Valerie Graves Killing: Hammer May Be Weapon

Police investigating the murder of a grandmother have appealed for information about a hammer they have found.

The object, which is about 30cm long and has a distinctive red and black handle, may have been used to kill Valerie Graves.

It was found by detectives in the same West Sussex village where she was murdered.

The discovery came just hours after a 22-year-old man arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of killing Ms Graves was released on bail.

Ms Graves, a 55-year-old artist, was killed as she house-sat with her mother, sister and her sister's partner while the owners were abroad over Christmas.

Valerie Graves' killing has shocked the people of Bosham

Her body was discovered by one of her relatives in a ground-floor bedroom at the waterside property in Bosham, near Chichester, on December 30.

A post-mortem revealed she had suffered significant head and facial injuries.

The hammer is embossed with the words Forge Steel, with a picture of an outline of an anvil.

Detective Superintendent Nick May, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: "We need to know the origins of this hammer. Do you recognise it?

"We need people to check if they have lost such a hammer or had one stolen in the period leading up to the murder.

The murder scene in the West Sussex village

"We would also ask police officers, prison staff, probation officers and professionals who work in mental health, if they have dealt with anyone who has talked about causing someone harm with a hammer, to let us know."

Ms Graves' death shocked the people of Bosham - a village which featured in an episode of the ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders.

Police are continuing to appeal for information from anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Bosham area from late afternoon on December 29 to 10am the following day.

Anyone with information is asked to call Sussex Police on 101, quoting Operation Ensign, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mikaeel's Mum Detained As Body Discovered

Police searching for missing three-year-old Mikaeel Kular have found the body of a young boy.

Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham announced the discovery just after 1am at a hastily convened news conference.

The body was found shortly before midnight, he said.

One person has been detained in connection with Mikaeel's disappearance, and Sky sources say it is Mikaeel's mother Rosdeep.

ACC Graham said: "The investigation into the disappearance of Mikaeel Kular has been wide-ranging and fast moving.

"As a result of enquiries the body of a young child was recovered in Fife just before midnight.

"We strongly believe this to be the body of Mikaeel.

"A person has been detained in connection with the recovery of the body and members of Mikaeel's family have been informed of the recovery."

The boy was reported missing on Thursday morning.

Police analyst Graham Wettone told Sky News: "(His mother) will be questioned as police try to establish what has taken place."

Hundreds of police officers from across the UK joined the search for Mikaeel and lines of volunteers swept the local area, searching for clues about his disappearance.

More follows...

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10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Miliband Promises 'Reckoning' With Big Banks

Ed Miliband has promised to force the big five banks to give up "significant" numbers of branches to make way for new competitors if Labour wins the next general election.

In a keynote speech on the economy at the University of London, Mr Miliband will say the financial services industry has been "an incredibly poor servant of the real economy".

He will blame a lack of competition in the sector for misselling scandals and a £56bn drop in lending to business since 2010.

The Labour leader is attempting to flesh out his party's economic policy for the next Parliament.

Ed Miliband will set out the Labour Party economic policy

But he risks being overshadowed by Chancellor George Osborne's backing of a significant rise in the national minimum wage.

Mr Miliband will promise to introduce a legal maximum threshold for any bank's share of the market in personal accounts and small business lending, with powers to force the sale of branches and block mergers and acquisitions to prevent it being breached.

Under the proposals, the Competition and Markets Authority would report within six months of the May 2015 general election on the level the threshold should be set at and the timetable for the sell-off of branches, which would be completed by 2020.

He will say: "We need a reckoning with our banking system, not for retribution, but for reform.

"If we carry on as we are, we will end up stuck with the same old banks dominating our high street: the old economy.

"In America, by law, they have a test so that no bank can get too big and dominate the market. We will follow the same principle for Britain and establish for the first time a threshold for the market share any one bank can have of personal accounts and small business lending."

Earlier this week, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said a cap on banks' market share "would not result in substantial improvement to competition".

He told the Commons Treasury Committee: "Just breaking up an institution doesn't necessarily create or enable a more intensive competitive structure."

Business Secretary Vince Cable said he agreed with Mr Miliband's desire for increased competition but insisted that "many of the things he is calling for have actually happened".

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10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police 'Cover Up Wrongdoing', Most Britons Say

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

More than half of Britons believe there is a culture of cover-ups within the police, a Sky News poll has found.

A total of 53% of members of the public questioned in the survey agreed that forces try to hide officers' wrongdoing. Just 18% of people polled disagreed that cover-ups take place.

The findings follow a series of controversies in which police have been accused of making serious mistakes and then attempting to shield officers from blame.

In 2012, it emerged that scores of statements from officers involved in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 had been doctored to remove evidence of police failings.

Since September that year the Metropolitan Police has been embroiled in a damaging row with the former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell, over whether he had called an officer guarding Downing Street a "pleb".

And last week the Met faced criticism in the wake of the shooting of Mark Duggan, whose death in 2011 prompted widespread rioting and looting.

An inquest jury found that armed police had acted lawfully in killing Mr Duggan, but his family have insisted officers shot an unarmed man.

However, the Sky News poll - commissioned as part of a series of reports on the police entitled A Fair Cop? -  found that despite these incidents, a large majority of the public still trust officers.

Asked whether their trust in police had changed over the past five years, 62% of those questioned said it had stayed the same, while 31% said it had gone down.

A total of 72% said they would trust the police to act if they reported a crime and 67% would trust officers to deal with them if they were the victim of a crime.

In relation to the conduct of officers over Hillsborough, 44% of those questioned said they now trust the police less, although 49% said it had made no difference.

Most people said the Mark Duggan case had not hit their trust in police

The so-called 'Plebgate' affair prompted 51% of those questioned to say they had less trust in police, with 43% saying it made no difference.

However, 61% said the Mark Duggan case had not affected their trust in police. A total of 21% said they had less faith in officers, a number that increased to 40% among people who described themselves as non-white. 15% said they now trusted the police more.

Regarding police tactics, 60% of people who took part in the poll said they believed that 'stop and search' - a policy that ethnic minorities claim unfairly targets them - does more good than harm.

However, the same number of people questioned said they did not believe police should be able to use people's ethnic background to decide who to stop, a strategy known as racial profiling.

:: The Sky News poll was conducted by Survation who questioned 1,005 people earlier this week.

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10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

William Roache 'Sent Signed Photo To Victim'

By Mike McCarthy, North of England Correspondent

Coronation Street star William Roache sent a 14-year-old girl a signed photo of himself after sexually assaulting her, a court has heard.

The alleged victim is one of five who claim the 81-year-old actor raped or sexually assaulted them in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Prosecutors claim Roache forced her to commit a sex act on him in the male toilets of a television studio.

The photo and signed letter he sent her were deliberate acts to secure her loyalty and a form of "grooming", jurors were told.

Many of the actor's alleged victims did not complain to the police until 2013.

According to prosecutor Anne Whyte QC, one woman said she felt "intimidated", adding: "People feel he is some kind of super actor."

Another woman only came forward after a conversation with her son about Jimmy Savile, during which he said he could not understand why sexual assault victims would not speak to the police.

Earlier, the jury was told not to judge victims based on how long it took for them to make their allegations.

Ms Whyte said: "If you think a victim of crime has lost the opportunity to complain because he or she did not complain at the time, think again.

"A crime is a crime however dated. It doesn't make them liars or attention seekers. In due course I shall be asking you to accept that it makes them human."

She added: "Women who do not know each other are complaining about his behaviour from the same broad period of time.

"Are they all manipulative fantasists, riding on the coat tails of the post Savile crisis of conscience, or is the reality, quite simply, that they now have the confidence to give evidence about the truth which they have kept private for years?"

Roache has played the character of Ken Barlow in Coronation Street for more than 50 years.

Preston Crown Court heard he used his fame and popularity in the early years of the soap opera to take advantage of young girls, including one he is alleged to have raped twice.

The judge Mr Justice Holroyde told the jury: "It is not the fictional character Ken Barlow who is in court. It is the real person, Mr Roache, who is on trial and, of course, each member of the jury must separate the fictional TV character from the real person."

Roache denies five counts of indecent assault and two counts of rape. The alleged offences involve five girls, all of whom were under the age of 16 at the time.

The court heard he may be supported in his defence by fellow Coronation Street actors Helen Worth, Ann Kirkbride and Chris Gascoyne, who play Gail Platt, Deirdre Barlow and Chris Gascoyne respectively.

The trial continues.

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Amritsar Massacre: SAS Role To Be Investigated

David Cameron has ordered an urgent inquiry into apparent SAS involvement in a deadly raid on a Sikh temple in India that left more than 1,000 dead.

According to secret documents from 1984 an SAS officer helped the country's Government to come up with a plan to remove Sikh insurgents from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The papers, which were recently released under the 30-year rule, also indicate that then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher knew the SAS was advising the Indian government.

The Indian army Blue Star operation ended in bloodshed in June 1984 with hundreds killed.

A Government spokesman said the papers raised "legitimate concerns". Mr Cameron has asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood to look at the events of 1984 and whether the documents should have been declassified.

Sikhs at the Golden Temple in 2013 - the 26th anniversary of the killings

British involvement in the Golden Temple operation is detailed in a letter, dated February 23, 1984, from Brian Fall, private secretary to then-foreign secretary Geoffrey Howe, to Hugh Taylor, his counterpart under home secretary Leon Brittan.

The letter said: "The Indian authorities recently sought British advice over a plan to remove Sikh extremists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Foreign Secretary decided to respond favourably to the Indian request and, with the Prime Minister's agreement, an SAD (sic) officer has visited India and drawn up a plan which has been approved by Mrs Gandhi. The Foreign Secretary believes that the Indian Government may put the plan into operation shortly."

Indira Gandhi was assassinated in October 1984

It continued: "An operation by the Indian authorities at the Golden Temple could, in the first instance, exacerbate the communal violence in the Punjab.

"It might also, therefore, increase tension in the Indian community here, particularly if knowledge of the SAS involvement were to become public. We have impressed upon the Indians the need for security; and knowledge of the SAS officer's visit and of his plan has been tightly held both in India and in London. The Foreign Secretary would be grateful if the contents of this letter could be strictly limited to those who need to consider the possible domestic implications."

There is nothing to suggest whether the SAS officer's plans were used by the Indian army.

The massacre at Amritsar led to the revenge assassination of Indira Gandhi in October of the same year.

Sikh extremist groups continue to seek retribution for the massacre and last month four people were jailed for slashing the throat of a 78-year-old Lieutenant General during a visit to London.

Lt Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar, who was involved in the Golden Temple operation, survived the attack, as he has a number of assassination attempts.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The Cabinet Secretary has been asked by the Prime Minister to look into what may have happened in 1984 with regard to papers that have been recently released.

"I think the important thing is to establish all the facts as quickly as possible, that work is under way, but in terms of timetable it is important it's done as quickly as possible.

"The reason behind it is that issues have been raised about decisions to release papers and also to consider whether there are... about the facts that are contained within the papers, so there are two aspects to it."

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Sean Turner's Parents 'Begged For Help' On Ward

By Isabel Webster, West of England Correspondent

A mother whose son died at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children claims failings in his treatment and care left him with "no chance of survival", an inquest has heard.

Four-year-old Sean Turner was admitted to hospital for vital corrective heart surgery in January 2012 but died in March, six weeks later, from a brain haemorrhage shortly after a cardiac arrest.

Avon Coroner's Court heard that his parents, from Warminster in Wiltshire, believe his treatment - as a high-dependency patient on Ward 32 - contributed to his death.

Reading a written statement to the court, Sean's mother Yolanda Turner described her son as a "happy lively little boy".

Mrs Turner said that when he was moved from the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) to Ward 32 it was the "beginning of the end for Sean" and was the "worst decision" for him due to inadequate staffing levels, poor hygiene standards and a lack of training.

Fighting back tears, she recalled how her pleas for pain relief for her young son, who was in "considerable pain", were ignored, adding: "I cannot understand how a child could be left to suffer so long."

Sean's father, Stephen Turner, also fought back tears and struggled to speak at times as he recalled the moment his son had a cardiac arrest in his arms.

He said: "The nurses on Ward 32 cared but did not have the knowledge or know-how to give Sean the level of care he so desperately needed."

Sean died at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children

"No parent should be put in this situation, in a safe environment - having to beg for help. We have to live with this for the rest of our lives."

At least 10 families, including the Turners, allege their children have either died or were left damaged following treatment on Ward 32 since 2008 and are taking legal action against the University Bristol Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UH Bristol).

In November last year, Avon Coroner Maria Voisin returned a narrative verdict in the case of another one of the 10 children - seven-year-old Luke Jenkins - who died three weeks after Sean on Ward 32.

Luke's parents, from St Mellons, Cardiff, believed the hospital could have done more to save their son's life, but the coroner found "no evidence that a gross failure led to or contributed to his death".

Two further inquests are due in February and March 2014.

Robert Woolley, chief executive of UH Bristol, said in a statement: "We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Mr and Mrs Turner for the loss of their son, Sean.

"We always aim to do our best for the children and families under our care and we are fully committed to working with the coroner to help her investigate the reasons for Sean's death.

"It would not be appropriate for us to comment further until the inquest has concluded."

The inquest into Sean's death is expected to last two weeks.

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10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dave Lee Travis Trial: Jury Selection Starts

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Jury selection has started a day before former TV and radio star Dave Lee Travis is due to stand trial over more than a dozen assault allegations.

The 68-year-old broadcaster faces 13 charges of indecent assault and one of sexual assault.

The offences, which he denies, allegedly occurred between 1976 and 2008.

Eleven women have made accusations against him, the youngest was 15 years old at the time of the alleged offence. 

Appearing under his real name of David Griffin, the DJ sat in the dock at Southwark Crown Court as jurors were selected.

Potential jury members were excused from sitting on the case if they had connections to the BBC, Classic Gold FM, Chiltern Radio or the Metropolitan Police's Operation Yewtree.

The DJ has consistently denied any wrongdoing since he was first arrested at his former home near Leighton Buzzard in November 2012.

Operation Yewtree was set up after the Jimmy Savile scandal but the current case is not connected with Savile.

During a long career in radio and television Dave Lee Travis, known as DLT, was the host of the BBC Radio One breakfast show between 1978 and 1980.

He famously resigned from the station while on air in 1993.

Jurors were told that his trial is due to start on Tuesday and could last for six weeks.

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10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

N Ireland Child Abuse Inquiry: Hundreds Respond

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

More than 400 people have applied to speak to the state inquiry into historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland, the largest tribunal of its kind anywhere in the UK.

Most applications, some 280, were from people living in Northern Ireland, but 63 came from Great Britain, 61 from Australia, 20 from the Republic of Ireland and the remainder from elsewhere.

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry was established by the Stormont Executive this time last year and will hold its first public evidence session today at Banbridge Courthouse in County Down.

It has a remit to investigate historical child abuse and/or neglect in institutions over a 73-year period up to 1995 and is currently investigating 13 establishments, including Kincora Boys' Home, in Belfast.

Kincora was the scene of a notorious sex scandal and while three members of staff were convicted in the 1980s, questions remain about who knew what and why it continued.

The inquiry's chairman, Sir Anthony Hart, a retired senior high court judge, will make a short statement before an opening address from senior counsel to the inquiry, Christine Smith QC.

More than 300 witnesses are expected to give evidence during the public sessions, the majority in person although some may give their evidence in writing or via a live video-link.

Applications to participate in the statutory inquiry are now closed but potential witnesses can still apply to speak to the Acknowledgment Forum, a less formal evidence-gathering process operating in parallel.

The first "thematic module of evidence" will focus on two former institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth: St Joseph's Home and Nazareth House Children's Home, both in County Londonderry.

The public hearings are expected to continue until June 2015 and under the terms of reference, the inquiry must complete its investigation by mid-summer and submit its report by January 2016.

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10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fracking: Councils Could Profit Millions

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

Financial rewards worth over a million pounds a year will be given to councils that give permission for "fracking" projects in their areas.

The move, announced by David Cameron, has angered campaign groups who are opposed to the controversial method of extracting shale gas from deep underground.

The Prime Minister has declared that shale gas exploration is part of his long term economic plan and says local authorities that allow drilling will receive 100% of the business rates collected from the scheme - double the current 50%.

Whitehall officials estimate that could be worth £1.7m extra a year for each site a council agrees.

The move comes as French energy giant Total is expected to announce it is investing millions of pounds in firms with drilling licences in the UK.

Anti-fracking protesters at a rally at a driling site in Salford on Sunday

The news is a blow for hundreds of people who object to fracking in their communities.

On Sunday, protesters gathered from across the country to take part in a march in Salford close to an exploratory drilling site in an area known as Barton Moss.

Among the campaigners was Jackie Anderson, a teacher who lives within a mile of the site.

She told Sky News: "For the local residents it's got no benefit whatsoever. More and more the businesses and the councils are going to benefit because the incentives are going to them and we're getting none of the benefits at all."

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a process that involves drilling thousands of feet down into the earth to create a narrow well. Water and chemicals are then pumped in at high pressure to create fractures in the rock. Gas then flows from the cracks and is captured.

Vanessa Vine, who founded the British Anti-Fracking Action Network, travelled to Salford for the demonstration.

She has taken part in a long-running protest against a test site near her home in Balcombe in Sussex.

The protest was against an exploratory drilling site known as Barton Moss

She told Sky News: "Concerns of local residents range from everything from heavy traffic through villages, damage to the roads, right up to triggering of earthquakes and permanent, potentially permanent contamination of the groundwater, of the aquifer, of drinking water."

The Government estimates the industry could attract £3.7bn a year in investment and support 74,000 jobs.

Last year, new data from the British Geological Survey showed up to double the amount of shale gas could be extracted in the UK than previously thought.

Then, the Government pledged to give local communities £100,000 for each test-drilling project and a further 1% of the revenues if shale gas was discovered.

It is thought there may be as much as 1,300 trillion cubic feet at the Bowland site in Lancashire alone.

Tory peer Lord Howell of Guildford sparked anger in northern communities in July by suggesting fracking should take place in "desolate areas" in the north, a comment he later apologised for.

Announcing the latest financial incentives, David Cameron said: "A key part of our long-term economic plan to secure Britain's future is to back businesses with better infrastructure.

Vanessa Vine, founder of the British Anti-Fracking Action Network

"That's why we're going all out for shale. It will mean more jobs and opportunities for people, and economic security for our country."

Writing in the Sun on Sunday, business minister Michael Fallon said it could "drive down the cost of power for hard-working families and businesses".

But environmentalists have dismissed those claims.

Lawrence Carter, from Greenpeace, said: "This is a naked attempt by the government to bribe hard-pressed councils into accepting fracking in their area.

"Cameron is effectively telling councils to ignore the risks and threat of large-scale industrialisation in exchange for cold hard cash.

"But the proposal reveals just how worried the Government is about planning applications being turned down.

"Having had their claims that fracking will bring down energy bills and create jobs thoroughly discredited, the Government is now resorting to straight up bribery to sell their deeply unpopular fracking policy."

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10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Manchester Tram Death: Man Dies By Debenhams

A man has died after been struck by a tram in a busy city centre.

The man, who has yet to be identified, was hit outside Debenhams in Market Place, Manchester city centre, at around 6.15pm on Sunday.

Fans trying to get home from Old Trafford after Manchester United's match with Swansea were advised to avoid the city centre in the aftermath of the incident.

Onlookers described seeing the man being dragged and trapped underneath the Metrolink carriage as he crossed the junction of Market Street and High Street.

The tram network was temporarily closed while emergency services dealt with the scene.

The rail network was working as normal so people were advised to use trains if possible.

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10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

British Soldiers In Iraq Torture Probe

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The International Criminal Court has been asked to investigate allegations of abuse and torture by British soldiers in Iraq, Sky News has learnt.

It is understood that a German human rights organisation and a British law firm have presented a dossier to the ICC containing accusations of more than 1,000 cases of torture against Iraqi civilians, and 200 cases of unlawful killings, including many in custody.

The Berlin-based European Centre for Constitutional Rights and Britain-based Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) will launch their case at an event in London on Tuesday.

Phil Shiner, a solicitor from PIL, told Sky News: "This is historic. The UK has never been investigated by the ICC. There is clear evidence this goes right to the top."

The British Government has set up a body to investigate accusations of abuse arising from the Iraq conflict.

The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) investigates allegations of abuse against Iraqi civilians by British troops between 2003 and 2009. It is led by a retired detective and is due to complete its investigations by the end of 2016.

Commenting on the reports, the Ministry of Defence said: "These matters are either under thorough investigation or have been dealt with through various means including through the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, independent public inquiries, the UK and European courts and in Parliament.

"As such, further action through the ICC is unnecessary when the issues and allegations are already known to the UK Government, action is in hand and the UK courts have already issued judgments.

"Should we be approached by the ICC, we will take the opportunity to explain the very extensive work underway to deal with historic allegations of abuse.

"We reject the suggestion that the UK's Armed Forces - who operate in line with domestic and international law - have systematically tortured detainees.

"But of course the UK Government regrets the small number of cases where abuses have taken place. Wherever allegations have been substantiated, we have compensated victims and their families."

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10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More