Lockerbie 25th Anniversary: Victims Remembered

Relatives of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have gathered in the Scottish town for a special memorial service to mark the 25th anniversary of the atrocity.

Pan Am flight 103 was on its way from London to New York when it exploded above Lockerbie, in southern Scotland, on the evening of December 21 1988, killing 270 people - everyone on board and 11 on the ground.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and Lord Wallace, Advocate General for Scotland, are attending a service at Dryfesdale Cemetery, to be followed by a 30-minute wreath-laying ceremony.

Families and friends attend a memorial service at Dryfesdale Cemetery

Mr Salmond said: "As the community of Lockerbie marks the milestone, memorial events will be held in Westminster Abbey, Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and at Syracuse University which lost 35 students in the bombing.

"But, inevitably, a focus of the day will be on the memorial in Lockerbie and it is there that I will pay my respects and condolences on behalf of the people of Scotland."

Later, simultaneous remembrance services in Lockerbie and Arlington National Cemetery in the US - where most of the victims were from - will get under way from 6.30pm (1.30pm EST in the US).

Relatives will read the names of the victims and hold a minute's silence at 7.03pm (2.03pm EST in the US) marking exactly a quarter of a century since the tragedy.

Westminster Abbey in London will also hold a service for the victims, from 21 countries, which will begin at 6.45pm and will include readings and a moment of silence.

British Prime Minister David Cameron described the bombing as "one of the worst aviation disasters in history and the deadliest act of terrorism" ever committed in the UK.

Eleven people were killed on the ground in Lockerbie

He said: "Though 25 years have passed, memories of the 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 Lockerbie residents who lost their lives on that terrible night have not dimmed.

"Over the last quarter of a century much attention has been focused on the perpetrators of the atrocity. Today our thoughts turn to its victims and to those whose lives have been touched and changed by what happened at Lockerbie that night.

"To families, friends, neighbours, loved ones, and all those caught up in the painful process of recovery, let us say to them: our admiration for you is unconditional. For the fortitude and resilience you have shown. For your determination never to give up. You have shown that terrorist acts cannot crush the human spirit. That is why terrorism will never prevail.

"And even in the darkest moments of grief, it is possible to glimpse the flickering flame of hope."

Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the disaster, told Sky News: "Anniversaries aren't in a sense that big a deal for the families of victims because we have to live with the lovely memories of those that we lost all that time ago, every day of every year. Bereavement in itself is sometimes a life sentence."

Graham Herbert, former rector at Lockerbie Academy which lost three students in the atrocity, said the market town "has always tried to move forward".

Abdelbaset al Megrahi was the only person to be convicted of the bombing

He told Sky News: "I know today there will be a lot of closed doors. A lot of people will not go out of their houses. The memories are just too bitter, there are still open wounds there.

"There are quite a lot of American families in the town today. Each year it just comes back to them, they are not allowed to heal. They want to commemorate, they want to be here where their loved ones fell, but it's hard, it's tough."

Libyan Abdelbaset al Megrahi was found guilty of the bombing in January 2001 and given a life sentence.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, leading to a decision to free him under compassionate release rules.

Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill took that decision on August 20 the following year, sparking a row among politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

Megrahi died in Tripoli, Libya in May last year. His family is considering lodging a fresh appeal to clear his name.

British relatives of victims who believe he was wrongfully convicted of the bombing are also planning another appeal against the conviction when they meet with lawyers in the new year.

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South Sudan: Gunfire Hits US Military Aircraft

At least one US military aircraft has been fired at during an evacuation mission in South Sudan, leaving four personnel injured.

One individual is said to be in a critical condition.

The US military confirmed four people had been wounded when the aircraft was hit by gunfire. Earlier reports said two aircraft had come under fire.

South Sudan has blamed the attack on renegade troops.

Officials said the aircraft was heading to an evacuation site in Bor, the capital of the state of Jonglei and the scene of some of the country's worst violence in the past week.

After being fired at it reportedly turned around and headed to Kampala in Uganda. From there the wounded service personnel were flown to Nairobi, Kenya for medical treatment.

Men displaced by the fighting in South Sudan

Fighting broke out in the South Sudanese capital Juba between rival army factions last Sunday and has since spread to other regions, claiming at least 500 lives.

Kenya said on Saturday it was sending troops to South Sudan to evacuate some 1,600 citizens. Many are trapped in Bor, which has been taken by rebels.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has "ordered the KDF (Kenya Defence Force) to commence immediate evacuation of the 1,600 Kenyans stranded in South Sudan", a spokesman said in a statement.

"Despite the relative calm in Juba, a number of other South Sudan towns have come under fire," he added, saying that Kenyans "are mainly in the town of Bor".

People being evacuated to Uganda in a RAF C17 plane

Others, in the towns of Rumbek, Ayod, and Panyabol "will also be airlifted to safety."

"The president has also ordered the immediate delivery of food, water and medicine to South Sudan (to help) tackle the emergency," the spokesman added.

"The delivery of these emergency supplies started this morning. Kenyan military aircraft are delivering consignments to South Sudan."

Kenya, which hosted the peace talks that ended the 1983-2005 civil war in Sudan, and which paved the way for South Sudan's independence two years ago, is also supporting efforts to end the latest crisis.

On Friday Uganda deployed troops to South Sudan to boost security and help its people escape safely.

A number of other nations including Britain have sent in emergency flights to evacuate their citizens.

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Search For Woman Swept Out To Sea Called Off

A major search for a woman believed to have been swept out to sea has been called off due to appalling weather.

Coastguard rescue officers, lifeboat crews, police and a helicopter looked for the 36 year old in the Brighton beach area through the night and during first light.

But they were unable to locate her amid "very difficult and dangerous weather", said police.

Sussex officers called Solent maritime rescue centre at 2.24am saying a woman had gone into the water opposite the Digital nightclub, just west of the town's Palace Pier.

After leaving the seafront club she had walked along the beach with a man she knew and then she ran into the sea and was almost immediately swept off by a large wave, officers said.

The coastguard said both people were believed to have gone into the water and one managed to get back out while the other was taken out to sea.

The woman had been at a nightclub before she went in the water

A police spokesman said: "The man tried to grab her but was unable to drag her to safety.

"Police officers arrived within minutes and, together with club staff and her friend, approached the sea edge.

"But the woman was being washed further away and was inaccessible due to the very heavy sea conditions.

"Coastguards swiftly assisted the search by land and sea but the body has not, so far, been recovered and the immediate search has been discontinued at this time."

Solent Coastguard said: "We conducted a thorough search of the area and nothing was found. The conditions down there are appalling. It's force eight with severe gale warnings."

Police do not know why the woman, believed to be from Brighton, ran into the water and the incident was not being treated as suspicious.

Her next of kin have been contacted by family liaison officers.

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David Coleman: Veteran Sports Broadcaster Dies

David Coleman, the veteran sports commentator and long-time Question Of Sport presenter, has died at the age of 87.

The Grandstand and Sportsnight presenter, who retired in 2000, died peacefully with his family at his bedside after a short illness.

The BBC's director general Tony Hall said: "David Coleman was one of this country's greatest and most respected broadcasters.

David Coleman - "a giant of sports broadcasting"

"Generations grew up listening to his distinctive and knowledgeable commentary. Whether presenting, commentating or offering analysis, he set the standard for all of today's sports broadcasters.

"Our thoughts are with his family and many friends."

The renowned athletics commentator worked for the corporation for almost 50 years, covering 11 summer Olympic Games, his final one in Sydney in 2000.

He also covered six football World Cups as a commentator or presenter and was the host of the Question Of Sport for 18 years.

He was awarded an OBE in 1992.

Sky News Sports Editor Nick Powell described Mr Coleman as a "giant" of sports broadcasting.

He said: "A lot of sports broadcasting has been shaped by what David Coleman did all those years ago."

Barbara Slater, BBC director of sport, described him as "the master of his craft". She said: "In a BBC career that spanned over 40 years he set the standard that so many others have tried to emulate.

"His was one of broadcasting's most authoritative and identifiable voices that graced so many pinnacle sporting moments."

Olympic athlete Linford Christie said: "My deepest condolences go out to David's family at this sad time. 

"David was a no nonsense, straight talking true gentleman and an iconic voice of sport, but at the heart of it all was a massive sports fan and supporter of good performances.

"I am very proud that we shared some amazing times in and out of the stadium".

David Coleman, Frank Bough and Tony Gubba mark 21 years of BBC Grandstand

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett described the commentator as "a thoroughly decent guy", having been quizzed by Mr Coleman 45 years ago on BBC1's Feedback show.

"David Coleman had to deal with a man who couldn't see talking about a film which David Dimbleby had produced and which had caused enormous controversy by displaying dead and naked bodies.

"Why I ever wrote in I shall never know, but it was certainly a way of being blooded in terms of future interviews over the past 45 years.

"I know that as well as his family and friends, many of us will mourn him as someone who represented the best in broadcasting and of decency in public life."

Former England striker and Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker was among those remembering Mr Coleman - whose brevity at the microphone, including his signature "one-nil" catchphrase, earned him many fans.

Mr Lineker wrote on Twitter: "Sad to hear, David Coleman has died. A giant of sports broadcasting. Brilliant, gifted, precise and concise. Much more than 'one-nil' #RIP"

The father-of-six, who lived in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was awarded the Olympic Order in 2000. The award is the highest honour of the Olympic movement.

Mr Coleman also found himself the subject of a regular column in satirical magazine Private Eye, with its Colemanballs feature documenting commentators' gaffes to this day.

One of his comments the magazine immortalised was: "That's the fastest time ever run, but it's not as fast as the world record."

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Nigella Case Lifted Lid On Lavish Lifestyle

By Ian Woods, Sky News Correspondent

When they called in the police to arrest the sisters who used to clean their home, Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson could never have imagined that so much of their dirty laundry would be aired in public.

To members of the public with only a passing interest in the case, it must have appeared that it was the now divorced couple who were on trial rather than their former employees.

The Grillo sisters may have been in the dock, but their trial lifted the lid on their employers' lifestyle and the disintegration of their marriage.

The court heard details of lavish spending by both the accused and the family they worked for. It was never clear exactly how much Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo were accused of spending. Estimates of around £300,000 to £700,000 were mentioned, but such was the lack of oversight of spending of household spending that nobody could be sure what was spent on behalf of family members and how much the sisters had spent on themselves.

A jury found the Grillo sisters not guilty of fraud

The Grillos never disputed spending the money, though they argued that some items attributed to them were actually for members of the household. They insisted everything was authorised and known about by either Ms Lawson or Mr Saatchi.

That included numerous personal holidays to New York, Prague, Venice, Berlin and Paris. The sisters maintained they were given permission to buy themselves gifts as a reward for their hard work.

Eighteen months ago, when the levels of expenditure first came to light, Ms Lawson appeared to have all the ingredients for domestic bliss. She was the TV cook known to millions of viewers; her husband was the man who made millions of pounds from advertising and art collecting.

This incident led to Mr Saatchi accepting a police caution. Pic: Jean-Paul

But a year later they were famous for something quite different - an incident in a Mayfair restaurant captured by a photographer which led to Mr Saatchi accepting a police caution, and led to Ms Lawson seeking a divorce. There were two photographs in particular which were discussed during the trial. One pictured Mr Saatchi with his hands around his wife's throat, the other showed him pinching her nose.

That incident led to Ms Lawson and her assistants dubbed Team Cupcake to move out of Mr Saatchi's home in Chelsea. It also led the Grillo sisters to bring new information to the police. They said Ms Lawson was a regular drug user, information the defence would use to try to undermine her credibility as a witness.

Ms Lawson found herself in the role of the accused. When Mr Saatchi heard about the allegations, he sent her an angry email entitled Higella.

An email Charles Saatchi sent to Nigella Lawson was read in court

"I can only laugh at your sorry depravity," it said. "Of course now the Grillos will get off on the basis that you … were so off your head on drugs that you allowed the sisters to spend whatever they liked and yes I believe every word the Grillos have said, who after all only stole money.

"I'm sure it was all great fun and now everything is perfect - bravo, you have become a celebrity hostess on a global TV game show. And you got the pass you desired, free to heartily enjoy all the drugs you want, forever. Classy."

During his evidence to the jury, Mr Saatchi said he was "bereft" that a private email had been made public. It entered the public domain because Ms Lawson considered it threatening and forwarded it to her lawyers. They in turn informed the Crown Prosecution Service, and it became part of the evidence in the trial. The Judge Robin Johnson took the unusual step of permitting it to be aired in the media even before a jury in the trial had been sworn in.

In court, he backtracked a little. He had believed the drug allegations but he had no proof. "Over this whole period she was writing books very successfully. I have never, never seen any evidence of Nigella taking drugs," he said.

When Ms Lawson came to court to give evidence she admitted having used cocaine and cannabis but denied she was addicted.

"If I was taking drugs to the extent you say I wouldn't be able to stand up here today," she said. "Regular cocaine users do not look like this. They are scrawny and unhealthy. If you think I would sabotage my health and leave my children orphans, you are wrong."

She said she first used cocaine while married to her terminally ill husband John Diamond in 2001, and once while depressed in 2010. She admitted more regular use of cannabis, including the fact that she smoked joints in front of her teenage children.

But she hit back at her ex-husband, accusing him of intimate terrorism. And she said she did not have a drug problem, telling the court: "I have a life problem."

"I was having a very very difficult time," she said. "I felt subjected to intimate terrorism by Mr Saatchi. I felt totally shamed isolated and in fear. A friend offered it to me and I took it. It completely spooked me."

She was furious that as a witness in the case she had no right to introduce evidence about her own reputation which had taken such a hammering.

Everyone, it seemed, had a opinion on the central characters, including the Prime Minister. His pro-Nigella comments in an interview held up proceedings and drew criticism from the judge.

Ms Lawson insisted she was not addicted to drugs

We can now report that Judge Robin Johnson was asked to throw out the case because the defence argued the comments meant their clients could not get a fair trial. The judge allowed it to continue but rebuked public figures for commenting on trials which were still in progress.

There was other drama behind the scenes which could not be reported while the trial was in progress. Elisabetta Grillo, or Lisa as she was usually called, collapsed while the jury were deliberating over their verdict.

Her barrister Anthony Metzer told reporters she was not breathing. She has a history of claustrophobia and panic attacks. Paramedics were called and neither she nor her sister were able to be in court when the jury were being sent home for the night.

And there were frequent terse spats between Mr Metzer and the judge, particularly over the drugs issue. Their relationship appeared to be so strained that the judge warned the jury not to take it into account when reaching their verdicts.

If Mr Saatchi had his way this would never have come to trial. He initially thought the sisters had simply been naughty. He did not want to fire them, but he did want them to pay a penance by working on a reduced salary. It was Ms Lawson who was unforgiving and insisted on calling the police.

But having heard evidence of years of household spending which went largely unchecked, the jury acquitted the sisters of fraud. It is Ms Lawson and Mr Saatchi who have paid a high price, and not just for designer clothes and luxuries. Their reputations have been scrutinised and criticised in the court of public opinion.

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Apollo Theatre Collapse: Investigation Starts

Nearly 80 people were injured, nine seriously, when part of a theatre ceiling collapsed during a packed West End show in London.

Eyewitnesses described "chaos and panic" as 10 sq m of plaster and masonry crashed on to people seated in the stalls 40 minutes into a performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

They said there was a loud creaking before the cave-in, which left the Apollo Theatre engulfed in thick dust and debris. One witness reported hearing an actor yell "watch out" to the audience.

Structural engineers and a district surveyor from Westminster City Council are carrying out a structural assessment of the building. They are due to give an update on their investigation this afternoon.

People reported hearing "creaking" before the cave-in (Pic: Splash News)

Some onlookers said water dripped through the ceiling before the collapse, raising speculation that heavy rain may be one line of inquiry. There were storms and lightning strikes in the capital at the time of the incident. 

Nimax Theatres, which owns the Apollo, described the collapse as a "shocking and upsetting incident", and said its thoughts were "with the audience and staff".

Police commandeered three London buses to take the injured to hospital, many of whom were described as "walking wounded". A makeshift triage centre was set up at the nearby Gielgud Theatre.

The scene inside the theatre after the collapse (Pic: Splash News)

London Ambulance Service said it treated 79 patients, of whom 56 were taken to four hospitals. Of those, 47 had suffered minor injuries and nine more serious injuries.

Chief Superintendent Paul Rickett, of the Metropolitan Police, said there was "no suggestion at this stage that (the collapse) was as a result of a criminal act".

There were around 720 people watching the show when disaster struck at 8.15pm on Thursday night.

An investigation into the roof collapse is being carried out this morning

Martin Bostock, who was in the lower stalls with his family, received a head injury after he was hit by falling debris.

He told Sky News: "It was just terrifying and awful. I think the front part of the balcony fell down. At first we thought it was part of the show. Then I got hit on the head.

"It was complete chaos in the theatre. We got out with cuts and bruises. I think most people did."

School worker Hannah George, 29, said: "I heard someone scream and you heard a shriek - then a chunk of the ceiling collapsed.

Many of those injured were described as "walking wounded"

"It actually missed the balcony and must have hit people down below in the stalls - you couldn't see anything down there.

"Very quickly ushers held the doors open. It wasn't every man for himself, it was very ordered. There were people in front going, 'You OK?' and trying to get people out.

"There were people coming out who were more seriously injured. There were loads of people coming out shaking, and a fellow next to me had quite a badly bleeding arm and a ripped shirt."

The collapse took place as a reference was made to waves crashing on Brighton rocks, leading some in the audience to believe the noise was part of the show.

Stretchers carried out some of the more seriously injured

Mark Haddon, author of the book which the play is based on, tweeted: "I hope that those who were seriously injured are ok. I'm sorry, too, that so many people went through such a terrifying experience. I'm hugely relieved that no-one has died."

Mark Tait, an actor in the production, tweeted: "Thoughts are with all the audience. Horrific and unbelievable."

The Society of London Theatre - which represents producers and theatre owners - said in a statement: "The exact cause of the incident is still being investigated and the theatre owners, Nimax, are working closely with the relevant authorities to establish exactly what happened.

The Apollo's ceiling collapsed on to theatre-goers Pic: Ian Grundy

"Our theatres entertain over 32,000 people in central London every night and all theatres take the safety of their audience, performers and staff very seriously.

"Every theatre undergoes rigorous safety checks and inspections by independent experts, and incidents like last night are extremely rare."

The theatre - a Grade II-listed building - was completed in 1901 and seats 775 people over four levels.

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Nigella Lawson 'Disappointed' After PAs Cleared

Nigella Case 'Lifted Lid On Lavish Lifestyle'

Updated: 3:42pm UK, Friday 20 December 2013

By Ian Woods, Sky News Correspondent

When they called in the police to arrest the sisters who used to clean their home, Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson could never have imagined that so much of their dirty laundry would be aired in public.

To members of the public with only a passing interest in the case, it must have appeared that it was the now divorced couple who were on trial rather than their former employees.

The Grillo sisters may have been in the dock, but their trial lifted the lid on their employers' lifestyle and the disintegration of their marriage.

The court heard details of lavish spending by both the accused and the family they worked for. It was never clear exactly how much Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo were accused of spending. Estimates of around £300,000 to £700,000 were mentioned, but such was the lack of oversight of spending of household spending that nobody could be sure what was spent on behalf of family members and how much the sisters had spent on themselves.

The Grillos never disputed spending the money, though they argued that some items attributed to them were actually for members of the household. They insisted everything was authorised and known about by either Ms Lawson or Mr Saatchi.

That included numerous personal holidays to New York, Prague, Venice, Berlin and Paris. The sisters maintained they were given permission to buy themselves gifts as a reward for their hard work.

Eighteen months ago, when the levels of expenditure first came to light, Ms Lawson appeared to have all the ingredients for domestic bliss. She was the TV cook known to millions of viewers; her husband was the man who made millions of pounds from advertising and art collecting.

But a year later they were famous for something quite different - an incident in a Mayfair restaurant captured by a photographer which led to Mr Saatchi accepting a police caution, and led to Ms Lawson seeking a divorce. There were two photographs in particular which were discussed during the trial. One pictured Mr Saatchi with his hands around his wife's throat, the other showed him pinching her nose.

That incident led to Ms Lawson and her assistants dubbed Team Cupcake to move out of Mr Saatchi's home in Chelsea. It also led the Grillo sisters to bring new information to the police. They said Ms Lawson was a regular drug user, information the defence would use to try to undermine her credibility as a witness.

Ms Lawson found herself in the role of the accused. When Mr Saatchi heard about the allegations, he sent her an angry email entitled Higella.

"I can only laugh at your sorry depravity," it said. "Of course now the Grillos will get off on the basis that you … were so off your head on drugs that you allowed the sisters to spend whatever they liked and yes I believe every word the Grillos have said, who after all only stole money.

"I'm sure it was all great fun and now everything is perfect - bravo, you have become a celebrity hostess on a global TV game show. And you got the pass you desired, free to heartily enjoy all the drugs you want, forever. Classy."

During his evidence to the jury, Mr Saatchi said he was "bereft" that a private email had been made public. It entered the public domain because Ms Lawson considered it threatening and forwarded it to her lawyers. They in turn informed the Crown Prosecution Service, and it became part of the evidence in the trial. The Judge Robin Johnson took the unusual step of permitting it to be aired in the media even before a jury in the trial had been sworn in.

In court, he backtracked a little. He had believed the drug allegations but he had no proof. "Over this whole period she was writing books very successfully. I have never, never seen any evidence of Nigella taking drugs," he said.

When Ms Lawson came to court to give evidence she admitted having used cocaine and cannabis but denied she was addicted.

"If I was taking drugs to the extent you say I wouldn't be able to stand up here today," she said. "Regular cocaine users do not look like this. They are scrawny and unhealthy. If you think I would sabotage my health and leave my children orphans, you are wrong."

She said she first used cocaine while married to her terminally ill husband John Diamond in 2001, and once while depressed in 2010. She admitted more regular use of cannabis, including the fact that she smoked joints in front of her teenage children.

But she hit back at her ex-husband, accusing him of intimate terrorism. And she said she did not have a drug problem, telling the court: "I have a life problem."

"I was having a very very difficult time," she said. "I felt subjected to intimate terrorism by Mr Saatchi. I felt totally shamed isolated and in fear. A friend offered it to me and I took it. It completely spooked me."

She was furious that as a witness in the case she had no right to introduce evidence about her own reputation which had taken such a hammering.

Everyone, it seemed, had a opinion on the central characters, including the Prime Minister. His pro-Nigella comments in an interview held up proceedings and drew criticism from the judge.

We can now report that Judge Robin Johnson was asked to throw out the case because the defence argued the comments meant their clients could not get a fair trial. The judge allowed it to continue but rebuked public figures for commenting on trials which were still in progress.

There was other drama behind the scenes which could not be reported while the trial was in progress. Elisabetta Grillo, or Lisa as she was usually called, collapsed while the jury were deliberating over their verdict.

Her barrister Anthony Metzer told reporters she was not breathing. She has a history of claustrophobia and panic attacks. Paramedics were called and neither she nor her sister were able to be in court when the jury were being sent home for the night.

And there were frequent terse spats between Mr Metzer and the judge, particularly over the drugs issue. Their relationship appeared to be so strained that the judge warned the jury not to take it into account when reaching their verdicts.

If Mr Saatchi had his way this would never have come to trial. He initially thought the sisters had simply been naughty. He did not want to fire them, but he did want them to pay a penance by working on a reduced salary. It was Ms Lawson who was unforgiving and insisted on calling the police.

But having heard evidence of years of household spending which went largely unchecked, the jury acquitted the sisters of fraud. It is Ms Lawson and Mr Saatchi who have paid a high price, and not just for designer clothes and luxuries. Their reputations have been scrutinised and criticised in the court of public opinion.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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London Bus Crash Leaves 32 Passengers Injured

A bus has crashed into a tree in south London, injuring 32 passengers, seven seriously, say police.

The accident happened around 10.50am on Kennington Road near the Imperial War Museum, while the number 59 bus was en route to King's Cross.

Emergency services said several passengers had to be freed from the wreckage.

A 19-year-old woman and a man were the last to be rescued and are among those most badly hurt. 

Kennington Road has been closed and several bus routes redirected

Clive Robinson, from London Fire Brigade, said workers had to cut through the bodywork of the bus to free several passengers. Ladders were used to reach those on the top deck.

"The actual floor of the bus was starting to collapse and we had to shore that up," he said. 

Earlier, police reported that two people were in a critical condition.

Among the injured were two police officers

Among the injured were two police officers who had been travelling on the bus. They were taken to hospital - one with a suspected broken arm. 

Kevin Brown, of the London Ambulance Service, said the injuries ranged from bumps and bruises to serious limb and head injuries. 

Aerial footage from the scene showed the front of the bus, operated by Arriva, collapsed around the trunk of a tree.

The TfL have promised a 'thorough' investigation into the crash

Transport for London said there will be a thorough investigation.

Mike Weston, TfL's director for buses, said: "Our first concern is, of course, for the driver, passengers and others involved in this incident.

"There will be a thorough investigation into this incident as a matter of urgency."

Police are still unsure what caused the crash

Police say they still do not know what caused the crash and will be viewing CCTV footage from inside the bus.

Chief Superintendent Glyn Jones said: "At this stage we don't know what's caused the collision - that is subject to an ongoing investigation." 

Kennington Road was closed in both directions with routes 3, 59, 159 and 360 on diversion. 

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Woolwich Killers 'Were No Immediate Threat'

Lee Rigby Murder Trial: Guilty Verdicts

Updated: 3:44pm UK, Thursday 19 December 2013

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

An Old Bailey jury has convicted two young London men of the brutal murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.

It took the jury of eight women and four men about 90 minutes to return guilty verdicts on Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22.

The pair were found not guilty of attempting to murder police officers at the scene of the killing on May 22.  

Adebolajo glared at journalists as he was led to the prison cells and kissed his copy of the Koran. Adebowale did not react to the verdicts.

Mr Rigby's family and loved ones reached out to support each other, some of them in tears after the verdicts were delivered.

Relatives later sobbed on the court steps as a statement was read by Detective Inspector Pete Sparks on their behalf.

The statement read: "No one should have to go through what we have been through as a family.

"We are satisfied that justice has been done, but unfortunately no amount of justice will bring Lee back.

"These people have taken him away from us forever but his memory lives on in all of us and we will never forget him.

"We are very proud of Lee, who served his country, and we will now focus on building a future for his son Jack, making him as proud of Lee as we all are. Lee will be sorely missed by his siblings, nieces, nephew and all of those who loved him.

"We now ask that we are left alone to grieve through our loss."

The men will not be sentenced until January.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels after the verdict, David Cameron said: "We have to redouble our efforts to confront the poisonous narrative of extremism and violence that lay behind this and make sure we do everything to beat it in our country."

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "The sickening and barbaric murder of Drummer Lee Rigby united the entire nation in condemnation and I welcome the jury's decision.

"Violence and extremism of any kind have absolutely no place in our society and cannot be justified."

Farooq Murad, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The murder of Drummer Lee Rigby was truly a barbaric act.

"Muslim communities then, as now, were united in their condemnation of this crime.

"This was a dishonourable act and no cause justifies cold-blooded murder."

Speaking outside the court building, Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who leads Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism teams, said: "This horrific attack and murder which took place in broad daylight on the streets of London shocked the whole country.

"It was intended to divide our communities, it has had largely the opposite effect and in fact brought people together."

A member of the public shouted "hang them" as Ms Dick addressed television cameras and waiting journalists.

The murder of the off-duty soldier both horrified and united the nation, as politicians, faith leaders and members of the community in southeast London came together to condemn the killing.

The 25-year-old drummer with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was singled out by his attackers because he was a soldier.

Adebolajo, the only defendant who gave evidence, admitted killing the young serviceman, but claimed his actions were justified as part of a war against the British military and British government for wars waged by the UK in Muslim countries.  

During the trial, he was asked directly for his defence to the charge of murder.

Adebolajo told the jury: "I am a soldier. I am a soldier of Allah and I understand that some people might not recognise this because we do not wear fatigues and we don't go to the Brecon Beacons to train. But we are still soldiers."

He told the court he considered al Qaeda to be "mujahideen".

He said: "I love them, they're my brothers. I have never met them. I consider them my brothers in Islam."

Both Adebolajo and Adebowale had been known to the police and security services because of their extremist beliefs, but they had not been considered a significant or immediate threat.

Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee is examining whether any opportunities to prevent Mr Rigby's murder might have been missed by the authorities.

Scotland Yard's head of Specialist Operations, Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, told Sky News the Met was fully co-operating with the inquiry.

"If we had known, if we had information that told us that these people were likely to commit this attack, or if somebody had said this was about to happen, of course we would have done everything we could to try to prevent it from happening.

"The profile of these two young men is not unique, sadly. And we will do our level best to try to find out about such people and to try to find out what they may intend. But we can't reduce the risks to zero," she said.

Lee Rigby's mother, widow and other family members sat through each day of the three week long trial, listening to often very harrowing evidence and viewing graphic video of the events outside Woolwich barracks.

At times, the evidence was just too much for the family to bear and they left court in tears on several occasions.

It was also a very difficult trial for the jury to sit through.

On occasions, some were visibly distressed as they watched CCTV footage taken at the time of the attack and listened to testimony from some of the eyewitnesses.

Witness Cheralee Armstrong said in a statement that there was "pure evil" in one of the knifemen's eyes, and that she thought she would die.

At first she thought they were trying to help the soldier after a road accident, but then saw that they were stabbing and hacking at him.

"It was like they were mutilating the person's body. It seemed like they were trying to remove his organs from his torso," she said.

When she shouted at the attackers to stop, she described one of them looking at her.

"The man in the hat (Adebolajo) stared at me, his expression was blank. Pure evil, and his eyes were bulging," she said.

He then pointed a gun towards her and James Henegan, who was driving her in his Citroen C3.

Mr Henegan wept in court as he described the moment he left his car and saw one of the men withdraw the gun from what looked like a "carrier bag".

"I thought he was going to shoot …fire a gun at us," he said.

The jury was told how Mr Rigby's killers refused to leave the scene after the murder, as they waited for police to arrive.

Those police officers were to have been their next victims, the prosecution claimed.

Dramatic CCTV and other video of the moments an armed response vehicle arrived outside the barracks were played to the jury.

There were gasps from the court as the footage showed the two men running towards the police vehicle and then being shot.

One of the officers - identified only as D49 - said she "instantly" thought she would die when Adebolajo ran towards her car.

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".

Adebolajo claimed both men had wanted the police to kill them, to make them martyrs.

They did not get that wish, as both have since made a full recovery.

Nor did the jury believe their justification for killing Lee Rigby.

They ruled that death of the young fusilier was murder, pure and simple.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Rigby Killers Tried To Buy Gangster's Bullets

Woolwich Murder: Killers' Timeline

Updated: 2:01pm UK, Thursday 19 December 2013

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

1984: Michael Olumide Akinbiyi Adebolajo is born on December 10 at King's College Hospital in Lambeth, south London. His Nigerian-born father, Anthony, a student at the time, went on to become an NHS nurse. His mother, Tina, a housewife and the niece of a university law professor in Benin, west Africa, also dedicated herself to public duty by becoming a social worker. The family lived in Eastern Avenue, Romford, and attended the local church.

1991: Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale is born on May 6, also to Nigerian parents, who split up soon after his birth. His mother Juliet Obasuyi is a probation officer and his father a member of staff at the Nigerian High Commission. Adebowale is known as "Tobi" to family and friends.

1996-2001: Adebolajo attends Marshalls Park School in Romford where he plays football, is seen as a bright student and goes on to complete his GCSEs. He then joins Havering Sixth Form College to study A-levels, including one in psychology.

2002: Adebowale, aged 11, starts at Kidbrooke School in Greenwich. He plays football too, but isn't particularly skilled. Friends say he was easily influenced and "used to follow the crowd".

2002/2003: Adebolajo converts to Islam in his first year at Greenwich University, where he is studying for a BSc in Building Surveying and takes part in first Muslim protests.

2004: He marries Rikki Thomas, who also converts to Islam.

Spring to winter 2004: Jamie Oliver and his team film episodes of Jamie's School Dinners at Kidbrooke School with dinner lady Nora Sands while Adebowale is a pupil.

2004/2005: Adebolajo switches his university course to BA Politics. His academic progress is unsatisfactory and he is not allowed to complete his course.

November 2006: Adebolajo is arrested outside the Old Bailey during a Muslim protest. He is convicted of assaulting two police officers and is sentenced to 51 days in prison.

September 2007: Brought up a Christian, a 16-year-old Adebowale converts to Islam after leaving school and joins a further education college.

January 5, 2008: Adebowale, a low-level runner who couriers drugs for the gang known as the Woolwich Boys, witnesses the murder of friend Faridon Alizada and is a witness in the subsequent court case.

December 2008: He gives evidence in the murder trial and killer Lee James is sentenced to serve a minimum of 25 years and 17 days after being found guilty of stabbing 18-year-old Faridon to death.

2009: Adebolajo speaks at a demonstration against the English Defence League and Stop Islamisation of Europe organised by Unite Against Fascism at Harrow Central Mosque. He is recorded as saying: "Don't be scared of them, do not be scared of the police or the cameras. You are here only to please Allah. You're not here for any other reason. If you are here just for a fight, please leave our ranks. We only want those who are sincere to Allah. Purify your intention."

2010: He is arrested in Kenya with five others and released to British authorities in the African country and deported. It is believed be planned to train with al Shabaab, a militant group linked to al Qaeda, according to Boniface Mwaniki, head of Kenya's anti-terrorism unit. The British Foreign Office confirm "a British national was arrested in Kenya in 2010" and given consular assistance. No charges are filed against Adebolajo, who returns to southeast London. From now on he is either unemployed or working as a fitness instructor.

August 2011: Racial tensions rise in southeast London during and after the summer riots. The Engish Defence League organises patrols of Eltham, a traditional BNP stronghold. A militant wing of the EDL organises fights with Muslims.

July/August 2012: Shopkeepers report the preachers who regularly set up outside their shops are abusing British soldiers who are stationed in Greenwich working at the London Olympics. Local police are aware of the abuse.

Early April 2013: Members of the Greenwich preaching group are detained by police after further complaints from shopkeepers. Adebowale is among them.

May 22, 2013: Adebolajo and Adebowale murder Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, southeast London. They are detained at the scene.

November 29, 2013: The two men go on trial at the Old Bailey.

December 19, 2013: After listening to nearly three weeks of harrowing evidence, jurors took just 90 minutes to find the pair guilty of murdering Fusilier Rigby. They were found not guilty of attempting to murder police officers.

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Lee Rigby Murder Trial: Guilty Verdicts

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

An Old Bailey jury has convicted two young London men of the brutal murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.

It took the jury of eight women and four men about 90 minutes to return guilty verdicts on Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22.

The pair were found not guilty of attempting to murder police officers at the scene of the killing on May 22.  

Members of Lee Rigby's family outside the Old Bailey after the verdicts

Adebolajo glared at journalists as he was led to the prison cells and kissed his copy of the Koran. Adebowale did not react to the verdicts.

Mr Rigby's family and loved ones reached out to support each other, some of them in tears after the verdicts were delivered.

Relatives later sobbed on the court steps as a statement was read by Detective Inspector Pete Sparks on their behalf.

Lee Rigby's widow, Rebecca Rigby reacts to the family statement

The statement read: "No one should have to go through what we have been through as a family.

"We are satisfied that justice has been done, but unfortunately no amount of justice will bring Lee back.

"These people have taken him away from us forever but his memory lives on in all of us and we will never forget him.

"We are very proud of Lee, who served his country, and we will now focus on building a future for his son Jack, making him as proud of Lee as we all are. Lee will be sorely missed by his siblings, nieces, nephew and all of those who loved him.

"We now ask that we are left alone to grieve through our loss."

The men will not be sentenced until January.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels after the verdict, David Cameron said: "We have to redouble our efforts to confront the poisonous narrative of extremism and violence that lay behind this and make sure we do everything to beat it in our country."

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "The sickening and barbaric murder of Drummer Lee Rigby united the entire nation in condemnation and I welcome the jury's decision.

Lee Rigby's sister Sarah McClure and fiancee Aimee West

"Violence and extremism of any kind have absolutely no place in our society and cannot be justified."

Farooq Murad, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The murder of Drummer Lee Rigby was truly a barbaric act.

"Muslim communities then, as now, were united in their condemnation of this crime.

"This was a dishonourable act and no cause justifies cold-blooded murder."

The defendants pictured after the killing - one carrying a machete

Speaking outside the court building, Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who leads Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism teams, said: "This horrific attack and murder which took place in broad daylight on the streets of London shocked the whole country.

"It was intended to divide our communities, it has had largely the opposite effect and in fact brought people together."

A member of the public shouted "hang them" as Ms Dick addressed television cameras and waiting journalists.

The murder of the off-duty soldier both horrified and united the nation, as politicians, faith leaders and members of the community in southeast London came together to condemn the killing.

Lee Rigby and his killers

The 25-year-old drummer with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was singled out by his attackers because he was a soldier.

Adebolajo, the only defendant who gave evidence, admitted killing the young serviceman, but claimed his actions were justified as part of a war against the British military and British government for wars waged by the UK in Muslim countries.  

During the trial, he was asked directly for his defence to the charge of murder.

Adebolajo told the jury: "I am a soldier. I am a soldier of Allah and I understand that some people might not recognise this because we do not wear fatigues and we don't go to the Brecon Beacons to train. But we are still soldiers."

He told the court he considered al Qaeda to be "mujahideen".

He said: "I love them, they're my brothers. I have never met them. I consider them my brothers in Islam."

One of the weapons used in the murder

Both Adebolajo and Adebowale had been known to the police and security services because of their extremist beliefs, but they had not been considered a significant or immediate threat.

Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee is examining whether any opportunities to prevent Mr Rigby's murder might have been missed by the authorities.

Scotland Yard's head of Specialist Operations, Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, told Sky News the Met was fully co-operating with the inquiry.

"If we had known, if we had information that told us that these people were likely to commit this attack, or if somebody had said this was about to happen, of course we would have done everything we could to try to prevent it from happening.

Adebolajo runs towards police officers after attacking Mr Rigby

"The profile of these two young men is not unique, sadly. And we will do our level best to try to find out about such people and to try to find out what they may intend. But we can't reduce the risks to zero," she said.

Lee Rigby's mother, widow and other family members sat through each day of the three week long trial, listening to often very harrowing evidence and viewing graphic video of the events outside Woolwich barracks.

At times, the evidence was just too much for the family to bear and they left court in tears on several occasions.

It was also a very difficult trial for the jury to sit through.

The car driven at Lee Rigby by his murderers

On occasions, some were visibly distressed as they watched CCTV footage taken at the time of the attack and listened to testimony from some of the eyewitnesses.

Witness Cheralee Armstrong said in a statement that there was "pure evil" in one of the knifemen's eyes, and that she thought she would die.

At first she thought they were trying to help the soldier after a road accident, but then saw that they were stabbing and hacking at him.

"It was like they were mutilating the person's body. It seemed like they were trying to remove his organs from his torso," she said.

When she shouted at the attackers to stop, she described one of them looking at her.

Police released this image of a gun carried by the attackers

"The man in the hat (Adebolajo) stared at me, his expression was blank. Pure evil, and his eyes were bulging," she said.

He then pointed a gun towards her and James Henegan, who was driving her in his Citroen C3.

Mr Henegan wept in court as he described the moment he left his car and saw one of the men withdraw the gun from what looked like a "carrier bag".

"I thought he was going to shoot …fire a gun at us," he said.

The jury was told how Mr Rigby's killers refused to leave the scene after the murder, as they waited for police to arrive.

Lee Rigby on the day of the murder

Those police officers were to have been their next victims, the prosecution claimed.

Dramatic CCTV and other video of the moments an armed response vehicle arrived outside the barracks were played to the jury.

There were gasps from the court as the footage showed the two men running towards the police vehicle and then being shot.

One of the officers - identified only as D49 - said she "instantly" thought she would die when Adebolajo ran towards her car.

A letter written by one of the defendants to family

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".

Adebolajo claimed both men had wanted the police to kill them, to make them martyrs.

They did not get that wish, as both have since made a full recovery.

Nor did the jury believe their justification for killing Lee Rigby.

They ruled that death of the young fusilier was murder, pure and simple.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Woolwich Murder: Muslim Leader Warns Of 'War'

Killers Were 'No Immediate Threat'

Updated: 2:22pm UK, Thursday 19 December 2013

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale were "known" to MI5 before they killed Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich but were considered to be of no immediate threat to anyone.

In the language of the intelligence agencies, that means the Security Service was aware of their Islamic extremist views and their association with others but had no evidence they were planning any attack.

Was that the right judgement, or should MI5 have kept a closer eye on them and, if it had, could it have prevented Fusilier Rigby's death?

Whitehall sources said both men had come to MI5's attention in various investigations over several years, two among several thousand known Islamic extremists.

One source said: "It is not surprising that someone who does something like this should have come to our notice before, given the range of our investigations."

The source suggested the agency does not believe it should have given the two killers a greater priority, based on what it knew about them at the time, nor does it argue it would have done more with greater resources.

In another favourite spook phrase, the pair were "on the radar, but not under the microscope".

MI5 accepts there will be lessons to learn from the way it dealt with them.

It is known that in Kenya in 2010, Adebolajo was arrested, appeared in court and deported over his plan to travel to neighbouring Somalia and join the terror group al Shabaab.

One British newspaper report said Adebolajo was able to return to Kenya last year, despite its government warning the UK he was a "dangerous radical". It was reported he may have used a false passport.

He is thought to have joined the UK-based extremist group al Muhajiroun in 2003, several years before it was banned and its leader thrown out of Britain.

Adebolajo appeared at the group's demonstrations and was arrested during scuffles outside the Old Bailey in 2006.

According to a close friend, MI5 was doing more than just monitoring Adebolajo. It asked him to work for the agency six months before the Woolwich killing.

Abu Nusaybah told BBC's Newsnight that Adebolajo was stopped and questioned on his return from a trip to Kenya, and later followed and approached at home by MI5.

Mr Nusaybah said: "He was basically being harassed. His wording was, 'they are bugging me, they won't leave me alone'.

"Initially, they wanted to ask him if he knew certain individuals. But after him saying that he didn't know these individuals, what he said was they asked him if he would be interested in working for them.

"He was explicit in that he refused to work for them, but he did confirm he didn't know the individuals."

Straight after the interview, Mr Nusaybah was arrested by counter-terror police as he left the TV studios. He is to stand trial next year on terrorism charges unrelated to Woolwich.

Adebolajo's brother Jeremiah has claimed the foreign intelligence agency MI6 tried to recruit him and urged him to help "turn" Michael to work for MI5.

It will be up to parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee to assess whether MI5's judgement of Adebolajo and Adebolawe was correct.

The committee of MPs is investigating the role of various agencies before the Woolwich attack and is expected to report early next year.

Its chairman Sir Malcolm Rifkind said soon after Drummer Rigby's death: "I don't think MI5 is in the dock. I think that would be very unfair."

MI5 has had a huge budget increase in the past decade, with the number of staff almost doubled, the opening of regional bases and the concentration of 90% of its resources on fighting international terrorism.

It was mildly criticised for poor record-keeping and police liaison by the ISC after the 7/7 London bombings of 2005, but escaped any censure.

The committee concluded that although the 7/7 ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan was on its radar, the agency couldn't have been expected to identify him as a bomb plotter. 

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Syria: Sky News Gains Access To UK Jihadists

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Sky News has gained the first access to a previously unknown brigade of exclusively British jihadists fighting in Syria.

Until now, the existence of this UK brigade has been kept a secret, but it reveals that British security services have hugely underestimated the scale of UK nationals involved in the bloodshed.

In a series of wide-ranging and frank interviews, the jihadists, who have asked Sky News to protect their identities for fear of a backlash against their families in the UK, reveal that hundreds of young men from Britain have joined the fight against Bashar al Assad's government and that "at least" four die each month.

They also claim that the UK remains the largest single source of private fundraising for jihadi fighters, outdoing countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

In the interviews, carried out by US journalist and Muslim convert, Bilal Abdul Kareem, exclusively for Sky News, the Islamic fighters insist they have no intention of attacking UK targets or waging jihad on British soil.

One of the men, identified as Mustafa, is asked directly if he is part of al Qaeda and why he insists on hiding his identity.

"I'm not part of al Qaeda, and I've never been a part of al Qaeda - ever,"  he says.

UK jihadists say they are no threat to Britain

"I'm not a terrorist in any way. If people could see how much goodness we have in our hearts, how much mercy we have for people and how much you know we are driven by compassion to help other people they wouldn't think that we were terrorists.

"But this is a line that they have been fed and there are people that benefit from pushing that narrative about us, so I protect my identity."

This denial follows warnings from the heads of the UK's security services that young men travelling to Syria risk being radicalised before returning home to carry out terror attacks in Britain.

Fighting on a mountain top in the northeast of the country, these men look like hardcore jihadists, but when they speak they are pure Brits.

They say they will not attack UK targets

They joke and laugh between themselves, sometimes comparing the now ubiquitous "selfies".

But they hardly speak any Arabic and are dependent on one of their number to give orders on the battlefield.

Like British soldiers, they discuss kit and the best things to buy for jihad. In one exchange a young man, advised to buy new binoculars, naively asks if eBay will deliver.

"No man," one of the more seasoned fighters laughs in reply, shaking his head, "eBay won't deliver here man."

It is pure comedy. The men insist they have a moral obligation to help in Syria because of the outside world's refusal to intervene in the near three-year-old civil war, and deny they are terrorists.

"When you see atrocities carried out like what you see from the images that you see from Syria, then really as a human being, you know morally there should be an obligation just being part of the human race to defend such people," one of the brigade's leaders told Sky News.

"But if morals can't, if that's not enough to motivate you, our religion demands for us that people that cannot defend themselves, that somebody needs to get up and respond to their call. Ethically, it's the only right thing to do," he said during a pause in the fighting.

The Britons say they were angered by the lack of international intervention

The armed opposition to President Assad in the north of the country is now being waged almost exclusively by a myriad of jihadist groups supported by a significant number of foreign fighters from the USA, Canada, Northern Europe, North Africa and the former Soviet republics of Chechnya and Dagestan.

The British contingent say their numbers are increasing daily and social networking sites are helping to organise the influx into Syria.

They know that returning to their families in the UK will be extremely difficult from now on, but in reality they probably won't get the chance - the fighting footsoldier's life expectancy in Syria is very short once serious combat begins.

This committed group buck many stereotypes used to describe the Islamist fighters in Syria.

Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with them is not in itself relevant, not yet at least, as this is the first time we have ever heard them speak.

:: A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Syria is the number one destination for jihadists anywhere in the world. There are thousands of foreign fighters in Syria, including large numbers of Europeans, gaining combat experience and forging connections with extremists.

"Some people who travel from the UK to Syria for jihadist fighting will pose a security threat when they return. We are concerned that Al-Qaeda affiliates such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al Nusrah Front (ANF) are now able to operate in the large areas of ungoverned space that have been created by the conflict.

"We are aware of at least 200 UK-linked individuals of concern who have travelled to Syria, but the true number is likely to be higher."

The FCO said it is taking the following action:

:: Intelligence agencies and police are working to identify and disrupt potential threats.
:: The police have the power to examine and detain individuals at the UK border to investigate any concerns of terrorism involvement.
:: UK nationals of concern seeking to travel from the UK can have their passports removed or withdrawn. And foreign nationals resident in the UK can have their leave to remain revoked if they are deemed non-conducive to the public good.
:: Working with our international partners we have secured the designation of the al-Nusrah Front under the UN al Qaeda sanctions regime.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The report has rightly highlighted the importance of finding a political transition in Syria to bring this brutal regime to an end and the continuing vigilance we must have."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602 and Freeview channel 82.

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Russia Will Free Arctic 30 And Pussy Riot

The Arctic 30 Greenpeace activists and jailed members of Pussy Riot are set to be freed under new amnesty laws.

The State Duma voted 446-0 in favour of the Kremlin-backed bill.

It will allow investigators to drop charges against the 30 activists from Greenpeace's ship Arctic Sunrise detained in Russia's Arctic in September.

The activists, who include six Britons, were arrested after Russian authorities boarded their vessel following attempts by some of them to board an offshore oil platform.

They have been on bail but the 26 non-Russians among them were not allowed to go home.

The six British Greenpeace activists who were arrested in Russia

Greenpeace said a last-minute amendment to the amnesty bill meant Russia would almost certainly end legal proceedings against activists who faced jail terms of up to seven years if convicted over the protest.

Arctic Sunrise's American captain Peter Willcox was quoted by Greenpeace as saying: "I might soon be going home to my family, but I should never have been charged and jailed in the first place.

"We sailed north to bear witness to a profound environmental threat but our ship was stormed by masked men wielding knives and guns ... We were never the criminals here."

Lawyers said the amnesty, which could come into force this week, would also lead to the early release of Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina.

Their two-year sentences over an anti-Putin protest in a cathedral have been criticised in the West as excessive.

Protesters climb the Prirazlomnaya oil platform

Officials in Krasnoyarsk and Nizhny Novgorod, where the two women are currently held, have promised to free them "right away and without bureaucratic delay, probably tomorrow", Ms Tolokonnikova's husband Pyotr Verzilov wrote on his Twitter blog.

The pair's sentences run out in early March next year.

The lower house of parliament passed the amnesty, which President Vladimir Putin proposed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passage of Russia's post-Soviet constitution.

The move has been largely viewed as the Kremlin's attempt to soothe criticism of Russia's human rights records ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi next year.

The amnesty affects a range of categories like mothers with dependents, minors and the elderly. However, it also specifically mentions the charge of hooliganism as well as the charge of participating in mass riots.

Pussy Riot's "punk prayer" protest at Christ The Saviour Cathedral, Moscow

It does not require approval by the upper chamber of parliament and will come into effect when it is published, probably on Thursday.

The foreign crew from Arctic Sunrise will then request to leave, and still hope to be home by Christmas, said Greenpeace spokesman Ben Stewart.

"There is certainly a chance, but until they actually leave Russia everything is speculation," he said.

All were arrested after the ship was boarded by Russian special forces in September and were first held under arrest in a jail in northern Murmansk, where the ship remains in Russian control.

The Britons have been named as Alexandra Harris, Kieron Bryan, Anthony Perrett, Phil Ball, Frank Hewetson and Iain Rogers.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Ronnie Biggs: Great Train Robber Dies Aged 84

Biggs: An International Fugitive

Updated: 3:11pm UK, Wednesday 18 December 2013

Here is a timeline of Ronnie Biggs' life.

Ronald Arthur Biggs was born in Lambeth, south London, on August 8, 1929.

:: January 1945: The 15-year-old Biggs made his first court appearance - for stealing pencils from Littlewoods.

:: 1950: Biggs cut a faintly absurd figure in the robbery of a bookie in Lambeth Road. His contribution was to ask the bookie's wife for her handbag.

"When she did not have one, Biggs picked up a vase as though to hit her," reads the court report of the case.

:: August 1963: With nine convictions to his name, he was given the chance to play a bit part in a robbery on an altogether grander scale and, by accepting it, set himself on the path to a lifetime of infamy.

About a month after the attack, Biggs and other members of the gang were tracked down by police after an operation led by Scotland Yard detective Jack Slipper.

:: January 1964 - Biggs stood trial for the robbery and was jailed for 30 years.

:: 1965 - after serving just 15 months, he escaped from London's Wandsworth Prison by scaling a wall and jumping on to a mattress in an open-top van.

:: The same year, Biggs took his wife Charmian and sons to Spain and spent two months convalescing after having plastic surgery in France to change his appearance.

:: 1969 - Biggs was tracked by Scotland Yard to Melbourne, Australia and fled to Brazil.

:: 1970 - The mail train driver Jack Mills, who never made a full recovery after being coshed during the robbery, died.

:: 1971 - Biggs' son Nicky died in a car crash aged 10.

:: 1974 - Biggs made a deal with the Daily Express amid rumours he would surrender if assured an early parole date, but the paper contacted detective Jack Slipper who arrested him in Rio de Janeiro.

The convicted robber successfully argued against extradition because he had a Brazilian dependent, a young son, Michael, by his girlfriend Raimunda de Castro.

:: April 1977 - Biggs went aboard the British frigate Danae for a few drinks. The ship was in Rio for a courtesy visit, but surprisingly he was not arrested.

:: 1978 - He recorded No One Is Innocent, for the Sex Pistols and also raised money by selling T-shirts of himself and entertaining Japanese tourists.

:: March 1981 - Biggs was kidnapped in Rio by a gang of adventurers and smuggled to Barbados by boat. Their aim was to bring him back to Britain.

The Barbados High Court decided the rules governing extradition to Britain had not been properly put before the island's parliament, and Biggs was allowed to return to Rio.

:: 1988 - Pop star Phil Collins starred in Buster, a film based on the train robbery.

:: January 1994 - Biggs published his autobiography, Odd Man Out.

:: 1997 - The Brazilian Supreme Court rejected a new request by the British Government to extradite him.

:: March 1998 - The fugitive collapsed at his home in Rio and suffered a stroke which temporarily left him unable to speak.

:: August 8, 1999 - Biggs celebrated his 70th birthday in the company of 140 friends including fellow Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds, 36 years to the day after their infamous crime.

:: September 1999 - Biggs appeared in a worldwide TV advert for hair grafts. In the same month he suffered his second stroke, followed by a third stroke 12 days later.

:: May 3, 2001 - After 35 years on the run, Biggs sent an e-mail to Scotland Yard saying he wanted to come home.

:: May 7, 2001 - Biggs arrives on a private plane at RAF Northolt, and is immediately arrested. He is later sent back to prison.

Within weeks Biggs was in hospital receiving treatment for a suspected stroke. He spent much of his time in the prison hospital at Belmarsh after suffering a series of heart attacks, strokes and epileptic seizures.

:: January 30, 2002 - The Criminal Cases Review Commission rejects an application to send Biggs' case to the Court of Appeal. He had argued his sentence was inappropriate and unnecessary.

:: March 28, 2002 - Biggs's lawyers lodge papers at the High Court arguing his is an "exceptional case" and should be sent back to the Court of Appeal.

:: July 10, 2002 - Biggs marries Brazilian former Samba dancer Raimunda Rothen, the mother of his son Michael, in a private ceremony at Belmarsh jail attended by 11 guests.

:: January 13, 2003 - Michael claims his father was punched and "karate kicked" by a prison officer in Belmarsh.

:: October 2, 2003 - Biggs' attempt to appeal against his sentence is thrown out by a High Court judge who calls it "hopeless" and "misconceived".

His son Michael complains that his father was not given legal aid to fight the case and announces plans to go to the European Court of Human Rights.

:: January 6, 2004 - Biggs is taken to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Woolwich, south London, suffering from pneumonia.

:: January 8, 2004 - After returning to Belmarsh the day before, Biggs is taken back to hospital after becoming dehydrated and vomiting. His barrister Nigel Sangster QC says he is making an immediate petition to the European Court of Human Rights about Biggs's continued imprisonment.

:: August 9, 2004 - Biggs' lawyers launch a High Court legal bid to win his release on compassionate grounds. Solicitors ask for a judicial review of Biggs' detention at high security Belmarsh.

:: August 30, 2004 - Biggs is taken to hospital again, this time it is understood it is because he was passing blood.

It is the fifth time the ailing robber has been moved to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital from the hospital wing at Belmarsh after suffering a series of strokes, minor heart attacks and contracting scabies.

:: June 15, 2005 - Solicitors say they have written to Home Secretary Charles Clarke to ask for Biggs to be released on compassionate grounds.

:: July 12, 2005 - Sources say prison bosses have decided that Biggs is not ill enough to qualify for early release.

:: August 10, 2005 - The Home Office confirms Biggs has become infected with MRSA while in hospital undergoing routine treatment.

:: September 21, 2005 - Prison service sources deny claims Biggs has gone on hunger strike.

:: October 26, 2005 - Home Secretary Charles Clarke rejects a plea for Biggs to be released from prison on compassionate grounds - because his illness is not deemed terminal.

:: December 2, 2005 - Biggs' solicitors say they have asked Mr Clarke for a pardon, using "prerogative powers".

:: July 4, 2007 - Prison sources say the Great Train Robber has been moved from Belmarsh to a unit for elderly life-sentenced inmates, even though he is not serving a life sentence, at the lower security Norwich jail.

:: October 4, 2007 - Biggs apologises for "glamorising" his crime and promises that if he is freed from jail he will live outside the UK.

:: February 13, 2009 - Biggs is moved to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in Norwich after falling ill in Norwich Prison.

:: July 1, 2009 - Biggs is refused parole by Justice Secretary Jack Straw, who said the Great Train Robber was "wholly unrepentant".

:: August 8, 2009 - Biggs was granted release from his prison sentence on compassionate grounds. Mr Straw said the decision was based on medical evidence that Biggs' condition had deteriorated and he was not expected to recover. The next day he was officially released from the the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

:: August 17, 2009 - Biggs moved into his final home, the Carlton Court Care Home in Barnet, north London, where he received 24-hour care.

:: March 20, 2013 - Biggs was last seen in public at the funeral of of fellow great train robber Bruce Reynolds. He had a defiant message for the waiting press as he flipped the 'V' sign.

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Ian Watkins Gets 35 Years For Sex Offences

Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has been sentenced to 35 years in jail for 13 sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby.

Watkins, 36, shook uncontrollably as he was handed down the sentence at Cardiff Crown Court, and it was greeted by shouts of "yes" from the public gallery. He will serve 29 years in jail with the final six on licence.

Two female co-defendants, aged 21 and 25, were also sentenced for various sex offences, with 'Mother A' given 14 years in jail and 'Mother B' given 17 years. They cannot be named for legal reasons.

Watkins was convicted of sexually touching a groupie's 11-month-old baby, then trying to have sex with the child. He also encouraged a second fan to abuse her child during a webcam chat and secretly stashed child porn videos, some of which he had made himself.

Justice Royce QC told Watkins and the two co-defendants, "what you three did plumbs new depths of depravity". 

He said the singer had a "dark and sinister side" and the gravity of his offences "breaks new ground".

Watkins with his former bandmates

"You had many fawning fans. That gave you power. You knew you could use that power to induce young female fans to have help satisfy your insatiable lust and take part in the sexual abuse of their own children," he said. 

"Away from the highlights of your public performances lay a dark and sinister side."

Earlier, he said Watkins had a "high risk of causing emotional and sexual harm to children and to women". 

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle, who is heading up a hunt for potential further victims, described Watkins as a "committed, organised paedophile".

"My view of him as an individual is that he has shown no empathy, no sympathy or any remorse for what he has done," he said. 

Watkins performing at the Reading Festival in 2010

"It's as if he just doesn't care. He has shown no remorse at any time. In my view, that potentially makes him the most dangerous sex offender I have ever seen."

Mr Doyle said Watkins committed the worst kind of offending and specifically targeted babies. 

He said: "Offending against children does not get any worse. We are not talking about children of any age here, we are talking about babies. I don't know what he is not capable of."

The abuse is thought to be so widespread that investigating officers have since launched a nationwide appeal for other potential victims to come forward - and are pursuing new leads after receiving a flurry of calls.

Mr Doyle told Sky News the force is working with Homeland Security in the US, Interpol and police in Germany to identify if any other children have been abused by Watkins.

Watkins performing at the Download Festival in 2008

"I think that it is likely that there will be further matters put to him, and others, in due course," he said. 

The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating whether the force failed to act quickly enough after tip-offs about Watkins, has said it will now also look into South Yorkshire and Bedfordshire forces.

The IPCC said it is investigating the effectiveness of the responses by South Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and South Wales forces to reports of abuse made to them between 2008 and 2012.

Earlier today, the court heard Watkins spoke with a female fan from prison the day after admitting two counts of attempted baby rape and said he intended to issue a statement when he was sentenced saying it had all been "mega lolz".

In the conversation, Watkins denied being a paedophile and expressed exasperation at the way people had reacted to his guilty pleas.

Using text-speak, he said: "I'm going to put out a statement on the 18th just to say it was mega lolz.

"I do not know what everybody is getting so freaked out about."

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Six US Servicemen Killed In Helicopter Crash

Six US service members have been killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, according to officials.

One person on board the aircraft was injured, but survived the crash in the southern Zabul province.

A statement issued by the Nato international military coalition said the crash was under investigation and stressed there was no insurgent activity in the area at the time.

The helicopter is thought to have developed engine trouble.

Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, deputy governor of Zabul, said the helicopter came down in the remote Shajau district.

This year, 109 members of the US military have died in Afghanistan, from a total of 139 in the coalition.

The death toll has dropped significantly since the coalition handed over responsibility for security to Afghan forces last summer. Coalition troops are now training and assisting their Afghan counterparts.

More follows...

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Woolwich: Adebolajo Evidence 'Is No Defence'

The claim by Woolwich murder trial defendant Michael Adebolajo that he is "a soldier of Allah" is no defence to the charge of murder, a jury has been told.

Mr Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale are accused of running down off-duty soldier Lee Rigby with a car and then hacking him to death with a meat cleaver and knives in a street in south-east London. 

Mr Justice Sweeney told the jury at the Old Bailey that nothing said by Mr Adebolajo in his evidence amounts in law to a defence to the charge of murder.

He said: "I have ruled that nothing said by the first defendant and... his evidence - in short he was a soldier of Allah and was justified in doing what he did - amounts in law to a defence to this count.

"So nothing that he has said amounts in law to a defence to count one."

In his closing speech, prosecutor Richard Whittam QC said Islam was not on trial and told the jury: "The action of these two men acting together as they did, crashing their car into and breaking the back of Lee Rigby and then killing him is indefensible in the law of this country.

"Killing to make a political point, to frighten the public or to put pressure on the Government or as an expression of anger is murder."

He added: "It remains murder whether the Government in question is a good one, bad one or a dreadful one. We submit to you, it is clearly murder."

Fusilier Rigby's family were in court as Mr Whittam showed the jury once again images of bloodied knives, and also replayed video clips of the May 22 killing.

Replaying a video clip showing Fusilier Rigby being dragged into the road, Mr Whittam said: "Is this a humane killing?

The jury was again shown images of knives found at the scene of the killing

"Is this a killing with an attempt to decapitate and then deposit the body in the middle of the road causing traffic to stop and turn around?"

Mr Whittam recalled witness accounts previously read to the jury as well as extracts from a note handed to Amanda Donnelly-Martin at the scene.

"What was the purpose of what they have done, killing Lee Rigby in the way the had done, in putting the body there and staying at the scene? To borrow a phrase from the first defendant - carnage."

Mr Adebolajo's defending counsel, David Gottlieb, said a proper charge for his client would have been "treason, terrorism, or maybe manslaughter".

In his closing speech, Mr Gottlieb said: "All deaths outside of lawful deaths are cruel, needless and unnecessary.

"Do you think really that this is the cruellest, most sadistic, most callous, most cowardly killing that's ever occured in our nation's history? It isn't."

Mr Gottlieb said Mr Adebolajo's family were "victims" in the case as much as the family of Drummer Rigby and told the jury that his client had been "demonised and painted as a monster".

The defending barrister also suggested that Mr Adebolajo was "the most law-abiding terrorist in the history of this country" as his client paid for a parking ticket moments before the alleged murder took place.

Mr Gottlieb later explained that he was using a "Sherlock Holmes" approach, adding: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

The alleged killers no longer face a charge of conspiracy to murder a police officer after the judge discharged the jury from any further consideration of that count.

Mr Adebolajo, 29 and Mr Adebowale, 22, still face counts of murder and attempted murder of a police officer, which they both deny.

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Nigella Aide: 'Saatchi Threatened To Destroy Me'

A personal assistant accused of defrauding Nigella Lawson and her ex-husband Charles Saatchi has told a jury that he said he would "destroy" her.

Francesca Grillo, 35, said the multimillionaire art dealer had a "personal vendetta" against her and sister Elisabetta, 41, who are alleged to have committed fraud by spending £685,000 on credit cards belonging to the celebrity couple who were divorced earlier this year.

She told Isleworth Crown Court in west London that Mr Saatchi asked to see her at his home in July after his financial director Rahul Gajjar confronted the sisters with credit card statements.

The court heard Mr Gajjar had asked them to sign a letter the previous day, admitting dishonesty and promising to continue working for Mr Saatchi and Ms Lawson for a reduced salary for an unlimited period of time.

Francesca Grillo (L) and sister Elisabetta arriving at court on Monday

The Grillos had not signed the letter and asked for a copy of it while they considered their options, the jury heard.

After she took a cab to Mr Saatchi's house, the younger sister said he told her she was "stupid" and asked her: "Why didn't you listen to Rahul?"

She said she was accused by her then-boss of buying a house on the credit card, which she denied.

The defendant, of Italian descent, told the court: "He was banging on the table ... he said I would end up in handcuffs."

She said the situation became "quite scary" as Mr Saatchi told her: "Hide anywhere in Italy but I will find you and destroy you.

"He said he was going to destroy me and hunt me down. That was his words. His voice was shouting and he was banging on the table and accusing me of various things that were not true.

"The more he got upset, the more I got frightened. You don't cross Charles Saatchi, everyone knows that."

Earlier, she told the jury she "frequently" found rolled up bank notes with white powder on them in Ms Lawson's handbag.

TV cook Nigella Lawson has also appeared as a witness during the trial

She said she never saw the TV cook taking drugs although she did find evidence of drug use on many occasions.

On a few occasions Ms Lawson would come downstairs with white powder "in her nostril", she told the court.

"I said to her, 'you have something in your nose. She wiped it away and said it was make-up. But it was too white to be make-up," she said.

The aide also recalled how she improvised an excuse to protect her employer when a child discovered a hollow book containing what the employee thought were drugs.

"She (the child) said 'Look what I found in (the) book!'. It was a small plastic bag with white powder. I made up something," she told the court.

The defendant said she often found remnants of cannabis in the house, but never raised the issue of drugs because "I didn't think it was my place".

She also talked about the photographs of Mr Saatchi with his hands on Ms Lawson's throat outside Scott's restaurant in Mayfair in central London.

"In the photos she appears to be crying. It shocked me because she said she didn't cry very often in public," she said.

Charles Saatchi has also given evidence during the proceedings

"The one that stuck in my mind was the one of him picking her nose. Maybe he found something relating to drugs.

"I maybe thought if he didn't know that, he probably didn't know about the authorisation - the allowance - of the signatures (by Ms Lawson, on personal expenditure)."

She told jurors she raised the evidence of drug use "because it would show a pattern, how Nigella hides the truth and how she behaves".

The jury heard that in the last few years Ms Lawson became "absent and grumpy" and had trouble sleeping.

The ex-PA said the TV cook would "swig from bottles containing liquid medication for depression".

The court has heard the siblings bought designer clothes, shoes and luxury holidays on the cards.

The Grillos, of Kensington Gardens Square, Bayswater, west London, deny committing fraud by using a company credit card for personal gain between January 1, 2008 and December 31 last year.

The trial continues.

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