Saatchi: I Do Not Know If Nigella Took Drugs

Charles Saatchi has told a court he does not know if he believes allegations his ex-wife Nigella Lawson was a habitual drug user.

Speaking at Isleworth Crown Court, the art dealer said he was "utterly bereft" that a private email he sent the celebrity chef referring to her being "off her head" on drugs has been made public.

"If you ask me whether I actually knew whether Nigella ever took drugs, the answer is no," Mr Saatchi added as he gave evidence in west London, where his two former personal assistants are on trial accused of fraud.

Italian sisters Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo allegedly used credit cards loaned to them by the celebrity couple to spend more than £685,000 on holidays and luxury items.

Questioned about the email by prosecutor Jane Carpenter, Mr Saatchi said: "I'm utterly bereft that this private email to Nigella has come back to haunt us both. That's all I have to say.

"The stories that the Grillos were parading was that Nigella had a severe cocaine habit that stretched back a very long time for the entirety of our marriage.

Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo deny the allegations against them

"What I was speculating here was that the Grillos would use this as a defence."

Sky's senior news correspondent Ian Woods, outside court, reported that Mr Saatchi said he had never seen any evidence that Ms Lawson used drugs but that he had questioned other members of the household about whether the allegations were true.

Mr Saatchi later said: "I have never, never seen any evidence of Nigella taking any drug whatsoever.

"I want to be helpful, but I genuinely have no real knowledge at all."

The couple went through a high-profile divorce earlier this year and Mr Saatchi told the court he was "heartbroken to have lost Nigella".

"I wish the last year had never happened," he added.

The defence barrister handed Mr Saatchi photos from outside Scott's restaurant in Mayfair, where he appeared to have his hands on Ms Lawson's neck.

He said: "I was not gripping, strangling or throttling her. I was holding her head by the neck to make her focus, can we be clear?"

The 70-year-old said it had been Ms Lawson's idea to give the sisters credit cards and that they did most of the family's personal shopping as part of their roles as assistants.

He told the jury that when he saw the amounts being spent he thought the Grillo sisters had been "naughty" and had wanted to put the matter behind them whereas Ms Lawson wanted to call the police.

Earlier the jury heard from the couple's accountant Rahul Gajjar who said he had increased the sisters' credit limit to £100,000 without telling the art dealer.

Mr Gajjar, 44, said there was "lax control" of spending on cards issued to staff.

Mr Saatchi told the court: "I've very bad at finances. I don't take any interest at all."

Mr Saatchi said the "slavery story" - the defendants complained they were "being treated worse than Filipino slaves" - was "nonsense".

He said Miss Lawson was a "very, very nice employer", adding: "The staff all adored her."

He denied that Ms Lawson would have told her staff to spend whatever they wanted.

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Police Helicopter Crashes Into Glasgow Pub Roof

A police helicopter has crashed into a pub roof on the banks of the River Clyde in central Glasgow.

The aircraft came down on The Clutha in Stockwell Street at 10.25pm which was packed with more than 100 people at the time.

Police Scotland said a crew of two officers and a civilian pilot were on board the helicopter, but added the force was "not in a position to confirm any details regarding injuries".

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said "a number of casualties" had been taken to hospital, while crews worked to stabilise the "very unsafe building" and free others who remained trapped inside.

Two police officers and one civilian pilot were on board the helicopter

Glasgow Royal Infirmary said nine people were being treated at the hospital, but gave no further details on their condition.

Emergency services confirmed search and rescue dogs were assisting police and 125 firefighters at the venue, where a local band were playing on Friday evening.

One image of the crash on social media sites showed the dark blue helicopter on the roof with yellow "Police" insignia on part of the wreckage.

First Minister Alex Salmond said that given the scale of the Glasgow helicopter crash, "we must all prepare ourselves for the likelihood of fatalities".

Grace MacLean, who was in the pub at the time, told Sky News: "We heard a whoosh and some smoke ... the roof was gradually coming down.

"You couldn't breathe for inhaling a mouthful of dust. You couldn't see anything. You were clawing at the walls to see where the exit is.

"People were helping each other out. People had some head injuries. Lots of people were covered in dust."

Labour's international development spokesman Jim Murphy, who was among those helping the wounded out of the pub, tweeted: "Terrible here in Glasgow Helicopter crashed into roof of pub".

Those inside the pub gather outside after the crash Pic: Paul Agnew

He told Sky News: "I just saw dozens and dozens of people coming out of the pub. It is a horrible, horrible scene.

"The helicopter is currently embedded in the roof of the pub and the emergency services are doing their very, very best to get the people who are still inside the pub, and probably those who were in the helicopter, to safety."

Mr Murphy said people formed a human chain to help pass unconscious people out of the pub so that "inch by inch, we could get the people out".

He said: "I think the building's only about 18ft, 20ft, tall so part of the helicopter is sticking out, but most of the helicopter is in the building."

Connor Gillies, from Radio Clyde News, described the "scenes of chaos" and "continuous stream of sirens" in the area.

"There is panic here, cordons for miles around the area," he told Sky News.

Mr Gillies described seeing "blood on the shirt" of Mr Murphy, who he said was "clearly very shaken, very upset by the whole thing".

Wesley Shearer, who posted pictures on Twitter of the scene, said there had been "talk of fatalities", but this has not been confirmed.

"This is unbelievable," he tweeted shortly after the crash. "Just spent 20 minutes pulling people out of the bar."

The Clutha is situated in Stockwell Street in Glasgow

Jan Hollands, who also tweeted pictures from the scene, said she heard the crash and described it as "scary".

Gordon Smart, editor of the Sun's Scottish edition, witnessed the aircraft plunge into the pub.

He told Sky News: "It was a terrifying sight. I was on the roof of a car park, six floors up, getting into my car, about to drive home for the evening. I looked up and saw a helicopter which I think was a police helicopter falling out of the sky.

"It was like a stone dropping from the sky. It landed a few 100 yards from me. Strangely there was no explosion.

"It was just a strange, surreal moment. It looked like it was dropping from a great height, at a great speed.

"There was no fireball and I did not hear an explosion. The engine seemed to be spluttering."

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My thoughts are with everyone affected by the helicopter crash in Glasgow - and the emergency services working tonight."

The Police Roll of Honour Trust tweeted "Our thoughts are with the crew of @policescotland SP99 helicopter that has crashed in Glasgow - hoping everyone is alright."

Glasgow Central Mosque, located close to the pub on the opposite side of the Clyde, tweeted: "Have told emergency crew that we r on standby & can make available mosque & volunteers to assist in any way to aid injured & emergency crew."

More follows...

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mairead Philpott's Appeal Hearing Televised

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

The father of Mairead Philpott has told Sky News she should not be appealing against her sentence for killing her six children.

The court hearing is due to be televised later.

It will be the most high-profile case to be broadcast since cameras were allowed into the Court of Appeal last month.

Philpott, 33, and family friend Paul Mosley, 46, got 17 years for the manslaughter of the children in a house fire in Derby in May 2012.

Back (l-r) Duwayne and John, Front (l-r) Jack, Jessie, Jade and Jayden

Philpott's husband, Mick, 56, was jailed for life. He has not appealed, and a plan for Mosley to appeal has been abandoned.

Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers, Duwayne, 13, John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, and Jayden, five, all died in their bedrooms after a fire swept through the family home on Victory Road in the Allenton area of the city.

Mairead's father, Jimmy Duffy, said she "shouldn't be appealing at all".

He added: "They should be getting on with what they've got."

A letter written in prison from Mairead to her father

Mr Duffy said he was in support of court proceedings being televised.

"Basically they're going to be seen for what they are, in fact they should have televised the whole case if I had my way," he said.

Mr Duffy said his daughter had written to him from prison. In the letter, Philpott said she is "coping as best as I can it's hard but I'm doing ok for now", and signs off, "Hope to hear from you soon, love Mairead xxxxxx".

But Mr Duffy has little sympathy for her.

Mairead is appealing her sentence for killing her children

"I love her, she's my daughter, don't get me wrong, she's my flesh and blood, but I can't forgive her for even having a part in it," he said.

Mosley's sister Angela doesn't think he should have tried to appeal in the first place.

She told Sky News: "If you knew your friend was going to set fire to their house, my first port of call would be to the police station.

"You would do everything in your power to stop the fire but they didn't they carried on, they're guilty."

A wedding photo of Mick and Mairead Philpott

It will be the first time a Court of Appeal hearing has been filmed outside London.

The Lord Chief Justice Sir John Thomas, Mr Justice Flaux and Mr Justice Macduff will hear from legal representatives for Philpott.

They will then go through the sentencing guidelines, and give their judgment.

The house of Victory Road being demolished

It's unlikely that Philpott will be in court, even via video link, and cameras will only focus on the judges and lawyers.

There is also a 70-second delay which will enable any protests to be screened out and ensure that judges have sufficient time to signal to the video-journalist, Matt Nicholls, if they believe any material needs to be removed from the broadcast.

Last month The Lord Chief Justice said: "The bringing of cameras into the Court of Appeal and the recording of its proceedings will enable those to be understood much better by the public as a whole. We hope it will increase confidence in the administration of justice."

Philpott and Mosley were sentenced in April by Mrs Justice Thirlwall who described Mick Philpott as "a disturbingly dangerous man" and said his wife put him "above" her children "and as a result they have died".

She said Mosley must have appreciated the "appalling risk" but was "prepared to go along with the plan".

:: The appeal, scheduled for 10.30am, can be watched on Sky News.

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Energy Bills: Govt Wants Price Freeze Until 2015

The Energy Secretary has written to the big six energy providers asking them to freeze their prices until after the 2015 general election, according to Sky sources.

The call, barring any big increase in wholesale fuel costs, is to try to avoid another round of price rises that could be blamed on Government green levies, industry sources have said.

Annual bills could be cut by around £50 by the move, it is claimed.

Ed Davey has promised to help firms by introducing changes to the green levies that Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne have pledged to "roll back".

Energy Secretary Ed Davey is believed to be seeking a deal with firms

He first wrote to the firms last week and followed-up his appeals with fresh letters this week.

It is understood the companies have so far given no commitment to his proposal.

Ministers are proposing to change the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) - one of the green levies branded "green crap" by a Tory source last week.

The Government wants to be able to announce a pledge or deal in the Autumn Statement on December 5.

The Department of Energy & Climate Change described the claims as speculation, stating there would be no comment on the issue ahead of next week's statement.

Bills are burned during a protest this month against prices and budget cuts

The move comes ahead of a speech by Ed Miliband later in which he will pledge to end the energy "rip-off".

The Labour leader is to call for a tough new regulator with powers to order firms to pass on wholesale savings to customers, and intervene in the market to ensure they get good value in the future.

An independent Energy Security Board would be created modelled on the Office for Budget Responsibility, to help draw up and implement a timetable for building energy capacity and ensure the lights stay on.

He will also promise action to boost competition among suppliers, simplify bills for customers and "secure energy which is affordable and available".

Labour leader Ed Miliband is to pledge to end the energy "rip-off"

The shake-up - described by Mr Miliband as the biggest since privatisation in the 1980s - would be implemented during the 20-month price freeze he has pledged if Labour wins the general election.

Launching the party's energy green paper at Manchester Town Hall, Mr Miliband will refer to the famous "Tell Sid" campaign advertising British Gas privatisation under Margaret Thatcher.

"In the past three years it has become clear to everyone but this government that the energy market is broken," he is expected to say.

"Prices are rising year on year without justification. And Britain is not getting the investment in energy we need to secure supplies for the future...

"We have a new message for Sid: We will freeze your bills for 20 months. We will reset the market with real competition and proper regulation so that prices are affordable. We will secure the investment we need.

"We will stop you being ripped off and, together, we will power Britain into the next century."

Other commitments include preventing power generation companies doing exclusive deals with their retail arms and ensuring all environmental and policy levies on bills are delivering "value for money".

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Melanie Sykes Cautioned Over Husband Assault

Television presenter Melanie Sykes has been arrested and cautioned over an assault on her husband.

The 43-year-old mother of two spent a night in custody before admitting to the offence and accepting a caution.

She and Jack Cockings, 27, who met on Twitter, were married in May.

Melanie Sykes at an event in London last year

A Scotland Yard spokesman said officers were called on Tuesday night to a residential property in Hampstead after reports of an assault.

A spokesman for Sykes would not comment. 

Mr Cockings did not need hospital treatment.

Sykes, who first found fame in an advert for Boddingtons beer, met Mr Cockings online where he tweets as @bespokespartan after he asked her out on a date.

His Twitter page now appears to have been deactivated.

In an interview earlier this year, Sykes said: "'There are people who will always be cynical about my relationship with Jack because of how we got together.

"But he makes me happier than I've ever been and if I'm happy, my boys are happy, it's a big circle - and that's all that matters."

Sykes has appeared on shows including Let's Do Lunch with Gino and Mel, The Big Breakfast and Today with Des and Mel.

She also had a stint on BBC Radio 2 with Alan Carr.

She has two children from her marriage to Italian actor Daniel Caltagirone, which ended in 2009.

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David Cameron 'U-Turn' Over Cigarette Packaging

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

David Cameron is set to be accused of a major U-turn over the introduction of plain packaging of cigarettes.

The Government is poised to announce it is pressing ahead with the measure aimed at making smoking less attractive to youngsters.

Mr Cameron's decision to shelve the measure last July caused an outcry after it emerged his election strategist Lynton Crosby, now employed full time by the Conservatives, is a partner of Crosby Textor, which worked with Philip Morris Ltd as it lobbied the UK government against plain packaging.

That prompted the accusation from Ed Miliband in the Commons: "He is the Prime Minister for Benson and Hedge funds, and he knows it.

The PM was accused of pandering to his election strategist Lynton Crosby

"Can he not see that there is a devastating conflict of interest between having a key adviser raking it in from big tobacco and then advising him not to go ahead with plain packaging?"

Campaigners for plain packaging feared that a pause on consultation in July had effectively ruled out any prospect of its introduction until after the next election, while lobbyists for the tobacco industry were confident of having defeated the proposal.

Now Earl Howe, the health minister, is to introduce an amendment to the Children and Families Bill in the House of Lords, possibly as early as next week, to give the Government enabling powers to introduce plain packaging.

At the same time the Government will announce another review of what has happened in Australia to report back next March. Its findings are expected to strongly back the case for plain packaging.

One of the most recent studies from the country, the first in the world to ban branded cigarettes cartons, found that those using cigarettes sold in standardised plain brown cartons were 81% more likely to consider quitting.

A Government source told The Times: "This will nail Labour's ridiculous smears. Now the pressure will be on Labour to get behind this amendment to enable the introduction of standardised packaging."

Luciana Berger MP, Labour's shadow public health minister, said: "We need immediate legislation for standard cigarette packaging, not another review. The Government needs to stand up to the tobacco industry's vested interests.

"The evidence to support standardised packaging is clear. The consensus is overwhelming. We don't need any further delay while 570 children are lighting up for the first time every day."

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Lottery: Last Gasp Search For £12m Winner

By Adele Robinson, Midlands Correspondent

A £12m lottery prize will be lost forever if it is not claimed before a deadline elapses tonight

The winning EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle ticket, worth £1m a month for a year, was bought on Friday May 31 in the Ladywood district of Birmingham, one of the poorest areas in the country.

If the prize remains unclaimed by 11pm on November 27 the money will go to charitable causes.

The winning raffle number is JRG437445 but Camelot will not say where exactly it was bought.

Patrick Lisoire from Camelot says they are not giving up hope yet.

Birmingham's mayor has been involved in the search for the winner

"A prize in the Midlands of about £2.5m a few years back was claimed in the last 24 hours before the deadline.

"So that's 179 days elapsed before the claimant claimed their prize. We never knew the reason why they took so long."

The search for the winner has been ongoing for several months with various publicity campaigns in the Birmingham area.

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Mike Leddy, started a countdown clock in the city centre earlier this week and National Lottery workers walked the streets handing out leaflets.

Lottery workers have been handed out flyers in the city

Lottery organisers say if the winner is a football fan they may remember that the EuroMillions draw was sandwiched between England's two international friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil.

If unclaimed, the £12m prize will become the second highest uncollected lottery jackpot. In December 2012, £64m of winnings went to charitable causes.

Anyone who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180-day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0845 910 0000 or email help@national-lottery.co.uk.

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Digital Post-Mortem Centre To Open In UK

Europe's first non-invasive digital post-mortem examinations will be carried out at a state-of-the-art centre in Sheffield.

It will allow pathologists to perform some investigations into cause of death without dissecting the body.

Sheffield is the only place to have the technology outside of Malaysia, where it was developed, and it is set to be the first of a network of centres across the UK.

The new equipment involves a CT scanning machine with unique software that turns images into a 3D representation of the body.

The pathologist uses a large touchscreen tablet computer to carry out the examination.

It could be used in 70% of post-mortem examinations, according to iGene, the company behind the technology.

The scene of death could also be reconstructed digitally using the 3D capabilities of the system, according to the firm.

Another 17 sites are expected to open by the end of 2015

It said the technology would make thing easier for families, speeding up the process and, in some cases, providing more accurate findings.

"Digital autopsy is more than just a technological innovation," said Matt Chandran, chief executive of iGene.

"It represents a tremendous humanitarian step forward in establishing the cause of an unnatural death."

Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore said "countless families" in the city would benefit from the new centre, which will be opened by chief coroner Judge Peter Thornton.

It is intended to pave the way for a series of centres, making the UK the first country to have such a network.

A centre in Bradford is expected to open next year, and the company aims to have 18 sites across England and Wales open by the end of 2015, with the creation of up to 250 highly skilled jobs.

Around 95,000 post-mortem examinations were performed in Britain last year, accounting for around 20% of deaths.

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Melanie Hall Murder: Man, 44, Arrested

A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Melanie Hall who went missing 17 years ago.

The 44-year-old was held at his home in Bath last week as part of the investigation into the death of the 25-year-old clerical worker, whose body was found dumped by the side of the M5 near Bristol in 2009.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said the man had been released on bail until December 19.

Detectives also searched a property in which the man had previously lived.

Miss Hall's parents Steve and Pat had been informed and kept up to date of the developments.

Miss Hall, who worked at Royal United Hospital in Bath, disappeared after a night out at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath.

A worker clearing vegetation from the side of the motorway near Thornbury, Gloucestershire found her remains on October 5, 2009 and she was identified as the victim two days later.

The investigation team has taken about 250 statements and collected 1,200 pieces of evidence since Miss Hall went missing.

Last month, on the fourth anniversary of the discovery of her body, police said they had uncovered "significant and very interesting" information and that forensic experts were examining a white Volkswagen Golf which may be relevant to the murder.

Last month Miss Hall's father said: "This is very positive news. Gradually the pieces of the jigsaw are being put together to bring Melanie's killer or killers to justice.

"We always knew it would take a long time, but these new developments appear very encouraging."

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scotland Independence: SNP Unveils White Paper

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

Scotland's SNP Government is set to present a vision of a "wealthier and fairer" Scotland ahead of next year's independence referendum.

The 670-page white paper will be launched at an event in Glasgow at 10am.

It is being billed as an "Independence Encyclopaedia" that will contain the answers to the questions surrounding a breakaway from the UK.

The SNP's opponents, however, insist it will force Scots into a "risky choice" they do not need to make.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond will unveil the document, entitled Scotland's Future - Your Guide, which he claims will make it better equipped than any other country at any other time to become independent.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News: "This is a document for the people of Scotland; it is their guide to independence, and it will provide both a vision for Scotland's future and the answers on independence that people have been seeking.

Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond will launch the guide in Glasgow

"As part of the guide we will be providing the answers to people's questions on how we become an independent country, what the opportunities are of independence, how our institutions of government will work and what the benefits can be of a vote for independence.

"Our message to the people of Scotland is simple: read this guide, compare it with any alternative future for Scotland and make up your own mind."

She added: "This guide to an independent Scotland will set out a vision for Scotland's future, the ways in which we can use the powers of independence to build a wealthier and fairer Scotland and ensure that everyone benefits from our natural wealth and talent.

"This guide to independence will move the debate forward from how Scotland can become an independent country to the kind of country we can be."

Ahead of the document launch at the Glasgow Science Centre, the SNP's opponents have questioned the case for independence, particularly the SNP's stated aim to join a currency union with the remainder of the UK it plans to leave behind.

Pro-independence supporters marched through Edinburgh in September

They claim there is no guarantee that the rest of the UK would find that acceptable. 

Nor are there any guarantees surrounding the membership of an independent Scotland in the European Union or NATO.

Former Chancellor Alistair Darling told Sky News: "We can have the best things about being a successful country and the best things about being part of something bigger.

"We simply don't have to choose between having a strong Scottish Parliament and the strength and security of being part of the United Kingdom.  We can have both.

"We can be proudly Scottish and feel a sense of connection to friends and family in the rest of the United Kingdom.

"We can have a distinctive Scottish voice and we can keep the opportunities that come through sharing risks, rewards and resources with one of the biggest economies in the world."

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ministers To Unveil £900m Student Loan Sale

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Nearly £1bn of student loans will be offloaded by the Government to a private debt collection agency on Monday in a move likely to stoke renewed controversy over coalition sell-offs.

Sky News can reveal that ministers will announce to the London Stock Exchange that the Government has agreed a deal to privatise a £900m portfolio of loans made to students who were enrolled at universities during the 1990s.

The disposal, to a debt recovery specialist, will be for a fraction of the debts' face value, and encompasses mortgage-style loans that are the last of their kind still in public ownership.

The sale, which does not include Income Contingent Repayment loans like the ones currently offered, comes as student groups step up their protest over the disposal of the loan portfolios.

The Coalition is drawing up plans to sell the entire outstanding student loan-book, which has a face value of roughly £40bn.

Investment bankers from Barclays and Rothschild were appointed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) last month to oversee the sale, which more than 15,000 people have signed an online petition to oppose.

Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said during the summer that the Government hoped to raise £10bn from the sale of corporate and financial assets such as the student loan book by 2020.

Speaking in March, when the mortgage-style student loan auction was initiated, David Willetts, the universities and science minister, said: "Selling the remaining mortgage-style student loans will allow us to reduce public debt and maximise the value of one of the Government's assets.

"The private sector's expertise makes it well-placed to collect this debt and the sale will also help the Student Loans Company (SLC) to concentrate on providing loans to current students."

The low recovery rate on the 1990s loans means the sale price is likely to be only in the tens of millions of pounds, reflecting the distressed nature of the debts, people close to the situation said on Sunday.

The deal will come at a sensitive time, just weeks after Royal Mail was floated with a valuation of £3.3bn.

On Wednesday, Royal Mail will present its maiden results as a listed company, while Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will make a further appearance before the BIS Select Committee amid allegations that the postal operator was sold too cheaply.

The Government insisted that bidders for the £900m loan portfolio, which was given the codename Project Ariel, would be assessed against a strict set of criteria, although it did not say publicly what these would be.

It added that the terms and conditions for borrowers whose loans were included in the sale would not change.

The mortgage-style loans were available between 1990 and 1998, with two tranches sold in 1998 and 1999. Repayments on them can be deferred for a year at a time if borrowers' income is below 85% of the national average earnings.

"The remaining loans owned by the Government are mostly in deferment or in arrears, so total annual repayments are low," BIS said in March, adding that it was likely to receive significantly less than £900m from a buyer.

A BIS spokeswoman declined to comment while the Student Loans Company referred questions to the Government.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has been handling the auction, also declined to comment.

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Domestic Violence: 'Clare's Law' Set To Widen

A scheme that gives people the right to ask police if their partner has a history of domestic violence is expected to be widened.

'Clare's Law' has been trialled by four police forces and is named after Clare Wood, who was strangled and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend, George Appleton in 2009.

Police run checks and speak to agencies such as the Prison Service, the Probation Service and Social Services.

'Facebook fugitive' George Appleton strangled Clare Wood in 2009

If a risk is discovered, information about an abusive partner may be disclosed to whoever is best placed to help - but the disclosure must be "lawful and proportionate".

'Clare's Law' has been running in Gwent, Wiltshire, Greater Manchester and Nottinghamshire and ministers are today expected to tell Parliament that it should be extended.

As well as the potential victim, a third party such as a parent, can also apply for information under the initiative - which is officially called the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme.

Miss Wood, 36, a mother-of-one, had met George Appleton on Facebook, unaware of his history of violence against women, including repeated harassment, threats and the kidnapping at knifepoint of one of his ex-girlfriends.

Recent television adverts have highlighted domestic violence

At the inquest into her death, the coroner said women in abusive relationships should have the right to know about the violent past of the men they were with.

Clare's father Michael Brown told Sky News he was "delighted" at the prospect of the scheme being extended.

"Why these lads can go through in a little underworld of their own, moving from partner to partner, and causing the trail of devastation that they leave and get away with it - because data protection says you can't tell - I thought it was nonsense," said Mr Brown.

"I'm delighted for the ladies it will protect in the future."

One woman who used Clare's Law to uncover her partner's abusive past using said she was glad she took action.

Clare Wood's father is 'delighted' the scheme looks set to expand

She told Sky News: "I found out that my previous partner was abusive, some physically but mostly emotionally and mentally, which made me feel very uncomfortable.

"I'd started to feel that way myself, so by having that confirmed to me it does help you feel a little bit stronger."

The charity Refuge has in the past raised doubts over Clare's Law, saying most abusers are not known to police and urging that instead more should be spent on improving the police response to domestic violence and keeping refuges open.

It is difficult to accurately know the extent of domestic violence in the UK.

However, a 2011/12 survey by the Office for National Statistics found 1.2 million females and 800,000 males reported experiencing domestic abuse over a 12-month period.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "These new measure that the Government has been piloting will help us to be able to support victims more, to deal with perpetrators and to constantly try to stop this terrible crime of domestic violence that takes place all too often."

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