the state has made as to why he (Pistorius) should not get bail.

"He has basically tried to steer the magistrate towards thinking that Oscar Pistorius has exceptional circumstances why he should be granted bail."

Oscar Pistorius holds a tissue as the defence outlines its case

The defence also pointed out that:

:: Pistorius tried to save Miss Steenkamp's life by carrying her downstairs and calling Netcare.

:: Pistorius didn't know the toilet door was locked when he shot - addressing the prosecution question over why a burglar would lock themselves in the bathroom.

:: Lead investigating officer Hilton Botha "did not show honesty" when giving evidence.

:: Botha tailored his evidence to incriminate Pistorius as much as possible.

:: Pistorius and Miss Steenkamp had a loving relationship and the prosecution had not proved otherwise.

:: If Pistorius had waited for police to arrive after Miss Steenkamp's death, why would he abscond now?

The family of Pistorius watch proceedings intently

Magistrate Desmond Nair asked Mr Roux: "Do you think there will be shock if the accused is released?"

Mr Roux replied: "No, after hearing his defence I think there will be shock if he's not."

The defence laid out its case amid scenes of high drama as proceedings were halted because of a "threat outside the court". However, no threat emerged and the court reconvened with no explanation from the magistrate over the adjournment.

Responding, the prosecution said:

:: He fired four shots so it was clear that Pistorius planned to kill someone.

:: Asked why he had not woken his girlfriend to ask her if she had heard and intruder?

:: Questioned why Miss Steenkamp had taken her mobile phone with her to the toilet at 3am.

The court has been adjourned and will reconvene tomorrow.

Detective Hilton Botha is facing charges of attempted murder

Earlier in the morning it had emerged that the leading officer in the case, Botha, is himself facing seven charges of attempted murder.

He is alleged to have shot at seven passengers as he attempted to stop a minibus in October 2011 while drunk on duty.

The charges were initially dropped but the state prosecutor reinstated them in the days before Miss Steenkamp was killed.

Police said that they were only informed of the reinstated charges yesterday and had subsequently bolstered the team investigating the killing of Miss Steenkamp.

Botha, who will himself appear in court in May, denies that he had been drinking and said that the people he was shooting at were suspects in an investigation.

The officer was summoned to the court by the magistrate this morning, however, the attempted murder charges were not addressed.

Instead Botha was asked about mobile phone records for Miss Steenkamp and Pistorius around the hours of the shooting.

Under cross-examination on Wednesday, Botha was accused of contaminating the crime scene in the Paralympic star's home and backtracked on key details, including the distance of witnesses from the house.

In his often confused testimony, Botha, who was described as a 24-year police veteran with 16 years experience as a detective, conceded that police had left a 9 mm slug from the shots that killed Miss Steenkamp inside a toilet at the scene.

Nike has suspended its endorsement of Pistorius

Police also lost track of illegal ammunition found inside the house, Botha said, and the detective himself walked through the crime scene without wearing protective shoe covers, potentially contaminating the area.

He also claimed in court that police found boxes of testosterone and needles in Pistorius' bedroom following the Valentine's Day shooting last week, but then said later he wasn't sure what the exact name of the substance was.

Miss Steenkamp, 29, was hit by three bullets - one in the head, the hip and arm, Pretoria Magistrates Court heard.

Pistorius has admitted shooting the model with a 9mm pistol pulled from under his bed, but claims he did so thinking she was a burglar who was in the bathroom.

After realising his mistake, he said he broke down the door with a cricket bat and carried her downstairs.

As today's hearing started, Nike confirmed that it had suspended its endorsement contract with Pistorius.

A spokesman said: "We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely."

:: The family of the athlete have devoted his official website to updates about the bail hearing and messages of support.

"We will issue at least two statements a day, in order to provide the media with the freshest news, taking into account the time differences," said Janine Hills, the chief executive of Vuma corporate reputation management.

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Pistorius Cop Facing Attempted Murder Charges

The police officer leading the Oscar Pistorius investigation has been replaced.

The move comes after it emerged that Hilton Botha is facing attempted murder charges.

Mr Botha and two other officers are alleged to have opened fire on seven passengers in a taxi mini-bus in an attempt to stop it. It is claimed that the officers, who were on duty at the time, were drunk.

They were arrested after the event in October 2011 and charges were initially dropped but were reinstated by the state prosecutor in the days before the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp.

Oscar Pistorius arrives at court for the third day of his bail hearing

Prosecutors had said that he should no longer be allowed to carry on investigating the case against the Olympian.

The South African Police Service has confirmed the charges against the detective and launched an investigation which may see Botha suspended.

Spokesman Neville Malila said: "We were only informed yesterday that attempted murders charges against Hilton Botha have been reinstated."

Neville Malila said they had bolstered the investigation team

Botha was summoned to the courtroom at the beginning of the third day of Pistorius' bail hearing, however, he was only asked to clarify why there had been delays in getting the mobile phone records of Pistorius and Miss Steenkamp in the hours surrounding the shooting incident.

The police only discovered the charges against Botha had been reinstated yesterday, although the decision was made before Miss Steenkamp's death. He is to appear in court in May.

Prosecutors admitted that the timing of the attempted murder charges had been "totally weird".

It is unclear why the charges against Botha were reinstated. He denies being drunk and has told a South African news channel that he was chasing suspects.

Hilton Botha arrives at court to give evidence at Pistorius' bail hearing

Sky's Alex Crawford said he was "absolutely shocked" and only heard about the charges being reinstated this morning.

Under cross-examination during Pistorius' bail hearing, Botha was accused of contaminating the crime scene in the Paralympic star's home and backtracked on key details, including the distance of witnesses from the house.

In his often confused testimony, Botha, who was described as a 24-year police veteran with 16 years as a detective, conceded that police had left a 9 mm slug from the shots that killed Miss Steenkamp inside a toilet at the scene.

Oscar Pistorius is due to find out whether he will be granted bail

Police also lost track of illegal ammunition found inside the house, Botha said, and the detective himself walked through the crime scene without wearing protective shoe covers, potentially contaminating the area.

He also claimed in court that police found boxes of testosterone and needles in multiple Paralympic champion Pistorius' bedroom following the Valentine's Day shooting last week, but then said later he wasn't sure what the exact name of the substance was.

The lead defence counsel Barry Roux accused the police of oversights and mistakes on their initial investigation.

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Three Dead In Las Vegas 'Rolling Gun Battle'

Three people are dead and at least three wounded after a "rolling gun battle" and multi-vehicle crash on the Las Vegas strip, police have confirmed.

Sgt John Sheahan said five vehicles were involved, including a taxi that burst into flames and killed two people at a busy intersection.

The officer said people in a Maserati and an sports utility vehicle (SUV) were exchanging gunfire before the Maserati hit the taxi.

The Maserati driver, the taxi driver and a taxi passenger were killed.

Three other vehicles were involved in the wreck, but Sgt Sheahan says the SUV was gone when police arrived.

At least three people were taken to hospital, including a passenger from the Maserati.

Sgt Sheahan said more people may be hurt.

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Terrorist Bomb Plot: Three Men Convicted

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

Three men have been found guilty of leading a terrorist bomb plot that could have been bigger than the July 7 atrocities.

Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali, 27, all from Birmingham, wanted up to eight suicide bombers to detonate rucksacks packed with explosives in crowded places.

"They were deadly serious and they were hell bent because of the training they'd had and the things they said", said Detective Inspector Adam Gough, from West Midlands Police.

"On committing these acts there's no doubt whatsoever they were going to build bombs and martyr themselves and kill as many people as they could."

Prosecutor Brian Altman QC told the jury: "The police successfully disrupted a plan to commit an act or acts of terrorism on a scale potentially greater than the London bombings in July 2005, had it been allowed to run its course."

Naseer, known as 'Chubbs' or 'Big Irfan', and Khalid, nicknamed 'Little Irfan' both spent a total of 15 months, during two trips, in terror training camps in Pakistan, and made martyrdom videos.

They shared all they knew with Ali, who provided his council flat as a 'safe house' for them to meet in Balsall Heath.

In September 2011,  when they started to experiment with making bombs, officers, who had them under surveillance, decided to arrest them.

They found that Naseer, a trained chemist from Sparkhill, had written instructions on how to assemble an improvised explosive device or IED.

Inspired by Al Qaeda, the cell criticised the 7/7 London bombers for not putting nails in their explosives.

Counter Terrorism Officers, who were recording their conversations, overheard them discussing the use of AK47 assault rifles and poisons, as well as blowing themselves up. No specific target locations were mentioned.

The men even raised more than £13,000 in bogus Muslim Aid collections in Sparkbrook for their plot, over 23 days. They only had a licence to collect for one day. Only a fraction of the money reached the charity.

Mr Justice Henriques told the trio that they will all face life in prison when they are sentenced in April or May.

Speaking to Naseer, he said he had been convicted on "overwhelming evidence" and that he will face "a very long minimum term".

The judge said: "You are a highly skilled bomb maker and explosives expert. Your mindset was similarly manifest."

Four other men, Naweed Ali, 24; Ishaaq Hussain, 20; Khobaib Hussain, 20 and Shahid Khan, 20, admitted travelling to Pakistan for terrorist training. Three returned within days and a fourth later, after the family of one of them discovered where they had gone.

Mujtahid Hussain, 21, who was heavily involved in raising money for terrorism has admitted fund raising.

Two people whom the three allegedly tried to recruit to their plan, Ashik Ali's older brother, Bahader Ali, 29, and Mohammed Rizwan, 34, deny the charges they face and are due to stand trial later.

Ashik Ali's estranged wife, Salma Kabal, 23, who is accused of knowing of her husband's terrorist intentions but failing to disclose them to the authorities, will also be tried later.

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Vicky Pryce Jury Fails To Reach A Verdict

Pryce Trial: Jury's Questions

Updated: 3:24pm UK, Wednesday 20 February 2013

Here are the 10 questions the jury in the Vicky Pryce case put to the judge on Tuesday.

1. Can a juror come to a verdict based on a reason that was not presented in court and has no facts or evidence to support it, either from the prosecution or defence?."

Judge: "No."

2. "Can you speculate about the events at the time Ms Pryce signed the form or what was in her mind at that time?"

Judge: "No."

3. "If there is debatable evidence supporting the prosecution's case, can inferences be drawn to arrive at a verdict?"

Judge: "The drawing of inferences is a permissible process, speculation is not."

4. Can we infer anything from the fact that the defence did not bring witnesses from the time of the alleged offence, such as an au pair or neighbours?

5. Is the defendant obliged to present a defence?

The judge said: "There is no burden on the defendant to prove her innocence. On the contrary there is no burden on the defendant to prove anything at all."

6. Can you define "reasonable doubt"?

The judge replied: "A reasonable doubt is a doubt which is reasonable."These are ordinary English words that the law doesn't allow me to help you with beyond the written directions that I have already given."

7. Can you expand on the definition of the defence of marital coercion, providing examples, and whether it requires violence or physical acts?

The judge said it did not require violence or physical threats and meant a woman was so affected by pressure from her husband that she was "impelled" to commit an offence and truly believed she had no real choice.

8. Would religious conviction be a good enough reason for a wife to feel she had no choice, because she promised to obey her husband in wedding vows?

The judge said the question was not about the case, and Pryce had not suggested any such reasoning was behind her decision to take Huhne's points.

9. Which facts in the court bundle can we consider when reaching a verdict?

The judge said: "You decide the case on the evidence. That means it is for you to review all of the evidence and decide which of it you consider to be important, truthful and reliable, and then decide what conclusions, common sense conclusions, you can safely draw by way of inference from that evidence."

10. "In the scenario where the defendant may be guilty but there is not enough evidence provided by the prosecution at the material time when she signed the Notice of Intended Prosecution between May 3-7, 2003, to feel sure beyond reasonable doubt, what should the verdict be, not guilty or unable/unsafe to provide a verdict?"

The judge told them they could only convict if at least 10 of them were sure Pryce was guilty.

He added: "If for whatever reason any one or more of you feel less than confident that you understand and are able to apply my directions of law then it will be wholly wrong for any juror in that position to reach a verdict one way or the other.

"If after further consideration you find yourselves in a position that you are simply not able to agree no matter how much longer you continue to debate and that's going to remain the position, then you must of course have the courage to say so by your foreman sending me a note to that effect."

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Oscar Pistorius: Prosecution Outlines Case

Prosecutors have directly challenged two of Oscar Pistorius' key claims about the night he shot and killed his girlfriend.

Investigating officer Hilton Botha says a witness saw lights on after the shooting - despite the Paralympian earlier claiming he was too frightened to switch on the light fearing intruders were inside his home.

A statement on behalf of the 26-year-old athlete - read out in court on Tuesday - also said he was not wearing his prosthetic legs at the time and felt vulnerable.

But Mr Botha said that the trajectory of the shots fired through the bathroom door was downward, suggesting that he was firing from a standing position at a height where he must have a been wearing the limbs.

The court was also told that "non-stop shouting" was heard coming from Pistorius' home before Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead.

A diagram of Oscar Pistorius' bathroom was shown to the court

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the prosecution team has a witness who heard the shouting between 2am and 3am.

The details were revealed as the second day of the 26-year-old athlete's bail hearing began at Pretoria Magistrates' Court.

In an affidavit, Pistorius has denied murdering the model Miss Steenkamp, 29, at his home in the early hours of Thursday.

He has said the couple were in love and he fired through a closed toilet door within the bathroom, hitting the victim, thinking a burglar or burglars were inside.

Mr Botha described the moment he arrived at the athlete's house in the early hours of the morning and found Miss Steenkamp's body lying on the ground floor at the bottom of the stairs.

Miss Steenkamp's funeral was held in Port Elizabeth

He said she was dressed in white shorts and a black top, and covered in towels.

The officer told the court that he saw a firearm on the shower mat, and one bullet cartridge in the passageway and three in the bathroom.

He said unlicensed .38 calibre ammunition was found at his home, and he wanted the Olympian charged with unlawful possession.

Needles and testosterone were also found in his bedroom, the court heard.

The court heard that he had previously arrested Pistorius for assault after a woman complained the athlete had assaulted her - the case was later dropped.

Earlier the Paralympian arrived at the court in the back of a police car with a blue blanket covering his head. He entered the courtroom wearing a dark suit and tie just after 8am UK time.

The chances of Pistorius being given bail lessened at the first bail hearing on Tuesday after Magistrate Desmond Nair ruled the case a schedule six offence - meaning premeditated murder.

It means his lawyers now have to prove "exceptional circumstances" for him to be granted bail until he goes to trial.

Mr Botha told the court that Pistorius is a "flight risk" and could flee if given bail.

He admitted that he initially had no objections to Pistorius being given bail, but changed his mind after speaking to the forensics team.

He said the athlete has offshore accounts and a house in Italy, and stresses that South Africa does not have extradition agreements with all countries.

Pistorius has said he had been a victim of crime and received death threats, but the court heard there were no records of this.

His father Henke and brother Carl - who have supported him in the two previous hearings - looked on from the public gallery.

The proceedings were delayed as more than 100 journalists squeezed into court to report the hearing.

There were chaotic scenes as one reporter fainted, an overflow room was set up to provide more space and courtroom screens had technical problems.

The hearing was adjourned until Thursday, but one court official has speculated that it could run until Friday.

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Oscar Pistorius' Defence Team Grills Top Cop

The police detective investigating the killing of Reeva Steenkamp has admitted there were no signs that she had defended herself against an assault before she died.

Oscar Pistorius' defence lawyer Barry Roux grilled investigating officer Hilton Botha as the South African sports star sought bail.

He also raised doubts over the reliability of a witness who said they heard screaming and saw lights on in Pistorius' house after the shots were fired – in direct contradiction of the star's earlier statement.

Mr Roux pointed out that the apparent witness was hundreds of metres away from the house.

The prosecution, which wants to prove that the runner had deliberately planned to kill Miss Steenkamp, was also forced to admit that Pistorius's claim that he mistook her for an intruder matched the crime scene.

"It sounds consistent," Mr Botha said.

He also admitted that he walked through the crime scene without foot covers, possibly contaminating it.

"You were in the house walking with unprotected shoes," Mr Roux said. "That should not happen."

Oscar Pistorius denies murdering his girlfriend

A prosecution claim that Pistorius sleeps on the right side of the bed was also challenged.

Mr Roux said: "He normally sleeps on the right side of the bed. But he had a shoulder problem so that evening he slept on the left side."

Mr Botha told the court on Wednesday that a police search found testosterone and needles in Pistorius' bedroom, amid speculation that performance-enhancing drugs may have influenced his mental state.

But Mr Roux said the substance was not testosterone but an acceptable supplement: "It's a herbal remedy and he can use it and he has used it before."

Sky's Alex Crawford, reporting from the court, said: "I think very much the family feels this has been a good day for the defence."

Pistorius, the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in the Olympics, says he shot her by mistake through a locked bathroom door, believing she was a burglar.

The 26-year-old said he kept a firearm under his bed at night because he had been a victim of violence and burglaries before and had received death threats.

But the state prosecutor said the athlete would face an additional charge of possessing unlicenced .38 special calibre ammunition.

Magistrate Desmond Nair said he could not rule out that there was some planning involved in the killing, which may be considered as a premeditated murder, setting a high bar for bail.

The bail hearing was adjourned until Thursday.

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Oscar Pistorius: What Police Found At The Scene

During the second day of Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing, police described what they found in his house after the body of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was discovered at the foot of stairs on the ground floor.

Bedroom

:: Investigating officer Hilton Botha told the court police found two boxes of testosterone, needles and injections in the bedroom.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux said the box contained herbal medication called Testocompasutium co-enzyme, not testosterone.

:: Mr Botha said a gun holster was found on the left side of the bed where Ms Steenkamp's slippers and overnight bag were.

::  Pistorius illegally possessed .38-caliber ammunition in a safe in his bedroom, according to Mr Botha but the defence lawyer said it belonged to the athlete's father.

A diagram of Pistorius' house shown in court

Bathroom

:: Mr Botha said he saw a firearm on the shower mat, one bullet cartridge in the passageway and three in the bathroom.

:: Mr Roux said there was a spent bullet inside the toilet bowl, which Mr Botha had failed to find.

:: An iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 were found on the shower mat, which Mr Botha said had not been used to call the ambulance. However, Mr Roux said Pistorius had called Netcare hospital at 3.20am and the housing complex manager received a call asking for help.

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Reeva Steenkamp Funeral: Family Pay Tribute

The family of shot Reeva Steenkamp have paid an emotional tribute following her funeral, as one mourner said her killer must "stay in jail".

They attended a private service in Port Elizabeth as her boyfriend, the athlete Oscar Pistorius, appeared in court charged with premeditated murder.

Ms Steenkamp died from gun wounds

Mike Steenkamp, her uncle, said they would remain positive about her life: "We have to keep Reeva in our hearts forever." 

He also thanked well-wishers in South Africa and around the world for their "tremendous" compassion.

Ms Steenkamp's brother, Adam, said: "There's a space missing inside all the people that she knew that can't be filled again. We'll miss her."

Mourners including her father Barry and mother June earlier comforted each other outside a crematorium in the city, in southern South Africa, before the 29-year-old's casket was carried inside.

Gavin Venter, who used to work for Barry Steenkamp, said: "Without a doubt (Pistorius) is a danger to the public ... He must stay in jail. He's already shown how dangerous he can be for what he did to Reeva."

The model and law graduate died from gunshot wounds on Thursday.

Hundreds of miles away from the funeral, prosecutors have been laying out details of the case against Pistorius, 26, at a bail hearing in Pretoria.

They say Paralympian and Olympian Pistorius, who denies murder, put on his prosthetic legs and walked seven metres before firing four times through a bathroom door at his luxury home in Pretoria, killing her.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the packed court that an unarmed Ms Steenkamp locked herself inside the cramped bathroom because she was scared after a row.

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Oscar Pistorius: 'I Did Not Mean To Kill Her'

Oscar Pistorius said he had no intention of killing his girlfriend and loved her deeply according to an affidavit read out in court by his lawyer.

Earlier in the hearing, prosecutors claimed Pistorius got up from bed, put on his prosthetic legs and walked seven metres before shooting Reeva Steenkamp through a closed bathroom door. 

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the details showed it was a premeditated murder, adding there was "a motive to kill".

But in a statement detailing his version of events, Pistorius said he woke up in pitch darkness to a sound in the bathroom believing an intruder had climbed through the window. He described his sense of terror.

Oscar Pistorius is charged with murdering Reeva Steenkamp

The 26-year-old didn't realise Ms Steenkamp wasn't in bed and shot at the door on his stumps, feeling vulnerable without his prosthetics.

The Paralympian said he then put on his prosthetic legs and used a cricket bat to break open the bathroom door where the 29-year-old was alive, slumped over in the toilet. He called the paramedics before she died in his arms.

"I'm absolutely mortified at the death of my beloved Reeva," the statement said.

Pistorius added that he had previously received death threats, so kept a 9mm pistol under his bed.

:: How The Hearing Unfolded In Court

In an affidavit from close friends of the pair, Ms Steenkamp's best friend said the model told her she would marry Pistorius if he asked.

The magistrate had to stop the proceedings briefly as Pistorius sobbed uncontrollably as he listened.

A gun being carried from Pistorius' home

Earlier, magistrate Desmond Nair ruled that, for the purpose of the bail hearing, the case was a schedule six offence or premeditated murder, which means it will be difficult for the sports icon to get bail. 

Outlining the prosecution case, Mr Nel said Ms Steenkamp fled to the small, cramped bathroom and locked herself in because she was scared after they'd had a row on Valentine's Day.

Ms Steenkamp was killed by three of the four shots fired by Pistorius at his home in South Africa last Thursday. The family attended her funeral in Port Elizabeth this morning.

Mr Nel said the defence had a number of questions to answer, including:

:: Why did Pistorius carry Ms Steenkamp's body down a staircase after she was shot?

Relatives and friends at the funeral of Ms Steenkamp

:: Why didn't Pistorius look for his girlfriend if he suspected there was a burglar in the house?

:: Why did Ms Steenkamp lock herself in the toilet - was she afraid of being shot or killed?

:: Why did he put on his prosthetic limbs and walk seven metres to the bathroom?

Mr Nel said: "If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated. The door is closed. There is no doubt. I walk seven metres and I kill. The motive is 'I want to kill'. That's it."

Pistorius, who won two gold medals at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, broke down in tears at the start of the hearing.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, inside the court in Pretoria, said the double amputee's "face was creased in pain" and he was "weeping" as he was formally charged with murder.

The prosecutor said Pistorius, nicknamed the Blade Runner, "killed an innocent woman".

At the start of proceedings, Pistorius, in a grey suit and tie, nodded after the chief magistrate asked if he was well. And he nodded his appreciation when his brother, Carl, pressed his shoulder in support.

Journalists jammed into the courtroom, which was full with almost 100 people, including Pistorius' father, Henke, and sister Aimee.

The hearing has been adjourned until Wednesday.

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Oscar Pistorius: Clashing Accounts Of Shooting

Two very different versions of what happened in the moments before Reeva Steenkamp's death have been heard at a bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius.

The athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine's Day. He denies murder.

Below are the key arguments from the prosecution, along with Pistorius' account of events as read from his statement in court.

:: The Prosecution

Pistorius fired his gun four times into the door of a bathroom, knowing that Ms Steenkamp was inside after an argument.

She had locked herself in the room after fleeing down a seven-metre passage from the bedroom following the row at Pistorius' luxury home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius followed her with his 9mm pistol, first putting on his prosthetic legs.

He shot his gun four times through the door, killing an "unarmed and defenceless" woman. The door was then broken open from the outside.

There was "no possible explanation" to support Pistorius' claim of mistaken identity - that he believed the person inside the bathroom was a burglar.

If that were the case, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued, why wasn't Pistorius' first thought to the whereabouts of his girlfriend?

Mr Nel argued there was a motive for the killing.

:: The Defence

Pistorius had "no intention" of killing his "beloved" Ms Steenkamp and he is "absolutely mortified" by her death.

In the early hours he heard a noise and thought an intruder had come through a bathroom window and was hiding there. He felt vulnerable and shouted for the intruder to get out and for Ms Steenkamp to call police.

It was dark and Pistorius thought Ms Steenkamp was lying on her bed, not that she was in the bathroom. He wanted to protect her.

Pistorius hobbled to the bathroom on his stumps and fired his gun, a 9mm pistol he kept under his bed because he had received death threats.

After the shooting, he returned to his bed and saw that Ms Steenkamp was not there.

He shouted for help, broke open a door with a cricket bat and found her still alive. He carried her downstairs.

He had got up to fetch a fan from the balcony when he heard the noise in the toilet earlier, which is why he did not notice Ms Steenkamp was not on the bed.

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Mantel's Piece On Duchess Causes A Storm

Hilary Mantel has caused a furore after giving a speech in which she appeared to criticise the Duchess of Cambridge.

The Daily Mail ran a front-page article hitting out at the two-times Booker Prize-winner for her "venomous attack" on the former Kate Middleton.

In a speech earlier this month, Mantel said Prince William's wife was like a "jointed doll on which certain rags were hung ... a shop-window mannequin".

Mantel said that as a royal consort, Kate "appeared to have been designed by committee and built by craftsmen, with a perfect plastic smile and the spindles of her limbs hand-turned and gloss-varnished".

Even David Cameron - who is on a trip to India - commented about the affair, saying Mantel's comments were "completely misguided and completely wrong".

Kate on a visit to a treatment centre in London on Tuesday

But the author's remarks, which were reprinted this week in the London Review Of Books, seem to have been taken out of context.

Her speech was about the British public's complex relationship with royalty over the centuries - a relationship both symbiotic and voyeuristic.

It looked at the way the public and the press glorify and destroy royals, from Anne Boleyn to Diana, Princess of Wales, casting them in roles and stories in which "adulation can swing to persecution within hours".

Nevertheless, the Daily Mail labelled it an "astonishing and venomous attack" on Kate.

It quoted Mantel's speech at length, although it did not point out that Mantel was describing what she saw as a view of Kate constructed by the press and public opinion.

In her speech, Mantel said Diana "passed through trials, through ordeals at the world's hands".

She also said Prince Harry "doesn't know which he is, a person or a prince" - a confusion on which Harry himself recently remarked.

The author called Kate's eyes in her official portrait "dead"

And she said Kate, whose first child is due in July, finds herself cast by the press as someone whose "only point and purpose (is) to give birth".

Mantel ended her speech with a plea for people to "back off and not be brutes".

The 60-year-old won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2009 and 2012 for Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies.

The novels are set in the time of King Henry VIII, focusing on the King's search for a queen who will give him a male heir.

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Weather: Snow Fears As Temperatures Plunge

Temperatures are set to nose-dive across the UK with fears bitterly cold winds from the east could bring a blanket of snow.

Relatively mild weather is expected to deteriorate from Wednesday onwards, with the onset of icy gusts from Scandinavia.

And with temperatures forecast to fall close to freezing, the chances are increasing of another batch of snow as the weekend arrives.

Sky News meteorologist Christopher England said: "The really cold days are going to begin on Wednesday, when we'll see some easterly winds coming in from Scandinavia.

"At the moment we've got temperatures of around seven, eight or nine degrees Celsius (44.6-48.2F), but it will be more like two or three (35.6-37.4F) later in the week.

"That will certainly mean widespread overground frost.

"Those sorts of temperatures are going to last into the weekend, when we might even see some snow flurries in the south.

"It will be cold enough for snow, but that's all we can say at this stage."

Parts of the country received up to 4ft of snow at the end of January.

The weather left hundreds of motorists stranded as travel networks were crippled, with disruption continuing as melting snow and heavy rain caused flooding.

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Richard Briers Dies: Good Life Actor Aged 79

Actor Richard Briers - known to millions for TV's The Good Life - has died at the age of 79.

The star, who was also known for his Shakespearean roles, had been battling a serious lung condition for a number of years.

Briers, who starred in shows such as Ever Decreasing Circles and Monarch Of The Glen, recently blamed years of smoking for his emphysema.

His agent said he died "peacefully" at his London home on Sunday.

Briers will be best remembered for his performance as Tom Good, alongside Felicity Kendal, in the 1970s BBC1 sitcom The Good Life.

The show revolved around a couple who drop out of the rat race in Surbiton, south west London, to enjoy a life of simple self-sufficiency.

In an interview carried out only weeks ago, the actor told how his health was failing after being diagnosed with emphysema five years ago, which he attributed to years of smoking, although he gave up 10 years ago.

"I was diagnosed five years ago and didn't think it would go quite as badly as it has," he said.

Richard Briers with Felicity Kendal in The Good Life

"I used to love smoking. It's totally my fault. So, I get very breathless, which is a pain in the backside.

"Trying to get upstairs ... oh God, it's ridiculous. Of course, when you're bloody nearly 80 it's depressing, because you've had it anyway."

His agent, Christopher Farrar, of Hamilton Hodell, said: "Richard was a wonderful man, a consummate professional and an absolute joy to work alongside.

"Following his recent discussion of his battle with emphysema, I know he was incredibly touched by the strength of support expressed by friends and the public.

"He has a unique and special place in the hearts of so many. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go to his family at this sad time."

His varied career saw him narrating the 1970s children's cartoon series Roobarb And Custard, as well as adding his voice to the animated version of Watership Down.

Although long known for his comedy roles in film and TV, a new strand to his career unfolded when he joined Sir Kenneth Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, and went on to work on a number of classical roles.

Sir Kenneth spoke fondly as he paid tribute to Briers, saying: "He was a national treasure, a great actor and a wonderful man. He was greatly loved and he will be deeply missed."

They worked together on Henry V, Peter's Friends, Much Ado About Nothing and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein during their lengthy association.

Rada-trained Briers made his West End debut in the late 1950s in Gilt And Gingerbread, and went on to work on a number of British films - Bottoms Up, Murder She Said, The Girl On The Boat and Fathom, alongside Raquel Welch.

Sunday Telegraph theatre critic Tim Walker told Sky News that Briers had an "appetite for hard work".

"He was a proper, grown-up stage actor," he said.

"Very much respected in the profession. I remember seeing him in London Assurance back in 2010, so quite recently, when he was on great form.

"He'd always say to me: 'Oh, I'm so lucky I'm working and it's amazing they haven't seen through me'. That was very much typical of him and I think, to some extent, his generation."

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Oscar Pistorius: Grief of Girlfriend's Mother

The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, who was allegedly murdered by boyfriend Oscar Pistorius, has asked: "Why my little girl?"

Speaking out for the first time about the death of her 29-year-old daughter, June Steenkamp told the Times of South Africa: "She had so much of herself to give and now all that is gone - just like that, she is gone.

"In the blink of an eye and a single breath, the most beautiful person who ever lived is no longer here.

"All we have is this horrendous death to deal with ... to get to grips with.

"All we want are answers ... answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this."

She said: "Why my little girl? Why did this happen? Why did he do this?"

Gold medal-winning Paralympian Pistorius was arrested and charged last Thursday with the premeditated murder of Miss Steenkamp, a model who he had been dating since November.

Oscar Pistorius had been dating Reeva Steenkamp since November

Miss Steenkamp's father Barry said on Sunday he did not hate Pistorius following his arrest.

More than 100 people are expected to attend an hour-long memorial service for the law graduate on Tuesday.

She will be cremated in her home town of Port Elizabeth, in a private ceremony for family and friends.

Well-wishers have already begun placing bouquets of flowers outside the family home.

Thousands of people saw her appear in a TV programme on Saturday night after her family said they wanted the broadcast to go ahead.

There had been controversy over the airing of Tropika Island of Treasure as Miss Steenkamp talked about how making the right 'exit' was important.

The broadcast went ahead after the programme makers said they had been told that the family wanted it to be shown.

Her uncle Mike Steenkamp said the family had been overwhelmed with offers of help.

Police have said Miss Steenkamp was shot four times in the early hours of Thursday by a pistol owned by Pistorius and died of her wounds at the scene.

His family has insisted that the evidence will refute "any possibility of a premeditated murder or indeed any murder at all".

Pistorius, 26, who broke down sobbing in his first court appearance on Friday, has built up a powerful team of lawyers, medical specialists and public relations experts for his defence.

Stuart Higgins, a former editor of The Sun newspaper, whose lengthy list of clients includes British Airways, Chelsea FC and Manchester United football club, will be handling Pistorius' public relations.

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Tenerife Beheading: Court Shown CCTV Footage

The daughters of a British woman beheaded in a shop in Tenerife have seen horrific CCTV footage as it played out in court.

Jennifer Mills-Westley, 60, was viciously stabbed and decapitated with a nine-inch carving knife in the popular resort of Los Cristianos on May 13, 2011.

Bulgarian Deyan Deyanov, who is homeless, has denied murder and told the court he is haunted by voices telling him how to act.

The defence has said he is suffering from "acute schizophrenia".

After watching CCTV footage of the attack, Deyanov said it was "a montage, a film" and claimed that he did not recognise himself in the images.

Jennifer Mills-Westley

Ms Mills-Westley's daughters, Sarah Mears, 43, and Samantha Gomes, 39, were in court as the CCTV footage was shown. Mrs Gomes covered her mouth in horror.

Giving evidence, Mrs Mears explained that in the months before her death, her mother had become worried about safety on the island.

"It was nothing specific but she was increasingly concerned that Tenerife was not as safe as when we used to visit 30 years ago," she said.

Ms Mills-Wesley was attacked while shopping in Los Cristianos

Mrs Mears added: "All I want to see is justice done for my mum today."

Ms Mills-Westley, who is originally from Norwich, had been living in Tenerife after retiring from her job as a road safety officer with Norfolk County Council.

Deyanov is alleged to have walked into another shop before the attack to ask for a large knife.

After killing Ms Mills-Westley, the 29-year-old was apparently heard saying "God is on earth" before he was captured by security guards as he ran out of the store holding her head.

The family of Ms Mills-Westley arrive in court - including her daughters

The jury was shown two knives allegedly used in the attack. Both were 22cm long and one was visibly bent and bloodied.

Franciso Beltran, for the defence, told the jury his client was in "total disagreement" with the charge of murder against him.

"He has committed no crime, and it goes without saying that he has not committed the crime of murder," Mr Beltran said.

He asked the jury see his client as a "sick man" who had been living on the streets without a diagnosis or treatment for his acute schizophrenia.

Sarah Mears

He claimed they were telling him he was "an angel of Jesus Christ who is going to create a new Jerusalem".

"They direct how I act, sometimes they say kill, fight, hit, pray," he said.

The defendant said he had been using crack cocaine and LSD before his arrest, but had no memory of living in Tenerife.

Asked if he knew he was in Tenerife after being brought there from a psychiatric unit in Seville on the Spanish mainland, he said: "I have just found out."

He also denied that he had lived in Wales, where he was sectioned in the summer of 2010 under the Mental Health Act at Glan Clwyd Hospital.

Last week Ms Mears and Mrs Gomes said they were attending the trial in order to come "face to face" with the killer and hope to banish memories which have been "shrouded by the brutality of her death".

The trial is expected to conclude on February 25 but there is no date for the verdict.

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Brit Backpacker: I Feel Lucky To Be Alive

A British backpacker missing in the scorching Australian outback for three days has told of how he did everything he could to survive - including drink his own urine and contact lens solution.

Sam Woodhead, 18, became lost after he set out for a jog from the remote Queensland cattle station where he had worked for less than two weeks.

But the chance discovery of packets of lenses in his rucksack - put there by his father, Peter - helped to keep him going for 72 hours in blistering temperatures of around 40C (104F).

Sam Woodhead was a keen long distance runner

The former Brighton College student, from Richmond upon Thames, London, also used his rugby shorts and other items of clothing to create an SOS sign that led to his rescue.

He was found about three miles away from the ranch by rescuers in a helicopter. He had lost two stones in weight and was just hours from death.

He told Sky News: "I feel very fortunate to be alive and to be standing here.

"I know that so many people helped out ... and I genuinely believe that if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here today.

"It was a really amazing feeling to be actually picked up and realise that I was actually going to make it through ... and it wasn't going to be the end."

His mother, Claire Derry, has visited him in hospital in Longreach, about 50 miles away from where he was discovered. She said he had lost weight and his kidneys were not working properly due to dehydration.

Mr Woodhead with his mother and sister Rebacca before the ordeal

She said: "His birth was one of the best moments of my life, and this is pretty close to it, getting him back again, because I was pretty convinced it was touch and go. I did an awful lot of praying during that flight.

"He looks fantastic, he's suntanned, his mouth isn't blistered, he looks great, he's thinner and questionably a lot thinner than when I last saw him.

"The only concern is that his kidneys are not quite functioning normally and his blood's not normal. But that, the doctor says, is completely typical of somebody who's been completely dehydrated."

Ms Derry added: "He  tried to drink his own urine. He said he'd run out of the contact lens fluid and the contact lens capsules said they were 69% water. But they'd all gone so the urine had become very, very concentrated.

"So he said he couldn't stomach it, so he had nothing, he had nothing to keep him going, by the time the helicopter crew got to him."

She told Sky News: "Sam is an amazingly cool guy and he said 'hi mum' and I said 'Sam I didn't think I would be holding you in my arms again frankly'.

Mr Woodhead is helped by medical personnel after his helicopter rescue

"But he didn't cry and didn't show very much emotion at all. He just said I'm really happy to see you."

Mr Woodhead, who is set on joining the Armed Forces and is a keen long distance runner, is expected to leave hospital on Sunday.

Mike Curtin from Queensland State Police said: "He was quite disorientated but, you know, his body seemed to bounce back fairly quickly once he knew that obviously he was located and so forth and he was quite happy of the fact that someone had found him."

Mr Curtin warned of the harsh Australian climate and called on young people to be careful when travelling or working in the remote Australian Outback.

He said: "It's one of those things and I think there's a lesson to be learned here from any of these young fellows who do take, or young boys and girls, who take jobs in areas like this isolated part of the state, to be careful, to be safe, and prepare.

"And never take the harshest Australian environment and our climatic conditions here for granted."

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Pistorius Told Friend: 'I've Killed My Baba'

The best friend of Oscar Pistorius has told how the athlete rang him the night his girlfriend was shot and said: "I've killed my Baba. God take me away."

Justin Divaris, who introduced Reeva Steenkamp to the South African gold medallist, said Pistorius was crying down the phone and admitted he had shot the 29-year-old model.

Mr Divaris, 27, said: "Oscar called me at 3.55am saying that Reeva had been shot. I said to him, 'What are you talking about? I don't understand you'.

"He then repeated himself - 'There has been a terrible accident. I shot Reeva'."

Mr Divaris told the Sunday People that he then spoke to a neighbour who was also in the house, who warned: "She's not OK. You need to get here."

By the time he arrived at Pistorius' house on a gated estate in Pretoria, the double amputee was already being held by police.

He could see Miss Steenkamp's body inside the house at the bottom of the stairs, covered in blankets and towels.

Pistorius - nicknamed the Blade Runner due to his high-tech artificial limbs - was being detained in the garage, and was crying and repeating himself incoherently.

Reeva Steenkamp in Tropika Island of Treasure

The 26-year-old appeared in court on Friday accused of premeditated murder over the shooting on Valentine's Day.

He is being held in custody and his family has said he denies murder in the strongest possible terms.

Miss Steenkamp's father Barry has also now spoken publicly for the first time and said he does not hate Pistorius for what happened.

He told The Mail on Sunday he was struggling "to find some reason why this happened to our lovely daughter".

Talking about Pistorius, he said: "He must be going through things that we don't know about. There is no hatred in our hearts."

He said he and his wife June were "at a complete loss," adding: "June is inconsolable. We just need to find some answers.

"Reeva was the most beautiful, kind girl in the world. She had love for everyone and was loved by everyone who knew her."

Mr Steenkamp said he had never met Pistorius but his wife had occasionally spoken to him on the phone.

Henke Pistorius trying to comfort his son as he leaves court

The athlete's own father Henke has also spoken out, saying his son must have acted "on instinct".

Mr Pistorius said he has "zero doubt" that it was a tragic accident and said he believes she was mistaken for an intruder.

His family is behind him "heart and soul" and will do "whatever needs to be done" to help him clear his name, he told The Sunday Telegraph.

Their comments came after a reality show featuring Miss Steenkamp was broadcast despite controversy over its airing.

Tropika Island of Treasures showed the model laughing and joking with her fellow contestants and swimming with dolphins.

In an interview, the model - who was also the face of cosmetics giant Avon in South Africa - spoke about the importance of leaving a positive mark in life.

She said: "I think the way that you go out, not just your journey in life, but the way that you go out and the way you make your exit is so important.

"You either made an impact in a positive or a negative way, but just maintain integrity and maintain class and just remain true to yourself."

Pistorius became an international icon after becoming the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics last year. He also won a gold medal in the Paralympics.

He had both of his legs amputated below the knee when he was less than a year old and had campaigned for years to be allowed to compete on an equal level.

The athlete will be back in court on Tuesday when his lawyers are expected to attempt to get his charge downgrade and argue for his release on bail.

His girlfriend's funeral is scheduled for the same day.

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Horsemeat: Minister Defends Defra Response

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has mounted a robust defence of his department's actions following claims Government ministers were warned in 2011 that horsemeat was illegally entering the human food chain.

John Young, a former manager at the Meat Hygiene Service, now part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), told The Sunday Times he warned the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of the potential scandal in April that year, but was ignored.

He followed this up a month later in a letter saying, "are the lunatics in total control of the asylum?"

Mr Paterson said he had spoken to the FSA's chief executive, Catherine Brown, regarding the claims, which were made before he took up his position.

"I have discussed it with the chief executive of the FSA this morning and she is going to go back through the records and see exactly what was said at the time," he told Sky News' Murnaghan programme.

Supermarkets have warned consumers could pay the price for the scandal

The Cabinet minister, who has been accused of being "asleep at the wheel" by Labour, said his department could not have been more "active" since the recent revelations.

"We are making progress - a whole lot of premises have been investigated, a large amount of evidence has been taken, and in this country we have been extremely active. Three premises have been investigated, two closed down and a number of arrests made.

"We are completely determined to get to the bottom of this because no matter what the price of the product, the consumer should buy what is on the label. It is a fraud on the public."

He said British actions had triggered Europe-wide testing for horse DNA and bute - as well as coordinated probes into the crisis across the continent.

"Too much of this system is based on trust on paper, and there is not enough testing. We have to get back to more testing of products.

"It trusts that the palate conforms to the piece of paper. Nobody checks what's on the palate often enough. Nobody checks what's in production often enough. Nobody checks the finished product often enough."

He added: "When this is all through, I want to have a proper look at the whole system within the constraints of European law. I want to make sure we do reintroduce more targeted testing and more random testing of products."

Some 7% of people have stopped eating meat altogether, a poll suggests

The FSA said Mr Young's letter highlighted concerns about the horse passport system, which is the responsibility of Defra - not the illegal substitution of beef with horse.

A spokesperson said: "The horse passport system is the principal measure to keep horses testing positive for bute out of the food chain.

"During the past 12 months the FSA has increased the number of staff working in horse abattoirs to strengthen our oversight of the system. And from last week we introduced a system where all horses are tested for bute, and carcasses are not allowed into the food chain unless they have tested negative. This complements the protection provided by the horse passport system."

Meanwhile, the boss of one of the country's leading supermarkets warned consumers could end up paying the price for the scandal.

Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose, said ensuring food has the best safety guarantees means it can no longer be regarded as a "cheap commodity".

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said rising costs of rearing animals could mean that "somewhere along that long supply route, somebody has looked to cheat and take advantage of these circumstances either for their own personal greed or to keep a company afloat".

But supermarket chain Morrisons insisted "high quality meat does not need to be expensive".

A spokesman said: "We have invested in our own abattoirs and meat processing facilities to control cost and quality. Many meat supply chains are too complex, with too many middlemen, and this adds to cost and leads to more risk of adulteration."

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British Worker Feared Kidnapped In Nigeria

Gunmen in northern Nigeria have kidnapped a group of foreign workers including one Briton, according to the local authorities.

The group attacked a construction company camp, killing a guard and then abducting seven foreigners, police said.

"From the report we have received, the hostages are seven in all. They include four Lebanese, an Italian, a Briton and a Greek," Bauchi state police spokesman Hassan Auyo said.

This would make it the biggest kidnapping yet in a region that is under attack from Islamic extremists.

Greece, Lebanon and Italy have all confirmed their citizens are involved. Britain's foreign office has yet to confirm a Briton is among those being held.

The kidnapping on Saturday night happened in Jama'are, a town in a rural portion of Bauchi state.

The gunmen attacked a local prison first, burning two police trucks, another Bauchi state police spokesman Hassan Muhammed told The Associated Press.

Then they targeted a workers' camp for a construction company called Setraco, which is in the area building a road, Mr Muhammed said.

The gunmen shot dead a guard at the camp before kidnapping the foreign workers, the spokesman said.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office in Britain said: "We are aware of the reports and are making inquiries with local authorities."

Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north has been under attack by the radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram in the last year and a half.

The country's weak central government has been unable to stop the group's bloody guerrilla campaign of shootings and bombings.

The sect is blamed for killing at least 729 people in 2012 alone, according to an AP count.

Foreigners have been frequently abducted by militant groups and criminal gangs for ransom in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta and have become increasingly targeted in Nigeria's north as the violence has grown.

Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said: "Nigeria, particularly the north of Nigeria, has got a big problem. It's the scourge of the country and has been for many years now.

"Local Islamist groups called Boko Haram have been largely responsible for carrying out the kidnappings.

"This is one of the militant groups who have operating inside Mali. They are one of five extremist groups who are believed to have been running operations inside Mali and around the Sahel."

Gunmen who authorities say have links to Boko Haram also kidnapped an Italian and a British man last year in northern Kebbi State.

They were later killed during a rescue operation by Nigerian soldiers backed up by British special forces. The sect later denied taking part in that abduction.

Chinese construction workers have also been killed by gunmen around Maiduguri, the northeastern city in Nigeria where Boko Haram first began.

Setraco Nigeria, a construction and civil engineering company, is a subsidiary of Setraco International Holding group.

The Nigerian company, which was established in 1977, is currently working on expanding a major road in the north of the country.

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