Glasgow Helicopter Crash Pilot's Funeral Held

By David Blevins, Sky News Correspondent

The funeral has taken place of the pilot killed when his helicopter crashed onto a Glasgow bar last weekend.

Captain David Traill was one of nine people who died when the aircraft crashed on to the roof of the city's Clutha bar on Friday last week.

He was a decorated war veteran, having served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but had flown for a private company since his retirement from the RAF.

Friends, family and colleagues attended a service at Glasgow University, led by chaplain Reverend Stuart MacQuarrie.

Before the memorial, a guard of honour was formed, with police officers on one side and air ambulance pilots and paramedics on the other.

The funeral cortege was led by police outriders and was joined by a friend of Capt Traill who rode his Harley Davidson motorcycle to the service.

The service had been put together by Capt. Traill's fiancee, Lucy, a graduate from the university, and his father, Iain, who sobbed as he read a poem, You Can Shed Tears, to mourners.

The minister read out a tribute from Lucy whom Capt Traill met just over four years ago.

She said: "Dave was the best thing that ever happened to me …He was the most amazing, caring, loving, strong, capable, funny, creative, delicious and sexy boy in the whole world and I cannot even begin to imagine life without him."

The helicopter crashed on the Clutha bar a week ago

She added that some of his passions included cycling, Scotland's west coast, fine dining, kayaking, Take That, and "best of all" karaoke.

"It all seemed too perfect but there was no catch. He just adored me and told me every single day," she said.

Mr Traill Snr read the same poem by David Harkins at his younger son Angus' funeral three years ago.

A close friend from Mr Traill's time in the RAF read a tribute to "the greatest friend a man could hope for".

Andy Rooney said: "David, Dave, Davey, Swampy - he was different things to different people and he touched many lives.

"But there was a consistency to him that few could match and many could envy. The calm he offered, the warmth with which he was received."

He went on: "He was the greatest friend a man could hope for. A steady, loyal brother in arms.

"He wasn't perfect, that would be tedious. He was a helicopter pilot who didn't like heights.

"You could get him in a helicopter, but you couldn't get him up a set of ladders. He was a pilot who got air sick, to be fair this was mostly on fixed-wing planes."

The 51-year-old had played an active role in the lives of his three young nephews since they lost their father - his younger brother Angus - to throat cancer three years ago.

Capt Traill did not make a mayday call before the aircraft crashed onto the Clutha bar, killing him and two police passengers: Kristy Nelis, 36, and Tony Collins, 43.

Six other people, attending a live music event inside the pub, also died: Robert Jenkins, 61, Mark O'Prey, 44, Colin Gibson, 33, John McGarrigle, 57, Gary Arthur, 48, and Samuel McGhee, 56.

Around 100 people were inside the building when the Eurocopter dropped out of the sky "like a stone" last Friday night and 10 of the 32 injured remain in hospital.

There was no black box data recorder on the helicopter but air accident investigators are examining the wreckage in Farnborough, Hampshire, and are expected to publish their initial findings next week.

Bond Air Services described their popular colleague as "the epitome of the consummate professional" and "a legend" whose passing would be mourned with "a sense of intense loss and sorrow".

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Nelson Mandela: Soweto Salutes Its Hero

Mandela Embraced Sport To Heal

Updated: 1:02am UK, Saturday 07 December 2013

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

Of the many remarkable images of Nelson Mandela's remarkable life, few speak as powerfully as the moment South Africa's new president handed the 1995 Rugby World Cup to Francois Pienaar in Johannesburg.

In front of an overwhelmingly white crowd at Ellis Park, the man once regarded as an enemy of the state emerged wearing a Springbok shirt bearing Pienaar's No 6 on the back.

Entirely won over, the crowd chanted his name, and two hours later watched as the two No 6s, one black, one white, but both South African, celebrated a moment of shared sporting triumph.

It was a moment of brilliant political judgement and deep symbolic power.

Mr Mandela had only been president for a year and extreme right-wing elements were attempting to destabilise his government.

At a stroke he had provided a rallying point for a fledgling nation.

"It is hard to put into words what it meant," said Pienaar.

"Everyone knows about our embarrassing past and he comes out and asks the rest of the country to support us.

"I never thought he would wear a Springbok jersey. That meant so much for the white South Africa. He comes out and carries the Springbok on his chest. I think it was a rallying call for the country, that this was a team that played for us all."

Sport is a persistent theme of South Africa's journey from apartheid to emancipation. First, as a lightning rod for the global anti-apartheid movement, and then at Mr Mandela's behest used as a means of healing the nation's deep divisions.

In the dark days of apartheid the old Imperial games of cricket and rugby were central to white South African identity.

Lucas Radebe, the former South African football captain, told Sky News the black majority played soccer in isolation, associating the other games with the regime.

"We looked at cricket as the sport of the minority, we didn't want to have anything to do with cricket or rugby. Everything was just apartheid," he said.

"Our parents still bear the scars, but it got better and there is a lot of history."

Whatever the game, black and white South Africans were barred from playing together. And when it came to sending national teams to play abroad, only whites were considered for selection.

The African National Congress, operating in exile, recognised the symbolic power of this and campaigned for a global boycott of teams selected on racist lines.

The sporting boycott was perhaps the most effective of all sanctions, hitting white identity hard and bringing the iniquities of the apartheid regime to the attention of a global audience.

Mr Mandela and Desmond Tutu both acknowledged the role played by sport in raising awareness, but winning the support of sport was not straightforward.

In Europe and within cricket and rugby there was resistance to a boycott, with many spouting the canard that sport and politics should not mix.

Exclusion from the Olympic Games was a powerful symbol of global revulsion, but it took concerted action from Asian and African countries to overcome European resistance within the International Olympic Committee.

British rugby was only jolted from its complacency by nationwide protests against South African tourists, and cricket finally joined the anti-apartheid consensus after one of the most controversial and divisive incidents in all sport, the Basil D'Oliveira affair.

D'Oliveira was, in the parlance of apartheid South Africa, a "Cape Coloured" who, denied a chance to play international cricket left South Africa and qualified to play for England.

In 1968 he appeared certain to be selected for the tour of South Africa, a decision that was likely to lead to the cancellation of England's visit by the South African government.

But following a secret lobbying campaign orchestrated from Pretoria, D'Oliveira was omitted from the MCC touring party for the winter tour of his homeland.

It prompted outrage and protests and, a month later, following an injury to a player selected ahead of him, he was added to the touring party.

The South African government responded with contempt, cancelling the tour and describing the MCC squad as "the team of the anti-apartheid movement".

The affair exposed the deep racism of South African society, and cast the sport into a wilderness in which it remained until Mr Mandela was released.

Attempts to break the boycott served to highlight the anti-apartheid cause, particularly rebel cricket tours culminating in a party led by former England captain Mike Gatting in 1989.

Gatting, who will become MCC President in October, found himself at the centre of the final convulsion of apartheid, and saw his mercenary expedition cancelled as Mr Mandela was finally released.

Football attracted less attention but there were notable boycott breakers, including Bobby Moore, Geoff Hirst and Alan Ball of England's 1966 World Cup winning side, who all played in South Africa under apartheid.

Having been a tool in the struggle, sport became a symbol of change once Mr Mandela was released.

A South African team competed under the Olympic flag in Barcelona in 1992, and the cricket team played in the West Indies in 1992 with the protea, a flower, replacing the Springbok on their badge.

Mr Mandela astutely used the power of sport to try and heal his nation's deep divisions.

The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the most obvious example but there were others. The 1996 African Cup of Nations, won by the hosts with a team led by the great Lucas Radebe, lifted national esteem further.

Major sporting events were drawn to South African, including the 2003 World Cup and most recently, the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

That brought Mr Mandela's final public appearance as he was driven around Soccer City in a golf buggy, visibly frail but rapturously greeted by a global audience hungry for a piece of the modern-day saint.

Many things matter more than sport as South Africa comes to terms with life after Mr Mandela, but when black and white play together they can take comfort that the simple act is part of his legacy.

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Air Traffic Control Problem Delays UK Flights

Flights at airports across the UK - including Heathrow and Gatwick - have been delayed or cancelled by an air traffic control system problem.

Thousands of passengers have seen their flights delayed by a problem switching from night-time to daytime operating capacity at southern England's main air traffic control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire.

Airports in the south east of England - the world's busiest airspace - have been hardest hit, with the knock-on impact disrupting flights across the UK and further afield.

Passengers have complained about a lack of information as they spend hours stuck on planes, while budget airline Ryanair has called for the Civil Aviation Authority to step in to prevent further chaos.

The National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats), which coordinates air traffic control across the UK, has said the technical problem will not be fixed until around 6pm.

A spokeswoman at Heathrow, where more than 200 flights have been cancelled, said: "Due to a technical issue with air traffic control, flights from many UK airports, including Heathrow, are subject to delay and cancellation.

"If you are flying today you should check the status of your flight with your airline. We are sorry that passengers have experienced disruption to their journeys."

Gatwick Airport tweeted: "Due to air traffic control systems issues some flights may be delayed. Please check with your airline."

The problems stem from a technical issue at NATS air traffic control

There are also reports of delays at Stansted, Manchester, Cardiff, Southampton, Luton, London City and flights to the south from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The issue has also affected flights UK-bound flights from Ireland and Europe.

British Airways said passengers on cancelled flights would be able to claim a full refund or be rebooked on alternative flights.

The airline said in a statement: "Given that Heathrow is the world's busiest two-runway airport and Gatwick is the world's busiest single-runway airport, there will be problems for all airlines as a result of the ATC failures."

A Ryanair spokesman said: "While we acknowledge problems can occur, where is the contingency? It's simply not good enough and the CAA needs to act now.

"Over 100 Ryanair flights to and from the south of England have been affected, with 10 cancelled so far. We apologise to affected passengers, however these circumstances are entirely beyond our control."

Dublin Airport tweeted: "Technical issue with air traffic control in southern England is causing a delay to some flights to England & continental Europe this AM."

Nats apologised for the backlog, blaming an internal phone system issue, and said it had handled 20% fewer flights than usual by midday on Saturday.

Passengers queue to rebook tickets at Heathrow's Terminal 5

Operations director Juliet Kennedy told Sky News: "We are able to manage the levels of traffic we would normally see overnight perfectly safely but we're unable to open additional control positions at the moment, which results in a reduction in our ability to deal with busier traffic levels."

She said the military had given up airspace to make it easier for Nats to operate some flights while the technical problem persists.

Daisy McAndrew said she had been caught in the "unholy mess" at Gatwick as she tried to fly to Barcelona for work.

She told Sky News: "As ever, staff have been fantastic but they know nothing other than the fact it is going to be a very, very long delay - very frustrating.

"And also, it's embarrassing, isn't it? When you look around a lot of people on my plane are not British, they are flying British Airways, they are probably trying to get back to Spain and they will inevitably be thinking this is something that could have possibly been prevented.

"It doesn't show our air traffic control system or our travel system in a good light.

"I have never heard of an example where every single plane is grounded - it's quite eerie when I look out of the window to see the tarmac in Gatwick, normally so busy, and also the sky above Gatwick which is normally busy - completely static, there's nothing moving."

Mrs McAndrew said the pilot on her flight suggested the delays would cause problems at Heathrow for two or three days.

Cabin crew opened the doors on a grounded flight as passengers milled about

Alwynne Gwilt, stuck at Stansted, told Sky: "We've just been stuck on the tarmac since we boarded the plane - at that point I don't think they realised quite the extent of the issue.

"Once we were settled in they told us there might be a delay of two hours and 45 minutes but we've had no updates since then.

"I understand that safety comes first. Unfortunately you want to make the most of it when you go away for a short getaway, but at the moment we're only seeing the yellow and blue of the Ryanair planes.

"You have to question why we had to get on the plane if they had known a little bit ahead of time. Now we're stuck with no tea, coffee, all those things you would be able to get if you were in an airport."

Take That singer Howard Donald was also caught up in the chaos.

He wrote on Twitter: "Control tower failure at Heathrow as left me stranded for 2-3 hours at dusseldorf. Anyone know any games besides eye spy?"

Radar engineer Dan Holland told Sky News the air traffic computer system runs at around 15% capacity during the night when there are fewer flights and then switches to near 100% during the day.

He said: "It seems that when they have made the switch something hasn't gone right and the data isn't being optimised enough for the safety of the passengers and the planes in UK airspace."

Sky News reporter Clare Fallon said problems at Swanwick had caused a similar backlog last summer.

She said: "There were several airports, mostly in the south of England, including Heathrow, and it took several hours then for them to actually deal with that problem."

The arrivals board at Gatwick Airport, which has been affected

Aviation analyst Chris Yates said passengers due to arrive at UK airports from overseas could find themselves diverted elsewhere.

He said: "There are contingency plans in place whenever this happens.

"Many of the long-haul flights, coming from China, India, the US and so on, passengers sitting on those planes may find themselves diverted to continental airports.

"But it's going to be a long wait for them. When the system kicks back in and starts working, there will be a backlog of flights.

Travel journalist Simon Calder said the technical glitch was a "disaster".

He told Sky News: "The south-east of England is the busiest airspace in the world. London handles far more passengers than anywhere else including Paris, New York, Tokyo and so on.

He explained that the lack of spare capacity at airports like Heathrow means things get "very messy, very quickly" and airlines are forced to cancel flights to create firebreaks, which allow the system to keep running.

He said there was "no way" that passenger safety would be compromised due to the ongoing problems but that airlines were facing losses of millions of pounds.

He added: "If you are flying today, then good luck, if you're only delayed you're in a pretty good place."

:: Are you stranded? Email us: news@sky.com.

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Mandela Family: 'We Have Lost A Great Man'

Winnie And Nelson's Lifelong Bond

Updated: 12:55am UK, Saturday 07 December 2013

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Right to the end, Winnie and Nelson Mandela remained close.

She was one of the few allowed to see him in hospital in the days before he died, and was a regular at his bedside alongside his third wife Graca Machel.

When they met at a bus stop in 1958 Nelson described it as love at first sight. Within a year they were married and she became his second wife.

Political activism kept the couple apart for much of their early years together and when Mr Mandela was jailed for life in 1964 she was left to bring up two young daughters.

In his book Long Walk To Freedom, he wrote: "My dearest Winnie, your beautiful photo still stands about two feet above my left shoulder as I write this note. I dust it carefully every morning, for to do so gives me the pleasant feeling that I'm caressing you as in the old days.

"I even touch your nose with mine to recapture the electric current that used to flush through my blood whenever I did so. Nolitha stands on the table directly opposite me. How can my spirits ever be down when I enjoy the fond attentions of such wonderful ladies?"

She also assumed the mantle of Mr Mandela's political heir. While he was in jail Winnie was placed under constant observation by the security services.

She was detained on several occasions and held in solitary confinement for 17 months.

By the mid-1980s Winnie was at the heart of the struggle.

Although her opposition to white rule earned her the title 'Mother of the Nation', her conduct was not irreproachable.

She spoke publicly about achieving liberation from apartheid by using necklaces - a reference to the brutal murder of suspected collaborators by putting tyres round their necks and setting them alight.

But the most serious allegations stemmed from the activities of her personal bodyguards - the so-called 'Mandela United Football Club'.

A 14-year-old old activist called Stompie Moeketsi was kidnapped by her guards and later found murdered.

Convicted over the kidnap of the boy, Winnie's life was steeped in both achievement and controversy. She was virtually disowned by the ANC.

The ANC leadership declared Winnie out of control. But Mr Mandela - in jail and in ill health - refused to repudiate her.

A woman whose image helped light his mind during the years of incarceration - yet a woman he had scarcely seen in almost three long decades.

When finally Mr Mandela's days of darkness came to an end and he was freed from jail it was Winnie by his side as he walked into the sunshine.

But the marriage wasn't to last. Mr Mandela would later say at his daughter Zindzi's wedding: "It seems to be the destiny of freedom fighters to have unstable personal lives.

"When your life is the struggle - as was mine - there's little room left for family."

By the time Mr Mandela was released Winne was in the midst of an affair.

Mr Mandela separated from her in 1992 and they divorced four years later.

He told the court that he had been "the loneliest man" after his release from prison and that months went by when they barely spoke.

She was hardly ever affectionate in public. He said he was embarrassed to be married only in name. Mr Mandela's first wife, Evelyn, accused Winnie of only wanting to be the first black South African First Lady.

But forever loyal as they separated, Mr Mandela spoke of what she had endured during his time at Robben Island.

He said: "My love for her remains undiminished. I part from her with no recrimination. I embrace her with all the love and affection I have nursed for her inside and out of prison."

Two years later on his 80th birthday Mr Mandela married for a third time.

He had met Graca Machel, the widow of the Mozambican President Samora Machel, in 1990, when she was still in mourning.

Their friendship developed over time, and although she turned down his first marriage proposal, they finally tied the knot in 1998.

Graca, who is 27 years his junior, had been keeping vigil at Mr Mandela's bedside since he was admitted to hospital on June 8.

She is one of the few members of Mr Mandela's family to have maintained a dignified silence over the family spats which have dogged the Mandela clan.

It is reported Winnie branded Graca "that concubine". But as the end drew close for Mr Mandela, Winnie described Graca as like a sister.

There was always a place for Winnie alongside Mr Mandela in the later years of his life.

He was flanked by both women during the celebrations for his 94th birthday in July 2012.

The woman who brought him happiness in his final years and the woman he had sacrificed for the struggle was the most painful aspect, he said, of the choice he made.

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Schizophrenic Jailed For Beheading Flatmate

A paranoid schizophrenic who killed his flatmate and cut off his head after suffering from delusions he was being persecuted has been jailed for life.

Karl Addo, found by several doctors to be borderline insane, will serve a minimum of six and half years for the killing of Sergio Marquez and may never be released from Broadmoor because he is so ill.

The headless body of Mr Marquez, who was decapitated and disembowled after he died, was found by other flatmates who ran screaming from the address.

Years of mental illness led Addo to believe that he was being assaulted by gangs with special powers and been injected with drugs.

Karl Addo admitted manslaughter

He believed that Spanish waiter Mr Marquez, 23, was part of a gang and that he wanted to kill and torture him.

The 30-year-old engineering graduate snapped on July 17 last year - the day his landlord told him to leave the flat the pair shared in Bournemouth, Dorset, because he had not paid his rent.

He hit Mr Marquez with a cleaver and stabbed him in what was a "prolonged horrific and very violent attack and his body was terribly mutilated," Nigel Pascoe QC, prosecuting told Bournemouth Crown Court.

A neighbour heard some of the attack and Mr Marquez saying "please Karl, please Karl", furniture being dragged around and then Addo laugh, Mr Pascoe said.

Sergio Marquez's body was discovered by his other flatmates

Police officers arrested Addo nearby covered in blood, the court was told. He had fled the flat when the others had returned.

Sentencing Addo, Mr Justice Burnett told him it was common ground that he was dangerous and also imposed an indefinite restriction under the Mental Health Act, explaining that he would "not be released unless the relevant authorities conclude that is it safe to do so".

"Given all that I have heard, you must recognise that there is a real possibility that such a conclusion will never be reached," he said.

Flatmates told police that Addo had been acting strangely, that he used to steal food from them and had used book pages as toilet paper, the court heard.

Addo, who was born in the UK but had also lived in the US, absconded from the Huntley Mental Health Centre in London where he was a voluntary patient the day before a mental health tribunal in October 2011 decided he should be sectioned.

Mr Marquez, originally from Sain, had come to England to find work

He then "disappeared" from mental health services before he moved to Bournemouth in May 2012.

Addo, of no fixed abode pleaded not guilty to murder on Monday but guilty to manslaughter through diminished responsibility.

The prosecution said the plea was acceptable because Addo had been severely mentally ill when he killed Mr Marquez, who lived in Coin near Malaga in Spain and had come to England to find work.

Speaking after the case, Mr Marquez's mother Maria Carmen Marquez Torres said: "Sergio was a kind, good hearted and beautiful man who touched the lives of everyone who met him.

"I have lost my son and the world has lost a wonderful man.

"I believe that I have received justice for me and for Sergio.

"No sentence would ever be sufficient and nothing will ever compensate me for he loss of my son, but I find comfort in the fact that Mr Addo will not have his freedom for a long time and inflict this pain on any other family."

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Live Updates: Nigella Lawson Aides Fraud Trial

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11:02am UK, Wednesday 04 December 2013

Nigella Lawson arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in west London

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Woolwich Suspect: Killing 'Gives Me Little Joy'

One of the men accused of killing soldier Lee Rigby told police it gives him "little joy to approach anybody and slay them", a court has heard.

Michael Adebolajo, who denies murder, made the comments in a two-hour interview, which was played to jurors at the Old Bailey.

As he sat with a blue blanket covering his head, the 28-year-old, who gave his name at Mujahid Abu Hamza, told officers it was "not my character" to kill people.

The videotaped interview showed him speaking non-stop for 30 minutes, pausing only for a sip of water.

He described how the rape of Muslim women "disgusts me to the core", telling officers: "If it does not affect you, you are wicked men."

Adebolajo and co-defendant Michael Adebowale were seen on CCTV

During his police statement, Adebolajo told officers that Drummer Rigby "was struck in the neck with a sharp implement and it was sawed until his head became, you know, almost detached".

"May Allah forgive me if I acted in a way that was displeasing to him," he added.

At one point in the interview, Adebolajo complained that he was refused permission to remove blood from his hands in hospital.

He was heard telling officers: "I have blood on my hands and I wish, like any sane man, to remove that blood."

When one of them tried to interrupt his monologue, Adebolajo raised his voice and said: "When I'm finished, you may speak."

Drummer Lee Rigby was killed in Woolwich on May 22

A female juror wept as a pathologist gave the court a detailed breakdown of Drummer Rigby's injuries, which included some stab wounds up to 12cm deep and others that "almost entirely circled" the neck.

The soldier's family decided not to attend court for Dr Simon Poole's graphic evidence.

He said Drummer Rigby was probably knocked unconscious when he was hit by the defendants' car but died from multiple incised wounds inflicted later.

The court also heard a statement from a psychiatrist who assessed Adebolajo in the days after Drummer Rigby was killed in Woolwich, southeast London, just metres from a military barracks.

Adebolajo claimed he did not recognise the name of co-defendant Adebowale

He said he showed "no signs of regret or remorse for his actions" but was polite and co-operative with medical staff.

There was no evidence of any mental health problems, he added.

Earlier, jurors were shown pictures of the weapons used in the attack on Drummer Rigby, including a meat cleaver, knives and a handgun.

DNA recovered from one of the knives matched Adebolajo's, the jury was told.

Other images showed a box containing a block of knives that was found inside the defendants' Vauxhall Tigra car, and the clothing worn by the pair on the day of the attack.

Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, 22, both deny murdering Drummer Rigby, attempting to murder a police officer and conspiracy to murder.

The trial continues.

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Nigella Lawson Admits Having Used Cocaine

Nigella Lawson has admitted in court she used cocaine "several times", but insisted she is not a habitual user of the drug.

The 53-year-old said she had used the drug half a dozen times when her then husband John Diamond was terminally ill and in 2010 when she was subjected to "intimate terrorism".

She also admitted smoking cannabis in the last year of her marriage to Charles Saatchi, but said she has now given up.

She said: "I have never been a drug addict. I've never been a habitual user. There are two times in my life when I have used cocaine.

"I have to be honest, I have smoked the odd joint. It's a false friend and not a good idea.

"I have to say, since freeing myself from a brilliant but brutal man, I'm now totally cannabis, cocaine, any drug-free."

Francesca, left, and Elisabetta Grillo deny the fraud charge

Ms Lawson said the first instance was with her late husband when he found out his cancer was terminal, and said she had taken it with him on six occasions. The second occasion was when a friend gave the drug to her.

She added: "There was another time I took cocaine. In July 2010 I was having a very, very difficult time.

"I felt subjected to intimate terrorism by Mr Saatchi."

She said claims she was a drug addict were "absolutely ridiculous".

Ms Lawson was giving evidence at Isleworth Crown Court at the trial of two former personal assistants accused of spending thousands of pounds on company credit cards.

Earlier on Wednesday she claimed allegations of drug abuse had been spread by her ex-husband Charles Saatchi in an attempt to ruin her reputation.

She said: "I have been put on trial here where I am called to answer, and glad to answer the allegations, and the world's press, and it comes after a long summer of bullying and abuse.

"He (Saatchi) had said to me if I didn't get back to him and clear his name he would destroy me."

Following a much-publicised incident at Scott's restaurant in Mayfair, London, where her ex-husband was pictured with his hand on her throat, false allegations of drug abuse about her began circulating on a "PR blog" she said.

She said these allegations were "dedicated to salvaging Mr Saatchi's reputation and destroying mine".

Ms Lawson claimed in court the incident was sparked when she commented on a person walking by with a baby.

Mr Saatchi was pictured with his hand on Nigella's throat in June

She said: "I said 'I'm so looking forward to having grandchildren'.

"He grabbed me by the throat and said 'I'm the only person you should be concerned with'."

It is alleged that between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2012, Italian sisters Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo committed fraud by abusing their positions while working for the couple.

The jury was told they are accused of using credit cards loaned to them by the TV chef and art dealer to spend more than £685,000 on themselves.

Prosecutors claim the women lived the "high life", spending the money on designer clothes and handbags from Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Vivienne Westwood.

Ms Lawson told the court: "It's very difficult when you find out that someone you have loved and trusted could behave that way.

"In my heart of hearts I do not believe Lisa (Elisabetta) to be a bad person. I believe her not to have a very strong moral compass.

"She broke our heart."

She added that she once took out £7,000 from her savings to pay for Elisabetta Grillo to have her teeth fixed.

Elisabetta, 41, sometimes referred to in court as Lisa, and co-defendant Francesca, 35, both of Kensington Gardens Square, Bayswater, west London, deny the charge against them.

:: Watch coverage on Sky News

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RBS And NatWest Glitch: Problems Persist

RBS and NatWest customers are still reporting problems with their accounts after a third major glitch in 18 months hit the banking group's IT systems nationwide.

Thousands vented their anger on Twitter after all of the high street banks' systems went down for three hours on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Cyber Monday, and the fury continued to be felt by the bank on Tuesday.

As well as bank cards, there were problems with RBS and NatWest's websites and smartphone apps.

The banking group said that while the technical issue had now been resolved, its 15.7 million customers should visit their local branch or contact one of its helplines if they were still experiencing problems with their accounts caused by the resulting backlog of transactions.

It promised anyone left out of pocket as a result of the failure would be compensated and there would be further investment in its technical systems to help prevent more disruption in future.

The group chief executive Ross McEwan described the latest glitch as "unacceptable" and added: "For decades, RBS failed to invest properly in its systems.

Complaints piled up on Twitter as customers could not access cash

"We need to put our customers' needs at the centre of all we do. It will take time, but we are investing heavily in building IT systems our customers can rely on.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience we caused our customers. We know we have to do better.

"I will be outlining plans in the New Year for making RBS the bank that our customers and the UK need it to be.

"This will include an outline of where we intend to invest for the future."

Customer services director Susan Allen told Sky News: "We know it was a very busy time of people doing their shopping before Christmas.

"Clearly, we deeply apologise for the inconvenience we've caused."

RBS' apology, along with an earlier tweet about mobile banking problems

Ms Allen insisted the problems were "completely unrelated" to high transaction volumes on Cyber Monday but was unable to give an explanation for the failure, saying it was still under investigation.

It is understood that hacking has been ruled out, although some customers told Sky News they were being targeted by phishing emails in the wake of the meltdown, an issue RBS said it was looking into.

Others complained about accounts being closed, suddenly overdrawn or unavailable to access online.

The group said Ulster Bank, which is also owned by RBS, was "partly affected" by the outage.

Reports started to emerge of bank cards being refused at around 6.30pm on Monday.

One customer from Canterbury, Kent, tweeted: "NatWest down again. Looked like a melt in Londis when my card got declined for milk and tuna."

Josh Barlow, a Sheffield Hallam journalism student, wrote: "This is happening every month, if not more, and it's getting ridiculous."

RBS and NatWest came under fire in March after a "hardware fault" meant customers were unable to use their online accounts or withdraw cash for several hours.

A major computer issue in June last year saw payments go awry, wages appear to go missing and home purchases and holidays interrupted for several weeks, costing the group £175m in compensation.

The latest meltdown will heap more embarrassment on the banks because it came on so-called Cyber Monday, when retailers expect their busiest day of the year as pre-Christmas shoppers search the internet for bargains.

Trade union Unite, which represents RBS staff, called for the bank to halt its cost cutting programme, which has seen thousands of jobs axed and IT functions sent abroad, in the wake of the IT problems.

National officer Dominic Hook said: "It is unacceptable that the bank's customers are once again facing inconvenience. Unite has grave concerns that staffing challenges are exacerbating the problems facing the bank."

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Woolwich: Police Officer 'Feared Being Killed'

An armed police officer thought Drummer Lee Rigby's alleged murderers were going to kill her, a court has heard.

The officer, identified only as D49, said she "instantly" thought she would die when suspect Michael Adebolajo, 28, ran towards her car in Woolwich, southeast London.

In a statement, she claimed he had a meat cleaver or machete and was "shouting something", adding that his eyes "were so wide" she could "see the whites of them".

Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC read the police officer's account to jurors, in which she said: "I saw a black male running at me, waving both his hands in the air in a chopping motion.

"In his right hand I saw what I call a meat cleaver or a machete. I instantly thought, 'He's going to kill me'.

"I went to draw my Glock. Due to my position in the car ... I could not immediately draw my (gun). It was a split second decision to draw my Taser."

Michael Adebolajo denies the charges

She then saw a second person, said to be Michael Adebowale, 22, holding a gun.

"I thought, 'Oh my God, he's going to shoot me'. I feared for my life," she said in her statement.

Earlier, a woman wept in court as she recalled seeing Drummer Rigby's body dragged into the road in Woolwich.

Tina Nimmo told the trial she saw one of the alleged attackers stabbing the soldier and pleaded with the knifemen to stop as she shouted and swore at them.

Giving evidence, she raised her arm above her head and brought it down sharply, recalling she saw one of them "chopping down at something on the floor".

She told a jury: "I wanted them to stop. At the time you just get on and do what you have to do. And that's what I had to do."

Co-defendant Michael Adebowale has also pleaded not guilty

Ms Nimmo had been in the front passenger seat of a car driven by her daughter Michelle, whose baby was in the back.

A bus stopped near the scene and Ms Nimmo warned passengers to stay back because one of the men had a gun.

As the crowd approached, she told the jury the pair, who she said were holding two bloodied knives and a meat cleaver as well as the gun, "posed a bit more".

They were "very proud of what they had in their hands", she said.

In a statement, Ms Nimmo's daughter said one of the alleged attackers had a "smirk" on his face.

She said she saw a man "lying face down on the floor, covered in blood", and recalled how the two men "dragged him" into the road and "continued to chop away at him all over".

"They looked very proud of what they had done," she added.

Adebolajo and Adebowale both deny murdering the soldier, who the prosecution says was run over before he was attacked.

They also deny attempting to murder a police officer and conspiracy to murder.

The trial at the Old Bailey continues.

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Kim Jong-Un's Uncle 'Disappears After Sacking'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's uncle - one of the country's most powerful men - has been ousted, according to South Korea's spy agency.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it believed Jang Song Thaek has been removed as vice chairman of the North Korean National Defence Commission (NDC).

If true, the move would mark the most significant purge at the top of the North Korean leadership since Kim Jong-Un succeeded his late father Kim Jong-Il in December 2011.

Jang Song Thaek

According to the NIS, General Jang was "recently ousted from his position and two of his close confidantes - Ri Yong Ha and Jang Soo Kil - were publicly executed in mid November".

North Korean military personnel were notified of the executions, South Korean politician Jung Cheong Rae said, adding that Gen Jang, 67, had since "disappeared".

The husband of Kim Jong-Il's powerful sister, Kim Kyong Hui, Gen Jang was seen as instrumental in cementing his nephew's hold on power after his father's death.

He has been a frequent companion of Kim Jong-Un on his tours around the country, as he was for Kim Jong-Il. 

Gen Jang was often referred to as the unofficial number two in the hierarchy.

Kim Yong Hyun, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said: "I can only guess that the roles played by Jang have caused some tension in the process of consolidating Kim Jong-Un's power.

"Jang once visited South Korea and witnessed many aspects of capitalist society, including the changes that have been happening in China.

"So he was the figure who was most likely to aggressively push for some reforms and opening of the North's system."

Jang, right, pictured with the Kim Jong-Il in 2009

Analysts suggested Gen Jang may have lost out in a power struggle with Choe Ryong Hae, a close confidante of the North Korean leader who is director of the Korean People's Army's General Political Department.

In May, Mr Kim sent Choe as his personal envoy to Beijing to hand deliver a letter to China's new president, Xi Jinping.

Jang Song Thaek has fallen out of favour before.

In 2004 he was understood to have undergone "re-education" as a steel mill labourer because of suspected corruption, but he made a comeback the following year.

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Guardian Editor Faces MPs Over Snowden Leaks

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger faces MPs over his decision to publish top-secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

The 59-year-old, who has been editor at the newspaper since 1995, told the Home Affairs Committee it had only published 1% of the information contained in the documents obtained from the former NSA contractor, but did not reveal where the files are.

He said it was "impossible to assess" whether publishing the whistleblower's leaked files had damaged UK national security and denied control of the data had been "lost" after it was sent by Fed Ex to The New York Times.

Mr Rusbridger and The Guardian newspaper have faced criticism over the publication, with the heads of GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 claiming it aided terrorists.

Others have claimed the move may have been illegal.

The revelations were disclosed to The Guardian, The Washington Post and Germany's Der Spiegel.

Mr Rusbridger will be followed by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and Cressida Dick, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

:: Live: Alan Rusbridger Quizzed Over Spy Stories

More follows...

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