Cameron Backs Marines After 'Appalling' Murder

The Events That Led To A Murder

Updated: 3:16pm UK, Friday 08 November 2013

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky News Defence Correspondent

The events that led up to the murder of the injured insurgent in Helmand province were filmed on a helmet-camera belonging to Marine B.

The footage begins as the Marine's were nearing the end of a routine patrol. An Apache helicopter is heard flying nearby. It then fires 139 rounds at suspected insurgents.

The patrol was then asked to go and perform a tactical battlefield assessment - essentially look for injured or dead bodies.

They found one Afghan lying in the middle of a field. He was badly wounded in the chest and legs. An AK-47 was found with him.

At this point Marine B is some 40 yards from the wounded Afghan, having taken up a position to scan the field for the enemy. His camera records Marine A, a 39 year old Sergeant, and Marine C searching and assessing the Afghan.

Having established he had no other weapons or explosives on him, Marine A then instructs his colleagues to drag the man to the edge off the field. This, he claimed, was so that they weren't sat out in the open where they would be easy targets. He wanted to treat the insurgent in safety Marine A claimed. The prosecution disagreed, arguing that it was a deliberate attempt to find cover, out of the sight of the Apache and a long range surveillance camera in Camp Bastion, know as a PGSS, that might have been monitoring their activity.

Once in a clearing on the edge of the field, Marine A is heard on the video asking if anyone wants to give the Afghan first aid.

"Anybody want to do first aid on this idiot?" he asks.

"No" reply a number of Marines.

"I'll put one in his head, if you want," offers Marine C.

Laughter is heard before Marine A decides:

"No, not in his head, 'cause that'll be f****** obvious."

Marine A is also seen speaking on the radio, updating his base on the status of the Afghan.

He claims he was preparing a '9-liner', the process of calling in medical evacuation, so called because of the nine lines of checks that must be completed before a helicopter is allowed to deploy. A pink 9-liner form can be seen in his hand at one point.

In addition to the video, the events were recorded in a journal kept by Marine C. This was also used in evidence.

"Now we were in cover, I was ready and waiting to pop him with a 9mm, one in the heart should do it, but I waited out for the nod from Marine A, ... and although for one minute I thought we were actually going to treat and casivac him, Marine A squashed it and sent it up that he'd snuffed it while we treated him," he writes.

"So there I was, pistol drawn, waiting for Marine A to get off the net so I could pop this little w***** and be done with it; when Marine A came back over, and thinned me out, to take up arcs with the others." 

"As I walked off..., Marine A popped him one himself!  I felt mugged off, but job done; little f*** was dead at the end of the day."

The video clearly shows Marine A lean towards the Afghan who is lying supine on the ground. He levels his 9mm pistol at the man's chest and fire a shot at virtual point blank range.

Dr Nicholas Hunt, a Pathologist who gave expert witness at the trial, explained what happened next in his view:

"The hands. Particularly the right hand comes up to the area to which the weapon has been discharged – that's the first thing I noted," he told the court.

"The legs are also seen to move quite significantly. His head has started to move and his breathing becomes very obviously laboured, much more rapid than it has been before and much deeper breaths."

"He was still alive at the point he was shot. After that his breathing far less obvious – it becomes shallower and the gap between breaths increases."

Marine A's defence was that he believed the Afghan man was already dead when he shot him.

"I saw no signs of life from him, so yes I believed he'd passed,"he told Bulford Military Court.

When asked why he'd shot a man he believed was dead, Marine A replied:

" Stupid, lack of self-control. Poor judgement on my part."

"I was very surprised the amount he did move. I believed he was dead. I'd not seen any move,ent for a few minutes. He suddenly became very animated once I'd shot him."

On the video Marine A is heard admitting he'd just broken the Geneva Convention but insists he was referring to the fact he'd shot a dead body rather an injured man.

Under cross-examination, Marine A was asked what was done to check if the man had died.

"Did anyone check the man's pulse?"

"No," Marine A answered.

"Did anyone check the man's breathing?"

"Not that I saw."

"Did anyone check the man's eyes?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

Marine B argued that he was giving the insurgent first aid but  admitted it was cursory. Marine C said that he'd started walking away from the area and had his back turned when the shot was fired. He also claimed that his diary was a form of therapy and not always accurate.

The Marines were arrested in October last year. Under cross-examination during the trial Marine B admitted misleading the investigation.

"Was there a plan to cover it up?" he was asked by Dave Perry QC for the prosecution.

"We were protecting him, yes," Marine B replied. "In my opinion he had shot an alive, injured insurgent."

Mr Perry asked: "We saw on the video you suggesting a cover story to the patrol. What was the cover story to be?"

"It was just protecting Marine A. It meant to say it was a warning shot," was Marine B's answer.

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Funeral Appeal After WWII Veteran Dies Alone

Hundreds of people are expected to attend a funeral of a war veteran they never knew after it emerged he died with no close friends or relatives.

Harold Jellicoe Percival served as RAF ground crew and helped with the famous Dambusters raids during the Second World War.

He died last month aged 99 in a nursing home.

Mr Percival's funeral will be held at 11am on Armistice Day at a crematorium in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire.

The veteran never married, had no children and has no close family members able to go to the service.

A request for servicemen first went out in a local newspaper

But after publicity in local newspapers and social media, funeral directors say they are now hoping for a good turnout.

The RAF Association tweeted that its "Northern area will be in attendance" so Mr Percival "won't be alone".

Afghanistan veteran Rick Clement, who lost both legs in 2010, has been using Twitter and Facebook to urge people to turn up to pay their respects.

"Need a big favour from any military or ex serving members. This fallen soldier at 99 years old is having a funeral on Monday," he said.

"It says he has no family to attend in Lytham St Anne's. If your in the area can you give him the send off he deserves." 

He later thanked all those who had supported the appeal, saying: "Harold is going to get an amazing send off."

Comedian Jason Manford has also got behind the campaign.

Mr Percival lived in Penge, south London, before joining the RAF.

He was based in northwest England and became part of the ground crew which helped the Dambusters, the squadron which was initially formed to destroy dams in the Ruhr valley in Nazi Germany.

Mr Percival helped support the Dambusters' daring raid during World War Two

After working in Australia, he later retired to England and lived at a care home in Lytham St Annes.

Matron Janet Wareing said: "Harold was a lovely character, very strong-willed and independent.

"He was quite a private man, and he loved reading his Daily Telegraph every morning.

"We have already been contacted by military veterans who are intending to come, even though they have never met him.

"We've been told one group is looking to bring around 200 people to the service, which would be fantastic."

Mr Percival does have a nephew, David Worsell, but he is not able to attend so his son - Mr Percival's great nephew - will represent the family.

He was a distant relative of former British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, the only PM to have ever been assassinated.

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Super Typhoon Haiyan: Thousands Feared Dead

Thousands of people are feared to have been killed in the areas of the Philippines hit by Super Typhoon Haiyan.

The country's Red Cross says it has been told there are 1,000 dead in Tacloban and 200 in Samar alone.

A Red Cross spokesman said: "We now fear that thousands will have lost their lives."

Flooded fields and wrecked villages in Iloilo Province

The scale of devastation led one UN disaster official to compare the destruction to that caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The official death toll had reached 138 by 1pm on Saturday (UK time) but there are fears the eventual death toll will be "massive" after the tropical cyclone smashed through the country with winds gusting up to 170mph.

And there are growing fears for Vietnam which is now in the path of what has been called one of the most powerful recorded cyclones in history.

A truck was picked up by the high winds and slammed against a tree

Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, head of a United Nations disaster assessment coordination team, said: "This is destruction on a massive scale.

"The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami."

Around 220,000 people died as a result of that disaster.

Typhoon Haiyan pictured from International Space Station

Gwendolyn Pang, Philippine Red Cross secretary general said: "An estimated more than 1,000 bodies were seen floating in Tacloban. In Samar, about 200 deaths. Validation is ongoing."

When asked how many had died in just the coastal town of Palo and its surrounding area, Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said: "I think hundreds. Palo, Ormoc, Burauen... Carigara, they all looked the same."

Scores of towns and villages are thought to have been inundated with water after storm surges flooded low-lying areas, drowning many in their path.

A mother weeps beside the dead body of her son

TV pictures showed cars, trees and rubble from houses strewn across streets after they were picked up by giant waves and carried inland.

"Almost all houses were destroyed, many are totally damaged. Only a few are left standing," said Major Rey Balido, a spokesman for the national disaster agency.

About a million people evacuated because they were living in the typhoon's path have been returning to find out what is left of their houses.

Children play among downed power lines

Many of those who died are thought to have left shelters in an urgent bid to rescue valuables from their homes, unaware of the giant waves flooding through coastal towns.

Hundreds of thousands are thought to have been left homeless.

British team of humanitarian experts is due to fly out to the Philippines to help the UK Government decide what aid to send.

Residents carry the body of a loved one

An appeal launched by the British Red Cross has already raised more than £100,000. US Secretary of State John Kerry said that America stood "ready to help".

Many of the most heavily damaged areas are still to be contacted because power and telephone lines are down, making the work of providing relief all the more difficult.

Captain John Andrews, a Philippines aviation chief, said he had spoken to colleagues by radio who had told him there were "100-plus dead lying on the streets" in Tacloban.

Soldiers walk outside of Tacloban's shattered airport terminal

Tacloban is the capital of Leyte, a large island of about two million people that suffered a direct hit from Haiyan on Friday morning when the storm was at its strongest.

Leyte Island, about 350 miles south of the capital Manila, is one of six islands that was in the path of the super typhoon's centre.

An increasing problem for the authorities now is looting, with many of the survivors desperate to get hold of supplies from the shattered shops.

Many children became seperated from their parents and were left in tears

Thousands of police and army personnel are being flown into the affected areas to start relief operations and to uphold law and order.

At one point the super typhoon had been stronger than it was when it hit land, with winds gusting up to 235mph making it among the most powerful ever.

Meteorologists said that it had slowed to 100mph after passing over the Philippines but is still expected to be of typhoon force as it sweeps across the South China Sea toward Vietnam.

A map showing the path of the typhoon and affected islands

Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese have been moved away from coastal areas as authorities prepared for Haiyan to make landfall around 10am Sunday. Millions are thought to be living in its path.

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Sochi Olympic Torch Taken On Spacewalk

Two Russian cosmonauts have begun a five-hour spacewalk with the Olympic torch for the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi.

Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky took the unlit torch on a spacewalk from the International Space Station (ISS) more than 260 miles (420 kilometres) above the Earth. 

Kotov waved the torch in his gloved hand outside the ISS, while he floated almost directly above Australia. 

The torch was tethered to his spacesuit to ensure it didn't float away. 

"Beautiful," said Ryazansky, as he watched his fellow cosmonaut. 

Earlier, Kotov had promised to steer clear of any grand speeches to mark the stunt. 

The torch being taken on to the Soyuz rocket

"Such momentous events are usually marked by some sort of grand pronouncement," Kotov said from the space station.

"But we are not going to be so original.

"Our speeches will be dedicated to the promotion of the Olympic movement, healthy lifestyles and the development of sport around the world."

Russia had originally contemplated sending the actual flame up to the station by encasing it in a special lantern, but internationally agreed rules governing the ISS forbid flames from being lit because they would burn up the limited supplies of oxygen available to the crew.

The torch will spend just over five hours in open space, with the first hour being used to take pictures and video of the momentous occasion before the cosmonauts begin the more mundane task of maintaining the ISS. 

The feather-shaped silver and red symbol of peace and friendship has already been sent to the North Pole aboard a nuclear-powered icebreaker and is still set to visit the bottom of Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake.

The torch also visited the ISS ahead of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta and the 2000 event in Sydney, but it has never before been taken out on a spacewalk.

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Super Typhoon Haiyan Hits The Philippines

At least four people have been killed after Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, hit the Philippines.

The victims are reported to include a mother and child who drowned in South Cotabato, and a boy who was struck by lightning in Zamboanga City.

AP said a fourth was killed by a falling tree but the death toll was expected to rise as the worst affected areas are currently cut off.

Three-quarters of a million people were ordered to leave their homes in villages in Haiyan's path amid fears the storm damage could be the worst in the Philippines' history.

Children have been left in tears by the typhoon in Cebu city

President Benigno Aquino III threatened to use guns to force people living in high-risk areas, including 100 coastal communities, to move in a desperate bid to save lives.

War-like preparations were swung into place with three C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby, along with 20 navy ships.

"No typhoon can bring Filipinos to their knees if we'll be united," Mr Aquino said in a televised address.

The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre in Hawaii said Haiyan's maximum sustained winds were 195mph (314kph), with gusts up to 235mph (379kph).

Residents of Legazpi city in Albay province, south of Manila

On land, wind speeds were measured at 170mph (270kph), although local meteorologists are understood to measure wind speeds differently.

Some meteorologists have claimed it is the strongest severe tropical storm to make landfall. The previous record holder, according to Reuters and AP, was Hurricane Camillie in 1969 which had winds up to 190mph.

The cyclone whipped up the seas, producing waves that reached 6m (19ft) high, threatening to inundate low lying areas.

Local journalist Mike Cohen told Sky News: "We're seeing a lot of strong winds but not a lot of rain.

Damage to buildings in Ormoc City. Credit: Ritchel M. Deleon

"There are already reports of some landslides and very strong storm surge entering towns and villages in the path of the storm.

"Trees are falling and there is lots of damage reported across the region."

The typhoon is believed to have made landfall on the northern tip of Cebu Province, about 350 miles south east of the capital Manila.

Children sheltering in Cebu. Picture: Red Cross

Up to 12 million people live in the affected areas, including the tourist districts of Leyte Island and Borocay Island.

At the moment the cyclone  - known locally as Yolanda - is about 300miles across. It is expected to pass over the south end of Mindoro Island around noon on Friday, hitting Busuanga at about 1pm.

According to Mr Cohen, power has been cut to the worst-affected areas, mainly as a preventative measure to avoid electrocution, but this was making communications difficult.

Waves up to six metres high have been reported as a result of high winds

Among the 720,000 evacuated are thousands of refugees from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Bohol last month, who have been living in tents since the tremor hit.

Jeff Masters, a former hurricane meteorologist who is a director at the private firm Weather Underground, warned that there would be "catastrophic damage".

He said: "195mph winds; there aren't too many buildings constructed that can withstand that kind of wind. The wind damage should be the most extreme in Philippines' history."

A closer look reveals the eye of the storm over the Philippines

The strength of the wind made it one of the four most powerful typhoons ever recorded in the world, and the most powerful to have made landfall, he added.

But other meteorologists forecast lower readings, saying the storm's speed at landfall had sustained winds at 145mph (234kmph) with gusts of 170mph ( 275kmph).

Haiyan is expected to sweep through the Philippines' central region before moving toward the South China Sea over the weekend, heading towards Vietnam.

A map showing the path and predicted path of Typhoon Haiyan

Meteorologists fear that it could intensify further as it approaches the Vietnamese coast.

The head of the government's main disaster response agency in the capital Manila said people are still being moved from communities prone to landslides and flooding.

But there is hope that, as Haiyan is a fast-moving storm, flooding from heavy rain - which usually causes the most deaths from typhoons in the Philippines - may not be as bad.

Haiyan is the 24th tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year. Last year, Typhoon Bopha, which had maximum sustained winds of 175mph, killed 1,100 people in the country.

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Arsonist Who Killed Paedophile Gets 10 Years

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

A man who started a fire that trapped and killed a convicted paedophile in his own home has been jailed for 10 years.

Andrew Heath, 52, died in a firebomb attack on his flat in Worcester in the early hours of December 14, 2011.

At the time, police investigating the blaze in the Warndon area of the city treated it as a possible vigilante attack.

Daniel Martin, 25, was arrested after officers offered a £20,000 reward for information.

During the investigation West Mercia Police revealed Heath had five convictions for gross indecency and indecent assault on boys aged between 14 and 17.

The attacks happened between 1984 and 1999 in Leicester and Birmingham. He served four prison sentences.

Birmingham Crown Court heard that in 2001, Heath moved to the flat in Worcester and became known as "the fag man" because of his habit of giving cigarettes to teenagers to "befriend" them.

Police said they had no records of any offences or complaints against Heath after he moved to Worcester.

The scene of the arson attack

Last year, the senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Paul Williamson said: "Whatever Heath did in his past, he died in a terrible way and his family have been left in limbo not knowing what happened to him.

"This includes his parents Les and Helen, who are in their 80s. They still grieve for their son and deserve to know who killed him and why."

In a statement after sentencing Heath's sister Leia Charleson said it was "some comfort" to the family that Martin had now been dealt with.

But she added it was too late for her mother and father who had died recently, five months apart.

She said her brother's death had a "devastating" effect on their parents' health and "neither was able to come to terms with what had happened".

The court was told that Martin had moved wheelie bins to the front door of Mr Heath's maisonette and set them on fire.

Heath was woken by a fire alarm and alerted a couple living below by stamping on the floor.

When fire crews arrived they found him dead, slumped against a radiator. He had been overcome by fumes and his body was burned.

Earlier this year, Martin pleaded guilty to Heath's manslaughter.

He denied murder on the grounds of lack of intent, which was accepted by the prosecution.

The court heard Martin had wanted to "frighten" Heath, who was described as a "predatory paedophile", but the fire took hold with "speed and ferocity".

It took just minutes for the flat to turn into an "inferno".

Martin had known Heath for several years and owed him money.

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Danny Wake: Appeal For Hit-And-Run Driver

The family of a three-year-old boy killed in a hit-and-run in Darlington has appealed for the driver to hand themself in.

Danny Wake was walking along Neasham Road in Darlington with his mother, brother and another child when he was struck by a vehicle on Monday.

"Our family want to appeal to the person who did this or who knows who did this to find it in their hearts to come forward so we can find the answers we need," the Wake family said in a statement.

"Imagine if this was your little boy and how you'd be feeling, with this in mind please contact police urgently."

The family were returning from the shops, where they had picked up a catalogue so that Danny could choose his Christmas presents.

CCTV was released showing the moments before Danny was killed

"Instead of looking forward to planning our Christmas as a family we are now facing the devastating task of planning Danny's funeral," the family added.

"We desperately need to know how and why this happened."

Danny's family described him as a "loving and caring little boy" who was always laughing and smiling.

Police arrested a 24-year-old man on Monday on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He has since been released without charge.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident which happened at a junction.

:: Anyone with information should contact Durham Constabulary on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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Royal Marine Guilty Of Murdering Afghan Fighter

A Royal Marine has been found guilty of murdering a wounded Afghan insurgent fighter.

Two other Marines who were involved in the same court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, and faced the same charge were acquitted.

The guilty serviceman, known only as Marine A, was found to have taken the life of the insurgent in Helmand Province more than two years ago.

The two others were known as Marines B and C. All will remain anonymous until the court martial or a judge decides otherwise.

All had denied murdering the unknown captured Afghan national on or about September 15, 2011, contrary to Section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006.

But a seven-strong board, consisting of officers and non-commissioned officers, convicted one of the defendants following a two-week trial.

Marine A shot the Afghan national in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol before quoting a phrase from Shakespeare as the man convulsed and died in front of him.

"There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil, you ****. It's nothing you wouldn't do to us," Marine A told the insurgent.

He then turned to comrades and said: "Obviously this doesn't go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention."

The execution came to light as it was filmed by a camera mounted on the helmet of Marine B.

Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett ruled that the graphic video footage cannot be released, but agreed that the audio can be made public.

Marines B and C were alleged to have been "party to the killing" and "encouraged and assisted" Marine A in committing the murder but they were cleared.

The court martial heard on Thursday the insurgent had been shot at by an Apache attack helicopter with 139 30mm anti-tank rounds but was still alive - albeit seriously injured - when discovered by the patrol.

The footage, which was shown to the court, shows Marine A walking forward, bending down, and shooting the man at close range in the centre of his chest with a 9mm pistol.

Giving evidence to the court martial, Marine A insisted he believed the insurgent was dead at the time and he was simply shooting into a corpse in anger.

Also released were excerpts from a diary kept by Marine C, including one extract that relates to the moments of the shooting.

Afterwards, Brigadier Bill Dunham told of the Royal Marine Corps' reaction to the verdict.

He said: "It is matter of profound regret in this isolated incident that one Marine failed to apply his training and discharge his responsibilities.

"What we've heard in the last two weeks is not consistent with the ethos, values and standards of the Royal Marines.

"It was a truly shocking and appalling aberration. It should not have happened and it should never happen again."

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Woman Tries To Sell Baby In Airport Toilet

A woman has been arrested in Turkey for allegedly trying to sell her baby to a couple in a toilet at an airport.

Turkish police released CCTV showing the 22-year-old, identified as Dinara A, arriving at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport in a taxi with her mother - and the child in a carrycot.

The Turkish-born German couple arriving at the airport

Once the cab leaves, the woman can be seen speaking on her mobile phone.

The security footage then shows a couple at the airport - the woman with a handbag and man with a red suitcase - heading to meet her.

Dinara A enters the toilet with the baby, followed by the other woman who is seen leaving the facility with the baby.

The pair on their way to the meeting

Police said the woman agreed to hand over the child to the Turkish-born German couple in an airport toilet on September 14 in exchange for 1,000 Turkish Liras (£310), Dogan News Agency reported.

According to police sources, the German woman decided to return the baby to the toilets after she realised she could not pass through passport control with the child.

She later called police claiming she had found the baby in the toilet.

She emerges from the toilets with the baby in its carrycot

Dinara A, her baby, and mother were later deported from Turkey.

The German woman was released after providing testimony.

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Marine Afghanistan 'Murder' Audio Released

A recording of the moments a Royal Marine allegedly executed a captured Afghan national has been released by a military court.

Three men - known only as marines A, B and C - are appearing before the court martial charged with killing the unknown person on or around September 15, 2011, while on patrol in Afghanistan. They deny the charges.

A gunshot is heard on the recording shortly before Marine A is heard saying: "Shuffle off this mortal coil, you ****."

He is then heard saying: "Obviously this doesn't go anywhere fellas ... I've just broken the Geneva Convention."

A panel at the court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, has retired to consider its verdicts in the case, after two weeks of evidence.

The whole event was filmed by a camera mounted on the helmet of one of the three commandos.

Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett has ruled that the graphic video footage cannot be released, but has agreed that the audio can be made public.

Referring to the video, he said: "Its release may be for proper journalistic purposes ... but would also be used for sensationalist purposes by others and propaganda purposes by terrorist groups. More importantly its release will increase the threat of harm to British service personnel.

Another image from the helmet camera footage released by the court

"I am not prepared to make an order which may lead to the injury or death of a single member of the British armed forces and in making this decision I have erred on the side of safety."

The court martial heard the insurgent had been shot at by an Apache attack helicopter with 139 30mm anti-tank rounds but was still alive - albeit seriously injured - when discovered by the patrol.

The footage, which was shown to the court, shows Marine A walking forward, bending down, and shooting the man at close range in the centre of his chest with a 9mm pistol.

Giving evidence to the court martial, Marine A insisted he believed the insurgent was dead at the time and he was simply shooting into a corpse in anger.

Also released were excerpts from a diary kept by Marine C, including one extract that relates to the moments of the shooting.

It reads: "... although for one minute I thought we were actually going to treat and (have him airlifted by helicopter), Marine A squashed it and sent it up that he'd snuffed it while we treated him.

"So there I was, pistol drawn, waiting for Marine A to get off the net so I could pop this little ****** and be done with it; when Marine A came back over, and thinned me out, to (help the others keep look-out).

"As I walked off towards (name removed) and (name removed), Marine A popped him one himself! I felt mugged off, but job done; little **** was dead at the end of the day."

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Spy Chiefs: Terrorists 'Rubbing Hands In Glee'

Who Are Britain's Spy Chiefs?

Updated: 11:30am UK, Thursday 07 November 2013

All three of Britain's spy chiefs are to appear together in public at a televised Parliamentary committee for the first time. This is who they are:

:: Sir Iain Lobban,  director of GCHQ (The Government Communications Headquarters)

A languages graduate from the University of Leeds in who joined GCHQ in 1983, Sir Iain Lobban has been in post since 2008.

He moved to the GCHQ board in 2001 where he oversaw the intelligence agency's move to its new headquarters in Gloucestershire.

Sir Iain, an Everton fan who is married with a daughter, was knighted in the 2013 New Year's honours list for services to national security.

He has recently spoken to say that GCHQ needs to recruit more socially awkward people like the code-breaker Alan Turing.

In a speech at Leeds University last year he said: "I strongly believe [the] agency needs the widest range of skills possible if it is to be successful, and to deny itself talent just because the person with the talent doesn't conform to a social stereotype is to starve itself of what it needs to thrive."

He succeeded Sir David Pepper in July 2008

GCHQ provides communications information to the British Government and Armed Forces.

It monitors communications and electronic data to defend Britain and British interests against cyberattacks, international and domestic terrorism, organised crime, and the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

GCHQ identifies cyber espionage and gathers intelligence to better understand new and emerging threats.

It has partnerships with MI5, MI6 and a range of international allies, primarily the USA, to further UK foreign policy.

:: Andrew Parker, director general of the British Security Service (MI5)

Andrew Parker has worked for MI5 for 30 years and has been head of the service since April 2013.

He became director of international terrorism for the Security Service in 2005 and led the response to the July 7 London transport system bombings.

The University of Cambridge graduate was made deputy director general of the service in 2007 and took the top slot when Sir Jonathan Evans left in April this year.

In his first speech since taking over he warned of the damage the CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden had caused by leaking classified information.

Mr Parker said that Snowden had handed a gift to terrorists.

MI5, the British Security Service, is mainly concerned with the protection of Britain's national security, Parliamentary democracy, its economic interests, counter-terrorism and counter-espionage within the UK.

It was established in 1909 as the Secret Service Bureau; during the First World War it was renamed the Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 5, giving it the popular name of MI5.

MI5 investigates organisations and individuals it suspects pose a threat to British security, and advises the Government and other organisations to keep them informed of the threats.

:: Sir John Sawers, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)

Sir John joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1977 and was British Permanent Representative to the UN from 2007 and 2009.

Sir John, who studied physics and philosophy at the University of Nottingham, has been head of MI6  since November 2009, taking over from Sir John Scarlett.

He was foreign affairs adviser to then prime minister Tony Blair between January 1999 and summer 2001.

He is the only serving member of MI6 who is officially named in public.

The Secret Intelligence Service collects Britain's foreign intelligence. The service is based at Vauxhall Cross in London.

It collects secret intelligence and mounts covert operations overseas in support of British Government objectives regarding defence and foreign policies and in support of the prevention or detection of serious crime.

MI6 tackles terrorism using assessed intelligence and preventing people from becoming terrorists; and protecting critical national infrastructure and crowded places.

The organisation also obtains secret intelligence on the efforts of foreign states to acquire nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

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Yasser Arafat 'Poisoning Was Probably Deliberate'

Timeline: Yasser Arafat

Updated: 9:52am UK, Tuesday 27 November 2012

Here are some of the key dates in Mr Arafat's life.

:: February 4, 1969 Mr Arafat, the fifth child of a Palestinian merchant, takes over the PLO chairmanship. He transforms it into a force that makes the Palestinian cause known worldwide.

:: June 6, 1982 Israel invades Lebanon to crush the PLO, forcing Mr Arafat and loyalists to flee Beirut.

:: October 1, 1985 Mr Arafat narrowly escapes death in an Israeli air raid on the PLO's Tunisian headquarters.

:: April 16, 1988 Khalil al Wazir, Mr Arafat's military commander, is assassinated in Tunis. Israel is blamed.

:: December 12, 1988 Mr Arafat accepts Israel's right to exist and renounces terrorism. Nearly two years later, Iraq invades Kuwait, Mr Arafat supports Saddam Hussein and the PLO is isolated.

:: November 1991 Mr Arafat marries his 28-year-old secretary, Suha Tawil. Their daughter Zahwa is born in 1995.

:: April 7, 1992 Mr Arafat is rescued after a plane crash lands in the Libyan desert during a sandstorm.

:: September 13, 1993 Israel and the PLO sign an accord on Palestinian autonomy in Oslo, Norway, giving Mr Arafat control of most of the Gaza Strip and about a quarter of the West Bank. He shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn. The two later share the Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres.

:: July 1, 1994 Returning from exile, Mr Arafat sets foot on Palestinian soil for the first time in 26 years.

:: September 28, 2000 Israel's then opposition leader Ariel Sharon visits a Jerusalem shrine holy to Jews and Muslims, leading to clashes that escalate into a Palestinian uprising.

:: December 3, 2001 After three suicide bombings, Israel destroys Mr Arafat's helicopters in Gaza City, confining him to the West Bank town of Ramallah.

:: March 2002 Israel declares Mr Arafat an "enemy" two days after a Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover holiday meal, prompting an Israeli incursion into the West Bank.

:: June 24, 2002 President George W Bush calls on Palestinians to replace Mr Arafat as leader. A year later, his deputy Mahmoud Abbas becomes the first Palestinian prime minister in a move pushed for by the US and Israel to sideline Mr Arafat.

:: June 4, 2003 At the first major Israeli-Palestinian summit without Mr Arafat, Mr Sharon and Mr Bush launch "road map" peace plan, which aims to end fighting and create Palestinian state by 2005.

:: October 21, 2003 Mr Arafat is diagnosed with gallstones. Nearly a year to the day later, he collapses and is flown to hospital in France with a serious, undisclosed illness.

:: November 9, 2004 A French medical team acknowledges that Mr Arafat has been in a coma for a week. He dies two days later at the age of 75.

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Dog Attack: Girl Was Killed By Bulldog

Dangerous Dogs: The Victims

Updated: 3:11pm UK, Wednesday 06 November 2013

Some 17 people have now been killed by dogs in the UK since 2005. Here is a list of the cases...

October 2013: Lexi Branson, 4, killed in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire by a bulldog - not a banned breed.

May 2013: Clifford Clarke, 79, was outside his home in Clubmoor, Liverpool. Breed of the dog, belonging to a neighbour, was believed to have been a bull masitff crossed with either a Presa Canario or a bandog.

March 2013: Jade Lomas-Anderson, 14, from Wigan, Greater Manchester. Attacked by four or five dogs at a friend's house. Two were believed to have been bull mastiffs, two were Staffordshire bull terriers.

November 2012: Harry Harper, eight days old, from Ketley, Shropshire. Attacked by a Jack Russell in his cot.

October 2012: Gloria Knowles, 71, from Morden, south London. Suffered a heart attack when savaged by her daughter's dogs when she went to feed them. Two were Bordeaux bulldogs, two were American bulldogs and one was a mongrel.

January 2012: Leslie Trotman, 83, of Brentford, west London. He was in his garden when a neighbour's Pitbull-type dog escaped and attacked him.

December 2010: Barbara Williams, 52, Wallington, Surrey. Attacked by a Belgian mastiff in a garden.

April 2010: Zumer Ahmed, 18 months, from Crawley, West Sussex. Killed when her uncle's American bulldog got into the house.

November 2009: John Paul Massey, aged four, from Wavertree, Liverpool. Killed at home by his uncle's pitbull-type dog.

May 2009: Andrew Walker, 21, Blackpool, Lancashire. Bitten more than 50 times by his flatmate's two Alsatians.

February 2009: Jaden Mack, three months old, from Caerphilly, South Wales. Stafforshire bull terrier and Jack Russell attacked him on a table at home after his grandmother fell asleep.

January 2009: Stephen Hudspeth, 33, Bishop Auckland, County Durham. Attacked by a Staffordshire bull terrier and died days later from blood poisoning.

January 2008: James Redhill, 78, Plaistow, east London. His own pet Rottweiler attacked him in the street.

December 2007: Archie-Lee Hirst, one year old, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Attacked by a Rottweiler at his grandparents' home.

January 2007: Ellie Lawrenson, five years old, St Helens, Merseyside, Attacked at her grandmother's home by her uncle's Pitbull-type dog.

September 2006: Cadey-Lee Deacon, five months, from Leicester. Taken from her Moses basket by two Rottweilers in the living area of her grandparents' pub.

November 2005: Liam Eames, one year old, from Leeds. Attacked at home by the family's American bulldog.

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BAE Announces 1,775 Shipyard Job Losses

Defence giant BAE Systems has announced that 1,775 jobs are to go across its three shipyards.

In addition, the firm will end an 800-year-old tradition of shipbuilding at Portsmouth with 940 jobs to go there by the second half of 2014, reducing the 1,200 workforce to just 260.

A further 835 are going to go at Scotstoun and Govan shipyards in Glasgow, Rosyth, and Filton, near Bristol.

The cuts are part of a maritime defence review, which BAE systems launched 18 months ago.

Portsmouth dockyard has a rich historical heritage of shipbuilding

A statement from BAE said: "(The) company proposes to consolidate its shipbuilding operations in Glasgow with investments in facilities to create a world-class capability, positioning it to deliver an affordable Type 26 programme for the Royal Navy.

"Under these proposals, shipbuilding operations at Portsmouth will cease in the second half of 2014."

Confirming the announcement in a statement to the House of Commons the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, said that the losses were "regrettable but inevitable".

He said that the shipyards would have been unable to sustain such a large workforce once the £6.2bn project to build the Royal Navy's largest ever aircraft carriers came to an end.

Falklands troops return home to Portsmouth

The decision has taken on significant political prominence with the Scottish referendum looming in 2014 and warnings any closure of one of the Scottish yards rather than Portsmouth would have handed First Minister Alex Salmond "a victory on a plate".

It has led to claims that Portsmouth jobs have been sacrificed to save the BAE shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun.

Mike Hancock, independent MP for Portsmouth South, said: "I think personally it is a real tragedy for them as individuals and for us as a community in Portsmouth.

"To lose close to 1,000 jobs in this way is a bitter blow. There has to be some element of cynicism being brought into play here to suggest this is simply being done to suit the financial situation at BAE and the Scottish referendum must have played some part, albeit maybe a small part.

The front section of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at Portsmouth

"I think people would be foolish not to think that that was something in the background." 

Ending shipbuilding at Portsmouth would mean the UK would lose the ability to build its own warships if Scotland is granted independence in 2014.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of Portsmouth Council, said: "I condemn the decision to shut down the last remaining shipyard in England with the capability to build advanced surface warships.

"This decision is bad for Portsmouth, with the loss of many highly skilled jobs, but it's also bad for the defence of the UK and for the Royal Navy.

Type 26 warships will be built in Glasgow

"The remaining yards with the capability to build advanced warships are in Scotland, and the referendum on Scottish independence is less than one year away. Ministers have put the defence of the UK and the future of the navy at real risk."

Asked about the decision, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "This is a Government that always takes decisions based on the national interest.

Mr Hammond has announced BAE will build three Offshore Patrol Vehicles

"This decision was taken with a view of how we have the best-equipped, best-maintained Royal Navy. That is the basis on which it was taken."

Mr Hammond also announced that the Ministry of Defence would be giving BAE the contract to build three Offshore Patrol Vehicles to bridge the gap between the aircraft carrier project ending and the beginning of work on the new Type 26 warship in 2016.

This, he said, was to avoid having shipyards being paid to lay idle, with workers losing valuable skills.

He said that Portsmouth dockyard would continue to do repair and maintenance work.

Unite national officer for shipbuilding Ian Waddell said: "This is a very worrying time for the workforces and their families as the work on the two carriers comes to a conclusion.

"Unite will be working very hard to retain the maximum number of jobs at both Portsmouth and in Scotland.

"It is a huge blow to Britain's manufacturing and industrial base, with many highly skilled workers faced with losing their jobs."

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Kercher Murder: Sollecito In Emotional Plea

By Tom Kington, in Florence

Raffaele Sollecito has denied murdering Meredith Kercher and begged for his life back, in a dramatic court room appeal to an Italian jury.

Speaking six years after the British student was killed in the Italian city of Perugia, 29-year-old Sollecito made the emotional plea to the appeal trial in Florence.

He appealed to the jury "as an Italian, like you, to have a life".

"Because I don't have a real life," he said, before thanking the jury while appearing close to tears.

During his 15-minute speech, which gripped the jurors after a morning of complex DNA results that often left them looking lost, Sollecito described his brief romance with co-defendant Amanda Knox as a "little fairytale".

He said the relationship was shattered when the pair were accused of fatally stabbing Ms Kercher in the house she shared with Knox, pushing the defendants into a "nightmare beyond imagination".

Meredith Kercher was found with stab wounds to the neck in 2007

"I have been described as a ruthless killer but I am nothing of the sort," he said, during a softly spoken and occasionally rambling speech.

The trial is the latest in a drawn out legal process that saw Knox, 26, and Sollecito convicted and jailed in Perugia in 2009, before being released after four years when they were cleared on appeal in 2011, only for that verdict to be overturned by Italy's supreme court this year.

While Knox has refused to travel from her home in Seattle to appear in court for the new appeal, Sollecito returned from a holiday in the Dominican Republic to appear at the fresh appeal, flanked by his father.

Sollecito said he was "proud" to come from a "good Italian family" which had taught him strong values and had never had legal problems.

"I have always been honest, but I have been called an assassin," he said.

He claimed he had been a reserved student at Perugia, had not been an "obsessive partier" and did not drink.

In an apparent reference to the now infamous photos of him kissing Knox at the crime scene, he apologised, telling the jury "I didn't take the situation seriously at the start".

From being one week away from obtaining his degree, he was plunged into six months in isolation followed by a spell in a maximum security jail, he said, adding: "I don't recommend it to anyone in the world. All my life was cancelled."

Sollecito apologised over this picture of he and Knox and kissing

Speaking without notes, Sollecito condemned the "hallucinatory persecution" he faced, complaining that police had believed a footprint found at the house was his before changing their mind eight months later.

Sollecito said he had never known Rudy Guede, the local drifter who was convicted for his role in the murder.

"I would not have had a minimal interest in committing this atrocious act against a 20-year-old," he said.

Sollecito has faced suspicions that he was preparing to flee Italy after he took a holiday in the Dominican Republic, which does not have an extradition treaty with Italy.

But his father said his decision to fly in for the hearing showed he had no plan to escape Italian justice.

Sollecito complained that he had been hounded by photographers.

"I need to defend myself in the media for the most banal thing," he said.

"I have tried to stay out of the limelight. And today I am here before you to get to know you and tell you the truth of this matter."

Sollecito's speech followed an explanation by two Italian police officers of the results of a test on a DNA trace carried out on a knife found at his flat, which prosecutors have argued is the murder weapon.

Amanda Knox has refused to appear at the appeal

The officers said the results allowed the police to "support, in an extremely significant manner, the hypothesis that genetic material of Amanda Marie Knox is present" in the trace.

An earlier police report decided that a separate trace could contain Ms Kercher's DNA, which was used to suggest that the knife was the murder weapon.

But that test was challenged as unreliable by a second analysis carried out during the first appeal.

The latest result on the separate trace has been seized by lawyers representing Knox and Sollecito as proof that the knife was used by Knox and Knox only in Sollecito's kitchen.

Carlo Dalla Vedova, a lawyer representing Knox, said: "This is just a kitchen knife."

But Francesco Maresca, a lawyer representing the Kercher family, said he was sticking by the initial report that found a trace of Ms Kercher's DNA on the blade.

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Call Of Duty: Ghosts Tops $1bn On First Day

The latest Call of Duty video game made more than $1bn (£621m) from its first day on sale, its publisher has confirmed.

Call of Duty: Ghosts went on sale worldwide on Tuesday and its debut eclipsed that of Grand Theft Auto V, which raked in $800m (£496m) on its first day in September.

At the time, the game beat the record for single-day games sales held by the last Call of Duty game, Black Ops II, which made $500m (£310m) in November 2012.

Fans queued overnight at hundreds of stores across the UK, which were open at midnight for the release of the 10th Call of Duty instalment.

The last Call of Duty game made $500m in first day sales

The $1bn figure represented sales to retail store, which may not reflect consumer purchases, according to publisher Activision.

Eric Hirshberg, chief executive of Activision Publishing, said the game "has delivered yet another epic thrill ride in the campaign, and what I think is our best multiplayer game yet".

The company claimed the series was "the largest console franchise of this generation".

The latest military shooter series is set in a desolate US, devastated by a satellite-guided "kinetic" weapon strike on San Diego.

Ghosts has been released for play on PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii U and personal computers powered by Windows operating systems.

Versions of the game will later be available to use on new game consoles PS4 or Xbox One.

It is also compatible with smartphones and tablet computers.

A new Call of Duty app will let players use smartphones or tablets to tweak in-game characters or squads, schedule team matches, and share accomplishments using social networks Facebook and Twitter.

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Simon Gittany Trial: Neighbour Heard Screams

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A young woman banged on her neighbour's door screaming "please help me" moments before she plunged to her death from a 15th floor balcony, a court has heard.

Simon Gittany is accused of murdering his girlfriend Lisa Harnum, 30, by pushing or dropping her from the balcony of their luxury flat in Sydney, Australia, on July 30, 2011.

Susan Glanville, who lived next door to the couple, gave evidence in court and recounted the morning when Ms Harnum fell to her death.

"I heard banging on my door and with the banging a woman's voice scream 'please help me, help me, God help me'," Ms Glanville told the court.

"As I heard the banging I went around the corridor, around the corner and I could see the door shaking.

"I heard a man's raised voice yelling.

"As I walked towards the door (there was) silence."

Simon Gittany

Ms Glanville said she didn't open her door to see what was out there.

Moments later, she said she heard a scream that seemed to be coming from outside.

The court had previously heard that Gittany, 40, was a controlling and abusive partner, who discouraged Canadian Ms Harnum from working, secretly monitored her phone calls, texts and emails and alienated her from her friends.

She had plans to leave him days before her death, the trial has heard.

The jury at Sydney's Supreme Court also listened to a secret phone recording of a heated conversation between the couple.

The recording from June 10, 2011, begins with the couple laughing and joking.

Then a fight erupts when Gittany suggests to Ms Harnum that he wants to spend one day a week with his male friends.

"Simon you do that a lot," Ms Harnum says in the recording played in court on Monday.

"You're out with the boys every night."

"What are you talking about, are you serious?" Gittany replies.

Ms Harnum says: "You do it anyway ... it's already like that."

She then says he acts as if she never gives him space even though she always does.

Ms Harnum then becomes emotional, saying everything she does is for him.

"I don't go anywhere ... I don't do anything other than what you tell me to do," she said.

Simon Gittany in a distressed state shortly after the incident

"I don't have anything here except for you."

She says when she isn't with him: "I don't talk, I don't speak."

Ms Harnum also says she misses her mother.

Gittany then tells her: "I said once a week, baby, don't take it to the extremes."

Earlier in the trial jurors saw video of the couple apparently grappling in the corridor of the apartment block in the lead-up to Ms Harnum's death.

CCTV footage shows Gittany in a distressed state in the lift in the moments after his girlfriend plunged to her death.

Gittany, whose new girlfriend and parents have supported him each day in court, says they had a complicated but loving relationship and he had tried to save her when she climbed onto the balcony in the midst of a fight.

He denies murder and is expected to give evidence later in the week.

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Gosport Car Victim's Mother 'Kissed Her Goodbye'

The mother of one of two girls killed when she was struck by a car outside her home in Gosport kissed her daughter goodbye as she lay in the road.

Jasmine Allsop, 14, and Olivia Lewry, 16, were killed early on Sunday morning after being run down by a green Honda Civic on Ann's Hill Road. 

Jasmine died at the scene, while Olivia passed away in hospital, Hampshire Police said.

"It was just all a blur," Rosemary Allsop said at her home just metres from where the collision, which is being investigated as a murder, happened.

Ms Allsop said Olivia was at the house for a "girls' night in" and she assumed the pair were listening to music and talking about boys when she went to bed. 

"I went out and then a neighbour covered me in a blanket. I kissed her - it was four hours before they took her body away because I did not want to let her go.

"I told her she was my angel and I'd loved her since the day she was born. I can remember her big blue eyes staring.

Police at the scene of the car collision

"I'm empty inside and lost. I keep expecting her to come through the door."

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering the two girls.

Jasmine's father Kevin MacLaughlan, 58, a road worker from Thorne in South Yorkshire, said he would remember her as "the most beautiful, bubbly-natured girl". 

He had not seen Jasmine for two and a half months but said he drove straight down after hearing the news.

Mr MacLaughlan said his thoughts were with Olivia's family as well.

"We are sharing the same feelings and we'd like to meet up with them," he said. 

Brune Park Community School, which Olivia recently left to attend St Vincent College and where Jasmine was still a pupil, said the best friends "lived life to the full".

"Our thoughts and prayers are with their families at this dreadful time," it said in a statement.

"They were both independent, strong-minded individuals who lived their lives to the full with confidence and a sense of humour and a sense of fun.

"We will miss them both immensely and their unique talents which they displayed."

Mourners at the scene of the collision

Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Dick Pearson of the Hampshire Major Investigation Team renewed his appeal for witnesses to come forward.

"A dedicated team of officers and staff from a range of departments are working closely together to analyse leads from witnesses and forensics," he said.

"The green Honda Civic is the subject of further examinations to ensure all potential evidence has been gathered and preserved.

"A key line of enquiry is identifying as many witnesses as possible with information about the behaviour of the driver in the green Honda Civic around the Gosport area during the early hours of Sunday morning."

The suspect was originally taken into custody on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving but the offence was later changed to suspected murder, police said.

D/Supt Pearson also urged people to avoid posting rumours or details about the case online.

"This plea particularly applies to names and possible motives of people perceived to be involved in the circumstances surrounding this case," he said.

"Such speculation is upsetting and disrespectful to the victims' families, and can also have unintended effects on important lines of enquiry and evidence ahead of any future court case."

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team at Fratton Police Station on 101, quoting Operation Barb.

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Hacking Trial: Brooks' Husband 'Hid Evidence'

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks conspired with her husband and security staff to hide material from police investigating phone hacking, a court has heard.

While the ex-News Of The World and Sun editor was being questioned by police over the voicemail allegations, her husband Charlie Brooks and former NI head of security Mark Hanna tried to hide evidence, the jury was told.

Racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks was seen leaving the couple's London flat and entering the underground car park carrying a laptop computer and a bin bag, the court heard.

These items were collected by Hanna shortly afterwards and taken away. 

But after numerous contacts during the day, it was arranged for the computer and other material to be returned, the court heard.

Later one of Hanna's team - pretending he was delivering pizzas - put them back behind the bins in a black plastic bag.

The security team member then texted another colleague saying: "Broadsword calling Danny Boy. Pizza delivered and the chicken is in the pot."

Carter was Brooks' PA

The quote is a reference to the 1968 film Where Eagles Dare starring Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton.

But the prosecution said the plan went awry when the items were put back.

A cleaner found the material and it was handed to police.

Prosecutor Andrew Edis QC told the Old Bailey: "The prosecution say that this whole exercise was quite complicated and quite risky and liable to go wrong, as it did.

"You only contemplate doing it for a real purpose, otherwise you are just attracting suspicion."

He added: "The only rational explanation was to hide material so police can't get it. Sometimes plans of that kind succeed.

"They must have been trying to hide something, otherwise they would have been behaving completely irrationally."

Rebekah Brooks is accused of two counts of perverting the course of justice - one with Hanna and her husband, and the second with her former personal assistant, Cheryl Carter.

It is claimed that she instructed Carter to remove seven boxes of notebooks - said to be Brooks' dating from 1995 to 2007 - from the company's archive that have "never been seen again".

"Nothing like that has ever been recovered in the course of this inquiry," Mr Edis told the jury.

Earlier the court was told that in 2011 the situation for News International became "more fevered" as the firm came under investigation by police after it handed over three emails linked to phone hacking and payment claims.

Jurors were also read a memo that Brooks sent to staff in July 2011, following the Guardian's allegations that murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone was hacked.

She wrote: "We were all appalled and shocked when we heard about these allegations yesterday.

"It was sickening that these events are alleged to have happened, not just because I was editor of the News Of The World at the time ...

"But if the allegations are true, the devastating effects on Milly Dowler's family are unforgivable.

"I am determined that News International does everything it can to co-operate fully (with the police investigation)."

She added: "It is almost too horrific to believe that a professional journalist or even a freelance inquiry agent working on behalf of a member of News Of The World staff could behave in this way.

"I can promise the strongest possible action will be taken."

Brooks and her one-time lover Andy Coulson, who succeeded her as editor of the now-defunct News of the World, are among those standing trial at the Old Bailey.

The pair deny charges that include an alleged conspiracy to hack the telephones of celebrities, royals and politicians, as well as authorising the payment of public officials for information.

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Alps Murders: Sketch Of Motorcyclist Released

Police investigating the murder of a family in the French Alps have released a sketch of a mysterious bearded motorcyclist wearing a rare type of crash helmet.

The biker was seen by witnesses at the scene of the shooting in September 2012, close to the village of Chevaline above Lake Annecy.

Saad al Hilli, a 50-year-old British-Iraqi businessman, was gunned down in the attack, which also killed his wife and mother.

French cyclist Sylvain Mollier, apparently an innocent bystander, was also killed, although Mr al Hilli's two daughters survived.

The helmet worn by the man in the police sketch is a rare model, with only 8,000 made in the colour seen by witnesses.

It is a full-face model that opens from the side to allow conversations without removing the helmet.

Benoit Vinnemann, the head of investigations for the local police force, said: "More than the identikit photo itself, it is the type of helmet that is interesting.

"This is someone who was close to the scene during a time period that interests us and who may have done or seen something.

"He is potentially the perpetrator, but mainly a witness."

More follows...

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'Plebgate' Officers Facing New Investigation

Three police officers accused of deceiving MPs over the so-called Plebgate scandal are to face a new investigation by the police watchdog.

Inspector Ken MacKaill, Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton and Sergeant Chris Jones will also be called back before an influential committee of MPs, over claims they gave misleading accounts of a meeting with Andrew Mitchell.

The trio were initially told they would face no action for misconduct after they used press interviews to falsely accuse the former chief whip of calling them "******* plebs" during a Downing Street row over his bicycle.

But the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has now said it will hold an investigation into their behaviour, saying the evidence they gave to the home affairs select committee revealed "a number of procedural irregularities" in earlier police reports.

The confrontation was caught on CCTV and shown on Channel 4

Speaking on Sky News' Murnaghan show, former shadow home secretary David Davis spoke about the "devastating" impact of the officers' actions on Mr Mitchell and his family.

He called for him to be returned to the cabinet, in which he served between 2010 and 2012, in any future reshuffle.

"Mr Mitchell's career came to an end and he was subject to widespread vilification," he said.

"At one point, the entire British public thought he was guilty. They now see him, quite rightly, as a wronged man.

"It's long past time that Mr Mitchell should be exonerated and returned to office."

The row had a "devastating" impact on Mr Mitchell, according to Mr Davis

The policemen, all of whom are police federation representatives, have been recalled to the home affairs select committee to apologise for giving "misleading answers" on October 23.

Mr Davis said members of the public expected "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to be at the core of policing".

"When are (these three officers) going to realise that telling a lie or a half truth just isn't good enough?" he said.

"This isn't just about three policemen - it's about whether or not this sort of behaviour is seen as acceptable by the entire system."

Chief Constable Alex Marshall, chief executive of the College of Policing, told the Murnaghan show that the officers' actions had "damaged the public image of the police".

"There will now be a full, independent investigation by the IPCC and it's my view that there should have been from the start," he said.

"The officers should have apologised and they should have apologised very clearly."

Referring to a draft code of ethics published last month by the College of Policing, which outlined how all 220,000 police officers and staff in England and Wales are expected to behave, he added: "Officers must uphold high standards when they join the police.

"The code of ethics spells out those standards and for people joining the police service, (it should be) lesson one on day one."

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Gosport Murder Inquiry As Teens Killed By Car

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after two teenage girls died after being hit by a car.

A 14-year-old girl died at the scene of the incident in Gosport, Hampshire, while a 16-year-old girl, who was taken to hospital with serious injuries, also later died, according to police.

Detective Superintendant Dick Pearson said: "This is an extremely tragic incident which has resulted in the death of two young girls.

"I currently have a team of detectives and other officers, including expert road collision investigators, working on this case to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of these two teenage girls.

"I would appeal to anyone who knows anything which could help this investigation to contact my team as soon as possible."

Officers were called to the scene after the girls were hit by a green Honda Civic car at 4.15 am on Sunday.

A man is in custody, police said.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team at Fratton Police Station on 101, quoting Operation Barb.

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Grayling: Jobs For Ex-Cons Over Immigrants

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling wants to see building jobs go to ex-convicts rather than Eastern Europeans.

In an interview with Sky News' Dermot Murnaghan, Mr Grayling said he would prefer work to go to offenders leaving jail rather than immigrants.

Speaking at Wandsworth Prison, he stressed the importance of providing inmates with skills to work in the building industry.

He said: "One of the great opportunities for people when they leave prison is to get them into the construction field.

"If you can deliver skills development here, get the basic qualifications, it equips them for when they leave."

But even when trained, they faced competiton for work when released.

Mr Grayling said: "All too often you will find an East European is doing that job for you, if you are having your driveway laid.

"I'd actually rather we got that job for somebody who has been here (in prison), who has done something wrong, who has faced the consequences, who has been punished,  but actually it's in none of our interests if they go straight back out again and reoffend.

"If we can get them a worthwhile trade, and then they go on to have a law-abiding life, then everybody wins."

It comes after David Cameron said it is time to say "no" to immigrants taking jobs in British factories and start educating children so they have the skills to be employed instead.

The Prime Minister pointed out that in some factories across the country half the work was done by migrants from Eastern Europe.

But he said that they could not be blamed for seeking jobs in British factories when schools and colleges were not producing students with the required skills to do the work, and the jobs were there for the taking.

Speaking on Murnaghan, Mr Grayling also defended his controversial plans to privatise most of the probation service, and ruled out slowing the pace of change, which he argued was needed to tackle re-offending.

Mr Grayling also stood by changes to the probation service, despite union warnings the reforms were "dangerous", and could lead to deaths.

A package of contracts worth £450m has been offered to private and voluntary sector organisations, covering the supervision of 225,000 low and medium-risk offenders each year on a payment-by-results basis.

Contracts are to be split across 20 English regions and one Welsh region, while the National Probation Service (NPS), a new public sector organisation, will be formed to deal with the rehabilitation of 31,000 high-risk offenders each year.

Mr Grayling said: "I want to deliver change quickly, but I don't want to deliver change rashly.

"This is not a money-saving exercise. It's about using the money we have got more wisely, to deal with what I think is our biggest criminal justice scandal.

"The fact that people who are most likely to offend, the people who go to jail for less than 12 months, who are most likely to walk back on to our streets again and do something really horrendous in our society, are getting no supervision at the moment at all."

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Solar Eclipse: 'Hybrid' Event Best Seen In Africa

A solar eclipse has swept across the globe, plunging parts of Africa, Europe and the United States into darkness.

The rare event, known as a "hybrid" eclipse because the extent to which the Sun was blocked out varied around the world, was best viewed in equatorial Africa, where totality lasted for up to a minute.

Skywatchers in southern Europe, the Middle East, North America's east coast and the northern half of South America were able to see an "annular", or partial, eclipse, although poor weather obstructed the view for many.

Jose Afonso, director of the Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, said: "Throughout your lifetime, if you're living in the same place, you'll perhaps see a total solar eclipse once or maybe twice.

"It's a very uncommon event for any place on Earth."

Astronomers had warned people not to look directly at the Sun without taking safety precautions.

Solar eclipses can be viewed through binoculars or a telescope by projecting the Sun's disc onto a sheet of card or paper, or by using eclipse glasses which filter sunlight.

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