Horsemeat: Four New Products Test Positive

Tests on four beef products sold by Birds Eye, Taco Bell and catering supplier Brakes have been found to contain horsemeat.

Checks revealed contamination of Birds Eye Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese and Beef Lasagne, Taco Bell's ground beef and Brakes' spicy minced beef skewer, the Food Standards Agency said.

Ten tests on the four products returned results of more than 1% horsemeat, the FSA said, and all four have been withdrawn from sale.

Meanwhile, McDonald's said tests for horsemeat in its products had come back negative.

US-owned Tex-Mex restaurant chain Taco Bell said that it was "disappointed" to have discovered the horsemeat in tests it carried out on beef supplied to its UK restaurants by a sole European supplier.

"We immediately withdrew ground beef from sale in our restaurants, discontinued purchase of that meat, and contacted the Food Standards Agency with this information," it said in a statement.

Overall, the Food Standards Agency has received 5,430 test results

"We would like to apologise to all of our customers, and we can reassure you that we are working hard to ensure that every precaution is being undertaken to guarantee that we are only supplied with products that meet the high standards we demand."

Birds Eye had already withdrawn the spaghetti bolognese, lasagne and a third ready meal, a shepherd's pie, from sale in Britain and the Republic of Ireland as a precaution after tests found 2% of horse DNA in a chilli con carne dish it sold in Belgium.

They are made by the same Belgian manufacturer, Frigilunch NV.

"No other Birds Eye products have tested positive for horse DNA, nor do they share the same supply chains as Frigilunch NV," the company said in a statement.

"Going forward we are introducing a new ongoing DNA testing programme that will ensure no minced beef meat product can leave our facilities without first having been cleared by DNA testing."

Brakes, which is based in Ashford, Kent, is the supplier for the House of Commons Catering Service and last month it withdrew its steak and kidney pie, beef and onion pie, steak and kidney suet pudding, and beef Italian meatballs as a precaution.

It also supplies pubs among 19,000 customers who buy around 48,000 cases of products containing beef every week.

It too said it was introducing new tests after the discovery, alongside 259 negative tests.

"Our tests also confirmed one positive equine DNA finding at between 1% and 10% on a Brakes spicy minced beef skewer and one positive test reported by a customer of our subsidiary division Creative Foods, on a lasagne manufactured exclusively for them," it said.

"Brakes have also segregated a frozen burger as a precaution after equine DNA at 1% was reported to the Food Standards Agency.

The latest findings come in the third round of checks on products

"Brakes and Creative Foods are very disappointed to have been let down by our respective suppliers and have sincerely apologised to our customers.

"As any responsible company, we have a duty of care to all our customers and the consumers they serve to guarantee the integrity of the products we purchase."

The discoveries were made in the third round of tests carried out since January.

A total of 19 products have now been confirmed to contain over 1% of horse DNA.

No tests to date on samples containing horse DNA have found the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or bute, to be present.

Across the industry, a first wave of tests found horse meat in products including Aldi's special frozen beef lasagne and special frozen spaghetti bolognese, Co-op frozen quarter-pounder burgers, Findus beef lasagne, Rangeland's catering burger products, and Tesco Value frozen burgers and Value spaghetti bolognese.

A second wave of tests revealed contamination of Asda's chilled beef bolognese sauce, beef burgers, minced beef and halal minced beef sold by Sodexo, which supplies food to schools, care homes and the armed forces, and a Whitbread Group lasagne and beef burger.

The president and chief executive of McDonald's UK, Jill McDonald, said no horsemeat had been found in the fast-food company's products.

"We voluntarily provided samples of all beef burgers currently available on our menu to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for their own tests.

"All tests, including our own, have now been completed and we can confirm that no horsemeat has been found in any of McDonald's products."

Earlier, the British Retail Consortium said test results for horsemeat in all minced beef lines used by the UK's largest supermarkets had revealed no new cases of contamination.

Some 95% of products sold by retailers have now been checked, it said, with the latest round of checks since February 22 including 361 tests on 103 products.

A total of 1,889 tests have been carried out by the trade organisation's members since January 20, with 0.3% of them finding contamination.

Meanwhile in Germany, authorities say they have found a carcinogenic substance in animal feed delivered to more than 3,500 farms - but stressed that any risk to humans was unlikely.

Aflatoxin B1 is a chemical produced by fungus that can grow on hay or grains and appear in the milk of animals that eat the mildewed feed.

The state agriculture ministry in Lower Saxony said the contamination originated from a shipment of corn from Serbia.

It said it did not believe there was any danger to consumers and there was no indication legal limits on aflatoxins in milk had been exceeded.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pound Falls As Triple Dip Fears Fuelled

Sterling has fallen to a two-and-a-half-year low against the dollar after manufacturing figures for February revealed a fall in output.

The closely watched Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index showed a slump in activity to 47.9 - well below the 50 level which separates growth from contraction.

It was the first time since last November the sector's activity shrunk, and followed 50.2 in January.

The value of the pound slipped following the data, and fell below $1.50 on Friday afternoon - its lowest since the middle of 2010. 

Sterling has only been beneath the $1.50 mark for four of the 200 years since the US Declaration of Independence.

The last time it was at this level was briefly during the 2010 election and coalition-building process, and before that the 2008/09 recession.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the manufacturing data increased the chance that Britain will slip back into recession. 

"The return to contraction of the manufacturing sector is a big surprise and represents a major set-back to hopes that the UK economy can return to growth in the first quarter and may avoid a triple-dip recession," he said.

"The data so far this year point to manufacturing output falling by as much as 0.5%, meaning a strong rebound is needed in March to prevent the sector from acting as a drag on the economy as a whole in the first quarter."

The struggling sector contributed to the UK's worse-than-expected 0.3% decline in output in the fourth quarter of last year, and a negative reading for the first quarter of 2013 would see the UK enter a triple-dip recession.

Nawaz Ali, a market analyst with Western Union, said the manufacturing data could increase pressure on the Bank of England (BoE) to launch a new round of asset purchasing - or quantitative easing - as early as next week.

"The data is a major setback for sterling and the size of the manufacturing decline indicates that there is still a chance the British economy may suffer an unprecedented triple-dip recession," he said.

"The data also adds to growing concerns that not only could the BoE re-start monetary printing in March, the central bank's new flexible inflation strategy puts it in a position to launch a prolonged period of asset purchases, similar to what the US have done and what the Bank of Japan is planning to do."

More quantitative easing is likely to hit sterling further because it increases its supply and drives the currency's exchange value lower.

So far this year, sterling - which was also hit by Moody's downgrade of the UK's credit rating - has lost 7.5% against the dollar.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man City Player Jailed Over Death Crash

By Frazer Maude, Sky Correspondent

Manchester City player Courtney Meppen-Walter has been jailed for 16 months for killing a brother and sister while speeding in his Mercedes.

Kulwant Singh, 32, and Ravel-Kaur Singh, 37, died when the Nissan Micra they were driving was hit by the 18-year-old footballer's car.

At Manchester Crown Court, Judge Martin Steiger QC told the former England U-18 captain: "This, as offences go, was in the most serious category for causing death by careless driving.

"There were also a number of aggravating factors."

Kulwant Singh and his sister Ravel-Kaur Singh were killed

Mr Singh and his sister had been in the front seats of the car when it collided with Meppen-Walter's Mercedes on Bury New Road in central Manchester in September last year.

Ms Singh's two sons, Amjit, 16 and Harveen, 17, who were in the back of the Micra and were injured in the collision, have been said by police to be "making a good recovery". Amjit was only released from hospital earlier this month.

The two teenagers are now orphans after their father was killed in Afghanistan.

Meppen-Walter was speeding in his car

The court heard that Meppen-Walter had been out with friends at a shisha cafe in Manchester when they decided to go to a nightclub.

Witnesses reported seeing the footballer's Mercedes and a grey VW Golf driving erratically before the collision.

Saleem Mirza said he saw the two cars accelerating and braking while changing lanes, although he said the cars did not appear to be racing.

Accident investigators and the Mercedes' engine management unit both estimated the car was travelling at 56mph when the collision occurred. The speed limit is 30mph.

Meppen-Walter initially put on the brakes, but then decided to accelerate and try to swerve round Mr Singh's car.

Had he been travelling at 30mph, or had remained driving straight and maintained his braking, the court heard that the collision would have been avoided.

After the impact he remained at the scene, Mr Mirza described him as being extremely distraught, waving his arms around and saying: "What have I done?"

At one stage Meppen-Walter saw a child seat in the back of the Micra, and said: "There's a baby, there's a baby."

Prosecuting, Mark Kellet said that Meppen-Walter had only one previous conviction.

The crash happened on this road in central Manchester

He was given a six-point endorsement on his licence and fined £75 for speeding in Bury in March 2012.

On that occasion he was again travelling at 56mph in a 30mph zone.

During the proceedings, throughout which the footballer cried openly in the dock, an impact statement from Mr Singh's wife, Kushwant Kaur, was read out.

It said: "My life is destroyed after the collision. It feels like our whole world is finished. We were planning our future together for our children, and now that's impossible."

Meppen-Walter has yet to play for Manchester City's first team since joining them as a junior in 2003.

But he has been on the bench for two Champions League matches. He also played 17 times for and captained England U-18s.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Derby Fire Deaths: Tapes Played In Court

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

Parents accused of killing their six children in a house fire discussed what they had told officers after the blaze, according to covert recordings of their conversations that were played in court.

The discussions between Mick and Mairead Philpott took place in a bugged hotel room.

Officers monitoring the couple also caught on tape what appears to be sexual activity between them and friend Paul Mosley.

All three are accused of the manslaughter of the Philpotts' six young children in the fatal fire in Allenton, Derby, which engulfed the family home on May 11 last year.

Five days after the fire - and also after Mairead Philpott had talked to police - Mick Philpott is heard asking his wife: "What did you say about me trying to get in?"

She is heard replying: "You tried everything you could to get in, like I said to them, I wanted to run through the flames up the stairs."

Philpott asks: "Was you crying when you said it? How bad?"

She replies: "Not really, really bad, but I was crying."

Mosley visited the couple in their Premier Inn room and parts of recordings played in court showed what prosecutors said was sexual activity between the three of them.

The children's funeral in June

On one occasion, on May 19, Philpott, 56, refers to his wife performing a sex act on Mosley, which prosecutor Richard Latham QC said was aimed at keeping Mosley on side.

On the night before the couple held a news conference to appeal for witnesses, Mick Philpott was heard to say: "My main thing tomorrow is to thank everybody."

The same night, the tape hears Philpott murmur to his wife: "You make sure you stick to your story."

Jade, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13, all perished after the fire at their home in Victory Road.

Earlier in court, a witness said she had heard Mosley bragging for "being on bail for six counts of murder".

Melissa John, the girlfriend of Mosley's nephew, told Nottingham Crown Court that she saw the 45-year-old after he was released on police bail.

Ms John told the jury: "He was bragging ... about being on bail for six counts of murder."

She said Mosley said he would wait for the charges to be dropped "then he'd go public and tell everyone".

The Philpotts deny wrongdoing

Ms John said Mosley later asked her: "What if I was to tell you we actually rehearsed this six weeks ago?"

She said Mosley went on to claim that the Philpotts were to be inside the house when the fire was started, that he was to "kick the back door in" and then the couple were to run out front and scream for help.

But she claimed he said it "didn't go to plan".

Ms John said Mosley told her Mick had wanted a bigger house, and Mairead had written a suicide note saying "next time she'll take her children with her".

Mairead was to take the blame for the fire, Ms John told the court.

The prosecution allege that the trio - who deny wrongdoing - started the fire to "frame" Mick Philpott's ex-mistress and regain access to their children.

Their trial continues.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Drunken Shooting: Soldier's Family Slam Probe

The family of a British soldier who died in a drunken shooting in Iraq have slammed the investigation into the circumstances of his death as "flawed" and "incompetent".

Lance Corporal David Wilson, who served in the Army Air Corps, was found slumped at a desk at Basra airbase with a gunshot wound to his head in December 2008.

He had been drinking vodka - in breach of Army rules - with his friend and superior Warrant Officer Tony Todd in the hours before he died.

Tests after his death showed he was three times over the drink-drive limit.

The soldier's father, Ian Wilson, told the inquest in Crook, County Durham, his son had become a father 11 weeks before to baby Poppy, and was an upbeat character with everything to live for.

His family do not believe he deliberately shot himself, and believe horseplay or an accident could have been the cause.

Andrew Tweddle, coroner for South Durham and Darlington, returned an open verdict at his inquest on Wednesday - four years after proceedings initially opened.

He said there was insufficient evidence to return a suicide verdict, saying that while he found the soldier fired the fatal shot himself, he "was intoxicated and this would have had an effect on his decision-making ability and perception of risk".

The soldier's identical twin brother Michael Wilson said after the verdict: "From start to finish this has been a flawed process.

"From the discovery of David's body there has been an incompetent crime scene investigation followed by at best a sub-standard attempt by the Ministry of Defence to consider possible causes of David's death in circumstances where those directing the investigation wrongly closed their minds to there being anything other than one possible explanation.

"We as a family have been wronged by flawed processes. Those responsible include not just the MoD, but also the court.

"We're appalled that the coroner had to seize the initiative to write to the Prime Minister to ignite the investigation process further."

The inquest heard how military police investigators botched elements of the inquiry.

Concerns about the handling of forensic evidence were raised during the case, with William Boyce QC, for the family, describing elements of the inquiry as "a circus".

There was also criticism from the coroner, who apologised for the delay in bringing the inquest to court, and revealed he was so concerned about the "painfully slow" progress of the case he wrote to David Cameron in November 2011.

L/Cpl Wilson lived with his fiancee Michelle Curry in Spennymoor, County Durham, while he served at RAF Dishforth in North Yorkshire.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

CPS Taxi Fraud: Charges Over £1m Plot

Two workers at the Crown Prosecution Service are facing charges over a fraud plot involving false taxi claims worth at least £1m.

Finance manager Lisa Burrows, 41, from Birminigham, and an administrative officer who has not been named, work for CPS West Midlands.

The allegations concern false claims for witness care taxi services to the value of at least £1m when no such services had been supplied, the CPS said in a statement.

Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime for the CPS, said the charges followed a complaint by the Crown Prosecution Service and a subsequent investigation by West Midlands Police into two members of CPS staff.

"I have now concluded that it is appropriate to charge both Burrows and the other individual with conspiracy to commit fraud," he said.

Mr McHaffie added that while the administrative officer had not yet been charged, Burrows was due appear Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tom Maynard: Inquest Verdict 'Accidental Death'

By Jason Farrell, Sky News Correspondent

A promising young cricketer was high on a cocktail of drink and drugs before he was hit by a train and died, an inquest has heard.

Tom Maynard, 23, had taken cocaine, ecstasy and was almost four times over the drink drive limit, Westminster Coroner's Court was told.

The inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

The player died last June when he stepped on a live rail and was electrocuted before he was struck by a London Underground train.

He had earlier been stopped by police after he was spotted driving erratically but fled the scene, leaving his keys in the ignition of his Mercedes.

Mr Maynard had been drinking in Wandsworth, two miles from Wimbledon Park

A post-mortem found he had been drinking and taken cocaine and ecstasy in the form of MDMA after a night out with his flatmates.

Mr Maynard was the son of former England and Glamorgan batsman Matthew Maynard and had been tipped as a future England star.

Westminster Coroner's Court heard that tests indicated the cricketer may have been a regular drug user up to three-and-a-half months before his death.

Dr Rosa Cordero said the results showed between 8.7 and 10 nanograms per milligram, which matched some daily users of the drug.

Toxicologist Fiona Perry added that the drugs would cause "significant impairment in coordination and judgement".

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox described Mr Maynard's death as "absolutely tragic" and called for analysis of hair samples to be considered for future drugs testing by Surrey County Cricket Club, and other sports clubs, to help identify drug users.

Mr Maynard's family have insisted the findings should not define the sportsman, who they described as a "very special person".

The player's girlfriend Carly Baker, a model, wept during the hearing as his last movements were recounted.

Mr Maynard had been on his way to see her on June 18 after going out drinking with friends in Wandsworth, south London, when he died.

Miss Baker said in a statement read in the court that he had phoned her at about 3.30am sounding "very down and depressed".

Tom Maynard's black Mercedes C250 is taken away

"For me to say 'what's wrong' is quite unusual," she said. "It was like he needed me. He said 'you're the only thing that makes me happy' and he said it three times."

She added: "I tried to persuade him not to come because I was so worried that he was getting into the car after drinking."

Police in an unmarked car then spotted his black Mercedes in Wimbledon at around 4.15am and pulled him over.

The sportsman ran off and was eventually discovered at 5.10am half a mile away on a London Underground line.

The court heard he had appeared to already be unconscious on the track when he was hit by a train. The train driver said Mr Maynard lay "perfectly still" and had not moved or flinched as he attempted to brake.

Forensic pathologist Simon Poole said the cricketer's injuries included "burns consistent with contact to a live train rail".

Mr Maynard's father Matthew described his son as a "consummate professional" who "did not suffer from depression".

In a statement issued through the Professional Cricketers' Association, his family said: "The results of the inquest do not define our son. The fact that so very many people thought the world of him is what defines him as a person.

"The only people who would judge Tom on the findings of the inquest are people who didn't know him.

"He made choices that night that tragically cost him his life but his devastated family and friends will love and miss him unconditionally, always. He was a very special person and his death leaves a huge hole in all our lives."

The family's sentiments were echoed by Surrey CCC and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who issued a joint statement, describing Mr Maynard's death as "a terrible human tragedy".

Surrey CCC said it had introduced a team-wide anti-drug policy, while the ECB said it was developing an out of competition testing programme to encompass recreational drugs in addition to its existing anti-doping programme.

Born in Cardiff, Mr Maynard came through the ranks at Glamorgan Cricket Club before moving to Surrey. He had played a match for the club just 14 hours before he died.

He also earned himself a place on the England Lions tour to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the start of last year.

A charity, The Tom Maynard Trust, was launched in his memory in August, which helps young people in cricket and other sports develop their careers.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Armed Forces Facing £11bn More Cuts Warning

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

More redundancies could be made in the UK Armed Forces according to new analysis of the defence budget.

The respected Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) claims cuts to budgets are "likely" in 2015, despite hopes that the worst was over.

According to the Institute's calculations, the military might have to accept that budget savings need to be made of around "£11bn ... over 10 years as a result of the decisions taken in Autumn Statement 2012 and Spending Review 2013".

"The MoD is likely to face a very difficult 2015 spending review, especially if the country's wider fiscal position remains as difficult as is now projected," RUSI predicts.

The Ministry of Defence recently announced the latest round of redundancies that will affect the army, with 5,300 soldiers to lose their jobs in June.

The RUSI report says the MoD does not face a problem "comparable in magnitude to the black hole it faced in the 2010 Spending Review", but it concludes that the UK's overall economic outlook will lead to reduced budgets.

In response, Philip Dunne, the Defence, Equipment, Support and Technology Minister, has said: "The MoD budget for 2015/16 will be set this summer and the budget for subsequent years will be finalised in the next full spending review.

"The Treasury has made clear that the MoD may plan on receiving a 1% real-terms increase in the equipment budget from 2015/16 onwards.

"This has been endorsed by the Prime Minister. Our Armed Forces will remain a formidable fighting force, backed by the fourth-largest defence budget in the world."

RUSI concludes that the best hope for a return to defence spending is a recovery in the overall economy - something that the government cannot seem to achieve.

However, this worst-case-scenario painted by RUSI is based on hypothetical outcomes and will be regarded by some as unrealistic and scare-mongering.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Bulger Killer Photos' Prompt Legal Action

A number of Twitter users who posted photos claiming to show James Bulger's killer Jon Venables are facing the risk of jail after Britain's top legal adviser launched legal proceedings against them.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve said court papers would be served against a number of individuals.

Venables was 10 when he and classmate Robert Thompson abducted and murdered two-year-old James in Liverpool in February 1993.

The pair were jailed for life but were released in 2001 under the protection of a court order banning any publication of information that could lead to their identification.

Under the terms of an injunction, publication of any image or information purporting to identify anyone as Venables or Thompson is prohibited.

James Bulger was led from a shopping centre and murdered

The terms of the order mean that if a picture claims to be one of James Bulger's killers, even if it is not actually them, it would breach the order.

The Attorney General's statement said: "There are many different images circulating online claiming to be of Venables or Thompson; potentially innocent individuals may be wrongly identified as being one of the two men and placed in danger.

"Breaches of the order may be a contempt of court punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.

"It is also a criminal offence to encourage others to commit acts of violence or to publish online malicious communications."

Images recently appeared on Twitter claiming to show an adult Venables, who was released from jail on licence with a new identity in 2001.

Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, of the High Court Family Division, made an unprecedented court order banning publication of any information which could lead to the revelation of their new identities.

Venables, now 30, had his parole revoked in 2010 and was jailed for two years after admitting downloading and distributing indecent images of children.

James's mother Denise Fergus, has always opposed the injunction, fearing it could lead to innocent men being accused of being James's killers.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Britain's Top Cardinal Keith O'Brien Resigns

The most senior priest in the Roman Catholic Church in Britain has resigned over allegations of inappropriate behaviour up to 30 years ago.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien's immediate resignation comes a day after claims by three priests and a former priest emerged in a newspaper.

The 74-year-old tendered his resignation as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in November to Pope Benedict XVI, but said in a statement today: "The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today.

"Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologise to all whom I have offended."

Cardinal O'Brien missed mass at St Mary's on Sunday

The Cardinal should have been travelling to the Vatican this week to help choose the next Pope, but he said he would not be joining the conclave.

"I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me - but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor," he said.

His absence from the conclave means Britain now has no-one able to vote in the forthcoming election of the next leader of the 1.2bn Roman Catholics worldwide.

The Cardinal missed traditional mass at his main cathedral, St Mary's in Edinburgh, on Sunday after The Observer newspaper published the allegations dating back to the 1980s.

The report said the three priests and the former priest in Scotland reported the cardinal to the Vatican over allegations of "inappropriate behaviour".

The Observer said the four statements containing the claims were submitted to the Papal Nuncio Antonio Mennini's office the week before Benedict's resignation was announced on February 11.

It is understood that Cardinal O'Brien contests the claims.

In his resignation statement, Cardinal O'Brien said he had previously offered to step down but it has only been accepted now.

The cleric had been expected to quit on March 17 - the date of his 75th birthday.

Cardinals older than 75 are not allowed to vote in the conclave, which is expected to take place in the next three weeks.

Cardinal O'Brien is no stranger to making the news with his views.

Last week, he called for the Catholic Church to end its celibacy rule for the priesthood.

He had told the BBC: "I realise that many priests have found it very difficult to cope with celibacy as they lived out their priesthood, and felt the need of a companion, of a woman, to whom they could get married and raise a family of their own."

He has also been an outspoken opponent of plans to legalise same-sex marriage.

Last year his stance landed him the award, Bigot of the Year, from the gay rights group Stonewall.

In 2007 he caused controversy when speaking on the 40th anniversary of the Abortion Act.

He said the termination rate north of the border was equivalent to "two Dunblane massacres a day".

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Gas Poison' Deaths: Caravan Park Trio Named

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

The three people who died of suspected carbon monoxide in Cornwall have been named locally as John and Audrey Cook, and their daughter, Maureen.

Mr Cook, 90, his 86-year-old wife and their 46-year-old daughter were found dead along with a pet dog on Saturday in their static home near Camborne, Cornwall.

The alarm was raised when a neighbour tried to call in to help the elderly couple.

Devon and Cornwall Police are not treating the deaths as suspicious but it is thought a faulty appliance may be to blame.

Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas that claims around 50 lives a year and leaves some 200 people seriously ill.

Neighbour Julie Taylor told Sky News how, within hours of hearing of the tragedy, she went out and bought two carbon monoxide alarms: "It's just absolutely devastating.

"Having seen it in the neighbourhood and myself living on my own I went out straight away and bought them.

Audrey and John Cook

"It is frightening, you can't hear it, you can't see it, you can't smell it - it is the silent killer."

The Cook family had lived on the peaceful Tremarle Home Park for many years and were well known to neighbours.

Neighbour Andrew Stevenson said he was "very, very shocked".

Mr Stevenson was himself a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning in the 1990s when his chimney became blocked.

He told Sky News it was only his parents' decision to open a window that saved his life.

"I got out and we worked out eventually what caused it.

"It felt like someone had given me a head cold and then I got up in the early hours of the morning and it felt like somebody had rugby tackled me but there was nobody there."

He added: "You need to have a carbon monoxide tester even if it is a basic one."

Emergency services were called to the caravan park where they were living at lunchtime on Saturday after the couple's helper was unable to reach them.

Firefighters broke into their home and found the bodies inside.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lord Rennard Concerns: Nick Clegg Knew

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has admitted that he knew of concerns over Lord Rennard's behaviour more than four years ago.

Several women have accused the party's former chief executive of inappropriately touching and propositioning female party workers, which he strenuously denies.

In a statement this evening, Mr Clegg said he did not know about the allegations, but admitted that his office was aware of "indirect and non-specific" concerns about Lord Rennard's conduct in 2008.

He said: "I am angry and outraged at the suggestion that I would not have acted if these allegations had been put to me. Indeed, when indirect and non-specific concerns about Chris Rennard's conduct reached my office in 2008, we acted to deal with them.

Lord Rennard strenuously denies the claims

"My chief of staff at the time, Danny Alexander, put these concerns to Chris Rennard and warned him that any such behaviour was wholly unacceptable.

"Chris Rennard categorically denied that he had behaved inappropriately and he continues to do so. He subsequently resigned as chief executive on health grounds."

Lib Dem President Tim Farron, who is conducting a review into the way the party dealt with the allegations, conceded the party may have failed to deal with the claims when they were first made.

He told Sky News: "The issue that's been made very clear this last few days is that not only were a number of women potentially victims in this appalling set of circumstances. but also potentially they raised their concerns with people within the party - some of them at a reasonably high level - and they may have made those concerns known to people and that they weren't acted upon."

Mr Clegg said Danny Alexander put the concerns to Lord Rennard

"My guess is that the party has indeed let itself down in the past and not dealt with these complaints when they were put."

Earlier, aides had said the Deputy Prime Minister only learned about the specific complaints being made against Lord Rennard following a Channel 4 News report earlier in the week.

The women claim they reported Lord Rennard's alleged behaviour to senior party officials at the time, but no further action was taken.

The peer was a key party strategist and adviser to a succession of Liberal Democrat leaders before standing down due to ill health in 2009.

He said he was "deeply shocked" by the allegations, which he "strongly disputes" and regards as a "total distortion" of his character.

Lib Dem MP Vince Cable said: "It's obviously wrong if there are women there who have made complaints and felt they weren't dealt with properly, so we are now setting up a proper investigative process - we want an independent element to that - and we'll get to the bottom of it."

He was asked on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show whether he knew about the Lord Rennard allegations prior to the Channel 4 programme, and replied: "Absolutely not."

Former Lib Dem head of press Mark Littlewood said: "Nick Clegg is definitely going to have to outline and spell out in exact detail what he knew and when and what actions he took."

Journalist Michael White told Sky News: "I've never heard any of these rumours about Rennard, and I've known him slightly for years."

Labour's shadow minister for equalities and women, Kate Green, said the statement raised more questions than answers.

She said: "After days of total denials - some only hours ago from Lib Dem MPs Vince Cable and Jeremy Brown - Nick Clegg has now been forced to admit that he did know of what he calls 'indirect concerns' about Lord Rennard in his role Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats.

"Nick Clegg's statement raises more questions than it answers about his judgement and the willingness of the Liberal Democrats as a party to properly investigate such serious allegations at the time they were made.

"At issue is not just a series of serious allegations from a number of women, but how the Liberal Democrat Party responded to those allegations.

"Only with a fully independent investigation can the public have confidence that the truth will prevail and lessons learned for the future."

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Three Found Dead In Cornwall Caravan Park

A woman and her elderly parents have died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a caravan park in Cornwall.

The alarm was raised at the park near Camborne just before 1pm after the couple's helper was unable to reach them, Devon and Cornwall Police have said.

Firefighters were called to break into the static caravan at Tremarle Home Park, North Roskear, and found the bodies of three people, and a dog, inside.

The caravan site where the bodies were found

The woman was aged in her mid-40s. The age of her parents is not yet known.

Inspector David Eldridge of Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Shortly before 1pm this afternoon, we were called to a caravan park near Camborne in Cornwall, where a helper had been unable to get a reply from an elderly couple who lived in the caravan.

"We were able to see that there was a figure sat in a chair but they were unresponsive to knocks at the door.

"Cornwall Fire and Rescue were called. They forced entry into the property and found that the three occupants were all dead."

An investigation into what caused the deaths is under way, but the incident is not being treated as suspicious.

A Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said a crew from Camborne Community Fire Station attended the scene with a hazardous materials advisor after being called at 12.56pm.

The Health and Safety Executive said it would not be investigating as the incident took place at a domestic address.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Doctors From Abroad Must Take English Test

By Lisa Dowd, Sky News Correspondent

New checks will be introduced to make sure all NHS doctors can speak English well enough to treat patients, the Government has announced.

It comes five years after David Gray, 70, was killed by a German doctor on his first out-of-hours shift in the UK.

Daniel Ubani accidentally gave the pensioner ten times the recommended dose of the painkiller diamorphine.

The locum was struck off the medical register in the UK, but still practices in Germany, despite admitting death by negligence at a German court.

Mr Gray's son Stuart, 53, himself a GP, said:  "What Ubani had done was try to register with Leeds PCT, they'd made him sit an English language test to see if he was proficient. He failed that, so he decided to apply to another PCT, this being Cornwall.

"They didn't bother to test his English language skills, put him on the list, once he was on the list he can practice anywhere in the country and he then went to practice in Cambridgeshire where he killed my father."

Last year, research by Pulse magazine for GPs found that 792 EU doctors were on the so-called "performers lists" of 51 Primary Care Trusts, allowing them to work in the UK. Of those, 657 doctors, or 83%, hadn't had their English skills tested.

Daniel Ubani caused the death of 70-year-old David Gray (pictured)

From April 1 there will be one national list which every GP will have to be on before treating patients. There will also be a legal duty to ensure those on it have good English.

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said: "It's not something that should cause huge public alarm but it's something that we do know from the case of Doctor Daniel Ubani, and other doctors, who are sometimes flown in to do short term locums in the NHS from Europe, that it is something that has actually caused deaths in this country.

"That's completely unacceptable and that's why we're introducing language checking for all overseas doctors including those within the EU."

But Dr Gray, of Blakedown, Worcestershire, has his doubts.

He said: "I'd like to know how they're going to police it. If they say it's going to be illegal for the doctor to work here if they can't communicate in English, well, it was illegal for Cornwall PCT to put Ubani on their list, and no one has been held to account for breaking the law there."

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More